SO DID HE LOVE OR LOATHE? ERIC WILSON OF THE TIMES WEIGHTS IN ON TOP SHOP

new york - i'm trying to read into this quote , but am i missing the point. judging from what he's saying, i'm assuming that eric wilson is saying that top shop really isn't so haute. are you getting the same vibe? and have you been to top shop yet? what do you think? okay enough questions...quote below:

"these are clothes so absurdly trendy that shoppers might think they were at forever 21 or even bang bang. if it were not for the higher prices, with dresses often costing 4100 to $150, and the marketing of topshop as a destination for cool design. the creative style of the sales staff helps to create that illusion." 

pic: eric wilson found on jack mackenroth's blog

WHY DO IT YOURSELF WHEN YOU CAN DO IT WITH SOMEONE ELSE? SO SAYETH MARC JACOBS!

worldwide - just meditate on this quote from saint marc: "Everybody who says they do everything themselves is just exaggerating. Doing things by yourself is well, it's masturbation. It's not nearly as exciting as doing it with somebody else!" i just saw this on fashionologie.com. but i digress....the news here is that for fall ad campaign's jacob's is going to use real models instead of the celebrities he's been partial to so far. some agent has a huge pay day coming....

FASHIONISTAS SPEAK: SEAN COMBS

london - it looks like sean combs is getting ready to transform himself yet again. after being a producer/sidekick, rapper, fashionista, fashion designer, fragrance designer, baby daddy, etc. he is now fully committing himself to being an actor. check out what he said to a london paper below (and for the record, i think puffy is the ultimate fashionista. i wonder if my boy kareem anglin of male style review agrees with me...)

i know very few people find puffy attractive. and its not his looks that get me, i just love that confidence, and swagger, and success, and fearlessness and of course, how he wears a 3 piece suit. congrats to him and his stylist. (ceosmack.com)

"I see myself as an entertainer. I try to model myself on the actors of old who did multiple things - they sung, they danced and they acted. I've set up the infrastructure of my various companies so I don't have to deal with the business side of things any more. I want to be considered and respected as an actor. That's my commitment."

NICHOLAS GHESQUIERE ISN'T THINKING OF YOU WHEN HE DESIGNS

ghesquiere, creative director for balenciaga. (tucloset.files.wordpress.)

worldwide - and by you, i mean any woman with minimum or maximum curves. check out this quote he gave to purple magazine, below. the women who inspire him are more like boys. but to each his own. i live an die for ghesquiere. i spotted this on fashionista.com. (don't know how to pronounce his name? check out my designer pronunciation key on the right.)

sixties french fashion icon, francoise hardy, is one of the women that floats ghesquiere's boat. (featuringdave.com)

"I am dealing with women. Their sensuality moves me. But the girls around me are rarely sex symbols in the carnal or voluptuous sense. I prefer Johanna Preiss or Charlotte Gainsbourg to Scarlett Johansson. I prefer Francoise Hardy to Marilyn Monroe."

LOU DOILLON LETS THE SECRET TO GOOD DRESSING OUT

i agree with what this beauty has to say (viewimages.com)

london - the french are renowned for their wonderful dressing. here, model and stylecon (i made that word up b.t.w, it is a combination of style and icon. don't u love the blay report!?) lou doillon gives her take on why the french are so damned fashionable to the guardian weekend magazine. "the silhouette is the most important thing in clothes. every french girl knows that. high-waisted trousers give you long legs and a pretty bum which, after all, is what we all want."

PARIS HILTON: A HUSTLER SPEAKS

usa - i got this quote from wgsn.com. which got it from 944.com. whatever the source though, it's priceless. paris hilton gets indignant about the lack of respect and appreciation for her work ethic. but i for one (to use my boy keesean's favorite term) can dig it. i think paris hilton is actually briliant. slut, publicity whore, ditz....whatever you want to call her she's laughing all the way to the bank and having fun doing it. that's got to be applauded. no, mon ami? see the quote below.

sex sells, and paris is using it to sling everything from albums to perfume to shoes. get 'em girl!(howardlinzdon.com)

"It makes me angry because people don't know the real me, and I'm a very hard worker. I travel around the world constantly promoting my projects and endorsing products. Yes, I do get paid to go to parties - in fact, I'm the person who started the whole trend of paid appearances. But when you see me at a party, I'm always working or promoting something, even if it's as simple as wearing my clothing line for the pictures."

NYLON WAS RIGHT: THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. AND IT'S REALLY FABULOUS

a candid of mk! (babble.com)

new york - so on my list of style icons, i just can't say that mary-kate olsen ever figured high....i don't think she's bad or good. i just took no notice. but after reading this quote, i just might. (p.s i don't believe in style icons, but if i ever had to have one, it would be my little sister: zeba blay.) now on to mary-kate's quote....

"I wear weird things sometimes. I like to drink coffee. Neither of those things has anything to do with who I am."

JOSHUA JACKSON KNOWS HE LOOKS GOOD IN LV

never seen mr. jackson look so dapper. or is it that crushworthy daimler tote!!!??? (gettyimages, ofcourse.)

paris - "I wear Louis Vuitton because it's cut for a man. I'm not one of those skinny, twiggy men - I need clothes that are cut for a man." JOSHUA JACKSON as told to my FAVE website, wgsn.com backstage.

DESIGNER DOMINATION DEAD?

in the article, picart claims that the days of the uber-designer, like ford, are numbered. (telegraph.co.uk)

paris - according to famous fashion consultant jean-jacques picart, that's the case. in a recent interview with agence france presse he said, "Buying something just because it's in fashion is a thing of the past. Modest glory is the way ahead... People want what is different...We have entered an era of fundamental change. People no longer want to look good, they want to feel good. People want value for their money. The brand has to show it respects the customer, which is where ethics come into play." can someone please tell me exactly what is new or groundbreaking about what he said?

THERE'S HOPE YET: DONNA KARAN WAS NOT A GOOD DESIGN STUDENT

look at her now! donna with super model/actress/designer milla jovovovich! (obviously! from viewimaes.com)

new york - in case you are a struggling design student who can't sew, drape or cut. here what ms. karan had to say on xm radio as reported by page six: "I loved fashion. But I wasn't a very good student. Failed typing, failed draping, you know. I had a little ADD problem. Sewing? Oh, forget it. I burnt my dress. They told me I would never make it as a fashion designer at all."

update: thanks to our fab reader alex for correcting me!

RESPECTING HER ELDERS: BAR RAFAELI SETS IT STRAIGHT

the real supermodels: evangelista, crawford, campbell and turlington. (toofatforfashion.blogspot.com)
only a model (and she knows this!) bar rafaeli for sports illustrated. (www.si.com)

world wide web - "I don't even know what a supermodel is. Of course it's nice, it's very flattering, if people want to talk about me like that. But to me, there will only be one group of girls who were supermodels." Thus says Bar Rafaeli, model and (ex?)girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio, as reported by contactmusic.com. Smart girl! Do you agree?

MR. BLACKWELL'S WORST DRESSED LIST

sharp words & a sharp sense of style: mr. blackwell. (viewimages.com)
i don't think she belonged on the list, but i get why she made it. (chinadaily.com)

world wide -- so i don't know a whole lot about the mr. blackwell. (if you do, put me on.) either way, he must have some really good p.r. because for the past 40-odd years, folks have been waiting with baited breath to read his list of the previous years' worst dressed celebs. here is the list for 2007. do you agree with it?

10.) Alison Arngrim: "Little Nellie of the prairie, looks like a 1940's fashion editor for the Farmers Almanac."

9.) Lindsay Lohan: "Lindsay the fashion frenzy strikes again! Lohan takes fashion to a new low."

8.) Jessica Simpson: "Forget the Cowboys. In prom queen screams, can it get any worse? She's a global fashion curse!"

7.) Avril Lavigne: "Gothic make-up courtesy the mad spatula-Fashions provided by.. The house of Dracula!"

6.) Eva Green: "Stuck in neon nightmares not fit for the sane. Fashion this loud could give Bond a migraine! A profusion of confusion from toes to nose!"

5.) Kelly Clarkson: "Her heavenly voice soars above the rest... but those belly-baring bombs are hellish at best! She may be the queen of 'Pro-Active' – but that wardrobe looks downright radioactive!"

4.) Fergie: "Another style-free 'Fergie' in fashion's hall of shame? Yes, when it comes to couture chaos, guess it's all in a name!"

3.) Mary Kate Olsen: "YIKES! In layers of cut-rate kitsch, Mary Kate's look is hard to explain... she resembles a tattered toothpick-trapped in a hurricane!"

2.) Amy Winehouse: "Exploding beehives above…tacky polka-dots below... she's part 50's car-hop horror."

1.) Victoria Beckham: "Forget the fashion spice - wearing a skirt would suffice! In one skinny-mini monstrosity after another, pouty posh can really wreck-em."

POSH ON AMY: SHE'S AN ICON

so do tank tops, beehives, and crack weight a style icon make? just asking...

london--"she has a real sense of style that i just love. she's very much a fashion icon and i adore what she wears. she's unique and original." victoria beckham talking about amy winehouse in london's daily mirror. okay, so am i the only one who sees amy winehouse as a pure crack/coke/smack head? or maybe i'm the one on drugs.....

FASHIONISTAS SPEAK: VICTORIA EXPLAINS IT ALL

do you like this cover? i honestly don't think i'm into it....(thanks to dlisted.com for photo)

u.s.a-- in the latest issue of elle with victoria beckham on the cover, she says: "I'm so camp! I'm such a gay man trying to get out." that's some brilliant insight. this quote actually helps me understand posh better!

FASHIONABLY LOUD: KILLER QUOTES FROM FAMOUS FASHIONISTA'S

designer yohji yamamoto is sexy and fashion forward. what more does one really need in a man?

london--these were compiled by prolific fashion writer & editor, roger tredre. loves them!

'As the English say, I would like to leave the party when it is still full.' VALENTINO ON RETIRING

'Fashion is for the young. Once you reach a certain age, it is best to figure out your uniform and stick with it.' JOURNALIST RICHARD BUCKLEY

'What makes designers successful is their ruthlessness.' ANONYMOUS, VANITY FAIR

'Fashion, for all its emphasis on creativity, is a business.' WRITER EDWARD HELMORE

'My work is completed only when a person wears it. It doesn't work on a mannequin, it would look like a ghost.' YOHJI YAMAMOTO

'In London, there is the air of fashion being something for gifted amateurs. I fully respect the creative freedom of designers but fashion is a business.' STUART ROSE, CHAIRMAN BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL

CURIOUS QUOTES: LILY ALLEN

ugly? (photo from myspace.com)

london,england-- "All those Amazonian beauties around me highlighting exactly how ugly I am - yeah, it was brilliant." LILY ALLEN on performing at Swarovski Fashion Rocks (WGSN) ummmmmmmmm who says that!? i understand thinking that (although, i don't encourage such self-rejective thoughts) but who actually says that!?

FASHION SPEAK: CHLOE SEVIGNY

chloe looking spaced out as usual. (source:chrisbuck.com)

new york, ny--so chloe sevigny, who is currently designing for opening ceremony, had this to say in the daily news. she's talking about her past drug use. my reaction is the same as i have towards the pieces she designs: huh? "I think I was just very bored. And I did just love taking hallucinogens. I probably shouldn't promote that. But I often feel it's because I experimented when I was younger that I have no interest as an adult."

CAVALLI UNDERSTANDS YOUR BUDGET

roberto going over details with h&m's creative director, margereta van de bosch (source)

so why exactly did roberto cavalli decide to design a capsule collection for h&m? you thought it was for money. but it was so much more than that blaynistas. so much more. read:

"The young stop me all over the world in the street and say 'Oh, Roberto, you're my idol'," he explains in Times2. "I said ok to H&M so that youngsters could have the chance to wear Cavalli, not just the beautiful stars on the red carpet. I hope to see lots of girls queuing up to discover what I have created for them."

oh i'll be one of them mr. roberto. look for me with vaseline on my face, a scarf on my hair, and brass knuckles in my chloe paddington bag. i'll be ready to fight for my right to buy cavalli at bottom-barrel prices.

FASHIONISTA'S SPEAK: A QUOTE FROM KYLIE MINOGUE

i mean...sorta don't know what to think of this. but here is what pop singer kylie minogue said during a dolce+gabanna party in cannes. it was printed in the daily mirror: "I've got a great black girl's butt, kinda like Beyoncé and J Lo...You'll never hear me wishing I had a smaller butt. The bigger the better."

justin grabs a hold of kylie minogue