Hi-Low Fashion Watch

W Magazine is reporting that Vera Wang is in talks with Kohl's and Slave to Target has the scoop on the next designer to grace Target's Go International Campaign -- Tara Jarmon.

Prada Skirts = Flowers

Wow. Skirts as flowers as art.

Diana Eng's Blog

For anyone who's interested in the collision between fashion and technology, Diana Eng is one to watch. Diana was the "geek" contestent on Project Runway, season 2, probably most famous for her inflatable dress.

She's got a show this weekend at the Maker Faire in San Mateo.

For those of you, like me, not in the Bay Area, I recommend keeping tabs on Diana via her blog, Popular Transit.

Presentation at Austin on Rails

I presented Dressr to my local Rails (some free software I'm using) user group last night. As I told the audience "I suspect I'm the only one here who reads both Wired and Vogue," so it was an interesting experience. Mainly, though, it was fun. Dressr is beginning to look like a real product -- I actually demoed building what I was wearing that night! I stuck around for a beer afterwards, and one of the organizers told me he'd try to hook me up with some of his female designer coworkers. I sure hope so -- I'm a good software developer, and I love clothes, but I am in desperate need of help making Dressr look spiffy.

Someone was taking pictures, so when they go up on Flickr I'll post!

Label Fixation

Susie Bubble's Style Bubble blog has some interesting commentary on the Hong Kong label fixation. It turns out that Monday, a Hong Kong lifestyle magazine, publishes brand specific supplements detailing every single item of a certain brand that you could wear. According to Susie, they do this without any advertising money from the brand itself (surely this couldn't be right?!?).

Susie says:
It's things like this that make me really cringe about Hong Kong fashion, which unfortunately largely revolves around how many labels you can carry around. Who cares about the design aesthetic or the beauty of a garment when you could be wearing a Burberry Blue Label nylon baugette with a Gucci wallet inside, a Vivienne Westwood phonechain on the latest Samsung, a Louis Vuitton makeup case, not forgetting the Burberry London glasses case as well!

Crazy. Why would you value your style based on what brand you wear? Why spend all the money just for a label, instead of for something that makes you look good?

Interview with CEO of BlueFly (on Papier Doll)

Over at Papier Doll there is an interview with Melissa Payner, CEO of BlueFly. BlueFly, if you don't know already, is the best sites for buying designer clothes at a discount -- 40% and up. A couple highlights from the interview:

As legend has it, there's a certain look you need to have when working at Vogue, does the same ring true for Bluefly?
No, not at all... everyone at Bluefly has their own distinctive style.

Do you think fashion sites have benefited from blogging – like Bluefly’s Flypaper?
Frankly, I'm not familiar with many retailers specifically that have blogs. Flypaper is a great way for our customers to be part of a like-minded community interested in the same things. Flypaper is actually much more than a blog – it offers trend predictions, celebrity style, fashion advice as well as being a great forum for readers and contributors to sound off.

We believe that shopping is largely emotional -driven and that any variety of emotions can trigger the shopping gene.

Bluefly obviously "gets it" -- people want their own look, on their own terms, at a good price. Community matters. Emotions matter.

"The Star Treatment"

Vogue this month has an article on personal stylists -- it turns out they're the new personal publicists. And unlike publicists, stylists are getting the limelight. Rachel Zoe, the stylist profiled in the article, styles Nicole Richie and is regularly featured on VH1. With this kind of exposure, stylists are trickling down to the indulgent mere-mortal level. I predict careers as stylists will take off; everyone will want to be one (if they don't already) even if everyone doesn't hire one -- the only question is "how do you become one?"

There's a couple of neat tricks to be picked up from the article:

identify your body type era -- 50s; 70s; etc.

layout outfits and polariod them (how very analog...)

cork platforms are more comfortable than heels

wide folds before tucking jeans into your boots.

Wouldn't it be cool if you could style outfits for yourself and your friends online?