As any fashion lover knows, dressing fashionably and dressing for the opposite sex are usually two very different things.
It’s a long debated argument, just who exactly to dress for, one we’ve even covered a few times, but today’s story in the Daily Mail got us thinking; while broad shoulders and draped bodices are hot trends for AW09, wearing say, a poof-sleeved, leather Louis Vuitton-shaped dress on a Friday night, isn’t the best way to rope in the dude at the bar.
Not that we expect that to be your number one concern, we just wonder how you balance your love of runway fashion with your social life. You probably don’t forego baggy Marc dresses or shredded Current/Elliots or massive Marni platforms just because the girl in low slung jeans and a white tank looks at you like you’re nuts or the guy you’re dating says, “You look like a cake topper,” - (true story) - but you also must shy away from being too fashion forward at some point.
The disconnect between fashionable and sexy can be frustrating, so how do you make it work?
When Vivienne Westwood sent a model down her SS09 runway in those Union Jack shorts, we felt like we needed fancy boxers.
Then Teen Vogue featured ruched cotton shorts in a March editorial. They came in striped blues and reds, like bloomers, but with nothing over them. The credits listed Brooks Brothers so we went to the store and scoured the site until we realized the models were just wearing men’s boxers probably sewn by a handy Conde intern.
And today we saw these Current/Elliot shorts on Shopbop - basically fancy boxers even if they’re called “distressed denim.”
But we found a pair of pre-sewed-to-look-like-bloomers this weekend and no matter what we tried them on with - silk tank, plaid button down, white t-shirt - they still just looked like boxers. And while we’ll wear pretty much anything at least once and we obviously work in an office lacking any sort of dress-code, the idea of going out in men’s underwear just feels awkward, no?
If you’re in Paris this weekend, let’s hang out.
Also, if you’re in Paris and you’ve been holding out on buying the Current/Elliot boyfriend jeans because you’re sure the trend is going to die - it’s not. So go to Collette on Saturday, tomorrow, from 4:30 to 6:30pm.
Emily and Meritt, the designers behind the booming denim brand, will be there to customize them for you. Whether you’re an extra rip kind of girl or a pink sparkles kind of girl, they’ll make your jeans one of a kind which makes the $235 price tag a bit easier to swallow.
The customization is free if you buy them at Colette that day (there’s a two per person minimum).
We’ll be there looking for a Lagerfeld Barbie sneak peek and since we already caved to the boyfriend jean trend, we’ll just admire everyone else’s.
We thought YSL was getting a break - everyone with access to a shoe-making factory ripped off last year’s woven Tribute sandal (which are still everywhere, though now paired with thick Wolford’s instead of the summer’s Current/Elliots).
But we noticed these vaguely familiar sandals in Steve Madden’s window yesterday.
The too shiny black patent platform stiletto comes with a criss-cross strap that wraps around the ankle and closes with a teeny tiny button. Their main fault, aside from the excessive shine, is the jarring tan color on the inside of the heel.
See, the YSL original - also called the Tribute which is kind of confusing since it’s a totally different shoe - is still patent, but won’t blind you thanks to its subtle texture and not-so-subtle quality. The straps close with a button - that was spot on, Steve - but the inside of the heel stays black, as it should.
If only Naomi Campbell knew Steve Madden, we bet she’d teach him a lesson.
One of the most frequent questions I got asked while working in retail was, “Why do the ripped jeans cost so much more?”
Well, it’s because once you enter the realm of ripped designer denim, each pair is individually stressed. As in, someone sits there with sand paper and various tools to guarantee they look as genuine as possible. But regardless of how much work goes into them, we’d never advocate buying pre-ripped denim.
Why? Natalie says the very idea makes her want to re-introduce “tool” into her vocabulary. And though I have not one but two pairs of extremely ripped jeans in my wardrobe, the holes and tears are due to my penchant for falling, not my willingness to shell out $300 for purposefully destroyed clothes. And apparently the thought of pre-distressed anything, whether it be jeans or furniture, has always been a pet peeve of Faran’s.
But the best of the denim brands - Current/Elliot, Genetic, Seven - keep making them which means that people still buy them in an attempt to emulate a rockstar-ness they think can be bought in the Meatpacking District.
Do you?
