StyleWhipped

Interior Designer Serge Van Lian: Light Up the New Year

The New Year is less than 24 hours away, the days are gray, and it's snowing outside! We can all use a healthy dose of light in our everyday. So warm up your 2009 with some special lighting pieces!  Here are some suggestions...

~Chandelier Wall Light and Bourgie Lamp from weegohome.com

~Chase Pharmacy Task Table and Floor Lamp from restorationhardware.com

~Solitaire Pendant from ylighting.com

~Tear Drop Chandelier from urbanoutfitters.com

~Drink Wall Sconce from dwr.com

~Paris Flea Market Sconce from circalighting.com

~Vintage Steel Tripod Floor and Table Lamp from vintageandmoderninc.com

There's no use in hiding in the dark while your favorite pair of sunglasses continues to be caked with dust. Bring some light to your life both literally and figuratively!

Here's to a beautifully lit winter home and a better new year!

- Serge Van Lian for StyleWhipped.com

Last-Minute New Year's Dressing

Are you that girl? The one who has plans for tonight but figured you'd just pull a dress out of your closet at the last minute? Yeah, that never works. Unless you have an unlimited wardrobe with pieces no one has seen before, you're asking for an 11th-hour fashion meltdown. But that's not to say you don't still have time to buy something fantastic! Every single boutique and department in Manhattan has massive sales going on, and New Year's is actually one of the easiest occassions to dress for...no one cares if you're in jeans and dramatic top or head-to-toe sequins...it's the one night of the year that truly anything goes, and it really makes getting dressed quite simple.

My advice is always to go with a dress...it's one piece to choose rather than two or three, always makes you look like you "done up," and can be worn again for parties, weddings, you name it. Now, it is supposed to feel like -4 degrees by late tonight, so if you go for a dress, please also go for tights and substantial shoes (no strappy sandals!). Plus, black tights and cute platforms always make an outfit look complete and modern. Throw on some sparkly jewelry, carry your tiniest clutch, and feel free to go all-out with your "party" make-up!

Thinking about time constraints? You have plenty of time to find a dress this afternoon...just take a deep breath and shop in an area where you have multiple choices...Soho gives you Banana Republic (their dresses are surprisingly fabulous), French Connection, Bloomingdale's and if you're really feeling the economic crunch, Forever 21.  Midtown has Saks, the flagship Bloomingdale's and Bergdorf's all in 10-block radius. And if you really can't make it to an actual store, there's always trusty Net-a-Porter.com and their genius same-day messenger service within Manhattan!

Here are some ideas I found at those very places...they are each "special" and festive enough to wear on New Year's, but can also all be worn again, styled for other seasons or events. No matter what you wear, have a happy (and safe!) New Year's!

From Banana Republic, this satin number comes in fuschia and purple...

Around the corner in Soho, French Connection has this adorable metallic mini-dress, perfect with tights...

A mere $35, try this sequined navy dress from Forever 21...just make sure your accessories look "rich"...

In midtown? Stop at Saks for a brightly-colored silk dress that will work all year long...

And if you absolutely can't go shopping, browse around Net-a-Porter.com and make use of their messenger service...this long-sleeved shift from Tibi can be worn so many different ways...belt it over skinny jeans and wear it out to dinner next week...!

 

~ Alison

Running With Heels: Alison's Fashion & Style Column

Two weeks ago I featured one-shouldered dresses from Trina Turk...this week, my Running With Heels column takes that omnipresent trend and really runs with it!  Check out the full article here...

~ Alison

Style Bubble

I'm a creature of habit and routine. While I'd love to say that I'm impulsive and go with the flow, I really live by efficiency and planning. I tend to read the same magazines and blogs regularly, I see many of the same people from week to week and event to event, I go to my favorite stores and shopping sites whenever I need something. After a while I find myself in a style bubble where everything starts looking and feeling the same...including myself! So it's always a great feeling when I get style inspiration from a new and unexpected source. Most recently, over the holidays, my unexpected source was my 7-year-old niece.

A "character" from the start, Parker Gorton was born with a strong independence, outspokenness, and sense of style.  When most little girls are decked in colorful palettes of pinks, purples, and reds, Parker wanted to wear black. As she grows up and her personality continues to evolve, so does her own little style. My favorite fashion statement of hers this Christmas? Neon green fishnet fingerless gloves. So fun! I instantly flashed on my early Madonna phase complete with an off the shoulder top (bra strap showing) worn with a flirty skirt over leggings. This is a girl who doesn't read fashion magazines. She simply knows what she likes and wants to have fun.

While I didn't go so far as to rock my own pair of fishnet fingerless gloves, I vowed to loosen up a little and have a little more fun with my own fashion. And wouldn't you know, Parker helped me get started on Christmas morning. After days of squirming and brimming with excitement over what she had proudly hand-picked for me for Christmas, she surprised me with a fabulous green bangle with a pucci-esque print and extra sparkles from a local boutique in Scituate Harbor called Joye. I haven't gotten so many compliments on anything else in quite a while! Maybe there is something to this "having fun" idea with fashion. Who knows, you may see me wearing a tiara on New Years!

- Cindy

Daily Devotion: MAC Wipes

 I like to travel light, especially when I'm traveling from family to family over the holidays and know I'll be coming home with more than I left with. As someone who is obsessed with the beauty category and likes variety, streamlining my daily routine becomes a challenge. For the past several years, I've learned to always carry a packet of MAC Wipes with me wherever I go. These face wipes remove makeup, cleanse, and hydrate your skin! And the re-sealable packs will easily squeeze into any free corner of your overnight bag, leaving you worry free of any leaking, breakable jars or caps, or airline restrictions. And for you lazy-bones who can't seem to find the energy to take off your makeup at night even when you're home (you know who you are!), these also come in a bulk size for a quick and easy nightly cleanse. No more excuses!

- Cindy

Got a Daily Devotion suggestion? Email me.

Designer Mention: Rachel Pally

I do a lot of browsing on RevolveClothing.com. I'm not personally a big web-shopper (I'm tiny and have to really try things on before buying them), but I get a lot of great ideas for clients and columns from online shopping sites. And over and over again, I find myself checking out Rachel Pally's pieces on Revolve Clothing.

Pally specializes in what I call "fancy jersey" - her pieces are all soft and super-wearable, but are also easily dressed up with serious shoes, sparkling jewelry and evening make-up. She makes goes-with-everything-else-in-your-wardrobe dresses and tops in terrific colors like putty, eggplant, and melon, with a few subtle prints thrown in for good measure. I have dressed clients in her clean-silhouette long jersey dresses (so perfect for winter when you want to cover up but not get lost in massive amounts of fabric), and I categorize her detailed tops as "ideal for dinner dates." Finally, flattering fits and shapes round out my little list of compliments...

~ Alison

   

Charles David, Redux

For many years, I was a Charles David addict. I knew I could buy any pair of their 4-inch heels in a size 5 1/2 and they would be comfortable, fashion-forward and that I would wear them for years.  And then suddenly, a few years ago, the line fell off my radar. They didn't seem to be moving with the times and their designs started to seem a bit predictable and well, boring.  But things have CHANGED!

My husband and I were two of the crazy people who actually drove out of Manhattan on the Sunday after Christmas to go to a mall. The Holland Tunnel was a nightmare coming back into the city, but a visit to my beloved Short Hills Mall in Short Hills, NJ was absolutely worth it. Not only does this upscale mall have stores like Dior, Jimmy Choo, and Cartier, but it has favorites of ours like Hugo Boss, Nordstrom, Michael Kors, and yes, a freestanding Charles David (unheard of in NYC). And not only does it have these stores, but there are (as expected) major sales going on.

As we were headed towards Hugo Boss, I noticed the Charles David store right across the way. Knowing my husband would be happy on his own at Boss, I beelined for the 70% off sign at Charles David, figuring I'd give the designer a second chance. Little did I know how thrilled I'd be when I stepped inside...there were metallics, platforms, glamorous silhouettes, and everything else I personally require from a shoe!  I immediately ran for platforms in tan studded leather on copper platforms with a seriously high heel (which totally ended up coming home with me...). I then noticed other platforms...sandals, pumps, booties...in fantastic finishes like metallic & python...with details like oversized pyramid studs, grommets, and refined gladiator shapes (the future of the crazy gladiators from last year). Let me just say...Charles David, you are BACK! (and I'm happy!)

Check out some of these fabulous Charles Davids, and take a worthwhile trip out to NJ if you can (if not, these are all available on zappos.com)...

~ Alison

       

Down Memory Lane with Betsey

 One of my favorite things to do when I'm visiting my parents is to go through the closet in my old bedroom and take a trip down memory lane. It's so fun (and admittedly, sometimes a bit horrifying) to see all the "old favorites" that I just couldn't bear to get rid of -- my full-length, custom prom dress made of italian silk, itty bitty skirts, my green graduation dress with the bizarre geometric print that I somehow decided to wear with pearls. Not necessarily a closet of style choices that I would make today, but ones that bring up fond memories.

No matter how questionable some of these items are, I'm always smiling as I  go through them. I was hot in these outfits once upon a time! I was "pulling off" looks that not everyone else could. It was a time when I didn't take style too seriously, but had some serious style. I didn't know it at the time, but Betsey Johnson was my style Judy Blume. She understood how I wanted clothes to make me feel, she gets that sometimes you've got to take risks...just because you can, and she knows that I was fabulous and it doesn't matter what anybody else thought. And she pulls it all off in a way that's maybe just a little more sophisticated, timeless and pulled together than I managed to do on my own.    

So as we approach the end of another year, Betsey is a beautiful reminder that style is about who you are, not about what everyone else is wearing. It's attitude, it should say something, and most of all it is personal. It should represent the occasion, it can represent the mood, but it should always represent you. I can say confidently that my closets, past and present, truly reflect the joy, milestones, rebellions, and decisions that are me. So as I get ready to go down to Christmas breakfast in my batwing sweater tunic and skinny jeans, I decide to pull on my hot pink socks...just because I can.

Happy Holidays!

- Cindy

New Year's Bump

My good friend Rosie Pope opened a fabulous store this fall called Rosie Pope Maternity (back in September I wrote an article about their equally fabulous opening party!). Offering a ready-to-wear collection, couture service, lingerie, jewelry, bags and even hats, this is really a one-stop (pregnant) lifestyle destination. But it's really even more than that because half the things in the store are covetable when you're not pregnant (case in point: the gorgeous, dramatic navy blue balero jacket I now own...)! 

I was thinking about all the articles I've been writing about outfit options for New Year's...everything from little black dresses to statement necklaces to glamorous, brightly-colored shoes. But what if you're pregnant? Are you doomed to wear the equivalent of a tent...or worse, have a rainbow-hued, polka dot-clad belly?  So for all you pregnant girls out there (and those who just had a baby...why squeeze into clothes you aren't really ready to wear, or lug your child's necessities around in a blatantly diaper-ish diaper bag?), I give you Rosie Pope to the rescue! 

Going to dinner or a friend's house for New Year's Eve?  You shouldn't have to give up showing up stylishly because of a little bump...instead, go for one of RPM's Cashmere Bow dresses...they are cozy, sexy, and come in fab colors like black, white, red, beige and seafoam. At $475, this is easily the one dress you will reach for over and over till Spring. Being anything but casual this year? If you're hitting any sort of ball, bash or black-tie affair, RPM's got you covered (no pun intended...) for that too!  My choice would be the Evening Empire dress in either stunning color (the neutral shiitake or the saturated royal blue)...at $695 with an easy, unstructured empire waist and year-round fabric, this is one you can wear long after you're pregnant.  And last but definitely not least...if you're bringing your little one with you wherever you go, why not carry a "diaper" bag that you'd proudly use as a handbag for years to come? My favorite is the white, coated linen diaper bag...with on-trend gold hardware and worthy of being carried to lunch in the Meatpacking District, this is well-worth the $358.

So go be your fabulous self...just with an added "bump" (pun intended...)!

~ Alison

In The Black

Don't have the time (or the budget) to shop for a fabulous new dress for New Year's?  With all the amazing statement necklaces out there right now, why not choose one in the biggest statement-making color (black) and wear it to multiple parties? That's the beauty of cool accessories...everyone expects you to wear them all the time, to multiple events with the same guest list (unlike dresses, which we always feel we can't repeat!). They become signature pieces that you love to put on, that perfectly finish an outfit, and that always get a ton of compliments.

I checked around for some options that are unusual enough to seem one-of-kind but not so over-the-top that you'll get sick of them after one wear. I found five that I think fit the bill (in other words, I would wear them myself and dress clients in them!)...all live up to their "statement" name and all are black...which in the winter looks sleek and cool next to pale skin and an LBD, and in the summer looks stunning against an all-white outfit and tan skin!

In order from left to right...3.1 Phillip Lim available on LaGarconne.com, Day Birger et Mikkelsen available on Net-A-Porter.com, Gerard Yosca available on Bloomingdales.com, Erickson Beamon available on SaksFifthAvenue.com, and Nordstrom private label available on Nordstrom.com:

         

Happy parties!

~ Alison