Lena Horne: Style & Grace

I have always admired Lena Horne from generations away, but I never truly took an interest in her until recently (I’m more Grace Kelly obsessed than anything). It’s a shame that we choose to acknowledge magnitude’s of greatness, such as Ms. Horne, after they’re gone. But in honor of their legacy, their impact must be revisited. I have for you, the class, style and undeniable grace of Lena Horne:

Even as I check her record, and go through her style catalog, it was just classic! Every piece she wore in her prime are pieces I would search the ends of the world for, hoping they have my size. Nothing is outdated, nothing has faded, nothing makes you say “ugh, they wore that back then?” Oh how I would love to be a grand child anticipating the passing down of garments that no longer fit or tickles her fancy.

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Tags: Lena Horne

R.I.P. Alexander McQueen

I logged on Twitter today and saw that “R.I.P. Alexander” was trending. Not knowing who this “Alexander” was, I kept it moving. I then saw Kimora Lee Simmons tweet out “We all lost a visionary today. RIP Alexander McQueen, you will be missed!! Love & Light, KLS”. Ummm.. WHAT?!

Anyone who frequents this blog knows how much I love & J’adore Alexander McQueen. For his creativity, for his rebellion, his fearlessness, his ability to transcend effortlessly through collections, be different and still maintain his position at the top of the fashion food chain. His outlandish flamboyance and his audacity to go against the very fiber of fashion, never becoming a slave to an industry so intensely avant-garde but political at the same time.

He was found in his London home earlier today. His death was an “apparent suicide”. (Funny how we can seem to have it all, but still feel like something’s missing to the point of personal extinction) I will not comment further on his cause of death. Here’s to McQueen and his 10 inch stiletto’s! *cheers*Your creativity will TRULY, TRULY be missed.

Tags: Alexander McQueen

eLuxury Shut Down??

As my best friend would say, “you lie like rug!” (get it? rugs lie… on the floor… moving on…)

When I first started this blog, I was on eLuxury every day! It was my go to spot for high-end clothing to put in my posts, until I discovered Net-A-Porter, which made anything else high-end irrelevant, and ASOS- which I would scour for good deals and cheaper alternatives. While on my search for a handbag that came at least close to the one Janet Jackson wore to the Armani show, I discovered it had been replaced.

So I thought, “this has to be a mistake, maybe there are two eLuxury’s now”. The logo was different, the slogan was different, matter of fact this set up was more like an editorial blog than an e-commerce shopping site. So I’m clicking around, trying to make it make sense, until I get redirected to this page, that had the following message:

After ten years as the premiere online fashion retailer, eLuxury has closed down it’s e-commerce operation and will soon launch a new and exciting editorial destination. We want to thank all our loyal customers for shopping with us over the years and we invite you to shop with our prestigious LVMH partners: Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Emilio Pucci and Sephora.

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Tags: eLuxury, Online Shopping

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, King Of Pop (and Fashion)

At the devastating, sudden, and heart-breaking news of Michael Jackson’s death (I still can’t believe it!!), many people are remembering him for the  many things he have done, and contributed to pop culture and the world at large, through out his 50 years of life. I am a “youngin’”, so while I wasn’t around to experience and be apart of his BEST moments, I did become a HUGE fan of his! I mean HUGE. Any one who knows me, knows that I am a huge fan of Micheal Jackson, and get very offended when people say anything bad about him. What I remember most about him, is him bringing me through all the difficult times, the times when I felt alone, defeated and like I couldn’t do it, with “You Are Not Alone”. But besides remembering his musical influence on young stars like Chris Brown, Usher, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, Ciara and so on, we can’t forget his influence on the fashion world. (Okay, I had to incorporate fashion into this!) Here are his greatest fashion moments:

This silver & gold suit, with the armor on his arms & legs has been a huge influence on how performers dress to hit the stage today. After seeing Michael live, there was no way that tank tops & slacks would ever cut it on the stage again! This look has been relived through people like Beyonce, when she performed at the 2007 BET Awards:

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Tags: Michael Jackson

Camila Alves Is In Hot Water

I guess the recession doesn’t work in everybody’s favor:

Model, mommy and designer (and for those who know her best as Matthew McConaughey’s girlfriend), Camila Alves is in hot water with LA hot shopping spot, Kitson. The Brazilian mommy’s high end handbag line, Muxo, has flopped at the popular store and gone into the discount heap alongside the Lauren Conrad Collection and Victoria Beckham’s dVb Denim range.

Not only is the line flopping, she owes the boutique a whopping $25,000. How you ask? The boutique spent $50,000 on the handbags, which came all the way from Brazil, but only managed to sell half. The poor (or no) sales are due to lack of promotion, even at 60 percent off (with a free DVD of McConaughey’s “Surfer Dude” for every purchase) Muxo still isn’t moving:

“When Camila launched Muxo in August last year she told us she was ready for hard work and was going to do all she could to promote the line,” said a Kitson rep. “But she hasn’t even been into the store once since and we can’t even get in contact with her.”

Another reason could also be the price points:

“The price point is ridiculous; she can’t compete with Gucci and Louis Vuitton if she’s not going to even promote it. Camila also promised to build a Muxo diaper bag but never delivered,”

Although Kitson is having a little trouble getting the line out, Alves’ camp claims the bags are selling like hot cakes. But they’re not the only ones. According to Bettina Duncan, owner of Bettina Duncan at Fred Segal which also stocks the line, Muxo is selling up a storm:

“Our clients are tired of the ubiquitous big brand names. They are looking for the unusual, stylish, individual designers that offer something really unique. All in all, the bags have been an immediate hit in a very tough market,”

Although these claims could be true, a Kitson rep spat back saying:

“Why buy at Bettina when you can buy the same bag at Kitson for 60 percent off? How many bags have they really sold, in this economy no one wants to be seen showing off a luxury handbag, an inside source was at the recent Muxo trunk show at Fred Segal and no one bought a bag.”

Ouch. They do have a point though. You can check out the official site for Muxo here.

Tags: Camila Alves

Supermodel Suicide

Russian Supermodel,Ruslana Korshunova who once graced the cover of Russian Vogue, jumped 9 stories to her death yesterday (Saturday) in an apparent suicide. She fell on Water St. in the Financial District around 2:30 pm. “There’s no way she would have killed herself,” said her crying friend, Kira Titevena. “She loved life so much.”

Her parents have not yet been notified. I wish the best for her and her family.

Tags: Ruslana Korshunova

Oh No!

Okay, there’s that stylist going around Hollywood peddling the same dress again. In the latest fashion crisis, Sarah Jessica Parker wore this Nina Ricci dress to her Sex and The City new York premiere, which was the biggest premiere for the movie and while her dress was fabulous, she wasn’t the first (nor did she wear it best but we’ll get to that later). This premiere was supposed to be a big one for her, if not her biggest. The movie is supposed to be the movie of the summer and it was a movie about none other then FASHION. So why is the main character subjected to this?

Lindsay Lohan and Lauren Santa Domingo both wore it first. Lindsay to a photo shoot and Lauren to the Costume Gala a couple weeks ago. Sarah Jessica was promised, by the designer Olivier Theyskens, that she would be the first to wear the dress but of course she lied.

FYI: Lindsay wore it best, she has the body to pull it off and fill it out and that hair and jacket just adds the oomph.

Tags: Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Jessica Parker

Yves Saint Laurent Dies

Not the brand the man. Yves Saint Laurent died in Paris, France earlier this evening after a long illness. He was 71.

He was “unquestionably the greatest designer” from the 1950s to 2000, Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT (New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology) tells USA Today. “Just as Chanel brought modernism into women’s fashion, you could say Yves Saint Laurent brought fashion up to a kind of contemporary life.”

“Most designers are incredibly lucky if they can contribute one thing to fashion,” Steele continues. “But he was like Picasso: He contributed to so many significant movements. It’s impossible to imagine contemporary fashion without this man.”

R.I.P. Yves Saint Laurent, contemporary fashion will never be the same again.

“For a long time now, I have believed that fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves.”  — Yves Saint Laurent