Christian Siriano for Payless

Last year I wrote about Patricia Field, Abaete and a few others' lines for Payless Shoes and now images from Christian Siriano's line have leaked. Marie Claire twittered its interview with the designer. While the other designer lines for Payless have been successful, they haven't received the press like Siriano. And honestly, this is the first we're hearing of designers branching out for less since Target's GO International collection (I realize we still hear about GO all the time, hopefully Payless can do the same thing). Shoes can be such an expensive addiction, but with brands like Payless coming out with designer lines that only seem to be getting bigger and bigger, everyone can have looks that have come, literally off the runway for a $25-$45 price point. Like this one:

When I'm rich and famous

My first choice: Marc New York, $560

I will have a leather bomber jacket. In fact it's going on my Christmas wish (heavy emphasis on wish) list. I want one that's a little big - big enough to feel like it's a guy's jacket - but still fits me right. It should have an diagonal zip (some of the pictured jackets don't have a diagonal zipper, but they're still enviable!) and either lapels or a straight collar. Some extra zipper embellishments is a must, as well are multiple pockets. Black is the preferred color, but I am not opposed to going for something a really inventive like electric blue or fuchsia.

My inspiration

Alexander McQueen, $4995

Levi's, $298

Bebe, $129

What do I have in common with Johanna Cox?

I must say, ever since November (yes, eight months ago November) when I watched Johanna win Stylista and a position as junior editor at Elle magazine, I've been waiting for what turned out to be today. The day I could read something she wrote for the magazine - as opposed to the many things she writes for the Elle News Blog, which I do enjoy reading.

The day came, I read and reflected. From a journalism POV I'm really impressed, it's certainly the kind of article I would expect Elle to publish - and I mean that in a very good way. It's intriguing, thought-provoking and enjoyable. It's got the right personal-anecdote-to-research-and-expert-information ratio to be an article for the zine. And in fact the only complaint I have, which is hardly a complaint at all, is that it's a tad shorter than most features and articles that Elle publishes (but not dreadfully boring and rambling-y as another another mag's articles).

But back to thought-provoking. Johanna writes about the repercussions of chopping her hair off - a decision I am all too familiar with. A year and a half ago I decided to chop my hair off, my hair was longer than Johanna's, but I did not go quite as short (pictures below). I did this during the winter break of my freshman year at Baylor. In retrospect not the best time for me to make such a decision. Like Johanna says, a pixie cut in her case or mid-length bob as in my case, is not the preference many people have in regards to what a woman's hair length should be. When I chopped it off I was about to go through sorority recruitment, a ritual - unfortunately - predominantly based on one's looks, followed (however closely, or not) by conversations. The last time all of the sororities had seen me was the previous October when I had lovely, long locks. What they saw in January was quite the opposite. Suffice it to say, a large majority of the houses "released" me. Luckily my favorite sorority kept me (also, I should say my sorority has a high number of short-haired girls) and I love it to this day. And I love my hair, too.

I have since made another decision - this one erring on the side of caution - to let my hair grow out to a length more to my liking. I took a risk and endured a love/hate relationship, the result of which taught me a little bit more about myself. And nothing pairs better with the perfect outfit than a knowledge of oneself and the ability to listen to it.

September 2007 (pre-operation chop-it-all-off)
January 2008 (post-operation chop-it-all-off)

May/June 2009 (now-ish, give 1.5 inches)

So what do I have in common with Johanna Cox? Apart from being completely enveloped by world of fashion, we made a decision that may have stung at first, but led to finding a really good fit. She found a guy who accepts her and her short hair and I found my sorority. Hair can be chopped off and can grow back, but the relationships we make in spite of our hair last far longer.

I promise I won't be quite as cheeky in my next post.

Model as Muse: Did Joe Zee give a fresh twist to this piece of non-news?

My August Elle finally arrived over the weekend. I was so excited that I probably would have hugged the mailman had he been there. Explanation: I finished reading and admiring the July issues of all my mags so long ago (they only last so long when I read them on the stationary bike for 30 minutes every other day, and that's not even factoring in leisure reading) that I've made a significant dent in my novel du jour.

Anyway, I'm the kind of OCD that has to read things in order, front-to-back, left-to-right. That's just the way it goes (everything from the the Sunday funnies to my Elle subscription to, well, everything else). I flipped through the ads, making mental notes as to which ones I'd go back to later, admired the masthead, table of contents and all the other beginning-of-the-magazine offerings when I got to Elle's Style A to Zee. Ahh, the tip of the iceberg. Reading a copy of Elle is practically a religious experience for me. I got comfortable and began to absorb some of the best fashion journalism magazines have to offer.

For August Joe Zee chose to write about models as designer muses. Instead of having his article read like every other model-as-muse piece out there, he found a really appealing angle. I found myself looking at the polaroids alongside his story for the better part of 45 minutes. I don't want to ruin the article for anyone yet to crack their copy; all I can say is don't let the first paragraph let you stop reading, he has a point. It's fresh and exciting, like a 'Street Chic' update on the Elle News Blog crossed with a go-see.

Here are a few models who double as muses. Better yet, they're wearing a design by the designer they inspire!

Chanel Iman (Phillip Lim)
Lily Donaldson (Alber Elbaz)
Coco Rocha (Jean Paul Gautier)

I dress for myself, and for other women

Yesterday a New York Times article (how often do my posts start out with those six words?) about the new Marni shop was trying to categorize - if that's even possible - the type of fashions one can find at Marni and went off on a tangent about the varying influences upon the way a woman dresses. Cintra said that when dressing to be appreciated by a man women try to create "a silhouette resembling Jessica Rabbit." Harsh, but mostly true. Cintra went on further to say that when dressing for other women, women will dress in a more "well-made, polished and flattering looks with less overt chicka-wah-wah" way. At that point, a mere two graphs into the article, I got lost in my thoughts trying to answer that question, "Who do you dress for?" and still feel good about myself.

So I did a little digging - or should I call it soul searching? - either way I stumbled upon a few interesting anwers to this question. And it turns out I'm not the only one wondering about this. In fact WWD asked this exact question to men and women in the fashion arena trying to find an answer. The fashion daily compiled a list of answers and published it on Dec. 15, 2008. There was no official consensus. Anne Hathaway thinks “most women dress for their most fashionable friend.” And she's not alone, a handful of the interviewees thought that women dressed for other women. A few said that women dress for men -isn't that a tiring thought (heels and push-up bras need to rest, too) ? And there were a few optimists saying women dress for themselves. Photographer Nigel Barker is of this particular thought. Here's what he said: “most women dress for themselves. Most men don’t realize what’s going on half the time. If their friend at work wears the same thing every day, they wouldn’t notice. It’s not in the gene pool.” Well put!

Nigel's remark is a perfect segue to my next point, which is that women need to realize that men usually don't notice the outfit, so that factor - and answer - should really not matter at all. Amen! The only men I would ever want to impress with my outfits are my gay friends (I have my priorities totally straight, right?) because they'll tell you if something is not flying.

Next, if women dress for women - let's say a boss or someone you want to look good for - that's a better reality. Especially in a professional setting dressing to impress someone has been an accepted norm of society. At least, it certainly seems that way. I'll be honest, when I go to my internship I want to look fashionably put together and ready to work, and I totally love it when I get compliments on my shoes or blouse. This form of dressing for other women seems healthy. But sometimes it seems like a competition - who can dress the best? - and that is not quite as healthy. And I'm not 100% for the 'women should dress for themselves' camp, only because dressing for myself turns into dressing for my mood and if I lived by that mantra, well, I might not end up going into work/my internship looking the way I want to. I think it is healthiest for women to dress first for themselves and second for other women. It's a healthy balance that keeps a woman both happy and on her toes. Happy to be doing something selfish, but careful to always be thinking fashionably.

You don't need to raid your boyfriend's closet anymore

Cold at the restaurant in your sleeveless or strapless LBD? Maybe you used to slip his blazer or sports jacket over your cold shoulders, but not anymore. Why? Because you have your own and it's better tailored to be just over-sized enough. And it's all yours. Plus you can buy the slouchy, super comfy boyfriend jeans, too. That's right, menswear as womenswear is back (but if you ask me, it never went anywhere - I love it that much!). In fact, it was all over the resort 2010 collections.

Giorgio Armani look 9
Chloe look 1
Marni look 36
Viktor & Rolf look 13

Natasha Poly, dressed to the nines

Not only did this Rusky just celebrate a birthday yesterday, but the face of Gucci was caught wearing the most attractive and flattering jumpsuit known to fashion at the Paris parties for Ralph Lauren and Valentino last week. Or maybe it's too good to be true and that belt is hiding a waistband and shirt tucked in, but I doubt it. The outfit is hot; I'm in love with the whole look.

When I'm rich and famous

I'll have a David Yurman blue topaz petite albion necklace. It's understated elegance. It's timeless. It reminds me of the heart of the ocean necklace that Kate Winslet posed naked with for Leo DiCaprio in Titanic, but less cheeky-looking. Plus it's David Yurman. The jeweler knows how to make high-end jewelry that everyone wants and that can translate into so many different looks. Seriously, flashing in front my eyes right now are all the outfits this necklace completes. So this is love.

Just another reason to love Emma Watson

The Harry Potter kids are making the rounds on all the talk shows this week, with the Today show, Reigs and Kelly, and David Letterman - just to name a few. And of the three lead actors, I must say, Emma Watson is doing swimmingly. Not only is she the cover (again) for Teen Vogue, but rocked some sick shoes on the Today show plaza and kept her cool with David Letterman.

While under David Letterman's line of fire, Emma was shown this image and asked to explain herself.... to which she said this was simply a wardrobe malfunction and then paused another moment before smartly adding that at least she was wearing underwear. Well done, this 19-year old Brit knows how to handle a sticky situation by not making it stickier or embarrassing herself further. She's smart, quick on her feet and stylish to boot! I'm pretty sure wit and tact like that are worth more than any of the Chanel frocks she's so fond of.

E! News goes as far as to say Emma "schooled other starlets" in similar situations (referring to the wardrobe mishap).

Twitter and Joe Zee

Elle magazine and Joe Zee get an A+ in my book for they way they utilize twitter. Let's talk Elle first. Like most news sources, Elle simply posts whenever a new article/blogpost goes up on its Elle News Blog, which is no different than what Fashionista, The New York Times and others do with Twitter. But Joe Zee's twitter brings almost 1000 fellow tweeters (up from 215 followers just yesterday or the day before) much closer to the Paris coutoure shows. And close is close, Joe is letting his followers know about everything from the seating (couches at Chanel) to the flowers Karl Lagerfeld sent his way. Oh yeah, he shows pics from the shows too, also with his own commentary.

Ugh! Wished Gucci made drip-dry wool suits. Now headed to Givenchy show in a grey turned polka-dotted, rain-splattered one. - about 23 hours ago

Killer boots at Givenchy! Lace-up knee-highs with an open toe! Chic but please don't wear them to the airport with me. - about 22 hours ago

Dear Karl: I apologize in advance but when your show starts in 2 hours, my head will be in Paris but my heart will be with the King of Pop. - about 21 hours ago

http://twitpic.com/9m77k - Arrived to beautiful white room for Chanel with plush sofas for seats. This comfortable, I may never leave. - about 19 hours ago

http://twitpic.com/9ocz8 - At Plaza Athenee where Versace is what couture should be. An elegant presentation of 13 exquisite dresses. - about 3 hours ago

Overheard at JPG: inspiration will be Old Hollywood. Seating is divided into old movie studios. I'm in RKO Pictures. - about 1 hour ago

Stifling hot in here. JPG's girls are handing out fattening ice cream bars covered in chocolate! At a couture show! Oh the sweet irony! - about 1 hour ago

Yup, Old Hollywood at JPG. Tons of siren gowns, killer trenches, luscious furs, sharp suits and even a Barbarella bodysuit or two. - 18 minutes ago

Chanel Iman, Paris and Dior - Oh my!

The couture shows have begun in Paris and my favorite tweeting model is giving the world updates, and pics. Keep reading to see what she has said so far and see some of the images.

Spending the whole day shopping in Paris !!! Its just so much to choose from!!! I WANT EVERYTHING - 10:03 am, July 3

In Paris exclusively for Christian Dior! But shhh don't say a word! THE SHOW MUST GO ON!! Crossing my fingers the corset doesn't strangle me - 6:48 pm, July 5

Tighting up my corset as we speak aaaaahhhh !!! RELEASE ME - about 12 hours ago

I love how vintage Dior took things with his couture line this year! It's very Jackie O meets the 1940s. The hats! The jackets! The mary janes and t-straps! I couldn't have dreamt a better collection if I tried. If someone puts a video of this show online somewhere, please comment and post it here - I will love you!

Happy Birthday, America!

To ring in the 233rd year of this great nation I scoured the internet for the most patriotic and fashionable accessory for the Fourth. After reading an article in Elle about red lipstick, it seems like nothing else is more patriotic and fashionable for the Fourth than a pair of red lips.

MAC Viva Glam Lipstick

NARS Lipstain Gloss
Laura Mericer Lip Velvet
Shiseido 'Perfect Rouge' Lipstick