Project Runway at the New York Fashion Week

So the new reality show featuring competing fashion designers, is finally coming to its finale on Friday's New York Fashion week. During the show, the four remaining finalists got to present there clothes on the runway, and here are some of their designs. . .





Austin Scarlett, whose theme is supposedly patriotic and old American. Personally it reminds me of the good old Victorian days-which I adore. . . but then again I'm not very acquainted with what old American is supposed to look it.





Next up was Kara Saun, who created a collection of the things she loves most: luxury, sexiness, strength and passion-which basically covers everything. It took me ages to identify her creations, and when I finally did. . well I don't have much feelings and thoughts towards it. I don't hate it, but I don't particularly love it either.





Then it was Wendy Pepper's turn, and her collection was inspired by the annual rite of harvest-which I guess means a return to nature. But the theme wasn't that apparent in the clothes, which like Kara Saun's was not too distinctive nor completely inspiring. This dress was the only one I can be sure is by Pepper.





And last but not least was Jay McCarroll's "stereotype" collection, which featured models wearing these huge headphones in matching outfits. As a fashion statement, and in terms of being distinctive and creative, McCarroll definitely scored high against his competitors. But as a wearer of fashion, I personally would not be caught dead wearing this (especially not those monstrous headphones), I mean she looks like a pink peacock! And paired with that pink feather shrug, it is just too overwhelming for one's eyes. . .



Overall it was quite a disappointment, but then again I unfortunately do not have cable access so haven't been able to watch this show-perhaps my expectations are just too high? But judging from their fashion show, I would guess that the winner would be between McCarroll and Scarlett, as they showed more creativity, potential and a sense of their own style.

Beauty Review: Deep Cleansing Masks

As my mom likes to say, "It doesn't matter how fashionable you are if you don't have good skin." Ofcourse, like the good girl that I am, I fully agree with this statement, I mean, what could possibly be more important then your skin? And so, I like to treat my skin to a good mask once or twice a week (doing masks more then twice a week is simply not recommended), to give it some time to relax and recuperate from all the stuff it encounters in our daily life. Today, I came upon a great bargain-the Borghese Fango Active Mud Mask for face and body.







The signature product of this Italian company. This Italian mud unclogs pores, hydrates, nourishes and energizes- basically everything one is looking for in a mask. It came highly recommended from everyone I know and from various reviews. And after trying it out myself, I highly recommend it too, my skin felt all tingly and clean afterwards! At the moment, they are doing this yearly special where they sell you this 32oz (huge) jar of Fango Mud for $42.90 (as opposed to a 17.6oz for $57.50). There is no expiration date for this, so a 32 oz jar would probably last forever! Great bargain right?







If you have missed this bargain and don't want to spend all that much on a mask, you could try the Body Shop Blue Corn 3 in 1 Deep Cleansing Scrub Mask, for $14 instead. This one also has great reviews and having personally tried it, Harrods girl and I think this is quite good as a more affordable alternative. I especially love the fact that it cleans, moisturizes and exfoliates at the same time. So in your busy and hectic life, don't forget to to take some time to treat your skin once in a while, because while fashion changes every season, your skin stays with you forever.

Happy Birthday Harrods Girl!

Today is Harrods Girl's birthday, and I would just like to take this opportunity to wish her an awesome day, partying at Oxford. I am just sorry I can't be there with you guys. But to compensate for my absence, I would like to present you with these wonderful birthday gifts:





A gorgeous bag Miu Miu, I just love the flower decorations!





A Balenciaga bag, since I know how much you love the Olsen Twins.





The heart and white heel Prada charms for you to decorate your bags with.





An mini ipod and a gorgeous Juicy Couture ipod case to go with it.





The complete season of Gilmore Girls, since you are such a Gilmore Girls fan.





These very stylish gold leaf earrings from Urban Outfitters.





Chanel eye shadow compact- as Mischa Barton says, "a definte must have."





Chunky Chloe pumps that you said you wanted for the daytime.





And these darlings, also by Chloe, for the evening.





Subscription to Vogue, a must have for every fashionable girl out there.



And this, the new Gwen Stefani cd, which is what I actually got you for your birthday. Happy Birthday!

Kate Moss: Model of Imperfection

'She is a celebrity, a fashion icon, a muse, a princess...' - Katherine Kendall

I'm not sure how many readers here actually like or even care about Kate Moss, (but if you don't know who Kate is, then you have seriously lost touch with the fashion world,) enough to buy and read a book on her. After MUCH anticipation, I (a huge fan of Kate's,) had finally read the only biography ever published about her, called Kate Moss: Model of Imperfection.



Model of Imperfection brings you through Kate's modelling career and scandals. The book starts with a detailed description's of Kate's famous encounter with Sarah Doukas, (who later became her agent and founder of Storm Models,) at the JFK International Airport in New York. Kate was only 14 when she started to get small modelling assignments. The book then brings you through Kate's modelling career: Kate got her first big break when she was featured on The Face's "Third Summer of Love" July 1990 cover. Then, she he got her second big break when she was featured in a series of Calvin Klein ads in the early 90s. Kate was the only model from the 1980s who managed to still be going strong through the 90s. Even now, she has long term contracts with Burberry and Rimmel cosmetics. The book ends by talking about Kate's nine covers (created by different photographers,) for W magazine in September 2003, issue named "The Triumphant Return of a Superstar".



Another important aspect of this book is probably the writing on Kate's scandals, gossips and boyfriends. She was indeed in the tabloids all the time, especially for her anoreic-like frame, her four year relationship with Johnny Depp and her stay in rehab.



The author of Model of Imperfection, Katherine Kendall, is the Webmaster of kate*site, (the Internet's largest visual archive dedicated to the supermodel,) which shows why she had extensive knowledge on the model.



Admittingly, I was a bit disappointed with the book: it was short and lacked much unknown information, (maybe my expectations were just too high?). Even the photos featured in the books were of poor choice and unreprentative to her career. But despite poor reviews on this book, (I was not the only one disappointed,) all fans must get this book. I mean, where else can you find such a complete collection of information on this fascinating figure?

Kate was the controversial star of the fashion world, and the most unique model of our time, especially for her unusual five foot seven height. She is the ultimate unsuper model, who supered them all.

Kate: The Kate Moss book is the only book that Kate has published herself. Published in 1995, it contains many excellent photographs (that she chose) of herself before she was 21. Unfortunately, the book is now out of print and even a used copy is super expensive. (*sniff*, I want it!) We will all be waiting for the day when Kate decides to publish another book.

New York Fall/Winter 2005 Fashion Week

Even though Spring has yet to arrive, we would like to remind everyone that the New York Ready-to-Wear Fall/Winter 2005 show is kicking off today. Here are some of our personal recommendations:



Barneys Girl says to look out for: Luca Luca, Caroline Herera, BCBG Max Azria, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Custo Barcelona, Matthew Williamson and Jennifer Lopez.



Harrods Girl can't wait to see: Anna Sui (always fashion forward), Twinkle, Vera Wang, Zac Posen, Diesel (their first ever fashion show!), Marc by Marc Jacobs (as usual) and Diane Von Furstenberg.

OC Fashion

The authors of this blog have noticed that at the beginning of the OC Season Two, the quality of fashion has declined severely: Abercrombie shirts were seen constantly, and the outfits were highly uncreative. As Summer would say, EWW!! But thankfully, the producer Josh Schwartz must have come across a comment or two in the OC chatrooms, (which he obssessively hangs around,) and asked the OC's fashion stylist Karla Stevens for improvement.

The results are obvious and spetacular. Most of the Abercrombie shirts and untrendy items are gone, and brilliant items have appeared. There are now more Marc by Marc Jacobs and other Neiman Marcus type items being worn. It certainly makes the beautiful OC people even more beautiful and perfect. Learn how the stars dress for different occassions, the OC-way.

For school : Does anyone in your school ever dress so gorgeously to school?


Marissa wearing a pair of Coach flats.


Lindsay wearing a Juicy Couture Shrunken Wide Notch Collar Blazer.
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For hanging out after school and weekends : The OC people wear relatively casual clothing here.

Marissa wearing a Rebecca Taylor Pointelle Shrug and Summer wearing a Ya Ya Beaded Skirt.
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For dinners and parties : The people of the OC seem to be at parties more than anywhere else. They have Neiman Marcus to supply them a never-ending supply of beautiful dresses.

Marissa wearing a Primp Tonic Dress.


Summer wearing a Marc by Marc Jacobs dress.


Julie Cooper wearing an ABS by Allen Schwartz Seamed Dress
---For home : The beautiful people of the OC even lounges at home stylishly.

Kirsten wearing a Burberry Novacheck Robe.

Don't YOU wish you lived in The OC too? So you can be these beautifully dressed people, BE part of this rich and snobby commnunity.

In repsonse to a condescending comment

It has come to this blog's authors' notice that someone had commented the following about our site: "Your obssesion with capitalism is diabolic."

From dictionary.com:

Diabolic:

Of, concerning, or characteristic of the devil; satanic.

Appropriate to a devil, especially in degree of wickedness or cruelty.

This comment is rude and just shows what how close-minded some people are. We would like to respond the following points:

• Capitalism is one of the most important basis that most societies nowadays are built on. If you can't accept capitalism, then you are welcome to continue to hide in your hermit lair, or even better, move to a socialist country like North Korea.
• Retail industry is one of the most important industry in the economy. A huge percentage of the people employed works in the retail industry, and without it, well, you can imagine how high the unemployment rate would be. The same applies to the fashion and beauty industry.
• Having suffered from the Asian Financial Crisis, Hong Kong has finally been making steady economic recovery thanks to the Chinese government relaxing polocies so more mainland Chinese can go to Hong Kong to shop! (Mainland Chinese love to go to Hong Kong to buy gold, jewelery, cosmetics and fashion etc.)
• China, the center of socialism, wouldn't be the biggest rising economic power in the world if they hadn't opened up to capitalism. With their open market policies, they have attracted many foreign investments to manufacture there, like Gucci, Levi's and IBM to name a few.
• And if after so many points, you still cannot accept capitalism in our world, then you are welcome to stop shopping and share your possessions like socialists do. But we sincerely hope that you will embrace the modern framework of our society and join us in the twenty first century.
• Most importantly everyone has different interests and hobbies, fashion just happens to be ours. And this blog should not be taken to reflect the society as a whole.

And to end this on a light note, we would like to remind you all that we still LOVE getting comments *hint hint* (and yes, we are both studying economics related courses)!

Love,

Barneys Girl and Harrods Girl