Tag Archives: Virginia Smith

Fashion Week SS09: Oscar de la Renta

A designer who dresses everyone from first ladies to megawatt stars, Oscar de la Renta draws a who’s-who list from fashion, New York society, and Hollywood to his shows on Park Avenue. The expensive suit that landed Cindy McCain in so much hot water with the press was Oscar de la Renta.

Anna Wintour in a beautiful white coat. Underneath she cinched her silk dress with a leather belt.
Funky glasses.
Here’s what black lipstick looks like off the runway–rather odd. If you took off the headscarf, this might be a good look. The gray dress on her friend is quite chic.
Conservative chic.
Black and white with a purple handbag.
Lee Radziwill in a white suit.
Sarah Rutson in slouchy harem pants and lots of necklaces.
Jamee Gregory proves that conservative does not have to equal boring. Love the Roger Vivier shoes.
Linda Wells looking very young and sophisticated in a LBD.
Winter florals in purple.
Meredith Melling Burke in a gorgeous black floral dress.
Virginia Smith, also of Vogue, accessorizing with an Obama pin on her handbag.
Rachel Zoe and sidekick. She actually looked really good in real life–perfectly put together. Now if only we didn’t know what was going on in that head of hers.
Fashion has changed with the climate–there were many more white cotton dresses in September. Call it winter white right now.
Nina Garcia obviously knows how to pick out a dress, but sometimes we think she needs a stylist. Looking at this photo, don’t you want to put her hair up? Unless you emphasize a long neck, puffy sleeves can create the football player effect.
There was a rumor about Jennifer Lopez that she uses Creme de la Mer as body moisturizer. Seen up close, her skin gives some credence that rumor–gorgeous!
Posted in fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fashion Week SS09: Tracy Reese

In transitional months like May and September, when you don’t know what to wear, a good bet is black and white. That seemed to be the thinking this weekend as dozens of show goers dressed in absolutes. One of the biggest developments was winter white, right now–though they’re usually packed away after Labor Day, white dresses were making an appearance in September.

A study in contrasts–the white says spring/summer while the black tights signal winter.
A bow blouse and flouncy skirt.
She is always a presence at Fashion Week and is never one to shy away from outrageous hats. Before the show, she had to describe to a friend on her cell phone what she was wearing (“hot pink, red, and green!”) because the friend couldn’t identify her in the crowd. Hilarious.
Winter white right now.
A gorgeous statement necklace.
Admiring Kate Lanphear’s blouse. From far away, it looked like winter florals, but it was actually an abstract polka dot pattern–in black and white. Also note that while she rocked the gladiator sandals last Fashion Week, Lanphear has put them away in favor of tough-looking open-toe booties. And of course platforms are par for the course.
This outfit, also captured by the Sartorialist, is not just insanely stylish but also quite comfortable-looking on Sarah Rutson, fashion director of Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford. Yes, even the bondage-insprired animal-print stilettos, which are second nature to a fashionista.
Tough chic.
Claiborne Swanson and Virginia Smith of Vogue. Swanson is wearing the boyfriend blazer that will be everywhere next spring; Smith wins for shoes, which also caught Bill Cunningham‘s eye.
Gorgeous green and white wide-legged pants.Celebrating the outrageous.

Love her black-and-white bow-neck blouse.

Robert Burke, fashion consultant extraordinaire, in his usual dapper blazer.
Katrina Szish in the most dramatic bow blouse of the day.

Curly hair was one of the biggest beauty trends this fashion week. Put away your straight irons!

It wouldn’t be Fashion Week without this guy. He selects the fabric for his suits himself and commissions them, and for the past year or so he’s had cute sidekicks. Today’s fabric of choice? Black and white.

Two editors from Vibe Magazine.
src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rz2cdDIwktM/SNDT5Qv1EHI/AAAAAAAAFp8/4P3Ge0UxZkA/s400/tracy-reese-show-21.jpg” alt=”” border=”0″ />
THE SHOW

Andre Leon Talley was seated front row at the Tracy Reese show, which started with a number of playing-it-safe muted solids before developing into her usual festive prints–phew. If even Tracy Reese had gone the conservative route, this would have been a sad Fashion Week indeed. This season Reese’s colorful patterns became more abstract, perhaps the product of new high-tech printing processes.

A winner of a trench coat in raw silk.This Asian-inspired open-cut tulip skirt was a continuing motif in the collection.

An abstract print.
The jury’s still out on harem pants for spring, but when you see looks like these, it gives you more confidence in the trend. This outfit is both chic and infinitely wearable.

An elegant open tulip cut cocktail dress in a mustardy chartreuse for spring.

See the whole collection on Style.com.

Posted in fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fashion Week SS09: Tracy Reese