Couture Slouch Nesting Dolls, $50, Etsy

My friend Joanna pointed these chic nesting dolls out to me today, which helped me out by 1) giving me a cute item to post about this A.M. and 2) finding the perfect B-day present for a fashiony aesthete I know. In addition to channeling the same kind of retro glamour that appears in AMC’s Mad Men (another stylish treat that will make my day when it comes around again) the old-school styles look vaguely familiar to those that just premiered on Louis Vuitton’s runway. Priced at just $50, cozying up to the nesting dolls is far easier than slipping into Vuitton’s pricey (gorgeous) threads.

Runway snaps = Elle.com & GettyImages

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Hotel Amour

What Bergdorf is to ladies who lunch, yard sales are to indie tastemakers.  Or so it seemed this past weekend, when the folks at Colette teamed up with online star Cory Kennedy and hip street-style shutterbug Mark the Cobrasnake, to host a yard sale outside Paris hot-spot Hotel Amour. While the usual lawn sale wares–including grimy baby-dolls and chipped ’80s bracelets–were on offer,  few fashionable trinkets like Ksubi’s Cory Kennedy t-shirts, were laid out as well. Followers of this artsy, alterna-scene  might be tempted to experiment with sidewalk commerce, though chances are their shoppers would never be as chic as those who turned up at this weekend’s festivities.

yard sale goodies

Cory Kennedy 

 
Colette’s Sarah 

Mark the Cobrasnake 

Snaps = Amber @ Showroom Seven 

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There’s a lot of things that can’t be adequately expressed when describing what it’s like to experience fashion week first-hand. There’s everything from the power of a show’s soundtrack–which can be both transcendental and pitifully passé–to the strange sense of familiarity that comes when spending three weeks with the same circle of colleagues, rivals, idols and duds. In an attempt to capture the shiny anti-glamour of it all, below you’ll find a list of the same seven questions everyone in the demimonde demands of each other when meeting at shows, bars, and shops, followed up by the most appropriate responses. Read it once and you’ll have essentially experienced a dozen cocktail parties simultaneously. Enjoy!

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Sasha Pivovarova at Miu Miu

Breaking fashion news folks! Logos are officially out, initials are IN! In the Miu Miu show, which just wrapped up, models wore pins that spelled out their own initials. Even with its disconcerting Scarlett Letter nod and as a potential magnet for infantile pick-up lines (”Hey, what’s S.P. stand for, So Pretty?”), the alphabetical accent adds to the season’s anti-accessory trend. By opting for these simple, personalized statements in lieu of the house’s identifiable It-totes, Miuccia Prada put the emphasis on the wearer instead of the wearer’s wardrobe. A novel concept–and somewhat altruistic considering those must-have letters bring in the same $ as a handbag–to be sure, but we’ve grown to expect nothing less from the forward-thinking designer. Question is, who will sport them first? A.O. or C.S.?

*Snaps = M.M. 

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Anya Hindmarch paperweights 

Watch out John Derian: Anya Hindmarch has got a thing for paperweights too. Best known for her pert leather totes–and the zeitgeist-y I’m Not a Plastic Bag phenomenon–the British designer decorated her “pop-up” showroom at the Paris Ritz with custom-made table-toppers. Though not confirmed yet, here’s hoping she’ll add these objet d’arts to her ever-growing roster of accoutrements. After all, what could be better than a designer desktop?

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Just another impossibly chic day in Paris…Wish you were here! xS

3 girls walking on Rue St. Honore

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Sofia Coppola, Lee Radziwill, Milla Jovovich, and other front-rowers at today’s Vuitton show

It appears that being late is no longer fashionable. Unlike ever other show this week, today’s Louis Vuitton show started a mere 15 minutes behind schedule. The unexpected efficiency left a few VIPs out in the cold including Dita von Teese, who arrived after the show had started and was offered a standing position–which she declined then promptly departed. (Fashion FYI: A Dior-clad Dita was spotted dining at a 1st arrondissement hot-spot with Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy. At the next table over sat Ginnifer Goodwin, looking especially chic in a glittering Miu Miu dress.)

Fortunately (for them and for those of us who are entertained by front-row antics) Milla Jovovich, Kayne West, Sofia Coppola, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Wes Anderson and other high-profile faces all managed to scoot in and sit down in time to see a parade of Vuitton trends unfold. Much like in Marc Jacob’s own collection, cocoon shapes, bulbous jackets, and ballooning pants surfaced as the key silhouettes, though for Vuitton, the designer showed off more complex drapery and tailoring flourishes. Between the Devo hats, pastel furs, and a few flashy leather looks, the show gave off a distinctly ’80s vibe, but the Jacobs’ seemingly oxymoronic styles–from his stiletto platform hybrids to airy winter coats–kept the collection fresh and wholly desirable.

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“Look-books” in the Dries Van Noten shop windows

In high school, long before I could afford (or I’m sure, even properly pronounce) any designer name, my textbooks served as a canvas for my wardrobe aspirations. Gucci advertisements–all products of the Tom Ford, Mario Testino, Carine Roitfeld creative orgy era–covered my Economics tome while photos of Chanel parfum were plastered on my French II book. (Fitting choices, don’t you think?) So when I saw look-book wrapped tomes propped up in the windows of Dries Van Noten’s Left Bank boutique, I got a pang of nostalgia–and new desire for the designer’s arty accessories. With the Euro exchange, my Paris wardrobe allowance isn’t quite up to par so I had to settle for window shopping, or faire du lèche-vitrine (which translates to something like “lick the windows”) one of my most favorite phrases from my tres chic French II textbook.

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Antonio Berardi’s PVC heel-less fetish platforms

While big handbags are on their way out, high-heels–well, specifically the sound of high-heels–are gaining strength. The familiar noise of stilettos clomping down a hallway was edited into many runway show soundtracks this season including those of Jean-Paul Gaultier (who followed up the clattering noise with Michael Jackson’s equally staccato Thriller), Anne Valerie Hash, Rue du Mail, and Elie Saab. With its dominatrix undertones, the fashionable racket does complement the season’s severe silhouettes; however it also gives nod to a slightly more gentile source–the first scene in Atonement. With producer and director credits flashing on the screen, the film opens with the same heels-on-hard-wood-floor stomping, which then blends into the harsh banging of typewriter keys. The first scene–with its notes of eroticism and intelligence–sets the tone for the rest of the film. (I can’t find a clip of it online so you’ll just have to trust me or get thee to the theater. However, if you’re curious, quite a few shoe-noise fetish clips can be found on YouTube.) Considering fashion shows are all about engineering seductive narratives, it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that it was the film’s sexy soundtrack that had resonated with designers and their DJs.

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