Ann Taylor seems to be working on shaking the dust off their rather staid image. They advertised heavily in all of the September issues and got some decent editoral coverage as well. I always saw Ann Taylor as work wear for your Mom, very classic not trendy, rather boring... But this Fall's collection is a bit different. They have a new designer, Lisa Axelson, previously of Club Monaco and Gap/BR. She was brought on board last Fall. [quote] "I'm thrilled to have the incredible opportunity to restore a chic, fashionable point of view to Ann Taylor," said Axelson. "I hope to deliver covetable pieces that are modern and sophisticated and make our clients feel fabulous," she added.
This dress was featured in their September marketing:
Silk Tiered Strapless Dress, $240
The shoes, Perfect Platform Pump, $175
Hayden Panettiere was on Letterman last night looking fantastic in a sleek Caroline Seikaly black lace dress. She certainly looks older than a teenager... (she's 19)! This is a fairly dramatic style change for her, maybe on purpose... since she's getting older and doesn't want to be thought of forever as the cute little cheerleader...?
Who is Caroline Seikaly, anyway, right? I'd never even heard of her before. She's a Parisian designer with offices at 93 Ave. Henri Martin in the 16th (funny, that address is just steps away from where I lived when I studied in Paris during college). Oddly, her website hasn't been updated since the Winter 2008 collection. She did just show her 2010 Resort Collection here in New York at the Cooper Square Hotel on June 9th. Hayden's dress was featured in that show...
Hayden is also wearing Stuart Weitzman's Tijuana Sandal ($365 at zappos)
I hadn't really ever noticed that the L.A.M.B. collection included clothing. I would expect it to be quirky sportswear like track jackets or something. But, eLuxury has this beautiful silk chiffon dress by L.A.M.B. ($325) available right now.
It features the very popular Greek goddess one shouldered style and layers of silk chiffon. I can totally imagine Gwen wearing this. (and me too!)
As I was out and about this weekend I saw this dress in the window at the Banana near Bloomingdale's (uptown). I went in to check it out, but I didn't have time to try it on. The fabric is a beautiful brown with a sort of iridescent effect from a crossweave. The dress is $175, I thought it would be more, it has the look of a much more expensive dress.
This is a great option for anyone who needs a new dress for holiday parties this year. Oh, and I hadn't been into that particular Banana store for ages - the downstairs section that used to be so small and cramped is now HUGE, they must have taken over the basement space of the store next door (which I believe, conveniently, was their sister company, Gap's basement). It's great - now they have the entire women's department down there with enough room to fit the entire collection including shoes and jewelry and not be really crowded like it used to be.
I totally love this D&G Pinstripe Dress ($645), kind of a variation on their corset style dress. It has the same lingerie style straps but is done in a more conservative fabric, a pinstripe wool flannel. This one actually has the corset built inside for a good fit.
Check out the details, the wrap style top and exposed zipper in the back.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this dress! I think it could go from day into night by pairing it with a jacket for day. It's a wool blend (54% viscose/40% wool/5% elastane/1% polyester) with stretch so I think the fit would be fabulous. I wouldn't spend this much online though, I'd want to try it on. But that could be dangerous because if it looked really good then one would just HAVE to buy it.