New York City: where anything is possible.

Tomorrow I am leaving for a fabulous whirl wind trip to New York City to see my New York family. (read: my bestest bestie friends!!  Inside jokes will ensue and impromptu singing sessions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch are imminent.)

Last time I was in New York back in May 09 the most amazing, "never has happened to me before"experience commenced.  A friend and I arrived for dinner in the EXACT same outfit!  Both Jenn and I were wearing a Banana Republic printed, high waisted skirt, a white top, elongated necklace and a black cardigan (not seen in picture).   Hilarious!!  I love that this happened.   So I wonder on the eve of my next trip? Could this happen again?  Possibly. But probably not.  Just a fashionably fabulous, completely random occurrence and wonderful memory to share with you all.

Today I pack.  Tomorrow I fly. Tomorrow night I martini it up in the west village.  No driving means:  I'll have that second dirty martini please...   Working on some fabulous New York outfits to brave the cold weather in.    Stay tuned for my first of, I'm sure many, New York based Laurie B Style Files.

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B

Fashion Radar: Studs. Tracing the trend back to Christian Louboutin for Rodarte Fall 2008 Collection

Alicia Keys looking edgy and dangerous thanks to the studs (pic: Concreteloop.com)

This 80s revival meets metal rock thorn stud trend is currently about to hit the tipping point.   About 2 years ago Rodarte's Fall 2008 runway collection debuted the most killer of shoes:  The thorny, strappy, platform.  Designed in collaboration with Christian Louboutin, this was the day the trend was revealed to the masses. And it took almost two years for it's trending cycle to expand, elaborate and hit the influencers of today. ie: Lauren Conrad, Rihanna, Adam Lambert and now Alicia Keys.   What does this mean?   It means that the tipping point is upon us and will we will now be seeing this trend hit the masses.  Shoes will be the most wearable and mark my words... you will now be seeing them everywhere.   But I imagine we'll be seeing the studded shoulders on jackets.  You know Zara is totally on top of this right now...   Regardless.  Sign me up!  I think it's cool and you've got to be one tough cookie to rock this look with the right confidence and a whole lot of feminine glam...

Please turn your fashion radars on.  And while you're observing this fashion idea.. I'm working on the next one to bring to you!

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B

Christian Louboutin for Rodarte Fall 2008 Runway 

Presented in February 08 (pic: Style.com)

Lauren Conrad in Aldo pump studded by stylist Britt Bardo

 (pic: wireimage)

Louise Golden for Topshop.  AW 2009 collection (pic: Refinery29.com)

Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment music video

Adam Lambert portrait at the AMAs (pic: wireimage.com)

Rihanna portrait at the AMAs (pic: wireimage.com)

Rihanna at the R-Rated Album Release party (pic: wireimage.com)

The Fifth Element: a fashion re-emergence at the AMA's 2009

Plavalaguna meets Lady Gaga

Lilu (Milla Jovovich) meets Rihanna

 At the American Music Awards we all witnessed the vision of future fashion come true.  Jean Paul Gaultier's costumes from the Fifth Element have made their way to the AMAs!

Remember the 1997 Bruce Willis movie The Fifth Element? A story about a future society, the end of the world and the kick ass woman (aka: Milla Jovovich) who holds the key to saving it?   Well.. tonight I almost died and went to fashion heaven when I saw Lady Gaga and Rihanna perform.   Lady Gaga is seriously channeling Plavalaguna and Rihanna has taken the Lilu bandage jumper to a whole new level!

Since the costumery for The Fifth Element was envisioned and designed by the incredible Jean Paul Gautlier, we end up with an interesting fashion analyzation.  Did JPG predict the future of fashion... or did he influence it?  Actually both are correct in my eyes.  He did envision the future and he interpreted it into costumes that are futuristic, other worldly and all innovative.  But by giving us that vision 12 years ago he most definitely influenced our thinking today. And now we see the prediction meet the influence and come to life.   Jean Paul Gaultier's vision of the future has officially emerged off the sci-fi screen of the past and into the streets of the today. Amazing.  I love fashion.

 Well, I know what I am wearing for Halloween next year!  Time to stalk up on white bandages.

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B

Click here to see my AMA red carpet fashion review

Impromptu Photoshoot: Witches by Gabby Applegate

Who knew that a meeting with David of Dietch PR to review his collections as well as an interview, with his up and coming client, designer Gabby Applegate of Witches, would turn into an impromptu photoshoot around the office and roof?   You can't beat playing dress up, and with Witches girly goth meets victorian chic, getting in the photoshoot mood was undoubtably easy, and really lets face it, I'm always up for a photoshoot.

Each peice was more fun than the next.  The upside down crosses, the crop tops, the lace cape, I wore like a blouse, the straight jacket chic, the sexy lace up back blouse, it even had squared shoulders which is a subtly chic way to sport the strong shoulder trend. I especially love the half lace half spandex leggings, so much I forgot to take them off and almost walked out the door in them!  Oops. Well, I'm not gonna lie, the two sided legging idea is growing on me... Remember our faux fur look from last week?

Want your own Witches pieces?  Get in line, ladies. This highly anticipated collection is launching Spring 2010!

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B

Want a more indepth preview of the witches collection?  Click here and see sneak peak photos and get insider info!

Who wore it Better? Laurie B Style or Nicky Hilton..

(nicky hilton pic: wireimage.com)

There's a funny story about this.  Well, I think it's funny.  In entering into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel to attend the Lupus LA "Hollywood Lunch Bag Ladies Luncheon" I am noise burried in my blackberry, about to send out one of my many entertaining tweets. I finally pick my head up, and all I see in front of me is my same dress!  Anna Sui for Target, thank you very much!  And instantaneously I say "Nice dress!"And then I look up...  And it was Nicky Hilton!   Ha!   She smiled, laughed and we both kept walking our separate ways.  A fab brush with Los Angeles royalty, if I may say so myself.  (What? I may have grown up in LA but that doesn't mean I still can get excited for the occasional celeb!)

So who wore it better?   Nicky Hilton obviously!   But I look pretty cute too!  Let's compare.  Mind you she is twice my height and half my size.   She's paired her Anna Sui for Target dress with black opaque tights and, I'm going to assume, Brian Atwood black patent leather pumps.   Me?  I went bare legged and I tested out wearing black dress socks with my black open toed platforms.  Too bad you cant see them.  I thought it looked cute.  I went simple on the bangles situation, which is rare.  Just my beautiful Michele Watch with a Croc leather wrist band.  But the best part of my outfit are my oversized jeweled earrings!  They are beyond chic, the perfect match for the dress and my skin tone and where I got them is a secret...

Hey Nicky! ...if you ever, by chance read this, nice brushing shoulders with ya and since I didn't get a chance to tell you then... Fab outfit choice!

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B

Rihanna + LA's Funktional = Red Hot, Red Carpet Style

Rihanna has always rocked our fashion worlds.  In my newly famous words,  her style, her clothes and her look is "bangin"!  Each time she hit's the carpet, we see reinvention, innovation and just the haute-est of high fashion.  And really every time she graces the paparazzi cameras with her high style, her we just dream of having a wardrobe like hers. Well that idea is not so far fetched, as I have recently uncovered that Rihanna, just two nights ago walked the Nokia X6 London launch party red carpet in an under $100 dress!  Pretty amazing right? The dress by Funktional, is a Los Angeles based brand. (Go LA!)  And the best part about this discovery is that the dress goes on sale today for $85 at StyleQ.com.

SOLD!

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B

(photo supplied by: Metro PR)

Website Obsessions

In searching for some new fashion inspiration I came across my new latest website obsession.   I want to be a Roitfeld.com.   It's a website dedicated to the Roitfeld family.  French fashion royalty really.  Carine Roitfeld is the Editor in Chief of FrenchVogue.  She's held this spot since 2001 one and there have been long rumors of her giving the illustrious Anna Wintour a run for her fashion money.    With two children both stateside, her daughter Julia Restoin Roitfeld, a Parsons School of Design in New York City graduate and her son Vladimir Restoin Roitfelt a USC grad.

All in all a very chic family.  But thanks to one obsessed fan, we get to see constant pictures and inspiration based on the Roitfeld royal family. The picture above is daughter Julia shot for an editorial campaign in for Vogue China.   I'm not going to lie, all i can read is FENDI (no suprise) and isn't that all we really need to know?  It's very medieval warrior chic.  Sign me up for those gauntlet cuffs.  Trè chic.

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B

ps.  Trying a new format.  You likey?

I knew I loved this picture...

Okay so when first saw this picture last week I knew there was just something about it that made me 1) jealous of Dakota 2) dying to wear leopard and 3) wondering, who makes this dress??

Well the mystery has been solved.  As my Teen Vogue arrived at my doorstep on Friday, I immediately flipped to the Dakota spread that I loved so much and discovered the best news I think I've ever read!   This dress is...  RODARTE FOR TARGET!   Which means that it will be in Target this December!

The interesting thing, is that with all the Rodarte for Target pictures surfacing on the web this leopard dress has seemed to elude all the photographers, bloggers and fashion obsessed.  But not me...

I wish I knew more about this dress.   It looks like a printed sweater dress with some type of fleck of metallic.  And it can be styled in so many ways.  Of course I love the glam necklace paired with the dress as Dakota wears.  But think about the versatility.  You could wear it plain, you could wear it with tights, with boots, with socks and open toe heels, with a high waisted skirt on top, with a belt or even with an elongated cardigan and a belt.   But you could really go all out if you did it all together.  Black elongated cardigan, a box weave leather belt,  burgundy colored tights and black open toed fringe heels.   hmmm... So many options to play with.

Well regardless of not knowing much about this dress.  I do know one thing.  I will be at Target first thing in the morning to buy it and put it into its proper home.  My closet.

Fashionably yours,
Laurie B

Lace leggings... the Megan Fox test drive

I'm a lady of my word, right?   So I decided to take the Megan Fox lace leggings with a heather grey sweater look out for a test drive this past weekend.   Results?  Pretty cool actually! Lots of turned heads, inquisitive eyes, and even tons of compliments!  Both men and women alike, dig this look! And men especially! Mostly because they love the lace tights, but can I blame them? They look pretty hot.


But I had to do this the Laurie B Style way.  So I paired my last years Express black lace tights with my Alice and Olivia peep toe rock booties.  Then up top, I'm wearing a 4 year old Sweeties white tank dress, topped with my new BCBG short sleeve sweater and a Betsey Johnson leopard embossed belt.  For Jewelry,  I'm wearing vintage bangles from the Melrose flea market, a to-die-for Michele Watch and my earrings are from H&M, like 3 years ago.  Gotta love those items that outlast the sands of time!   


I am all about mixing the old with the new and the inexpensive with the expensive.  This is how you create a well balanced, creative and effortlessly chic look. But always put your own twist on an inspiration. Because, while I took my inspiration from Megan Fox, this new look is all me!


Fashionably yours,
Laurie B

The POSHGLAM Covergirl

When I first moved back to Los Angeles from New York I started up two writing gigs.  One of Examiner.com as the LA Women's Style Examiner and a second for the fashion website POSHGLAM.com.   Well back in June, I think, POSHGLAM threw an LA Launch party at the Club Ecco in Hollywood.  Not POSHGLAM's fault at all, but the party was lost in the sea of random club dancers and bachelorette parties.   And funnily enough, a friend of mine kept getting hit on by women and now vehemently refuses to wear boyfriend jeans ever again. (and made a lovely comment about that on my my old "boyfriend Jeans" Examiner article.)  She may have been upset, but I still think it's hilarious!   But back to the party.  So I'm closing up my tab and running for the hills because this was really not my scene and  I finally find the POSHGLAM camera guy and I said, "Hey! Grab my picture!" and the rest is history!  And months later I re-appear front and center for POSHGLAM's New York Dinner party.   I'm definitely doing the red carpet over the shoulder look.   And I really love my outfit that night.  It was a Betsey Johnson white satin jacket I have had since 2004 and the top is actually the Matthew Williamson for H&M scarf I acquired in a shopping mayhem this past May. And I think I paired that with shorts....I think.   Either way I'm sure I was rocking some bangin' shoes!


Well thanks POSHGLAM for making me your cover girl...even though I don't write for you anymore.  Should I be getting paid for that? Just kidding...


Fashionably yours,
Laurie B

While we are on the topic of tights....

Here's a great way to add to your twitter following?  You think if I wear these around, I can finally hit 1000 followers?  I'm so so close. (follow me! *wink wink*)

Honestly, I kind of like them and in researching the designer who makes them I came across some other printed tights that are for sure an interesting Resort and Spring 2010 update to the patterned tights of Fall '09.

Check out the Post store on Etsy.com.  My personal favorite is the peacock feather tights.

Oy. My tights and leggings drawer is growing fast! Time to start organizing.

Fashionably yours,
Laurie B

Lace leggings... as pants...

So if you know anything about me, you'd know that I have an issue with people wearing leggings as pants.  Especially when you can see through them.  And yes, I still feel the same way....

But, recently with the emergence of the patterned tights and leggings trend happening, I have been expanding my usage of leggings and tights to add to my fall wardrobe.  The two pairs of lace tights I own, I purchased last Winter in New York and I only opened them up and tried them out this season.  But now I am pairing them with some of my most stylish ensembles!  And it has proven to be a great way to update my look and keep my legs warm when it drops to a freezing 65 degrees in Los Angeles.  HA!

When I came across this picture of Megan Fox, I wasn't sure what to think.  I mean, she is totally wearing her patterned tights as pants! Strangely enough, I absolutely LOVE this look. The idea of the dressy lace tights, black buckle boots, contrasting with an oversized grandpa cardigan and simple tank is extremely unexpected. But because she rocks it with confidence, which makes me believe in the style. Another something to test drive in my wardrobe. I'm going to try this out and see what reactions I get...  perhaps it's an appropriate poll for a video... hmmm... the fashion wheels are turning.   In the mean time, test drive it in your wardrobe and send me pictures!  How would you style your lace tights?

Fashionably yours,

Laurie B