Poland Loves Fifth Avenue; Obama Meets with Donald Tusk



Photo: Getty, courtesy of CNN



The Polish love Fifth Avenue; or at least that was discussed during President Obama's trip to Europe.  Over the weekend, President Obama met with the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, to discuss foreign relations between the two countries, and America's promise to help protect and support the safety of the European country. During the press conference, shopping on Fifth Avenue became a topic of discussion; when Tusk brought up the issue of restricting visas to Polish tourists in America.

Donald Tusk on the issue of shopping in America:
"It is in the interest of the United States to make sure that as many Polish people as possible could get to not just the shops on Fifth Avenue, but all over the United States, in the easiest possible way. Because this is bad business for both parties."

His comments resulted from a question from a press correspondent using Fifth Avenue as an example of the luxury shopping that Polish tourists do while in New York, but as President Obama said during his response, "we very much want you to shop on Fifth Avenue and anywhere else in the United States." 

Wear Your Peace: Peace Cord Bracelets Support Afghan Communities

There are many ways to show support for world peace; you can start a non-profit, become a philanthropist, or run for Miss America.  The easiest and most fashoinable way is to wear your support for peace.  The rubber bands can be clever, but for a more luxurious versitile option, Peace Cord has developed a series of bracelets that are sure to spread fashion for a cause.

Peace Cord is a bracelet hand woven by women in Afghanistan from authentic parachute cords and fatigue and dress uniform buttons from U.S. armed forces uniforms.  Proceeds from the sale of Peace Cord support both AZRU and Spirit of America through programs that empower women to lift their families out of poverty and humanitarian projects that rebuild the war-torn country.

The cords, hand woven by women in Afghanistan, come in different styles and colors, being the perfect accesory for any occasion.  The best part of the bands is that they are not gender-specific.  My favorite band is the Navy Dress Bracelet; woven in green with the gold Navy seal button.  I wear it with everything, but it looks best when paired with a casual shirt with rolled-up sleeves. 

For you Glee lovers, Jane Lynch has been seen wearing a Peace Cord bracelet..she's amazing...so clearly this is a trend thats worth following!

The bracelets are available online at http://www.peacecord.org/ and range from $10-$20.  

Kate Middleton's Reiss "Shola" Dress Sold Out

Its very rare that the focus of fashion would removie its view from Frist Lasy Michelle Obama, but when visiting London, it was the new Princess whose style was the talk of the blogosphere.  In this non-violent, non-effort style war, it was indeed Princess Katherine (Dutchess of Cambridge) who shined through, as everyone wants to get their hands on her camel colored dress worn during the Obama visit.  The "Shola" dress by Reiss is bandage style, sexy, trendy, AND SOLD OUT!  For $340, anxious lovers of Kate Middleton style grabbed the dresses, and Reiss tweeted “To all our Shola fans!...The dress has now sold out online and in the US, with very limited stock left in UK stores" -- After a system crash of the Reiss website, they are back, and now only share photos of the Dutchess wearing the dress.

I did some searching, and found a similar dress that may give you that Reiss fix you've been looking for.  The "Orla" dress has the same color, price, and overall look of the "Shola" dress, and may be appropriate for a wider range of body types. Tell us what you think about the alternative!

Michelle Obama Fashion: Meeting with Prime Minister

Photos: Getty

Michelle Obama wore a Roksanda Illincic dress to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha this week in London at Downing Street.  Macthing the look with a blue coat, the deep purple dress was simple in shape, displaying its character within the black trimmed collar. The look is custom, but is derived from the Fall 2011 Collection, which has a shorter version in a different color.

Photo: Style

QTips: Picking the Right Shoe to Match Yellow

It's safe to say that Spring is officially here and Summer is appraching full speed. May not take a rocket scientist to know this now, but due to the cold, wind and rain, it may take more that a meteorologist to figure this out in 2011. No matter who tells you, go on and believe that the pastels and bold colors of warm weather are now permissable to wear. Yellow will be one of the main colors of Spring and Summer, and though the color is in high supply and demand, finding the right shoe may be difficult.



TREND ALERT!  Leather bows are HOT HOT HOT!  Get familiar!


1. Go Nude! Nude is the absolute best option for yellow, and essentially the hottest color of the season. If you go nude, do it with a pump; nude sandals are OK but not as sleak and effective, unless its a wedge. (QTip: A nude shoe can be kind of boring; so try to go with a metallic heel, or even a stacked heel with character, like the Fendi FF Superstar Patent Pump pictured above)

2. Put a Cork in It! Cork, like nude, is super neutral and perfect for warm weather. The best part, is that cork supports the airy, light shapes of sandals, so if you want your foot exposed, go with an espadrille or a corked heel sandal.  (QTip: Make sure the shoe's upper is metallic or in the nude/flesh family)

3. Go White! Memorial Day is noly a few days away, so you're close enough! A nice classic pair of white leather loafers would look great with some yellow pants for a weekend nautical look.

4. Heavy Metal - Metallic shoes will offer shine to yellow as well as mute the brightness of the hue.

5. Walk on the Wild Side! Animal print adds spice and acts as a neutral when paired against any hue of yellow. (Tip, if you go with a leopard print, make sure the shoe has some gold hardware, such as the buckle on the Tory Burch Celina Pumps pictured above)

All shoes pictured are available at Saks!

Derek Lam Launches Line on eBay

Derek Lam launched an amazing collection in February debuting his collaboration with eBay during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City.  At the launch, a fifteen piece collection was presented, giving the audience a chance to vote on their top looks which would be available for purchase on the new eBay iPhone App later this year.  Well, "later" has come, and the top five looks are now revealed and available for purchase!

“eBay created an incredibly unique opportunity to have a direct dialogue with shoppers around the world—and the community interest in helping influence the DEREK LAM + eBay collection has been phenomenal,” said Derek Lam. “My work is about functionality with the romance of fashion – these winning dresses represent essential styles that are effortless, yet playful. I’m excited to surprise shoppers with the Tee Shirt Dress to complete this assortment of classic silhouettes for the spring/summer season.”

The Tee Shirt dress was indeed a surprise from what we saw at his collection in February, but I think that ladies will find fun, sexy ways to wear the look.

The collection includes the surprise Tee Shirt Dress and the top Five dresses from the February Show for a price range of $125-$225, and in sizes 0-16.   Like the looks? Buy them on the new ebay iPhone App!  Yes, another innovative step for the marriage of technology and fashion, and I am sure eBay and Derek Lam will have more in store for us in the future!

Kanye West Launches Scarf Collection

Finally, another Kanye West fashion creation that is available to someone else besides Kanye West!  Kanye collaborated with M/M (Paris) to create the limited edition scarves, after a successful collaboration previously with Kanye's last album My Dark Beautful Twitsed Fantasy.  M/M (Paris) designed the album packaging for the album, and created the framing for the George Condo paintings from the album.  Kanye, being the creative genius he is, decided to tansform the artwork into fine collection of silk twill scarves.  The scarves will be available on the M/M (Paris) website and other select retailers for 250 Euros

Red Carpet Review: 2011 MET Gala

The Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Exhibit was presented last night at the 2011 Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The 2011 MET Gala is the night where fashion royalty, their muses, and celebrities come together to appreciate the art of fashion.


While the legacy of Alexander McQueen was truly the highlight of the MET Gala, there were of course some #winning and #losing looks on the Red Carpet.

Alexander McQueen looks were the most coveted of the night; naturally since the entire night was centered around honoring his talent and artistic provision to our generation.  From vintage dresses, to uber couture feathered works of art, the mind of McQueen, and the just-as-creative work of Sarah Burton, were featured brilliantly on the Red Carpet.

Looks from top left to bottom right

Naomi Campbell Spring 2004

Sarah Jessica Parker Fall 2005

Gisele Bundchen Fall 2005

Daphnee Guiness Spring 2011

Coco Rocha Pre-Fall 2011

Salma Hayek Spring 2011

Stella McCartney was also a big name last night, having some big names wearing her beautiful gowns.  Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rihanna, and Iman wore looks by the amazing designer that perfectly mixes the art of masculine and feminine aesthetic.  Aside from Rihanna's dry red braid and wrong shoe choice which Stella couldn't do anything about, I thought that each look was unique and fully demonstrated McCartney's genius.

Designers Tory Burch and Rachel Roy were seen paired with two gentleman with high aspirations of breaking into the fashion industry.

Kanye West looked polished (and well groomed; do you see those eyebrows?? smh) last night, opting for a safety pin to close his jacket.  Best idea of the night; I see that as becoming a trend that I may even use.

Rachel Roy looked amazing, and was coupled with Amare Stoudemire, who is working with Roy on her capsule collection for Macy's

Just three days after the Royal Wedding, we have celebs working hard to keep the London pageantry alive with looks that have too much resemblance with Kate Middleton's dress.

Fergie wants to be from London so badly; first, her name is Fergie..and now she wants to dress like Princess Katherine, the Dutchess of Cambridge.  I don't think the dress worked for her at all; Fergie needs to stick with bolder colors and sexier silhouettes.

Again, another confused celeb who thinks they are still in London.  Serena Williams should stay away from the Cinderella look, and definitely permanently remove herself from wearing fascinators.  Serena should flaunt that body and wear simple cut looks. Straight or flowy...not poofy with feathers.  Calvin Klein should be on her speed dial!

Christina Ricci in Zac Posen - If this doesn't demonstrate Wednesday Adams all grown and sexy, I don't know what does!  We just had our very own sequel to the movie with just one night of production.

J Lo and Marc Anthony in Gucci.  Jennifer Lopez wore a Gucci gown from the Fall 2011 RTW Collection.  It looks good on her, but the opening of the dress in front is too open; perhaps its just the way she is standing

Zoe Saldana in Calvin Klein - I am always a huge Calvin Klein fan, and even a bigger fan of Zoe Saldana, but the two didn't work well together last night.  I love the color, and the simplicity, but compared to the extravagant gowns surrounding her, she looks like she got dropped off in front of the wrong venue and her Prom is actually on 67th and Fifth Ave.

Andre Leon Talley - For someone who is a GENIUS in fashion, he must have been moonlighting as Barney.. I mean, I knew that the actor playing Barney was Black, but I didn't know that he could also influence the world of Fashion and create words like "Drekatude" and judge America's Next Top Model..  Who are we kidding, we love him because of his larger-than-life (and larger-than-fabric) personality.  I bet underneath that royal trapeze is a very dapper tuxedo.

Michelle Obama Wears Duro Olowu on Oprah

President and First Lady Obama were on the Oprah Show today, celebrating her last 17 shows until the finale of The Oprah Show.  Michelle Obama wore a multi-colored dress by London-based designer Duro Olowu.  I have always been a fan of his aesthetic that matches sexy, trendy silhouettes with the palette and fabrics of traditional African style.  Here are a few pieces from Olowu's Fall 2011 Collection:

 

Get the Look!!

If you want to look like Michelle Obama, a similar limited edition Duro Olowu Pixilated Dress is available at Barney's for $1,550.  It can be found here at www.barneys.com