Archive for November 2010

Beauty

Five Lessons Learned From Getting a Brazilian Blowout

I have a confession: Last spring, I got a Brazilian blowout. You know, that keratin treatment that’s been making headlines for years regarding its formaldehyde content. I have incredibly thick, coarse, curly hair, which I’ve been relaxing/straightening/damaging for years. The keratin treatment is the first that actually made my hair feel healthier. (Well, formaldehyde is a preservative….)

All joking aside, I’m not endorsing any of these treatments. Before you get it done you should do as much research as you can, talk to as many medical professionals as you can, and weigh the risks. Whether or not I’m going to have the treatment done again is still up in the air. But I did learn several important lessons from trying it:

Read more »
Fashion News Roundup

Fashion News Roundup: Marie Claire Protest, Bloomies Designer Shopping Bags & Lucky Spruces Things Up

Henry Holland For Roxy: Nylon gives us an exclusive look at Henry Holland’s new winter collection for Roxy. Fit for girls who love to hit the slopes, there are scarves, gloves, and tees. {Nylon}

Marie Claire Protest: We’re sure you’ve heard about the whole Marie Claire/Maura Kelly debacle. Well, a protest against Marie Claire ensued out of the Hearst building and Racked was there to document the whole thing. {Racked}

Bloomies Wants You To Carry Your Purchases In Style: Bloomingdale’s is rolling out limited edition designer shopping bags. Tory Burch, Elie Tahari, Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen and Michael Kors have all been selected to design their own bags, which will hit the stores early next month. {WWD}

Read more »
The Business

Norma Kamali Will Be the Keynote Speaker at FashInvest’s First Annual Conference

Norma Kamali is one of my industry idols. Not only because she makes a great swimsuit, but because she runs a successful, independent business pretty much on her own. A business that includes a flagship store, a diffusion line sold at department stores like Bloomingdale’s, a bustling online retail site, a massive deal with Wal-Mart, and special projects with eBay as well as several other mini ventures.

That’s why she’s the ideal keynote speaker for FashInvest’s first annual conference, taking place December 15 at FIT. Neil Cole, CEO of Iconix Brand Group, which owns everything from Madonna’s Material Girl collection for Macy’s to Candie’s to London Fog, is the other keynote speaker.

FashInvest is a New York-based organization formed by a group of venture capitalists, private equity managers, and fashion company executives who want to help emerging designers and other fashion entrepreneurs find funding. Unlike Fashionstake, another fashion/business startup I’ve written about, there’s really no crowdsourcing involved. It’s all about finding the right investors for your specific brand.

Read more »
News

We Just Got a Peek at Marie Claire‘s Hate Mail

By Lauren Sherman Monday, Nov 1, 2010 / 12:15 PM

A reader just sent me this email:

To: Lauren@fashionsita.com
From: Gail
Subject: Outrage over fatties
I personally find the site of anorexic women, like the blogger, aesthetically unpleasing. I will never buy your magazine again and will contact your advertisers to let them know that I will not buy their products.

I think that Gail may have meant to send this message to Marie Claire, but regardless, she seems pretty pissed. Are you still riled up over the controversy?

Reviews

Seoul Spring 2011: The Menswear Collections

Fashionista contributor Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.

SEOUL, KOREA– “The weather is pretty weird today,” said a guy in front of me to his friend while we were waiting to enter the MVIO show on the first day at Seoul Fashion Week. He was right–it was nearly 74 degrees and sunny on a Friday morning late in October. I was told that it has been a strange year for weather in Seoul, as it had been in most of the world. But this conversation wasn’t meager chitchat. What the man was really concerned about, according to my interpreter/fashion student Etty Kim, was that he had on the right clothes.

Read more »
  • Long Nguyen
  • Monday, Nov 1, 2010 / 11:43 AM
  • 0 Comments
Book Club

Introducing the Fashionista Book Club: Blow by Blow by Detmar Blow

I picked up Detmar Blow’s biography of his late wife, Isabella Blow, while at the shows in Paris. I read it one evening in less than two hours.

I have a million things to say about Blow by Blow, but since the book won’t be released in the US until November 9, I’m going to hold back on my lengthy opinion.

Indeed, Blow by Blow is the ideal launchpad for the Fashionista Book Club, a series we’ve been wanting to start for some time now.

On Friday, December 3 at 3pm we’ll be hosting a live chat about the book right here on Fashionista. You’ll be able to hear what each of us thinks about the book, and you’ll also be able to voice your own opinion.

In the meantime, pre-order your book here. If you have a Kindle or the Kindle app on your iPad or iPhone, you can also pre-order a digital copy.

Enjoy Blow by Blow–we can’t wait to hear what you think!

Read more »