coutorture --

DVF X Bloggers

coutorture — Tue, 27 May 2008 06:50:23 -0700

The streetwear symbol for collaboration involves combining two names with an "x" as a signifier that two brands joined forces for a creative project. Often it is the collaborations that bring out the best from each side, highlighting the strengths of the players while creating something that is greater than the sum of its parts. It is the "x" factor of unique teams coming together to do something great. It is this spirit of collaboration that inspired us to host a photo shoot with iconic womenswear line Diane Von Furstenberg and the Coutorture community.

Thus it seems fitting that we call the Coutorture community's collaborative photoshoot with Diane Von Furstenberg DVF x Bloggers. After an agonizing process of slimming the potential list of collaborating blogs to ten (though we shot eleven as our intern Maleeha The Shoptometrist got in on the fun) we brought Shopalicious, Fops and Dandies, The Shoptometrist, See Pretty Things, Clothes-Pin, Eyeshadow Government, The Daily Obsession, SheFinds, The Fashion Bomb, The ShoeBlog, and Fashion Indie.

Ten bloggers arrived at Diane Von Furstenberg's 14th Street Meatpacking District store to discover a full crew of professional photographers, models, makeup artists, hair stylists, sales women, publicists, creative directors, and a few interactive agency types from Morpheus Media (the collaboration may have been our idea but Morpheus helped bring it to fruition) ready to help the bloggers play.

And play we did as bloggers dressed, styled, and modeled (and ate and drank) to their hearts content. Every blogger looked fabulous in the diverse number of outfits their educated fashion minds gravitated towards. It was a true testament to the project's aim, to bring the personality of the bloggers to DVF and the integrity (and, we must say, wearability) of the brand to the bloggers.

We hope you will enjoy the results and take the time to peruse the many galleries, write ups, links and Shopstyle Spreads we will be posting through out the next few days to help celebrate this phenomenal creative collaboration.

The Daily Obsession X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:12:36 -0700

The Daily Obsession had one word for our Bloggers X DVF shoot:aaamazing!

Franky we think the Daily Obsession is pretty amazing themselves. Carolyn, the group blog's author, has been an exceptional community member within Coutorture. She and her co-authors helped host a Blog Talk Radio session on teamblogging with us just a few weeks ago. And her community spirit showed right through at the event as she cheered other bloggers on, helped people pick clothing, and even teamed up with The Shoeblog for a two blogger photo! She is a blogger that makes us proud to do what do we do.

It was definitely one of the most unique events I've ever been to and made us bloggers feel really involved and appreciated in the fashion community. Everyone was so professional and friendly and it was really amazing how much effort went into the evening.

As for the clothing- can DVF do any wrong?? Every item that everyone put on looked fantastic! Sometimes when I think I can't wear bright colors or prints, I go to DVF and let her prove me wrong. She truly designs for every woman.

SheFinds X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:55:10 -0700

We noticed the dress when we first walked in and SheFinds, being the fashion savvy gal she is, picked it up straight away. The DVF Extravaganza Dress in Guava and Canary is 100% silk organza and one hell of a head-turner. Paired with gold sandals or stacked platforms, this could easily be the summer dress you live in during those hot months. SheFinds obviously loved wearing the frock, she said, "I must have been the only one by that point in the evening to put on such a glamorous gown because everyone was ooohing and ahhhing. The photographer even came up to me between shots to tell me how beautiful I looked and that he couldn't wait to photograph me in the dress.". To which we say, you go girl. SheFinds is a fashion blog known for its accessible but informed voice which provides ecommerce spreads, celebrity commentary, trend reports, and news roundups. The gals who run the site are lovely which is probably why it's such a treat to read, these things do translate, and gorgeous frocks and photo shoots are just icing on the cake.

Eyeshadow Government X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:32:25 -0700

We are suckers for a good pun and Eyeshadow Government is one of our favorites. The silver tongued blogger has golden taste as she put her model in two sunny options that are as far from secret shadow government as possible! In fact, we would say that this Diane von Furstenberg Zacharie crochet dress is downright attention grabbing! Which might explain why our demure blogger felt a little more comfortable having it modeled but we say next time we hope to see our girl come out from behind her cover. But she doesn't call herself Eye "shadow" for nothing! Even though she is secretive she did give us a quote about her experiences.

Diane von Furstenberg is such an inspirational, iconic New York designer.Her springy color palettes looked great on all the bloggers and models at the shoot. Her dresses are made to bring metropolitan glamour to every woman who wears her clothing.

The Fashion Bomb X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:05:42 -0700

When our network partner, The Fashion Bomb, walked out of the dressing room to be shot in her first of two outfits, jaws dropped. The print and silhouette of her chosen dress and her confidence transformed her into a vision of fabulous unrivaled at the shoot. She so clearly knows a thing or two about fashion as she went straight for a frock that suited her perfectly (an eye for what works is a very important thing). Her blog is also a reflection of her fashion qualifications. On it she examines fashion from an urban context (her slogan, "All Urban Fashion...All The Time") while paying attention to style icons in the media, print ads and magazine covers she finds noteworthy, and also current season clothing at contemporary price points. Her blog is an encapsulation of what it means to be young and intelligent and somewhat obsessed with clothing and it's truly a pleasure to read.

Check out The Fashion Bomb's two great outfits, both with sophisticated a-symmetrical cuts and body skimming silhouettes. She said, of the event, "I'm a huge fan of Diane von Furstenberg so this shoot was a special treat! Though I'm typically devoted to her wrap dresses, I decided to get a bit adventurous and try out her one shoulder styles. Surprisingly the cut was supremely flattering, and the fit? Perfect. I was in love!" For more of The Fashion Bomb's DVF style check out our spread of similar (and also downright amazing) DVF offerings including the Societies One Shoulder Silk Dress with vibrant print and Per Se Black Patent Shoes, otherwise known as the perfect black heels.

See Pretty Things X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:13:54 -0700

If you get something right the first why bother to try again? That is the attitude Kimmie of See Pretty Things took with her shoot at our DVF X Bloggers event. She found a the perfect dress and instead of trying on outfit after outfit, or even shoot another nearly perfect outfit, she stuck with her one perfect gown.

But it wasn't just about the clothing for Kimmie:"It was absolutely amazing from the time we walked in until the time we left and it felt a bit dream like. The two things that stick out in my mind was how much fun it was to hang out with the other bloggers and getting to know them. Second, it was really nice to see the entire staff getting involved by assisting with outfits and even doing some styling to make each shot tell a story. Both of these made it memorable and a nice way to spend an evening."

And while the stunning animal print maxi dress isn't available online we found a few full length options that can help you take it to the max just like Kimmie.

Shopaliscious X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:59:11 -0700

Nothing is cuter than a bashful blogger, particularly when they have nothing to be bashful about. Shopalicious is a talented blogger with a beautifully designed site so naturally we find it endearing that she was nervous about our event.

Diane von Furstenberg just happens to be one of my absolute favorite designers -- but I was filled with trepidation nonetheless! What to wear? Would I trip and fall? What if I got there and couldn't decide what outfits to pick?

Clearly she had no trouble at all once she got started! She told the sales women that orange was one of her favorite colors and promptly pulled together a wardrobe of the sunny color. Our favorite was the extremely wearable Niue Wrap Dress. Another sign she didn't need to worry? Her second choice sold out on the DVF website within a day of her wearing it! Thankfully we were able to kind the Kiwana Maxi dress at another retailer.

The Shoptometrist X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:52:21 -0700

Shoptometrist isn't simply blogger to us, Maleeha is also Coutorture's intern! Over the past 6 months she has pulled and returned about as much many dresses, shoes, and accessories as our crowd of 11 bloggers pulled off the racks at Diane Von Furstenberg for our shoot! OK she has probably pulled a lot more even though eleven women trying on a million outfits is a lot of fashion. That experience has paid off as Maleeha has a keen eye for styling. Some of our best styling ideas, like the Ace-Bandage top from our Brace Yourself shoot has come from input from Maleeha.

She was a little nervous at first about getting dressed and in front of the camera. But once she got into the Tuvallu Dress in Zig-Zag Jungle Lime we think she started to feel better! But you don't have to take our word for it as she has blogged about the entire shoot herself already.

The ShoeBlog X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:35:09 -0700

A girl can never have too many shoes and trust us we tested that premise with The Shoe Blog at our DVF X Bloggers shoot. In fact you could say we went downright overboard. While Shoeblog's JitterbugBaby was content to pose Diane von Furstenberg Shoes Milano Suede Ballet Flats in Teal Coutorture and the DVF staff had other ideas. Pair after pair of sandal, pump, wedge, and flat were pulled off the shelves and placed at the feet of our dear blogger. The Provence shoes in gold and pink were our personal favorites but with a pile that large one would be hard pressed not to find a pair to take home.

She had this to say about the event:

What a fantastic evening! I imagine a lot of us who now blog oh-so-passionately about fashion started out as little girls who loved playing dress-up. I know I did. And even though my taste has improved, there's still a basic, visceral thrill in putting on pretty clothes and shoes and jewelry that's really no different from how I felt as a kid.

The DvF staff were lovely and helpful and so welcoming, and the Coutorture gals were prepped and ready and made the whole thing run as smooth as Italian leather. A great time was had by all, as you can tell from all the smiling faces and beautiful, happy bloggers. I'm glad to have had the chance to connect some faces with the blogs I read regularly, and to hang out with my fellow fashionistas in some seriously delicious duds.

For More of Our DVF X Bloggers Shoot Click Here

Fops and Dandies X DVF

coutorture — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:34:13 -0700

Fashion really is all about the styling. Yet ironically fashion's iconic personalities and larger than life labels can often feel like the hardest to style. Indeed, Fops and Dandies original concern for our DVF x Bloggers shoot was that they would be unable to to let their complex layered style shine through because of the DVF popular prints. But Melissa and Lauren were able to easily collaborate on two outfits that were not only uniquely their own but incorporated DVF's signature prints and bright colors.

The clothes were, of course, very very beautiful. I was worried because Diane von Furstenberg is all about prints, which are hard to mix and match, but I think we were able to pull off two really great outfits (using only one print). They were both collaborative efforts, but the one on the left is mine, and the one in the right is Melissa's. That lilac wrap dress, which is the first thing I picked out, is even gauzier in person, and the rope trim almost visually "anchors" it so the fabric doesn't flutter away. I brought some accessories to make real outfits with, so you may recognize the metal headband from Mexico, my blue tights, and so on. They definitely helped personalize the ensembles to make the items feel less like other people's clothing and more like real wear. Like, if I had these items in my closet, this is how I'd wear it.

a href="http://www.coutorture.com/tags/dvf+x+bloggers">For More DVF X Bloggers Coverage

Fashion Indie X DVF

coutorture — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:56:41 -0700

Fashion Indie likes to break the rules. They are known for just being a little bit badly behaved and reveling in it when it comes to getting their voice heard. Sometimes we want to smack Daniel Saynt upside the head but we respect their taste when it comes to bringing together rule breaking styling. Combining the Bowenia Dress in Azalea and the Diane von Furstenberg Lunalilo Jacket is pretty daring at first blush. The combination of a pink cocktail frock with a blue hoodie-like jacket is just the sort of thing an independent minded Brooklyn girl would do. The outfit is of course quintessentially DVF even if you didn't quite expect it. And of course they just had to put their model in the most expensive dress of the evening the Alika Dress in Multi which just happens to be Look 39 from their Spring runway. The pricey frocks are what any self respecting girl playing dress up gravitate towards too. There is something to be said for rule breaking after all, at least when it comes to fashion.

For More Bloggers and DVF coverage

Clothes-Pin X DVF

coutorture — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:13:31 -0700

Clothes-Pin is known for her coverage of independent fashion labels that escape the notice of the mainstream press. Thus she was thrilled to experience a brand she called one of the founding indie labels in her post about the experience.

We personally loved her two choices of the Franz Dress in Rhombus All-Over Siren and the Cookie Dress. She clearly felt incredibly comfortable in both options as she strutted her stuff in front of the camera. She didn't even require any cheerleading from the sidelines. How is that for feeling good in what you wear?

Check out the rest of the collaborations here!