YSL Spring 2010: Runway to Retail

The Yves St. Laurent Spring 2010 fashions were a mixed bag for me. I liked the neutral palette and the extensive use of separates in the show. One or two spectacular, wearable, separates that you can depend on in your wardrobe are always a good thing.

(The ruffled middle skirt is on pre-order now, love the fluidity on it.)

I particularly liked some of the structured bow details and how they contrasted with some of the more deconstructed pieces with unfinished edging:

But these strangely placed bust-ruffle details that felt like Madonna/Gaultier stage costuming aren’t working for me.

…….the  ‘Oh, so you don’t want pockets’   punchline comes to mind.

Nor am I thrilled with the the floor-length, ruffled skirts that are just too long to compliment most body types:

But, the shoes and accessories – Yves St. Laurent, you have my attention.

Just look at this armlet. Gulp. I must find a way to get my hands on this.

Some of the sandals feel like they are a casual blending of YSL’s recent cage sandals with their wildly popular Tribute sandals. These architectural, open demi-wedges have a sweet and flirty summer appeal:

But, it’s the wilted rose-and-thorn shoes have me shifting into full-on shoe-lust mode:

YSL, how completely do these torment play with my desire for a fairy-tale Briar Rose shoe as both Vivier & Mai Lamore have done in the past!

Add these to my list of  Holy Grail shoes (unless I find a smoking deal on a pair of  aftermarket Vivier Rose ‘n Roll beauties; I would be satisfied with owning either style).

So, just in time for spring, the following retail versions of the Spring YSL runway styles are now available for pre-order at Saks, Nieman Marcus, Nordstrom, and YSL boutiques:

Yves St.  Caged ‘Essentiel 105′ Platform Sandal $895 pre-order at Nordstrom.com,  Saks.com & Niemanmarcus.com

Yves St. Laurent Criss-cross ankle strap sandals $795 at Saks.com (on sale now)

Yves St. Laurent ‘Gaia’ Platform sandal $830 pre-order at Nordstrom in nude or black suede.

Yves St. Laurent ‘Gaia’ Slide sandal $895 pre-order at Nordstrom.com

Yves St. Laurent ‘Lauren’ ballerina flat $595 at Niemanmarcus.com

Yves St. Laurent Rose t-strap sandals $895 at Nordstrom.com & Niemanmarcus.com

Yves St. Laurent ‘Chloris’ sandal $895 pre-order at Nordstrom.com & Niemanmarcus.com (in nude or raspberry)

* All Photos in this article sourced from NYMag.com & Style.com.

Louboutin for the Spring Bride

I’ve been married for almost 20 years. So, I am not currently in the market for anything resembling a pair of spring bridal shoes.

But for our readers, I expect that at least some of you are in wedding planning mode. So why not add one of these spectacular wedding-worthy shoes to your bridal wish list?

Christian Louboutin Studio 120 Peep Toe Pumps $1895 at Net-a-porter.com

Christian Louboutin Fetilo Peep Toe Pumps $995 at Saks.com

Christian Louboutin Miss Cha Cha $945 at Barneys.com

Christian Louboutin Fetilo Mesh and Patent Leather Pumps $945 at Saks.com

Christian Louboutin Knotted Leather Pumps $875 at Saks.com

Christian Louboutin Maryjane Platform Pump $995 at Niemanmarcus.com

Christian Louboutin Lady Bow $735 at Barneys.com

Oh, and just in case you are looking for a ‘something blue’ pop of color to go with the old rhyme, how about one of these jewel-toned beauties?

Christian Louboutin Glitter Peep Toe Pumps $725 at Niemanmarcus.com

Christian Louboutin Double Platform Knotted Mule $895 at Niemanmarcus.com

Pantone’s Color of the Year: Turquoise

I’m not one for following every color trend that comes along.

As I push on closer and closer to (age) 40, I tend to stick with those colors that have proved to be complimentary to me over the years. Luckily, pretty much anything in the blue color family works for me.

Plus, with something close to an even zillion re-tweets last week of Pantone’s Color of 2010, this particular color trend seemed worth mentioning.

It will certainly be interesting to see if fashion and shoe trends fall in line with this prediction. It makes sense given the current resurgence of 80′s-inspired fashion that several of the staple colors from that decade, including turquoise and fuschia, would make an appearance. I also recall seeing a significant increase in both turqoise and fuschia sandals last spring and summer, so maybe this is less of a prediction than an acknowledgement of an emerging trend.

So, here it is:

15-5519 Turquoise, an inviting, luminous hue, as the color of the year for 2010. Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.

Luckily for me, I already have my turquoise for the year – care of a few great sales last spring:

Guess ‘Chiquita” & LAMB watch

Sandals by ‘Hot in Hollywood’

Report Signature’s ‘Dita’

Okay, I’ll admit, the last is more of a faboulous sky blue, but what’s the point if all of my shoes are the exact same shade?

Anyway, while I doubt any of these shoes from my collection are still available anywhere but the retail aftermarket, there are still a huge number of fantastic turquoise options for you to choose from right now.

Among them:

Christian Louboutin Double Platform Knotted Mule $895 at Nieman Marcus

Christian Louboutin Glitter Peep Toe Pumps $725 at Nieman Marcus

Stuart Weitzman Turquoise Embellished Strappy Sandals $395 at Saks.com

And, for the slightly more budget-conscious:

Jeffrey Campbell ‘Downtown’ Bootie $139.95

Poetic License ‘Kiss and Tell’ $94.95 at Nordstrom.com

Tory Burch Reva Jelly Flats $95 at Saks.com

Steve Madden ‘Saahara’ $49.95 at Nordstrom

And, for the extreme frugalista:

Montege Bay ‘Oscar Bow’ $16.99 $12.99 at Payless.com

Montego Bay ‘Marissa’ sandal $19.99 at Payless.com

So, will you be on the hunt for the perfect turquoise footwear this year?

Chanel Mixes-it-up for Spring 2010

At first glance, Chanel’s Spring 2010 shoes seem to have a bit of a split personality. The preponderance of chunky clogs and wooden platforms plays as quite a contrast against feminine, textured, cone heels and layered floral-vamp sandals.

But, this strange variance in footwear make sense when taken with Lagerfeld’s 2010 show as a whole.

As noted in the runway review at Style.com:

Lagerfeld was on a roll. Digging into a theme can sometimes throw up some embarrassing puns, and the effort to be youthful has occasionally had off-beam results at Chanel. But with this collection, Lagerfeld’s summing up of the season’s tendencies—beige, ivory, and black; rough textures; transparency and lace—was spun into a collection so masterfully balanced between classicism and current fashion affairs that the whole thing felt delightfully sure-footed.The knack was that he didn’t rush it—just let the thing keep bouncing out in a sustained variation of caramels, taupes, and ecrus, all logically adapted to the house’s nubby tweed suits, frothy blouses, and fluttery chiffons. The editing of everything to short lengths looked sweet without being chichi—the test being that every teenage girl looked naturally at home in the little thigh-split skirts (that’s what has happened to the bottom half of the Chanel suit), as well as in the mini-crinis and ruffled dance dresses.

What is interesting to me is the one descriptive phrase that dominated my thoughts in looking at this runway collection is conspicuously absent from the above review.

That phrase? Gothic Lolita.

(Image c/o wikipedia.com)

Someone’s been paying attention to the underground fashion scene, boys and girls.

Chanel’s chunky clogs and elegant sandals would normally have felt as if they belonged on two separate runways. But, Lolita fashion successfully matches both ultra-feminine as well as goth-chunky choices in footwear, so it is not a surprise to see it working here.

What I found remarkable was how successful the collection was in merging the extreme frothiness of Lolita with signature Chanel textured bouclés. It really does add an unexpected youthfulness to otherwise conservative materials.

But, you can see this for yourself with some selections from the Spring 2010 Chanel Runway (all photos sourced from style.com unless otherwise credited):

Frilly Lolita styles matches with feminine heels:

School-girl Lolita, matched with chunky clogs:

There were also a handful of straight-forward gothic styles; perhaps due to current Twilight Madness and the recent popularity of vampire fiction?

Most successful, for me, were the styles that managed youthfulness while still capturing a the core feel of the Chanel identity. Less overtly Lolita and more of a ‘Hip Chanel’;  these, to me, really captured the sophistication I tend to associate with the Chanel brand while staying accessible and relevant to chic, young, professional women.

Other shoes of note:

Ultimately, if you are looking at the shoes alone, you are probably going to find yourself in a love or hate relationship to the clogs, no matter how dolled up they are. But the decorated pumps – heaven.

So, if these ultra-feminine, gothic-Lolita influences trickle down into mainstream fashion, that’s a trend I can really get behind.

I recently read (can’t recall where) that it used to be a counter-cultural statement to dress casually. Now it’s the norm. If it is now a counter-cultural act to dress up and try to make the world a little bit more beautiful through fashion, then bring it on.

What’s your take?

Huge Gabriella Rocha sale at 6pm.com

6pm.com is having one of their brand-clearance specials today. This time it’s on the Gabriella Rocha brand.

Prices on some shoe are as low as $4.95 – you can’t even beat those prices at Payless!

Many styles are on sale:

Juliette $7.95 $43

Glori $7.95 $65

Chill $4.95 $81

Mindola $7.95 $61

So, frugalistas: Go forth and shop