Posts with tag wall street journal

No matter how many of her black and white films we see on AMC or glance over the tons of iconic images featuring her signature deep eye brows and drawn on lips, there's only one thing that comes to our mind when we think of film legend Joan Crawford: "No wire hangers ever!"

Last season, the fashion industry mourn the lost of a very close friend, Polaroid instant film. It was tough. The casting directors who use the treasured filmed to snap all of those models for runways shows cried, the magazine editors screamed, and anyone who grew up in the 80s scratched their heads: what are we suppose to do now when we want to be cool and retro at the same time?

Well, as was suspected, some have been on a never ending quest to hunt down and subsequently store as much film as they can get their little instant camera fingers on. While everyone continues to stockpile, watch this clip by Wall Street Journal that explains the significance of instant film in fashion.

Guess who wants to flaunt their new lifestyle mag in our faces? The Wall Street Journal! But don't lose your minds just yet, darlings.

According to WWD, the glossy publication really itsn't much to write home about. In fact, most of the "exclusive" stories featured inside of the issue have already been, well, reported:

"While the paper's new magazine WSJ has an interview with Republican vice presidential nominee Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin, the story is about her workout regime and doesn't mention her as a candidate. Then there's a story on Kate Moss and Sir Philip Green - but Moss gave the real scoop about her growing business empire to last month's Vogue. And a story on the America's Cup battle between Oracle's Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli was extensively covered in Sunday's New York Times."

Meanwhile, the cover of the WSJ magazine is fairly interesting -- it features IMG's Diana Dondoe wrapped in a dress made of out of Wall Street Journal newspapers. In this clip, watch as someone tries to be excited about the new mag.

We're enjoying all of the Wall Street Journal coverage about Michelle Obama and her sartorial choices. Last week it was about what she wore on The View. This week's Michelle missive reveals the name of the designer behind the purple "fist bump" sheath dress, and so many of Michelle's great looks: Chicago-based designer Maria Pinto.

The Wall Street Journal finally discovered our fashion crush on Michelle Obama. And clearly we have plenty of company. Following her appearance on The View (another secret love) women across the nation are flocking to White House/Black Market to buy the $148 dress Michelle wore on the show.

Like us, we're sure Michelle prefers to have her assets listed in this order: smart, funny and pretty. And that's how we'd describe her. She's wicked smart, and successful, and we can totally imagine being office buddies with her.

Last year, Gossip Girl star Blake Lively began to emerge as a fashion darling with the help of Valentino handbags (courtesy of Stylist Patricia Field) and Conde Nast covers. Soon after, she started being courted by some today's most highly regard designers. In fact, she got the seal of approval by Karl Lagerfeld -- whom has outfitted her for several public appearances.

Being the gracious recipient of free luxury goods that Blake Lively is, she attended Karl's Chanel Haute couture show back in January wearing the designer, of course, but more curiously: pantyhose.

Meet Kira Plastinina: The fifteen-year-old Russian heiress taking over the fashion industry -- one adorable three-quarter length hoodie at a time.

Last week the Wall Street Journal continued their groundbreaking coverage of shoes.

In this latest installment reporter Christina Binkley did a comparison of several expensive high heels that are purported to be "comfortable."

Today the Wall Street Journal is running the inspirational story of Meghan Cleary and her brave efforts to keep more than 100 shoes organized in a typical shoebox NYC apartment.

We love this woman as much as we love the original Shoe Betch. She so gets it. But of course she does. Meghan makes her living writing and speaking about shoes. She is a "shoe expert." Job envy alert!

Guys, now you can shed up to 2 inches from your waistline in 2 seconds! Like a few other products that have been associated with woman's fashion for many years, the girdle is trying to work it's way across the gender divide. Just like Clinique's makeup for men, the man girdle is sailing boldly into the uncharted waters of the men's department -- with little or no knowledge of how many dudes are secretly looking for a way to shed an inch or two.

Men used to wear girdles back in the early 1800s -- and they also wore wigs and makeup. Now, marketing heads must think that the mirdle could once again be a big deal, because more and more brands are dabbling in the world of "bodyshaping" undies. There's just one hitch in the marketing scheme: men don't want to hear the "g-word" in reference anything that they wear, ever. That's why all man-girdles are being marketed as "compression shorts," "support boxers", or my favorite "bodywear."

So, the marketing and adoption process is really a social experiment in hypocrisy. In a nutshell, men who want to wear a girdle don't want to feel emasculated by having it called a girdle -- or even a mirdle. It seems like to me that if you can't own up to wearing a girdle, you shouldn't wear one. If you're fine with your man-girdle, more power to you -- it's cheaper than surgery and easier than actually getting in shape.

There's no question that pearls are a timeless accessory in every girl's jewelry box. The question, however, is whether a girl can wear pearls without looking Queen Elizabeth. In other words, does a strand of pearls scream "matronly?"

According to Teri Agins, fashion reporter for the Wall Street Journal, answers that there are ways to update the classic look of pearls, which went from "First Lady" and matronly to fashionable and modern in the late 1990s. The way to do it is to layer single strands, particularly longer ones, with other necklaces made of other materials like chains, beads, and stones. And of course, there are no more rules anymore about matching earrings to necklaces. If you're wearing pearls, you don't have to wear pearl earrings.

Buying clothing off the rack, whether it's in a discount or a department store, is much easier and less expensive than getting clothing custom made or going straight to a designer. But even if the actual design of the garment is good, that doesn't mean it's going to fit properly. A few years ago, an ill-fitting garment might have been put back on that rack if it didn't work out in the dressing room, but that is no longer the case. Lately, the trend is to buy clothes and have them altered to fit your body and your tastes. People are even getting their t-shirts tailored -- where once the most common alteration was to lengthen or shorten a hemline or inseam.

This taste for tailoring is known as "remaking" clothes and Barney's, for example, is reporting a 20% increase in the number of alterations made this year over last year. Requests are made for more body-conscious clothing, at a level that clothing made to fit different body types simply cannot match.

Is it worth the added expense? It is to many, who get a satisfaction out of having created something at some level. To others, it isn't worth the time or the price and they'd rather seek out brands that fit them well from the get-go than wait 2-3 weeks for their newly remade t-shirt to get returned.

[via WSJ]