Chanel, Lanvin & Schiaparelli

Pictured Left to Right: Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin & Elsa Schiaparelli

The Fashion Institute of Technology New York will host an exhibition starting in May. The Arbiters of Style: Women at the Forefront of Fashion will pay homage to some of fashion's most influential and successful women. The exhibit features the works of Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin and Elsa Schiaparelli, just to name a few. Co-curated by Colleen Hill and Molly Sorkin, the exhibit will feature 70 looks which includes those worn by department store executives, influential clients, editors, models and muses. In addition to the icons, it will host pieces designed by such leading couturieres as Jeanne Paquin, English designer Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon and retail pioneer Hattie Carnegie. Other stylish donations will include those from the legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland, Hollywood favourite Lauren Bacall and Vivienne Westwood. The exhibition will run from May 21 to November 8 2008. Be sure to stop in New York and check the exhibit out.





**Stay tuned, in honor of this event we'll be hosting a special contest. Check back in two weeks for the terms. Thanks for reading.

I'll Punch You, Is Brass The New Black?

A couple of years ago, there was this really cute purse that I wanted called the Peace Keeper. Mainly because it had a pair of brass knuckles made into it as a handle. {perfect thing to have when running into an ex, btw} Then I read a story about this umbrella called the "Umbuster." It's a cute little umbrella with a handle that is made into, you guessed it, brass knuckles. This got me to thinking about all of the artistic creations that involve the coveted weapon. As I saw, the choices never stopped. I must tell you now, It's Becoming A Trend!!!!! Good thing is, now you don't need to take all those expensive self defense classes. Trust me, if someone sees you in this much brass, they'll walk the other way.

James Piatt Peace Keeper purse @ JamesPiatt.com

Rihanna's Brass Knuckle Boot's {I would like a pair myself, anyone know where to get them}

Brass Knucks Chair from Fist Fire LLC Furniture @ Fistfire.com

Brass Knuckles earrings @ Kaboodle.com

Brass Knuckles T-Shirts @ 10 Deep NYC

The infamous UmBuster @ Gizmodo.com

Black Rhinestone Knuckles Necklace @ Kaboodle.com

Brass Knuckles Belt @ Kaboodle.com

A Simple Brass Knuckles Necklace @ ThisNext.com

A modified version of Brass Knuckles {I actually think it's really cute} @ Knock Out Knucks.

Blackberry 9000

It's here! The Blackberry 9000. The next generation of Blackberry, the elusive 9000 has been spotted in the wild! While maintaining the brains of a Blackberry, the glorious 9000 has the sleek black face and chromed out edge style of an iPhone with a glossy PSP-ish simple white on black icons UI that glows. Somehow, the Blackberry 9000 brings a new sexy sleek vibe without abandoning its keypad. The 9000 features both WiFi and HSDPA. The phone's lines seem flow really well (dare we call a BlackBerry "sexy"?) without losing its purpose-suited stance exuded by the 8300s, 8700s, and 8800s of yore. Blackberry users will know that the 9000 is a more than just a "pimped out" version of days gone by. The real kicker, though, might be the beautiful user interface, which has been totally revamped fromthe ground up; gone is the cartoonish look and feel of the current lineup, replaced with a modern, warm theme with wireframe icons and slick animations. Another big win: as Vodafone's slide deck mentioned, the 9000 features both WiFi and HSDPA, confirmed by this particular example's info display. (engadgetmobile)


"Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you're presented with and moving on. No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation, you can always do something. You always have a choice and the choice can be power."---Blaine Lee, The Power Principle


Lovin Life, truthis

My Bag Says F&@K Off!!!

My bag doesn't really say that, but if I get a Lady Bag, it has the potential to. The bag is still in it's development phase, however it's made by women for women. The bag is designed to make sure that women always remember the daily essentials {I hope it doesn't program for that monthly event, how embarrassing}, like keys, cell phones, wallets before they leave home for work, shopping or whatever it is that keeps you beautiful ladies busy. The Lady Bag, developed by a team of six women at Canada’s Simon Fraser University it uses RFID technology to detect items inside the bag.

The LadyBag will show the item’s icon on the outside LED display, if that item is missing from the bag. Once everything is in place a smiley emoticon lights up and you're on your way. To let the bag know what it should look for, each item to be tracked needs an RFID tag insert or attached to it. It’s kind of a reverse application of the RFID technology that beeps when people leave the store without paying for an item {because we truly believe that people don't steal, right}. Only difference, this purse wants to make sure everythings inside for you. Also, the LED display on the outside of the bag reflects the owner’s emotional state using emoticons. The bag determines your emotional state through your interactions which are registered via physical sensors. Be careful ladies when talking to that person that you pretend that you like, but you really don't. Next time, instead of your face showing it, your purse might.

**Images courtesy of Lady Bag.com

Swimming Suits

The styles of swimming suits this season say sexy, sophisticated, playful, colorful, and if you didn't work out, you've got very little time to do that! I'm seeing all the styles in all different colors and patterns this year as usual. What I noticed most of all were the black suits. They seemed to be very sophisticated and a little risque, definitely not short on style. You could see a version of a swim suit from all of the top designers represented here. With the exception of the white swimming suits all of the swimwear pictured is from Victoria Secret. The solid black one piece is a "Halter One-Piece Monokini" by Carmen Marc Valvo. It has a deep, daring, plunging neckline. We're only recommending this if you're really secure with yourself and your surroundings. Everybody will remember you wherever you wear this one. The second black swimsuit is by "Very Sexy." It is the "Metallic Logo Plunge One-Piece Monokini." It has cut away sides (seeing a lot of this) and it ties at the neck and the back. The brown bikini is by Very Sexy and they call it their "Metallic Sliding Triangle Top." It's got sparkles and shell embellishments. Now the white two piece with the rings in the top is called the "European Triangle," and the bottoms called "European Low Rise." It's available from Venus. You can also check out Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, and Bergdorf Goodman. These are your trends to watch this season. I guarantee you'll be seeing these suits! Or suits made like these. "Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work."---William Arthur Ward
Lovin Life, truthis

Shoe Shopping Cont.....

Alright, ok, so I'm not finished shoe shopping and like 80% of American Women I probably won't ever be. You can go along though. A friend of mine was teasing me about shoes and I told him women's shoes was to women like video games (Madden in particular) and cars are to men. It's just part of who we are. Anyway, I saw this neat little high heeled sandal at Guess. It reminds me of the flat leather sandals made like this. All the designers are doing this sort of gladiator themed shoes this season. It's called "Eulia." They bill it as their twist on the strappy sandal, with Bold leather cross-strap detail. And it has a double harness buckle at the ankle. It seriously reminds me of the "Ines Biker Leather Sandal" by Jimmy Choo. Both shoes are available at Nordstrom's. This white sandal is called "Leanna." It's enamel offers a soft and glamorous look. It's got a strappy sandal T-Strap with an adjustable harness buckle at the ankle. Enamel rings in a "I heart Guess" motif. Kinda reminds of the Badgley Mischka sandal by the name of "Isabetta." Finally we have Guess's blue "Empower" sandal. Open toe with a stacked bow accent. Strappy sandal detail at ankle. Adjustable harness and a covered platform. Kinda like Moschino's "Cheap and Chic Ruched Toe Sandal." So for every shoe their is a comparable shoe, always at different prices and slightly different styles.

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."
- unknown

Lovin Life, truthis

Interesting Mosaic's

Mosaics are often beautiful and commentary. This image of Steve Jobs doesn't hold any moving messages about society, it could serve a function. The entire image is made of up Apple products, so the finished portrait could function as one big Apple ad campaign. It features everything from computers to the iPhone. To spare you some squinting, yes, it does also include the MacBook Air. The entire image is made of up Apple products, so the finished portrait could function as one big Apple ad campaign. It features everything from computers to the iPhone. To spare you some squinting, yes, it does also include the MacBook Air. It also has other new gadgets like the iPod nano pink. “Credit must go to Deanna Lowe @ Fortune magazine and the photographer of the original photo in which this mosaic is based,” it says below the Flickr image which also says the image was “Made with Synthetik Studio Artist, Adobe Photoshop and Apple QuickTime Pro with custom developed scripts and techniques.” It is becoming a trend using all types of products to create a mosaic. Used metro tickets, pieces of scrap or what ever inspire people to assemble an artistic object. This next mosaic is striking. I have never seen something so brilliant and breathtakingly sensitive that words fail me. 4,000 small photographs of the US soldiers fallen in Iraq, arranged into a portrait of their good-time-having “Commander-in-Chief” and his potential successor were pieced together to create this work of art. As I said, mere words fail me and are not needed. Therefore I solely refer to the words of the creator of this mosaic, Nico Pitney of Huffington Post. “In remembrance of the 4,000 brave men and women who sacrificed everything for us—and the two men who would continue this great tragedy, despite the cost to our soldiers, our military, and our nation,” said Pitney. Click here to see the full (very large) image and gape at the 4,000 faces in silence. When you have downloaded the large image, click to zoom in. It is staggering. Simply staggering (Note: Since some photos of fallen U.S. soldiers are unavailable, there are duplicates.) In case you're interested, you can visit Mosaically on line and have them create your own mosaic.

"When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly."--- Edward Teller

Lovin Life, truthis

Fashion Meets Art in Nordstrom Spring 2008 Ads

For their Spring 2008 Ads, Nordstrom has teamed up with artist Ruben Toledo who painted 20-by-30 foot walls to serve as a backdrop for the models which were shot by fashion photographer Ruven Afanador. Toledo even painted ON the models for the campaign. The result is an artistic and stylish eye-candy. “It’s one thing to say that fashion and art go together and to show it by putting a model in an art gallery. We knew we didn’t want to do that and we knew Ruben’s artwork needed to be more than just a backdrop. Instead, what Ruben and Ruven came up with truly fused art and photography. The art became the environment–transcending the very idea of a backdrop. The result truly exceeded our expectations.” said Linda Finn, executive vice president of marketing at Nordstrom." I think it's a winner too!

"You must lose everything in order to gain anything." Mohammad Qureshi Mohammad Qureshi

Lovin Life, truthis

Bag Me Up Like Donatella

I love to travel and have a lot of fun in doing so, but yet I still have yet to find some luggage that I am just in love with. Then of course, I was painted envy green when I saw Donatella's luggage when she came into town last week to launch her Versace Men's lines at Barney's New York. I remember the time when I used to see pictures of her with bright pink luggage traveling from Paris to Milan and everywhere in between. Now her chosen shade has switched to purple. When speaking with the New York times Donatella said "it became tired... like black did," referring to her once favored pink Versace Luggage. Ms. Versace ushered in with roughly a dozen purple suitcases - one bag each for dresses, shoes and accessories- "All these people, they have a designer handbag, and I think: 'So what? You have Eastpak luggage.' Why should it get stolen." She said, while sipping tea in her grand suite at the Waldorf-Astoria.

I couldn't agree more, no person wants something that everyone else has. If you have an eye for something it would be the unique thing in the room. But I believe that Donatella is trying to say, if you go all out on your Gucci handbag, you should do the same for the luggage that you travel with. So ditch the nylon and polyester luggage for a brand new set of well made luxurious Italian leather bags. You'll love yourself for it and I think Donatella would too. I think instead of purple, I'll opt for a nice royal blue or sky blue. Oh and about that trim on your new luggage, “Don’t call it beige...” Ms. Versace says, call it “Blond.”


**Image courtesy of NYTimes.com

Neiman Marcus RELAUNCHES Their Web Log Business

Neiman Marcus has relaunched their NM Insite blog. They decided to toss their hat into the web log {blog} business last year in late August. They relaunched the site late last week called NM Insite. The blog is dedicated to bringing it's readers the latest fashion news from around the world and within the legendary chain. {But if you noticed it's another way for the store to do shameless promotions} It focuses on clothing, up-and-coming fashion designers, legacy designers, home decorating, latest trends.

Categories Include:
As Seen In
Ask the Expert
Click Quick
Designer Q&A
Designer Zodiac
Eye Spy Great Buys
Fashion History
Fashion News
Fashion Quotes
From the Runway
Holiday Memories Contest
How To
NM Kids
NM's 100th Anniversary
Style Wrap-Up
This Day in Fashion History
Top Seller
Top Trends
Two of a Kind
We Asked, You Said
When & Wear With Ken Downing

Maybe you can go here and find something interesting. For instance what Tory Burch's favorite frozen treat is or the what next month's hot trend will be. Go to the site, see if you want to give it a try and come back, let us know what you think.