United Colors of Benetton

Phone: 702.731.2317
Address: 3663 Las Vegas Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89109

Notes: Located at the Miracle Mile Shops in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino

From Benetton Group--

A global brand, and one of the most well known in the world, United Colors of Benetton has an international style that combines color, energy and practicality. The womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and underwear collections offer a total look for everyday, for work and for leisure, in the city and outdoors.

The brand is broadening its horizons, expanding into new areas of merchandise from Home Collection to baby products, travel bags and new perfumes. The above products are available in numerous Benetton stores and in selected specialized shops worldwide.

Urban Outfitters

Phone: 702.733.0058
Address: 3663 Las Vegas Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89109

Notes: Located at the Miracle Mile Shops in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino

Urban Outfitters sells clothing, accessories, and apartment wares for young women and men.

Urban Outfitters FW06 Catalogue

With all the September issues of style magazines rolling out, it's certainly time to start planning, (or in some cases start buying,) your FW06 wardrobe. With all the magazines listing out what is the trend and what is not, and showing you glamourous fashion shoots, you really start getting into the mood. This summer, I found that the easiest way to start thinking of FW clothes that fits you is to flick through the Urban Outfitters Fall Catalogue.

Not the most attractive cover, I know, but inside is full of pretty photos that could inspire you how to wear this season's clothes casually. Unfortunately the catalogue is not online this year, but you can just order one via mail. Here are a few things from the catalogue:

A black mini skirt is a must-have this season.

This cute pleated dress to cross you over from summer to fall.

This cardigan is so versatile -it can go from preppy to trendy. The design and colours are so complimentary to this season's dark mood. (Look at the catalogue to see the different ways to wear it.)

I'm not really into hobo bags but if you are planning to buy one this season, then this Lux one is affordable and doesn't look cheap.

US Weekly Hot Hollywood Awards

Talk about a pathetic excuse to party. On Wed night, the lovely tabloid US Weekly hosted the Hot Hollywood Awards. Huh? you ask. Well apparently, it's to celebrate Hollywood crowd's "outstanding taste in fashion." The funny thing is, none of the the real fashionable IT girls, aka la Lohan, Nicole Richie, MKA Olsen, Mischa Barton and Rachel Bilson weren't even there. Prepare to see the fashion in this seriously unstylish party:

Style Icon of the Year -Jessica Alba. She has got to be the only stylish star there. She looks gorgeous in everything.

Hottest Sexy Style -Carmen Electra. Err, I don't usually pay attention to her, but I suppose she picked a good and not too slutty dress here.

Hottest Body Style -Jennifer Love Hewitt. Huh? How does she have the 'hottest body style'? Actually what does this award even mean?

Hottest Rock Star Style -Avril Lavigne. Oh surprise surprise. Her outfit here is really poorly put together. I thought she recently converted from Sk8er Girl to Chanel Girl, but she's obviously decided to change back for her upcoming CD!

Hottest Red Carpet Style -Paris Hilton. Err yes, flashing your bra on the red carpet is definately the way to go. That's hot Paris!

Nicky Hilton -The poor girl didn't get anything! They should have made an award for 'Hottest Styligh Designer' for her!

Best Makeover Style -Kelly Osbourne. Yup she's gotten a makeover all right. I'm just not so sure about the 'best'. My opinion: Hilary Duff should be getting this.

Michelle Trachtenburg -No idea if she got any award, but I'm not such a big fan of her style.

Hottest Movie Star Style -Brittany Murphy. If you ignore the rest of the well-dressed movie star that is. But I suppose Brittany's not too bad.

Hottest Popstar Style -Jesse McCartney. Omg, what happened to him!? He was so cute in Summerland!

Rachel Leigh Cook -She's so off the 'it' radar that you hardly see her in photos anymore. But she's got such cute features. I wish some TV show would have her as a main character!

Urban Outfitters SS07

I used to LOVE Urban Outfitters. I'd go there everytime I go downtown, just in case I missed something the last time I went or something I had my eye on was on sale. But now I find myself going to UO less and less. I don't even have their online catalog memorized anymore! So I thought I'd pick a few to analyze- and no I did not delibrately pick ones that I thought were hideous.

I think I would've found these two camis pretty. They're feminine and pretty. But I just don't see it fitting very well into my current wardrobe! More cutesy camis that would be good for mix and match. But now that I know UO better, I can tell from here that the quality of these are probably not too good and may potentially look cheap. So is it still worth almost $30? Moreover, is this really the look we're looking for?

Cool bold tees. I guess these are alright for casual wear. I rather like the grey one actually, a decent attempt at the oversized tshirt thing.

Jackets! I have mixed feelings. I like the way the striped one looks on the model, but with the thin material and all, would it look chic or cheap on us normal mortals? But I DO like that cropped jacket on the right. Although I'm not sure if its worth $48, if I can get a better one by waiting a bit and paying a tiny bit more. . .

Classics. Am loving the simple design. Although again, the material? Not so sure.

More classic bottoms. I rather like the style of these flare skirt and wide legged denims. Although beware the skirt is probably made of a flimsier material than you think.
An example of getting it right and wrong. The red one is soo off. But I think the one on the right is . . well right. Could potentially be cute and this season actually! These two are pretty, but waaay too bohemian chic for me.

So what do you think? Is it just me? Am I growing out of Urban Outfitters or are their designs too bohemian and off for the current season?

US Vogue's New Favourite Models

Models

Every fashion-lover out there has been so excited to hear that the May's US Vogue cover will finally feature models instead of celebrities. And here it is: Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda, Doutzen Kroes, Sasha Pivovarova, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Jessica Stam, Chanel Iman, Coco Rocha and Agyness Deyn, all wearing Gap's Designer Edition white shirts.
First off, I have to admit I'm not a fan of the cover. I definitely prefer a model over a celebritity to be the covergirl of Vogue but there's something about this cover I just don't completely like. Maybe it's because it's a full-body shoot and you can't see the girls clearly, unlike the Sept04 cover, which was the previous cover of models and was beautiful. Or maybe because the editors didn't feel that a cover with only one or a few models would be a strong enough cover, (which they're probably right and it's just sad how few Americans appreciate covers of models for a fashion magazine.)
Anyways, I suppose this is better than no models' cover. Thankfully, the article inside, called Hit Girls, is a great article that manages to talk about each of the ten models. I certainly love the models who I already liked before more now, such as Lily D. (who always looks great on the runway and I love her sophisticated British looks,) and Stam. (The pic above is of Lily D. and Trentini.)
This is obviously not an interesting pose, but it's my favourite shot in this editorial because of the clothes, colours, Stam and just. Stam is one of my top 5 favourite model -her eyes are SO stunning.
My favourite of the ten is Sasha. She's sometimes a bit awkward on the runway but her editorials are usually amazing, especially the edgy ones -she does the sophisticated, dark look and young, angsty look really well. I have her editorials as my desktop wallpaper a lot!
Ah Raquel. She's one of this season's star as many big brands have her in their ads, like Fendi. I have to say I didn't like her at first (in last season's Louis Vuitton ads,) but she was perfect in the new Fendi ads.
I have to admit I've never noticed that much about Doutzen, but she's certainly got some really good contracts, including some 'mass brands' like L'Oreal.
Coco Rocha aboslutely rocked the Balenciaga ads. But other than that, I don't notice much of her.
And now onto two who I don't think really belong with the group (or I just don't like them): Aggy and Iman. OK, so Aggy supposedly has a lot of personality and has got a more unique feel. And she wears spunky outfits herself, but so what? I just really don't like her. As for Iman, who you cannot have missed because she's Teen Vogue's new star, I'm just not liking her much. I mean, I really remember in the Teen Vogue interview, she's like, have you heard of Chanel, the brand? Umm, ya. And I guess I just don't get her appeal in general. At the moment, I just of her as Vogue's new Liya (who I think is gorgeous.)

I totally respect Vogue's editors' choices, but I just want to know how did the editors decide not to include Freja, Natasha Poly or Du Juan?

US Vogue's New Favourite Models

Models

Every fashion-lover out there has been so excited to hear that the May's US Vogue cover will finally feature models instead of celebrities. And here it is: Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda, Doutzen Kroes, Sasha Pivovarova, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Jessica Stam, Chanel Iman, Coco Rocha and Agyness Deyn, all wearing Gap's Designer Edition white shirts.
First off, I have to admit I'm not a fan of the cover. I definitely prefer a model over a celebritity to be the covergirl of Vogue but there's something about this cover I just don't completely like. Maybe it's because it's a full-body shoot and you can't see the girls clearly, unlike the Sept04 cover, which was the previous cover of models and was beautiful. Or maybe because the editors didn't feel that a cover with only one or a few models would be a strong enough cover, (which they're probably right and it's just sad how few Americans appreciate covers of models for a fashion magazine.)
Anyways, I suppose this is better than no models' cover. Thankfully, the article inside, called Hit Girls, is a great article that manages to talk about each of the ten models. I certainly love the models who I already liked before more now, such as Lily D. (who always looks great on the runway and I love her sophisticated British looks,) and Stam. (The pic above is of Lily D. and Trentini.)
This is obviously not an interesting pose, but it's my favourite shot in this editorial because of the clothes, colours, Stam and just. Stam is one of my top 5 favourite model -her eyes are SO stunning.
My favourite of the ten is Sasha. She's sometimes a bit awkward on the runway but her editorials are usually amazing, especially the edgy ones -she does the sophisticated, dark look and young, angsty look really well. I have her editorials as my desktop wallpaper a lot!
Ah Raquel. She's one of this season's star as many big brands have her in their ads, like Fendi. I have to say I didn't like her at first (in last season's Louis Vuitton ads,) but she was perfect in the new Fendi ads.
I have to admit I've never noticed that much about Doutzen, but she's certainly got some really good contracts, including some 'mass brands' like L'Oreal.
Coco Rocha aboslutely rocked the Balenciaga ads. But other than that, I don't notice much of her.
And now onto two who I don't think really belong with the group (or I just don't like them): Aggy and Iman. OK, so Aggy supposedly has a lot of personality and has got a more unique feel. And she wears spunky outfits herself, but so what? I just really don't like her. As for Iman, who you cannot have missed because she's Teen Vogue's new star, I'm just not liking her much. I mean, I really remember in the Teen Vogue interview, she's like, have you heard of Chanel, the brand? Umm, ya. And I guess I just don't get her appeal in general. At the moment, I just of her as Vogue's new Liya (who I think is gorgeous.)

I totally respect Vogue's editors' choices, but I just want to know how did the editors decide not to include Freja, Natasha Poly or Du Juan?

Ugly Betty Season 1 Finale

One of the hottest tv shows this season, the finale was last Thursday. And boy, has a LOT happened since its premier- I don't even know where to start! But I shall try, so if you don't want to know what happens- don't scroll down!

Based at the head of the fashion industry, Mode Magazine, the main character is ironically the most unfashionable person one can imagine- Betty Saurez. At first, I thought it was a sort of spinoff of Devil Wears Prada and so have been waiting for a magical transformation since the premier. But no, despite temptations of the wardrobe sale and being best friends with the wadrobe manager, Christina, Betty has stuck to her true self, unfashionable self- and you know what? I think it actually grows on you, its quite endearing. And if you look carefully, her completely awful looking outfits are actually very coordinated!

Relationship-wise, she started off dating Walter who works at a place similar to Best Buys and at first dumped her for another girl and then came crawling back to her. He tried to fit into Betty's new "Mode" life, but alas, they didn't work out. Meanwhile, there was Henry the accountant, who is just SO sweet, I was totally vouching for him and gave a WHOOP when Betty dumped Walter. But then comes a Charlie and messes things up. ARGH. I'm so frustrated for Betty. They're MADE for each other.

Family-wise, Betty lives with her sister Hilda, her nephew Justin and her father Ignacio. Justin is AWESOME. I love him. I just love how he's even more excited and knowledgeable about Betty's job than she is, and he's not afraid to be himself and all even if it means not fitting in. Plus, his acting antics are just great. And unlike Betty, her sister Hilda (Justin's mother) is a beauty queen. Drama occurs between her and her son's father, Santos. And just when things were about to go right, it gets messed up with a blast. Part of me feels really bad for Hilda and Justin, but the other part realises that if things went happily ever after, what else would the writers write about next season?

And then there is her father, whose status as an illegal immigrant becomes known and the family goes through a spam lawyer and a crazy psychotic immigrant worker (Constance) who tried to marry him to get him legal residency. But alas, he ends up back in Mexico, where I predict his past is going to come back and haunt him next season. (And I think we are going to see that guy who Hilda sat with while everyone went to the little blue house, a LOT more).

Work wise, this is Betty's boss Daniel Meade. The heir to the Meade publications empire and playboy. But with Betty's help, we eventually see his serious side and see that his activities is just a result of all the pressure he faces. He just looks so cute and lost that I feel sorry for him!
First he falls in love with Sofia, an up and coming magazine editor, who was out to con him from the start for a story to launch her magazine, hiring a stripper to pretend to be the perfect boyfriend and all.

Then, just when he gets over that embarassment, the scary bunched up woman in the institution thingy turns out to be Daniel's brother, Alex, who they all thought was dead. Turned out, he just went to get a sex change. And indeed, Rebecca Romijn, is starting to look manly to me. She comes back with a vengeance because her father wouldn't accept his/her sexual preference and fights with Daniel and all. But towards the end, I think all conflict is resolved and the bonds of brotherhood holds. Although I wonder what happens.....

And then there was that whole thing about Fey Summers, Bradford Meade's ex mistress and ex Editor in Chief of Mode. All this time, they made us think that Fey Summers was not dead, with Bradford sneaking around and everything. Very clever. And then there was Claire Meade. At first she seemed like an unimportant victim in this whole story, but in the end, Who knew she had so much in her? And I don't understand? What is with men and feet fetish? Its just that I've been seeing this fetish a lot on TV shows lately. First in Sex and the City, then in Dirt and now in Ugly Betty. What is with feet that would make you cheat on your wife and blind your good judgment?

Then there is WIlhemina Slater, the creative director of Mode, and has been plotting all season to get her hands on the throne as Editor in Chief of mode. At first I thought she was just a pawn under another mastermind- the masked woman who turns out to be Alex, but turns out, she's a woman of her own. But you got to admire her determination to succeed and devotion to the industry.

Although we're reminded of her good side, through her failed relationship with that Texas guy, her daughter and her assistant- she DID swap her wedding date to have him back. Its hard to decide whether I hate or love her. And for a woman her age, how chic are those outfits she wears?

And into all this, there is Mark the assistant and Amanda the receptionist. I just LOVE the two of them, their antics and the things they say are hilarious.
I especially love Amanda because out of this whole "fashion" industry show, her outfits are the cutest and chic-est that is close to our age. Plus, the two of them do have their own little side story, and it seems that Amanda will play an even larger role next season.

Overall, as much as I love this show, I think the quality has gone down since the first few episodes. WAY too much have gone on that its starting to get slightly ridiculous. I miss those episodes where something goes wrong, and Betty comes in and saves the day. Perhaps it will get better again next season?

Wow, I just wrote a whole essay on Ugly Betty....if only school papers were so easily written!