NWPosh

Trend Factor September 26, 2007

Stacked heels
Yves St. Laurent has two pairs in particular, one masculine style with laces and one featured in a shiny black leather (not patent). This option breaks up the color that would normally be encountered in wearing a heel matching the rest of the shoe and it provides a nice alternative to the wedge heel that has been so predominant lately.

Grey
Grey is huge this season, leaving its mark on everything from hats to shoes and boots. This color is repeatedly paired with unlikely partners, such as electric blue and fuchsia, delivering striking combinations. Certain shades of grey, similar to a dirty grey, are finding themselves next to shades of brown also producing strange couplings that surprising look well together.

Tuxedo Shirts
Tailored and stylized tuxedo shirts are also appearing everywhere this season. This is largely influenced by the men’s wear trend that is very popular right now. Just be careful, this look is very tough to pull of with a tie, suspenders and masculine shoes. It is best to wear one of these items at a time and wear them with classic staple pieces.

High Waisted Pants
I have mixed emotions about high waisted pants. I usually like this look. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that I will encounter several people who will grossly “mis-wear” this look resulting in rouched pouches of the mid section.

This look is also somewhat associated with the wide belt phenomena that came about approximately two years ago. This look just hit the Portland area about six months ago so there is a good chance I have a few more years until I start seeing high waisted pants but who knows…

Blocks of Color
The blocks of color trend is one of my favorite looks right now. This look got its roots in the retro modern and the futuristic styles have been gliding down cat walks for a few seasons now. Following the concept of blocks, this look has been mostly seen on boxier items of clothing with angular lines. The slabs of colors tend to get lost on form fitting or feminine styled pieces, although it can be done.

Plenty in Hood River September 2, 2007

Plenty
Hood River
Population: 5831
Attraction is the Fruit Loop Tour

You may wonder how a town with a population of 5831 be the starting ground of a store that is reminiscent of a shop you would find in a larger, urban area. The shop is well designed with clean lines that accentuate the clothes, shoes and sunglasses. The owner is knowledgeable and appears to have a keen eye for detail. In addition, he is friendly and helpful.

The store houses high fashion pieces carefully selected, ranging from Tom Ford to. It seems that there were chosen for the quality and style of the pieces and not solely because every young twenty something and teen with big black (or white) Chanel sunglasses and a Monogram Louis Vuitton, real or not, will want it.

Posh Says…Try Lipmann Nail Polish September 1, 2007

Posh Says….

Try Lipmann Nail Polish

I have always enjoyed purchasing beauty products whether they are lipsticks, body lotions, body scrubs or mascara. My new favorite product is nail polish. This is due to the discovery of Lipmann Polish. I also feel it is necessary to interject that I have always avoided color when selecting a polish. I always had my nails painted a natural pale pink. Honestly, I think I was scared of color. Too many ill fated color selections at the nail salon or possibly certain colors have long been associated in my mind with tawdry characters.

Lipmann Nail Polish is a quality product. It is durable and virtually chip-free after one week and comes in a wide variety of colors, ranging from the palest of pinks to the deepest of rouges and appealing to the most selective of palettes.

My first choice was a daring pick, a medium shade of pink with a touch of coral, which by the way is an excellent choice for the summer, called Day Tripper. I liked the color so much that I went back and bought an adorable three pack of colors called THREE TIMES A LADY including colors Makin’ Whoopee, Prelude To A Kiss, Lady Is A Tramp in a mini plush purse. My obsession did not stop there. I went back and purchased two shades, Constant Craving and You Can Keep Your Hat On.

Constant Craving is my new favorite color. It is a soft pink with just the right amount of color without looking too Barbie.

Louis Vuitton is Louis Vuitton

Let me clarify, I love Louis Vuitton. I mean, come on we are talking about LV, one of the most recognized luxury mega brands that puts out luggage, purse and clothing that will probably out live you. They are truly worthy of their hefty price tags.

In the recent past, beginning with the Logo A-Go-Go phase that fashion went through coupled with the mass counterfeits that have been created, the monogram LV became almost common place.

It is just wrong, ten year old girls carrying the Speedy bag and food stamps being pulled out of the god awful white multi color monogram bag. This particular bag also reminds me of the Newlywed episode where Jessica Simpson just bought the bag and she repeatedly says, “I love it,” like it is a cute little puppy or kitten. She carries around that ugly bag in every scene and every episode of the season. You would think that multi color puke bag was super glued to her French manicured paws. She even takes the bag camping. Absolutely ridiculous. Which is coincidentally the same episode that Nick warns her against eating in the woods because the area is infested with bears. Jessica can’t NOT eat and proceeds to sneak food without anyone knowing, endangering the entire camp.

Color Watch-History Lesson

Bebe is touting a new color called New Bouganvillea. It is a strange name for a color, not as catching or easy to say as Moss or Stone, although Bebe’s consumers might be better suited for New Bouganvillea. It is a little more exotic, a little more difficult to say, etc. After doing a little research, it turns out it is, in fact, a real word.

“Any of several South American woody shrubs or vines of the genus Bougainvillea having groups of three petal like, showy, variously colored bracts attached to the flowers.” Interesting fact and continuing on, it is discovered that the woody vine is named after French navigator Louis Bougainville. In addition, Bougainville wrote a piece called /Description d’un voyage autour du monde/, translated meaning A Description of a Voyage Around the World. This piece would later inspire the popularization of Rousseau’s theories on the morality of humanity in its natural state and a defense of sexual freedom written by Diderot. That being said, New Bouganvillea is a great choice for a color name. And who can go back to the mundane Moss or the simple Stone now?

The Future Has Arrived…

Contrary to science fiction predictions, even in 2007, we do not have flying vehicles or vacations on the moon. We cannot travel through time. We cannot teleport, telebeam or any other version of traveling instantaneously.

What happened? Have our scientific minds shorted us? Just what exactly, have they been working on? And don’t tell me medical research. We still do not have a cure for cancer or AIDs. We still have needles and scalpels, considered by Sci Fi accounts as being archaic and borderline barbaric. Where are the hand held devices that quickly scan, diagnose and resolve any bodily conflicts?

And a large part of the population of our world still does not have access to telephones or clean water.

So where the medical and scientific communities have faltered, there is one ensemble of forward thinking individuals that have not let us down.

Fashion, an industry usually depicted as trivial and whimsical, has delivered the future.

All one has to do is pick up any Vogue, Elle or Bazaar and one will find the future of clothing. The future is upon us. And it is here to stay… Even if it is for just this season.

It is doubtful when one thinks of the future, they would think of peasant skirts and the rest of the bohemian garb that has been so prevalent the last few years. It is probably more likely to imagine the future in metallic outfits. And although, the key elements of a person’s wardrobe are unlikely to change, from say a men’s suit to a monochromatic jumpsuit in a futuristic material, it is exciting and it inspires an air of anticipation.