Groovy Gossip

Spotted: Someone's got a case of the Mondays! To ease back into the work week, I'm bringing you some of the juiciest gossip from the fashion world!  Got you're focus-factor on? No worries!  I'll include the links so you can read all about the drama in between class, emails, meetings, and other Monday madness! Want to hear about something else? Comment your topic requests below!

XoXo,
Groove Girl

Looking for some office tunes ?

Sergio Kletnoy is an assistant to Joanna Coles, the Editor-in-Chief at Cosmopolitan Magazine, and was lucky enough to get to hang with Cher and Madonna this past week!  Wanna know how he got to be in a room with Donna Karan, Zac Posen, Calvin Klein, Lindsay Lohan and Sean Penn??  Check out his gossip up about the amazing experience here: 

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/chic-report/article/sergio-says-musings-from-cosmo-and-beyond--42 

Sergio also shared a few of his musical obsessions too!  

OBSESSED:

“I Can’t Describe (The Way I Feel)" by Jennifer Hudson & T.I.

“Down On Life" by Elliphant

“I Hope You Find it" by Cher

“Pyromaniac" by Oh Land

“Romanticise” by Chela

“Super Love" by Charli XCX

“Day And Night" by DJ Brendan Fallis & Kate Moss

“Hold On" by Drake

“Indian Summer” by Rasmus Faber and Frida Sundemo

“You’re Not The One" by Sky Ferreira

Kanye's Meltdown 

Kanye had a Twitter tantrum about Jimmy Kimmel making fun of him...oh boohoo Kanye!  "SARAH SILVERMAN IS A THOUSAND TIMES FUNNIER THAN YOU AND THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS IT!!!" What has got Kanye West leather skinny jeans in a bunch?? Watch the clip here: 

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/chic-report/article/jimmykimmel-kanyewest-feud

Stomp the...Runway? 

#PFW! Rick Owens mentioned before his Paris Fashion Week 2013 show that it "is going to be fun", but that was the understatement of the week!  You're probably looking at the tribal looking, leather wearing picture below and wondering "whaaaaa?"... don't worry we all did too!  You have to check out this article to see how the attendees reacted to his show.  It began with women from various stepping sororities fiercely marching and pounding on their chests dressed in all black.  Good? Bad? How did the show end?? Check it out here:

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/the-fix/article/paris-spring-2014-rick-owens

30 Under 30!

Here are the 30 fashion designers that are seen as the industry's most game-changing influencers...and they're all under 30 years old! I'll give you the low-down on the first 5, but here's the article with all the deets:

http://www.styleite.com/media/30-under-30-fashion-designers-who-are-changing-the-game/

1. Esteban Cortazar:

• 29 years old
• Became the youngest ever designer to show at New York Fashion Week at age of 17!
• His structured, athletic-inspired separates, and fluid satin and stretch-cady dresses are part of his new capsule collections backed by Net-a-Porter

2. Dion Lee:

• 27 years old
• This Australian designer debuted Spring 2013 collection at his first New York Fashion Week
• He used geothermal heat mapping to abstract the body's hot zones on both sides of his fabric and even folded the fabric to make his clothes have a third dimension! 

3. Olivier Rousteing: 

• 27 years old
• Brought on at the age of 25 to replace Balmain's Christophe Decarnin in 2009
• After 4 years, he introduced more silhouettes for real human bodies
• Proved overalls and patchwork denim dresses can be sexy... we love them too, thanks Olivier!

4.  Jerome Lamaar:

• 27 years old
• Got his break interning for Baby Phat at only 15!
• 3 years later he became senior desinger
• His new line 5:31 Jerome includes an elegant take on street-wear and sleek downtown separates

5. Barbara Casasola: 

• 29 years old
• Brazil-born, London-based who has been showing off her collections since 2011
• "Her aesthetic is confident in its edgy sophistication" as she creates eveningwear for ball gown opposed fashionistas

A Very InStyle Publisher

Karin Tracy is the newest publisher for InStyle!  It's always cool to get a different perspective on some of our most valued possessions...our Cosmo, InStyle, Vogue and People mags of course!  Just like the Sex and the City post, this article gives you a look into life of one of the woman who makes all the fashion happen! Read all about it here:

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/the-fix/article/who-iskarin-tracy

What to look for THIS week!!!

I'll be bringing you a deeper look into one of the fun new trends in fashion footwear...vinyl shoes!  Plastic, jellies, vinyl, silicone...there are some real fun and innovative materials finally giving us that futuristic fashion we all wished we had when we watched Doc come back from the future with his transparent tie, or the sexy styling in Tron!

Zetus Lupetus!  Don't forget about how badly you wanted to join Zenon (the Girl of the 21st Century!) up in the space-station decked out in your brights, plastics, and metallics!

Read More

Groove and the City

"I like my money where I can see it, hanging in my closet" ~ Carrie Bradshaw

SPOTTED: Storage for over 400 designer shoes, handbags, clothing and accessories find their new home in a massive walk-in closet (pic above).  Look familiar??  Why was this 400 sqft guest bedroom transformed for $175,000? To become the identical twin closet of the one and only, Carrie Bradshaw and Big hubbie, John James Preston, from Sex and the City.  Is the fashion and franchise really that influential? Read on, my SATC maniacs, because I'll never tell!

          XoXo,

       

If you're like me, you've seen every episode of "Sex and the City" so many times you can recite almost every line from all 6 fashionably amazing seasons (and majority of both movies).  In honor of our 15 year anniversary with the fabulous foursome, I am going to show you how influential SATC really has been in the fashion world (and to reminisce all of the amazing fashion moments over the years!).

The main reason we all love Sex and the City is that we all relate to a character, or bits of each.  Admit it, you're guilty of taking a 'Which Sex and the City Character are YOU?' quiz and giggled as you agreed with the entire description.  Conservative women, progressive women, single women, married women, divorced women, professional women, high school and college women, and everyone in between have been relating to episodes for the past 15 years.  Along with their personalities, women can also relate to the galpal's style too.

I think it'd be fun to break down the fashionality of each inspiring woman's style...and a little background too!  Before I do, I feel it necessary to introduce the woman behind it all, Patricia Field.  Field was presenting costume designs for Miami Rhapsody in 1995 when Sarah Jessica Parker saw the designs and fell in love.  SJP asked Field to design some of Carrie's clothes and from there on, the clothes became a focal point of the show.  Field began getting invites for front row seats to top designer's fashion shows in hopes that she might pick something from their collection for Carrie!

"The clothes are like another character in the show.  They help make it real" Cynthia Nixon, or as we all love her, Miranda, told People Magazine.  So, without further adieu, let's break. it. down.

Carrie Bradshaw, played by SJP, is fearlessly fashionable.  She has such a range of styles from uptown chic to sex kitten to fanciful.  Fields incorporated designer labels with flea market finds in order to create Carrie's unique fashionality.  She loves to mix it up and keep it interesting, claiming she gets 'bored' when things get too repetitive.

Charlotte York, played by Kristin Davis, is almost played off to be opposite from Carrie.  She shows off her sweet, preppy and conservative style, and always following the rules, by pairing the appropriate bags and shoes with her picturesque outfits.  She really lets her character speak through her clothing, bows, headbands, pearls, and other classic feminine styling.

Miranda Hobbes, played by Cynthia Nixon, is similar to Charlotte in the conservative sense.  Miranda plays up the conservative look in her very well-dressed, career oriented outfits.  She plays with chic corporate suits and neutral, androgynous styles that symbolize her being a strong woman in a man's world.

Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall, is more like Carrie in her fun, fearless wardrobe. Her sexy styles exude confidence and courage.  Since Carrie's teenage years (if you've been watching The Carrie Diaries or read the books by Candice Bushnell), Samantha has made it loud and clear that she is a Woman (with a capital W)!  Her refreshing and invigorating personality definitely comes across through her strong styles, bold colors and accessories.

Now that we had a quick refresher on each of our gal's fashionalities, lets get a little deeper into the SATC trends and designer labels from our fictional, fairytale NYC!  So what was so amazing about the series that enticed a woman to drop $170,000 on her copycat closet?  Let's take a look at the influential trends and brands that the show has showcased over the years. I mean, making Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo household names was definitely a momentous feat.  If you are a true SATC fan, you will be checking off participating in the majority of this trend list.

• Stilettos
• Flower Pins...remember the entire 3rd season?! 
• Fun Fact: SJP loves flowers and wanted to accessorize with them, so they started small and they got larger and larger in each episode! 
• Initial Necklaces
• Great Coats
• The Bob 
• Must-have Designer Bags
• Mix High and Low (mix flea market finds with high-end designer fashions, like Dior top and Vintage skirt)
• It's All in the Shoes (the more expensive, the better!) and the perfect pedicure is required gals 
• Crop Tops and High Waists

Curious to know which labels were name-dropped the most? Here are the Field Favorites:

Manolo Blahnik

Jimmy Choo

Dior

Chanel

Richard Tyler

Chloe

Dolce & Gabbana

Prada

Fendi

Blumarine

Vivienne Westwood

Roberto Cavalli

All this talk about SATC trends and designer labels, I think it's time to reminisce about some of the iconic outfits that became famous and copied over the past 15 years.  Experts have praised how the franchise has enhanced the desirability of featured luxury brands.  Fun Fact: In the 4th Annual Brandcameo Product Placement Awards, Manolo Blahnik won 'Perfect Fit', for demonstrating the best chemistry between a brand a film for it's placement in the SATC Movie.  Louis Vuitton's involvement earned it the 'Most Mouthwatering' award meaning it is most likely to prompt immediate purchases due to its placement.

Three words: the tutu dress.

Want the Look? http://inspiredtrendaddict.blogspot.com/2013/03/spring-2014-trending-tulle-skirts.html

 This charming ensemble is arguable the most iconic look from the entire series.  We felt a little jerk in our hearts when it was rediscovered during Carrie's trash-or-take montage in the movie.  This iconic, feminine, chic look is one of the Spring '14 trends to keep in mind; tulle skirts. 

Another memorable outfit is the newspaper dress! Remember when Carrie debuted it when she went to apologize to Natasha for sleeping with Big? Field made sure to bring it back in the movie because it was a very iconic dress from the series.  Field explains the underlying symbolism in using Dior. 

"In the first season, the last outfit of the last episode, when she was in front of the Plaza and she realized that Big was gone, going with Natasha, she wore a white Dior dress.  That was the first time that I used Dior, and when she goes to apologize to Natasha, there's that underlying thing that there's Dior there.  There's something symbolic about that brand."

 One final look, from the 2nd movie, came together in an unexpected way.  The J'adore Dior shirt and purple skirt Carrie wore shopping in the Middle East is a perfect example of the Mix High and Low trend the franchise initiated in the 90's.  Field claims this to be her homage to Galliano, whom SJP and her both love.  The J'adore Dior shirt is a vintage piece that she wanted to use, but didn't know what to pair with it.  Field took a crinoline slip from under a gown because the colors looked so good together and it was beautiful on it's own.  Out of respect for the Middle East, she had to make it a little more modest and threw a little jacket on Carrie.

Field explains that "we mixed up the high and low, because that's who Carrie is, and it doesn't matter if you're 30 or 40 or 50: You'll always express yourself that way, your originality that's your personal style.  And I always fought for that for Carrie.  She's not the rubber-stamp girl like Charlotte."

I hope you enjoyed opening the seams of Sex and the City fashion.  The trendsetting show, and our favorite Sunday night girlfriends, will live on through the iconic fashion, relentless quoting, our beloved pink book of DVDs....and of course the labels!

P.S.
Some fun facts I didn't know where to stick in!

• A very talented costuming team selected up to 50 outfits for each episode of the show!
• The estimated wardrobe cost of Sex and the City 2 was $10 million!
• Carrie Bradshaw has 41 costume changes in the 2nd movie, including the $47,190 silver and gold Chanel lame dress she sings karaoke in. 
• Patricia Field's favorite item from the 2nd movie, a man-tailored Gaultier robe with 10 ft train Samantha wore in her hotel room, but was cut from the movie.
• Have you changed?  See if your still the same character! 
• http://www.cosmopolitan.com/quizzes-games/online-quiz/sex-in-the-city-quiz
• http://www.tbs.com/affinity/quiz/0,,33842%7C%7C,00.html
• Ever see a floor plan of Carrie's apartment? Neither did I...so I had to share!
  

What to look for next week?!?

::: You'll totally feel a little jeally over what our designers are working on!  Don't miss this post about the upcoming trend in shoes; transparent vinyl!!! ::: 

::: Your friends would never consider you a punk rocker at all, but you love the new Street Chic trend?  No worries, girlfriend!  I am going to break down this red hot style of metal and leather so you can incorporate as little, or as much, as you want into your Fall style :::

Read More

Grooving Vegan?

A New Groove in Shoes! 

SPOTTED:  On websites, shoeboxes, in stores and online.  A heart with a 'V' inside, 'Be Green', 'Go Veg', 'Live on the Veg'.  What are all these companies talking about?  Keep reading, eco-friendly fashionistas, because I'll never tell!

            XoXo,
            Groove Girl

Recently, more and more icons are popping up on websites and stores for Vegan Footwear.  What exactly is a 'vegan' shoe and why is it such a growing trend?  With the ecological enlightenment of global warming, over consumption, and the consequences of synthetic plastics and other materials, there has been a huge surge in 'Green' living.

Using fake leather versus real leather, some even go as far as using all plant based materials from the laces to the bindings.  While this growing trend may seem to be new to the fashion scene, but cruelty-free footwear has been around for years.  Just ask A-Lister Anne Hathaway!  For years this celeb has been rocking her own custom-made cruelty-free shoes.  In fact, she wore a pair of vegan Tom Ford gladiators to the NY premiere of Les Miserables and required vegan-friendly footwear for all of her character's shoes.

Leather is the most common animal skin in the fashion world and most of the high-end labels do not play nice when it comes to getting their supply.  Amongst poor living conditions, many animals are tortured and executed without anesthesia.  Many manufacturers will choose the cheapest fur farm, which often results in purchasing from some of the most cruel and inhumane ones.  It's not just our furry friends that are in danger here, so are our slippery and slithery friends.  Take Gucci, for example, take their snake skin from pythons...which California has banned the selling of python shoes already.  Jimmy Choo even has a pair made out of eel skin!

Maybe if she waited a few years Natalie Portman's Vegan shoe line (by Dior) may have survived :( 

So what do companies, like MooShoes, make their shoes out of you ask?  Here are some of the popular vegan materials: Ultrasuede (post-industrial polyester), Reclaimed wooden soles, Italian synthetic leathers, Organic cotton and hemp fabrics, Water-based glues with cell-rubber lining, Vegetable-dyed linen and cotton linings, as well as biodegradable boxes printed with environmentally friendly inks! I even read that one of the nontoxic, environment friendly synthetic microfibers is derived from recycled televisions. That's right; recycled TV screens!!! How cool is that?!

Did you know every Stella McCartney shoe is vegan-friendly?! 

I love indulging in a really expensive pair of designer shoes, even though I can get an almost exact faux replica for half the price.  I am not a vegetarian,vegan, or extreme environmentalist (I do what I can to reduce, reuse, recycle), but after doing this research, I definitely feel a lot better about the faux leather and fur in my closet.  I get to save my money (let's be real...I just get more shoes for the price of one expensive pair) and no furry friends have to give their life, win-win!

P.S. ALL Groove Footwear shoes are Furry Friend Approved!

What to look for next week!?!

::: Ever wonder "Where can I get that outfit!?", or "Who on earth put that outfit together??" when you were watching Sex and the City?? Well, I am bringing out the lowdown on the styling and fashion behind the show and movies! :::

::: Want to be trendy, but still rock your feminine, girly style?  No worries, I will be breaking down the new Street/Punk/Rocker trend to make sure any fashionality (fashion personality, hehehe get it?) will be able to incorporate it into their Fall wardrobe! ::: 

Read More

Grooving on the World Wide Web

SPOTTED: Bulletin boards filled with pictures of shoes, color swatches, rough drafts and scribbled notes.  Excited chatter, phone calls and countless emails coming from the marketing department.  What is all the commotion about? Keep scrolling my little techies, because I'll never tell!

                   XoXo,

                  Groove Girl

P.S. 

Our website got some work done...a virtual facelift!  Don't forget to check it out and let us know what you think!

You have managed to navigate your way through the World Wide Web to read this, so I know you understand when I say technology moves so fast!  I swear, every time I get a new app, cellphone, or even log onto Facebook, almost immediately there is a new update waiting for me!  Apple seems to be pumping out a new iPhone model every 6 months and software updates every other week!  Just goes to show, if you want to stay in the game you've got to keep updating the playbook!

This is why we decided to give our website a quick little facelift....quick being the understatement of the century hehehe.  This project has actually been a huge, monumental and, at times, high-maintenance job.

It all started 2 months ago when the planning, development and initial make-over began. 175 emails, 6 redrafts, hours of discussing and revising, 3 photo shoots and technical difficulties later, we will FINALLY get to see what all of our hard work has become.

Michelle Drake - Photographer

Each shoe picture, page you can visit, graphics, and interactive buttons had to be specially coded and designed to make a comprehensive website for you all to enjoy.  It might not look like as much work as I described, but we had to figure out the perfect shade of pink, placement of icons and text, etc. = basically a different revision and correspondence each....now that's A LOT of emailing!
Better bookmark our new website right now as it is integrated with all of our social media accounts and blog!  Just make it your homepage because I know between our Facebook, blog and Pinterest accounts, you'll be on it every day J If that's not you, you should still bookmark it (or at least drop in every now and then) because how else are you going to know how to win FREE shoes, swag, gift cards and other goodies?!?

What to Look for Next Week?!?

::: Our monthly newsletter keeping you up-to-date on all things Groove! :::

::: The scoop on the new Vegan shoe trend! :::

::: Ever wonder who picked out Carrie Bradshaw's crazy outfit, or drooled over her Manolo's and Jimmy Choo's?!? I am bringing you inside Carrie's closet and a closer look into how the fearless fashionista was styled on set! We'll take a look at The Carrie Diaries and how a younger Carrie started her fearless wardrobe.  :::

Read More