Girls Night Out at Balliet’s
Gather round, ladies, you won’t want to miss this. It’s Girls Night Out at Balliet’s, 50 Penn Place.
The event is from 6 to 9 tonight with tax-free shopping, plus 10 percent off cosmetics and fragrance. This is the biggest discount Balliet’s has ever offered on cosmetics.
What’s more, you can get a little face time with national makeup artists from Laura Mericer and Trish McEvoy. Jason Hoffman with Shu Uemura also will be there. And you definitely will want to check out Bobbi Brown’s new holiday collection, the Milly trunk show and the Gurhan jewelry trunk show.
Oh, and did we mention the free martini bar, wine tasting, drawing for a $500 gift certificate and live music?
Oprah’s favorite jeans
Oprah's favorite jeans -- CJ by Cookie Johnson
Come on, admit it. Most of us like to learn about Oprah’s “favorite things.” Remember when she raved about Gap jeans? Well, she has a new favorite. I came across this item on shoppingblog.com.
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As part of her favorite things episode, Oprah modeled her new favorite jeans, which are made by Magic Johnson’s wife, Cookie Johnson. Oprah happened on the jeans during a cover shoot for O, The Oprah Magazine. Oprah calls them: ”The perfect jeans for real women with real booties. For three days straight, I had on the jeans.”
Oprah says she’s a hard-core pajama girl, but she actually wore the jeans during a five-hour flight, because they were so comfortable.
UCO students to present fashion show
University of Central Oklahoma fashion marketing students will present a free fashion show that offers a glimpse into the culture and traditions of Turkey.
“Peace at Home, Peace in the World, Living the Moto” is part of the UCO Passport to Turkey program. The show, commentated by Norman designer Kayne Gillaspie, will be at 2 p.m. Oct. 28 on the second floor of the Nigh University Center at UCO.
The fashion show will emphasize the cultural and contemporary dress of Turkey along with American fashion with Turkey influence.
The Fashion Advertising and Promotion students host two fashion shows every fall designed to increase their knowledge and experience for their future careers in fashion marketing. This semester, the students have dedicated much of their time to the Passport to Turkey and Spring Creek Peacock Walk benefit fashion show, held earlier this month.
“This show is a wonderful opportunity for UCO students and other guests to explore fashion from other countries. It also provides my students firsthand experience with production and promotion of a fashion show. We are fortunate to work with a designer, Kayne Gillespie, from right here in Oklahoma, Flash Modeling Agency of Oklahoma City as well as numerous businesses and organizations in the metro area. I am very proud of these students and their efforts in producing a show of this nature,” said Dr. Susan Miller, UCO fashion marketing professor.
Olsens set to launch junior line at Penney’s
- Ashley, left, and Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at it again. Women’s Wear Daily reported the designing duo has signed a deal with J.C. Penney to launch Olsenboye, a junior brand that will be exclusive to the chain.
The collection will land in 600 Penney’s stores in February, according to the story in WWD. But the company aims to jumpstart interest among teens well before the launch. Beginning Nov. 6, Olsenboye will be available on jcp.com for a limited time. A teaser video also can be seen on olsenboye.com
Direct-mail pieces and televison and magazine ads will herald the full launch in the spring, along with an interactive digital campaign on jcp.com, Penney’s teen Facebook page and Twitter.
What a lot of effort for a junior line. But Penney’s is trying to modernize its image by going after the teen and contemporary customer and offering something new and different. At the same time, the chain is ditching labels not relevant to its new image.
Among its consumer base, “the propensity for trying and adapting new brands is terrific,” said Liz Sweney, Penney’s executive vice president and general merchandise manager of women’s. “We are stepping up our style to attract a younger customer” with such recent launches as Bisou Bisou, I [Heart] Ronson, Allen B., Oxford & Regent and Twelfth of Eleven, all contemporary lines done in collaboration with designers and brands.
In October, Penney’s launched its first contemporary label, called she said, created by its own design team. Along with junior brands Arizona and Decree, the retailer also still sells more traditional lines geared to a more mature crowd, such as Worthington, and has just signed a deal with Liz Claiborne Inc. to be the exclusive retailer for the Liz Claiborne line.
“We love our older customer, as well,” Sweney said in the WWD story.
Olsenboye, which is the Olsens’ ancestral name, is a casual sportswear and accessories collection that includes denim, bottoms, tops, dresses, skirts, shorts, jackets, handbags and shoes with prices ranging from $20 to $50.
“It’s very fun, fashion driven, trendy and wholesome at the same time,” Sweney said.
While it’s got the Olsens’ spirit, it’s not limited to their size, ranging from sizes 0 to 15. “It’s really important that Olsenboye serves lots of girls,” Sweney said. “It’s not just about girls size zero or one.”
The future of fashion …
Ashley Olsen, Washington Post reporter Robin Givhan and designer Isaac Mizrahi were on a panel that tackled a tricky subject – the future of fashion. Here’s the story from the Huffington Post. It’s an interesting read. Let me know what you think.
Here comes the bride
Brides-to-be planning their spring and summer weddings may be interested in what bridal trends emerged during Bridal Fashion Week in New York. Here’s a hint: diamonds, tulle and Jackie O.
More Halloween glam ideas
In my column in today’s Life section, I wrote about going glam on Halloween with ideas on how to look like Barbie, Marilyn Monroe or Joan of Arc. Here are more suggestions from celebrity makeup artist Brett Freedman, who has touched the faces of Reba McEntire and Jessica Biel.
TWIGGY and her pop-art eyes
Take a near-white silver shimmer eye shadow and apply boldly to lid and brow bone. Use a liquid liner on top and bottom, extending on the outer corners horizontally (toward the mid ear, not the temple). Apply false lashes to top and bottom lash lines. Steer clear of blush and go for a very pale, fleshy lipstick or gloss.
Costume: Pair with a short cropped coif, mini printed shift dress and white boots made for walkin’.
JOAN JETT and her smoky eyes
It’s all about the eyes. Too much is never enough. There will be little other make up so it’s best to get your pow from really working your black eyeliner. Apply base as usual. Use a very neutral lip – clear gloss is best. Blush should be a fleshy, barely there pink. Using a soft black eyeliner, fill in your lid and under eye in quick strokes.
Don’t worry about getting it smooth and perfect because (in true rocker style) you’re gonna smudge and blend with your finger. Curl your lashes and apply multiple layers of blue-black mascara (try L’Oreal Voluminous). Once mascara dries, take a small dab of clear lip gloss and rub into lid and lash line. This will give the liner a wet, naughty look. Rock on!
Costume: Pair with a cropped motorcycle jacket, white tank, skinny jeans and boots … and an air guitar if you’re feeling festive.
Gucci family … in the movies
Angelina Jolie ... is a Gucci in her future? AP PHOTO
Here’s an interesting tidbit I found online. It seems Ridley Scott is determined that Angelina Jolie play the lead in his upcoming film about the murder, mahem and extravagant living of the Gucci family dynasty during the 1970s and ’80s, according to watcherswatch.com.
Jolie would play Patrizia Gucci, who was sentenced to 29 years in jail for plotting the murder of her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci.
The Gucci family lived a good and glamorous life in the ’70s and ’80s, reportedly selling $500 million in product annually. The clan quarreled over who would lead until Maurizio, the grandson of founder Guccio Gucci, came out on top of a power struggle to run the family business.
Just when he was about to reestablish the brand name by debuting a line designed by newcomer–and now film director–Tom Ford, Maurizio was gunned down in front of his Milan apartment in 1995, according to watcherswatch.com.
Word is that Scott has approached Leonardo DiCaprio to play Maurizio, but he has yet to commit.
There seems to be plenty of juicy material to work with — no matter who plays the key parts.
Nicole Richie launching new women’s collection
Nicole Richie
Is there a celebrity in the America who isn’t jumping into the fashion or fragrance business?
Here’s the latest from Women’s Wear Daily about Nicole Richie, who is launching Winter Kate, her new contemporay women’s clothing line.
LOS ANGELES — Nicole Richie has a new baby and a new contemporary women’s clothing line.
The label, Winter Kate, which will debut in spring, expands a fashion business that already includes the accessories line House of Harlow 1960 and a maternity collection, Nicole for A Pea in the Pod.
The 37-piece Winter Kate line, which takes her daughter Harlow’s two middle names, will hit stores such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ron Herman, Intermix and Kitson, beginning in February.
“It feels as though I’ve always been working on this collection, but officially I started putting it together in early 2009,” said Richie, who is lying low at home after the birth last month of her son, Sparrow. “I’ve wanted to design a clothing collection for a very long time.”
Richie, who has become known for her eclectic bohemian style with a Sixties and Seventies flair, said she has torn fashion pages out of magazines for years and also draws inspiration from her favorite animals, including peacocks and other birds.
The line includes mostly tops, vests and bed jackets in colorful vintage-inspired silk, crepe and chiffon because these tops are a mainstay of Richie’s own wardrobe.
“I probably wear the same two pairs of jeans every day as the background to a fabulous top,” she said. “Bed jackets are a staple of my wardrobe because they are a gorgeous way to give jeans and a white T-shirt a completely different look.”
Also key for spring dressing are “definitely a beautiful, fun slip dress in a great print and also a leather jacket to turn the romantic day dress into an edgy night-out outfit,” Richie said.
Her collection includes long slip dresses, asymmetrical short dresses, tunics and a kimono-sleeved, maxidress, which are meant to be layered with vests in cotton macramé, suede or silk, or a shrunken leather jacket.
“I purposely made the slip dresses in both solids and prints,” Richie said. “Wear the prints by themselves or with a great vest or jacket and wear the solids as basics to an outfit with many layers.”
Priced from $35 wholesale for a camisole to $110 for a long kimono dress, and as much as $598 for the leather pieces, the line is positioned similarly to her accessory collection, which now includes shoes for spring.
“Fashion should be accessible,” Richie said. “That was my philosophy when designing House of Harlow 1960 and it remains my philosophy for Winter Kate.”
Both lines, she noted, are aimed at the same customer. “She is a woman like me: She does not look at labels; she knows how to mix and match. The pieces can be dressed up, made casual, but most importantly, they provide the wearer a means of self-expression and fun.”
Allyson’s Closet … shop the sale
