District L

The FFaNY Show has come and passed and thousands of pairs of shoes have been cleared out of The Hilton Club this evening. After a jam-packed week of showroom-hopping and note-taking, I am finally able to cherish a fleeting moment of reflection and relaxation before the weekend officially commences.

Mulling over the newest direction for our lasting seventies revival, it’s hard to ignore the shimmery, disco-esque themes adorning most high platforms and broader heels. Jeffrey Campbell glitz and emphatic Pour la Victoire shapes induced a case of Night Fever that may only be cured by a shot of daytime color. Brighter palettes in patterned fabrics will garnish your feet during brunching hours, as the flower-children of yesteryear try shouting at Siri from the next table over.

But tonight, dip into late-seventies decadence, as demonstrated by the December issue of W Magazine:

Post by Amanda LaMela

Haven’t you heard? Couch surfing is so in - which is wonderful news, considering the fact that my own sofa has been doubling as a waiting area for outfits that don’t make the final round of my daily AM tryouts.

Yes, I know it’s a messy disaster! But we’re in and out of our wardrobes, Starbucks, and the subway – all before 8am – and our post-happy hour time is spent at fragrance launches, fashion film screenings, and accessory preview events. So, it’s no wonder we’re too exhausted to tidy up! But fortunately, we’re not alone:

Allure Korea - August 2011

That’s right. “You look tired,” is a backhanded, passive-aggressive insult of the past. So, the next time that bitch from accounting feigns concern for your sleeping schedule, pretend to care about the dullness in her life. If you find the time.

And when you do find that elusive thing called “time,” be sure to make it look as though you’d been enjoying the luxury of leisure all along.

Gucci Fall/Winter 2011 Campaign

W Magazine - August 2011

Jess Hart for Elle Magazine - August 2011

Elle Canada - August 2011

Allure Korea - August 2011

Numero #125 - August 2011

Post by Amanda LaMela

Alexander McQueen

Image from W Magazine

Remember 2008? The Beatrice was open, Down By The Hipster was a real blog, and people only talked about the economy -- but nobody really felt it.

Yes, New York was a Playland. And it seems like the fun has now returned: Don Hills opened last month, Fashion Week got a venue upgrade, and people are having fun with fashion again.

The last time fashion and nightlife meshed this candidly and lavishly, I was starting my long line of internships at W Magazine, getting a daily dose of comedy with Essentially Emily, and still checking Fashionista every day. Yes, it was June 2008 and all was wonderful in the world of fashion. Or so I thought, until I was informed by Gawker, DBTH, and the rest of the interwebs about this:

Fashion Meets Finance: It's not like this was a secret pairing, I knew this. Every polo-donning twenty-something who oozed out of the Holland Tunnel in the past decade had successfully used the "I'm in finance" lie to bed drunk, thin, well-dressed women. But never before was it so forced, obvious, and.... counterfeit.

No, the gold-digging/douchebaggery aspect did not anger me. It was the tacky women with crunchy hair and Coach bags who tried to pass as "fashionistas" -- THAT pissed me off.

So, in conclusion, while every industry insider enjoys crying apocalypstick on the New York fashion and nightlife scene, here's a reminder that it wasn't always rainbows and Fendi heels:

Post by Amanda LaMela

"There are movie stars you see in film or characters in a novel that are an idealized version of what we dream life to be about, and rarely is this great expectation met...But Daphne is the exception: She is the embodiment of the ideal- beautiful, chic, fiercely intelligent, and kind"- Stephen Klein on Daphne Guinness, W Magazine

Photo from VOGUE, UK

"My vision is not about fantasy; it's about reality. I design for women, and I have my eyes on what I want you to look like."
-Yigal Azrouel, in W Magazine