Coutorture

Fashion In 50 Seconds 04/02/09 The Topshop Madness Begins & More

coutorture — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:34:53 -0700

Racked is, of course, liveblogging the opening of Topshop which they have aptly renamed the "Topshopocalypse". ..

This year's Costume Institute Gala might just spawn some rifts in the industry thanks to the financial requirements of attending.

Designer Todd Oldham added wrongful termination to the list of complaints filed against Old Navy.

Apparently not an April Fool's joke is the opening of the nation's first ever Balenciaga outlet in Woodbury Commons.

Coutorture Community Must Reads 10/02

coutorture — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:51:48 -0700

While absorbing Paris Fashion Week from a computer screen comes at little cost, wearing the clothing is another story. Given the state of our economy, our wise bloggers are either covering straight runway or finding opportunities to talk about "look for less" options. That said, we picked three to note.

Kingdom of Style is possibly the biggest penny saver of all having made her own organza skirt for a night out on the town. The results are pretty fantastic, but we're also putting a few bucks on her styling abilities.

Pretty Legit scoped out Old Navy's Fall deliveries, confirming our recent penchant for black sequins and more long blazers than is necessary for one person to own.

Platinum Blonde Life gave up the info on Banana Republic's recent shoe offerings. We've been meaning to pick up a trench coat from them and we might just have to add a shoe or two to the basket.

Looks like we're going on a mini-shopping spree, seeing as it's all in one place.

Coutorture Community Must Reads 10/02

coutorture — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:52:09 -0700

While absorbing Paris Fashion Week from a computer screen comes at little cost, wearing the clothing is another story--given the state of our economy, our wise bloggers are either covering straight runway or finding opportunities to talk about "look for less" options. That said, we picked three to note.

Pretty Legit scoped out Old Navy's Fall deliveries, confirming our recent penchant for black sequins and more long blazers than is necessary for one person to own.

Platinum Blonde Life gave up the info on Banana Republic's recent shoe offerings. We've been meaning to pick up a trench coat from them and we might just have to add a shoe or two to the basket.

Looks like we're going on a mini-shopping spree, seeing as it's all in one place.

Cheap Pleats

coutorture — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:06:15 -0700

Pleats are tricky creatures, little bits of design that are hard to construct and even trickier to maintain. The pleat is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference. In other words, a pleat is a lot of work and requires plenty of fabric. So why is it that we discovered a profusion of cheap pleats after being turned on to a particular Old Navy sateen pleated skirt thanks to community member Stained Couture. The concept just doens't make sense. Economizing fabric keeps prices down for the fast fashion retailers so why on earth would they choose to construct a garment that requires an excess of fabric? Lord knows cheap fabric isn't going to hold a pleat especially well and we don't even want to get into just how the arrived at the delightful little tucks via some crazy CAD pattern making creation. And yet there they are in a tidy row at retailers from Forever 21 to Old Navy just begging us to add a little kick to down and out wardrobes. We have enough trouble keeping the pleats in our Miu Miu school girl skirt looking crisp and fresh and the damn thing was made by artisans in Italy with only the finest textiles. We can't even imagine the wrinkling, unraveling, and potential disasters that could be involved in cheaply stapled pleats. And yet somehow we want to pair these with our long tanks and giggly insouciantly, yes of course we deliberately bought the cheap versions just think how they will deconstruct so artfully!

Victoria Skirt Item#: 153324 - $34.50	Printed Swing Skirt - $15.80
Silky Floral Bubble Skirt - $19.80	Women's Pleated Satin Skirts - $29.50
Pleated Twill Skirt W/ Belt - $22.80	Women's Pleated Twill Skirts - $26.50
Women's Floral Satin Pleated Skirt - $32.50

Island Life

coutorture — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:30:05 -0700

An original photo editorial by Coutorture.com. Photographer Robert Malmberg, Hair & Makeup Timothy Fischetti, Model Coleen Burst from Red Model Management, Styling Maleeha Khan and Megan Zanke, Fashion Editors Julie Fredrickson and Megan Zanke, Clothing Dolce & Gabbana and Marc by Marc Jacobs (courtesy of eLuxury), Jets by Jessica Allen swimwear, Salt Swimwear, Old Navy swimwear, Rebecca Minkoff and Andrea Brueckner handbags.

Old Navy's Crowd Pleaser

coutorture — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:40:16 -0700

We realize we peddle some fairly expensive stuff on Coutorture but style isn't just about the price tag. Discovering when store has good merchandising is the greatest talent of a good market editor. Thankfully our small staff doesn't have to keep on top of everything by ourselves. Community member Chic and Untroubled has tapped into Old Navy's unexpectedly impressive accessory design with a feature on their summer sandals. And indeed we are impressed with the combination of design and price. Half the time lower priced retailers simply rely on bad facsimiles to sell their wears (Steve Madden we are looking at you). From metallic slides to strappy gladiators with a flat peep-toe espadrille thrown in for good measure, Old Navy manages to give us styles we like without feeling like an overt copy cat. And better yet, the footwear fits into their cheap, simple and fun branding so their regular customers and market editors alike can both happy!

Women's Metallic Slides - $19.50	Women's Embellished Leather Sandals - $19.50
Women's Leather Gladiator Sandals - $19.50	Women's Ankle-Strap Gladiator Jelly Sandals - $19.50
Women's Peep-Toe Espadrille Sandals - $19.50	Women's Suede Toe-Strap Sandals - $19.50

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