YSL + Hermès + J. Crew = Mama Like

Does this ever happen to you? Do you just forget what you have in your closet? I had kind of forgotten about my YSL Tribute tote in aubergine patent leather, but after seeing this picture, which I took awhile ago and came across recently, I realize I need to wear it outside the house. It’s flat and unusual and strictly a handheld bag. I know purple patent leather doesn’t scream practicality but I just fell in love with the color and it still makes me happy when I see it. It’s not an everyday handbag for me, but when I want shine and intense color this is a great choice.

YSL Tribute tote in aubergine patent leather.

Oh do I love the corners of this scarf, which feel so Art Deco and wonderful.

The scarf is my beloved Washington’s Carriage 70cm, my first Hermès, and purchased entirely from funds gained by selling old gold jewelry that was broken and couldn’t be repaired.

This scarf by Cathy Latham was originally issued in 1976.

I love the seaming details on this J. Crew Lady Day coat.

The coat is by J. Crew, their classic double-cloth Lady Day coat. I waited until the end of the season in 2011 and got it on sale.

Back to the bag, please consider this your friendly reminder that Adrienne of The Rich Life (on a budget) and I would love for you to join us for April’s “How I Wear My” post, which is all about everyday handbags. Send me a picture of how you wear your handbag (not just a picture of the bag, please!) by April 3.

Meanwhile, I’m going to put on this outfit and go to the city. It’s still cold here. This will work!

Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced

A 1972 Stephen Burrows dress, one of the first to feature his “lettuce” edging.

Friends, it’s not every day that you get a tour of a retrospective fashion exhibit from the featured designer himself! So I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to not only meet Stephen Burrows, whose work is the subject of a new show at The Museum of the City of New York, Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced, but also to hear him talk about the heyday of his glorious designs, from 1968 to 1983.

Dresses from the Signature section.

Mr. Burrows was the first African-American to attain international status as a designer and was one of five Americans, along with Halston, Anne Klein, Bill Blass, and Oscar de la Renta invited to show in Paris in 1973 at the famous “Battle of Versailles” benefit fashion show. It pitted those five Americans against the French designers Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, and Emanuel Ungaro and was a landmark event, showing off the innovation and creativity of American designers, who proved they could more than hold their own against the recognized French design establishment.

Burrows said a client wore this 1972 rust gown as her wedding dress, scandalizing her family!

Co-curator Phyllis Magidson called Mr. Burrows “the epitome of a New York success story.” He was born in Newark, NJ and began designing in 1966 after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology. He is an industry legend for his work in matte jersey, chiffon, and velvet. Mr. Burrows won three Coty Awards for his designs in 1973, 1974, and 1977, and also has a plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame in the Garment District in Manhattan.

Mr. Burrows pointed out this 1971 jacket as one of his favorites.

Four groupings of clothes highlight the major themes of Burrows’ career: Signatures, The Commune, Silhouettes, and Clothes That Dance, each exploring different aspects of his work in different eras, from the brightly colored unisex or “any sex” clothes in the late 1960s to the shimmery disco dolly outfits in the late 70s and early 80s.

Oh how I love this 1970 colorblocked black coat of leather, suede, and wool jersey.

The “lettuce” edge, the fluttery hem that became one of his design signatures, came out of a mistake when an assistant overstretched a featherweight jersey hem. Burrows said, “I liked the look of it. I made her do it some more and then added it to everything.” In this way, his signature design detail was born.

Other signatures of Burrows include emphasis on draping, slinky, body-defining silhouettes, colorblocking, heavy use of metallics, and a red zigzag stitch at the seams.

The clothes on view were all made in New York City, in the Garment District, “Right there on 39th Street,” Burrows told me.

From the Silhouette section. I love the 1972 green and pink ensemble!

Burrows said he feels that colors don’t have to go together. Isn’t this 1972 ensemble amazing?

From 1969-71, these belong to one collector who has stored them lovingly in his NYC apartment.

Clothes That Dance. Make mine the gold mesh halter and red skirt!

Farrah Fawcett wore this gold mesh ensemble to the 1977 Oscars. The skirt is 18 lbs!

Some of his clients included Cher, Farrah Fawcett, Jerry Hall, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, and Barbra Streisand. And he was not only making clothes for the disco-set, he was one of them. It was great fun to listen to him and guest curator Daniela Morera reminisce about the good times they had at Studio 54, as well as Le Jardin and The Loft, clubs that pre-dated Studio 54. Morera noted that she has known Burrows for 40 years, after meeting him at a mutual friend’s party, and that Burrows “is a fantastic dancer, that’s how we became friends, we were dancing together.”

It’s a fitting statement for a show that feels like a fabulous disco dance party from the second you walk in.

Studio 54, anyone?

Stephen Burrows and guest curator Daniela Morera at the press preview.

Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced is on view until July 28, 2013.

The Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue (at 104th Street)
New York NY 10029

Saving Strategies (or, the I Want It List)

Abbie Cornish as Wally in W./E. Her Ray-Bans ended up on my I Want It list.

One way I discovered last year to save money was the “I Want It” list and now I create one nearly every month. It really helps to control impulse spending of any kind but you have to be disciplined!

Here’s how it works:

1. From beauty products to clothes to accessories, if you are at all compelled to buy it, it goes on the list but you do not purchase the item. I liked the brattiness of naming it the “I Want It” list, which made it sound like I could have anything I wanted. It has worked in a reverse psychology way—I put down items that are mid-priced, but also very inexpensive. The whole goal is to make myself think about every purchase.

This YSL Volupté Sheer Candy (in #5) was a Planned Purchase in December.

2. You do not buy anything off the list until the following month! I found that by then plenty of the things I “wanted” I actually forgot about, which proved they were nothing but impulse buys all along. Sometimes I go check out the item in person and learn it doesn’t look good on me, like the vintage-style Ray-Bans above. So lovely on Abbie Cornish (as she wore them in W./E.), so terrible on me! If I do want something, obsess over it, and know it won’t be around the next month that’s when it gets tough. Sometimes I’ve regretted not making the purchase, but most of the time I don’t. And sometimes, like with the leopard clutch below, it was $10 and I knew it wouldn’t be around the following month in Sheree’s shop at It’s Not That Deep, so I went for it. No regrets!

I bought these without putting them on the list. So bad!

The “I Want It” list has been helpful in making almost everything I buy a Planned Purchase, even mascara! Because I don’t know about you, but it’s been buying too many little things, from Essie nail polishes to J. Crew cardigans—things that aren’t too expensive—that sometimes make it hard to save for something big.

Washington’s Carriage 70cm scarf by Hermès, also a Planned Purchase!

Do you have any tricks you use to help you plan your purchases and reduce impulse buys? I would love to hear about them!

RIP Fashion’s Night Out

A Bergdorf window during Fashion’s Night Out in 2010.

I was sad to learn that Fashion’s Night Out is “on hiatus” in the US (I’m reading this as dead in the water), but not surprised. One of the benefits of attending FNO at exactly the same spot—Bergdorf Goodman—from 2010 until 2012 was the opportunity to see how it changed year to year. The first year I attended was amazing, with lots of celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker and Victoria Beckham at Bergdorf’s, as well as designers such as Carlos Falchi and Naeem Khan (and those were just the ones on the same floor as me). There were live mannequins performing in the windows and a huge line to get in the store. There were also plenty of people on the street who had no idea what was going on. You could almost see them scratching their heads: It’s September. What is this? What is the occasion? But you could also tell that they loved it.

I still love this picture of Bill Cunningham I shot as he worked on 5th Avenue during FNO 2011.

The next year the party was even more festive, featuring more glorious Bergdorf windows, more celebrities, and more parties than the year before. You could tell the word was out. It was wild at 57th Street and 5th Avenue!

Another crazy Bergdorf window in 2011. See the lady at the top of the wooden dress?

But this past year’s FNO was telling. At Bergdorf’s, it seemed like a toned-down event. To their credit they were still quite generous with pouring drinks and giving out food goodies including delicious cupcakes! There were still gorgeous windows, lots of people there, and, had I arrived earlier, I could’ve seen Michael Kors and the Senior Vice President of store presentation and women’s fashion (and one of my style icons) Linda Fargo kicking off the festivities.

However, when my friend and I made it to Henri Bendel’s later in the evening, it was so crazy in there that an actual fight broke out at the bar which spread so fast security had to rush in to control the crowds and separate people.

Since FNO has turned into a free-for-all, with almost no shopping happening—and getting people out to the stores to spend in the midst of a recession was the reason FNO was created—it must be a terrible (and expensive) burden on the stores to host this event every year to ever-larger crowds.

RIP FNO. I will miss you!

A truck parked on Fifth Avenue during FNO 2011.

At Bergdorf's in 2010.

5th Avenue at 57th Street. This is easily my favorite corner in Manhattan.

Shopping Sins

I wanted to give you an update on my 2013 Shopping Ban while I save for something big.

Well dear readers, I am both weak and strong. Weak because yes I have caved and bought two things. Strong because I have resisted plenty of other things!

I got the leopard clutch from the fabulous Sheree at It’s Not That Deep, one of my favorite style blogs. She has a shop where you can buy some of the pieces she’s featured in her posts. The prices and selection are wonderful! I got this for $10. How could I say no?

Leopard print clutch and butter London nail polish in Queen Vic.

The nail polish is by butter LONDON, a brand I have been meaning to try for awhile. God knows I don’t need another bottle of nail polish, but I wanted to add a deep pink to my collection and this shade, Queen Vic, fits the bill perfectly. The formula is great, it goes on wonderfully, and has lasted awhile on my nails.

Here are two things I did say no to.

I tried on this Tory Burch top in December when I was working at Bloomingdale’s. I think it would be great for spring. If it goes on sale this might find a home with me.

This is a linen tee. Anybody have tips on cleaning linen?

Ooh La La! flats by Charlotte Olympia. These are linen too. What is it with me and linen lately?

I love these Ooh La La! flats by Charlotte Olympia, but they are so expensive. I won’t buy them but let me dream dear readers, let me dream!

I die of love whenever I see this shoe. Ooh La La is right!

Have you been buying lately? Or resisting? Or both?

How I Wear My: Green

My Luxe Rachel Zoe olive green military-style jacket.

It’s March! While winter is still very much around for a lot of the country, it will be spring (and Easter!) by the end of the month so Adrienne of The Rich Life (on a budget) and I thought it’s a perfect time to celebrate the upcoming season by showing “How I Wear My: Green.”

Green is a color I don’t have a lot of in my wardrobe so when I saw this olive green military style jacket by Rachel Zoe last fall, I jumped on it. I got it on eBay for the very nice price of $30 from Phoenix Trading Company. It was a perfect transaction, and they even accept returns if something doesn’t fit. I highly recommend them!

I use the scarf to tone down the military feel of the jacket.

I love the big pockets, I love the belt!

I usually wear the jacket with a black chenille scarf from J. Crew, jeans, and black wedge boots so I don’t look like I just walked right off an army base. And a red nail goes great with this jacket and makes me think of Rachel herself! This jacket was originally sold on QVC as part of the “Luxe Rachel Zoe” line and I have to say, the quality is excellent. It is lined in a gorgeous shimmery peridot green and the buttons and belt buckle are gold. My husband’s comment when he saw this in my closet was one of dismay. “That looks expensive,” he said. “30 bucks!” I told him with glee.

You know I love military style. Aye-aye, Captain!

My other favorite green piece is an emerald green velveteen scarf with fringe that I bought from a street vendor in Manhattan not long after I moved here in 1996. It’s an oldie but a goodie!

My emerald green Manhattan street scarf. I still love it.

You have to see the looks in green over at Adrienne’s. I think you will love them all.

For April, Adrienne and I would love to see your everyday handbag, the workhorse of your wardrobe! Whether it’s designer or no-name, vintage or new, low-key or flashy, send a picture to Adrienne or me by April 3 for “How I Wear My: Everyday Handbag.”

Do you wear yours over your shoulder, across your body, tucked under your arm or dangling from your wrist? No matter how you hold your handbag, we want to see you carrying it so be sure to include your stylish self in your photo.