DVF’s gorgeous Spring collection

I love love DVF’s spring collection “Rock Goddess”. Her dresses are always gorgeous, classy, and chic, with a dash of romance. All the clothes truly represent freedom. I especially love the studded dresses in purple ombre and multi-color. Totally sets the stage for a Fall rock & roll trend. Love love love it. There is a 10% discount on Facebook for fans – get 10% off new items through Feb 28 with code fbsts09 (all lowercase). I like the video better on her site.

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Passion for fashion

I love being in the fashion industry. I’ve always subscribed to fashion emails, but even more so now and love reading about the industry in general. Its so exciting! Everything is fast-paced, and things are done 6 months in advance. Fall lines are ready in Spring. People know what the trend is going to be 1-2 years in advance. I find myself not only working for present but also thinking about the future at all times. I have never enjoyed my job as much – CPG was okay because I marketed products that I don’t like (peanut butter – yuk! Never tasted something so salty, thick, and sticky); technology, systems, websites, corporate credit cards – dry. But fashion I love.

I was trying to explain to my husband what Haute couture really is, and how it is different from regular fashion. A top designer (Karl Lagerfield I think) showcased his designs (all white) with headgear and leaves exquisitely sewn in the dresses, and it took 800 hours to complete. Wow! Remins me of Chris March of Project Runway – I loved his skirt with the safety pins, and each row took him 8 hours. I also loved the way his black skirt moved on the runway – the skirt was made of human hair which moved beautifully. My husband was so freaked out by the human hair thing – he actually thought that the human hair was on the body!!! Seriously, that is freaky. The judges and Tim were grossed out, but really, isn’t human hair better than fur? Its not like anyone is getting killed, and it was for a fashion show and not mass marketed. Why can’t people be more open minded about fashion? It could have gone wrong, but Chris pulled it through with his creativity and exquisite craftsmanship.

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Punk rock new Fall trend/fad

Trends for Fall are out. Punk style rock-and-roll pieces are in. Pyramid studs on pants, jackets, tops, dresses, and winterwear, chains, zippers, etc. will rule Fall fashion according to Women’s Wear Daily. I like the take on tops and dresses – very innovative and stylish. I really like the dress – very cute, classic, and rock. The skirt above is like a cross between rock and trench. Am wondering what my company will do – not sure our customers like too much rock & roll inspired stuff except for pyramid studded belt.

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Catherine Malandrino’s classic looks

I absolutely adore Blair Waldorf in this ruffle sleeve Catherine Malandrino dress. She looks so adorable, and the color suits her. I prefer the green one though online. Its on sale now for $125 on Billion Dollar Babes. Blair’s style is sooooooo good, and I love all her styling choices. Totally becomes her! I also like CM’s top in a similar style for the same price. CM’s dresses are so classic. Her designs are not breakthrough but are slightly different from the usual flair, and bring in classic romance with ruffled tops and dresses, pleated skirts, and solid colors.

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Spring Totes and Ralph Lauren… more rants

I received an email from Neiman Marcus this morning about new Spring Totes. Who is going to shell out $$$$$$$ for totes in this economy? Should designers continue to make new expensive designs or look for cheaper ways to maintain their designs? And are their designs really at that level? For example, the Tote below by Valentino has loose threads if you zoom on  the site. Really, it is time for such top designers to stop being so ridiculous. Can’t wait to see these styles show up in Gilt at $$ or on sale.

Another email from Ralph Lauren that their pony styles are up on the site. Same old, same old… big yawn. There is so little innovation in fashion design, no wonder no one likes to buy clothes anymore. Anything different comes with a big price tag, when it really doesn’t cost that much to make clothing, especially if manufactured outside the US.

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Designer wear at ridiculous prices

Through subscriptions to various invitation-only sites, I have come across many great designer deals. Some of them astound me with their ridiculous prices for terrible-looking stuff, and for mere basics.

Check out the Cynthia Rowley silk scarf dress (more like a potato sack) – it looks hideous on the model, quite unlikely to look good on anyone. Retail price = $407, now $38

The Hooded Open Front Cardigan below by Malo is even more ridiculous. Its 100% silk and retail price is (hold your breath) $2,515!!! Sale price $248. Best to give it to a homeless person who will have some value for this. Malo’s clothes are in general over-priced and quite basic.

And the one below by Valentino Roma – a cami with 70% wool, 20% silk, 10% cashmere, made in Italy. Retail price $340. The cashmere and silk do not justify the hefty price tag. Sale price is $48, which is more in line.

The Oversized Parkha below by Bamford – retail $2,195, sale price $248. It is of good quality, but seriously, very unflattering on any shape. Totally mismatched with the capris worn by the model. From behind it looks like a crumpled foil.

No wonder nobody is buying luxury clothing anymore – at least not at full prices. Yes, designers need to get bad designs out of their system to create really good ones, but are the ridiculous prices justified? Obviously customers paying the prices are worse – why would a designer not want to make money if customers are paying? Hopefully the one good thing from this tough economy will be that these excesses are purged for good.

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Does Tory Burch live up to the hype?

Tory Burch’s Spring collection is up on Neimal Marcus. I don’t get the hype behind Tory Burch. I mean, she is a talented designer and I really like her tunics, and of course Oprah the great had her on her talk show, but do TB’s designs live up to the prices? NO! Plain cotton tunics that cost a handful (of course made in some Asian country) priced at ~ $300. Too pricey, especially for this economy. I tried on a gorgeous orange tunic in Nordstrom – the fit and look were very good, but quality left much to be desired. The tunic had some bling which was sewed on in a way that there were loose threads on the inside. The threads would easily get caught and come off. For a $300 price, I expect much better. Also, tunics have been worn in India for a long time, and some of her designs do reflect “Indianness”. She must be a good businesswoman to have sold so many despite the price tag, low value, and lack of innovation in collections. And of course her style of tunics are hard to find in this country.

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Hale Bob’s take on prints

I came across a new designer through Rue La La, Hale Bob, and love the playfulness captured in the use of prints in fabrics. The collection features fun and flirty dresses and colorful tops and tunics. Really cute!

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Chandni Chowk to China a bummer

I love Akshay Kumar‘s movies, and used to like Deepika till she decided to date Ranbir and now media keeps thowing them in our faces. I cannot believe that Warner Bros decided to make its foray into Bollywood with CC2C. What a disappointing movie. The only saving grace is Akshay and that too because of his comedy. And of course my fav Ranvir Shorey – how can I forget him?

There are really funny moments, but overall the movie is unbearable especially with the double role Deepika and the same old story about two sisters getting lost and finding each other. Yawn. I could not watch beyond 30 minutes.

But my two favorite parts were when Akshay sees Ganesh in a potato and when he tries to close the hand baggage compartment in the plane and instead hits Ranveer’s neck. Hilarious!! The ganesh one reminded me of 10-12 years back when Ganesh decided to drink milk. I remember everyone in my hostel trying to make the statue drink milk, so did I, and nothing happened, and yet people claimed that Ganesh drank milk. It was quite embarrassing when “The World This Week” talked about the progress in India, and made fun of the Ganesh situation. Ha Ganesh in a potato… sooooo believable. LOL. Cannot stop laughing. I love Akshay he is so funny.

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Email blunder

Fandango sends me an email this afternoon about Oscar nominations. Guess what? I cannot access the site that the email leads to. Why send emails to so many customers if the server cannot handle the traffic? Wasted opportunity. And the email must have come at a cost.

Also received an email from Martin & Osa about 30% off in stores for 1/22 to 1/26. I have been eyeing M&O’s clothes for a while now and really like the quality per the photos online. Sadly no stores are nearby. I guess I will try purchasing online once and see how their clothes are. I have been curious about them since I heard that they were launched by American Eagle to reach an older audience. Their clothes are conservative and feature basics, much like my company’s. Only we are more reasonably priced.

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