Posts from — September 2011

This post is the third of three about Lucky Magazine‘s 2nd Fashion and Beauty Blogger Conference, held on September 7th. The day was so jam packed, I need a few posts to talk about it!

My third and final (a bit belated) recap post about Lucky FABB is dedicated to the gift bag and a fun giveaway for my readers.

I wanted to go through each item and describe it here, but there are way too many items and I haven’t had time to try all of the products! However, I will write about the products and discount codes as I use them and fill everyone in on the amazingness that was stuffed into that bag, including an awesome link from Zappos for a FREE VIP membership for myself and all of you. Click here to sign up…it expires tomorrow!

And now, you can get in on some of the amazingness. I’m giving away some of the stuff to one lucky reader (US residents only)!

One lucky reader will win the following (from left, as best as I can): Trina “Rita” envelope; Philip Simon pouch with compact mirror and 10% off promo code; Stephanie Johnsons gold wristlet; Vincent Camuto by Vincent Camuto perfume sample; Australian Gold Sheer Coverage SPF 30 lotion; La Mer Collections Pink Triple Wrap Watch and 15% off promo code; Avon Anew Genics treatment cream; Timberland 100% All Natural Green Tea Lip Balm; $50 a purchase of $175 or more at Charm & Chain; Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Collection in Petal Pusher; a $100 gift card to Milk & Honey; Kusmi Tea in Sweet Love; samples of Korres lip balm and anti-aging face serum; Goody Ouchless brush; Kenny white lace top.

To WIN, leave a comment by 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, October 6th (one week from today) with the item you want the most and why with the best way to reach you (email, Twitter, etc.) in case you win.

For extra entries, like Fresh Squeezed on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter and spread the news about the giveaway (and be sure tag Fresh Squeezed on Facebook or mention me in the tweet and let me know you did so in the comments!). You’ll receive one extra entry for either, or two for both.

GOOD LUCK!!

Stuart Weitzman is debuting a new shoe this fall to commemorate the brand’s 25th anniversary. It pays homage to Stuart’s father, Seymour Weitzman, and the closed-toe double criss-cross t-strap shoe (try saying that five times fast!) he received a U.S. Patent for in 1936.

The history nerd in me thinks these pictures are so cool.

The new shoe, called Heritage, puts a contemporary twist on the original design by adding a platform, snakeskin material and details on the t-strap. The shoe was named Heritage to remember and honor Seymour Weitzman, who guided his son, Stuart, to create a footwear legacy.

Heritage is available now in Stuart Weitzman retail stores and online at stuartweitzman.com for $385. The shoe is available in ocean blue, bordeaux and coffee snakeskin.

All photos courtesy of Stuart Weitzman.

Happy first day of autumn! In honor of the first official day of the new season, I put together a list my favorite nail polish colors. This season, I’m lovin’ matte, bold jewel-tone colors in shades of sapphire, amethyst, emerald, and topaz.

The one issue I have with wearing bold colors (and when I do my nails myself) is how fast the color chips! However, I’ve discovered some tips for keeping color manicures last just a bit longer:

1. Keep nails short. I’ve found that this has helped noticeable colors stay chip-free for longer, since the tips of your nails aren’t too long. Typing all day at the office definitely doesn’t help long nails!
2. Use a base coat. Not only does the base coat help protect your nail, but it helps smooth out then nail and color can glide on my evenly.
3. Put on two coats of color.  One coat definitely isn’t enough.
4. Top coat! Top coat really does help protect against chipping, plus it adds a nice shine to your pretty manicure.

Anyway, back to color. My favorite color for fall is this gorgeous blue hue by butter London.

Bluey, by butter London. $14 (Photo from butterlondon.com)

Short nails, plus base coat and top coat (both from butter London)

Other great autumn colors:

Essie in Dive Bar, $8. A cheaper version of the butter London color above. (photo from essie.com)

Dior Vernis in Camel, $22 (photo from sephora.com)

M*A*C Me Over! ‘Shirley & Nicole’ Nail Lacquer in Deep Sea, $15 (photo from nordstrom.com)

Essie in Very Structured, $8 (photo from essie.com)

Maybelline Express Finish Nail Color in Grape Times, $4.25 (photo from maybelline.com)

Sephora by OPI nail color in Caught With My Khakis Down, $9.50 (photo from sephora.com)

Who doesn’t love a good giveaway? I definitely don’t.

Shop It To Me is giving away a designer handbag or shoes, winners choice, to one lucky member! The winner can pick from Christian Louboutin Bambou Suede Pumps, Marc Jacobs The XL Quilted Bag, Jimmy Choo Double Banded Bootie, or Rebecca Minkoff Covet Satchel. How a-ma-zing is that?

Image courtesy of Shop It To Me

For those of you who don’t know what Shop It To Me is, it’s a website that gathers your shopping preferences ranging from brand, size, cost, and everything in between, then sends you an email with items that match those preferences from major retailers. It basically finds the sales for you, then delivers them right to your inbox. Pretty sweet!

Entering is so simple. If you’re a Shop It To Me member already, just invite your friends to sign up. You’ll get one additional entry for every friend who signs up. Plus, you’ll still get a $10 gift card for every 10 friends who signs up.

You can also tweet for another entry. Follow Shop It To Me and tweet the following:

Want a chance to win <<insert designer name>>? Just follow @ShopItToMe and RT: http://bit.ly/qaUaz9

The contest ends this FRIDAY, September 23rd, at 11:59 PM est. Good luck!!

Disclaimer: I am a Shop It To Me Trendsetter

It’s hard to believe that another fashion week in New York has come and gone. It’s not even fall (well, officially…), yet here I am yearning to wear these delicate looks that I saw strut down the runways from hundreds of different designers. Please file that under #fashiongirlproblems.

Anyway, many predicted that this year’s fashion week would be heavily inspired by the Duchess of Cambridge, who has no doubt been this year’s “it” girl. Now that fashion week is over, the Washington Post declared (a rather sweeping declaration, for those How I Met Your Mother fans) that Catherine was NOT the unofficial muse. To the Washington Post, I have to ask, did you not see the shows? Catherine herself might not wear every look that touched the runway, but one can clearly see her influence. Spring 2012 will bring the return of the lady- longer skirt and dress hems, romantic and flowy materials- and Catherine certainly had some influence on that.

Spring 2012 brought with it longer dress and skirt hems, short shorts, natural make up to raccoon eyes, big hair to braids and messy buns, structure, draping, pleats, and everything in between. Some designers were inspired by hot, neon colors, like Jason Wu and Nanette Leopre. The Rodarte sisters were clearly feeling impressionism, and used Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings as a color palette. However, the safari theme that kept coming up? Definitely not my cup of tea. I don’t like looking like I’m about to go out into the African savanna when I’m walking down Fifth Avenue. Sorry, Michael Kors and Donna Karan.

Here are my favorite looks from New York:

Doo.Ri

Diane von Furstenberg

Nanette Lepore

Jenny Packham (a favorite of the Duchess of Cambridge)

(Try to tell me that’s not fit for a princess!)

Jason Wu

Rodarte

Rachel Zoe

Oscar de la Renta

What are your favorites?

All photos from style.com

Dear Target,

You know I love you. However, I have a bone to pick with you.

One of my favorite things about you is your GO International collaborations with luxurious designers I can only dream of affording. You make them Target-affordable, and I appreciate that! So when it was announced that you were working with Italian fashion house Missoni and releasing the largest GO International collection yet on September 13th, I was nothing short of thrilled.

Photo from target.com

Then the actual launch date arrived. It became very clear that there was not enough product to go around. My sister got to our local Target by 9 am, and the collection was mostly sold out (also, many of your stores are not guaranteeing a restock…NOT cool). Your site was down by the time I got to work around the same time, due to the unanticipated amounts of web traffic to snatch up the collection. When it came back again, quite a bit of the collection was sold out. The worst part is that a lot of merchandise ended up on eBay within hours, with items selling for almost three times the price. At that cost, someone could buy REAL Missoni. And you should. Even Margherita Missoni says so.

(Side note, can we address the whole eBay thing? Isn’t there a way to monitor that? It feels almost illegal for people to buy carts and carts of cheap stuff just to sell it on eBay for so much money. I know it’s not, but it’s really unfair for those of us who just want to buy it to use every day, not make an insane profit on. Someone should look into that, both on Target’s end as well as eBay.)

Regardless, my sister and I were able to snatch up a few items here and there, a few of which were bought online. We thought things were all good: the site didn’t crash before we placed our orders, the order confirmation emails came in, and we were psyched. Then 3 emails, all in one day, stating that our orders were “delayed” came in, the last email bringing this message:

Um, automatically cancelled? Seriously? I’m sure many other Target customers received this email, and are wondering the same thing I am: will we EVER get our Missoni? According to The Recessionista, Target released a statement regarding online orders of Missoni merchandise, but it doesn’t address the unanticipated delay in shipment or anyway to compensate customers for this extreme inconvenience.

I can’t even begin to imagine how you couldn’t be prepared for this frenzy and craze. Ever since the collection was announced, the interwebs was abuzz about it. How could you not pay attention to that? I am extremely disappointed with how the whole thing was handled and I hope you make it right soon. Stop advertising and, if you have to, use that money to make more merchandise. Do what it takes to get those of us who ordered online don’t get our items. If you don’t, you will have a few angry customers.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Christa (a huge fan otherwise)

Althea Harper showed her Spring/Summer 2012 collection on Monday night at Stone Rose Lounge as part of New York Fashion Week, and I was lucky enough to be invited for the third season in a row. This year, she chose to do a runway show as opposed to a presentation, as she’s done in the past.

I had the pleasure of sitting front row as Althea’s designs walked down the runway. She presented us with a cohesive, comprehensive collection that was equal parts sexy and cute, fashion-forward yet practical. The pieces in the collection ranged from trenches to cocktail dresses to blazers, and everything in between (FYI, cut outs, short shorts, and braids will be big for Spring 2012!). While other designers used every color in the rainbow, Althea stuck to a very simple color scheme: black, white and a pattern that consisted of cool blues and white.

Below are some pictures, courtesy of VS Publications. For more pictures, click here.

The last and final look…my favorite!

I have no idea how to change the size of the video. Sorry!

Congrats, Althea, on another beautiful collection!

This post is the second of three about Lucky Magazine‘s 2nd Fashion and Beauty Blogger Conference, held on September 7th. The day was so jam packed, I need a few posts to talk about it!

“Entrepreneurs with really cute shoes.” Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at New York University and founder of L2.

According to Scott, that’s what the 200+ bloggers who attended Lucky Magazine’s Fashion and Beauty Blogger Conference were.

He’s right.

Last week, I was lucky enough (again!) to go to Lucky Magazine’s Fashion and Beauty Blogger Conference, held on the eve of New York Fashion Week. Having been to Lucky FABB in February, I had a feeling of how the day would go down, but I was still blown away by the whole day. The event, as a whole, just exploded. There were more bloggers in attendance, more brands involved, and more information to take it. Just to give you an idea, at the first Lucky FABB, there were three “suites” (sponsored by different brands) to explore in between panels. This time, there were 13!!! We definitely didn’t have enough time to see everything- I even skipped the last panel to try and get everything in- so I’d really like to see Lucky work on that for next time. Maybe one less panel and use the extra time to network, explore the brands, make new connections.

There were so many influencers in the fashion and beauty industry present: high level creative and marketing executives from White House Black Market, Express, Club Monaco, and Birchbox; bloggers from The Man Repeller, TheGlamouri.com, and The Covetuer; high end fashion designers, and more. Even Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian Odom made an appearance!

There were three themes that wove themselves throughout the entire conference, starting first with Diane von Furstenberg’s incredible keynote talk:

Authenticity
Diane spent most of her talk explaining to us how she believes that “the most important thing in life, in love, is authenticity.” Bloggers need to be authentic by staying true to who they are and standing for what they believe in.

Passion
Rachel Roy spoke most about this, with one of the best quotes from the day: “you won’t be successful without passion.” Seriously, 17 people retweeted that quote after me. She advised us to chose careers that we are passionate about, because work shouldn’t be work or “just” a job, it should be a lifestyle. If you’re not passionate about your job, then it will be work.

Kelly Framel, founder of TheGlamourai.com, blogs about what she’s passionate about and works with brands she believes in. To Kelly, that forms a more natural relationship if you start working with a brand. Makes perfect sense to me!

Truth
Adam Rich, cofounder and editor in chief of Thrillist, said it best: “your audience must trust you.” Put up honest content, form honest relationships, and you’ll be successful.

It was a wonderful, inspiring, exhausting day that I would trade for anything else. Congrats to Caroline Waxler and the rest of the Lucky Magazine team for putting together a fabulous day!

Below are some pictures from the day. Check out more on Facebook!

Lucky Magazine’s editor in chief Brandon Holley kicking things off.

Building Your Brand in 2011 panel: (a very pregnant) Rebecca Minkoff, Rachel Roy, Coca Rocha, Essie Weingarten, Scott Lipps, Jen Ford (moderator)

The Kardashian sisters said their grandmothers inspire their fashion. I thought that was so cute!

Rodger Berman, Rachel Zoe’s hubby and president of Rachel Zoe, Inc.!

Me and the lovely Meghan of Meg’s Mumbo.

The scene at cocktail hour. Jam packed! Ellie Goulding serenaded during the happy hour. I love her!

This post is the first of three about Lucky Magazine‘s 2nd Fashion and Beauty Blogger Conference, held on September 7th. The day was so jam packed, I need a few posts to talk about it!

“My mission is to empower women.” -Diane von Furstenberg

Diane von Furstenberg was a “brunette in a country full of blondes,” she explained to over 200 eager bloggers. Diane (pronounced DEE-ahn) grew up in Belguim, where she told us that she felt different. She wanted to be self-sufficient, pay her own bills, be her own person, run her own company.

Diane spent her early years working in fashion, which set the foundation for the rest of her life. In the mean time, she fell in love with and got engaged to Prince Egon von Furstenberg of Germany (yes, that means she was a princess. As if she wasn’t awesome enough already). An unexpected pregnancy hurried up her engagement, and Diane and Egon got married in Paris in 1969 (the couple divorced in 1972, but she still used her married name…minus the princess/royal part) before moving to America.

“In the two years after I got married, I had three children: my son, my daughter, and my brand,” she told us.

The rest, as they say, is history.

After coming to America, Diane created her claim to fame: the wrap dress in Jersey knit material. Called T-72 in the factory, the wrap dress was inspired by ballerinas and originally started a skirt and shirt combination. It was a dress intended to make women feel confident and feminine. Needless to say, this dress skyrocketed Diane von Furstenberg’s career and the DVF brand in the fashion world. To this day, DVF still produces and reinvents the wrap dress and even offers exclusive “wrap of the month” dresses for Facebook fans.

Diane fully believes in the power of the written word and social media. DVF, as a brand, embraces social media and is active on Facebook and Twitter. Years before dvf.com launched, Diane kept a diary because she “believes in truth, connectivity, dialogue.” That dialogue is continued today with her customers, and Diane feels she has a special relationship with them because of it.

Aside from a short biography of her life and brand, Diane offered us advice on how to create our own brand and a few lessons she’s learned on her own life journey. The following resonated with me the most:

• As you find your own voice, you share and have a dialogue with others.
• When it is bullshit, it remains bullshit.
• Most important thing in life, in love, in anything, is authenticity.

Authenticity was a theme that carried through the entire conference.

This post doesn’t do her talk justice, so feel free to check out the video of her speaking. I can’t think of anyone more appropriate and inspirational than Diane to speak first at Lucky Magazine’s Fashion & Beauty Blogger Conference, and I feel so honored to have heard her that morning.

I already got my picture up on Facebook, so check them out here.

Diane showing us her outfit, as one blogger asked (obviously).

Diane introducing us to her new Harper Connect bag, a gorgeous handbag AND case for your iPad!

White after Labor Day. The rule is that you can wear white after Memorial Day through Labor Day, which is the unofficial summer season. Many in the fashion world feel that white after Labor Day is a HUGE no-no. Is that still the case?

It’s no secret that just because the “unofficial” summer season is over, the weather starts to cool off. That is sometimes the opposite of what happens. In the Northeast, where I live, the weather can be summer-like well into October, when the “official” summer season is over. What about winter white, a softer white for the colder seasons? Many brands, like J. Crew, offer cords and pants in winter white. I know because I own a pair, so you should know which side of this debate I’m on.

When thinking about possibly wearing white after Labor Day, this brings up the broader question: should we dress for the weather, or the season? What do you think?

This guest post was written by the fabulous Jacqueline McCormick.

Is there anything Justin Timberlake can’t do? Skyrocket to stardom via Boy Band ladder of the ‘90s? Survive the tabloid scrutiny of possibly the most highly publicized break up with the world’s biggest pop princess ever? Groove with enough talent and charisma to evoke Michael Jackson comparisons? Star in a big budget blockbuster alongside his equally gorgeous and famous ex?

Hey, he single-handedly brought sexy back.

He does that, and more. He does that all, and looks damn fine while doing it.

Photo from Cupid Pulse

Even better than that, he’s sharing the love. No, not the *NSYNC song lyrics (wouldn’t that be a blast from the past treat?) and not the Mila Kunis chemistry, but he is willing to share his fashion sense. You can bring Justin’s style home, with his delectable line of denim, named William Rast.

Photo from los-angelos.openbarline.com

The signature embroidery and high quality fabric create a smooth silhouette that allows any guy to achieve Justin’s adorable, boy-next-door-that-is-supremely-talented quality. Ok, maybe not. But they can wear the jeans.

Photo from williamrast.com

Thanks to Cameron Diaz, Jessica Biel, and perhaps Mila Kunis, (she gets my vote!) Justin is an equal opportunity designer. Women can drape themselves in some of Justin’s ideas through sexy off-the-shoulder tops, tanks, jackets, leggings, and anything else an edgy, stylish lady could want.

Photo from williamrast.com

Photo from williamrast.com

I’m sort of crushing on Justin right now, if just to acquire this sexy silk chiffon poncho. Yes, please! Check out williamrast.com to check out more of Justin and his fellow designer Trace Alaya’s innovative creations. If you’re in San Jose or L.A, why not pop into their store?