One of my fave looks of the night was Rachel McAdams.

A pretty standard concept, but I can’t resist! I love the fairytale princess silhouette, the messily up-swept hair, and the finishing touch of the chandelier earring. I also like this watercolor-y print, which is unusual for formal evening wear. I thought this dress walked the line between classic and current perfectly. Kinda safe? But what the hell.

I also loved Nicole Richie.

I thought she looked totally stunning, channeling the late 60’s/early 70’s glamor of Bianca Jagger or Bridget Bardot. The large, high bun was reminiscent of the voluminous falls and exaggerated beehives of that era.

She even did a a super-stylized, mod eye.

I thought Nicole carried off all these disco-era elements without looking at all costume-y. On the other hand, Her hubby, Joel Madden, on the other hand? Could take a few cues from Tom Ford.

Love his super-fitted suit. And close-shaven beard. So dapper! I wish there was a shot of his cuff links. Double-swoon.

On to the adorable Carey Mulligan.

I really want to like this look! Because it’s Prada, and this girl is so freaking cute!! I do love the embellishment on the front of this gown–it’s encrusted in tiny charms of scissors, corkscrews, and forks! But Carey, this hemline is just not working on you, babe! You need to take some of those darling, miniature scissors and chop it off about four inches above the knee! Poof!–It’s suddenly a smashing party frock! Oh, if only…

Kathryn Bigelow

How unfortunate! This gorgeous woman was the first female EVER to win the Oscar for Best Director. And she accepted her prestigious, historic award in this matronly snooze-fest of a gown.  It somehow joins the equally gag-inducing fashion poles of mother-of-the-bride and prom discount rack. At least the fit is flattering, I guess–but the color, the non-existent neckline! And… is she wearing, like, a red. LiveStrong wristband??

Now it’s getting heavy.

What the hell happened to Charlize?

Who decided this bust was a go? And people! Who decided this at DIOR?? I am so confused by this whole thing; I have no further comment.

Finally, SJP.

Now, keep in mind, I am not a Sarah Jessica Parker fan by any means; in fact, I tend to bitterly correct people who gush over her fabulous style. (“No, Carrie Bradshaw has fabulous style. Patricia FIELD has fabulous style,” I inform them.) But I was actually really into this look for a hot minute. I like that Sarah’s red carpet ensemble is avant garde, non-traditional, and unexpected–not a “safe” choice at all. The length is perfect, the layered bracelets and chunky rings are dead on.

Look! She even has a Chanel temporary tattoo! (via FashionIndie.com)

But then I saw the back…

What the hell is going on below the bum?? It looks like she accidentally sat on a 70’s disco applique! I hate to tell you, but this is Chanel Couture.

I know. That was upsetting. Here’s Tom Ford again:

xo,
Elissa

As soon as I got my pass, I headed straight for the tents with my buddy, Leila, and we dashed to make it to the Twinkle by Wenlan show at the Promenade.

I had received an invite to the show, but was bummed to hear we only had standing room once we arrived. My favorite part of Twinkle was when I was bumped from standing room to an actual seat–in the second row!! I was ecstatic and it allowed me to snap some great shots of the runway with my Blackberry!

I liked the ultra-wearable chunky knits and military-inspiration in this collection

Elissa found these these shots of the Twinkle make-up and nail design at All Lacqured Up –We love the smokey coal hued eyes and satin nail polish for fall 2010–what a great update on the matte trend!

Right after the Twinkle show, we hit up Irina Shabayeva, the season six winner of Project Runway. It was really tough to get good shots of this show, as the lighting made everything blown out, but here are my faves via the MBFW website:

Loving the strong shoulders, intricate cut-outs, and exotic feathers from this collection

I also got the best swag bag ever, which came with lipgloss and tupperware–SCORE! LOL

xx,
John

“This is where Madonna gets the paper in Desperately Seeking Susan,” he says. “She picks up three papers, throws two down, goes in the store and sells her jacket.”

I mean, how many times has he seen that movie???

Anyway, on Wednesday, went went site-seeing and gallery-hopping. Tom Bob is an accomplished painter and connoisseur of art, in general. I really love his small works on paper:

From Tom Bob’s series Anewmals

We made a quick jaunt from T.B.’s apartment on the upper west side, across a snowy Central Park, to The Met. I hadn’t been in years, and it was great to see the Sargents, Pollocks–everything!

Cody poses with a Cody-like John Singer Sargent

Foreground: John and Cody look at ‘Continuous Mile,’ a mile of hand-beaded rope by artist, Liza Lou. Background: Damien Hirst’s ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’

Detail of Liza Lou’s beaded rope: Crazy, right? LOVE this piece.

The next stop was the Damien Hirst exhibit at Gagosian. You’re not supposed to take pictures, but I snuck this one with my Blackberry:

I pretended I was texting, but the guard was on to me. He firmly instructed me to cease and desist, and I sulked away, guilty.

I wish I would’ve snapped one of the butterfly mandalas and “stained glass” instead–those are my favorites, after the creepy dead things, of course! This particular exhibition featured a real, severed bull’s head preserved in formaldehyde. Kinda terrible, kinda peaceful, kinda funny (its tongue was sticking out slightly, mockingly.) Classic Hirst.

Next, we headed to the meat-packing district, to check out an art show by LA-based “street artist,” Mr. Brainwash.

Installed in a phenomenal and gigantic warehouse space with two floors, the Warhol-esk paintings, sculptures, and prints were flanked with posh Design Within Reach-style modern furniture. (Particularly awesome, when you’ve been trolling Manhattan, trying to keep up with Tom “The Fastest Walker” Bob all day!)

The work is controversial due to its contrived style and subject matter. Tom Bob maintains that this is an intentional joke, and I’d tend to agree. Whether literal art or not, the show, entitled Icons, is captivating because of it’s pop-y familiarity and inclusion of all your favorites: silkscreened and paint-splattered prints of Madonna, Tom Ford, Galliano, Basquiat, and Kate Moss hang in a grid-like pattern on brightly-primed walls.

We had a fun time picking our our faves and identifying the more obscure icons of the pack.

“Who’s that, Teeb? William Burroughs?”

“No, that’s Norman Rockwell!”

T.B. Cody & me

I knew nothing about the artist, beforehand, and he was impressively friendly and delightfully French (being a mono-lingual American, I love anything with an accent!)

After scoring some signed posters, which the artist assured us we could sell on eBay with his blessing (“I don’t mind: You get what you need,” he told us. “You need art, you get art. You need a car, you get money.”) we ventured back out into the streets, where this fab window sucked me into the Moschino store:

The lovely girls at Moschino allowed us to snap a couple pics of me wearing this amazing bedazzled-as-fuck leather jacket. Only like 2,500 money-bills. No big whoop. Totes, I almost bought it!

Baubles and mirrors and studs–Oh my!

Our final destination in the meat-packing district was the Alexander McQueen store. We just wanted to, like, pay our respects, or whatever. When we walked in the door, the over-powering scent of several sprays of slightly-wilted lilies made me instantly tear up.

Memorial outside the McQueen boutique

When I posted about McQueen’s death a couple weeks ago, I titled the entry “RIP McQueen,” but I’ve noticed Betsey Johnson and others declaring “Long Live Mcqueen” and I like that sentiment better.

xoxo,
Elissa

This older, borderline-dowdy, Marc Jacobs girl is like a grown-up Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, walking the runway to the tune of Over The Rainbow. But while obviously geared toward a more mature market, the collection still gives a nod to his usual vintage-y gamine: flat maryjanes, girlish anklets, and nerdy glasses are used in almost every outfit.

Though some of the midi-length skirts and baglike sweaters included in this collection may be downright unwearable for non-runway-models, many looks are actually quite achievable for those under six feet–and most are a timeless wardrobe investment.

Like this phenomenal cocoon coat. Okay, it’s white, and that’s debatably “timeless” for some of the clumsier among us. Still, gotta love that 20’s dropwaist and the asymmetric fur collar.

And this three piece suit. Every woman NEEDS one. Is this on the Tim Gunn Guide to Style or what?

Ultra-glamorous 30’s-style gown. Epic. With maryjanes and.. anklets, it looks like? ADORE!

Can we talk about over-the-elbows gloves? I think these are leather.

Okay, I just picked this one, because the model has my haircut. But, no, I love the kinda librarian chicness goin’ on.

So cute! Classic! Fur shrug is just the right amount of shoulder-y. And again the glove is killing me.

xo,
Elissa

We met up with the lovely Amy of Every Little Counts for some delish Thai food and drinks at Peep in Soho.

Amy of Every Little Counts with Cody & John

Spotted this girl in the subway, sporting a super-cute look!…

LOVING this cropped vintage fur and teeny structured purse!

To-die-for over-the-knee’s!

Then, John took us out clubbin’

Love John’s rhinestone-studded vintage bowtie!

xo,
Elissa

The dress is Lanvin, and the flower/star shapes and little scottie dog are cut & folded paper! LOVE IT.

Very inspiring!

xo,
Elissa

xo,
Elissa

At Tom Bob’s, getting ready…

Above: I’m wearing AA neon two-tone tights and long sleeve bandage dress with TONS of layers and vintage over-the-knee boots from Henri Bendel. Elissa is wearing a vintage cheetah print coat, circle scarf from our IFBcon swag bags, and Via Spiga boots.

Below: Sporting my fave Fendi bag that I got at a yardsale for 50 cents. And Elissa rocking her fake Chanel backpack–perfect for toting business cards, lipstick, and her big-ass Canon Rebel.

After some two hours of planning our strategically layered, snow-ready outfits, we stepped outside–to be nothing short of horrified.

Snow blowing in our faces, sliding on the slippery streets, and with no confirmed destination, we barely made it a block! We desperately sought shelter, deciding to regroup at a Dunkin’ Donuts. (Yes , it was that bad–our safe haven was D&D. Eew.)

Elissa, never missing the opportunity for some accessory/product shots.

Good thing it’s not real!

After some much-needed coffee and Twitter research, we decided to suck it up and hit the subway. We headed to the tents to check out a blogger tweet-up at that AmEx skybox lounge!

At the tents. A bit overwhelming. But in a good way! Fashion energy hanging heavy in the air.

After mingling with some bloggers in the skybox, we ended up weaseling our way into the Thuy show. (I just knew we would be rewarded!) Three standing room passes, given to us with a friendly, “It’s your lucky day.”

The tent was totally packed, but Elissa and I managed to perch on a railing way in back, and she snapped these really great pictures. While they weren’t taken front row (next time!) I enjoy their voyeuristic quality, peeking over everyone’s heads, from the back-back row!

I was so excited to see my first show at the tents–and an awesome one, at that! We all agreed the hair (powdered-dry, long, and straight) and make-up (minimal face with a red lip) was totally gorgeous. I loved all the mixed patterns and textures and jewel-toned draping paired with more structured neutrals. And, always a sucker for layering, I was really into the belted looks, fur accessories and the overall street-ready chicness of this collection.

Stay tuned for John’s and Bisi’s coverage of New York Fashion Week coming to the blog this week!

xo,
Cody

From New Bedford Open Studios, Fall 2009.

-E

We loved our downcity Providence pop-up shop, and we cannot wait to be back in town–this time at our PERMANENT new home at 231 Westminster with Heir Antiques! The new location is scheduled to open in early-mid March. We’ll keep you posted on the exact opening date!

xoxo,
Elissa