Coutorture

Coutorture Community Must Reads 11/12/08

coutorture — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:18:36 -0800

Our network partners have been doing their market work--with textiles research, beauty product reviews, and new brands to mention, they are surely keeping themselves busy.

The Coveted, always hip on the hipsters, wrote a narrative shoutout to Complex Geometries. The aesthetic reasoning is simple, she decides in the end.

Tulle is also one of OUR favorite things, as silly as it sounds, and so we were happy to see Fashion Nation reporting on the bridal confections of a blogger as today's conversation.

BellaSugar talked about that which we want to know but are too afraid to ask: how to use that mysterious black head extracting tool we've seen in the beauty parlor.

Holiday Look Books from Lyell are like hot chocolate and a warm bath at the end of a long day. Stylebite knows how to treat her readers right.

Shopping Spread: Silk Tanks In Earth Tones

coutorture — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:57:50 -0700

Mayle Raya Top $395 - La Garçonne

AKA New York Crochet collar top $270 - Net-A-Porter

Lyell Standard Camisole $136 - La Garçonne

3.1 Phillip Lim Asymmetrical Ruffle Tank $275 - Nordstrom

Hammered-silk soutache tank $150 - J.Crew

Castle Starr clay silk-cotton pleated bubble tank $167 - Bluefly

There is nothing more fool-proof than a feminine silk tank in a wardrobe, and earth tones (although black is essential too) are the most useful. Pair these tanks with jeans, masculine trousers, leggings, or a high waisted skirt and you're good to go. Layer with sweaters, blazers, and cardigans in the winter, and, in the summer, let those bronzed shoulders show. The silk tank is a year-round investment.

Lyell Not Showing During Fashion Week

coutorture — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:30:07 -0700

Despite their placement on the fashion calender, Lyell will not being showing this Spring 09. We discovered this yesterday when we requested a pre-fashion week video interview. A representative for Lyell told us that the brand will be showing in February but that the Spring show has been canceled. After news that Mayle (located just down the street from Lyell in Nolita) would be closing down, we couldn't help but feel nervous that the entire contemporary market was shattering before our very eyes. Brands bounce back, we know, and come fall perhaps everything will be just fine. After all, Lyell just got a nice little shoutout in Vogue's September shopping guide (alongside Balenciaga, Balmain, and Topshop) and their new store renovations have enlivened the recently delivered fall collection. A little secret to those who haven't visited the Lyell store; they're one of a handful of boutiques who keep like-new Ferragamo riding boots in stock. For that, among other things, we will stand behind the brand. Ferragamo's will do that to a girl.

For The Gal Whose Not Really Feeling High Waisted Shorts

coutorture — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:41:02 -0700

Lyell's raw high-waisted denim shorts will change all that. We'll be the first to admit, at this stage in the game, these shorts are hard to come by. They're definitely sold out at the Lyell shop in New York. We spotted a size 4 in Williamsburg the other day, Satine has a size 8, and the rest, chicsters, is a matter of tracking them down. There's got to be a couple of size runs left in the world and we'll tell you right now--these shorts are the most flattering pair we've found, they're well worth the fight. Even hiked up way-above your belly button the inseam allows for coverage on your thighs (just say no to hot shorts) and the dark raw denim also make for a slimming silhouette. This makes sense because, as we know, a Lyell sort of girl is one who weighs just enough to be called 'slim' but not so little that she has to skip desert (i.e. many of us). Fletcher has used this same denim in a pair of wide leg jeans we've yet to road-test but, judging by similarities, we're guessing they're a thumbs up as well. Ladies, go get those last pairs. You can wear them on the Fourth of July. You can say you did it for America.

Lyell A/W 08

coutorture — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:31:53 -0800

The National Arts Club in Gramercy was the perfect location for this season's Lyell runway show. The atmosphere was of cluttered, cultured, pipe-smoking wealth, and the A/W 08 collection complimented the haunted warmth of the space. Specifically, A/W included feminine bedroom clothes, wool coats with high collars, pristine fur hats, and delicate lace trim punctuated by thick stockings and vintage Ferragamo heels. It was a collection for a proper lady; one who knows when to sit with her hands in her lap, or smear on cherry red lipstick and go to the movies alone (was it to the movies she said she was going?).

Backstage At Lyell: Pizza and Cat Power

coutorture — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:04:43 -0800

We're backstage at Lyell right now at the National Arts Club in Gramercy. It's a beautiful old building with creaky wooden floors and haunting portraits of people that are not fashion designers or journalists. The models are stuffing their faces with pizza, as any good Lyell girl would, while the rest of the crew lines up the Ferragamo's and loiters around the stereo. This year, Lyell designer, Emma Fletcher, won an Ecco Domani award. Her designs are willowy and delicate, the kind of pieces that compliment starched trousers, porkpie hats, and wingtips.