Fashion Me Fabulous

I finally had a chance to Netflix Coco Avant Chanel ( Coco Before Chanel ) starring Audrey Tautou (of Amelie fame). The movie focused on Coco's life leading up to her first fashion show. As a poor, skinny orphan Coco grows up to find work as a seamstress by day and cabaret singer by night. Her "sister" is her partner if both endeavors until she meets a duke with whom she runs off. This leaves Coco to find a place to go and figure out how to make her life on her own. The story was intriguing, and Tautou's quiet performance captivated. We watched through the eyes of a young Coco as she studied the nun's habits in the orphanage and the clothing she frequently stole from the men in her life. She was a quick study as a seamstress. She took apart the men's clothing she found and refashioned it for herself. Learning to ride a horse side saddle became frustrating so she created pants. Every influence seemed to build within Coco. As she became more involved in the soci...

J ael Paris: First off, I love wearing big things around my waist, and this obi belt from Newport News gets bonus points for being reversible. becca: I also love wearing big things around my waist, but not this particular thing. While the red side is OK, this side--paired with the over-the-top tassels--looks like my great grandmother's curtains. Jael Paris: I'll admit the tassels are too much, but that could be easily fixed. The embroidered side makes me think of a belt from McQueen's Spring/Summer 2001 show. Not as cool, but certainly a viable alternative. becca: I get the inspiration, but I still don't like this print (still feels granny to me). Also, the tassels seem to be a major selling point and part of the reason this belt costs $50, which is far too much for an item that requires tossing the three sets of tassels that come with it. (Unless you have three curtains that each require different color tassels). Jael Paris: Well I'm clearly not going to be ab...

Fancy occasions evoke images of hair in long, romantic waves or chic updos, but what if you have a crop? It may be trendy and easy to style, but it doesn't exactly fit our culture's idea of sophistication. But there's no need to fear that upcoming wedding or school dance. My shorn head is full of ideas. Whenever I have a formal occasion, I change the texture of my hair. In college, I spent well over an hour straightening my long curls and pulling them up into the perfect ponytail. Now that I wear my hair short and straight everyday, I create texture with a curling iron and flip my bangs out for a date. It's not a chignon, but diverging from your daily look does say that you put extra effort into doing something special. Pink set an example at the Grammy's with her diamond pin. If you don't have time to switch up your hair or just don't like it a different way, buy a stunning clip or headband . Over-the-top sparkle can be dreamy and romantic with minimal mak...

It's warm. It's cold. It's warm. It's cold. It's refusing to make make up it's mind. The weather is crazy during this transition from winter to spring. Layering is the only way to dress to assure you'll be warm enough in the mornings and evenings, yet cool enough during the warm sunny days. Free People's Trench Cardigan could be the perfect layering piece. It's made of cotton and modal (!) so it's soft and comfortable. You'll be able to wear it like a trench coat or keep it on all day like a cuddly cardigan. It has military inspired, double-breasted buttons up the front for a crisp look or a removable sash to either tie it casually or cinch it in the back for a more figure flattering look. It even has pockets in case your hands get cold on a day you thought would be warm enough to leave your gloves behind. It costs $128, which isn't too bad considering this garment can work for all seasons (even summer has some cool nights). You can get ...

Who: Vivienne Westwood What it made us think of: Gypsy drag queen refugees who get more attractive with each drink. What we liked: shoes, bags, jackets, snug dresses, print and textural tights, knee socks, prints, the pickup skirt , gowns What we didn't: makeup mustaches, blanket coats, acid wash jeans, wtf styling Who: Giambattista Valli What it made us think of: Kim Novak, Queen of rugs and carpeting. What we liked: Texture, retro shapes, beige, pops of orange What we didn't: Odd sheer bits made dresses look like nighties. Some of the material was too rec-room shag. Who: Costume National What it made us think of: The Giambattista Valli show with a sleeker line. What we liked: texture, pops of orange, leather What we didn't: Again, rec-room shag. Who: Hussein Chalayan What it made us think of: Zoot suits, then people attacked by school photo backdrops. What we liked: This show was adventurous but with high wearability, especially if you miss the 90s. Image s...

Please excuse our lack of pretty summary images for this week. Jael Paris and I are recovering from fashion week. This Week In Shopping: becca discusses the neverending battle of pants shopping . We've found sunshine sandals , shoes for St. Patty's day , stunning hats on Etsy, spring wardrobe staples for $150 . We also went i n search of Seth Aaron's striped jacket from Project Runway . This Week In Your Opinion: We want to know what you think of this floral sock/boot , and this week's Project Runway results . We're almost done covering Paris Fashion Week, which means our fashion week coverage for this season will soon come to a close. Check out these videos from this season's shows. Paris Fashion Week Coverage So Far: Christian Dior, Lanvin Alexander McQueen Gareth Pugh, Ann Demeulemeester, Rick Owens Chanel, Valentino Jean Paul Gaultier, Viktor & Rolf Balmain, Pedro Lourenço, Karl Lagerfeld Anne Valérie Hash, Dries Van Noten, Elie Saab Miu Miu, S...

Comme des Garçons has never been a line that pleases the shopping obsessed bystander who responds to runway photos with "Who wears that?" This collection threw the fashion world's obsession with "flattering your figure" back at them with a high velocity pillow fight. The padded pieces had no regard for traditional shapes. Some looks seems to have odd pillowed growths while others added bulk to the front of the torso with no regard to breasts or abs. I don't quite get where designer Rei Kawakubo was going with this, but if I understood I'd probably be disappointed. Issey Miyake based this collection on geometric models of the universe. It started with seemingly random, colorful scarf-like garments and quickly switched gears to a stark black and white, geometric look then continued to build with color and texture--each pieces more intricate and stunning than that before it. I struggled to choose images and considered posting all of them here. In a time ...