What to Wear: Tara Jarmon Silk Bow Applique Camisole

If you’re debating whether or not you should trek over to Target to check out Tara Jarmon’s French-inspired line, vacillate no more.  Go out and try on the Silk Bow Applique Camisole in Plum–the aforementioned feminine camisole is worth every penny of the $29.99.  I was thoroughly surprised at how nicely the top sat on my bodice, considering its price.

Plusses:
-    The cut is really nice and reveals a bit of cleavage,
-    The material is silky and comfortable,
-    It doesn’t look like you’re wearing a top from Target, and
-    It’s only $29.99.

Minuses:
-    The bow is made of a material that sheds like a hairy dog (be careful when wearing it with a long necklace because the material can get stuck to the chain), and
-    I haven’t washed mine yet but I am a bit scared to because I feel like it won’t look the same once I do.

Wear it With:
Cuffed brown short shorts, off-white open-toe pumps, and a long gold-chain necklace.

June 5th, 2006

Shopping Guide: Tara Jarmon Target Collection

Target has switched gears from England to France by saying goodbye to British designer Luella Bartley and saying bonjour to Canadian born French designer Tara Jarmon. Tara’s très chic flirty French designs landed in Target stores at the beginning of May and will be followed by designs from fellow French designer Sophie Albou’s label Paul & Joe. The latter will feature a collection of women’s pants, tops, jackets, and more, with prices ranging from $7.99 to $149. 

Although Tara’s entire collection for Target is affordable AND wearable, we highlight for you the ones we would want to be in if we were stranded on the Eiffel Tower: 

 Best Dress: ‘Cause every girl needs a LBD.

Tara Jarmon Strapless Dress - Ebony | $39.99 at Target 

Best Tank: Sure to make you feel royal. (plus the bow looks a lot like the one on Keira Knightley’s Oscar dress).

Tara Jarmon Silk Bow Applique Camisole | $29.99 at Target 

Best Skirt: Cause it looks like something Gwen Stefani would wear. 

Tara Jarmon Printed Strip Skirt | $29.99 at Target 

2 comments May 8th, 2006

Get Your Wil Lin Limited Edition Tees at Urban Outfitters!

Many guys will agree; it doesn’t get much better than seeing a beautiful girl…and another beautiful girl. Get your mind out of the gutter!  I’m not referring to anything PG rated, but instead to LA artist Win Lin’s limited-edition anime graphic tees at Urban Outfitters. There’s a racerback cotton style for every type of gal: “Insecure,” “Liar,” “Vain,” “Annihilator,” and “Lachrymose Baby.” If you like none of these, just choose the fine art portrait you think looks most like you! Omiru got a chance to talk with Wil.

O: How long will the tees be available?
W: I am not clear on how long UO will be stocking the three designs I currently have in their stores, but I know that four new designs will appear in UO stores either this month or next month.  I am still working with them, and I think they are shooting for a mid-summer release of some new items–whatever it is that I come up with.

Like what you see? Visit Urban Outfitters to get yours for only $28.

2 comments March 30th, 2006

Summer Fashion Forecast | Celine Goes Golfing

Summer may be four months away, but it’s never too early to learn about upcoming trends. Even if you’ve never swung a golf club in your life, it would be to your stylish benefit to sport Celine’s Summer 2006 Open Golf line. Inspired by the Couture Sportswear initiated by Madam Vipiana (aka Celine, the founder of the line) and fused with urban practicality, Open Golf ensures that all chic women, golfers or not, can don this half sporty, half preppy collection outside of the putting range.

Color Palette: Tangerine, white, khaki beige.
Silhouettes: Inverted pleats, tartan skirts turned up, Bermuda shorts, cardigans, polo shirts.
Accessories: Beige leather sneakers marked by CELINE logo, ankle socks, beige bag with canvas flap and tangerine leather band, solid white or orange visor.
Where to Buy: In Celine stores mid-March.

What’s she wearing?  White Cotton Polo, White Jacquard Chain Print Sleeveless Cardigan, White Cotton Short Pants with Bicolor Belt, Coral Cotton and Linen Canvas C Sulky Long Strap Bag, Khaki Lambskin Glove.

4 comments February 20th, 2006

Finding Comfortable Work Shoes: The Age-Old Dilemma

It’s always been a struggle, finding chic yet comfortable shoes that fit perfectly (pun intended) with an on-the-go lifestyle. To make matters worse for us, the Bay Area’s torrential rains can be entirely unrelenting around this time of year.

So what’s a girl to do? Go on a shopping hunt! We searched high and low and found some wedge pumps, luxurious ballet slippers, streamlined waterproof flats and even a pair of cozy shearling slip-ons that are all suitable for work.

Give us your two cents: Where do you shop for comfortable work shoes?

 
Ennis by Tara Subkoff | $295 at Easy Spirit

Meribel Shearling Clog in Camel Suede | $135 at Cole Haan

Serafina Velvet Ballet Flat in Velvet Merlot | $98 at Banana Republic

  Sigerson Morrison Rubber Skimmers | $135 at Vivre

December 7th, 2005

Q&A: The Shoe-Belt Connection for Men

Q: I still haven’t quite figured out shoes and belts for men. What’s the connection between shoes and a belt (one time, or, to be honest, many times I’ve worn black shoes with a brown belt and had comments flung my way)?

Also, I’m the kind of guy who only has one pair of shoes at a time — which color has more power to look professional and match khakis, brown or black? And last up, what am I doing wrong in trying to buy a belt– I walked into Nordstroms to get a black belt recently and they averaged $90, which is way above my budget. What am I to do?

A: General rule of thumb: match the belt to the shoes. So if you’re wearing a black belt, wear black shoes. If you’re wearing a brown belt, wear brown shoes. And so forth. However, this isn’t a Law.

A better rule might say match the style of the belt to the shoe. That style is most visually expressed through color–hence the "match the belt to the shoes" mantra. I wouldn’t want to pair the black and the brown, but pairings that don’t exactly match, but are similar in style are definitely A-OK.

Note also that there are formal belts, and there are casual belts. Skinny belts are usually reserved for more formal occasions, and thicker belts are more appropriate for casualwear. For casual belts, leather isn’t the only option–there’s nylon, grosgrain (ribbon), and canvas, for starters.

If you want to look professional, I’d recommend moving away from khakis and going towards black or grey pants. In your industry, though, it might be more acceptable to wear khakis. In that case, I’d recommend a darker shade of brown. For the black or grey pants, black would be the preferred option between the two.

As for buying a belt, try Macy’s. I’ve found decent quality, stylish belts in the $30-$40 range there. Other options: Club Monaco, or the everpresent Banana Republic and Gap stores.

Add comment April 29th, 2005

Q&A: Matching Shoes to Dress

Q: For a cocktail party in June, I plan to wear a Marc by Marc Jacobs dress. It’s knee-length and ruffled, and has a mauve background with pink, fuschia, and pewter-blue flowers, with brown stems [and] a royal blue waist tie. The shoes paired with it at the store where I bought it were blue patent leather sandals with about a two-inch stiletto heel, a little high for my taste. What other color shoes would you suggest wearing with it? Do I have to look for blue shoes?

A: No, you don’t have to look for blue shoes. The general rule is that a shoe is usually in the same color family as the outfit it is accompanying, but not necessarily an exact match. Often times, when you make an exact match, the result comes out too "matchy matchy." Not to mention the difficulty in finding the exact match in the first place.

There are a lot of colors represented in the dress, so you have a lot of leeway here. You might want to try some shade of pink–or even tan, to bring out the brown of the stems. Both colors would likely work with other items in your closet as well. Remember, however, that shoes in vivid colors attract attention–and consequently make your feet look bigger. For such shoes, I’d recommend sticking to barer styles that are easier to wear.

As for type of shoe, for the dress that you described, I’d recommend a kitten heel. A low, delicate heel is a lot easier to wear than the stilettos you described. Plus, I think the kitten heel is more versatile, as it works with both cocktail clothes and work attire.

Add comment April 22nd, 2005

Q&A: Stylish Color Combinations for Men

2 comments April 21st, 2005

Q&A: Mixing Metals

I’ve been getting more questions via email—I’m just going to make this Q&A week! If you have a burning style question, send it my way: styleintelligence@gmail.com.

Q: Is it okay to mix metals (e.g. gold and silver) when choosing jewelry?

A: Yes, it’s okay to mix metals. However, be careful to choose some unifying theme. I’d recommend choosing pieces that are similar in style, color, or even shine. You wouldn’t, for example, want to combine a shiny platinum and a dull gold. When in doubt, there are always pieces that are made of multiple metals—these generally do a good job with the combination.

Note that the same guidelines apply for picking metallic-colored pieces of clothing.

1 comment April 20th, 2005

Q&A: So you want to break into the fashion industry, Part Deux

How did I get started?
I’ve always Loved fashion, and it’s been a dream of mine since childhood to work in the fashion industry. However, fashion wasn’t really encouraged in my family—I have traditional Asian parents that wanted me to become a doctor or a computer programmer. I was trucking along, doing the parentally approved thing, right up until my freshman year of college.

I was studying Management Science and Engineering (optimizing Stuff—it was the closest thing to a business major that Stanford had), and I knew something was missing. Not that I didn’t enjoy the business classes, but I knew that I wanted to apply them to something more creative than say, a software company. Researched some fashion schools in the Bay Area, and found the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. As it turned out, they had an evening program for the Fashion Design major, specially designed for people with day jobs. I then spent the next two and a half years taking business classes during the day and fashion classes at night, graduating with an AA in Fashion Design, and a BS and MS in MS&E. I’m leaving out the ugly details of what that entailed, but suffice it to say, I didn’t get much sleep.

While going to school, I was fashion consulting. Got experience in helping people choose outfits for anything from interviews to dates to weddings. After graduation, I got my start in fashion design by showing my first collection in San Francisco’s first-ever Fashion Week in August 2004. I also continued doing fashion styling work—a recent project included styling a Hair/Fashion Show for the Patrick Evan Salon. And here I am writing a fashion blog!

Shameless Plug Alert: There’s more to come—I’ll be launching a line of clothes (men’s and women’s) later this year. More on that later.

The key takeaways here?
Don’t give up, if you really love fashion. You’re bound to run into roadblocks, but find creative solutions to overcome them. Finding a creative solution is what fashion is about anyhow, isn’t it?

Get as much experience as you can, as early as possible. While in school, volunteer for projects—helping out at local fashion shows, or interning with a designer. Learn as much as you can, both in the classroom and outside. Read fashion magazines and trade publications like Women’s Wear Daily or the Daily News Record. Broaden your fashion knowledge in any way that you can!

I took an unconventional route by going startup style (I guess it’s the Silicon Valley bug…how very 2000 of me). But hey, it’s becoming more acceptable as time goes on—just look at startup successes like C&C California. A more traditional route to becoming a designer is to intern at a company, work your way up the ladder, and eventually become a designer. Or starting your own label once you’ve established yourself at a major design house (e.g. a Calvin Klein or a Ralph Lauren). As for fashion styling, you would first intern with an established stylist, learn the ropes, and eventually break out on your own.

A Word of Warning
People aren’t kidding when they say fashion is a tough industry. Part of it I think is the inherent fickleness that fashion industry cultivates, but another part of it is due to the intense competition for jobs. I have no doubt that the slim profit margins of the industry also play a role. FYI—fashion salaries can be kind of grim. Especially when you’re starting out. Internships are often unpaid (or for little pay), and entry-level salaries aren’t so pretty either.

I wish you the best of luck, and feel free to ask follow-up questions. I’m a strong supporter of fresh design talent, and would like to advise in any way as I can!

Add comment April 19th, 2005