NASCAR Designer Shoes

What do designer shoes have in common with cheap domestic beer, mullets and popular consumer brands like Budweiser, Kellogg's and FedEx? The Answer - Nothing at first. But when you combine all the elements typically associated with the one of the nations most popular sports, wrap them in leather and stack em up on a 3 inch heel, you've got NASCAR designer shoes.

To some, the recent joint venture between NASCAR and designer shoe manufacturer Genius Fashion is a dream come true; whereas to others it's a fashion nightmare in the making. In our opinion, if a woman wants to spend hundreds on a pair of cowboy boots accented with checkered flags, more power to her. After all, we have seen worse things on women's feet.

Nara Camicie

In Milan, besides Prada stores everywhere, on every other street there are also stores by this brand called "Nara Camicie" everywhere. Intrigued by the display, we went in and found a gem for dress shirts. They had them in every cutting and color, with chic variations that are just to die for. Turns out, this Italian brand has been specialising in dress shirts since 1984! My friend and I ended up each buying this one dress shirt (her's in black and mine in white) with a built in wrap-around thing, which is super cute. The only complain I have about it though, is that it wrinkles very easily. But I guess I can't expect too much since it IS relatively inexpensive for Milan standards. They don't have a picture of it available on their website (turns out they are available worldwide), so I can't show you guys. But here are a few pieces from their collection that I like:

This is what I like best about them: they transform the classic dress shirt into something more unique while still keeping the clean cut classic quality of a dress shirt.

Their take on frills is also refreshing, adding a soft feminine touch to the crisp shirts.

In addition to dress shirts, they also make more elaborate things that are quite pretty.

Although I must admit, some of their stuff are way over the top and borders on tacky. I guess, we'd just have to sift through all the sand to get the the gems!

New York Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup I

Eeee *Squeals*! Fashion Week has started again. I wasn't actually that excited until I started collecting photos for the blog. But now, I can't wait to see more shows. Ok ok, now onto the shows:

DKNY
I love that street chic feeling that DKNY never fails to give out.
First out is DKNY's casual uniform: sharp-coloured, layored shirts with loose pants.
I hate the tribal-looking dresses.
These two outfits are so perfect to go from day to night; cool casual, but also good for semi-formal.
I love the jacket on the left model -it's a casual, sporty jacket, yet it has the shape of a non-sporty, high-end jacket.

Luella
Luella's look is mainly composed of prints with preppy items, like blouses and sweaters. And of course, there are the seriously weird-looking shades. I don't usually like Luella, but I liked quite a lot of the outfits in this collection.
The black & white alphabet prints is one of Luella's main featured prints this season. I love that the prints are only on the collar on the jacket on the left -it's just enough to make the jacket unique but not tacky. The outfit on the right is another typical Luella look this season: a black & white printed T-shirt under a jacket with fitted black or white pants.
Another main print is this black & white flowery print. I like how these two outfits are preppy without being boring.
Luella always has cute cocktail dresses. I love how cool these two dresses look on the models.

Diane von Furstenberg
Honestly, I was quite disappointed with this collection of DVF. All the dresses and garments were well made, but I just can't see the theme of this collection. (The theme is supposedly All About Eve.) There was just way too many shapes, prints and colours. But there were some pretty items, just as long as you think of them seperately.
3.1 Phillip Lim
For a debut runway collection, this collection certainly has many loveable pieces. Lim used white for almost the whole collection.
Fashionable girls everywhere are sure to fall for the pretty, simple pieces.
Notice that even though both outfits are all white, the different materials make the outfits more 3-dimensional. The fits are also fantastic.
These two dresses are simple but not boring. Plus, it's great how it's not obvious which designer the dresses are by when you wear them.

New York Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup II

Marc Jacobs
Usually I'm not really into Marc Jacobs' collections because they were always a bit too mature for me, but I loved this one! This Marc Jacobs collection did not feel like a New York show because it was so artistic and casual couture-like, (whereas typical NY shows are quite clean-cut). Going through the runway photos felt like entering a fairytale world, where all the girls are fashionably dressed of course. White, metallics and other washed out colours, (such as grey and khaki) dominated the collection. Sigh, sooo lovely!
I love Lily Donaldson's outfit (right.) Even though there are two layers, the bottom white layer is so sheer it looks really light. I also really like the shoes in both pictures. They look so casually stylish and comfortable.
Just imagine wearing the dark blue dress on the left -it's a totally effortless outfit!
The office clothes, Jacobs style.
(Left) Bag dresses are emerging to be one of next season's trends. The flying fabric is not very practical in real life, but oh-so-cute. It looks like a pair of wings. (Right) Cool, casual layering in neautral colours.
I can't imagine wearing those hats in real life, but they're so adoreable!
Even the dresses are layered. I really love the colour palette of this collection.

Oscar de la Renta
Oscar's clothes continue to be perfect for the perfectly-dressed, (mostly American,) ladies. The collection had a lot of dresses, both casual and formal. The fit of these dresses are so fantastic. Many outfits in the collection are great for the 'vacation look' -perfect for the rich-and-fabulous' many holidays. Many of the dresses are also wearable both day and night, (excluding the super long dresses).

Proenza Schouler
Proenza Schouler's famous bra top was surprisingly, not featured many times. I'm only so so on this collection because the colour palette isn't my taste, but I do think the dark pieces in the photos above are quite cool (if you're into that kind of style.)

New York Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup III

Marc by Marc Jacobs
I can't believe I'm still excited to see new SS07 collections after seeing so many already, but I am -and that's mostly because Marc's clothes are just so loveable! I love how wearable this collection is, (but then again, the Marc collections are almost always wearable.) And like yesterday's Marc Jacobs collection, I love the colours. I'm so excited I can't stop gushing about the clothes. OK, moving on...

This first outfit got me worried the whole collection would look too mature and office-like, but thank goodness it wasn't. (Right) The shift dress continues into the next season.

You will notce that many of the clothes of this season seem very similar of the clothes from the last two collections. The puffy sleeves, the bags......
But the colour palette has actually changed a bit. The colour palette of this Marc collection is very similar to yesterday's Marc Jacobs collection: white, blobs of yellow and blue, and lots of shades of neautrals.
Dresses continue to be a big thing.
Belts were also featured quite often in this collection. I love how a belted cardigan (or any belted tops) pulls together an outfit so well. And I love the silverish purple dress on the right -it's sooo pretty!

Marchesa
This is one debut show we've all been waiting for. Ever since I saw Mischa Barton in a gorgeous long grey gown by Marchesa awhile ago, I can't stop oohing and ahhing everytime I see a celeb wearing Marchesa. And if you've seen photos of the two designers, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, then you'll notice that they are always fabulously dressed themselves too. These gowns are just too pretty:
Almost all the gowns in this collection had oh-so-romantic roses, and all the models glowed on the runway in Christian Louboutin pumps.
There were short dresses. I really like the dress on the right -it's so glam and sparkly.
And there were long dresses. It's stunning how the long fabrics move around the models and seem so light.

Narciso Rodriguez
Rodriguez's collection continues to be minimalistic and his signature cuts prominant.
At first glance, I thought this was such a fantastic simple outfit, but when I looked at the details, I was even more impressed.
The main cuts througout this collection. I love how he incorporates patent leather in his clothes.
*Sigh* Such lovely, stylishly clean-cut clothes. Wouldn't it be so nice to wear these clothes to work? (But not the long dresses of course.)

New York Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup IV

Its finally fashion week again! This is my first post on it this season, and wow I've forgotten how long it takes to post fashion week. Apologies for the very late post. So far I am loving what I am seeing- makes me really want to master that slouchy casual chic look!

Vera Wang
Another gorgeous collection from Vera Wang. Anyone else using so much organza on the runway would make their models look like a multi layered cake, but Vera just cleverly uses it to create simply stunning pieces.

I can definitely see some balletic influence in these two looks. She strikes a genius contrast by pairing sleek silk pants with the layered organza top. And isn't it amazing how fabulous and cute the model looks in that outfit on the right, which with one misstep could've easily just made her look bulky?

There's also a more slouchy casual atmosphere to her looks this season, with her more relaxed shapes and pairing of evening organza and silk materials with daytime jerseys (or whatever the material of the grey jacket on the right is).

I simply just LOVE LOVE LOVE the outfit on the left. The organza shirt with the gold bubbly skirt made casual by the long sleeved grey cardigan. Genius use of grey cardigans.

And of course, there were also lots of her signature dresses which were just beyond words.

Peter Som
At first glance I LOVED Peter Som's collection. It was neat, ladylike and soooo well put together one cannot help but fall in love.

The materials he used is so rich and elegant. Please can I have that dress?

The ribbon and the row of three button adds a litle bit of fun to elegantly sophisticated outfits.

He even does prints elegantly. But this is about as casual as he gets!

Because next comes his heavenly flowing dresses.

Unfortunately, as much as I love this blue, his designs does seem to lack variety as one can see from the last 4 dresses pictured.

Derek Lam
After hearing my girlfriends raving about him for a time, this season I decided to pay special attention to his collection- and wasn't disappointed at all. His collection was casual chic with loose comfortable but stylish pieces that is still feminine. He definitely achieved his goal of allowing 'women to feel natural in her gestures. '

The definition of casual chic. One can also detect a hint of masculinity here from the tux vest worn oh-so-casually.

Note that the black rounded collar with the row of buttons (also shown above in yellow outfit) was a prominent feature throughout the collection. It adds a bit of structure to the loose design. And the outfit the quirky prints on the outfit on the right is just so much fun.
These are my favourite looks on the runway. I especially LOVE these wide collared coats. It structure balances the rest of the outfit to perfection!!
These tulip dresses looks like so much fun.

This black dress is just classic and gorgeous, while the flowing navy blue dress with the braids is just divine!!!

Zac Posen
In a season where most have followed the loose, casual chic look, it is somewhat comforting to see the more traditional sleek, form-fitting sophisticated look on Posen's runway. But even though its more traditional in a sense, it is most definitely not boring!

The sophisticated office chic look- it is simple yet interesting.

And for the night, there is this sleek silky jacket with the flared sleeves and this effortlessly cool and simple silk dress (I want one!).

Something familiar yet different, his reinterpretation of the trench is just genius. And the tulip skirt is darling! I'm also loving the silk tux jacket with the rich navy collar and sleeves. It adds instant glam to any outfit!

It is definitely refreshing to see such vibrant colors on the runway. The gorgeous rich emerald gown and the delicious orange dress with the pink bow looks red carpet ready!

As much as I like this collection, there were a few anomalies. Some like these two were a little bit over the top. The orange dress looks like a gift wrapping explosion and the shape of the pink one is just not flattering. Although I guess it would be the perfect red carpet dress for the pregnant ladies- maybe he had Heidi Klum in mind when he was designing it?

And this one is just tacky.