The Fashion Informer

Informed Obsession: Rachel Roy Dress

 Ah, wedding season. The love. The joy. The dilemma of what to wear if, like me, you're allergic to florals and traditional (read: girlie) summer dresses. It's not that I don't like dresses. I do—though I'm more much comfortable, and feel more myself, in pants—and the handful of dresses I do own (by designers like Shelly Steffee, Tess Giberson and Doo.Ri) are a bit too fashion-forward for the typical family wedding. What's an urban fashion lover to do? My solution came in the form of this Rachel Roy wrap dress, which is made of lightweight crinkled crepe with a shirttail hem, 3/4 sleeves and partially hidden self-belt. It will look great with my favorite Alexis Bittar turquoise jewelry, and is as comfortable as a bathrobe. Best of all, it's incredibly chic in a way that even the bride's grandma can understand. And did I mention it's currently on sale for $259 (from $428)? Sometimes good things really do come to those who procrastinate wait.

Informed Obsession: Anthropologie Dipped Sessile Necklace

 Forget man vs. nature. This pretty pendant stylishly demonstrates what can happen when you blend the best of Mother Nature (a piece of natural coral found on the beach) with the hottest spring trend (neon, in all its blazing glory). Available in bright turquoise, pink and yellow, along with a more neutral metallic silver, the Dipped Sessile Necklace from Anthropologie is strung on a delicate 25" chain and costs just $48. Best of all, because each piece of coral is unique, each necklace is one-of-a-kind. Coral…err….color me happy!

Informed Obsession: Tess Giberson Inside-Out Parka

This season, I placed a few pre-orders with my designer pals, and this Tess Giberson hooded anorak was high on my list of must-haves. Dubbed the "Inside-Out Parka," it's pretty much the perfect spring topper: lightweight (check), water-resistant (check) and versatile (check). It's also the epitome of classic with a twist, taking a garden-variety silhouette and rendering it fresh by literally turning it inside out, so the exposed zipper, flap pockets, drawstrings and inner placket are visible to all viewers. Best of all, it's roomy enough to wear over anything, and the color (I got it in taupe, which has a slight sheen thanks to a 6% metal fiber content) truly does go with everything. Which is a good thing, as I've been wearing it pretty much non-stop for the past two months. It even weathered those recent torrential downpours in style. You can find it at her flagship shop in Soho.

Informed Obsession: Daniel Vosovic Collars

 There's nothing I like more than an easy look-changer. These clever, stand-alone collars from Daniel Vosovic's upcoming fall collection work on so many levels. They look terrific worn atop a crisp t-shirt or slouchy sweater—alone or with a longer necklace—and make an even stronger style statement when paired with DV's sleeveless boiled wool sweatshirts or edgy-elegant tops. Best of all, at $125 - $150 each, they offer a lot of fashion bang for your buck.

Collar photos by Timothy Mulcare

Informed Obsession: Cutups Cuffs

 Short History of Architecture. Yes, I realize the name sounds far afield for a website devoted to fashion. But the product—the first in a series of cuffs designed by San Francisco-based jeweler (and former architect) Alice Roche and her Pritzker Prize-winning architect father, Kevin Roche—is style personified. The duo plan to release one new limited edition collaborative cuff each month through the end of 2012 under the heading Cutups, and their first offering—the aforementioned Short History of Architecture—is an edgy, streamlined piece that reduces the potentially serious and intimidating topic of architecture down to three graphic icons. Future themes include Love and Marriage and Project Management, which will also disseminate those weighty, novel-length topics into abbreviated graphic representations rendered, as all Cutups cuffs are, in handmade oxidized sterling silver and a riveted bi-metal such as 14k gold. The overarching idea behind the series is that life is not as complicated as we make it. And who among us couldn't us a daily—and beautiful-to-look-at—reminder of that oft forgotten fact?

Informed Obsession: Baggu Leather

 It's officially spring! Which means it's officially time to trade in your dark winter bag for something lightweight and—dare I say—cheerful. And what's more happy-making than these new leather satchels from Baggu? Available in mint, grapefruit and (my fave) a sunny shade of citron (along with black, white, taupe, natural and metallic platinum), these unlined carryalls come in two sizes, the larger of which can easily hold all your daytime essentials, along with a book or magazine. And, in keeping with Baggu's sustainable, zero-waste policy, the semi-circular castoffs from each bags' handle are used to fashion smaller zippered pouches that are perfect for stashing your phone, cosmetics and the like.

Informed Obsession: Brochu Walker

 Though black is usually my color of choice, I'm really feeling color this season. Enter Brochu Walker's oversized color block crew. Fashioned out of barley-hued silk with scarlet raglan sleeves, and cut longer in the back than front, this luxe baseball shirt is made for layering and looks great with boyfriend jeans or slim pants. In short, it's the perfect seasonless basic in which to greet the early arrival of spring.

Informed Obsession: Scosha Jewelry

 "Though Shall Sing in the Kingdom of Love." So reads the legend on Scosha's Feather & Shield necklace, which boasts a tiny black diamond, a slightly larger moon stone, and the words "Free as a Bird" emblazoned across the back of the feather. I love the inspirational message(s) and rough hewn beauty of this chunky sterling silver and 10kt yellow gold pendant, and have worn mine pretty much every day since discovering it at TG170 on the Lower East Side last year. Equally cool—and not yet in my jewelry box: Scosha's solid sterling, 14k rose gold and diamond Nugget ring, engraved with the phrase "Fly, Fly, Fly Said the Bird, For She Knew She Was Free." Something tells me I'll be heading over to Williamsburg soon…

Informed Obsession: PeaceBOMB

Make love, not war. That sentiment is always fitting, but never more so than around the Hallmark holiday designed to sell cards, flowers and chocolates (who me, cynical?). Here's a real love story: Project PeaceBOMB pairs Laotion artisans who melt metal from Vietnam War-era bombs into jewelry with the distribution network of Article22, a sustainable fashion company. The result, called Buying Back the Bombs, is a collection of offhandedly cool bracelets and necklaces, including these simple silver bangles, which look great worn singly, in pairs, or stacked Arm Party-style (thank you, Manrepeller!) with your other favorite bracelets. And for each product sold, Project PeaceBOMB donates funds equivalent to the cost of clearing 1 to 15 square meters of land of buried unexploded ordinance (which still kill or maim thousands of Laotians each year). So go ahead and show some love. You'll be glad you did.

Informed Obsession: Esquivel Wingtips

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for a boy-meets-girl shoe (oxfords, biker boots, wingtips), which work very nicely with my boy-meets-girl wardrobe, thankyouverymuch. And no one walks the his-n'-hers line better than Cali-based shoemaker George Esquivel, the guy behind these natty two-tone wingtips, which pair a traditional navy suede upper with a hot pink sole. BAM! These puppies'll put a spring in your step, for sure, and are unique enough that you'll stand out in a crowd, even among the wingtip-crazed fashion flock. 

Informed Obsession: Chicken in Egg Necklace

 When I was a kid, I used to love those colorful Russian nesting dolls (you know, where each brightly painted doll opens to reveal an even smaller doll tucked inside).  Jewelry designer Wendy Brandes may well have shared my obsession with whimsical surprises, judging from her Chicken in Egg necklace. Inspired by a hen-in-egg objet d'art in the queen's collection at Rosenborg Castle in Denmark, Brandes' spare, diamond-trimmed 18k gold egg opens to reveal a small silver chicken with diamond eyes, which itself opens to reveal three tiny golden eggs. Of course, the $16,000 price tag is worlds away from what you'd pay for a set of Matryoshka dolls. But such is the price of harboring such a stylish secret - and as Brandes' only makes one Chicken in Egg pendant at a time, owning one of these beauties is a very rarified experience.

Informed Obsession: Molami Headphones

 Sure, there are plenty of cool, well-designed headphones out there, from Apple's signature earbuds to Dr. Dre's colorful Beats collection. But truly chic, sophisticated headphones that deliver amazing sound? Not so much. That just changed with the launch of Molami. Created by Swedish industrial designer Maria von Euler, Molami offers three different styles—traditional headphones (dubbed Pleat), a soft ruched headpiece with built-in speakers (Twine), and, my fave, delicate little earbuds (called Bight)—for fashion-loving music heads. Made from black or white leather, silk, chiffon and stingray with pretty braided cords, silver and 18k gold accents, Molami headphones are thoughtfully designed to enhance the features of the female face (sorry, boys) in materials that are oh-so-luxe. And, being manufactured by legendary headphone specialist Zound Industries, they sound as good as they look. Dear Santa…

Informed Obsession: Zero-Waste Anorak

 I've just discovered the perfect anorak. No, seriously. It's fashioned from soft charcoal grey wool, so it looks surprisingly sophisticated. The roomy hood, adjustable cords and pleated pockets keep things sporty. And the cozy-chic fabric neck closure and roll-tab sleeves lend an unexpectedly fashion-forward edge. But the most winning feature of this gorgeous limited edition topper—designed for Loomstate by recent Parsons grad, Andria Crescioni, and made entirely in NYC—is its zero-waste construction, meaning no fabric was wasted in the making of this buy now/wear forever piece.  Merry Christmas, Mother Earth!

image courtesy Loomstate

Informed Obsession: Oh My Word Cards

 If you're looking for an alternative to boring old holiday cards with their stock images and stock messages, look no further than Oh My Word. Created by "recovering ad writer" (and former Kenneth Cole creative director) Leslie Kolk, OMW cards are the opposite of boring. Cheeky, sophisticated and a little bit naughty, these text-only, tongue-in-chic cards feature messages like "it's beginning to look a lot like cocktails," "happy jewish day" and "from my dysfunctional family to yours," making them a bit more…honest than your traditional Hallmark moment. And who doesn't like to tweak  tradition occasionally? So go on. Send a card they'll remember long after the eggnog is gone.

Informed Obsession: Dries Van Noten

While much of Dries Van Noten's exceptional spring 2012 collection featured prints based on the work of English photographer James Reeve, I am completely enamored of his voluminous black pieces that harken back to the swingy silhouettes of Spanish couturier, Cristobal Balenciaga c. 1950s. Take, for instance, this black lace-trimmed sack dress and lace front a-line tunic, which the designer reigned in with slim taffeta pants and a fitted blazer with military details. They are true perfection—and I cannot. stop. thinking. about them. Dries Van Noten, caveat tempter!


images courtesy Yannis Vlamos/GoRunway.com

Informed Obsession: Ruben Toledo's Fashion Almanac

 
I've been a fan of Ruben Toledo's fashion illustrations since his work first began appearing in the pages of Details back in the Eighties (this was in the Annie Flanders days, when Details was still a hip downtown NYC mag featuring the work of newcomers like Bill Cunningham, Anito Sarko, Patrick McMullan and Stephen Saban). Ruben's illustrations were like nothing I'd ever seen before: whimsical, fabulous, funny and full of pointed social commentary that often seemed to skewer the very subjects—and styles—that he was illustrating so beautifully. I've followed his work ever since, avidly collecting his books (Style Dictionary, Sweetie: Tantalizing Tips from a Furry Fashionista,  his illustrated Penguin Classics Deluxe editions of The Scarlet Letter, Pride and Prejudice, Dracula, etc., and happily reserving my copy of Ruben Toledo: Fashionation back in 2009, which Steidl still has yet to publish). 

So it was with true joy that I received a copy of Ruben Toledo's Fashion Almanac as a gift from my very thoughtful sister. The book chronicles Ruben's 10-year collaboration with Nordstrom (those are his illustrations you see in Nordstrom's ads) and is dubbed an Almanac because fashion, like the seasons, "change, morph and transition continuously," as Ruben writes in his intro. And, "like the endless cycle of nature, an Almanac documents and links the past with the present, building the bridge to the future." Which is exactly what this book does, in glorious illustration after glorious illustration. Along with cheerful spreads that pay tribute to the four seasons and include fun facts about each ("Optimists are born in the spring," "Snow is not white, but clear or transparent, and behaves like a prism reflecting colors"), this Almanac offers a glimpse at a decade's worth of style from designers both emerging (Jenni Kayne, Sinha-Stanic, Y & Kei, Gryphon) and established (Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Marc Jacobs, YSL, Alexander McQueen). There's also an intro by Anna Wintour and a history of the Seattle-based retailer, along with a "Nordstrom Fashion Wheel" that allows the reader to spin two discs to match (or mismatch, as is one's wont) the top and bottom halves of a dozen different outfits as illustrated by the uber-talented Mr. Toledo. 

Throughout, I was continuously amazed and in awe of the author's creativity, wit and wonderfully idiosyncratic take on the wild and woolly world of style. The book opens with the following disclaimer: "This fashion almanac is a work of the imagination of Ruben Toledo and is not to be believed and not intended to be taken literally." But truth be told, his is a chic and cheeky paradise in which I would gladly spend the remainder of my days.







illustrations courtesy Ruben Toledo/Nordstrom; photo of Ruben Toledo at home courtesy The Selby

Informed Obsession: Rebecca Minkoff MAC Clutch

Rebecca Minkoff knows her way around a handbag.  Take, for instance, her now-iconic Morning After Bag, a roomy satchel designed to hold your everyday—and all night—essentials, meaning that morning after Walk of Shame is a thing of the past. Realizing that not every day begins with a morning after, Minkoff cleverly shrunk the MAB to clutch proportions. Still roomy enough to tote your everyday essentials, plus Kindle or paperback (I tried, they fit!), this beauty comes in a range of colors—which change each season—and boasts a gold tone cross body chain for hands-free style. I have the lipstick red version shown here (thanks, Rebecca!) and right now you can find it in a washed-out navy, pinky lavender or metallic honey. 

Informed Obsession: Be Inthavong Bobo

Hello, my name is The Fashion Informer and I'm a handbag addict.  Sure, sure, shoes are awesome.  But when it comes to accessories, nothing gets my heart racing faster than a beautifully designed bag. Take this elegant little number from Be Inthavong, who recently launched his eponymous solo label (he also co-founded Be & D back in the day). Part of the Heritage Weave Collection, this modified doctor's bag is made of strips of fine platinum leather handwoven on a customized silk loom—a patent-pending technique Inthavong invented at his family's generations-old silk mill in Laos. The woven textiles are then shipped to New York where the bag is constructed, lined with custom hand embossed corn silk lambskin (the type traditionally used for luxury furniture and private jets), and finished with black python handles and trim. Yu-um!  But the real selling feature, in addition to its sheer beauty and capacious interior, is the fact that while this bag looks substantial, it is virtually weightless thanks to a fine, built-in frame. Available at Elizabeth Charles.

Informed Obsession: Melissa Patchuli

Let me get this out of the way up front: I'm a sucker for Melissa shoes. I fell hard for the brand several years ago, when I stumbled upon (and immediately bought) the Zaha Hadid-designed Melissa flats in Shelly Steffee's Meatpacking District store. I began adding to my collection at a rate of several per year (a pair of metallic peep-toe ballet flats here, some Alexandre Herchcovitch-designed mustard-hued flocked velvet waterproof wingtips there) and faster than you can say "Zaha Ha-who?" several shelves of my closet were devoted to Melissa's fashion-forward plastic wonders. The pair showcased here—which are dubbed "Patchuli" and were a gift from Melissa and Lorenzo Martone—combine all of my favorite footwear attributes: They're white (my go-to summer shoe shade), they're platforms (height + comfort? yes, please!) and they're slightly subversive, thanks to the crimson racing stripe that zooms down the back and revs across the sole (inspired by the sap that trickles down the trunk of a rubber tree), making these shoes—and the woman who wears them—look oh-so-chic and ready for action. Best of all, they smell like bubblegum, releasing a whiff of candy-scented yumminess with each and every step.

Informed Obsession: Skagen Denmark Bracelet Watch

Although I don't technically need to wear a watch (who does, what with all the cell phones and computers in our possession?), I still love the way they look, especially when worn with a tangle of other bracelets.  I do not, however, love the feel of a watch—or any superfluous jewelry—in the warmer months when the temperature and humidity soar. They feel so weighty, so cumbersome, so…unnecessary.  Not so this delicate little number from Skagen Denmark, which I discovered during their recent press day. Constructed of featherweight metal links with a mother-of-pearl dial dotted with subtle Swarovski crystals, this pretty bracelet watch can read feminine or minimalist, depending on what you're wearing. It comes in silver, yellow gold and charcoal grey, but the rose gold is my hands down favorite. Warm and versatile, it looks as great on its own as it does with an armful of bangles. Style score: Technology, 1. Mother Nature, 0.