Win a $1000 Shopping Getaway to NYC and View InStyle in 3D!

Talk about interactive magazine experience… This month’s InStyle holiday issue has a few added features that you don’t usually find in print media. The special gift giving section is set up so you can participate in an interactive three-dimensional experience with the help of a webcam and internet. Click: InStyle Gifting in 3D to download the plug-in and immerse yourself into their most stylish...

Read more →

Designer Insider: At the Studio of Kooba's Abbe Held

I was invited to visit the design studio and showroom of Kooba and designer Abbe Held to take a peek at this season’s hottest handbags:The design room walls were draped in colors upon textures of leather swatches. Lauren, a member of the design team was applying antiqued studs by hand to a leather piece at her desk. Photos were not allowed as the concepts being worked on in this room were in the very...

Read more →

NY Fashion Week Wrap-Up: The Indies

There were plenty of publications, tv stations and blogs that provided explicit coverage of all the major shows during Fashion week. I attended many of them myself, and collected many hair products, designer totes and refreshing beverages in the process.I covered the bigger names of course, the ones with paparazzi stalking the front row (and blinding me in the process) the ones whose after-parties...

Read more →

NY Fashion Week: Tory Burch Spring 2010

Tory Burch, whose flats bearing the signature double ‘T’ logo made her brand one of the most coveted (comfortable) shoes of recent years, presented her first showing at NY Fashion Week Wednesday. Opting for a more intimate ‘party’ setting, she helmed the front of the stage, greeting guests. Models stood and posed together along the length of the runway. Her previous Bryant Park showing was...

Read more →

NY Fashion Week: Mulberry Spring 2010

Tuesday evening, “It” bag brand, Mulberry presented its Spring/Summer 2010 collection at the Soho House. Guests walked into a fantasy of candy apples, carousel horses and walls imprinted with the season’s signature “Crazy Horse” print. What followed were very pretty, feminine takes on a schoolgirl theme, with a decidedly grown up edge. Classic leather jackets and flirty skirts were interpreted...

Read more →

NY Fashion Week: BCBG Max Azria

You can always tell there is a warm front coming from the West Coast. California-based BCBG by Max Azria showed their Spring 2010 collection on the runway Thursday morning at Bryant Park. The show consisted of very pretty, flirty dresses in bright prints and bright colors reminiscent of the 1980’s. Shirring, ruffles and banded details added interest to body conscious (though mostly flattering!)...

Read more →

NY Fashion Week: Cynthia Rowley Spring 2010

The dramatic and palatial Gotham Hall was the setting for Cynthia Rowley’s Spring presentation Friday. The gilded soaring room was draped in muslin, giving it a vintage, forgotten museum quality. The show began with stagehands dramatically pulling down a drop cloth from the lighting rigs to drape the runway. Spooky, Tim Burton-esque music opened the show, and then transitioned into yearning...

Read more →

Fashion’s Night Out in NYC (and the UK, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, Brazil, Germany, etc.)

Did your Fashion Week show invitations get lost in the mail? No worries. All of the top designers and stores are having fabulous parties, designer and celeb appearances to give you the VIP treatment on Thursday night. Vogue magazine, the CFDA and the city of New York have collaborated to bring you, the stylish fashionista you are all sorts of spa treatments, goodies, champagne and hors d’oeuvres...

Read more →

Urban Zen and Industrial Feng Shui on the Highline

The Highline was originally built between 1929-1934 to lift food-laden trains off the streets to warehouses and factories in what was then the largest industrial district of Manhattan. Eventually phased out, (the last train ran in 1980), the elevated structure was abandoned, covered in graffiti and became a somewhat impromptu 'museum' of discarded beer bottles. (Volunteers found garbage and junk...

Read more →

Louis Vuitton Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing

Last night, the science-nerd in me loved being at Louis Vuitton’s party at the Rose Center at the American Museum of Natural History to meet heroes of my youth. CEO Daniel Lalonde introduced guests of honor Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell at the party celebrating the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing. National treasures in their own right, the two former astronauts, along with first American woman...

Read more →

Independent Handbag Design Awards

Last week, NYC was home to several major fashion awards. The CFDA of course, feted the mega-clothing labels like Marc Jacobs, Rodarte and Calvin Klein. These are the guys you already know and have been around forever . What about handbags and the truly unique, independent designer? Handbag Designer 101 held its annual awards this week as well. The chic, lively event was held at the classic New York...

Read more →

Gala Weddings Magazine - Designer Profile

Shameless self-promotion time: This summer's Gala Weddings magazine has included me in an article profiling emerging designers. I am on page 33, designated as the "Embellishment Artiste". I am absolutely honored to be included with so many talented people in this issue. As all creative know, it's a lot of hard work to do what we do. It's (really!) nice when someone notices the effort...Thank you...

Read more →

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival - Talent Only, No Costumed Geeks Allowed

This weekend, the 69th street Armory on the East Side of Manhattan was host to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival. The soaring old space was home to tables upon tables of the hottest up-and-comic illustrators, artists and independent publishers. Along side of all the fresh meat, were legends, and established artists on hand for seminars and signings. This was not the event for costumed...

Read more →

Culture, Cupcakes and Cocktails at the Chelsea Art Museum

Social networking site Yelp.com, together with the Chelsea Cultural Partnership threw a fabulous launch party at the Chelsea Art museum to kick off the Passport to Chelsea campaign.The "Passport to Chelsea" offered guests discounts and special offers to sample the culinary, artistic and athletic specialties all found in the neighborhood.The three-level museum housed several art and design exhibits...

Read more →

Louis Vuitton Cocktail Party to Preview Fall 2009

Yes, the weather is just warming up. However, I know that you like to be ahead of the game when it comes to luxury design. I had the privilege of previewing the Louis Vuitton collection for Fall 2009 for Purse Page Monday evening at an intimate cocktail party for invited bloggers.What is in store for you this September? The luxe went to glam for handbags. Jewel-toned metallic leathers, shimmery...

Read more →

Burlesque and Booze at Dr. Sketchy's

Q: So what does a former art-school party girl do during the daytime on weekends?A: Drink and draw dirty pictures at famed burlesque club Slipper Room on the Lower East Side at for Dr. Sketchy's.Illustrator Molly Crabapple and writer John Leavitt hosted a debauched anti-art school drawing session with costumed characters, fully stocked bar and morally disturbing contests. This particular session was...

Read more →

Ahoy! Nautica Shows Fall 2009 on the USS Intrepid

I absolutely love it when a brand puts the effort into presenting their collection in a fully realized theme. Nautica, eschewing the typical runways of fashion week decided to show the line during a cocktail reception on the newly re-opened Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.Setting up their models on tiered platforms, editors and buyers had the opportunity to see the clothes up close and in detail.Guests...

Read more →

Second Lives: Garbage to Gorgeous

Have you checked out the new location of the Museum of Art and Design yet? That's the one that took over the long-abandoned "Lollipop" building at Columbus Circle.Right now, they have the most gorgeous exhibit, Second Lives (through April 19). It features several floors of projects from artists and designers who have re-purposed discarded objects into beautiful new works. Many of them were functional,...

Read more →

NY Fashion Week: Barbie's 50th Anniversary Fashion Show

Pop culture and fashion icon Barbie celebrated her 50th anniversary on Valentine’s Day at Bryant Park. It was a glorious fashion show featuring the works of 52 designers who were inspired by Barbie.The show’s audience contained the usual fashion editors, industry vets. It was also attended by celebrities like Heidi Klum and Kellie Pickler as well as many young Barbie fans who were incredibly excited...

Read more →

Louis Vuitton Party Celebrating Stephen Sprouse

Hey! Let's pretend I am still 19 and still have the energy to party all night on the Lower East Side. Let's also pretend this rockin' concert by Debbie Harry is actually 1982, and not being sponsored by big luxury label Louis Vuitton. The grande dame herself was doing the same, acknowledging the change of times, " I don't think I have ever seen so much mink in this room..." We were all partying...

Read more →