Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Chic Boutique Feature: Piccolini

The red ruffles tiers of the girl's dress billowed in the sharp breeze.  Its festive color and matching row of boys is a perfect reminder that the holiday season is drawing near.  Standing beside her was her brother, a young gentleman looking cutting edge in his Seven Jeans and Bestie Boys baseball tee.

A shopping heaven for kids at any age!
While these smartly dressed toddlers look sharp enough to be on magazine pages they are actually four-year-old twins playing in one of Central Park's many open grass patches.  The difference between them and the other children rolling around in the park's collection of fallen  golden leaves is that their stylish ensembles were the latest of their mother's purchase at Piccolini, Nolita's new stylish baby boutique.  

Piccolini, which is Italian for "love for the little ones," opened its shop doors in Nolita this past summer but already boasts a client list of stylists and celebrities.  The magical boutique features fashionably adorable baby-to-toddler clothes as well as toys, jewelry, and gifts.  Owner Alexandra Zagami provides busy New York moms such a chic assortment that it has me - a certified single-city-girl - wishing I had my own mini-me to style.  

So if you ever find yourself in New York City and happen to have a little on to shop for, be sure to put Piccolini on your shopping destination list!

No NYC trip on the horizon?  Check out Piccolini's website and shop chic for your little one! 

Learn more about Piccolini from founder Alexandra Zagami. 

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Versace Madness at H&M

Today was the day.

After months of whispers, weeks of anticipation and yes even days of carefully mapping out strategies: the time has finally come. 

No I'm not a new Apple product or even The Breaking Dawn premiere.

It's the day that Versace arrives at H&M stores.

And let me just say that there's no better city to witness the madness than New York City.


With lines forming around the block and shoppers arriving as early as midnight last night, it hard to believe that the limited collection could draw such attention from consumers.

H&M is certainly no stranger to launching celebrity designer collections in their stores.  Graduates of the strategic collaboration include: Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo, Lanvin, and even the original Material Girl herself, Madonna.

Versace focused on its iconic dresses with vibrant colors and prints.
Versace's iconic dresses are the focus for the women's collection while sharp tailored suits can be found for the men.  The pieces are set in loud vibrant colours and prints that mirror its couture counterpart.  Donatella, Versace's creative director, stated in a recent interview with The New York Times that inspiration to collaborate with H&M was motivated by celebrities such as Lady Gaga, who have motivated her young audience to hunt edgy fashion looks and even vintage Versace pieces.  Capitalizing on this emerging re-interest, young fasionistas everywhere can now have a piece of Versace in her closet - that is if she manages to get past the lines and through the war zone in-stores.

Allow me to play fashion-psychic for a moment:  I predict that half of these pieces find its way on Ebay, at double or even triple the cost.  If Missoni for Target taught us something, it's that making high-fashion designs affordable doesn't necessarily mean we can get our hands on it.
Window display from an NYC H&M.
 
In an effort to control the chaos, H&M distributed color-coded bracelets that limited the time shoppers had in the Versace shop.

Shoppers fought for the best pieces.
A happy shopper leaves the Upper East Side H&M with a bag full of Versace.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

It's Christmas Time in the City... Really?!


Once again the alarm went off too early for me to say I was ready for another day.
Lately it seems that my days are filled with endless deadlines, meetings, projects, and rendezvous.  If my schedule was a soda can, it would have exploded beyond clean up weeks ago.  

It was so easy for me not to notice that the morning air was getting colder and colder.  Sure there were signs - I have traded my wedge sandals for thigh-high boots and denim jacket for my favorite trench - but it's not enough for me to notice the change in the air.

Until one day... it was.  My friend Britney and I were taking a stroll through Midtown when we were suddenly bombarded with Christmas lights and decorations.

A tree in the park.
Christmas songs playing in the background.
Big presents with even bigger bows on shop window displays.

When did it happen? The last I checked it was still September and now red and white Starbucks cups are dancing all around me.  While it's not officially Christmas in the city, it was exciting to see how such a festive city made itself ready.


 Radio City (and its Rockettes) seem to be set for Christmas!

Despite still being under construction, the Rockefeller tree creates an air of excitement for on-lookers.
And below the infamous tree is the infamous ice rink.
 Shops are more than ready for the holiday season
(let's not forget tourists) that are about to come!
Britney Fitzgerald looks in awe at the Christmas display window
outside of Henri Bendel.



Monday, November 7, 2011

An Ode to Conan O'Brien

 

"Feel free to enjoy this beautiful day"

These were the words my editor said to me last Thursday-and let me just say that this was the last thing I expected to hear.  After weeks of extended projects, 12-hour days followed by all-nighters finishing case study after case study, the last thing on my mind was an unexpected afternoon off.

So what's a girl to do?  It was too late for a lunch, but too early to call up friends - not everyone is so lucky to have an impromptu day-off.  As I weighed the possibilities of an afternoon of window shopping versus scouring vintage jewelry shops I came across a unique sight at Columbus Circle.  It appeared that an art exhibition was taking place in the middle of the Shoppes. Not just any art exhibition I may add, but one dedicated to talk show host Conan O'Brien

Conan Pencilism.  A Conan statuette constructed completely out of colored pencils, by Federico Uribe.


Conan the Conqueror, by Giulliano Palladino.

Conan Pointallism, by Freiya Kiessling.

Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter. American Gothic Style

The Converse, by Keith Hale

King Conan, by Deborah Abbott

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Tales of a Dress

"But I swear I never wore it"
"I swear I never did"
The woman stared back at me,
though I knew it was all a fib.

I remember when she called,
I remember when she came
"I need your advice;
I have a special event and just anything will not suffice"

Through the racks we had journeyed
Countless dresses we had tried:
every color every shape, could I help it if her hips were a bit too wide?

At last one was perfect
It had fit like a glove
Its long train trailed behind as she walked.
As graceful as a dove

She left my sight happy,
she left my sight pleased.
For there's no better feeling than knowing:
everyone's attention your dress will seize.

And now here she is two weeks later,
telling me she changed her mind;
making excuses of how it didn't fit
Something about its zipper not able to bind

I wish she would stop,
put her story at a halt.
Now she's looking back at me
as though it were all my fault.

She went to her party,
she had looked like a queen.
Everyone loved what she was wearing,
and she just loved being seen.

But now the music has stopped
and everybody went home.
That's when she finally realized:
the dress she could not afford.

"I want my money back" she continued,
"The dress was just wrong"
like white after Labor Day,
or a bad break-up song.

I gave her the refund,
that's all I can do.
The customer is always right they tell me,
even if they call a yellow cab blue.

Just another day in the office.
A client I add to my black list.
Now please, how can I help you?
I would just love to assist!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Quest for the Perfect Fur

Sketchy on the outside, but vintage
treasures on the inside!
 
My top fashion goal this season has been to score a fabulous fur piece to add to my closet.

Sound easy right?

Not quite.
First of all, despite that fur is a big trend this cold-weather season, finding that one piece that flatters your unique personal shape can be harder than finding the perfect pair of skinny jeans.  Some are too fluffy, some shed a whole animal on you, and others just leave you looking like poor roadkill.  

An unexpected solution presented itself one day when my friend and I wanted to hit up New York Vintage (as featured by Rachel Zoe) for some unique finds.  Well, apparently New York Vintage is closed on Sundays, but across the way was a vintage garage - open to all!  Prada Mary Janes, vintage layered pearls, 70's DVF wrap dresses, were all around us but I was consumed with one thought: I can get my fur here - let the hunting begin!

Let's fast-forward two hours later and I'm holding a rabbit-fur jacket (circa 1970s) and a 1940s caplet - I mean everyone needs at least one cape in their closet right? 

Vintage heaven.
Mission Accomplished! Hanging in my closet today are my two perfect fur pieces, silently filling my old void.  



As fabulous as this teeny baby fur jacket was, it just wasn't for me.

Oh fur, why art thou so difficult to find?