red carpet: chloe la boutique opening

i'm not normally one to harp on celebrity fashion, but the celebrities that appeared atthe chloé boutique opening in LA on thursday looked so fabulous in the spring collection. it's always interesting to see the the runway transribed to real life (if you consider hollywood "real life").

here are my favorites of the night:

i'm glad matthew mcconaughey's girlfriend camilla alves did not pick up on his tendency to look like a bum. she, for me, was the epitome of a "chloé girl". her loose hair just makes this ensemble look so effortless.

rachel taylor of transformers fame got a lot of flack for her choice to rock the crazy harem pant trend. i personally thought she looked gooood. i applaud her sartorial bravery.

model gaile lai looked gorgeous in this jumpsuit. such a difficult look to pull off, and i'm impressed. the black accessories were also a good choice.

perfect, kateboz. i'll only add that i would do very bad things to acquire that skirt.

chloe sevigny can annoy me all she wants, but she looks so good in this ensemble. i think she went a bit overboard with chloe's trademark scalloped edges, though. such a recognizable detail should be used in moderation.

and the winner for the night, ms. january jones. the epitome of a classy woman right there.

raquel allegra's shirred madness

i meant to report on la-based designer raquel allegra weeks ago, but i stumbled upon a website that actually sold her items, and that served as a perfect reminder. her collection seems like a combination of the brands pleasure principle (with her elongated silhouettes) and james perse (duh, thin jersey), both of which are incredibly appropriate for spring.

the issue here is the pricetag: $590 for a scarf, $740 for a dress, $1190 for a "caftan" (if you can call it that). honestly, i would rather that money go towards that sexy pair of rodarte tights colette is selling on their webshop.

sure, supporting young and upcoming designers is refreshing, but not when the prices are clearly inflated to an astonishing degree. i could easily shirr jersey myself, had i the time, and create similar looks from scratch (and for substantially less). still, no harm in looking, right?

ad-ore: jennifer connelly for balenciaga's a/w 09 print campaign?

both wwd and nymag report that jennifer connelly, seen here modeling balenciaga's spring 2008 pantsuit, will return for fall 2009! great choice, nicolas - that bitch is beautiful.

louise goldin footage: a/w 09 execution, +1

SHOWstudio featured london designer louise goldin in their newest project, unraveled. go see how the designer transitions from inspiration to experimentation to, eventually, the final product here. excellent viewing (and even somewhat instructional) for all types of up-and-comings in the fashion and textile industries.

also a good view on the site is nick knight's video portrait of designer du jour (really more like man of the year) rick owens in all his long-haired and toned-bodied glory. not gonna lie, the music choice is dubious, and the video errs on the side of over-dramatic, but it still offers an intimate glimpse of the man behind the best masculine coats and oversized boots of the season.

shoenews: louboutin, kirkwood, blahnik.

these manolo blahnik for meadham kirchhoff embroidered stiletto booties retail for £7000, but ben kirchhoff, the line's designer, claims they're too expensive to produce anyway. the buyers will just have to eat cake.

a preview of nicholas kirkwood's a/w line of stilettos. so haute!

no, this is not the new design for phat pharm's sneaker collection. this is, in fact, the debut sneaker from world-renowned heel master christian louboutin. so what makes these sneakers so fucking special that they'd be released under the louboutin moniker? a pony-skin finish on the upper. doesn't that just make your little heart grow three sizes today?

thierry mugler's handiwork revealed!

let's do a little side-by-side comparison of beyonce's new tour wardrobe designed by thierry mugler.

the preliminary drawings:

and the garments in the flesh:

besides slight deviations in detailing and color, i'd say the execution went pretty well. whether these outfits are incredibly original or "fierce" remains to be seen.

you can see an array of mugler's more inventive designs for beyonce on his website.

mattel, you can stop now

mattel is releasing a limited-edition line of barbie dolls for their never-ending 50th anniversary at the dover street marked in london tomorrow. barbie here features a design by roksanda illincic, and kenny boy is wearing a design from gareth pugh's debut menswear show. these bitches cost £180.00 apiece.

please. contain your excitement. i know owning a $350.00 barbie doll is just too good to be true.

the bad before the good

so, the notorious block-long line surrounding the new york topshop flagship last thursday did not die down this weekend. i waited in line for 10 minutes, but had this sudden fear come over me that the selection would be poor, the customers rude and relentless, etc.

so, in two weeks or thereabouts, i'll let you know how ~*aMaZinG*~ the store actually is. just kidding, i'm sure it really is cool.

instead of wasting 2 hours of my time-constrained ny getaway waiting in line for fiscally inflated shopping at ts, i went up broadway a bit to the incredibly fabulous uniqlo store (nr. spring st.) only to find an unbelievable sale going down. jeans are 2/$50, merino wool sweaters and cardis, $20, select cotton dresses and button-downs, $20, and, as usual, their incredibly inexpensive v-neck tee shirts, costing a whopping $5 a pop. i understand that every item is manufactured in china and vietnam, but i also understand that many of the items stocked in the nearby bloomingdale's and diesel are, too. if you're going to buy foreign, buy it for the right price.

speaking of uniqlo, i cannot wait for jil sander's takeover as creative director for the company! with her distinctly minimalist style, and uniqlo's penchant for affordable basics, this could be a very beautiful relationship! i hope she encourages the production of uniqlo's designer collaborations, like the alexander wang line launched last year, and the current one designed by steven alan.

another topshop post

...but this time, kate moss is the belle du jour. topshop just released a sneak preview of kate's new line, debuting tomorrow at the new topshop manhattan flagship opening and online at topshop.com. kate outdid herself with around 80 looks. that's more than the kaiser did for his fall chanel collection! but, this line was a long time coming, so i guess we can't expect any less this time around. for brevity's sake, here are the items i want in my shopping bag rightnow:

admittedly, the fringe jacket is fucking crazy. but how sick would it be to walk the streets in that? and with the fringe dress underneath? you'd be the tackiest tranny in town!