Orla Kiely

Style

Middleton-Approved Designer Orla Kiely on Dressing the Royal Baby

Yesterday, all eyes were on the doors of St. Mary's hospital's Lindo Wing, anxiously awaiting the first glimpse of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Cambridge. While everyone was over-the-moon excited to see what Kate Middleton would wear for her first appearance as a mom (so much so that Jenny Packham's site crashed), another Middleton didn't exactly escape un-noticed: Middleton's mom (and grandmom to the Prince!) Carole caused a mini-frenzy when she stopped by the hospital to visit the new heir in a pretty Orla Kiely frock. As chance would have it, we had plans to see Kiely at the launch of her iPhone and iPad accessory collection for Target that same day--and had to get the scoop on how the Irish designer felt about playing a small part on a very big day.

Style

Orla Kiely Spring 2013

The Clothes: Perfect. Kiely was inspired by a '60s beach vacation as well as Raul Difi and Slim Aarons. I fell in love with boatneck babydoll dresses

Style

What We Saw at NYFW, Day 4

It's Day 4 of NYFW and we're still kicking, though we have a few blisters now. It may have been our best day ever because we saw Naomi Campbell and David Beckham in the same 24 hour span. Are there two more gorgeous people on Earth? Aside from those pretty people (and some surprises, like Madonna's baby Lourdes Leon), we also spotted covetable clothes at DKNY, Orla Kiely, and Antonio Azzuolo, and morning margaritas at Lyn Devon.

Style

A Closer Look at the 'Kate Middleton Effect': Why It Can Be a Double-Edged Sword for Retailers

Throughout Kate Middleton’s first year of married life, the Duchess has donned a slew of tasteful and decidedly quiet outfits that inevitably landed tenfold in the press—-each one leaking online with increased excitement. There’s no doubt that the brands the Duchess supports have experienced unforeseen growth, selling out of Middleton’s favorite pieces in a matter of days, sometimes even hours. Though despite the profit-drawing qualities of what retailers now call ‘The Kate Middleton Effect,’ The Sunday Times recently published an article drawing attention to the phenomenon’s reverse implications. The (paywalled) piece, which was picked up by international outlets, including The Daily Beast, noted that after Middleton wore Links of London’s Hope drop-style earrings in her official engagement photos, the brand quickly sold out of the style at such an accelerated rate that they were unable to produce additional stock at the necessary speed, leading to an onslaught of counterfeits that cost the brand $12.6 million in potential profits. Titled, “Kate’s Favourite Jeweller Loses £8m to Net Pirates,” the article quoted the head of the brand’s online sales team as saying, “The counterfeiters were a lot cleverer than we were at the time of the wedding. We didn't have that much stock so we started to sell out quite quickly ... The counterfeiters took advantage of that by saying they had stock and people were duped into buying them."

Style

Tavi Gevinson and the Vena Cava Girls Star in Uniqlo's New Commercial (Plus See the Entire Orla Kiely x Uniqlo Collection)

If you weren't able to get your hands on the now sold-out Orla Kiely coatdress Kate Middleton wore on a recent visit to an Oxford elementary school, don't worry! You can still have a little bit of that signature Orla look, at a price that won't put a dent in your wallet. The Irish designer, famous for her prints, has teamed up with Uniqlo for a cute capsule collection of perfect springtime staples.

Style

Orla Kiely Ready-to-Wear: Karen Elson and Alexa Chung Are Obsessed and You Will Be Too

I have a new obsession. Orla Kiely’s namesake ready-to-wear line seems to have shamefully few fans in the US, though I can’t imagine that will be the case for much longer. The label seems to have a strong following in the UK where it is based, made evident by the Brit-heavy crowd at Tuesday night's party for the designer at the Ace Hotel's Liberty Hall, which included The Like's Tennessee Thomas, Giles Deacon and soon-to-be divorcée Karen Elson. (P.S. a little birdy told us that "divorce party" didn't actually happen.)more

Shopping

Racked Dealfeed: Yestadt Millinery, Orla Kiely, Bing Bang and More

Yestadt Millinery Deal: Markdowns on men's and women's hats from fall/winter 2010 When/Where: Thursday January 20, 10am—7pm. 325 Broome St between Chrystie St and Bowery, floor 1w (up the stairs and to the right.) Link: www.yestadtmillinery.com Orla Kiely Deal: Discounts on samples from the print-happy designer When: Tuesday, January 18 through Wednesday, January 19. Daily 9am—6pm. Showroom Seven, 263 11th Ave between 27th and 28th Sts, third floor (212-643-4810) Link: www.orlakiely.com Bing Bang Deal: 25% to 75% off on-trend jewelry When/Where: Wednesday, January 19 through Friday, January 21. Daily noon—7pm. 153 Lafayette St at Grand St (no phone) Link: www.bingbangnyc.com

Business

Fashion News Roundup: Designers Drop To Dirty Tactics (Dirty Jersey, That Is), Tyra's Sorry About The Top Model Misstep, & More

Bloomin' Brilliant: StyleCaster debuts its high-texture, floral-centric editorial shoot, photographed by Frances Tulk-Hart. We're dreaming of layers now...and just in time for a bit of a cold front. {StyleCaster} Devious Designers: In a bizarre display of cunning, top-name fashion houses are sending free designer bags to Jersey Shore's Snooki. But here's the catch-- they're sending her the bags of competing designers. Why? Well, you try carrying around a Gucci purse after it's become Snooki's signature item and tell us how many compliments you get. {The New York Observer} Tyra On Teeny: Tyra Banks responded to the "misconstrued" Top Model teaser trailer, in which ANTM judges swooned over a prospective contestant's teeny waistline, in exactly the way we'd expect her to-- by complaining that she couldn't possibly oversee every aspect of the show's publicity material, and by managing to sound like the victim in a society of waistline-worshiping media. Um, honey, you're the host of a modeling reality show. You can only be so blameless. {The Huffington Post}