Buenos Aires, with its rollicking nightlife, artistic community, and well-earned “Paris of South America” reputation, has become the It-destination for today’s style set. Should you find yourself fantasizing about an Argentinian jaunt, here are a few worthy candidates for a high-design hotel backdrop:

Faena Hotel & Universe, complete with Philippe Stark-designed decor.

The Bo Bo Hotel borrows it’s name from the same, still-going-strong-in-suburbia fashion trend.

The Design Suites , which look plucked from a J.Crew resort wear catalog

Happy Traveling!

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Since beer goggles and clover-covered paraphernalia aren’t exactly glamorous, today at GlamChic, instead of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, we’re toasting to Escapism Day. This newly minted cyber-holiday honors super-rich locales, jet-setting trinkets, and other inconceivable luxuries that give us a brief, albeit fictional, escape from our everyday doldrums. Considering the list of such fashionable day dream candies expands every hour, we might upgrade the event to Escapism Week. Below you’ll find the first example of stylish splendor: The unbuilt “MyDream” yacht from CRN, a yacht company helmed by the Ferretti group (as in Alberta Ferretti). The size-able water vessel comes with decor that could have been plucked from the Dynasty set, from pearlescent tiles to leopard couches. Alexis Carrington and her modern-day counterparts (coughcoughRealHousewivesofNewYorkCitycough) would certainly approve.

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One of the Louvre’s many halls

Tonight, French accessories magazine Stiletto hosted a small cocktail party at the Louvre. Yes, that Louvre. Besides serving as a gorgeous backdrop for the fashion fete, the location allowed guests (like me) to take a tour—sans tourists—of the Christian Lacroix-curated exhibition that’s currently on view. While I’m a big fan of the French designer and his sublimely decadent taste, the show seemed, well…a little off.

Inside the Lacroix exhibition

According to press releases, Lacroix delved through the impressive Musée de la Mode et du Textile archives and sorted out the themes or techniques he admired most. But to the casual viewer, the 400+ garments—from the 18th century through today, including 80 of his own designs—seemed just categorized by color (white! brown!), pattern (flowers! polka-dots!), and embellishments (ribbons! rosettes!).

While it made for a pretty succulent dose of high-fashion, art history majors (like me) would wrinkle their noses (like I did) at this kind of curation. Would paintings every be show according to where they fell in the color spectrum? When’s the last time you saw a sculpture exhibition comprised exclusively of glass pieces? (If you were recently in Murano, you don’t count.) Where’s the insight!? Where’s the historical information!? But then, who am I to criticize: There was plenty of potentially-informative text on hand to read in the exhibition hall, but I didn’t read a word of it. Why read when there’s champagne to be had?

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Cholot’s Pucci party installation

It’s fitting that the house of Pucci—with its history of saccharine shades, abstract patterns, and ‘60s hostess-with-the-mostess styles—would be the first fashion label to throw down at this year’s many Miami Basel festivities. In honor of Pucci’s 60th anniversary, the house’s head honchos—including designer Matthew Williamson and Uma Thurman look-alike LVMH’s Delphine Arnault—hosted the bash at a private villa, tapping artist Gerard Cholot to create an installation in the cavernous abode, using only Pucci’s archival images and fabric. The perky, printed materials made quite the artistic expression both on the walls (Domino editors, are you writing this down?) and on the crowd who, in true fashion-follower form, wore the house’s signature printed threads.

Delphine Arnault, Matthew Williamson, Laudomia Pucci

Visionaire’s Cecilia Dean

The exterior…

…and the interior. Again. Because it’s that cool.

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As you can imagine, there a few perks to being a fashion editor. For me, number one on that list is being able to spend time with—and get all kinds of sartorial insight from— talented designers. Not long ago, I dropped in on Ashleigh Verrier to catch up with one of my favorite young designers. As I was lamenting over the fact that the best vintage stores seem to be on the West Coast, Verrier—whose own collection draws on classically feminine shapes—generously shared the address of one of her favorite vintage emporiums in New York: Rare Vintage, 24 West 57th Street, Suite 501.

We then traveled uptown to Rare’s loft-like space where Verrier took me through the racks where she often finds inspiration for her collections. We pored over the tantalizing ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s couture-like pieces from YSL, Chloe, and Christian Dior that Rare’s owner, Juliana Cairone, has amassed, while Verrier pointed out well-crafted details that only a designer’s eye could see. For your own vintage lesson from Verrier, check out our field trip video, and for even more insight from the tasteful designer—without all the time-consuming trouble of becoming a fashion editor—check out her guide to creative gifts.

Rare Vintage

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Rock & Republic models at the Crillon Hotel

One of the funnest, Frenchest fetes (yes, I know that’s all tres gauche to say) was the Rock & Republic bash at the Crillon Hotel. The denim label transformed the tony hotel—best known as the home to the international debutante ball—into the most deluxe fraternity house imaginable: Guests spilled out onto the terraces with champagne in hand, bass-thumping music interrupted the quiet Paris night, and the dance floor strobe lights rivaled the glow of the nearby Eiffel Tower.

French Vogue’s Carine Roitfeld stopped by with her arm neatly tied-up in a silk sling (perhaps a chic sling is the new cane?) as did Susan Tabak, author of Chic in Paris. If you haven’t bookmarked her blog, I’d suggest doing so as she’s a frequent fixture on the City of Light’s party scene. Love the hair, die for the jewels.

Rock & Republic president Andrea Bernholtz and Susan Tabak, at far right

*Wireimages

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A look from Biba’s spring line

Paris fashion week is filled with runway shows, celebrity spotting, VIP-parties, store openings and more, but during those lapses in between such major events, the fashion kids can be found unwinding at cafes. (Well some of them can; After the Wunderkind show today, Mario Testino and crew were spotted having cappuccinos at L’Avenue on Rue Montaigne.) The rest of us try to see as many accessory, sportswear, and up-and-coming designer lines as possible.

This morning I stopped by to see the latest from Biba the recently relaunched ‘70s label. The house’s iconic calico print silk dresses were there in the form of long gowns (which looked a lot like those great Cavalli numbers I was going on and on about earlier), and there ruffled blouses, and bow-accented separates, that had a slight vintage feel.

Colorful accessories—which referenced a few eras from ’40s-80s—look familiar but not ubiquitous.

The apartment in which the appointment was held proved to be distracting; the private residence was furnished with mid-century masterpieces which lent an appropriately sophisticated backdrop for Biba’s spring collection.

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Donna Karan’s showroom

It’s Friday at long last. The arrival of the week’s final jour always puts me in a good mood, which is why I’ve decided that today will be all about the uplifting fashion moments I’ve come across recently. Call me corny, but I appreciate random flashes of fashion brilliance here and there—they help reiterate just how amazing this industry can be.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of this sentiment when I swung into Donna Karan’s showroom last week to see the designer’s resort and holiday collections. First off, the woman herself plays the roll of multi-talented muse for many a fashion follower, but what I admire is how her collections, advertisements, and overall aesthetic add a gloss to New York City’s glamorous reputation. The sleek separates for a working woman’s wardrobe, those fast-paced DKNY campaigns, and the moody black-and-white photography, are all served up against a backdrop of the city’s iconic sky-scrapers. Located on the west side of Manhattan, Karan’s showroom features the same dramatic perspective.

Donna Karan’s holiday collection

I wandered through her latest concoctions (in her signature black & gold) and couldn’t help but imagine them on long-legged gals trawling the urban jungle…

Models in Karan’s gowns

…and then a few minutes later real-live leggy girls modeling Karan’s evening gowns came trotting out.

A view of Karan’s showroom

Karan recently tried her hand at blogging on the Huffington Post. Much of her writing focused on UrbanZen, a health and wellness forum that she helped coordinate. Her blog entries are worth reading as there are many heartfelt, fascinating comments. As an aside, I have to say that her airy, well-appointed studio offered me a dose of urban zen too.

While her showroom has a calming effect, Karan’s shoes however, may set hearts aflutter. Such fantastic styles!

Icy whites!

Metallic grommets! (big for next season, fyi)

Sporty bondage styles!

Bold brights!

The shoes, when paired with her black and white separates make for a chic study in contrasts—in short, a classic Karan collection.

Technorati Tags: Donna Karan, DKNY, New York Fashion, Designer Shoes, Heels,

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Inside Priscilla of Boston’s new Manhattan atelier

Few historians would discuss the Nixon family and wedding gowns in the same breath, but that’s why there’s scholarly fashion scribes who can connect the dots. After reading Eric Wilson’s story about the White House’s favorite bridal house Priscilla of Boston, opening a New York emporium, I hit the boutique’s opening fete to see what all the fuss was about.

Not being in the market for bridal gowns myself, I wasn’t expected to be wooed, but I quickly fell for the space: Spacious and cushy, the vast room boasted well-appointed interiors as detailed as the dresses themselves. (I especially liked the sea-urchin shaped table lamp. PofB’s interior designer wins points for putting together a fresh mix fixtures and furniture.)

More views inside Priscilla of Boston

The dressing rooms—roughly the size of an East Village studio apartment—were both dramatic and intimate, adjectives that no doubt many women use to describe their dream I-Do day. Each dress was confectionary masterpiece, and all were in the same refined, romantic style as the bridal label’s best known creation, Grace Kelly’s wedding dress.

One in dress particular stood out. Check out the short number on my previous post….

Technorati Tags: Fashion News, Bridal Gowns, Wedding Gowns, Wedding Dresses, Priscilla of Boston,

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Inside Henri Bendel

Fresh off his Milan Furniture Fair tour, new Lladro creative director Jaime Hayon recently joined his Lladro team in redecorating Henri Bendel’s Fifth Avenue flagship. With Lladro’s butterfly chandelier suspended from the store’s cavernous atrium, and the new Re-Cyclos Magical (made entirely from recycled porcelain) collection displayed next to a well-edited collection of all-white accessories, the shop resembled a futuristic wonderland. (How fitting for spring’s space-age trend!)

Another view of Henri Bendel’s

Lladro’s Recyclos Line

May I suggest Lladro’s horse-leg cups and decanters for those hard-to-find tongue-in-chic gifts. The all-white installation has since been dismantled, but never fear: Designer must-haves are of course, always in store at Bendels and the Lladro shop around the corner.x S.C.

Technorati Tags: Henri Bendel, Lladro, White Trend, New York Fashion,

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