Hot Kamali

Norma Kamali is one of the most diverse and innovative designers to date.  She runs the gamut from puffer jackets to bathing suits and in every category, Kamali infuses her unmistakable, edgy style.

Anna Kournikova in a Kamali bathing suit in Sports Illustrated, 2004

I did a post on puffer coats back in January when we were all freezing our booty's off in NYC, and I mentioned Ms. Kamali.  So, I thought it is only fitting to do a Kamali bathing suit post since it's been hot, hot, hot!

Kamali bathing suit, 1977

Photo Credit: Fracesco Scavullo for Conde Nast

Her suits are sexy, revealing, head-turning.  They are not for the shy girls, but the bold, confident woman who loves attention and doesn't mind crazy tan lines.

styles from Norma Kamali, OMO Swim (Foil Collection), 2010

It's not too late to make a purchase, summer isn't over yet!  Visit Norma Kamali Swim and check out her 2010 collection -- there is even a special grouping for Wal Mart.  And of course, you've got to pair the suit with Norma's fabulous sunnies.

Kamali sunglasses

My Favorite Accessory

Like any female, I have an affinity for shoes and handbags.  I covet my 'chunky' ring collection, I have a slight obsession for sunglasses and I'm constantly buying hats that sit, ignored, in my closet desperately hoping to come out one day.

Starting young!  My nephew, Adam examines my bracelet (by Pollini).  Are we in the presence of a budding jewelry designer?  Wendy Brandes can be his mentor!

But, my favorite accessory is my nephew, Adam!  What a cutie.  The little flirt turned one yesterday and I was able to grab him for a quick photo op before he got birthday cake in his hair!

Dress: Max Mara

Shades: Max Mara

Shoes: Via Spiga

Arm Candy: Nephew, Adam

Don't Fight The White

Yes, it's definitely summer in the city!  I'm continuing to wear WHITE and I will continue this ritual until it cools off a bit or until I have to hit the dry cleaners... whichever comes first!  Probably the dry cleaners considering that I'm a self-proclaimed klutz and will inevitably spill something on myself soon enough!

Billy Idol is "Hot in the City" on Solid Gold, 1982

(he may be hot, but he's still wearing leather!)

Until then, I thought I would share some more of my white hot picks for "Stacy's Style List."  I ventured into Sportmax the other day and after I got past the sweaters and furs (yes, I said FUR), I found the spring merchandise.  I tried on a few things and was quite taken with this casual jumpsuit...

 

Jumpsuit and Belt: Sportmax

Shoes: Charles Amar

Second on my list today is my Laila Azhar dress that fetches me compliments every time I wear this little number.

Dress: Laila Azhar

Bag: Francesco Biasia

Shoes: Via Spiga

Leather Chain Link Bracelet: Pollini

Translucent Ring: Dome

Earrings: From 1988!

And finally, I adore this dress from ALLSAINTS which I saw yesterday in their new SoHo store (Bloomingdales started to carry the label in late 2009).  I'm so glad they are available in the States now and I don't have to trek over to London to buy their edgy-elegant merchandise.  Hmmm, now I need to come up with another excuse to go to London!

ALLSAINTS "Aemilla" dress in washed cotton, $240

Last but not least, my white nails...

polish by Brucci

lemon from fruit stand on the corner :-)

White Hot

I love this time of year because I can wear WHITE! Not that white is unacceptable any other time of the year (as I posted about recently), but I can wear summer white, which is a special kind of white. My wardrobe is pretty much black, white and shades of grey so I tend to wear black in the winter, white in the summer and grey in between. Rocket science, I know!

There is just something about white that makes me feel happy, new, and clean. I’ll wear white jeans, white T-shirts, white nail polish. I’ll buy white tulips, sleep on white fluffy pillows. White, white, fields of white… wait… wheat…it's fields of WHEAT.

"Wheat?  I'm dead and they're talking about wheat?"

Here’s what on the top of “Stacy’s Style List” right now…

Resort '11, left to right: Bottega Veneta, Celine, Preen

Photos: Firstview (Style.com)

The Coney Culture

If you’ve never been to Coney Island, I recommend that you add it to your bucket list. Coney Island is historic and it has its own bizarre unique culture that is not exactly comparable to anything else. Jewelry goddess, Wendy Brandes and I experienced it firsthand just the other day.

me with my blue dolphin and bald lady

sexy WendyB

The weirdness began with the longest subway ride ever. Wendy and I felt like we were on some Twilight Zone train to nowhere – where the hell is New Ultrecht Avenue anyway?

David Byrne is on a Road To Nowhere...

After about an hour, we arrived at the tip of Brooklyn but it felt like the edge of the world where circus folk live. Needless to say, Wendy and I didn’t exactly blend into the crowd!

me...

Wendy (in the middle!)

So, what were two sophisticated, stylish city girls going to do in that crazy town? Well, we figured 'When in Rome' and we made our way to the cheesiest looking bar and pulled up a couple of plastic chairs. We had a grand old time at Cha Cha’s drinking a beer and eating oysters. Cha Cha’s also provided live entertainment – well, if you consider the drunken guy walking around singing karaoke-style to every song that pumped out of the juke box.

With our bellies full (of oysters) and our thirst satiated (with beer), we were now ready to tackle to the rides. Um, does that sound like a recipe for disaster? Yeah, it does. WendyB must have an iron stomach because she fared much better than I on the kiddy ride, Tilt-A-Whirl. “I need to get off this thing NOW!” I demanded. “Oh, please God, I am NOT good with spinning,” I whined as I clutched my stuffed blue dolphin.

happy with my blue dolphin BEFORE the scary ride began...

amateur YouTube video of "Tilt-A-World" -- try to watch and not get dizzy!

After sitting on a bench with me for 10 minutes, Wendy was itching to use our Wonder Wheel tickets. “You need to go alone,” I told her. And so she did! Twice, in fact, since we had purchased two tickets. Not only did she step up and brave the Wonder Wheel, but she had the cojones to choose the “swinging” car rather than the “stationary.” That is one brassy lassie! I was happy with my stationary position – on the ground!

Wendy gets ready to ride

sitting pretty

high above the tree tops

I did redeem myself by kicking booty on the baseball throw and Wendy wiped up the competition (me) with the water pistol shoot. We were, unfortunately, unsuccessful with the “claw grab” where we spent a gazillion quarters trying to win a stuffed Stewie for Wendy! She was so bummed out that she decided to console herself by getting a tattoo!

Roy gives Wendy a vampire tattoo

Next up was the photo booth for posterity and then of course, more food and drinks! We were really trying to live like the locals! Wendy went to Nathan’s and since I’ve always been kind of afraid of hot dog mystery meat, I opted for a funnel cake! Sooo healthy! Sadly, we had to pour out our gigantic strawberry daiquiri we were planning to split because it was the most vile liquid either one of us had ever encountered. On the upside, Wendy got a really cool gym water bottle out of it.

Dinner!

As the sun set on the home of the world-famous Cyclone, the lights and bright colors of Coney Island looked beautiful. The breeze blew off the ocean, we could smell sea salt in the air and hear the screams and laughter of children. It doesn’t get much better than that.

P.S. I admit when the express train whizzed past “Prince Street,” I felt a slight sense of relief to be back on my home turf – Manhattan.

Happy Friday

Enjoy the weekend and enjoy this beautiful picture... I wish I were there... wherever "there" is!

What Comes Around...

For those of you who guessed when the sketches in yesterday's post were done, the answer is 1992!!  They were actually done while attending F.I.T., so they were basically school projects/assignments.  Kristin, from the fantastic blog K_Line was pretty much spot on with the date.  Congrats Kristin!

Tribal Inspiration: my sketch from 1992 & Louis Vuitton runway, Spring 2009

In design (at least in fashion), pretty much everything has already been done.  Clothes have existed, well, since forever.  It's not like we've never seen a pair of pants before or a blazer or shirt, so nobody is exactly inventing anything at this point.  The only thing designers can do is come up with new and interesting ways of interpreting apparel whether it be through silhouette, fabric, details and trim or avant-garde variations.

Woodgrain Leggings: my sketch, 1992 & Alexander McQueen runway, Spring 2009

It makes sense that styles recycle and if we think we are seeing something new, chances are, we're not.  I'd like to say that I was really innovative back in 1992, but the reality is that somewhere, somehow the concepts in these sketches got into my brain from another source.  The sketches are just the result of my interpretation.  I guess the same can be said for Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs and Narciso Rodriguez -- unless I allow myself to believe that all three of them were influenced by my school projects!  Ha!

Cut-Out Eye Caps: my sketch, 1992 & Narciso Rodriguez runway, Fall 2009

 

"Oh my God, they stole my hat idea!"

Wanna Play?

Can you guess when I sketched these??

 Tribal Chic - pink and iris suede with beaded wide belt

one-sleeve jacket with woodgrain print leggings

  

woodgrain bodysuit

What's Your Number?

I've been a little busy lately and I know I have been neglecting my blog over the past week or so.  I plan to be back on track soon.  Also, I've definitely fallen behind in reading my favorite blogs which I will get back to this week... sorry guys!

One thing that has been derailing me is that I've taken on an entire restructuring and reorganization of my apartment.  Absolutely everything came out of my closets!  I realized that I hadn't vacuumed all the way back there in a very long time.  I was also able to get an accurate count of my shoes.  Why not?  I was kind of curious.  I have 50 pairs... on the nose.  Well, that's not including all of my running sneakers, a pair of tennis sneakers, some hiking boots and all my flip-flops.  Oh, and the four pairs that I've decided to give away. 

I'm still in love with these Roger Vivier's which I posted on May 23

I'm thinking 50 pairs is not so bad, right?  We have to take into account that shoes are seasonal so it's not like I'm wearing them all at once!  That reminds me of a funny story (yes, another one of my goofy stories!).  An old boyfriend asked me one time, "Exactly how many shoes have you bought this year?"  To which I replied, "This year starting WHEN?"  I thought it was a completely legitimate statement!  He cracked up and wondered if there was some kind of 'shoe fiscal year' or something that he wasn't aware of since obviously, this year referred to -- since the New Year.  I tried to explain to him about seasonal shoe shopping, but he wasn't having any of that nonsense.

Calvin Klein Collection -- I set my eyes on these in February at the runway show

Anyway... I have veered off yet again.  I'm taking a poll to find out how many shoes you have and what a normal/average number is for a fashion savvy girl!  Let me hear it!

Showroom Shopping and Hopping

A couple of rainy days in NYC forced me to stick with inside activities, but I can’t complain when visiting Zang Toi’s and Brioni’s showrooms were involved.

Brioni's showroom

Zang’s Fall 2010 Collection is exquisite and he was more than happy to serve Wendy Brandes and me tea and let us “go to town” trying on all kinds of amazing dresses. We were seriously like kids in a candy store – a very sophisticated and expensive candy store.

a look from Zang's fall 2010 collection

Jewelry diva WendyB had to see Zang for a fitting on a sexy little chartreuse number with black sequins and tassels. After the adjustments were made, we started pulling pieces off the racks and squeezing ourselves into the built-in corset gowns. Toi’s dresses are so feminine and flattering; they make you feel instantly gorgeous.

suede skirt with latticework overlay - I decided to forgo the fox!

Toi has such a great eye for how to make pretty clothes. He knows exactly how to make his clients (whatever size) look good. One of my favorite pieces in the collection was a black and iris color, simple sheath dress that has the most beautiful shape. The fabric is actually made with a gradual transition in color from black to iris, thus creating a wide stripe effect. Toi cleverly and strategically placed the wide black band across the midsection. Thoughtful design ideas like this separate Zang Toi from others.

a look from Zang Toi's fall 2010 collection

Toi repeated the concept of the band across the waist in an iris color silk floor length gown with tiny black sequins and round beads applied to the center portion of the dress. Stunning. Zang certainly is the king of evening glamour and his gowns are favorites on the red carpet, but the brilliant designer can also do ready-to-wear as good as anyone. His luxurious ¾ sleeve peacoat and cute little black mini with his elaborate embroidered logo give Michael Kors something to worry about.

model from Zang Toi's fall 2010 collection (left) and glamorous WendyB in the same piece (right)

The following day, Wendy and I headed to Rockefeller Center to meet with Heather Shimokawa and Kristin Isham at Brioni. Again, I found myself drooling, wanting, longing. I have always loved the sexy sophistication that Brioni oozes and being able to go through each piece in the collection was heaven.

Kristin (Director of Sales) and Heather (Director of P.R.)

me in a tight fitting Brioni sample

Brioni has a reputation for quality, both in fabric and make. Seeing the clothes up close, being able to examine every stitch and every detail was really a treat. Obviously, Brioni makes a perfectly tailored jacket, but their body conscious dresses are flying off the racks – like the sleek, pencil skirty tank dress in black leather. So sexy it’s a crime. As a designer myself, I can’t help but notice the little details like the leather covered shoulder pads perfectly placed and neatly hidden below the wide shoulder straps of the tank dress.

Brioni leather dress

The luxurious fabrics and the attention to detail really make Brioni special. Pick stitching accents the complex seaming of a dress, deconstructed jackets never look messy, raw edges still look clean with very narrow rows of double stitching along the edges, linings have “Brioni” in jacquard across the back, mink fully lines an anorak, sweater yarns are so light and soft that you’d want to sleep in them and double-faced cashmere provides its own lining with the contrasting color on the back of the goods.

Brioni jacquard lined jacket (top) and double-faced wool unlined jacket (bottom)

Heather was so incredibly sweet (and she made me a dee-lish espresso). She walked us through the line and let us try on the showroom samples and snap pictures like two spoiled brats. She didn’t even mind when I pretended to be an elephant with their 6 ft. long, grey suede “scrunch gloves!” Yes, on top of all the beautiful clothes, Brioni has some insane (in a good way) gloves that would make any outfit look incredible. I tried on several pairs including the Mongolian fur gloves and the ultra long gloves that are meant to be scrunched up the entire arm. They may not be the quickest or easiest accessory to put on, but they look amazing!!

Brioni Mongolian fur gloves (left) and grey suede "scrunch" gloves (right)

 

What a great couple of days in NYC. What an incredible city in which I live!!