Michelle O marches into Manhattan

With her husband’s party facing an uphill battle in the here-before-you-know-it midterm elections, First Lady Michelle Obama could at least count on support among her fashionable base Monday evening.

Obama and her vice presidential counterpart Jill Biden jetted to New York for a cocktail-hour fund-raiser at Donna Karan’s Central Park West penthouse, where a host of New York designers, including Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Georgina Chapman, Nanette Lepore and Isaac Mizrahi, gathered to show their support.

The First Lady arrived shortly after 5 p.m. and was quickly hustled inside by Secret Service agents. Barricades and some preexisting scaffolding on the building’s facade ensured that onlookers would only get a side view of Obama on her way in. Those quick enough to catch a glimpse saw that the First Lady, now a veteran in such matters, wore a camel-colored coat over a dark dress — both by Donna Karan — with silver heels.

After the Karan-hosted cocktail party uptown, Obama was Broadway-bound. Sarah Jessica Parker, another design-friendly Democratic pal, was due to host a special performance by Patti LaBelle at the St. James Theater.

Guests who attended the evening’s Act I sung Obama’s praises as they headed back out into the fall chill.

“I think she is the perfect trifecta,” Kors said. “She is powerful, human and galvanizing.”

Nanette Lepore said that even though the encounter was short, it was well worth it. “It is so important to get the enthusiasm back to what we had two years ago when the President was elected,” Lepore said.

“She is gorgeous and smart,” said von Furstenberg, who dashed off early for another political event. “Unfortunately I had to leave before she spoke, because I had to support [Richard] Blumenthal, hopefully my future senator in Connecticut.”

The early goodbye was something of a theme on Monday night. Russell Simmons left about 20 minutes before Obama arrived. He had thought about sticking around to chat to the First Lady about well-being initiatives in schools, a topic he’s raised with her before.
http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/michelle-obamas-manhattan-moment-3342907?module=featured_stories

Fashion for Work: Chic Office Styles

Office Style with Lisa Finkelstein: Retro
Jewelry design director, J.Crew

Her splurge (of course) A J.Crew party dress.
Her tricks: Invest in a simple A-line dress — a clean canvas for your unique look. Snap up lots of fun, affordable baubles, like enamel pins, to pile upon neutral basics. Shop for steals in new color combos. Play up your femininity at work — you can look just as confident in ribbons as in pinstripes. Enhance casual-Friday jeans with budget-friendly accessories, like a vibrant blouse, crystal belt, and big jewels.

Also, emulate someone you admire, like the late socialite Nan Kempner, who wore the same fabulous clothes over and over again in different ways. Transform a dress from party-frilly to polished with a shrunken jacket in a cool fabric. Keep everything — the more to mix and match with!

Jacket, $298, dress, $225, cardigan, $110, brooch, $50, necklace, $150, bracelets, $25 to $85, J.Crew; jcrew.com. Shoes, $795, Valentino; neimanmarcus.com for stores.

What are your thoughts: Do you love skinny cargos or wish they would go away? Have you found a pair that fits and flatters?

Here’s a blog post by Sara Cornell of The Fashionable Housewife, that I found very interesting despite the fact that I honestly disagree with it:

Skinny Cargos are a fashion trend that I’m having a hard time embracing.  I have tried to love the taupe colors, experimented with different shades, tan hands and pale hands, and I still think that taupe nails make one look like they slammed their hand in a car door and ended up with bruises on their fingers.  In theory, skinny cargos should work.  Skinny jeans – love ‘em.  Cargo pants – a fun a functional part of any wardrobe.  But together…meh.  The problem with skinny cargos is that they combine two the the most feared fashion components of any woman’s wardrobe:  making your legs look short and heavy.

Readers: What do you think??

Ugg wants to excite us in the Fall

Ugg Australia, the sheepskin boots specialist, is diversifying into knitwear.

The company will launch a women’s and men’s knitwear collection for fall, available at Neiman Marcus, Ugg retail stores and through its Web site, uggaustralia.com.  This company is certainly on the rise:  last year, Ugg’s sales increased 35 percent to $100.2 million, from $74.4 million. 
Available any day now, UGG sweaters will come in a range of warm colors and fits. Although perfect for those preppy types heading to the cabin, these pieces are fit for anyone’s wardrobe.

Resort 2011 Trend:To the Maxi

After seasons of microminis, hems are dropping for resort and this Fall, too— with very cool maxidresses for day or night.   I am not sure if I am ready for this. . .

Maybelline New York The Falsies by Volum Express Mascara ($8, available in drugstores now)

I just read about Maybelline’s thrilling new mascara: The Falsies. After a month of testing it out every day, “Who, What, Wear” can tell you that this product is a serious game changer. The curved brush and Pro-Keratin fiber-enriched formula is told to be fantastic and give you tremendously full and long lashes—people keep asking if those are extensions! All in all, they say it’s so amazing and suggest you stock up too! (On a side note: if you can’t find it at your local store, it will be available on Maybelline’s website in the next couple of weeks, so check back soon.)

Australia Takes Breakthrough Strides to Promote Healthy Body Image

Throughout the history of a glamorous and exciting world called fashion, a dark cloud of negative body image has loomed.  Being thin has always been desirable in the industry, but the grunge period of the ’90s brought that to a new level when Kate Moss introduced “Heroin Chic”.  Suddenly we not only wanted to be thin, but would do so at any cost.  It is almost as if anorexia was not a disease, but a blessing.  Even after the death of a few models who gave their lives for fashion, designers still insisted on paper-thin girls.

In recent years, former model Tyra Banks made waves as she began to promote a healthier body image after being publicly scrutinized for her own weight gain.  Though some progress was made, the industry still seemed in great favor of the waif.  Several magazine covers were found to have digitally altered already thin women in an attempt to make them even thinner.  However, there was a breakthrough when Marc Jacobs recently presented a Louis Vuitton show utilizing more voluptuous models.  Still, nothing had really been official until now.

On June 27, 2010 the Australian Government announced new initiatives to promote a healthy body image among young girls.   The new initiatives will attempt to build young people’s resilience to negative body image pressures and promote leadership within the fashion, media and advertising industries.  Such strides being taken involve support of The Butterfly Foundation, which helps with troubling eating disorders and the creation of a “Body Image Friendly” symbol.

If other countries are able to learn from Australia’s great attempts, the fashion industry could soon become as beautiful on the inside as it is on the out.  It could change the world.

High Anticipation for June 24th Premier of “Giant” NYC Runw

Anyone who has ever picked up an issue of Vogue should be well aware that September means Fashion Week.  At a time when the entire fashion industry will be scurrying around the streets of the New York with mixed emotions of panic and excitement, the days counted before that magical catwalk extravaganza will fly by.

However, for those of us who simply cannot wait another moment for some runway treats, there is The Fashion Center Sidewalk Catwalk presented by LF USA.  From June 24th-September 3rd, this unique art exhibit will feature some of New York City’s greatest designers in the form of larger-than-life mannequins which will be displayed runway style down Broadway.

This exciting exhibit will serve as a reminder to all that New York City is really about one thing: Fashion!  While images have not yet been released, you can expect Betsey Johnson’s mannequin to parade about in bright, life-like florals.  This is one runway you will not want to miss!