The Mad Fashionista Takes Fashion Week

2010-10-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Every Little Step with Mike Tyson & Wayne Brady from Mike Tyson

Fashion Week, Day Eight: Where To Buy My Look!

2009-09-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS -

Bloody but unbowed, I managed to get to the final day under the Bryant Park tents, only to be greeted as a celebrity by the paparazzi at the Isaac Mizrahi show!

You cannot tell from this photograph, but once again I was carrying that wonderful clock purse from Off Broadway.
My lace peep-toe high heeled pumps are from http://www.silhouettes.com/ my vintage 1950s cocktail dress from my personal collection, and my dazzling rhinestone veiled hat from the ever-reliable Ellen Christine Millinery! It is another piece from her Fall 2009 collection.

Please do patronize the wonderful shops mentioned in this blog-thing; they are all full of amazing pieces, one-of-kind items, and delights for every budget!

Ciao

Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Fashion Week, Day Seven: Where To Buy My Look

2009-09-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS -

For a truly whirlwind day under the tents, I again chose the gorgeous red microfiber jacket from Off-Broadway! Also from Off Broadway, a pair of stunning black and white rhinestone earrings and the cutest bag, with an actual working clock on the front. (How's that for a way to always be on time?)

(http://www.boutiqueoffbroadway.com )

I am also wearing that adorable red leather flower hat from Off Broadway, and my little black flamenco-style dress is by Torrid, courtesy of Re/Dress NY! (http://www.redressnyc.com/ )
Once again, I was one of the best dressed women under the tents. (I always am, but it's good to have help.)

Ciao,

Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Fashion Week, Day Five: Where To Buy My Vintage Look!

2009-09-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS -

Monday was a fairly easy one inside the tents. All I had scheduled were the Tadashi Shoji and Gottex shows, and a few interviews, so I decided to dress a bit more casually and comfortably. But with no less fabulosity--I have a reputation to maintain, after all!

I'm wearing a 100% silk vintage 80s Adele Simpson wedge dress, with shoulder flanges and three quarter length sleeves. It is from Re/Dress New York, and helped me survive the day in style! It shows you how versatile this store's offerings are, to say the least. (And it will be returned, freshly dry cleaned, next week!)

My hat is from Off Broadway Boutique on 72nd Street, and it's darling! The "flower" is made of leather, and the center is actually a metal zipper! The store carries them in a variety of colors, including silver and gold. You simply must go there and try them on!

Until later,

Elisa and Bucky the Wonderdog

Fashion Week, Day Four: Where To Buy My Look!

2009-09-17T08:20:00.001-07:00

DAHLINGS -

Today I thought I would wear my own wardrobe, including a vintage 1980s faux fur velvet jacket with rhinestone buttons and a sexy print dress.

However, you may recognize my wonderful blue hat from Ellen Christine Millinery (http://www.ellenchristine.com/), and my size 11WW t-strap shoes are from Coward Shoes, one of the few websites one can reliably find my size. They are not sponsoring me, but this is in the interest of anyone who leaves, shall we say, a larger footprint.
http://www.cowardshoes.com/

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Fashion Week Day Three: Where To Buy My Look!

2009-09-13T07:44:00.001-07:00

DAHLINGS -

Yesterday I attended the Christian Siriano show, where there were (naturally) not only a celebrities but quite a few Project Runway alumns! Here I am with the handsome Jack Mackenroth, who posed for dozens of photos because we didn't know whether or not the camera was working! (If I had been handling it, it would have WORKED.)

And here is your faithful correspondent backstage at the Siriano show:

My beautiful oyster felt hat, trimmed with black ribbon, was custom made for me by Ellen Christine of Ellen Christine Millinery!

And my black two-piece suit with attached collar and cuffs is from Re/Dress New York, a phenomenal plus size vintage and contemporary boutique in Brooklyn! (There is an earlier entry in this blog-thing about their never-to-be-forgotten opening party.)

Their racks are packed full of a huge variety of clothes, from vintage eveningwear to contemporary work dresses, lingerie, all in sizes up to 4X and beyond! I cannot recommend this shop highly enough. During my day there, I felt like a child in a candy store. My driver took me there, but it's easy enough to get to on the (ugh) subway, so I'm told.

During Fashion Week, they are having their own alternative event:

Visit their website at http://http//www.redressnyc.com/. They also sell on Ebay. Watch for more in the days to come!

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Fashion Week Day Two: Where To Buy My Look!

2009-09-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS -

The Off-Broadway Boutique on West 72nd Street is known for over-the-top glam. Yesterday I woke up to pouring rain and the prospect of running around the Marc Bouwer shoot. So I choose simple flat black boots (www.auditions.com/), black wide-legged trousers, a black shirt, and vintage black earrings.

I topped it off with an amazing red microfiber jacket from Off-Broadway that withstood the rain and a full day of activities and never looked less than perfect!

(Your faithful correspondent on the scene, as always)

Here it is on the hanger, but the photo does not do it justice!

Lynn, Yal-el and the staff was unbelievably helpful, and picked out stylish items that any fashionista would be delighted to wear! To see more lovely things, please go to:

http://www.boutiqueoffbroadway.com/
Ciao,Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Fashion Week Day One: Where To Buy My Look!

2009-09-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS -

Forgive the quality of the photographs, they were snapped in haste when I ran home to change clothes for this evening's activities! (More on today's activities to come later...first I need clean shoes and a cocktail.)

Here is my Fashion Week Day One ensemble:

The "Mad Men" 1950s cotton wiggle dress is from my personal collection.

The Ros Hommerson purple leather shoes can be found at http://www.zappos.com/

The Coro pink and purple rhinestone baguette earrings will be listed after Fashion Week at my store on (ugh) Ebay.

But what makes the look is the HAT! Despite a hair disaster this morning (I ran to Blondi's Salon only to find that Anthony "doesn't do glam hair"!!!!) I put on this delightful hat. All day I received compliments on it all over and around the tents AND was photographed numerous times, including backstage at the Ports 1961 show!

This beautiful coiled piece was created by Ellen Christine of Ellen Christine Millinery, and is from her Fall 2009 collection! (It was supposed to be worn with a fluffier hairstyle, but no matter, a great hat is a great hat, and I will certainly wear it again before this week is out!).

Her work can be seen in The September Issue, playing at theaters now. Grace Coddington picked the hats for the 1920s spread herself, and Ellen Christine has created hats for many celebrities and fashion insiders. I feel honored to wear one of her hats. It will be back at her store after Fashion Week, but that's no reason not to pick up a dainty or two NOW!

http://www.ellenchristine.com/

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Dear God, It's New York Fashion Week!

2009-09-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS -

And so it begins! Smithie, my office assistant, has been sobbing for two days trying to arrange my schedule.

OH, SHUT UP, SMITHIE! TAKE A DEXTROAMPHETAMINE AND STOP MAKING THOSE WHINING NOISES! YOU'RE NOT THE ONE WHO HAS TO WEAR HIGH HEELS ALL DAY!

It's almost impossible to get good help these days. However, I will be assisted in my on-site labors by Bella Fierce, the creator of the blog http://www.biggurlfashion.blogspot.com/ ! We met for lunch earlier this week, and her table manners were impeccable, as was her outfit. I breathed a sigh of relief. (Your faithful correspondent has even written down her name, a rare honor.) Do take a look at her blog, she is creative, and truly "fierce" (a word learned recently here.)

Every day this week I will be presenting a special feature, "Where To Buy My Look," so that you have a slight chance to look as fabulous as I do. You simply go over to "The Mad Fashionista Takes Fashion Week" to see photos of moi in my full splendor!

Later I will even be doing video "streaming" I believe it is called, so that you can envy me even more as I interview the people inside the tents and give my commentary directly to you, without interference from this idiot sitting at my desk.

I do not mean moi. I am lounging in my Marcel Dufrene Art Deco armchair sipping a cup of extra-strong cappucino and nibbling on a croissant. Can't have crumbs getting on the keyboard. Bucky is in my satin-clad lap, trying to bite the croissant out of my hand, but so far I have managed to--

BUCKY! NO! GIVE THAT BACK!

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Project Runway: Surf's Up And Standards Are Down

2009-09-04T15:19:00.001-07:00

DAHLINGS –

Is it moi, or has Heidi Klum completely lost whatever taste she had now that Project Runway is in Los Angeles? For the runway show, she emerged in a black dress so tight you could see her caesarian scars, with a strange sort of blingy yarn thing at the neck. And once again Michael Kors was nowhere to be seen, replaced this week by Max Azria. (Mr. Azria’s every utterance was subtitled, as if he were speaking pidgin English. Strange, but there were so many strange moments in this episode!)

This week the designers were carted to the beach. The first truly strange moment: they were met by the unreal vision of Tim Gunn wearing flips-flops! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…

Excuse me. Ahem.

The challenge was to make a fun surfer look. Several surfer babes stood around to talk to the designers about what they like in swimwear. Not surprisingly one surfer girl says she likes clothing that reminds her of the water. Thank you, Ms. Noam Chomsky.

However, the designers had to work in teams. When the dust cleared, or should I say the sand, the teams were: Shirin and Carol Hannah, Logan and Christopher, Nicolas and Gordana, Mitchell and Ra’mon, Althea and Louise, Qristyl and Epperson, and Johnny and Irina.

Ra’mon justifiably felt like he was being thrown under a bus, working with the man who’d been in the Bottom Two twice and was now embracing the role with gusto, from what I could see. (I had seen from the first that Mitchell was a yellow-toothed moron.)

The surfer challenge seemed simple enough, even though working in teams went against the grain of nearly every designer. The most disastrous combination, in terms of personal chemistry, was Epperson and Qristyl. They both have odd names, shouldn’t they have got along?

Interestingly, I found Epperson overbearing and insulting, while my male viewing companion felt Qristyl was, to put it inelegantly, a “bitch.” One kept hoping she’d grab his dreads and pull them and him into a large pressing machine, but it didn’t happen.

Shirin and Carol Hannah made sweet love, as did Althea and Louise; in other words, most of the designers were barely on camera because they were getting along. Not dramatic enough for reality television, you know.

Then, as happens on Project Runway, the designers were thrown another challenge: create an Avante-Garde look to accompany the surfer look. Everybody promptly fell apart, but the camera concentrated on Ra’mon. Then when Tim came through the workroom, he made it clear that Ra’mon’s wetsuit-inspired look was a hideous mistake. So at the last minute, Ra’mon grabbed some bright yellow neoprene, dyed some of it dark green, and sewed it into a mini-dress that to my taste was rather bizarre. Where was Team Leader Mitchell during all of this, you ask? Wandering around the workroom calling the other designers “bitches.” White boy, your ass is grass from where we sit.

And so it was. To be perfectly honest, none of the various looks stick in my mind, even after looking at pictures of them!

Althea’s design was not Avant-Garde, it was more Viva Las Vegas:

Nicolas’s design could be called the Dark Underbelly of Viva Las Vegas. Really, could it get any sleazier? (Unfortunately, the full impact is lost in the photo--you can't see the strings tying the stockings together between her bare legs.)

Carol Hannah’s design seemed a bit more on the right track, if dull. (However, I love blue in any form.)

Now this is the first surprise: Ra’mon won for his strange neoprene dress! How incredibly bizarre.

Did Heidi really say “I would wear that”? As I said, her taste has disappeared. However, I felt glad for the dear boy, he went through so much.

The second surprise was that his partner, Mitchell, got the boot. The first time a designer from the WINNING team has been auf’ed! But faithful readers, he was asking for it. And if he wasn’t asking for it, every viewer in America was.

One hopes he got some dental work when he got home. Crest Whitestrips, perhaps?

Ciao,

Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Blondi's Salon, An Oasis of Chic In The Upper West Side Desert

2009-09-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS –

So there was I, in the back of my car, driving uptown on Broadway in Manhattan for a meeting with a potential client. Then it happened. I happened to glance in the mirrored glass that separates me from my driver and gasped.

My hair was a MESS! My beautiful cascading blonde waves looked greasy! More so, because I was wearing a headband. In my hurry to pick a suitable Missoni outfit and leave, I had neglected to check my mane in the mirror, except for a glance across the room.

I couldn’t meet a potential client looking like this! Glancing out the windows of my car, all I saw were Supercuts, whatever that is. But then I looked out at Broadway, and saw:

Chandeliers.

Sparkly objects instantly get my attention, and these were huge chandeliers, hanging in a clean, chic white space filled with—salon chairs!

I ordered my driver to pull over, then called my client to say that an appointment with Meredith Viera would be delaying me a tad.

The chic chandelier’d emporium was Blondi’s Salon.

“I need a shampoo and blowout IMMEDIATELY,” I said to the lovely young blonde thing behind the desk. “And FAST. I have an important meeting!”

(Note: this does not capture the magnificence of the chandelier, but that is hardly my fault. Different lovely thing, too.)

The young lady, whose name was Stephanie, smiled and waved over a stylist, a man with long hair named Anthony. “Anthony can take you right away, Miss,” she said.

Anthony, who, it turned out, is quite the intellectual (he quoted both Dante and Virgil), took me in hand. Bucky nestled quietly in my lap under the black cover, ready to bite if Anthony's hands went any lower than my collarbone. (It's been known to happen.)

The results were magnificent, and achieved in record time! It was then that I knew I had to write about this beautiful salon, nestled on Broadway near 106th Street, next to a hardware store. Cognitive dissonance, to say the least.

The owner, darkly handsome Joseph Nasser, started Blondi’s in Los Angeles twelve years ago, before moving to New York City. He opened his first New York salon on the East Side, then another one close by, where the clientele includes celebrities, society mavens, and the crème de la crème of both sexes. The salon has been featured in such publications as New York Magazine and GQ.

Nasser was born in Lebanon, where he started cutting hair at the tender age of fourteen. His brothers were a doctor and an engineer, respectively, so young Joseph’s interest in hair was considered a tad peculiar.

However, it paid off handsomely. Joseph Nasser had noticed there were no first-class beauty salons in the neighborhood known as Morningside Heights. His Upper West Side based clients were begging him to open one. He opened it in what was the former local Obama campaign headquarters, which Nasser considered a great augury.

His hairstyling staff has worked in all of the most prestigious salons in New York City, and they have swiftly built up a loyal following. For those who are used to midtown prices, Blondi’s is surprisingly reasonable: womens’ haircuts start at $45, mens at $30. They do it all: color, extensions, makeup and even bridal makeup.

Nasser is proud that they are able to offer Japanese relaxers for the hair starting at $250, as opposed to Brazilian relaxer, which can cost upward of $600. Blondi’s Salon has a number of glowing reviews on a number of sites, including Citysearch: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/47447359/new_york_ny/blondie_s_hair_salon.html

I have requested that Anthony do my hair during New York Fashion Week, because a girl needs to look impeccable at all times! I can think of no higher recommendation than allowing him to style my blonde locks.

Do look them up; they are always running specials and discounts as well!

Blondi's Salon
2742 Broadway
New York 10025
212-666-5505
Blondishairsalon@gmail.com

Ciao,

Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

It's Fashion Week for...The Czech Republic?

2009-09-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

DAHLINGS -

Since my press credentials with IMG came through, my inbox has been bombarded with emails from everything to fashion shows held in Yonkers to art installations that have only the most tangential relation with Fashion. I received this invitation tonight:

It is with great pleasure to inform you that Coleman Entertainment Group is now working with Nolcha & Nolcha Fashion Week.

Now in its third year, Nolcha Fashion Week will take place simultaneously with New York Fashion Week from September 14th-18th at the iconic Bohemian National Hall in association with Czech Republic Consulate General. The landmark building will house runway shows, accessory exhibits, cocktail parties and fashion business seminars to showcase emerging American and international independent fashion designers.

Nolcha is an award-winning multi-faceted media and events platform, offering opportunities in the New York fashion business market, and operates an online fashion network, a print publication, and major annual events for the independent fashion industry and related retail businesses. Nolcha offers cost effective resources to aspiring and veteran fashion professionals; initiatives include Nolcha online, Nolcha Fashion Week: New York, London Fashion Week partner events, Independent Retail Week and Dress the Band competition.

I think I like "Dress The Band" competion best.

If anyone reading this knows about Nolcha, do drop me a comment. And if you want to attend, I'll be happy to send contact information.

M me vychov vat na e sklo na slavn esk republika!

Ahoj,

Elisa & Bucky The Wonderdog