my family and i went out to dinner at The Palm Restaurant on Christmas Eve. this random shot was taken by my sister, but i like it for some odd reason. it showcases my nailpolish, which is the Chanel Jade. i can’t believe people are really shelling out $100+ for this on ebay. while i was at Chanel buying it, 3 people came in asking for it. but i ended up getting the last bottle in CA. hahaha, suckers.

nail polish is my one cosmetic weakness. i spend quite a bit on it. it’s strange though, myself and my friend Nick are the only guys i know who paint our nails, that are not drag queens. as such, i would never paint my nails red or pink, as it comes off too drag-y. the closest is have to red is Ruby Red Slippers by Lippmann, which is a red glitter suspended in a black base, which is by far the most gorgeous polish i own. the black is deep and mutes the red, but when it catches the light, it sparkles like crazy. (you can see it in the front there). you can see that i have quite the little collection of polishes, well for me anyways. (and if you couldn’t tell, Belle is my favorite Disney princess.)

i did however, just added two new polishes for Christmas.

the first is Particulière, a chocolate milkshake color, which was on the Chanel Spring 2010 runway, and the second being Trapeze, a shimmering beige from the holiday collection.

speaking of Christmas, what else did i get? cause i know you’re all wondering.

well just this:

+ a considerable amount of $$$$, and i do mean considerable. (i have a birkin and Prada shoes to save for, remember?! haha)

that’s it though. i’ll be sure to blog more about polish in the future. i just ordered some from OPI’s Alice in Wonderland collection, so i’ll post pics and reviews when those come.

i hope your holidays were just as great and festive as mine were, and you got all that you guys wanted. and if you didn’t get what you wanted, you should listen to Mama Odie and “dig a littler deeper”, haha.

Throughout history, fashion designers have been known to be the two “E’s”:  expensive and exclusive.  However, more and more are either starting to understand they can reach a larger audience by making the clothes affordable or the economy has force their hand to cut down the prices.

Either way “I love it”!

Companies like Target and now H&M are using their stores as an affordable fashion platform. Great designs are the essence of the Target brand. Target partners with world-class designers to offer amazing products at affordable prices.  Target list of fashion designer have been Isaac Mizrahi, Alice Temperley, Erin Fetherston, and Mossimo (to name a few).  And this list of designers will continue to get longer with the GO International™ an innovative program designed to provide affordable fashion created by emerging designers. GO International is an exciting way to deliver the latest style to their female customers at the prices they expect from Target.  The next fashion designer was announced Dec. 4^th, 2009, which is Rodarte.

According to Target’s press release, known for directional designs, intricate detailing and standout, red carpet dresses, Rodarte will launch an exclusive collection on Target.com/go and at most Target stores nationwide on December 20, 2009.  The amazingly-priced collection of women’s apparel, belts and legwear, will be available through January 31, 2010.

Fashion designs at affordable prices.  If you’re a single young woman who is in school like me, I love to go shopping, however I have to make sure I go to the right stores for the right price and still look fashionable.  Several stores are creating a platform for designers to showcase their fashion line at affordable prices.

H&M. Jimmy Choo is now at selected H&M stores.  His shoes are sexy and fashionable.  According to H&M press release, this autumn, British accessory brand Jimmy Choo will bring its international glamour and covetable shoes and bags to selected H&M stores. The collection will be available from November 14 in around 200 stores across the world. It is the first time that H&M is collaborating with an accessories brand, and to celebrate Jimmy Choo will extend its design vision for this collection to women’s clothing to complement the accessories. Further exciting news is that this collaboration includes a men’s collection of shoes, bags and accessories.

Throughout history, fashion designers have been known to be the two “E’s”:  expensive and exclusive.  However, more and more are either starting to understand they can reach a larger audience by making the clothes affordable or the economy has force their hand to cut down the prices.

Either way “I love it”!

Companies like Target and now H&M are using their stores as an affordable fashion platform. Great designs are the essence of the Target brand. Target partners with world-class designers to offer amazing products at affordable prices.  Target list of fashion designer have been Isaac Mizrahi, Alice Temperley, Erin Fetherston, and Mossimo (to name a few).  And this list of designers will continue to get longer with the GO International™ an innovative program designed to provide affordable fashion created by emerging designers. GO International is an exciting way to deliver the latest style to their female customers at the prices they expect from Target.  The next fashion designer was announced Dec. 4^th, 2009, which is Rodarte.

According to Target’s press release, known for directional designs, intricate detailing and standout, red carpet dresses, Rodarte will launch an exclusive collection on Target.com/go and at most Target stores nationwide on December 20, 2009.  The amazingly-priced collection of women’s apparel, belts and legwear, will be available through January 31, 2010.

Fashion designs at affordable prices.  If you’re a single young woman who is in school like me, I love to go shopping, however I have to make sure I go to the right stores for the right price and still look fashionable.  Several stores are creating a platform for designers to showcase their fashion line at affordable prices.

H&M. Jimmy Choo is now at selected H&M stores.  His shoes are sexy and fashionable.  According to H&M press release, this autumn, British accessory brand Jimmy Choo will bring its international glamour and covetable shoes and bags to selected H&M stores. The collection will be available from November 14 in around 200 stores across the world. It is the first time that H&M is collaborating with an accessories brand, and to celebrate Jimmy Choo will extend its design vision for this collection to women’s clothing to complement the accessories. Further exciting news is that this collaboration includes a men’s collection of shoes, bags and accessories.

Sorry, Dolls… I know I have gotten VERY behind on the 12 days of Christmas, but Rodarte has arrived at Tar-jay!!!  WOOHOO!!!!

I had to get my bum over to Target and spend time trying on everything and grabbing all the sizes I could for my girls!

I’ll admit it’s a bit out there but the stand out piece has definitely been the leopard print lace dress.  Dakota Fanning rocked the lace dress in Teen Vogue…

Love it with the light blue necklace… elegant yet fun!

But, the Dress du Jour has got to be the sequin ribcage dress!

The Rodarte sisters know how to design fashion with a sense of humor!  But what the heck, are those Doc Martens I see…  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Target.com and most of the stores are sold out of the Leopard Lace Dress and the Ribcage dress, but if you’re dying for them click on the links

And this post wouldn’t be completely without me singing…

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to meeeeeee,

The Rodarte Dress Reese Witherspoon wore!!!!!!!!!!

So. Freakin’. Cool.

Sigh…

(Sorry my tree fell down from the weight of all my goodies. It will be up later!)

The past few days has been so overwhelming and tiring from all the things the boyfriend and I had to do. BUT NO WORRIES, we are slowly putting things up on our online shop, and once we get everything, it’ll be open to the public. ARE YOU EXCITED?

I missed the Rodarte x Target collaboration on the 20th. Did any of you guys make it to any Target locations?

Besides from all the things I was rambling about…

The boyfriend and I hit up the city to shop for presents and we ended up seeing the necklace-on-shirts trend from the Rachel Roy collection. Since I didn’t take pictures, I’ll show you want I’m talking about.

know what I mean?

i walked into target the other day for a vacuum.  on the way to the checkout line i chanced upon the rodarte for target collection.  i never hop on the capsule collection bandwagon; it just feels stressful to try and get your hands on something so many people want, and many times in the past i’ve been disappointed with the lack of “design”.  but i took a close look anyway.  i would never think to purchase this leopard dress just judging by the photo.  and i feel like one leopard thing in a wardrobe is quite enough, but the lace fabrication intrigued me and i tried it on for fun.  once i slipped it on i realized no other dress would fit me in the amazing way this one did, and i pulled a switcheroo, promptly reshelving the vacuum.

i wore it later that night and sparked jealousy in the eyes of many beholders.  well, maybe it didn’t, but it’s a dress that feels that good!  sparkly dresses everywhere were wondering why they aren’t leopard and lace.  and the quality of the design and fit (as well as that of the other pieces from the collection) is undeniably exquisite.  ladies rodarte, why do you do this to me!  i mean, thank you!

on another note i will be interviewing garance dore tomorrow!  i’ll see if i can squeeze in some questions about her lover, the sartorialist.

Just wishing I was able to pick one or two of these Rodarte Fall 09 looks to take home and keep. Which one would you pick?

And everyone should get at least one piece of the collection. Super loved Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy became a immediate hit when they arrived in New York with their 10 piece collection in 2005. Now, their dresses are always seen on the red carpet. I especially loved when Keira Knightly wore the lovely peach dress from Rodarte’s Spring 2008 collecton. We forgive the little shoe mishap though, Kiera. But… If anyone is thinking the same as me and is still last minute shopping for Christmas gifts, a cheetah dress like this one from the collections would be perfect.

Dakota Fanning totally rocked it when she wore on Teen Vogue, I think I had a major girl crush for a second. The rest of the collection is as follows. I’m really loving the cheetah belt and navy tulle dress. It’s been really fun watching this more and more of this collection get released. I hope when I check it out when my sister and I go shopping today or tomorrow, they’ll be as good as imagine.

Tavi from Style Rookie was also a big part of the collection and is the fashion industry’s new blogger muse and I’m totally stalking her blog too. She’s so young and already has such a brilliant mind for creating extraordinary outfits. Do visit her blog as it is… awesome! Lame vocabulary range there but o wells. A link is also under my favorite links tab to the side. See her video collaboration with Target and Rodarte below.

Also, Nitrolicious just updated her shopping experience of the collection at her local NY Target so check it out here!

Photos and videos credited to Nitrolicious.com, and Teen Vogue.

I haven’t done a manicure in sooo long!

m19, m56, m57 using Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White, SH Xtreme Wear in Celeb city, SH Chrome Nail Makeup in Carnelian Chrome, Seche Vita topcoat

Its about time!  I’m finally done with sewing projects so my nails got a long awaited pick-me-up.   You can barely see it but I have a light silver fishnet base in the center of each nail. I did the entire manicure pretty quick so I’m surprised it turned out okay.

Oh oh!  I bought Seche Vite last week on Ebay and I must say that it is SO AMAZING!  I applied it without reading reviews on Makeupalley so I did get a little bit of tip shrinkage but that’s okay.  The manicure isn’t perfect anyway.  I love the ‘white lace’ on my cuticles though.  So girly!

And by the way, did anyone buy anything from the Rodarte for Target line?  I was at my local Target last night and the Rodarte was already out…..I bought the navy blue tulle long sleeve blouse as well as the coveted black tulle bow dress.  I woke up early today and checked the sales out of curiosity… at 7:30AM PST barely anything was sold out, and 3 hours later everything was gone!

My new Rodarte for Target dress! When am I ever going to wear this though! Haha.

Hope everyone bought what they wanted!  IMHO this is the best Target collabo to date.

And I CAN’T BELIEVE a medium size ribcage dress sold for $250 on Ebay!!!  Freaking ridiculous.

-E&I

OK – As I sit in England with snow covering the trees and anticipate the first white Christmas I’ve had in 10 years I actually want to leave, get on a plane back to sunny los angeles and go to Target.  Yes, Target!

…to buy this!!!

Rodarte for Target – $39.99

… and then back to England in time for New Years and my birthday so I can wear my socialite inspired party dress.

It’s finally here! The most talked about designer collaboration of the year hits stores today. Designers Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte designed a 50 piece line for retail giant Target, as part of their ongoing “GO-Collection” series with fashion’s hottest designers.

As some of you might know (via my twitter), I was on hand for the shooting of the lookbook. I was assisting my favorite stylist Brian Molloy for the day on my very first lookbook shoot! After we’d gotten all of the racks organized and everyone had sucked down their first cup of coffee for the morning model Jamie Bochert (who is currently working it in the Marc Jacobs and Lanvin SS10 ads) showed up on set! She is such a major personality. I’m so happy to have been granted the opportunity to help out for this shoot. I met so many awesome people including photographer Autumn de Wilde, Kate Mulleavy and of course, fellow blogger Tavi.

I learned (straight from Kate’s mouth) that the collection is inspired by three seperate film influences “Harold & Maude”, “Bonnie & Clyde” & “Rosemary’s Baby” which of course play into the many motifs seen throughout the collection. There are so many versatile pieces that can be interpreted into any style and of course in true Target nature, are available at an accessible pricepoint. There are t-shirts, cardigans (both lace & knit), tons of dresses (sequined, lace, etc.), printed coats (leopard, floral), a really cool denim jacket, a fur vest, Kurt Cobain-esque sunglasses, knit cutout tights and even swimwear!

Head over to target.com to check it out (orders can be placed online as well) but be sure to stop by your local store to shop the collection!

This is my arm! OMG I'M SO FAMOUS!!!

images via fashionologie, target and karicruz

xx

About time I visited the Rodarte for Target collection in person Today I went shopping for home decorations to prepare for my cousins from New York that are coming to visit San Francisco for Christmas break slash New Years Eve! I’d totally switch places with them and go to New York for NYE!!!!!! But as I’ve mentioned way too many times… I’m going to Vegas for NYE.

Anyway, soooo Rodarte for Target collection! Even better in person! I love all the tulle and lace! Really wanted the gold dress, but I can’t think of where I’d where that to yet… so I put the dress back down… And then saw the black/white/gray sequinned dress. Really wanted it for Vegas, but I couldn’t find my size! Arrrghs! I guess I’ll try other Targets… So what did I end up buying??? The black laced cardigan! I lovessss it! It was the last one, and it wasn’t even on the racks until I saw an employee putting it back on the floor from the fitting rooms haha It’s actually a size too big… but I could work with it I don’t have good pics of it, but I’ll post anyway.

Rodarte for Target Black Laced Cardigan ($30)

Detail of the lace on my arm

Laced Detail

Eeeeks I’m so excited to wear it! So many sales all around SF, but it’s so overwhelming that I keep putting it off! I need shoes!!!!!!!!!! Something comfortable that can last me long hours for block party in Vegas! And ugh, I’m still looking for a hooded scarf!

Sandy

I was out doing a bit of last minute holiday shopping when I came across Rodarte for Target. I’m a sucker for designers doing mass retail or bargain lines, like Michael Kors for Macy’s, Jimmy Choo for H&M and what I thought was the over hyped Anna Sui for Target.

This is probably one of the more well-executed attempts into the more affordable fashion category. Each piece I saw was so interesting, lovable and very Rodarte. It didn’t look like anything you’d get from Target. Here are some of my favorites.  It looks like they’re not available online yet so head to your latest Target to pick up some of these steals!

Black Slip Dress with Bow Shoulders $39.99

I must disclaim, the model Jamie Bochert is completely distracting in my totally bitchy opinion.  If I had more time I would’ve tried them on myself — especially the beautifully feminine and delicate piece above. This dress has see through sleeves adorned with large bows on each shoulder (hidden behind Jaime’s hair). It’s also available in a more soft cream color. Definitely a great option for you LBD or holiday dress.

As for Jaime, well I don’t care if she’s the new face of Marc Jacob’s Spring line either — I prefer my models foreign, doe-eyed and with fresh faces.

Mustard Lace Cardigan and Mustard Skirt - $29.99 each

Black Lace Cardigan $29.99 and Sequin Leopard Dress $44.99

The lace cardigan is lovely in person.  While most of you may be freezing, some of us are enjoying warmer breezes so the lazy cardigan provides just the amount of barely there warmth.  Lace always exudes femininity and a subtle hint of sex, in my opinion, and is a great way to dress up any outfit for work or for play.

All these items, belt, tights, and cami’s are all Rodarte and just recently released (combat boots aside).  The leggings and belt run about $12.99. There are more floral options as well as part of the collection that I wasn’t able to find in the look book, so there’s more to see in stores if you get a chance over the holiday break.

Dear Santa,

We know we had a lucky year with many wonderful ballet tickets filling our bags. We had a great time writing over here and making plenty of new friends on Twitter and Facebook some of whom we had the pleasure of meeting in person.

Having managed to strike a good balance between work & play we feel we now deserve some ballet candy for the new year. We’d happily trade that wonderful Rodarte dress or that anything Chanel we have coveted over the years for a few of these treats so, here’s what the Bag Ladies would really really like. Please and thank you.

• More NYCB, ABT and Mariinsky stars guesting with the Royal Ballet. If Evgenia Obraztsova, Ekaterina Osmolkina and Yvonne Borree did so well over here in The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Dances at a Gathering why can’t we have them more often and while you’re at it, can you please bring Ashley Bouder and Marcelo Gomes too?

• Royal Ballet revivals of Onegin, Song of the Earth and La Sylphide with plenty of new casting delights… and preferably with Steven McRae as James.

• Much smaller doses of such stalwarts as The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake or at least new designs for the latter. Yolanda Sonnabend’s are appreciated but they are starting to betray their age. If we are going to visit the lake once more let us see some different settings and costumes.

• A new narrative ballet that is not based on a children’s tale. Don’t get us wrong, it’s not that we are not looking forward to Wheeldon’s Alice in Wonderland, but a while back we had this interesting discussion on Twitter and concluded there are so many books which would lend themselves wonderfully into ballet scripts. We’re thinking the whole Jane Austen canon, the Russian classics, plus some Edith Wharton & Henry James.

• Sneak previews. If ballet seasons are planned so long in advance, we’d like to see the major ballet companies slipping some bits of information/trivia/teasers on what’s coming next or fueling discussion in their Facebook/Twitter pages like ABT did recently. Call us greedy but it’s more hype for them, less suspense for us. Everyone wins.

• More visits from foreign companies. It’s time the Mariinsky  treated us to a full-length Ratmansky ballet (yes we do mean The Little Humpbacked Horse). ABT could follow suit and show us On the Dnieper instead of Le Corsaire and Don Q. (yawn, yawn). And let us not forget that Ms. Diana Vishneva still owes us a visit since pulling out of the Mariinsky season at Sadler’s Wells (2008) at short notice. Can you pls. give her the nudge?

• Can we have more ballet companies embracing social media? We have great fun browsing SFB’s blog, ABT’s pictures and looking at NYCB, Mariinsky and Royal Ballet videos, but perhaps the Paris Opera Ballet and the Bolshoi can also follow suit?

• Less injuries. This we wish for every dancer in every company out there.

Many thanks again. Don’t forget to grab your box of cupcakes from underneath the Christmas tree. We know how you like the Christmas pudding special from The Primrose Bakery.

xoxo,

Emilia & Linda

Updated: Rodarte for Target is officially up on the website as of 12 AM Pacific on the 20th (yes, I was dorky enough to stay up and order), so I updated all the reviews with working links!  Enjoy.

Second update: Whew, some of the popular items sold out fast!  By 1:45 AM when I checked, the tights, all the bow belts, the fur shrug thing and the skeleton dress and the leopard jacket were all gone!  Guess a lot of us were all waiting up late to order!

I think my teeth are conspiring to help me waste my monies on fashionz.  You may remember that last time when I wandered into Target to buy some mouthwash on a Saturday morning, I found the whole Anna Sui collection laid out a day early.  This time I was out of toothpaste, and as I walked to the register, I saw a fluff of lace and netting peeking out around the corner, and my heart started racing — it was here!  Early!  Four days early! Rodarte for Target!  Yay!  In fact it had probably been there for a couple days since the selection was pretty picked over size-wise, but my teeth are only so in the loop.

Anyway, of *course* I dropped everything (almost forgot the toothpaste in the end, oops) and tried stuff on and took pictures for you guys!  I had pretty high hopes for this collection, and for the most part it delivered.  The pieces are pretty adorable and romantic, in a slightly off-kilter, edgy way.  I mean, the craftmanship and material quality isn’t super high end or anything, but the prices are pretty reasonable for what it is (unlike Anna Sui, which was ridiculously overpriced IMO, and it’s also more reasonable than McQ, which was much better quality but a little excessively pricey).  Also preferable to Anna Sui, the sizing wasn’t as crazy small and was actually more on par with the normal juniors sizing that I’m used to — I had to wear a 11/13 for the AS collection, but here I went down to the 9/11 that I usually wear in Target Go Collections (and I’ve gained some weight since then too, so the general message is that you can size down a little).  Anyhow, my specific reviews:

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Swiss Dot Lace Dress in Blue – $39.99

Oh, I love this dress, it’s my favorite from the entire collection.  It reminds me of Cinderella or an ice princess  The color is a stunning pale blue, it’s covered in a lovely textured swiss dot pattern, it has a pretty lace bodice, and it’s delicate diaphanous mesh neck and back gives the momentary illusion of a strapless dress, but with actual support  Also, the solid blue edging at the top of the mesh looks beautiful; since you can’t immediately tell that the mesh is part of the dress, it looks like you are wearing a matching necklace for a second.  It seemed generally fairly well made and comfortable to wear.  I appreciated that it had a back zip, which I find so much easier to deal with than side zips, which I always struggle with because of my bust.  Above the zip, it also has a key-hole opening in the back. This can obviously work at night as a party frock, but I also seeing it being part of an adorable day-outfit styled with a white (beaded?) cardigan and grey or white tights (this could send me over the edge on ordering the Anthro Speckled Tights), or with a long grey or white grandpa cardigan, or even the nude lace cardi below .

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Crepe Slip Lace Dress – $39.99

This was the piece I was most looking forward to and I definitely wanted to love it, but I ended up sort of undecided when I saw it in person.  On the hanger, it’s sort of my greatest dream.  Netting and silk and lace and a pair of two glorious bows on the shoulders.  On my body, it’s not *terrible*, but not the most flattering it could have been – I think in the size that fits my hips it is a teensy big up top, causing the slip to be blousy and making me look a little matronly and perhaps like I accidentally wandered out of the house in my nightgown?  I think the main problem is the nude-y beighe color, which although sweet and ballerina-esque, totally washes out my skin tone.  I tried on the dress in a yellow/mustard color (“ochre”) that was a little better, but I hated the fact that the bows on the top of the dress did not match the bottom!  Nude and mustard are two colors in my mind that don’t really go together.  In the end, if I buy this, I’ll probably get it in black, which should eliminate most of these problems (hopefully the color will make the fit issues a little less obvious), even though the last thing my closet needs is yet another black dress.  The material feels pretty comfortable on, but I think it’s pretty apparent looking at it that it’s polyester.  And my god, the static cling!  The overskirt has MAJOR static cling with the layer below.  You’ll have to run this one over with a dryer sheet before wearing it out, for sure.   I also don’t know if the side zipper on this particular dress are the best quality — I tried on two different versions of this, and the zips on both were permanently stuck halfway down.

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Lace and Tulle Crepe Skirt in Ochre – $29.99

This skirt is pretty cute; it is yellow lace/brocade with a tulle-overlay.  However, I kind of hate the fact that the tulle only has a three-quarters coverage: it starts on the side of my thigh and ends down the middle of my butt.  Ahhh, very embarassing, but only because I care about you my readers, I have included a picture of my very enormous butt in the third image to demonstrate this.  There was a similar shocking-pink skirt out, except that instead of a brocade-underlay, it was a slip with lace edging, similar to the bow dress above.  Overall, I would prefer the pink-slip version to the ochre, since I don’t think the latter’s color is that flattering on me — actually I can’t imagine that it would be that flattering on most skintones at all, except perhaps the extraordinarily pale?  According to the lookbook, there’s also a navy, but I didn’t see it in store.

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Sequin Leopard Print Dress in Gray – $44.99

I didn’t think I actually liked this dress in store because it was so scandalous and blingy, but I kind of can’t stop thinking about it.  It is snow-leopard print covered in a layer of clear sequins, giving it ton of shine and glitz.  The shape is pretty cute and flattering, but my, my, it certainly is is boobalicious — the neck is cut so low you could easily see my bra and lower cleavage.  However, I think it probably would be cute and acceptable layered over a black shirt or possibly a cami/tank underneath.  Actually, the lookbook image pretty much does that, and how cute is it with that cardigan on top?  I miiight just have to get this one.  Oh and um, the matching bow belt now too, so I can totally SWF the lookbook model for a New Year’s Eve outfit

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Sequin Rib Cage Dress – $49.99

This is definitely the most eye-catching and memorable piece from the collection.  It’s completely covered in black and white sequins which form a skeleton design on the front.  The back is plain silky black fabric, which some bloggers have complained about, but I actually like because it makes it less clubby and a little more refined.  Unfortunately it didn’t work at all for me since I’m pretty hippy, and shift dresses like this look terrible on my frame. My store had a M and an XL left, and the the M definitely would not fit on my lower half.  The XL fitted fine over my hips, but was perhaps a bit too big and boxy at the waist.  It’s possible the intermediate L probably would work, but I dunno, I’m doubtful.  If you have the body for it though, I would go for it!  Part of me feels like this might be so obviously-recognizable and distinctive that you might only get limited wear from it  - maybe wear it once, and another time to a Halloween party, but then afterwards, people would definitely start noticing.  On the other hand, it is sort of undeniably awesome, so you kind of might want them to notice. Hrm…

Close up of the dress front detail:

Ha, my chest is making this rib cage lose hope of anatomically-correct placement  I was hoping to make it work as a shirt/tunic if I couldn’t get it to work as a dress, but the proportions were too off for that on me.  Sad face.

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Mesh Lace Cardigan in Tan – $29.99

I showed the ochre version of this cardigan further above, paired with the matching skirt.  Here, I am wearing the peachy/nude “tan” colorway, and it also comes in a black. I didn’t expect to, but I really really like this cardigan.  It’s so romantic and sweet, and its sheerness adds a special dimension to whatever it’s layered above.  The mustardy ochre colorway honestly doesn’t seem all that versatile to me, but I can see wearing the black and the tan over lots of things.  For example, I adore the tan paired with this white ruffle skirt (the one that half the bloggers on the internet are wearing these days, I couldn’t help but get it for a mere $16!).  Joelle van Dyne, if you are reading this, you have to use this sweater in one of your many amazing nude-and-white layering confections!  And, as I mentioned above, I think the black is so perfect paired over that glittery leopard dress, although it could work over almost anything really.  I normally wear a small in most cardigans (in women’s sizing anyway), and the S fit me okay for the most part, but the stretchy-but-fitted sleeves were a little tight.  The M fit fine sleevewise although it pulled a bit on my hips.  For myself, I’d probably go up to a L for a maxiumum slouchy-grandpa-cardi effect.

Well, that’s all I actually tried on.  If you have any specific questions about fit or material anything, please let me know in your comments and I’ll do my best to answer.  There was more stuff in my store (the leopard print dress, some chiffony neck tie tees, kimonos, flowery print shirts and raincoats, the stripey french shirt (meh fabric), bikinis, etc.) but none of it looked particularly to my tastes or wearable for me.  I do think these were some of the most anticipated pieces of the collection though (besides the Dakota Fanning Leopard Print Bow dress which I couldn’t stomach trying), so I hope it helped you guys out some!  For more reviews, you can check out posts from my fashionable bloggy friends, jcbellemarie (here and here),  Bonjour It’s Jinah!, Maria of Infinite Whimsy, and Justine of Fetching Fashions.

I didn’t actually buy anything myself in store because they didn’t have the bow belts or the lace tights that I really wanted (and I was sort of interested in the sheer lace top that leaked on eBay a few months ago — I wonder if it actually made it into production?  We’ll see tomorrow), so I was going to have to place an online order anyway.  I thought to myself that since there’s always free shipping over $50 and an better selection of sizes online, there was no harm in waiting until Sunday morning, no?.  Plus, there’s usually a convenient 10% coupon floating around somewhere, though they can be a pain in the butt to find.  Fortunately for any readers out there also planning on ordering online, I went ahead and did the dirty work for you!  Use coupon code A2VBT487 at checkout for 10% off your order

I think I’m going to end up getting the blue dress (of course), maybe the black bow dress, the lace cardis in nude and black, the sequin snow leopard dress, the bow belts in black and black-grey leopard, and the tights.  What about you guys?  What are you going to buy, if anything?  Have any of you seen pieces in store, and if so, what did you think?

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Rodarte has designed a collection for Target which will go on sale from December 20th to January 31st.

Here is a video from Style.com shot by 13 year old, Tavi Gevinson, writer of the Style Rookie blog.  She caught up with Kate and Laura Mulleavy as they were out in “the middle of nowhere”, aka North Dakota, shooting the ad campaign for the collection.

This collaboration is inspired by a trio of films: Harold and Maude, Bonnie and Clyde and Rosemary’s Baby.  The pieces will be priced between $9.99 to $79.99. As the muse for the line, Tavi has worked with the Mulleavy sisters since August.  What a lucky girl!

More links:

• Teen Vogue: “Tavi Gevinson defines Rodarte for Target,” say designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy
• L.A. Times: The Tao of Tavi Gevinson
• NY Magazine: The Full Rodarte for Target Look Book, With Prices

I’ve fallen in love with the Spring 2010 collection of Los Angeles brand Geronimo. The little jackets and shorts are so pretty! No connection with native American Indians, thank god! Geronimo is the middle name of designer Jenny Reyes. For years she traveled the country with bands like Rilo Kiley and Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins, designing the latter’s now iconic stage outfits they wore on the 2006 world tour for the album Rabbit Fur Coat. The collection is about clothes that are sexy and playful but with a sophisticated nod to the well tailored vintage pieces that inspired her. The Spring 2010 collection is her second. Before Geronimo Jenny was an intern at, surprisingly, Rodarte.

www.geronimocollection.com

That fairymale at the Rodarte sample sale was right — feet are becoming superfluoussss!!!!

Shoes are, like, so 2009. The teens are all about gliding over the earth.

1. Giuseppe Zanotti Mirror Embellished Booties; 2. Thakoon Mirror Mosaic Strappy Sandals; 3. Christian Louboutin Very Galaxy; 4. Andreia Chaves Invisible Shoes; 5. Rodarte SP09 RTW Mirror Shoes

Rodarte debuts December 20th in store and online for Target as the next GO International Collection.  Target.com/go  It’s very right now!   And I couldn’t help but notice that the first model on the top left is dressed like a dancer from a Mickey Avalon concert.  Sunglasses, lingerie and short black gloves… she’s just missin’ the cigarette.  Skank fab.  See my front row concert pic below. 
 

Rodarte for Target available in stores December 20th 2009

Mickey Avalon Concert in Houston 11/15/09

Tavi Gevinson, ‘Style Rookie’ blogger talks shop with Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy and  introduces their Target collection.