One of the departed gems of fashion reporting that is no more is Style With Elsa Klensch, covering the clothes, the designers, his inspiration. Enjoy a look at the Thierry Mugler Fall 1988 collection featuring icons like Iman and Pat Cleaveland, who were part of a time when fashion and its presentation was about grown and sexy women,  a little over the top sometimes but nevertheless told  so much more of a story than the almost  pre-pubescent stomping we have been forced to look at  season after season. Models today can still  be stunning in their own way,  but I find a weird disconnect in  putting a sixteen year old who is still growing into ultra-sophisticated apparel, when women  almost double her age end up actually buying…

With the tag line  stating t “All Asses Are Not Created Equal,” Levi’s launched the Curve ID denim  for women  in New York last night. The line offers to remediate  some  common fit issues like gaping waistlines, too tight  waists and curvy to straighter hips . The idea is “Jeans for All”  in these  three fits: slight curve, demi-curve and the bold curve. To find the right fit each shopper is measured to asses their waist to hip ratio, addressing  shape more than  size.

We applaud the idea of addressing the variety, however,  as you will see in the event images we had hoped the marketing or at least the demonstration would have gone “all the way” in showing more visible  variety in  body shapes  and frankly ethnicity (why not?).  We’re suckers for out-of- the box, so  ads that would shake up  some  body/ethnic  stereotypes  would be fab  ’cause  truly we ‘ve heard them all. The models you will see in the event  images are gorgeous, but the truth is you have to really zone in on each one to really see their curve differences .

On the bright side, most of the  wide variety of event attendees were able to find a pair that fits! The kings of denim  might be on to something big…Take a  closer look on the next page , courtesy of the amazing William Yan.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, however, when a mega brand like  Madewell replicates the same  pattern  of socially-conscious label A Peace Treaty’s  ”Chesil” scarf from  Spring ‘09 you really wonder. It’s not like a polka-dot print or even a checkered print  that can be fair game.  We had a lot of love for you Madewell, but now we’re frowning! Yes technically the colors are not the same, and the pattern was inverted, but the similarity is clear.   If you like A Peace Treaty  so much why not do the coolest thing, commission special designs, pay them a nice chunk of change  and therefore contribute  to their social causes. More images of both on the flip.

To have champagne that you can feel good about , Pommery Launches ‘POP Earth ‘ champagne featuring 100% recycled glass bottles,  recycled paper labels printed with water based inks. Now you have no excuse to not pop champagne  the green way.Interesting fact although the song was about champagne there seems to have been no visible brand endorsed… Via vogue France.

When Amber Rose created a stir in the fashion world a few months ago I was curious to see If her appearances  , for various fashion events were going to be it.  Apparently not , as I  just stumbled upon the campaign for the Kanye x Louis Vuitton Sneakers launching in June ‘09 , shot by Steve Shaw.

The girl power female in me wants to dissect this choice  to pieces and illustrate all the deeper implications of choosing to feature this woman who has an ability to really rock a look , naked and so on. Keep in mind that we’re not offended  by nudity in itself. But, it’s Friday I’m not going to get intense. I’m really just questioning this choice when the artistic potential  of Amber & Kanye could have been phenomenal. More images on the next page via Nahright & Blackbook.

Top Row Forever21 shirts/Bottom Row Trovata shirts

We’ve always had  a special outlook  on retailers like Forever 21 , who often  do  not merely  get inspiration from high end labels but flat out copy them. One might argue the fact that  such retailer  make the design “accessible” to all but, on the other hand what happens to the team or designers that actually came up with the design ? Trovata is the latest label to have had design” inspiration” issues with the retailer :

“…companies including Diane Von Furstenberg, Anna Sui, and Anthropologie have filed over 50 lawsuits against Forever 21 over the last three years relating to copyright infringement. (Forever 21 settled the cases out of court.) Unlike previous lawsuits against Forever 21, Trovata’s doesn’t accuse the store of copyright infringement, but alleges that Forever 21 copied unique button placements, decorative stitching, and fabric patterns, among other details…” via Nymag
 In our book there’s no substitute for quality ,craftmanship and the respect of  creativity…

Is “girlyfying” Dora really necessary? Can a  little girl just be without frills and the social pressures of being what society sees a proper representation?  Will she stop exploring the world, ditch her compass, map and backpack ? We already have  Barbie and The Bratz as fashionistas. Some parents and associations are pissed at the deeper implications of the newly trendy Dora, and make some very interesting observations. Read the petition here.

via Msn.

To celebrate their 20th anniversary DKNY teams up with Levis on collection of limited edition  denim styles. A wide leg,  Skinny silhouettes and the ever so popular boyfriend cut.  The rationale behind this collaboration puzzles me when DKNY has a   DKNY Jeans  label. Is this  a way to make their denim line more “credible” in the  world of Levis aficionados and denim purists ? Or did a consumer study show that DKNY denim wearers also wear Levis?  At  $225 a pop I’m not sold on this concept. Are you?

via Denimology

Art collecting  is something I am really passionate about especially among my contemporaries. Why  should  we leave art buying to “estates” of so and so when we have so many artists among our peers ? I know times are hard but ,  while  we can still accumulate 3 to 4 digit bags and shoes , there’s room for some good contemporary artists pieces. Learn more and start investing in Art !

If you have not yet fallen in serious admiration of famed artist Banksy , this should do the trick.  In a partnership with Artichoked and Brahma  you can have a chance to purchase an original   Banksy print “ Trolleys” (above) for one british penny! More info  on how to register here.

via Vogue France.

In honor of women’s history month I have to go there:

As if women have not had enough pressure from modern society to conform  to various ideals. Now our little girls  get to wear fake bangs?? I’m not  a mom so this might make sense to some as cute ? Seriously at first I chuckled at the absurdity, but on a deeper level, what are we saying to our girls , if the purity of beauty of babyhood is taken away from them what’s left???

Geez…

via racked & jezebel