Category Archives: Uncategorized

Get Your Burlesque on This Weekend at the Roosevelt

By Claire Butler on October 21, 2009

burlesque400Don’t get trapped at the same sad bar this weekend. Hop over to the Roosevelt Hotel’s Cinegrill, to see some bona fide burlesque — in all its lingerie-clad glory — this Saturday.

The Happy Shop 
Old School Burlesque crew kicks off its fall run this weekend at the

 classic supper club.

Hosted by 
Ken Lally of General Hospital, the show stars a bevy of musical veterans, including singer 
Thomasina (of Glee and My Name is Earl)
 and dancers including Allison Kyler, 
Lola Boutee Scarlet O’Gasm, Russia Hardy and Dolly Sensuale.

Doors open at 9:45 p.m., with the first jazz set at 10 p.m., the burlesque show at 11 p.m., and the second jazz set at midnight. 


Tickets are $20 to $40

 here. And guys, you gotta wear ties.

For more info, hit up the Happy Shop website.

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TREND: Oversized Oxford Shirts

By Emili Vesilind on October 20, 2009

Picture 12I went out yesterday specifically seeking an oversized blue men’s oxford shirt to tuck messily into my Current-Elliott jeans. I’ve been spotting them on all kinds of stylish gals around town, and they look so lazy-sexy-cool.

(Why not borrow a sexy broken-in shirt from my husband, you ask? Because his shirts fit me like leotards.)

But really, I found it odd that I even wanted one. I’ve never been one for preppiness — or color, for that matter. But I’m suddenly very into a broken-down-prep-school look for fall: oversized oxford, beat-up Bass nubucks (snagged on Ebay for $12) and a toggle coat when it gets cold. I’ll be channeling Rob Lowe’s look in Class — androgynous, scholarly and slightly disheveled.

As for the oxford, it had to be big enough to look oversized, but not so big that it added bulk. I found my perfect button-front for $44 (on sale for $29, actually, see photo) in the Gap at Glendale Galleria.

When I donned the shirt at home, my husband exclaimed “Enjoli!” Which, I found out, was an ’80s perfume with a TV ad where a model in a blue button-down claims to be able to, “bring home the bacon…and never let you forget you are a man.” (It amuses me that her husband was in danger of forgetting that fact.)

Check out a funny slice of style (and feminist) history:

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Fire Marshall Threatens to Shut Down Electric Circus After-Party

By Editors on October 17, 2009

-3After rummaging through a fashion show gift bag, I came across a flyer for Electric Circus, “the official after-party of L.A. Fashion Week.” hosted by Chic Little Devil.

Intrigued, I decided to RSVP without dropping the name of my media outlet. I received a prompt confirmation for the Friday night event, and thought, “Wow, these guys are pretty organized.”

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Upon arriving at the Cooper Building in Downtown L.A.’s Fashion District, my friend and I found a line snaking along the sidewalk at 9 p.m., a mere hour after the event had started. We waited. And then waited some more. And when it became clear the line wasn’t going to move, and an event official started cruising up and down the line looking for press, I caved and took our only opportunity to make it to the 11th floor penthouse. Or so I thought.

Event planners moved us to the front of the V.I.P. line, where people with “All Access” badges told us they had been waiting for more than an hour. Oh, and did we mention that the air conditioning in the Cooper Building’s lobby isn’t exactly well-equipped to handle hundreds of people waiting to board one of four elevators? Standing alongside the high-heeled, suited-up crowd, I felt like I was in the disaster relief center of a very fashionable town.

And in countless ways, the event was a disaster. The elevator keeper, a feisty woman in black-rimmed glasses, yelled at guests who waited to board empty elevators—“I decide who goes up!”—and berated the security guard, cursing at him in front of the crowd and telling him to put more “bass” in his voice. She certainly had enough bass in hers to scare him, us and just about everyone else in the lobby. Finally, she told us to back all the way up, forcing V.I.P.’s, press, and sponsors alike to exit the lobby because the Fire Marshal had threatened to shut the party down.

Outside, the line grew longer with the mass exodus. We had had it. We ditched the Electric Circus, tired of its pushy ringleader and disorganized frenzy, and decided to head to a bar, where I’m pretty sure we ended up having a better time alongside the official “out” crowd than we would have smashed up against alleged “somebodies.”

-Rosalba Curiel

Photo: The fire marshal gets pissy at Electric Circus. By Rosalba Curiel.

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Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2010: Popomomo

By Editors on October 15, 2009

PopomomoWhile “eco” needs to be retired as a fashion prefix, Tasha Nita Adams at Blackburn & Sweetzer caught a unique presentation last night of Popomomo’s hemp/organic cotton dresses, designed by Lizz Wasserman, who’s worked for Urban Outfitters and Free People. Read Adams’ review here.

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Bar Marmont Charity Accessories Sale: Bijules, Alex & Chloe, Puja and Posso the Spat

By Emili Vesilind on October 15, 2009

Picture 2Genius NY-based jewelry brand Bijules is hosting a charity sale event tomorrow at Bar Marmont to benefit the Keep a Child Alive Foundation, which supports families dealing with AIDS (10 percent of sales will go to the organization.)

The irreverent wares of Bijules, Alex & Chloe, Puja, Posso the Spat and Lovemade will be available. It goes down tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Bar Marmont (8171 W. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood.) But ya gots to RSVP to rsvp@press-agents.com.

Photo: Bijules’ ghetto-tastic nail ornament. Courtesy of Bijules.

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Santa Monica Museum of Art Plans Fashion-Fueled Halloween Bash

By Emili Vesilind on October 15, 2009

-3Whoa. The lil’ Santa Monica Museum of Art is staging a fashion-focused event for Halloween, fueled by some of L.A.’s coolest designers, including Brett Westfall for Unholy Matrimony and Commes des Garçons, Brian Lichtenberg, Jenni Kayne, Society for Rational Dress and The Row (The Olsen Twins’ brand, which is technically NYC-based.)

The Halla Gala, which will be hosted (honorarily) by Susan and Leonard Nimoy, will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. on Halloween night.

Here’s the deal: For a not-so-small fee (it all goes to the museum’s various programs), guests are required to come to the event dressed up as their “secret selves.” There will be special exhibitions, a surrealist photo booth, Fellini-esque movies, something called a “Magic Carpet walk-off,” live music and booze and eats.

Beyond this, what you gets depends on what you spend — ticket packages range from $350 to $25,000. Pick your price:

*$350: one gala ticket and an invitation to SMMoA’s Vintage Clothing Cache on Sunday, October 18, from noon to 4 p.m.

*$1,500: two gala tickets, a limited-edition portrait print by artists Barkley L. Hendricks or Mickalene Thomas and an invitation to SMMoA’s Vintage Clothing Cache on Sunday, October 18, from noon to 4 p.m.

*$5,000: two gala tickets, the aforementioned print, a photographic portrait of your secret self taken that evening by Leonard Nimoy, donor recognition, a parking pass and the clothing sale invite.

*$10,000: four gala tickets, two limited edition portraits, everything else listed above and costume concept, design and creation for one person with a noted fashion designer (Westfall, Lichtenberg, Kayne, Edith Palm, Pamela Barish, Scout, Society for Rational Dress or The Row.) So, you pick a designer and they create a look for your, um, secret self. Each designer will work with one patron only, and are available on a first-come, first-choice basis for big spenders.

*$25,000: ten gala tickets, the whole she-bang listed above, but also costume concept, design and creation for two people with two noted fashion designers and Halloween night accommodations at the Viceroy Santa Monica.

Ready to open your wallet for art’s sake? Grab tickets at www.smmoa.org.

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Los Angeles Fashion Week 2010: Skingraft’s Retro-Tinged Leather

By Editors on October 13, 2009
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Fly girl Amelia Earhart was the inspiration for Skingraft‘s Spring 2010 collection — which the brand marched down the runway last night at the MOCA Geffen Contemporary.

Models donned classic flight caps with the brand’s structured leather jackets, vests and leather-fronted leggings. The 4-year-old downtown-based label is known for its leather pieces, and shined most brightly with its hide-heavy looks, i.e. a Victorian-inspired fitted jacket resembling armor and a studded cropped leather shell. Other stand-outs included a pair of wooly short-shorts and a cool pants jumpsuit — both bearing enormous, basket-style pleated side pockets.

But strangely, by harnessing wartime 1930s style, some of the structured twill pieces that sailed down the runway — i.e. military gray ederhosen-ish pants — also felt very Raiders of the Lost Ark. Too costume-y. And the tailoring, though pristine on the leather pieces, fell a bit short on some of the fabric-only pieces.

No matter. As the runway show progressed, the clothes fell smartly back into Skingraft’s goth-lite comfort zone, climaxing with a series of gowns composed of tiered leather ruffled ball-skirts and complicated bodices help up by what we’re pretty sure were taxidermied birds.

All in all? Good, P.C.-free fun.

Second Skin: A Style Section L.A. profile on Skingraft.

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L.A. Fashion Week Spring 2010: Sked for Downtown L.A. Fashion Week

By Emili Vesilind on October 13, 2009

Know where you’re going tonight? The invite-only Downtown L.A. Fashion Week really heats up tonight at downtown’s MOCA Geffen Contemporary, with shows by Skingraft and Louis Verdad — and Michele Berandi‘s spacey installation. Here’s the full schedule of events, starting with this evening. See you there, fashion fans.

Picture 3Picture 4Picture 5

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Trovata, Forever 21 Settle Lawsuit; “Knock-offs” to Continue Unabated?

By Editors on October 12, 2009

Forever21Forever 21, the apparel juggernaut that kinda sorta steals from the best and brightest in the design world so it can be yours for only $19.95, has settled a two-year-old trade dress lawsuit filed by Trovata, the OC-prep line that once nabbed a $200,000 grant from the CFDA/Vogue fashion fund. Trovata sued the fast fashion retailer after it sold seven garments totally nearly identical to Trovata designs. WWD reports that the settlement comes just days before a second trial was to commence (the first trial ended in a deadlocked jury). Terms of the settlement are undisclosed, and there’s no admission of any liability. It remains to be seen whether F21 will alter its design strategy–it’s been accused of design infringement more than 50 times in the last four years. Then again, you can’t copyright a shirt, only graphics and prints. Judging from this now-famous side-by-side exhibit A from Trovata attorneys (right), perhaps Forever 21 will be at least a little more discreet.

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James Galanos to Attend FGI Fashion Week Kick-Off Tonight

By Emili Vesilind on October 12, 2009

2113-JamesGalanos_048_r.ccDesigner James Galanos, one of the West Coast’s only living fashion legends, has RSVPed for the Fashion Group International’s Fashion Week launch event tonight, Meet the Designers.

If he shows, it will be a rare appearance. The 84-year-old doesn’t get out much, but — in my experience — is extremely amiable both in a crowd and one-on-one. He’s most famous for dressing Nancy Reagan in gorgeous hand-beaded gowns, and is a master of manipulating floaty fabrics like chiffon and silk.

The invite-only event — happening at the Standard downtown tonight — is expected to also lure a cache of considerably younger L.A.-based talent, including Kimberly Ovitz, Trina Turk and Rachel Pally.

Check back here tomorrow morning for a blow-by-blow.

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