Barneys Girl's first impression of LA

Hey Darlings, I'm back from my mini-post-finals-holiday in LA! Not back to Chicago, but back home where I have internet access at all times (albeit a very slow one). This was my first time in LA, and even though I was only there for little less than 2 days, it has left quite an impression on me. When we first arrived, we drove around and did our touristy duty passing by the famous houses of Beverly Hills, Sunset Boulevard and of course- Hollywood. And to be honest, I was quite disappointed.

Ok, so the mansions at Beverly Hills look pretty. But its just not very exciting looking at it from outside, in a moving car and through the gated fence and the super high hedges. Not quite as fun as those shows on TV where they actually show u the inside.

Next we passed through Sunset Boulevard, which I read is supposed to be quite the touristy place. Maybe it is and I just didn't have time to tour it properly. But driving pass it by car, it did not motivate me to leap out of the car to explore it in the first place. To me, it looked just like another LA street, which btw I am not very impressed by. Being a city girl, I was unused to seeing such short old buildings and dirty streets, with everything worth going miles and miles apart.

Then our next stop was Hollywood. Somehow, I've been giving the impression that Hollywood is all that glamorous. But I was sorely disappointed. I wasn't even aware I'd entered Hollywood until i was told. Did not see the famous Hollywood sign. And the Kodak Cinema looked like the entrance to a mall (was I looking at the right building?) and it was basically again, just another LA street, except this one had stars on the pavement. I feel so misled.

Before i went, I was also told that Beverly Center is a GREAT mall to shop at. So I was all psyched to go shopping there. And again I was sorely disappointed. It was deserted, many stores were closed because they were having electricity problems and it looked just like any other mall one would expect to find in suburbia. I mean, it had many stores that I love, like AX, Lacoste and Bloomies, but there just is NO point going to one in LA. My trip ended up with me buying stuff from brands that I could've gotten anywhere in the States. Not that I don't love them, but still. Wish I had time to explore Melrose Street and visit Intuition and Fred Segal. Oh and should u want to go to a mall in LA, I recommend Century City at Beverly Hills. I like the out in the open atmosphere there more.

What has the world come to? Issue I

Oh. my. gosh. What has the world come to?

1. First, Nicole Richie is suddenly fashionable because she has shredded any ounce of cellulite off her body. Then today it was revealed that Nicole Richie will be featured in the new Marc Jacobs ad campaign. I am absolutely appalled at this! Appalled by no, not Nicole Richie, but at Marc Jacobs! His fashion IQ may be sky high, but his fashion morals needs to be fine tuned. As if making us suffer through the big celeb Vuitton campaigns is not enough, his own brand is now turning into yet another celeb circus. I suggest Marc go take lessons from the Italian fashion genius Miuccia. She always knows to choose the great models for her wonderful ad campaigns.

2. W magazine is finally getting more attention than other fashion magazines -by featuring a series of pictures of "the Hollywood's hottest couple". Yes, I know Brad is hot, and Angelina is hot; and Brad and Angelina appearing in the same pictures is mega-hot. But it is NOT hot for a divorcing man to parade around with the already tabloid-pegged-other-woman. Poor Jennifer! Oh, and I am sick of everyone blaiming the whole scandal on too-sexy-for-her-own-good Angelina or girl-next-door Jen for not agreeing to have babies. Can no one see that Mr. I'm-so-hot Pitt has done nothing to save the situation? Gees, at least wait for the divorce papers to go through.

3. People, calm down about Katie Holmes embracing Scientology. She's probably not too serious about her religious belief anyways. Afterall, how does one -being raised up Catholic -change so swiftly to one's boyfriend's religion? Which btw was founded in the 1950s by a science fiction writer who had once declared that the best way for a man to make money was to start his own religion. What this column's author is worried about is this question: Is it healthy to persue such an open relationship with a man who a) is 14 years older, b)has been divorced twice already, c) clearly has no control over his own actions, as demonstrated by his amazing performance on Oprah. Katie dear, please go find yourself a nice boy to date.

To support the wonderful cause -Free Katie-, and to have a good laugh at the highly entertaining entertainment industry, feel free to help yourself to a Free Katie T-shirt:

or even more:

Alexis Bledel Style 2005

Lately, you might have noticed that Alexis Bledel, aka Rory in Gilmore Girls, has been popping up on a lot of magazine covers. It's all because she's promoting for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Yikes, I didn't realise I've been talking about magazines so much recently, so instead, I'm going to talk about Alexis Bledel's simple and yet still fabulous style. Here's some recent events which she attended looking pretty:

Alexis at The WB Television Network's 2005 All Star Party in Jan 2005. Here, she's looking clasically beautiful.

Alexis at the Kids Choice Awards in April 2005. Compared to all the other young stars there wearing the latest trends trying to look stylish, Alexis does it so casually in a simple pair of jean and halter.

Can you say WOW? Alexis has always looked great in blue, but this dress is amazing -it totally brings out her best feature: those super blue eyes. And that perfect hair... Photo taken at "Sin City" L.A. Premiere in March 2005.

Another casual outfit of Alexis's. That my dear friends *coughlohansimpsoncough*, is how you wear fashion tops young and elegantly. Photo from the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants promotion in Canada June 2005.

Alexis demonstrating this/ next season's super trendy tulip dresses. Of course, I wouldn't advice most people to wear that unless you're relatively tall and slim like Alexis. Photo from the world premiere of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants in June 2005.

I'm only talking about Alexis's personal style for now, but a feature on her Gilmore Girl's character, Rory's style will be coming soon. By the way, if you missed the brillaint Gilmore Girls during TV season this year, Season 5 is being repeated on the WB every Tuesday night now, so go catch it!

The Ballet-like Shoes

Whether the ballet shoes are 'in' or 'out' is always debateable. But no matter, I still find them cute & chic, and highly versatile. Oh, and by ballet shoes, I mean the ones that really look like real ballet shoes. And the almighty fashion-pschic, me that is, foresees them continuous being produced by influential designers, meaning that it is a must for every fashionable girl's closet.

So I went online to search for all preeety possibilities:

From the girly, chic and modern designer, Kate Spade. Available in pink and black.
Compliment with: All mono-colored skirts and tight black pants; casual to semi-formal.

From the always fabulous designer, Marc Jacobs. Available in many other colors.
Compliment with: Everything! Seriously, the satin material makes the shoes very eye-catching. So they're great to go with casual jeans, pants, skirts and even formal wear!

From the much more affordable brand Seychelles. Available in pink and white.
Compliment with: Everything, but only casual outfits. These are obviously less delicate, so its good for those of you who don't want to be overly girly.

Happy 19th, Mary Kate & Ashley!

Dear Mary Kate & Ashley and XXL-shades and trademark coffee,

Happy Birthday, my favourite fashionable darlings! Hope both of you had a wonderful freshman year at NYU. Even though it has been sad to see both of you grow apart this year, (and I still don't understand why you two didn't move into that HUGE penthouse, apart from the millions of profit you accidently made of course,) I'm sure you two will figure out a way to work out your relationship. Not like you have much choice if you want your tween business to continue to grow. And please, you guys really are adults now, instead of selling 3-8 yrs old fashion, it may be time to start selling 8-13 yrs old clothes.

Oops, I wan't supposed to complain about you girls. Right, back to the point. So the lovely Olsens have influenced the fashion trends BIG WAY in their 18th year. The Balenciagas have come and gone under their lead. Even John Galliano has claimed that the Olsens' style has influenced the Dior FW2005 collection, (although I really don't see the influence.)

Mary Kate showed us how to be tiny in funky, creative bohemian outfits, (now termed bobo.) There has yet to be a celebrity able to top her funk or copy it properly. Pile on the layers, random oversized jewelry and vintage bags!

MK walking around in NYU. Learn from her how to keep warm without wearing bulky jackets. And her ability to balance all that stuff with two lack muscle arms.

MK wearing Imitation of Christ dress at the IoC fashion show. This is how to look casual and cool in a dress.

MK even has an interesting look when walking her dog.

Ashley showed us how to look glamourous -whether it be a formal occasion or a casual outting. This twin is one of the few celebrities who manages to look down-to-earth (most of the time) and posh at the same time. Load on the blazers, dress shirts with tanks underneath and BIG name bags! (Many Bottegas, one LV)

Ash is now 86% New York influenced. Notice how the tank top underneath makes her outfit look cool instead of stuffy. And of course, she's great at mix matching posh-looking accessories (like the necklaces.)

Ash mixing this year's very trendy nautical influences with ethnic skirt. Her top looks glam & expensive, and made down to earth by her skirt and flip flops.

A very recent photo of Ash shopping in NYC. Seriously STARE at this picture for awhile and you will see how Ash manages to mix a few fashion trends together with her own style.

Style on this year, oh-fashion-foward-millionaire-twins!

Send us your questions!

Hiya darlings!

We want to thank all you lovely people for reading our blog, especially those who have emailed us or commented in the blog. We've had loads of fun telling you what we know about fashion, trends, beauty, and ultimately, any girly stuff.

We are now open to any questions you have for us. I'm talking about questions about us! Yes, us! Some information about us is already available in our 'About us' site, Behind the Fashion Scene. But it's been awhile since we updated it, and admit it, some of you have to be curious. Who are those two ditzy/ age?/ gushes-way-too-much girls? What is their favourite beauty products? With all the blogging you do, do you two actually have a life?

And yes, if you have any fashion questions, we will try to help you too.

And no, tsk tsk, it's rude to ask about those questions.

Oops, I almost forgot, here's the email address to email your questions to: behindthefashionscene AT gmail.com.
Subject: Send us your questions!

British Vogue July 2005 Issue

After last month's *insert super British accent* ghastly British Vogue cover -the one with Cate Blanchett on the cover, -this month's cover is GORGEOUS. Look at the beautiful scenery, with that very artistic tree. And look at the British model Lily Cole in that cute dress by Louis Vuitton, making her first solo cover.

I think there are a few months in a year, the months which are sort of in between seasons, which fashion magazines don't know what to talk about. So those issues tend to have a low supply of new fashion ideas. This July issue is one of those. And by the way, I hate that feature of Little Britain, even if it is shot by the super famous Mario Testino. BUT still, I HIGHLY recommend people buying this issue, (and no, I don't work in the Vogue Advertising Dept.)

There are more than ten pages from this photoshoot of Lily Cole. The whole collection of photos more than makes up for the lack of new fashion ideas. The photos are all taken at fabulous locations and the color coordination is so happy and brilliant. This is definately one of my favourite fashion features since I started to read British Vogue.

There is also another of collection featuring funky shades. Is this photo (the one above) super fantastic or what? And we quote "Big is beautiful when it comes to sunglasses this summer." Also another artistic and faaabulous feature. Go see it yourself!