Blake and Leighton in Nylon!

T-minus five days until the much-anticipated new episode of Gossip Girl! Until then, here are some photos from the latest issue of Nylon. Blake and Leighton each get their own covers. Who do you like better? Blondes or brunettes? (Photos: Nylon)

New Coach dustbags are cheap(er)

I was in my sister's room admiring her new Coach bag when I noticed the dustbag for it. Actually I thought it was some old piece of nylon that she wrapped around the bag but she told me it was the dustbag that came with the bag. I couldn't believe how cheap it looked. Upon further inspection I noticed that the bag is indeed made of nylon with many loose stitches and threads coming undone. The stitching is just a single-line stitch so no wonder it's falling apart. The dustbag itself just looks and feels cheap. I went back to my closet and got an older dustbag to compare. There is no comparison.
The older version is made of soft cotton with red stitching (which by the way is a cross-stitch) and drawstring. Even though some of my dustbags are a year old, there are no loose threads or stitches coming apart. I am amazed that this company, which is making so much money, is letting the quality of the dustbags fall apart. I'm sure this doesn't have to do with their move to China which happened years ago. It seems like they are cutting corners in order to make more profit for their shareholders. If this is what they let happen to the dustbags, what about the bags themselves? I haven't bought a new Coach bag in a while (except for an older style off ebay) because I haven't seen a style I like but I am a bit wary about the quality. I'm going to wait and see how my sister's fabric bag holds up. (Photos: Chloe Tejada)



New dustbag: Notice the loose stitching and threads?

Compare the photo above to this one: No loose threads or stitching on the old version.


The old dustbag, done right.

MEXICO - fashion week aw 08, galeria estacion indianilla, 04/15/08

Awesome photos of the new Gap line

Because I love models and the Gap and designers, here are some photos from the Gap Design Editions campaign that got sent to me by a lovely publicist. Thank you!
Update: A friend of mine who just visited the Gap in Toronto says that the store is selling the shirts very quickly. However they are apparently getting another shipment tonight so if you can't make it in today, go tomorrow!

Here is some info about the line:

- The collection will be available exclusively in flagship and top Gap adult stores in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Japan and online in the U.S. at gap.com. Items will range in price from $58 to $88 Cdn. In Canada, the shirts will be available at the following Gap stores in Toronto at Toronto Eaton Centre, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and 60 Bloor St. W; Montreal at Montreal Eaton Centre and 1255 Ste-Catherine St.; Vancouver at Robson St. and Calgary at Chinook Centre.

- This marks the second year of Gap Design Editions, a limited edition collection specially designed for Gap by the winners of the annual Fashion Fund competition. In 2007 Gap announced a partnership with the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund to introduce up-and-coming young designers to a broader audience by partnering with winners from the annual Fashion Fund competition. Designers created their own unique interpretations of the classic white shirt – an iconic item that has been part of Gap’s heritage for more than 35 years. Additionally, this year’s Gap Design Editions include menswear.


(Photos courtesy of the Gap)

Irina Lazareanu and Lily Donaldson with designer Philip Lim.



Catherine McNeil with Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders.


Jessica Stam with Gabi Asfour, Adi Gil, and Angela Donhauser of threeASFOUR.

Doutzen Kroes and a male model with Michael Bastian.

Price increases: It's all in the bag

With the news that Louis Vuitton is having a price increase tomorrow and the rumours running rampant that Chanel is having yet another increase in May, I sat back and thought about why women keep buying bags that nearly double in price every year and how they can afford it.

Chanel seems to quietly increase their prices about three times a year. Iin Sept. 2006, a classic medium/large caviar flap cost $1595 US. Today, that same bag costs $2,350 US ($2,500 CAD) plus tax. And yet women still flock to the stores and buy several bags a year. Recession? What recession? Instead of being turned off by these increases, women stock up on the bags they want before the increase hits and keep doing that every time there is an increase, arguing that they are getting a good deal now. So Chanel easily gets away with this because they know that women won't stop buying bags.

Now, I am a total bag addict and I admit that I too have bought a bag earlier than I would have liked in order to save pre-increase. But what I really should be doing is stop buying at these stores because the prices are ridiculous for a product whose quality doesn't get any better (and from what I've been hearing from other purse addicts, the quality has actually gotten worse.)

The problem is, they keep making new bags that I want really badly and feel that I can't live without. It really is an addiction but I don't know the cure for it.

So Louis Vuitton is marking up their prices just before the S/S collection hits the stores and the waitlist for the limited edition bags is very long. But will the price increase deter women to buy the bags? Hell no. Thank you gluttonous corporations for taking my cash.
(Photo: Chloe Tejada)

Update: Gap Design Editions in stores today!

My source at the Gap says that Canadians can get a piece of designer goodness right now! Go now before there is no more Philip Lim left!

Fashion Illustratrion

When fashion magazines first started, there was no such thing as fashion photography. Instead, illustrators drew the covers and the pictorials of the latest trends and collections. From Art Deco to Impressionist, many styles flourished at magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Names such as Helen Thurlow, Porter Woodruff, Georges Lepape, George Plank, Benito, Blin, Mourgue, Marty and René Gruau painted and drew fashionable society as well as what was going on in the world. The first Vogue photographic cover appeared in July 1932 and fashion photography was born creating a slew of iconic names such as Richard Avedon and Irving Penn. With that however was the demise of the golden age of fashion illustration.
But illustrator David Downton is starting to revive his love of the art by creating a quarterly magazine, Pourquoi Pas? that features beautiful illustrations by René Gruau, vintage Vogue covers, sketchbooks from Chanel and Versace shows and illustrations of models by the Downton himself. It also features articles by Style.com writer Sarah Mower, The New York Times' Cathy Horyn and Tim Blanks.
It's a remarkable collection of an art that I barely knew existed and I encourage anyone who loves fashion or art to buy a copy. It truly is a piece of art. (Illustration: David Downton)