Calico’s vintage sheer cobalt shirt dress and leopard belt and sold out Lotty Circle Shades, spotted at New York Fashion Week! Thanks to our awesome blog partners, Dylana Suarez and Christen Mitchell for rep’n Calico where it counts!

{Images of Christen via Style Spotting}

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

Here we are in Bryant Park on our first gorgeous winter day in Manhattan!

I’m wearing vintage trousers, cheetah print coat, and fur trim cardigan, with American Apparel cropped tee and Jeffrey Cambell Tick wedges…

My accessory du jour? Cody’s “Gold Pony” please+thankyou necklace–we actually sold this one right off my neck later that night!

John wears vintage fur coat, black Urban Outfitters skinnies, vintage shades, oversize H&M knit scarf, and Colen Haan driving gloves.

The first event on our agenda (and my personal fave of our three-day jaunt) was Evolving Influence, the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference, organized by Jennine Jacob Tamm from The Coveted.

Held at the Helen Mills theater, the IFB Conference was packed with stylish bloggers from all over! It was so much fun to mingle with friends and make new acquaintances in the Blogosphere! The day-long conference was broken up into four panel discussions spanning issues such as monetizing your blog, blog ethics, and the future of blogging. Each panel featured a different line-up of notable bloggers and industry professionals. It was really inspiring and interesting to hear from people who have built up their brands, grown thousands of followers, and launched entire careers based on blogging!

Snapped these pics of Cody, looking adorable at IFBcon!…

{Cody wears a vintage skirt as a strapless dress, vintage cropped tux jacket, and vintage ankle booties…}

…One of her UH-mazing necklaces, of course!…

…And her fave vintage pigeon handbag!}

Speaking of amazing people, Team Calico is a big fan of Tavi! Her lately controversial blog, StyleRookie, is smart, funny, and obviously all the rage. When she arrived at IFBcon, folks crowded around, snapping pics like there was no tomorrow. (See below. I was one of those people…)

Tavi is the blogger’s Mick Jagger.

Cody loves Tavi. Here is the blurry evidence of their IFBcon meeting.

This was the final panel, and our fave, because it had two of our fave’s–Tavi and SusieBubble–as well as NEW fave’s, Phil from StreetPeeper, BryanBoy, and the girls behind Fashionista.com!

Loooove this IFBcon attendee‘s look! Especially the SHOES! She told us she found these to-die-for vintage platforms on MarketPublique!

After the panel discussions, there was a fabulous cocktail party, compliments of Couturious! I wish I had taken a pic of the SERIOUS spread they laid out, complete with wine! It was amazing! We all mingled and took pics and had a grand time.

Rad BlackBerry shot of Amy Lynn Chase of PunkyStyle with Jeninne of The Coveted

BOSTON BLOGGERS REPRESENT! Amy Lynn of PunkyStyle, Cassie from MySecretBoston, and Lei Ann of Give Me Platforms

Cute peeps. LOVED this girl’s fur trim coat!

Stay tuned to the blog this week, because more New York Fashion Week coverage from me, Bisi, Cody, and John is coming up!

Also, it’s time to announce the WINNER of our Frozen Peas necklace giveaway!

danielleruckus // Feb 8, 2010 at 7:19 pm

oh snap! I was eyeing this at the Selah D’or trunk show!

my fave animal is an okapi.

http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/pix/sdz2/Okapi-m.jpg

yes, it is real…and it rules.

Thank you for entering, Danielle, and for having THE WEIRDEST favorite animal we’ve ever heard of!

Our next giveaway will be via Twitter, where we’ll give away one of Cody’s please+thankyou necklaces! Keep your eyes peeled!…

xoxo,
Elissa

John and I attended our first ever Fashion Week this past Fall. We had tons of fun tent-lurking, celeb-spotting, and gallery-hopping with our friend, Tom Bob.

John and I, being VIPs at a fashion presentation. John’s wearing a vintage Christian Dior shirt, vintage double-breasted blazer, American Apparel skinnies, and vintage Bostonian oxfords. I’m wearing one of my fave dresses–a one shoulder, accordion pleat mini from Rojas–and Jeffrey Campbell platforms.

Didn’t care for the designer’s line, but did love the free cocktails and how the bar lit up when you touched it… I think the bar was actually called “Touch…”

Our gracious host, Tom Bob

T.B. knows how to treat a tourist RIGHT. John and I outside the Seinfeld diner

Fave looks at The Deitch

Artz

A fab costume designer we met at the tents! John wears vintage jodhpurs and jacket, 80′s shades, and vintage oxfords.

So fly

Me, in my sensible Keds, on the High Line with T.B. With vintage
“bling print” skinny jeans, AA tee, vintage leather jacket, and 80′s Capezzio hobo bag.

This time, John has secured us press passes, and we’ll hopefully be able to see Phillip Lim and Anna Sui–among others! We’re also planning to attend Evolving Influence, the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference, take TONS of street style pics, get merchandising and visuals inspiration for our new storefront with Heir Antiques, and possibly hit up the MOMA, if we have time!

New York is always so inspiring! Cody and I strolled Fifth Avenue last March to get inspiration for our spring windows. Unparalleled fabulousity.

Cody outside Louis Vuitton

Moth/Butterfly-themed windows: I think these were at Bergdorf’s

Fendi. I die.

We’ll be headed out Sunday night! Follow @shopcalico on Twitter for tons of behind-the-scenes tweets! Unfortunately, we’ll be without a laptop–but will try to update the blog during our trip, if possible. Anyway, rest assured that we’ll be back with tons of pics and inspiration for our up-coming webshop, storefront with Heir, and more! It’s going to be the best spring EVER!

xoxo,
Elissa

P.S. Our dNB storefront will be CLOSED Monday and Tuesday, and OPEN Wednesday 12-4. Our regular winter hours (Mon-Sat 12-5, Sun 12-4) will resume Thursday, February 18.

RIP, Alexander Mcqueen. And Thanks.

Elissa

{Images of McQueen’s Spring 2008 and Spring 2010 runway shows via Style.com}

Just returned from a rainy, but fabulous, three days at New York Fashion Week!

I wore variations of this look for our entire trip – definitely the most bad weather-friendly ensemble I packed! Oversize American Apparel tee, vintage 80′s “bling print” jeans, vintage Wilson’s leather jacket, and stacked Jeffrey Campbell heels. (Psst! I stashed sensibly flat Keds in my purse!)

I was joined by Calico’s talented styling assistant, John Alves, to brave the downpours, lurk the tents, and mingle with the most fashion-forward people in the world.  John’s look, only partially-visible here, consists of vintage jodhpurs, a black fitted tee, a tailored tweed riding jacket, and vintage sunnies.

As soon as we arrived at Bryant Park, we knew we were doing okay, because the above fashionista’s asked to take OUR picture!

In addition to providing cigarettes and looking awesome, Johnny also scored us tickets to The Academy of Art’s runway show, where he goes to school for fashion merchandising.

While waiting in line for the show, I spotted a really cute girl, texting on her Blackberry. When I asked to take her pic, I realized it was none other than The Stylish Wanderer – one of our favorite blogs! She was rocking the most amazing ensemble – a  cranberry-colored catsuit paired with a matching vintage 40′s man’s robe, dangly amber necklace, and giant platform heels!

The Academy of Art Runway Show was pretty awesome! It was my first REAL runway show and so exciting! The runway actually GLOWED, the models were GIANT, and the shoes – INSANE!

This was my first NY Fashion Week, and I can’t WAIT to attend another! Feeling so inspired by all the amazing style we saw and awesome people we met!

xoxo,
Elissa