shopbop shoptalk

New from Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent

When a new collection from Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent arrives at the Shopbop offices, I can’t help but think it looks a lot like the contents of my dream closet. Cynthia Vincent’s design philosophy is to make sexy yet comfortable clothes that she herself wants to wear, and luckily they’re just the clothes a lot of other women want to wear, too. Feminine yet unfussy, wearable yet special, they’re the pieces that turn into wardrobe favorites. So it’s time to get my head out of the clouds and make my dream closet a reality, with a few pieces from the holiday collection that will take me from day to night.
	Day: The delicate print on this soft silk blouse, along with the graceful silhouette, adds a touch of elegance to a pair of skinny jeans. Ballet flats and understated earrings by Gorjana jewelry finish the look.
	Evening: For a date night or holiday dinner, this frock gives a subtle nod to the season in festive scarlet or emerald, and the waist-cinching silhouette gives it the flattering fit Twelfth St. dresses are known for. I’ll keep the accessories simple, just adding a studded clutch (this one from Diane von Furstenberg is more sweet than edgy) and black pumps.
	Night Out: A simple LBD at first glance, this dress reveals its sexy side with a studded strap and a flirtatious open back. Booties accented with serious hardware and a wristful of mixed-metal bangles accentuate this slinky style’s hard edge.
--Tonya

The Little White Dress

Fashion deep-thought du jour: Evolving your personal style means heeding your inner directive, even if (especially if) it’s leading toward something that seems completely out of synch with what you usually wear. Case in point: the white dress. Like most women who talk/write/think about clothes all day, I have a closet dominated by shades of black, nonetheless, an eggshell vintage sundress was the runaway hit of my summer wardrobe. It had that WASP-bohemian/Gwyneth Paltrow/Montauk vibe—lovely, but definitely not my go-to look. Still, as is so often the case in matters of the heart, I couldn’t deny how it made me feel: breezy, happy in that unfettered way cerebral, obsessive types rarely experience. I found myself reaching for it at least once a week.

So began my love affair with the Little White Dress. Since it’s well past sundress season, I’ve moved on to ivory evening looks, screening candidates for holiday parties. I fell for the Alexander Wang and the Thakoon at NYFW last February, and the metallic embroidery on this off-off-white IRO dress gives it that off-kilter glamour I can’t get enough of. (Have you heard of IRO? It’s this great French line that seems to fly just under the radar.)

But as we all know, the actual piece is but a small part of the equation. How you style something is what makes it personal. I’d add my signature by wearing these white numbers with a boyfriend blazer (with the sleeves pushed up), black Falke tights, and Elizabeth and James booties.

--Maureen

What to Wear to a Holiday Party

Your analytical left brain may be pleased when you pick up a versatile jersey dress, functional flat boots, or perfect-fit jeans, but your artistic right brain is delighted when given a task like shopping for a holiday party. Jewel-toned and embellished dresses, glam clutches, metallic booties, satin pumps, and baubles bedecked with rhinestones, pearls, or studs (or all of the above), have you starry-eyed and sneaking peeks at Shopbop when your rational mind should be planted firmly in the office. Making those surreptitious glances that much easier (and offering that all-important flicker of inspiration), Shopbop’s Shop by Occasion: Holiday Party feature picks the cream of the festive crop.

After all, a girl needs options: what you’d wear to a champagne-fueled shindig with your besties is decidedly different from what you’d don for the office party. So if that body-hugging Alice + Olivia dress is perfect for a New Year’s blowout but won’t quite pass your company’s dress code, move beyond the fallback frock: try a tux-inspired jumpsuit (like this one from Tibi) or romper (pictured, by Karina Grimaldi), or a slim blouse paired with satin shorts and patterned tights or sequined harem pants.

--Tonya

First Fashion: How to Wear Fall Shorts

Fall is all about finding new ways to display a commanding pair of boots. This can mean 12” ankle zippers on a pair of leggings, cropped velvet skinny pants, or, my current favorite, tights with shorts. Sure, you could go with one of the myriad of skirt options, but there’s something so fresh and downtown-cool about swapping a micro-mini for chic shorts.
	A walking short that dazzles day or night, try these with a grey Alice + Olivia knit vest, white tank, textured Falke tights, and sky-high L.A.M.B. booties. Sachin + Babi - Sogol Sequin Shorts
	Each Ksubi design has a one-of-a-kind feel, like a street artist made them just for you. These cutting-edge cutoffs look on-point with a Pencey sweatshirt, fuzzy leg warmers, and zippered Loeffler Randall boots. Ksubi - Stina Shorts
	Shorts this hot to trot need equally arresting partners to complete the look. I nominate the Chain Mail Sweater by Alexander Wang, some rugged over-the-knee boots, and a made-to-be-seen bra. Mike & Chris - Jake Leather Shorts
There’s a page-turning short story, today in What’s New. --Suzanne

Staff Picks: The Perfect Sweater

Here at Shoptalk we’ve been on a quest to find fall’s best knits (see here and here). And we’re certainly not the only ones. To make this annual sweater search a bit easier, I asked Shopbop’s fashionable merchandisers to share their favorites:
	Jennifer “I'm 5 months pregnant so I will be living in cardigans this fall! This A.L.C. sweater looks great over leggings, and stripes are a major trend this season! It’s the perfect balance of preppy and edgy.” A.L.C. – Hooker Cardigan
	Rachel “This cashmere sweater is perfect for my casual chic wardrobe. It is so comfortable, yet the drop back has a sexiness that’s unexpected for a cozy sweater.” Nightcap Clothing – Cashmere Drop Back Sweater
	Holly “This shaggy-knit alpaca Haute Hippie sweater is super edgy and fun and will keep me warm all at the same time. And I love how the stylists make it wearable here with casual pieces in mixed neutrals.” Haute Hippie – Furry Vest
--Tonya

Fine Knits: Finding the Perfect Sweater Dress

Falling leaves, crisp air, and the opportunity to pull my cache of sweater dresses out of storage. What’s not to like about fall? As much as I love the sweater-skinnies-UGG boots uniform I so often fall back on this time of year, some days I feel like looking a little more put-together. Last week I picked up this knit dress by Catherine Malandrino, and though it’s my current favorite (due in no small part to the petal-pink lining that sweetly peeks through the black knit), it certainly won’t be substantial enough when the weather veers into sub-zero territory. So I’ve been scanning Shopbop’s sweater dresses, and I settled on one that will keep me both chic and cozy.

The kimono sleeves and low-slung belt on the cashmere Joie dress (pictured) piqued my interest, but it was the warm fabric that reeled me in. I’ll add depth by pairing it with lace LNA leggings or the unique Orchid Tights by Nightcap Clothing (check out this Who What Wear story for pics of fashion’s finest wearing the patterned tights trend). A mixed-metal necklace will break up all the black, and flat boots provide the finishing touch. The best part? Such a classic dress will still feel current when I pull it out again next fall.

--Tonya

The Jersey Aphrodisiac: Hervé Léger Dresses

Look up sensuality in the fashion dictionary and you’ll find an iconic woman in a Hervé Léger bandage dress. The second-skin silhouette is the uniform of choice for the modern femme fatale, yet it’s got a timeless sex appeal, like something Isabella Rossellini would’ve worn while smoking a cigarette on the cover of a 1988 Italian Vogue.

Perhaps this is because Hervé Léger doesn’t just do bandage dresses—the brand pretty much invented them in 1985 when French couturier Hervé L. Leroux began constructing dresses that would sculpt and smooth a woman’s body. Today, husband and wife design duo Max and Lubov Azria continue the seduction with Lubov as the ideal muse: one of those naturally gorgeous, impossibly chic European women who literally does it all (wife, mother of three, designer, entrepreneur) with enviable grace and élan, in 4-inch heels. 

The Hervé Léger fall 2009 dress collection offers a flawless LBD (Signature Essentials Cocktail Bandage Dress), architectural artistry (Runway Chevron Bandage Dress), and a sequined number so fluid it almost looks liquid (All Over Sequins Bandage Cocktail Dress)—intoxicating on all counts. As for what to pair with these, other than vertiginous stilettos? Keep the baubles minimal and let the dress shine. Commanding confidence is your best accessory.

--Suzanne
Shopbop

Sweat It

 

Sweatshirt dressing has been a part of my wardrobe for as long as I can remember—from the bright green Benetton sweatshirt I used to wear with purple Esprit cords in grade school to the filching of my boyfriend’s hoodie in college. Cute and comfy, yes, but wear a sweatshirt now to go out? Well, never say never. 

Although the thought of fleecin’ it anywhere but my couch had been a major fashion no in my book, the spring 2010 runways of street-chic Rag & Bone and Alexander Wang are making me see sweats in a fashion-forward new light. I love the insouciant confidence of this Rag & Bone runway shot: slouchy tee, harem sweatpants, strong-shouldered jacket, and sick kicks.

But there’s no need to wait until April to start sweating like a supermodel when plenty of designers are elevating the basic sweatshirt right now. Pencey gets funky with cloud prints, paillettes, and shaggy faux fur panels, while Alex Wang indulges his fetishes with fierce shoulder grommets and a mouthwatering open back. Elizabeth and James gives French terry a little Saturday Night Fever with copious silver sequins. And speaking of Saturday night, the sweatshirt dress finally answers the dilemma of what to wear to a dive bar when you’re not in the mood to do denim. I’ll look casual-hot while feeding the juke box in a James Perse sweatshirt dress, Bing Bang mixed-chain necklace, and Modern Vintage suede wedge boots.

--Suzanne

New Feature! Basic Essentials

 
They’re the timeless styles that take you from season to season, the pieces fashion gurus like Nina Garcia (of Elle.com, Marie Claire, and Project Runway fame), and Hillary and Katherine from WhoWhatWear consistently single out as central to a well-rounded wardrobe.

At Shopbop we call them Basic Essentials, and we’ve collected prime examples from our fine footwear, lingerie, denim, and dress boutiques and put them together in one place for easy shopping. Marc by Marc Jacobs handbags to Golden Goose boots; J Brand skinny jeans to Bop Basics cashmere, these enduringly chic closet staples provide balance for fall’s trendier pieces. (And keep you from looking like the quintessential Glamour Don’t.)

--Maureen

A Holiday Abroad: My Ultimate Packing List

This week I’ve been packing for a vacation in Istanbul, and between daydreaming about minaret-filled skylines and massive spreads of Mediterranean food, I’ve been rediscovering the wonders of jersey. Because I’m bringing only a carry-on bag for a two-week getaway (so impressive, or possibly insane), I’ll be packing nothing but. What else comes out of the bottom of a bag wrinkle-free and looks new every day with layering and a few changes of accessories?

The key to packing for any trip is to stick with a handful of colors for maximum mix-and-match potential—my grey, black, and purple palette will hopefully make me look more sophisticated than the average backpacker. I’ll be sure to throw in some long-sleeve tees and short-sleeve tees, as well as a jersey cardigan, maxi dress, and maxi skirt, plus blouses with a little more detail for evenings in the meyhanes. To give these basics a pop, I’ll make my accessories bold: a print scarf, oversized earrings, and an embellished messenger bag that will look chic while keeping my hands free for taking pics.

All this thought is worth the effort: I’ll be sure to have a little extra space in my backpack for booty from the bazaars.

--Tonya