Stylish with Substance

"Miss" J. Alexander was interviewed by Grazia Daily and said this of male models' catwalks,

I believe they still think it's a business for women and gay men, so they are walking somewhere [they don't want to go], I think, between the bank and the gym.

Of course "Miss J.", the queen of cat walking, can critique anyone's runway grace - he's girlier than Barbie herself!

However she can't walk well either, and any girl or woman can attest; she's just all *hop hop hop*! ;-)

I am a little bit late to post this roundup, but I didn't want to miss publishing these intriguing links, featuring yours truly...

The Countdown Begins

Edited by Dramatis Personae

The countdown has begun–not only until the end of the year–but until the end of the first decade in the 21st century.  That’s kind of amazing to think about.  Styletastic and Sway, Sway, Away! both look at fashion from the Oughts with two distinctly different visions. [the3st] interviews the founder of ModCloth, while Wicked & Whimsy reviews Closet Confidential (by the hilarious Winona of DaddyLikey fame!).

Since this will be my last edit of links a la mode for this year, see you all in 2010!

Links à la Mode : December 17th

• 39thandbroadway.com: – How Brands Get Burned By Celebs
• A Typical Atypical: – Suffering from Buyers Remorse: The Real Deal
• Brunette and Pink: – Makeup Tutorial: Leighton Meester Inspired Winged-out Smoky Eye Look
• DailyDivaDish – Create a sparkling New Year’s look with the Tarte Treasure Chest Giveaway. Enter to this limited edition kit.
• Friend in Fashion – Sugar and spice and all things nice – Unearthing the unique designs of the fabulous, Arizona based designer Monique Martinez, through the captive lense of Galaxie Andrews.
• Grit and Glamour: – The Trend Conundrum–rends are a tricky thing; what makes some women look so pulled together is not a wardrobe full of the latest styles and trends, but the ability to know which ones to avoid.
• i'm the it girl: – My Love Affair With Hermes and the Great Debate: Kelly or Birkin?
• Idiosyncratic Style: – 12 Great Holiday DIY Projects – give something special this year (even if you are short on time and money)
• kaKofonie Of si(gh)lenS: – My most amazing (and green!) find this year: Denim Therapy, a company who will restore your tattered favorite jeans to like-new condition. Seriously.
• La Société de Mode | The Fashion Society: – Combats are stomping their way back into style
• Pursed Lips: – Thoughts/quotes on Lady Gaga as a powerful tool, if a difficult one to reach, for designers.
• Style on a String – Getting down to the wire: Gifts for the Stylish Geek who is kind of Girly too
• Styletastic: – As the 00’s are coming to en end, we look back at the fashion memories that will define the decade. Ah the memories!
• Sway Sway Away!: – Sway Sway Away! presents Caitie’s bitching and moaning on the worst trends of the Aughts.
• THE COVETED – Love it or Leave it : Rodarte for Target
• The Fashion Planner: – The Fashion Planner shows you how to make a jaunty beret.
• The Working Wardrobe: – Beware of “business casual” being too casual for the workplace.
• tick tick heart: – A focus on the varying fashions of some of our quirkier leading ladies in film.
• White Rabbit: – Pros and Contras of Artificial Nails
• Wicked Whimsy: – Closet Confidential: A Review
• [the3st]: – Success & Getting There: Interview with Susan of ModCloth.com

A revisit to the Christopher Kane story, with an update. First to recap, Christopher Kane dissed bloggers seemingly insinuating they do not belong in the front row of fashion shows, etc.

But he was given the chance to explain himself, if he so wished, when Grazia Daily .co.uk gave him a quick interview and that chance. It seems the message he really wants to get out there is "if you can't say anything nice ... add something nice anyway." His actual words were,

“You’re allowed to say what you want but sometimes the blogs that you [sic] read are really negative, and that’s what I meant to say, really. Sometimes it’s too negative for my liking and I think maybe [bloggers] could give someone a compliment or say something nice. But bloggers nowadays seem to be a bit negative. ... That’s all I meant to say.”

Here's the video of the brief conversation,

Well that's much nicer Chris, now we hope you happen to stumble upon us! ;-)

*Update* I've looked a bit into Grazia and oddly enough even though Christopher talks about them as though they're just one of "us(/them) blogs" (an excerpt I didn't include before, "but Grazia Daily seems to be really great and that’s really fun and Ten Blog who I sometimes edit with are always high and nice...") they actually are foremost a glossy magazine.

Le sigh! So what is it Chris, eh? Do you like any actual blogs for which you don't write? Come on now, learn something about us! (And British magazines to boot.)

Tom Ford was interviewed by Charlie Rose mostly about his new film (now playing), A Single Man.

He was lovely and has given us beautiful quotes to think about still in our "day and age". My first favorite,

"Yeah. So, you know, people occasionally will say to me, even good friends, 'your lifestyle', I’m, 'what is that, my lifestyle?' You know, I live with someone I love. You know, we read books, we cook dinner together, we occasionally argue. We go on vacation together. We have been together for 23 years. That is my lifestyle."

My second favorite quote speaks to me and many others, although intended as discussion about homosexual unfairness, it's equally for any woman waiting for her boyfriend to propose or "feel ready" - as we age and live in our serious relationships.

"... Longtime partner, a boyfriend, lover, there is not a good word for that, we need to figure that out in our culture. Lover makes it sound like all you do is have sex."

Charlie Rose pointed out,

"Boyfriend, girlfriend, we have to figure out boyfriend, girlfriend, when the girl is 40 years old."

All I know is I will not be a girlfriend when I'm 40. The boy knows that too. Oh but can't I still call him boy? ;-)

You can only get the video from Charlie Rose .com. Watch or buy a DVD.

Click here to read more about Fashion Fantasy Game and how to visit my showroom.

Most people on this fun website design entire ensembles, doing both some design play and a lot of styling. I though prefer to nitpick every last aspect of one item and stick to piece elements more like the real world (as in one retails a sweater, not a sweater + tights + ...). I feel I do focus more on creating more detailed pieces however I don't hesitate to use simpler items I love especially if from a limited edition template but also I sometimes publish designer inspired pieces.

Since I can't sell complete outfits from already created designs without laboring over each individual object all over again, I'm just styling my own "diva" and will publish here, hoping for a little game-play exposure and other fun stuffs. ;-)

Some of the elements I design I do find difficult to piece with what else I have on FFG to fit into my personal style. Even if these ensembles go wackier than I would ever wear, something like this is typical in fashion from runway to lookbooks, and I think others may appreciate a whole styling of my pieced elements.

Enjoy doll #1: Color Diva!

I will be pairing these with shopping "tips" on how to find perhaps similar pieces for the real world...

[caption id="attachment_1913" align="alignnone" width="449" caption="Corto Moltedo's "Boyfriend" clutch"][/caption]

I don't think Tom Binns for Corto Moltedo thinks highly of "boyfriends" - what this little torture device is named after. Obviously this is a statement piece of art, possibly even poking (no pun intended) fun of a "crazy"? trend - spikes in general. That mini trend is a part of the huge rocker/edgy punk thang going on, and I can't say I hate that.

I'm just not even sure how this works as a sculpture. :-P

What about you?

[polldaddy poll=2371872]

*Via* Jalou News

Choices, Choices!

Edited by Dream Sequins

At this time of year, even the smallest decision can feel like the biggest burden.  As holiday shopping season swings into full and relentless motion this month, the choices we make as consumers can often feel overwhelming.  This week’s compelling roundup of reading explores these choices from every possible angle and makes it clear that as bloggers, we should feel empowered, not overwhelmed.  Whether it’s writing about a specialty gift guide for a geek chic girl, choosing the perfect red lip color or even exploring the nuanced difference in quality between designer and mid-priced items, these choices are what make us unique and connect us as an independent fashion blogging community.

Links à la Mode : December 10th

• A Typical Atypical – Get into vintage 50’s housewife mode for the Christmas season!
• Bobbins and Bombshells – Fashionable History: L’Officiel de la Mode Archives
• Brunette and Pink – Holiday Makeup Inspired by the Sephora 2009 Holiday Sephora Catalog using Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. II
• dramatis personae – High Fashion & High Art… Two Worlds Apart? Thoughts, Arguments, & Solutions for the Knock-off Debate
• Dream Sequins – A bling-tastic evening at jewelers, Doyle and Doyle.
• Fashion Pulse Daily – Fashion Pulse Daily finally finds a handbag that meets her very particular requirements.
• Fashion X K8 – Spotlighting the stylishly subtantial Desirée Rogers and challenging the press’s idea that those who fill jobs seeped in tradition should not only maintain the “tradition” but refrain from being eye-catching.
• Fasshonaburu – Shopping for the Geek Chic Girl: Holiday shopping advice for the girl who loves fashion as much as video games, gadgets and Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
• M.I.S.S. – She’s Crafty: DIY Ruffled Suspenders
• Oranges and Apples – The Sapeurs: vibrant and elegant street style from the Congo.
• Rags to Reverie – A Fab Four Fanatic’s review of the Comme des Garçons x The Beatles collaboration.
• Retro Chick – Fashion Economics – Are low cost retailers forcing us to be wasteful?
• Sophisticated Insanity – Take a look at the lady behind Rare bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel
• Style on a String – Leggings vs. Tights: The difference, how to buy them and what to wear (and not wear) with them.
• Style Symmetry – Christmas Gift Ideas for Him, For Her and Secret Santa…
• The Bargain Hunter Extraordinaire – Two days ago, it was 36 degrees out…today, I didn’t even have to a jacket- that’s New England!
• THE COVETED – Love bold red lips? Check out the Ultimate Red holiday collection.
• TheWorkingWardrobe – Here are some tips on how men can work jewelry at the office without any raised eyebrows.
• Thrift Eye – Dreaming of Shearling: Save up for the nice stuff and be warm or go with the cheap and be cold?
• ventures of jenn. – A spotlight on Berlin label Reality Studio.
• Wicked Whimsy – Practical Quality: Looking into what the difference, if any, is between a mid-range item & a designer item.

Bryanboy of bryanboy.com spilled the beans with his tweet. (BadBoy) Now BlackBookMag published a speculation of the total 10 more famous style bloggers will be in the same "blogger" article. Of the names included are a former model, The Sartorialist and his GF's own blog, and others who've already shared larger fame through being published in Vogue and on Style.com - one of those being tween Tavi of Style Rookie.

I want to hear the readers'

Designers of possibly any level and fashion entrepreneurs alike, you might want to pay attention to Lady Gaga ... and what she may like. Because, well, the world is goo-goo-eyed for the Gaga.

[caption id="attachment_1879" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Haus of Gaga sunglasses"][/caption]

First, Forbes magazine recognizes,

"Lady Gaga isn't the music industry's new Madonna. She's its new business model."

[caption id="attachment_1880" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Gaga in Alexander McQueen"][/caption]

While you or I may

You too can have long white dreads under your Santa hat. Because nothing represents the North Pole like a Rastafarian, especially a really old one.

However if you love that rasta-aesthetic or just think this is too funny, it's available for purchase from Target.