I have my own personal interest in the matter. Sir Mix A lot raps that some girls have an L.A face, but an Oakland bootie. This is my fate. It’s called having an hour-glass figure – narrow, high waist and a full hip, thigh and, well, you know. The junk in the trunk. No matter how much weight I lose, I cannot lose my caboose.

I have no problem shelling out over $100 for a pair of jeans that fit properly. I have special ordered from online sites to get the correct length and rise. I have scoured through thrift stores to get a bargain. And here Marie Claire said that not only were the Old Navy Sweetheart skinny jeans the best on nearly every body type, but that they were also reasonably priced at $29.50, came in three colors and also three lengths?! Did I mention they also came in an equally affordable and great fitting bootcut as well?  At first I dismissed this. I remember buying Old Navy jeans when I was in high school. They weren’t that great. The fit was odd, you nearly always had to go up a size, and if the butt didn’t get stretched out and sag, then the back pockets literally began to rip away from the rest of the pant.

Eventually I broke down as one of my favorite pairs of jeans finally had its last hoorah. I went into the remodeled Old Navy in the mall, and checking to make sure no one saw me, headed to the fitting room with a gigantic stack of denim in my hands. I ended up buying four pairs – dark rinse, a medium rinse and a gray in the skinny leg and a pair of dark rinse bootcut. At 5 ft 10 inches, I needed the long length, which is not that common for me, but the size I generally take fit automatically. I didn’t need to try on more than one size in each rinse. The other fits – the rockstar and diva – did not have the same uniformity of fit or length. Sometimes I couldn’t get the pant leg past my thigh, sometimes the pant leg on a regular length fit more like a crop pant.

What I liked about the sweetheart skinny (and bootcut), was that the waist came to the natural waist. There was no muffin top; the tummy stays put. The skinny leg is slim on the thigh, but not so tight legs look like denim covered sausages. The washes are also flattering to figures large and small, any whiskering is done tastefully. The best part is that they look, feel and fit like a more expensive pant. After almost two months of wash and wear, they have kept their color and their fit.

So, ultimately it comes down to the bottom line. While not the best jean ever created, I would give the Old Navy sweetheart skinny jeans a solid endorsement. Old Navy often misses the mark when it comes to fashion, quality or fit, but when they do something right, it is often also highly affordable. Out of the entire denim line, these were the most consistent and the best fit. And I love them. They fit where they must with no gapping in the back and look great paired with blouses, sweaters or tees. So what if they aren’t designer! Fit is everything.

H&M has teamed up with Versace to launch not one, but two, collaborations inspired by classic Versace themes – print, leather and embellishments. A sneak peek of the line to be released in November (with a second in January), was recently unveiled to the public. And it’s awesome. Who wouldn’t want that jacket? Or, for that matter, the dress? The details are exquisite.

Forever 21, H&M’s poor little cousin, has also ventured into collaboration. Perhaps due to the bad press they consistently get for outright copying patterns, silhouettes and designs, the fast fashion chain has decided to put aside the gold lame mini dresses and market to the masses who demand designer looks. For the holiday season of 2010, they experimented with the concept by working with Brian Lichtenberg to create a line of graphic tees. What was produced wasn’t terrible, but also wasn’t much more than a logo tee line with the words “Foverever” and “21” very close to a real designer’s name in a situation outside the court of law.Their next outing was less successful. Partnering with Petro Zillia, Forever 21 unleashed a line of faux terry activewear that looked less like something a woman could wear to the mall, to work, or even the gym and more like something you’d wear walking the streets for cash.  The bright colored stripes looked good – on the models. The fabric looked fun for spring – in the photos. What you got in the stores was a line of boob holsters and panties in a fabric that felt like chemicals. Their partnership with Rory Beca was slightly more successful; the sizing was more accurate, and the fabrics felt more normal. Some pieces were wearable, although the jumper added to the world’s camel toe problem.

The embroidered pockets will make my 12 year old boobs look more mature, right?

The ultimate question is why, time after time, does H&M and even Target succeed in producing a high quality, high fashion designer line while Forever 21 consistently fails? The answer here is price point. The old adage of a customer gets what she pays for 100% accurate. By charging slightly more, the value of the item increases as the designers can choose better textiles and spend more time ensuring quality control. H&M routinely designs for women taller than 5ft 5; their dresses are longer and the rises of any shorts, jumpers or skirts are truer. What this means for the consumer is that a dress will fall past their hip and a skirt will fall to the midpoint of the thigh.

Forever 21, and the Chang family that runs the business, is so focused on growth for the sake of growth, that they have yet to stop and analyze the business. Just because everyone else is working with designers, doesn’t mean that they too must collaborate. Consumers will spend more if the product line looks expensive and has a luxurious feel.  Yes, they’ve made their mark with two dollar camis and a fun line of inexpensive jewelry, but don’t they have more faith in their customer? If Forever 21 wants to open a store in Times Square and set themselves up as a label just as fashion forward and just as influential as any in NY’s fashion district, they have got to give more credit to their customer base. Sure, they’ll always have girls trying to out skank each other in the club. (That’s why they’ve come out with a youthful maternity line, duh.) And yet, in this economy, fast fashion tends to do well. Those in the comfortable middle class unabashedly shop at the once sole provider of tween clubwear. And Forever 21 has taken advantage of this with their expanded brands such as Love 21 and Heritage 1981 which offer a more mature look and better sizing.

It’s all about growing pains really. H&M has already grown up, and while their prices reflect this, so too does the quality. Forever 21 must make the choice to commit to their new big box mentality. They can no longer market to a niche group, and must create and support lines that reflect the culture. They’ve inherited a market of fashion savvy consumers who want designer labels and high fashion concepts but who are unwilling or unable to spend thousands of dollars to have those looks. Now is the time to invest in quality before jobs begin to pay better. In fashion, one day you’re in and the next you are out. By building a loyal customer base, Forever 21 can survive the booms times as well as its survived the recession. But putting out crappy designer collaborations while H&M is partnering with Versace is not how to do it.

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Ice Cream in Cold Spring Harbor, Pointer Alice Boat Shoe from Urban Outfitters,Mara Hoffman Swim Braids, Swallow Tattoo at http://fyeahtattoos.com/search/anchor, Photo by Louise from http://universe–me.blogspot.com/, Risto Bimbiloski : Short Smock Moon Dress 

Mermaid braids, boat shoes, lakes, mermaid sea color dresses, and perfect ice cream cones remind me of summer and fishing and everything beautiful in the world that you no longer truly experience once your summer is filled with a 9-5 job. I miss being young and going to Poconos for the summers, having bbq’s and swimming in lakes everyday, getting lost in tiny forests and having adventures and learning about life. Once your in your mid-20′s, you’re learning about a very different type of life and it’s not as magical anymore. I’m trying to fill my summer weekends up with magical things, like boats and day trips, to feel like all the magic of summer isn’t lost, but it’s hard when you have responsibilities. Anyway, you don’t want to hear about responsibilities, so look at pretty things and pretend that all is not lost.

x

StyleCaster

While I’m digging the double denim in some of these photo’s, I don’t know if I’m down with the trend in general. I see a lot of bloggers really excited by it, but whenever I see double denim in real life, I’m almost never on-board. I think it’s a hard look to pull off without looking like you just stepped out of the 90′s in a bad way. I wouldn’t go as far as to knock it altogether, I think there are times when it looks good and can be pulled off. I also really dig denim dresses but I guess that’s not entirely double denim. It’s more like one solid piece of denim. Either way, as I love fashion editorials, I really commend StyleCaster for jumping into this head on and listening to their readers. I have to admit that I’m not a frequent visitor of StyleCaster, but maybe now I will be.

No.

Camilla Skovgaard

vs

Jeffrey Campbell

This might be old news, but I just noticed these.

I’m usually down with Jeffrey Campbell, but this is just a little too blatant.

I have always been a fan of Courtney Love; clean Courtney, cracked out Courtney, crazy Courtney. I had the privilege of seeing Hole perform on April 28 at Terminal 5 and it was amazeballs (I was also recently alerted to the fact that I use amazeballs in my everyday vernacular and after much thought and inner contemplation, I realized I’m okay with that. And with my friends ridiculing me. Whatevs guys, I’m a fourteen year old at heart).

Anyway, the show was brilliant. Aside from the band (also, I mean, is it really Hole? No original members except Court…but really, she’s the fuckin heart of it so does it matter?) So, yes, aside from them rushing the set, and there really being no Courtney Love antics, it was a really fantastic show. She sang some old stuff, spoke coherently, and showed up. Basically, that’s what I was looking for.

Anyway, let’s talk some Hole fashion! I bought a great Hole Cardigan, check check check it out:

At work, craptastic phone pic

Up close and gold.

I also bought a Hole tee. I’m usually too drunk and tired by the end of a concert to buy anything, but this time my friends and I made it a point to stick around and get some merch. Definitely a good choice, that cardigan is making my life. I love the weird looks I get at work when my coworkers notice my cardigan and ask why I’m rocking Hole. Ummm, because why the hell wouldn’t I rock Hole? Wouldn’t you?

I had another post scheduled to go out today, but that has to wait now. I don’t like to comment on celebrity deaths, but this one punched me in the stomach. Chatting it up on gchat, looking at gilt, everything seemed fine and then one of my best friends said, “Did you hear about Alexander Mcqueen?” No, I hadn’t, but I could feel something bad was coming next and the feeling in the pit of my stomach was growing. And then he said it, and I felt like the wind was knocked out of me.

I did not know Mr. Mcqueen personally, and many think it is silly to feel such grief for someone you never met, but this intense pain is real. Mcqueen was an icon, a legend, a thought provoking and mind numbingly good designer. He was interesting, brilliant and pushed limits. He has been doing some of the most unique things in Fashion for a very long time, beyond anything anyone else can imagine to think up. I follow him on twitter and he seemed so excited for the upcoming shows (his twitter seems to be gone now), excited for what he was doing.

The story is only just emerging, but it seems unbelievably tragic already. His mother died on February 2nd, and it would seem that this must have played a large part in his suicide (what they are calling it at the moment).  Fashion has lost an important piece of its puzzle today.
For more information:

New York Magazine

New York Times

BBC World News

Alexander Mcqueen Website

*Included again! Hooray! Check out these other darling fashion bloggers.

A Touch of Frivolity

Edited by Retro Chick

It’s been a long time since pay day and this week’s Links à la Mode brings a touch of much needed frivolity as we crawl into the second month of a new decade. Idiosyncratic Style takes Scooby Doo’s Velma as her style inspiration, Dirty Hems is inspired by dolls houses and Ode to Awe shows off her leopard print nails. Want something for nothing? A few Goody Gumdrops has an Aspinall of London bag to giveaway and Retro Chick (that’s me!) has 2 Valentine goodie bags to giveaway worth over £100 each. We’ve also got some great designer interviews and some practical advice.

On a more sober note there’s some timely tips from Sway, Sway, Sway! on how you can continue to donate to Haiti without getting scammed, Shoe Daydreams discusses Tanya Golds “Why I hate Fashion” article and Ventures of Jenn shares her opinions on the body image debate.

Bring on February!

Links à la Mode: January 28th

• 39th and broadway – 5 Questions To Ask Before Beginning a Career in Fashion
• A Few Goody GumDrops – A Few Goody Gumdrops and Aspinal of London are Giving away an ever-so chic and sophisticated beige patterned skin clutch!
• Analogue Chic – Looking good while doing stuff – braving the weather and the commute with a sense of style.
• Bonne Vie – Invest in Quality Denim; featuring How-To Tips from Denim Debutante
• Cafe Fashionista – Style Secrets: Cowboy Boots Made Classy
• Cindy Whitehead – The Modern Snow Bunny
• Denim Debutante – Aeropostale Gives Back with Teens for Jeans Campaign
• dirty hems. – In the Dollhouse – Miniature inspiration and a teeny resulting DIY
• Dramatis Personae – a feature & interview with the designer behind i am dorkas
• Fasshonaburu – I challenge myself to follow my own dress code regulations in order to wow up my day to day ensembles.
• fête à fête – Clarins debuts first certified organic beauty soap
• Idiosyncratic Style – Inspired by the sartorially underrated Velma Dinkley.
• Independent Fashion Bloggers – IFB Presents : Evolving Influence Conference NYFW 2010
• kaKofonie Of si(gh)lenS – Interview with Janeane Marie Ceccanti
• Ode to Awe – I review Minx Nails, plus my glamourous Russian Garnet cocktail ring
• Oranges and Apples – Vintage teenage hair inspiration
• Retro Chick – Valentines Day is on it’s way and Retro Chick has 2 goodie bags worth over £100 each to give away to help you celebrate!
• Shoe Daydreams – Fashion Influences (?)
• Style Eyes Fashion Blog – I have avoided eco and ethical fashion in the past because of the price but I have just discovered it is affordable and stylish.
• Style Symmetry – How to Choose Items at a Clothing Swap Party
• Sway Sway Away! – A passionate plea from a member of the global community to her fashionable brothers and sister: help Haiti!
• THE COVETED – Suzy Menkes, Facehunter, LeMads & The Coveted talk about fashion blogs
• ventures of jenn – on body issues

*Quite excited to be picked to be part of the weekly link round up by IFB. Check out some of these amazing fellow bloggers and the accompanying article:

Edited by Fashion Pulse Daily

This week, some of us looked back at icons of the past, such as // Fade to #c5c5c5‘s Marchesa Luisa Casati, Fabulous Finds Gal ‘s Horst photography post, and Cafe Fashionista‘s take on Diana Vreeland’s famous quotes, while others looked at how far we’ve come, such as The Curvy Fashionista‘s plus size fashion observations and A Dress & A Bike ‘s thoughts on what it means to be sexy. Each post brought a unique angle to the subject at hand, and raised important topics of self-expression, style, adaptation, trends, individuality, and acceptance. It’s fascinating to examine our own fashion-related introspection, and think about how our inner selves, thoughts and feelings, are reflected through the clothing choices we make, the pairing of certain looks, and of course our writing and blogs.

As expected, there was a fabulous round-up of links in the forum as well, all worthy of your eyeballs!

Links à la Mode: January 14th

• // Fade to #c5c5c5 – Marchesa Luisa Casati inspire artists, designers and authors till this day, more than 50 years after her death
• A Dress & A Bike – Discussion of the trends of ‘sexy’
• Alice in Stilettos – Runway Review: The Colors for Spring!
• Bonnie Vie – Discussing retail hell and how both customers and sales associates can contribute to better shopping experiences for everyone.
• Cafe Fashionista – Why Don’t You…? In the spirit of Diana Vreeland; a post featuring luxurious things one can do to make themselves feel fabulous!
• ’cause I’d rather waste my life pretending – Bites sized interview with Stephanie J, Editor In Chief of N.E.E.T Magazine
• Cool Mama Style - Is there an ideal pair of panties?
• Dedicated- Gets downright nosey with Nadia Izruna of the gorgeous & girly indie label Nadinoo
• Denim Debutante – teaches you about discrepancies in denim sizing
• Dramatis Personae – How to Custom Order Goods from Your Indie Friends
• Fabulous Finds Gal - Horst photography is a study in elegance, style and rarefied glamour that spanned 60 years
• Fashion Pulse Daily - Finds the Habillees series on the Sundance Channel to be the perfect elixir for another hectic fashion week soon approaching!
• Fasshionaburu – Reviews an indie label from Australia she discovered called Evil Twin
• Independent Fashion Bloggers- How to cover fashion week….when you’re not there.
• Le Quaintrelle - A collection of Hermes-inspired outfits from my own closet.
• M.I.S.S. – She’s Crafty – Safety Pin Epaulets & Fringe Lapel Pin
• odetoawe - Love for the movie Cry-Baby, and how to get Traci Lords’ rockabilly look
• Rags to Reverie - Fantastic plastic to slip on your fingers
• Skinny Buddha - Sending out some love to the artists creating handmade items
• Style Symmetry - Interview with Audi of Fashion For Nerds
• The Coveted – Snow boots? Winter comfort or style?
• The Curvy Fashionista - Plus size fashion has picked up major steam, inspiring both yeas and nays for the latest in V magazine- stating it just a trend- or is it?