Twitter Fashion Alert!

Sounds pretty exciting...and I wonder who the other fashion lovers are? Remember, anything is possible on Twitter!

www.twitter.com

Stay tuned for some Halloween fashion updates and fun photos!

LA Fashion Week

As such as I hate to admit it, fashion week in LA is pretty non-existent. But, for the west coast fashionistas who really care, must know, designers do show their collections in a more exclusive setting. One exciting event hosted by Fashion For Passion is Concept LA Fashion Week. Beginning Friday, October 14-Sunday, October 17, eighteen designers were in attendance showcasing preview looks from their Spring/Summer 2011

collections. The vibe of the shows seemed very dark, avant garde warrior-women like-not really my style, but definitely respectable and admirable wearable art. My favorite show was presented by Project Runway, season 7 finalist Mila Hermanovski. She really put some unique street wear pieces together, playing with shapes and lines and of course her signature black and white combo. I am proud to see her work in LA, since she worked for Calvin Klein in New York for years. It is with talented designers like Mila being loyal to the west coast that our fashion week will one day be recognized and respected across the country.

CFDA 2010

The 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists Are...

"The Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue have announced the ten finalists for the seventh annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund awards. The fund was established to help emerging American design talent find continued success in the fashion business, and the winner of the competition (which kicks off at the end of July and culminates in mid-November) is awarded $200,000 and a yearlong mentorship, while the two runners-up receive $50,000. "Fashion is probably the only industry in the world where its fledgling talents are expected to be as creatively adept at running a business as they are at design," says Editor in Chief Anna Wintour. "Many, clearly, are not, and it's through the support of the Fund that these promising designers will be able to build a future for themselves—and for American fashion."

The Ten Finalists:

ALTUZARRA – Joseph Altuzarra

EDDIE BORGO – Eddie Borgo

CHRISTIAN COTA – Christian Cota

ROBERT GELLER – Robert Geller

PRABAL GURUNG – Prabal Gurung

MOSS LIPOW – Moss Lipow

LODEN DAGER – Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow

PAMELA LOVE – Pamela Love

GREGORY PARKINSON – Gregory Parkinson

BILLY REID – Billy Reid

credits: vogue.com

Gregory Parkinson with fellow LA Designer Katy Rodriguez (photo credit: vogue.com)

I am so excited for Gregory Parkinson and his accomplishment! The most thrilling part is that he is an LA designer! Parkinson was born in northern England and relocated to Los Angeles in 1989. Since then, he has been designing his own brand and dressing all women who embrace color and comfort (like me!). I love his work, especially the dresses he designed for former Vogue West Coast Fashion Editor, Lawren Howell's bridesmaids for her wedding last spring. So, I really hope that he is top 3 come mid-november-I will definitely be on the look out for some leaked results. But, regardless of the outcome, he company is receiving some great PR, which creates noise for West Coast fashion-good work Gregory!

Some designs from his Spring 2010 collection, now in stores and sold online.

photo credits: gregoryparkinson.com

Dress Design for Shabby Apple Dresses

Shabby Apple, a women's apparel company based out of Salt Lake City, is having a design contest, and the winner will have their design produced and sold on the website-how exciting! For now, shop all the Shabby Apple Dresses, they are perfect for work, interviews, lunch parties, and they are all fun, unique pieces too!

I had a blast designing for this contest, because I was inspired by my favorite movie, of all time probably, "Beaches," featuring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. I focused on their characters and how different they were, yet still managed to stay best friends all those years. The idea of opposites attracting and completing each other; creating something beautiful and timeless. I wanted to bring both personalities and professions, a singer and a lawyer, into my designs. Here's my work and a little piece of the 80's.

These are the colors and textiles I will be using in my design, and below are the four garments I designed as a dress line for Shabby Apple-just to give me a variety and a decision.

And...my decision is to go with the Whitney dress. It is fun and flirty, but still an essential dress for any women's wardrobe during spring time. She will definitely be a best dressed and the most comfortable in this knit number.

http://www.shabbyapple.com/

discover vintage

Hey my soon to be followers! I have been a busy little bee this past week keeping up with school and being apart of the “Society.” That is, my internship with Society for Rational Dress. I love working with the M-team there, who are all very helpful and patient. But, the best part of the gig, is that it is located in a brick loft building in the up-in-coming Arts District!

Just east of Little Tokyo, near the Fourth St Bridge, this artsy neighborhood has plenty to offer. Definitely, my most recent cool spot to be. There are renovated warehouse buildings and new condos surrounding you, and the art is everywhere. It is cleanly place along walls and there are frequent exhibits in random warehouses along the street. There are innovative restaurants like Wurstküche featuring Belgian fries and beer, and exotic sausages-German Food! Cafes like Metropol and Novel Café feature local artist's paintings and are also great spots for salads, sandwiches, or a cappuccino.

My favorite place to shop during my lunch break is on Third Street, it’s a vintage shop called Raggedy Threads. The store is stocked with vintage finds from the 50’s, 60’s, the hippies of the rebellious 70’s, and 80's. They carry women and men’s clothing and accessories, including tees, dresses, denim, and western styles. I am especially obsessed with these khaki corduroy shorts, only $25 and the navy 70's kimono maxi dress, which is only $28. I also love the ode to the owl décor of the place. Keep your eyes peeled while shopping; there are literally hundreds of owls surrounding you! Sadly, they will only be open in the Arts District until December; the good news is they just opened a larger location in Little Tokyo, which will be the permanent store in 2011. You can also find their vintage goodies on Etsy.com, but the neighborhood experience is certainly recommended.

Photo Credits:

http://www.raggedythreads.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RaggedyThreads