Recently in Look for Less Category

Since I was on the topic of Alexander Wang dresses already this week... look at this beautiful Alexander Wang dress at Saks Fifth Avenue: Pique Goddess Dress, $595.

Love it!  But again, a bit pricey!  $595 for a dress and my budget do not work together!


Here's an Andrew Marc dress with similar styling: Grecian Style Tee Shirt Dress, $188.


And, even better, if you're a Rue La La member it's in a private sale today for only $79!

Lace has been popular with the designers over the last couple of years.  Remember Prada's gorgeous lace for Fall '08?

Here's Charlize wearing one of Prada's lace dresses, Aug. '08.

Well, it's still going strong.  Kelly Ripa just wore Stella McCartney's beautiful lace dress to a Letterman appearance.  (Stella herself wore the jumpsuit version ($4,815) in black to the Met's Costume Institute Ball last year)

Here's the beautiful dress similar to Kelly's at Net-a-porter. ($1,825)

 

Here's a Philip Lim take on the same idea. ($750)

 

Okay, so it's not nearly as detailed or quite as beautiful as the other examples, but Zara has a little lace dress for only $59.50! 

I love the look of the layered necklaces that's been around for the last year or so.  My great purchase of last year was a double chain necklace from Chanel, but yikes it was expensive.

For a similar look (minus the double C charm and a few hundred dollars), here's a great option from Ann Taylor:

Three Tier Chain Necklace, $48

This piece is among their new arrivals for Spring. They really continue to impress since they've sort of reinvented themselves... Bravo!

We all know Coco Chanel loved her costume jewelry.  In the 1930s one of Coco's friends, Fulco di Verdura, created the Maltese Cross cuff for her. He had been hired by her as head textile designer and then in 1927 they began their collaboration for Chanel's costume jewelry collection.  In 1934 he created the Maltese Cross cuff, using a cross given to her by Grand Duke Dmitri of Russia. The design is still used today and Chanel's cuff bracelets are still some of the best. 

But yikes, at $1,620 - - that's quite a bit for costume jewelry, even if it's Chanel.

Kenneth Jay Lane has a pretty nice alternative, which you can get for just about 10% of the cost of the Chanel cuff, only $165 at their store at The Plaza.  Or, I also found it for sale online for just a bit more, $184.

In 1939 Verdura opened a shop in New York under his own name, and the Maltese Cross became one of the brand's signature motifs. Incidentally, the Verdura brand is celebrating 70 years in New York this year with a re-creation of the Maltese Cross cuff and a pendant version.  These however are not costume jewelry -- the pendant is $22,500!  (below a Verdura Maltese Cross cuff)

I was looking around at Ann Taylor over the weekend, the one near Crate & Barrel on Madison Ave...  I was checking out the shoes and one of the sales ladies commented how nice they were this season, I agreed and said they were very Christian Louboutin-esque in their shapes... she didn't seem to appreciate that... as if Ann Taylor is too good to copy CL? (what a moron)

Anyway it's impossible not to see the similarities especially between AT's "perfect pump" and CL's "simple pump".

Ann Taylor Perfect Pump ($155), 3-1/3" heel

Christian Louboutin Simple 85 Pump ($520), 3-1/2" heel

Also with the platform versions:

Ann Taylor Perfect Platform Pump ($175), 4-1/4" heel.

Christian Louboutin New Simple Pump ($720), 5" heel. (sold out in black at net-a-porter)

 

 

I would certainly die for a pair of the covetable Louboutin Ni Toi Ni Moi Ankle Boots ($1195 at Saks).

oh my, soooo beautiful!

But really, $1195 is a bit much.  For us poor plebians, here is a similar look (but not exact, so not a total knock-off) from Boutique 9. Obviously they're not as spectacular, but not bad either.

They are not up on their website yet, they will be available later in the Fall.  They are called the Siaka boot and will retail for $225.

Here's a good "look for less" option:  Ferragamo Francesca Bag vs. J. Crew Gallery Hobo. 

The Ferragamo bag is available at Smart Bargains, on sale for $1,189.98. (regular retail $1,850, and pre-sale price at Smart Bargains was $1,399.)

The J. Crew option, the Gallery Hobo, is usually $250 but is on sale now for $200.

Both have a similar roundish shape, natural leather top handles and detachable shoulder straps.  The Ferragamo bag is 12-1/2 x 11 x 6 inches.  The J. Crew bag is 12-1/2 x 12 x 3 inches. (It is also available in a larger version of 16 x 15 x 4 inches on sale for $248)  The Ferragamo bag, of course, is made in Italy... the J. Crew just says "imported" so it's probably made somewhere in Asia.

I'm off for the long weekend tomorrow, so Happy Fourth of July and see you back at Flairvoyant on Monday!  Cheers!

This Banana Repulbic knit top has a very Missoni look about it... for a lot less, $69. It's a linen viscose blend.  They've borrowed Missoni's signature knit style with the striations.

They're also knocking off the Yves Saint Laurent cage shoe style that we've been seeing all over the fashion magazines this past Spring.

Banana version:  It comes in black or gold and is $160.  I have to say I don't like it.  The heel is too short (only 3-1/4") and the heel shaped wrong, it just looks ugly. It doesn't have the elegance of either of the YSL versions below.

Their inspiration:

I was taking a look at the Miss Trish of Capri Collection for Target.  Have to say I'm not loving it. Three of the styles are wedges, and I just don't like those... and most of the flat styles just don't appeal to me.

I think the best style is the Lion Sandals, $29.99.

That doesn't look like a Lion to me...?

Clearly, the quality is nothing even close to the original Miss Trish sandals. They're made with faux leather uppers and bonded leather soles, and made in China.

I wonder what happened to the real Miss Trish?  I can't seem to find her quality sandals online anywhere right now.  It seems that Zappos normally has them, but when you go to their Miss Trish page, they say they are "currently out".

These Jessica Elliot earrings caught my eye in the Feb. issue of In Style magazine. Sterling silver, graduated open clover earrings, $76.

I love the quatrefoil design and these are certainly a lot more affordable than anything from Van Cleef's Alhambra collection!

All Marc Jacobs fans know that one of his signature style accents for accessories is the push lock.  See below on the Classic Zip Clutch ($395).

So here's a not bad at all alternative from Topshop's website.  (no stores yet in the US, but one's coming to SoHo, Broadway & Broome,  in early 2009)

Topshop Large Push Lock Clutch ($85). An oversized clutch in leather with brass push lock detail. Pretty cute, right!

I'm not very familiar with Topshop other than that Kate Moss does a line for them.  I think they're like the British version of H&M? I'm looking forward to checking out the store when it opens.

Nine West has shamelessly taken a page from Christian Louboutin's design book with this platform peep-toe pump ('Raven' Boutique 9 by Nine West, $145), shown first, which looks very similar to the iconic Louboutin Very Privé Slingback style (version shown-Glitter Patent Slingback, $760), shown second below.

   

The styling of the slingback itself is different: the cut and also Nine West uses a small metal buckle whereas Louboutin uses elastic. And of course, no red sole on the Nine West.

I guess it's great to have "the look for less" option available to people who don't want to or can't spend $760 for shoes. But this also illustrates the divisive topic of intellectual property rights for design. It just doesn't seem right to financially reward companies who knock-off.  But then again it's hard to say that two designers couldn't have both had the same idea.

This black and white J. Crew Collection dress has a very classic Chanel-esque look. Chanel always shows a lot of black and white and especially did in their latest show, Spring-Summer 2009.  Someone probably could have snuck this dress into the show and no one would have noticed!

J. Crew Collection "Shimmy Dress", $250, ivory silk organza with tiny cotton voile ruffles black charmeuse sash.

   

Wouldn't it look great with some Chanel costume jewelry like this: But I guess that would cancel out the "look for less" part.

They're showing a lot of belted looks this Fall.  Since I'm always a sucker for horsebits (yes, preferably Gucci), this Banana Repbulic belt looks like a nice addition for the season.  And it's only $79, so if you don't end up wearing it much, it's okay.  (with a Gucci belt you might feel bad!)

Horsebit Clasp Buckle Leather Belt, $79 is great to belt long shirts and sweater dresses etc.

Uggh. Sorry about the ugly picture. I have no idea why they paired it with that horrific print shirt! That print looks like something Ugly Betty would wear. (but p.s. I love Ugly Betty despite her clothes :-)  )