Whores

GILES | SECOND NEW LOOK COLLECTION IS SOLID GOLD

All the lucky lasses in London have no doubt already checked out Giles Deacon's second "Gold" diffusion collection for New Look. From the few pics I've seen online, nu-rave and 80's nostalgia are still very much alive and kicking in the UK.

Launched on August 23rd, with pieces ranging in price from 5-50 UK pounds, the line features rock tees, neon colors, satins, and bold floral and striped prints. New to this collection is a range of skinny jeans (also still very much alive and kicking) and denim shorts.

Not sure how I feel about the borderline dowdy floral and satiny pieces, but I do like the studded bracelets, the big handbag, and the black and white striped swimsuit, though it's a tad late in the season for the last one. Though according to Deacon, "This new collection is inspired by Ibiza and the long-awaited Indian summer – I want everyone to be wearing this collection to all their end of summer parties.” The lovelies at Catwalk Queen snapped a few pics of the new Gold collection here, here and here.

DESIGNER COLLABORATIONS | ON OR OFF TARGET?

-I am so underwhelmed by Libertine's collection for Target.  Lily Pulitzer-like pieces + tired skulls + lazy shapes = no fucking thanks!  I'm sure we'll be seeing lots of these pieces on the clearance racks.  See for yourself here.

-The Devi Kroell faux snakeskin bags for Target, on the other hand, look pretty good online.  I may have to take a look-see in person to see if I should pick up a gold hobo (right) and/or anthracite tote for bumming around.  See here.

--The fab Style Bubble reports that Henry Holland has collaborated with UK shoe company, Kickers, on a series of more t-shirts with silly slogans along with some ghastly looking footwear.  Go here.  Methinks Mr. Holland and his "house" have seen their 15 minutes of fashion fame and need to retreat back into their neon hued K-hole.  Ripping off Katharine Hamnett's famous political tees and clinging onto British "It" girls seem to be Holland's primary talents.

OH JOY! | CHRISTIAN JOY DESIGNS FOR TOPSHOP

Brooklyn designer, Christian Joy, best known for dressing Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O, has collaborated with Topshop on a collection of t-shirt dresses emblazoned with cute graphics (see Karen modelling one to the right). Raising their coolness quotient up yet another notch, Topshop also collaborated with British artist Stella Vine on a collection of t-shirts featuring her naive, child-like portraits of pop culture icons like Frida Kahlo, Lily Cole and Jean Harlow. Joy's dresses retail for approximately $100, while Vine's designs are going for $43 - $60. Read more at WWD.com and check out the pieces here.

COMME DES GARCONS + REPETTO = AWESOME!

I can't stop looking at my feet! No, I am not some nasty, freak-ass foot fetishist. A dear, dear friend of mine in Paris sent me the most precious of parcels which I received and opened this morning. My heart skipped a beat when I unwrapped the brown paper and spied the Repetto name on the subdued, black box. My heart then skipped a second beat when I opened the box and saw the black, grommet ballet flats designed by Comme des Garcons for Repetto. I slipped them on right away. I'd had my eye on these shoes for a while now but couldn't justify spending the hundreds of dollars that they cost. I love CDG's slightly edgy take on the classic ballet flat. Tres cool! The fact that I never mentioned my lust for these shoes to my dear friend in Paris either indicates that I am pathetically predictable or she knows me far too well.

I couldn't find a photo of the shoe online, but the ballet flat is very similar to the jazz shoe pictured above. I'm going to start wishing really hard for a pair of these next...

ANYA HINDMARCH | I'M NOT A-WASTING MY TIME!

A spy informed me that the queue for Anya Hindmarch's "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote is currently absolutely redonkulous!  It snakes around from the East 60th Street shop's front door around 3 city blocks!  One of the gals at the start of the line has been waiting since 5am!  That is 24-karat cwazee! 

Basically, hearing this news and knowing that every chick and her grandmother will be carrying this "environmental" bag makes me SO OVER IT!  (Sorry, Al Gore...)  Besides, I'm totes in love with my Marc "Boston Terrier" tote that I picked up in Provincetown.  I'm representin' the Massholes!  And guess what... that bag's not plastic either, bitchez!

COOL STUFF

-Baaad Assss, swinging, Brit photographer, David Bailey, has a new book out titled NY JS DB 62, which deciphers to "New York,"  "Jean Shrimpton,"  "David Bailey"  "1962."  It focuses on a period in 1962 in NYC, when Bailey photographed his then girlfriend/muse, Jean Shrimpton (right).  My god, it all makes perfect sense now! In typical Bailey fashion, the pics are super-cool.  Shrimpton looks gorgeous and though glimpses of the city look vaguely familiar, Manhattan looks like an entirely different world.  See more here.

-Giles Deacon has collaborated with the eggheads at Intel to create an exclusive print for the tops of their new Asus notebooks.  Deacon created an uber-cool "tribal-inspired and edgy" print available in pink and blue with sexy results.  See here.  Now why didn't Giles do this for MAC laptops???

-Paper magazine's bespectacled duo, Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits, celebrated Colette's 10th anniversary during their annual fashion lunch at Indochine yesterday.  The shop's founders, Sarah Lerfel and her mom, Colette Roussaux, were on hand, and had a Colette ice cream truck waiting outside on Lafayette for post-lunch indulging.  Ces femmes really know how to do everything right!  Read more here. 

-Speaking of Sarah, Style.com has a quick Q&A with her on their Style File page.  She predicts "retro-inspired pieces and bright colors" will be the big trends for the fall, and if you're looking to stalk the ever-stylish gamine, she likes to shop at Moss, Jack Spade and Alife when in New York.  Read here (scroll down).

MISSED TARGET | LIBERTINE'S GO INTERNATIONAL LINE A BUST

And I thought Patrick Robinson's collection for Target's Go International line was a tad disappointing... Libertine's is hella hideous!  For serious.  Check out the look book here.  The stripey number to the right is making me nauseous! It seems the Libertine team figured they'd just half-assedly throw together a bunch of inconsistent and painfully bad looks for the masses.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I guess we'll all have to wait for Erin Fetherston's collection scheduled for February 2008.  Read here.

TOM FORD | ATTITUDE NOBODY CAN AFFORD

Following up Horacio Silva's not-very-positive write-up of Tom Ford's snooty, new shop on Madison Avenue in the NYTs, is Lynn Yaeger's equally unimpressed review for the Village Voice.  This is my favorite part of Yaeger's article...

"Truth be told, Tom Ford has always given me the creeps. With his shirt cut down to there, revealing an artfully hirsute chest, and his 'Aren't-I-good-looking?' smirk he seems like someone who gazes around the room and thinks that everyone around him comes up lacking. Especially the women."

How absolutely spot on Ms. Yaeger is with her assessment of the smug and slimey man.  And I'm sorry but exclusionary does not equal exclusive!  Rude salespeople are SO passe'.  Nothing makes me want to shop and spend money more than cute and friendly and helpful sales staff.  The stick-up-their-arses help at Ford's store remind me of Edwina's line from Ab Fab (paraphrased) "You can drop the attitude.  You just work in a shop!"  Tell it like it is, sweetie darling!

TOPSHOP | MAD FOR MOSS!

-Brit girls went wild last night for the premiere of the Kate Moss line for TopShop.  Shoppers queued up for hours and the line snaked around three street corners!  People were let in 200 at a time and were allowed to purchase 5 items in 20 minutes.  La Moss showed up to model in the window for a bit and then watched the shopping frenzy from the sidelines.  Read more here.  KM will hit Barney's Coop stores on May 8th.  I wonder if Kate will be posing in the window of 60th Street...

-For some reason, WWD thought it was newsworthy to write about Tilly and The Wall's performance at Coachella last Friday night.  They claim that lead singer Kianna Alarid popularized the "vintage formal dresses chopped above the knee"-look a couple of years ago.  Oh!  That was her?  I thought it was EVERY 15-year-old girl in the western hemisphere who popularized that!  Apparently the annoying band has moved on to sporting "shiny spandex catsuits with ruffled sleeves, as well as sleeker, less poufy frocks."  Sounds like they're ripping off Donnie Darko's lil sis and her Sparkle Motion crew now.  Read here.

-Ew!  Kirsten's got scabies!

-Ew!  Jessica Simpson!

TOP OF THE POPS SHOP | KATE AND IRINA TAG-TEAM

We still have over a month to wait for KM Kate Moss for TopShop to hit the States, but here's a peek of the line.  The combo of Kate and Irina modeling the goods is top of the pops!  I particularly like the skinny, denim pedal-pushers; the white, one-shoulder cocktail dress; the black, strappy (Alaia-inspired?) dress; the black and gold sequin dress; and the grey pinstriped vest and trouser set.  The shiny black and white minidresses are a bit "Jersey-girl" and the floral patterns are sort of matronly - but that's just my twatty opinion.  I'm sure it will all fly off the racks at Barney's.