Best dressed? Yes!

The weekly Vogue Ten Best Dressed list came out today for the week of June 8 (which really means last week, but whatever). And model Alek Wok ranked no. 2 for this ensemble:

She looks fab. Obviously not trying too hard, not taking herself too seriously. Rocking her Yeojin Bae. Fantastic summer look. Loves it.

If you're like me...

Then all you wear everyday is chapstick. In fact I have a tube of cherry chapstick in every singe one of my purses so I'm never without it. Well sometimes when I need to dress up, I need a little more than chapstick so I have some color. I tried the Cover Girl lipstains that Drew Barrymore wears in the ads and they didn't measure up. After a few other varied attempts I remember something I got in a Clinique bonus buy a few years back. So I promptly went online to see which department store Clinique counter would get me the best bonus buy. A few hours later I found myself at Nordstrom trying to find something else to add up to $25 so I could get my Trina Turk for Clinique bonus buy bag.

Back to the reason for the purchase - Clinique has an almost lipstick that is basically an ultra moisturizing tinted chapstick. The color is black honey. It sounds dark, but it goes on with a touch of color without being overpowering. Plenty of reviews bash the color saying it's too dark, but I find that it works great in the winter when my skin is pale, in the summer when my skin is tan and every other time in between.

Almost Lipstick, Black Honey ($14)

When I'm rich and famous

Executive decision: I decided that Friday's posts will actually be "when I'm rich and famous" posts.

Kye Wrap Dress in Spice Flower Pink ($325)

So, when I'm rich and famous . . . I'll have a closet full of DVF dresses. The prints are always perfect, the silk jersey (of the wrap dresses) is always divine and the cut is always flawless. No one, and I really mean no one, looks bad in a wrap dress - it's my favorite law of physics. DVF dresses are perfect for work, play, luncheons, afternoon tea; read: they work anytime, anywhere. Just like the Louboutin simple pump I posted about a week or so ago, DVF dresses are such a staple. It's just wrong to let your closet go on without one. I'm crossing my fingers that Gilt Groupe chooses DVF as one of its next sales - I don't know how much longer I can go without one!

Sometimes a story doesn't need to be full of jokes to be funny

I thought last summer working at BlackBook I had come across some of the most pointed and witty writing there was to be consumed. Au contraire. Read the following article on the New York Times Fashion and Style page "Choose a Shoe, Any Shoe, and Hold On."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/fashion/04CRITIC.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=fashion

Cintra Wilson covers the Barneys New York shoe sale with a wit and candor that is often hard to find. She turns a shoe floor into a war zone. I'm pretty sure an armed forces vet would rather be back in the field than caught in the middle of the scene Wilson describes. But alas, not all men could be so lucky. Here is an excerpt of the article about husband who should have just stayed home:

"Husbands were few. Most know better than to get caught in this frenzy. I did catch one luckless wretch, wholly abandoned, sitting in the middle of a blast zone of discards. In a daze, he fingered a strappy orange Givenchy platform lying next to him, tipped it over to squint at the price, then shook his head in existential bewilderment, as if this, finally, was the cracking point of his spirit."

Mary-Kate v. Ashley

At the LA premiere of Hangover Ashley Olsen accessorized with a smile. And that's it. I'm all for the "less is more" approach to styling, but with so many fun bags, sunglasses and jewelry this season, to leave her stylist without anything is practically a felony. Her slip dress seems a little blah, so much so that her shoes - as fab as they are - can't save it.


Or maybe sis Mary-Kate took both of their accessories. With sunglasses, a bag, rings, a bracelet and a blazer MK might be over styled, but really I think Ashley could learn a thing or two from her other half. I need her to move her hand and give a peek at her dress. Usually I'm not a fan of MK's style, in fact I usually side with Ashley when it comes to wardrobe, but MK pulled it out. She didn't look grunge, her hair looks healthy and she looks like she belongs in Europe, not LA. It's just eclectic enough.

Of Kors it's summer!

When you hear the names Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Michael Kors, classic Americana comes to mind. The spring/summer 2009 RTW collection from Michael Kors screams classic Americana with it's palette of primary colors and nautical lines (there's a reason all of his ad campaigns are of a smoltering couple on a yacht in swimwear and suits). Mr. Kors wants us to be patriotic this summer, to be proud Americans even through this time of economic turmoil. I, for one, am in love with his throwback to the fifities with playful polka dots and picnic perfect dresses. The swimsuits are totally pin-up, but not too sexy, it's clear that Mr. Kors expects his clients to vacation in the Hamptons this summer, because really, there's no better place to wear his clothes.

Look 6
Look 28
Look 40
Look 58
Look 65

Look 68

For less than $45 at Target you can get a dress that captures this aesthetic. It's nautical, patriotic and chic all at the same time.
Other ways to get achieve this trend for the summer are to wear a white button up shirt and pair it with a scarf, pull the shirtdresses to the front of your closet and remember what your kindergarten teacher taught you: your primary colors.

Craving something vintage

Is it just me or are the alien-faced models getting old? I don't mean old age-wise, but old as in out-dated. With models gracing the covers of such mags as Vogue and Teen Vogue I'm relieved to see familiar-looking faces, like this one.

Karlie Kloss looks like your best friend's little sister, but what's better is that she's not pigeon-holed into one identity. She morphs into whatever the clothes and makeup she's put in and rocks it. And unlike top model Kate Moss, who always seems to have the same frown or pissed-off look, Karlie smiles. That just makes her seem more poised.

I'm glad that news stories about the weight of models keeps surfacing. Yeah, Karlie's thin, it's part of her profession, but she is thin without looking like walking death. She has a vivaciousness about her that brings life to her face whether she's on the runway or the pages of Vogue. In fact, in the May issue of Vogue she was in the model round table and while she was pictured at the center of the table she jumps off the page and holds the readers' attention. When I saw that picture of her amongst six other arguably better and certainly more experienced models like Iman and Paulina Porizkova I felt like I was sitting across from her. That picture wasn't all about her at all, but she dominated.

She has the face and charm of an old friend, but more than that she has this aura about her that screams vintage model. She reminds me of Marisa Berenson and Jean Patchett. And I like it.