F*** NFL, Let the Real Pre-Season Begin!

For those of you that bleed purple and gold, who are frequents at the Staples Center, or for those who love Kobe, Lamar, and Derek, the time has come! Lakers Pre-Season starts tonight with a two game series against in state competition the Golden State Warriors. Although the Warriors are already 1-0 this pre-season, the Lakers are undoubtedly favored with their all-star roster and home town advantage (I say home town instead of home court because the game is in Anaheim tonight).

Phil Jackson has stated that he expects Lamar to come off the bench while Kobe Bryant, Derek Fischer, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest to kick the game off. I think I speak for all Laker fans when I say how excited I am to see how Artest plays with our boys... and obviously to watch Kobe drop dimes on Golden State.

For those of you not attending the game, it will be broadcasted on AM Radio 710 for ESPN or you can watch it on KCAL HD.

Shake your ASR

This time last year, I was throwing parties for Quicksilver and Redbull at my old job... this year I was in the throws of the threads.  Saturday, 9/12, I attended the ASR Tradeshow at the Convention Center downtown as a buyer for Tobi Blatt clothing stores.  The tradeshow was reminiscent of POOL in Las Vegas with the variety of booths... small booth after small booth, and then a huge elaborately decorated room, and repeat.  In between all the hustle and bustle were a few landmarks... the Monster Lounge with free energy drinks and posh seating with flat screens and ambient tunes... the vintage motorcycle display, complete with a fully restored old Shelby mustang... the riot that was the Volcom booth, next to the homemade halfpipe, with a fully stocked bar and blaring Jimmy Buffet.  All this was what I nearly expected, until I made my way to the new Class@ASR.

Class@ASR is like the honor roll of the tradeshow.  "Embracing the CLASS@ASR concept are boutique labels that have potential to crossover into core action sports accounts, brands with surf, skate or snow roots designed for fashion forward consumers and higher end, limited edition lines from established action sports brands" says Surfshot.com.  All the newest, freshest, most hyped brands in the biz all in one large mysterious conference hall.  Each booth is shorter, smaller, and more uniform of those in the ASR hall, but the mood lighting, trance music, beer garden, sexy bar/lounge, and premiere selection made this the place to see, and be seen.  Notable booths were WeSC, Lightning Bolt, Raen Optics, and a slew of Australian fashion labels with that signature funky style typical of the Gold Coast.

Although I didn't get to spend as much time at the show as I would have liked, I got to experience the downtown night life outside of work on Friday night, and boy was it fun!! Bondi threw a huge party, as did Hard Rock and a few other places.  I went to new downtown hipster fave Voyeur for some electro beats and sweet drinks, and as usual had an amazing time.  It was not as crazy as the scene at Anthology last year, but that could be a good thing...

Some trends spotted at the ASR & Class@ASR shows were: corduroy, flannel (yes, still), stylish headphones (sorry Skull Candy, your old news... try AiAiAi, they were the cat's meow this year), distressed denim, motorcycle pants, teeny bikini's, and COLOR!  

Brights for all Seasons

Although summer is winding down, there are still ways for you who love your neons & brights to embrace the fall without giving up on those playful pieces.  

Check out Michelle Trachtenburg, in a plain black dress.  When I see black dress on the red carpet, I think safe, hence my gravitation toward those who spice up their look with bright accent pieces or lots of interesting jewelry.  In this case, the celebrity in question caught my attention with her bubblegum pink clutch.  This is why we buy bright, bold pieces people!  To be the focal point.  You don't want it to get lost in a sea of colors and patterns.  You want to downplay everything in comparison so your accessory of choice is the star of the show.  Kind of like with red lips, or yellow shoes... two more of my favorite bold centerpieces.

Christian Louboutin, you are the only one for me...

Inspired by Project Runway's Althea last night, with her menswear inspired winning look, and equally inspired by this season's hottest trend- motorcycle pants- I came up with a pretty cute new outfit to wear to work today.  I just picked up a new Joie tuxedo-esque linen blouse at the Tobi Blatt Sale, and paired it with a basic black Velvet tank and my new LNA zipper legging's I scored in New York.  And Voila!  I managed to masterfully blended two opposing looks into one adorable ensemble.  But something was missing... something to tie it all together and make it complete... The Right Shoe.

I always wanted a cute pair of Oxford's, since I spotted some cute rustic Dr. Marten's Oxfords in middle school.  But this outfit, whether it was the colors or the materials, made me think extreme... the full on Oxford's, black AND white, lace up, chunky and bold.  But not tacky, never tacky.  With a recent return to the web shopping world (thanks to Intermix and Barney's), I perused the shoe departments on all the e-shop's I have ever used.  With no allegiance to any particular designer, I stumbled across (conveniently) a very yummy- and tres expensive- pair of cutesy Oxford's with a tuxedo looks complete with tiny buttons and patent detailing.  And there's no need to mention how delightful the signature peekaboo maraschino cherry red heel is.  They reminded me of a hot fudge sundae and made me drool with desire!

This I will add to my always ongoing list of pieces worth saving for.  It's time to start upping the ante into the piggy bank!

Later ShopBop!

After giving up on online shopping, I have returned to the web for one reason: Intermix. It started as a visually stimulating curiosity, never making it past the main landing page for the first month of being a fan. I would admire the simplistic beauty of their opening ad design and used them as inspiration for my own work. Now that I have made it past the first page, I find myself walking through an imaginary fantasyland of glossy images of pretty things juxtaposed on beautiful women emitting an air befitting a specific personality. Girlish & innocent. Biker chick bad-ass. Strong and subtle indian princess. It is absolutely fabulous!

If you can't afford it, at least enjoy it up close and personal on your own until you can :) We all know buying the cheap shit isn't as good as saving for the good stuff anyways, right?

New York, in Review

After a quick trip to NYC, I remember why I love the big apple so much!! Great food, great people, amazing fashion... what more is there to life?  While visiting the city that never sleeps, we worked the Intermezzo and Moda Trade Shows held by ENK at the monumental Javits Center.  Picking up holiday, resort, and spring collections from Velvet, Robins Jean, Chan Luu, and Vivienne Tam (along with many more) was more fun than work... booth hopping and shmoozing with designers was a great way to pass time.  Trendspotting helped with forecasting future fashions (next season is all about python, motorcycle gear, and rompers!) and allowed us to seek some new labels to add to our arsenal of brands.

After hours, the standard was cocktails, dinner, then more cocktails.  This trip was less about visiting my old favorites than it was about trying new things.  Luckily, I had friends to guide me through the evenings (Thanks V and Hayley!) and led to discovering a whole new slew of hot spots.  Some old revisited favorites included the St. Regis and Peninsula Hotels for after work drinks, however I visited the Peninsula's rooftop bar for the first time and it was a blast.  Being surrounded by the skyline at sunset was quite a nice way to end the day after working for nine hours, and a great place to see old faces and meet new ones.

  

After apres-work drinks, came delicious Italian feasts!  Forget the sceney Da Silvano's... instead we opted for local favorite Nello's off Madison, where the Calamari was the best I ever had, and the Asparagus special was too die for!!  Our second night we were treated by our friends at The Palace Hotel to reservations at the uber-swank and nearly impossible to get into Il Molino downtown.  Not only was the food and ambiance just what I look for in old school italian places, but the staff was so sweet I can't imagine going back to NY without visiting this fine eatery.  Now if only I could get back in! Thanks to manager of 27 years Claudio, yours truly can rub elbows with celebs and socialites again...

Some other notable New York moments include:

-Bendel's making the change of becoming all accessories!! Sad but true

-Crumbs Cupcakes on Madison, they made it to California and STILL taste like heaven!

-The Blue Room at the W on Lexington for late night cocktails was the place to be

-brunch at The Peninsula is a great way to start off a busy day of work

-the Redeye to Newark is the only way to go

-my adorable new red patent leather clutch from Bendel's 

-the always delicious street dogs, New York City's finest food!!