To all our readers however new or old:

First off, thank you so much for your support over the years! Without you we really are nothing.  Second, we want to thank David Fisher, the founder of HighSnobiety and Titel Media head honcho who gave us this opportunity to connect with all of you in the first place. Long before anyone he saw the vision in having a women’s fashion site with a street-edge theme.

But most of all we are so excited to announce that we are on the move and going independent!! Our new site is currently being designed and we don’t want to give out the new url just yet, but you can start following us on our new (under construction) Facebook page to stay updated on the latest, including all our posts as we begin the transition.

The theme remains the same, coverage of fashion that speaks to women who want to celebrate their badass, multi-faceted nature and yep, are as comfortable in pair of Louboutin heels as Nike kicks. As always we will cheer loudest for the indie females doing it for themselves and consider it part of our mission to reach out a helping hand to them whenever possible. And we while we may stumble and are lifelong learners ourselves, we staunchly believe love & a positive approach conquer all, yes, even in the world of fashion.

xoxoxo, Lois & Samia

We’ve long loved nail artist Sophy Robson and were super excited to cover a recent “Master Class” event in London she organized with the goal of educating both aspiring and established nail artists.  The event included instruction by Robson and the much-admired Japanese nail artist Disco Nails (aka Nagi) who works from her salon, Disco Nails in Shibuyo, Japan. In other words, two of the world’s most talented nail artists, what a gift for attendees!

Check out more images from the event after the fold, plus a video. All pics & coverage by Amina Khan for HighSnobette.

Last week Highsnobette, along with 20 other journalists and bloggers from around the world, joined Nike for a 36-hour trip to test and experience the latest version of the Nike Free Run. With a backpack full of sporty ambition (and shorts and shirts that I found covered with dust somewhere in my closet), I said adieu to freezing cold Berlin and Hola to 20-degree Barca.

As soon as we arrived at the hotel there was the unmistakable feeling of a short-term holiday. Ice cold milk shakes and 2 hours of free time spent by the pool immediately put a smile on my face. Beach and the Mediterranean Sea within eyeshot made me ask “is this real life?” But Nike wouldn’t be Nike if they let us lie lazily by the pool instead of experiencing their latest running innovation through intense physical exertion.

What followed was a tight schedule of detailed workouts and runs along the beach and in the mountains. Not to mention a wonderful excursion by boat, a nice bike ride through the city, as well as a detailed presentation about the Nike Free Run – the main protagonist of our 36-hour stay in Barcelona.

The Nike Free Run 5.0 will release in 32 color variations and assures an ultimate barefoot feeling that -personally approved- trains every single muscle of the leg. Before testing this feeling for yourself, click through the gallery on the next page to check out the sneaker. You’ll see that once again Nike has managed to create a sneaker that both looks great and performs excellently.

Beyonce on the cover of U.K. Vogue May 2013 if you haven’t already seen it on 18 billion other sites.

While many articles seem to focus on whether Tina Turner is the oldest woman to be on the cover of Vogue ( not a big deal in our minds) all we can think about is why such an American music icon never made it on the cover of U.S. Vogue? Image via the Tina Turner blog. The complete editorial via Vogue Germany.

It’s been widely covered but don’t want to miss posting the Buzzfeed article from yesterday, asking why runways are so white. Five top casting directors responded and it’s clear from some of their answers that the simple answer is that they themselves are racists–sometimes it’s actually that simple! Barbara Nicoli, casting director for Burberry, Marchesa, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, Armani Privé & Saint Laurent was the most egregious, taking an old worldview on not only body types but what is sexy:

“It’s also true that, for example, Caucasians have a specific body type, black girls have a specific body shape, and Asian girls have a specific body shape. So I guess there are some collections where it’s more perfect for an Asian body shape because they are more flat and less sexy, in a way. Asians, they are not curvy, so to put an Asian [who's] very flat [with a] baby body shape in a show where normally the designer knows they love sexy, beautiful, curvy girls, it’s a bit of nonsense.”

But as bad as she was, casting director James Scully was amazing, calling out some of the heaviest hitters in the industry:

“I feel the Dior cast is just so pointedly white that it feels deliberate. I watch that show and it bothers me — I almost can’t even concentrate on the clothes because of the cast. And recently they’re changing from a very diverse, worldwide, multicultural cast to just a very Germanic-looking white girl. If I were at Dior tomorrow, there would be black girls in that show. I was also disappointed that Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and kind of every other important fashion house — not one of them were racially diverse at all this season. My own personal stance is that the more diverse, the better. A lot of my casts were indicative of that, especially Jason Wu and Tom Ford.”

This is why I laugh when old media “journalists” complain and kvetch from their front-row seats about fashion bloggers ruining fashion, meanwhile oohing and ahhing about Chanel’s globe for half of their so-called reviews and complaining about who was or wasn’t invited for the rest.  The truth is if new media didn’t come along someone would have had to invent it because old media coverage of fashion was failing badly and the unfortunate part is that its classist/racist world views still dominate and continue to poison the fashion environment of today.

I had to share with you Diane Pernet’s op-ed piece on fashion critics called, “Who Watches the Watchmen,” from the blog, The Business of Fashion. Pernet covers lots of ground like the relationship between advertising and editorial coverage:

“It is no wonder that most ‘critics’ are not critics, but just give a report of what goes down the runway, without voicing any real opinion. It is also no secret that for more than the past decade, editorials have been ruled by advertisers. You place an ad, you get an editorial page, and if the advertiser does not get proper coverage, they pick up the phone and demand editorial coverage or they will pull their money. So, can you really expect a critic for a publication that thrives on that ad money to say that the Chanel or the Louis Vuitton show was crap? Not likely.”

Pernet concludes with her appreciation of bloggers, another reason why the woman is a #Boss:

“I find it amusing the way so many seasoned journalists are still threatened by bloggers. The bloggers are not masquerading as mature journalists. They are more like consumers excited to find themselves suddenly given access to the shows and along with that, a certain degree of credibility. The ones that write their content based on who is paying the bills are no better/or worse than the magazines that only report on their advertisers.”

Read the complete feature here.

Asap Rocky graces the cover of French publication, L’Express Styles magazine. The simple pose and facial expression makes for  my favorite Asap cover so far!

A lovely bootie with trompe-l’oeil detail, perfect for that time of year when you want to shed your winter footwear, but still need a fully covered shoe. See various angles of Francis on the flip and purchase her.

For a long time I shunned the idea of the platform sneaker, not quite seduced by the proportion they create.My recent  discovery of the Kobe Husk ‘Bounster’ Sneaker is about to change that. But apparently , I’m late they’re almost sold out at Solestruck in black and white.