Live Like A King...

What would you do, (or pay) to spend a night at the late Gianni Versace's Miami "palace"? At first this would seem like a dream, but thanks to Barton G. Weiss who bought the mansion when the Versace family sold it after Gianni's slaying, (on the mansions front steps), your dreams can now become a reality. Thankfully, Barton has kept the mansion as is, including all the original bedding, furniture, flatware and etc. Now after quite a few years, Barton has "opened" the Versace palace to the public.

So, if your interested in staying in the home of one of fashions greatest idols, it will set you back at least $2,000 a night in the 10 room mini-hotel. Since 2 grand is a little out of many peoples price range, have no fear! You can still experience Gianni's home by dining in the 30-seat restaurant for a fraction of the cost that it would cost you to stay over night! Sounds good to me!

Imitation Is The Finest Form Of Flattery...

Welp, in conjunction with my last post, thankfully we live in a world where many designs of clothing and especially accessories become mass produced so they can reach the general public.

Some say this is bad because it's infringing on the original designers copyrights and blah blah blah. I think its a good thing and apparently so do A LOT of people. Case in point, Forever21 is notoriously getting sued for copying other deisgners works and re-selling them at more than half the price. And even more recently, the Kardashians for Bebe collection came under speculation for knocking off their hooded (p)leather bustier dress from Fendi's fall collection. People want the look without murdering their bank accounts.

Kardashians for Bebe (left), Fendi (right)

I dont condone the act of knocking other people off, but hey, why pay an arm and a leg when you can get the SAME look for less? Right?

Heres my FAVORITE fashion "knockoff";

Both of these inspired boots are by Sam Edelman. (Right) The Zoe, (Left) The Zoyla

Above, is Sam's "inspiration" for both boots, the original Balenciaga Harness boot ('06)

The Olsen twins rockin their beloved Harness boots.

Now that you've seen the original and the two "inspired" pieces, its time to play the numbers game. The Balenciaga Harness boot retailed in 2006 for $1,650.00. That's a lotta dough to be spending on one pair of shoes. So, this is where Sam comes into play. If you were lucky enough to score his Zoe boot in early 08-ish you were able to snag the boot for around $150.00. But we all know the little story of, 'supply and demand'. Sam re-issued the SAME Zoe boot again for late 2009 for more than double the original price, $350.00. The Zoyla boot, which is a remodel of the Zoe is set to drop for fall '10 and the price hasn't yet been revealed but I'm sure we're looking in the $200-$300 range. While, $300 is still a lot to spend on a pair of shoes, we're still saving mucho dinero compared to Balenciaga's asking price! If you love the boots as much as I do (and if you have enough balls, unlike myself to wear them out), I would definitely buy them, and FAST. They had a wait list last year =]. Oh, and don't let their shape fool you, they're very comfortable and easy to walk in.

xox

Food for Thought

Something I have always wondered was; if clothing had no price tag and everything was essentially "free", how would our styles change? if you could walk into ANY store and buy everything just because you "liked" it without even regarding price to justify a purchase, I guarantee everyone's style would change drastically. So many, (including myself, obviously), settle on things, because of availability or price points or whatever it maybe; and I find it to be intriguing how peoples styles and images would change if price were no longer a factor.

...just sayin....

Hybrid Theory

What do you get when you mix skinny jeans and leggings?, Jeggings! I love leggings, I could honestly wear them everyday and I have about 15+ pairs of just black leggings. So naturally, when I heard of this "jegging" craze I was delighted. Almost immediately I jumped on this "trend" because these jeans are amazingly comfortable and they still have the versatility of regular denim. So far I've bought two pairs and I'm considering some other hopefulls, so here are my picks!

Citizens of Humanity Avedon Slick Skinny in Dust $185.00, these were my first pair given to me at Christmas and it was love at first sight

7 For All Mankind Gwenevere Legging $140.00, my possible new investment

Citizen of Humanity Avedon Slick Skinny in Poseidon $185.00, i also bought these but I'm considering returning them HA!

(left) J Brand leggings; these are SO comfortable and SO light you can barely feel they're on! (right) 7 for All Mankind Coco Gummy Leggings $170.00

Another choice I really like from Urban Outfitters that I couldnt get pictures of are the BDG Leggings especially in the acid wash, 70S Blue wash and the Medium Blue Wash; check em' out.

My heart just skipped some beats..

One of my ALL TIME favorite designers is Herve Leger (pronounced: air-vey lay-cher) regardless if the real Herve lost the rights to his brand (I'll do a post later on the details) and now that BCBG owns HL, the designs that this powerhouse cranks out season after season always leave me weak in the knees, and this season, I honestly died over the gorgeous dresses sent down the runway.

The designs offend me by how beautiful they are. The details are impeccable. I want every piece in my closest. now.

Thank God For:

...or really, Thank the Brit's/Kate Moss for: Hunter Boots.

Some love em' some hate em', I happen to love them because I've always been drawn to equestrian-esque designs and with this monsoon that's been going on lately, this is the most practical purchase I've made in a really long time.

If you recall, back at the beginning of the year Jimmy Choo did a Hunter Collaboration, and those were the Hunter's I originally wanted, but I quickly learned if your name wasn't on a waiting list by May/June of LAST year you were shit out of luck, or unless you were that lucky girl who wore a size 5 and nabbed the ones returned to SAKS at Riverside :/, point is, I guess Hunter saw that the Croc embossed rubber was sucha hit, they did a similar style at a cheaper price than the originals and there is no waiting list neccessary, (which you may not like, if you are like me). Unfortunately though, they just recently released these and I had long passed settled for the plain black and even more unfortunate for me, the Choo x Hunters are back on Saks' website in my size. Bummer.

*All Hunter Boots are different, the materials and finishes vary especially by Store and according to if your pair was on display. The boots are shipped with a thick white-ish wax coating for waterproofing purposes. Many stores upon receivement of the boots strip them of their original white-ish coating creating a shiny lacquer-like finish. Not all stores do this though, I bought mine at Bloomingdales with the wax still left on, although they offered to remove it for me, I opted not to because I like the muted black and I think the shiny-ness is a little much, but to each is own. I was told you can remove the wax with Armorall or Boat Wax Cleaner.

Original Tall Wellies $115.oo

Ashley Olsen, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan

Kate Moss

The "Boa" embossed Hunter Boot $225.00

The Jimmy Choo Hunter Boot with a gorgeous croc embossed rubber-$395.00

Ah when you kiss me does the lipstick on your lip stick on my face?

I love MAC i think their make-up is brilliant and I'll definitely never get enough. Their newest line called, Too Fabulous, is available from now til May, and it's so perfect for Spring. I'm definitely feeling the beautiful soft pinks for this season.

lampin

Definition: Lampin
verb: To just chill back and relax while being totally unproductive "Said she's just lampin, chillin on campus" - Kanye West -

As the weather gets warmer and day light savings has finally kicked in I can already feel the Hampton's sun shining on me; but until then, I've been living in these "The Lamptons" hoodies since last summer. The materials vary from color to color and from spring to winter, which is awesome. Luckily, (and accidentally) I have both materials they offer and I cannot express my love for them enough. I have the Lavender with Black writing in the lighter cotton which is more breathable in the warmer months when there is still a chill in the air. And, for winter, I have the Black with Grey in a thick fleece-y material. The best is that no matter how much you wear them the material dosent pit! Although I definitely wouldnt stick em' in the dryer.

The sweatshirts are also EXCLUSIVE to two stores out of the entire USA, Blue&Cream in East Hampton and on East 1st street in NYC and they each retail for $14o.00.

I love when things arent over populated and are more "rare" if thats what you want to call it, so I'm letting you in it!

Both stores are gorgeous and the owner is probably THE nicest person I have EVER met, he hand-delivered my sweatshirt from their East Hampton store to my Aunt's NYC apartment; thats pretty fucking cool.

On a side note, if you do stop in the shops, the NYC location I'm almost positive does not sell the Lampton's hoodies, they sell, The Bowery hoodies and vice versa for the EH store. SO enough rambling, you HAVE to check their website it's phenomenal; blue&cream

Some celebrities seen rocking the hoodies:

Heres the owner, Jeff, far right, with Samantha Ronson in a The Bowery hoodie

Nikki Hilton

Lauren Conrad

Lindsay Lohan (top and bottom pic)

Balmain Spring'10

Damn, Balmain just brings it everytime. Their Spring collection is stunning. Every piece is unique and fresh.

I love the leopard and the structure of this dress.

This dress is just honestly amazing, it looks like one giant crystal.

Chanel's Spring Nail Polish

Anyone who knows me, is aware of the fact that I'm a bit of a nail polish/make-up snob. I've created a habit of buying Chanel's must-have shades before they're sold out at every Chanel counter leading you to E-bay where they're listed for five times the $23.00 retail value. Ridiculous?, maybe; but it pays to be ahead of the curve, and I like to see it as a long-term investment. Chanel's polish takes forever to chip and the bottle will last you a while.

So, these new colors may seem boring at first, but I can assure you, the bottle to the left, called Particuliere, is going to be this summers hot seller, because putty/grey shades are definitely in. Get yours while you still can.

Chanel's Particuliere seen on the runway of their Spring 2010 collection.

Zara Spring/Summer 2010

Zara is a bit of a hidden gem, not many know of the chain store which is unfortunate because their pieces are beautiful. I find Zara's pieces to be affordable and the craftsmanship is incredible, you cannot go wrong. Here are my favorite looks from their newest collection:

This dress is gorgeous; it screams Alexander Wang.

I need this trench coat in my life; it looks so much like Burberry's Baby Pink trench Nicole Richie wore. {click link to see what im talking about!}

To Zipper or To Not Zipper?

Zipper's seem like they're EVERYWHERE this season. Its either you love it or hate, but zipper's are no longer seen on just jeans, designers are incorporating the metal tooth'd accent's onto pretty much anything. Word to the wise: Pick up some zipper embellished pieces for Spring/Summer because this doesnt seem to be going anywhere! Also, this seems like an easy DIY deal.

Alexander Wang for Linda Farrow Zipper Sunglasses

LNA side Half-Zip Leggings

Model at Eric Tibusch couture show at Paris Fashion Week

JJ Winters Zipper Bag

Balmain Zipper Heel

LNA Zipper Side Legging

LNA Dani Stahl Legging