the it lists – fashion & trend blog

Corinne Bailey Rae’s soulful vocals pin you!! in the guitar ballad "Like A Star" and uplift you with blues-fueled school girl charm in "Put Your Records On." Her self-titled debut runs a blend of old and new – ala Billie Holiday, Norah Jones and Dido all in one.

In the space of a few months this it girl has powered through the charts, making her way thru TV appearances – even appearing with Mary J Blige on Oprah (Tues Jan 16). But don’t wait to pick up this disc, it’s that good.

As for fashion she’s still defining that, but she’s not doing too badly with her mix of trendy and vintage. And you have to grant fashion creed to any woman quoted saying: "I love how the world was before lycra. Clothes then were so womanly, what they revealed and hid. There’s no mystery in a pair of hot pants is there? (via Guardian).

The world’s most coveted handbags not only come with a hefty price tag, they also possess an inherent allure defined by their design and cachet.

Answer five quick questions to see which haute purse best fits your personality  – click here.

Shopping just got geekier! Like.com is the first true visual search engine, where the contents of photos are used to search and retrieve similar items. In Shop-inese what that means to you is this…

Want to know where to buy that trendy new bag that Jessica Alba was photographed with last weekend? The sparkly new watch Paris was snapped in? Like.com can look for it without you even knowing the designer.
 
Don’t have an image to run thru the search engine? Instead start with text so – if you enter a text query, like “jet black almond toe wedges,” Like.com will convert that query and look for related image results.

The site launched today returns results only for shoes, jewelry, hand bags and clothing, but more categories are coming soon. See a sample search here.

I know it’s a bit geeky for fashion, but think of all the pretty things you can now find. And best of all Like.com is offering free shipping to the first 10,000 fashionistas.

Image [source].

November always strikes the season for the festive party circuit. Mine includes a zillion house parties, and not all of them involve totally dressing up. I like wearing more festive tops with plain, casual bottoms. As a bonus this Banana Republic red jersey top is a good spark of color (and this season’s hot color). Take a big, knubby cable knit scarf and get a stylish and adaptable look like this (right)…

For another totally adaptable option – picture this Banana Republic outfit (left) with a skirt rather than jeans. I have this top in brown and wear it with everything dressy or cas’. The wool blend isn’t itchy, it’s just enough to give it a richer texture than all those t-shirts we live in. And don’t ignore the big bag find hanging on her arm.

Why haven’t I play by play’d the recent NY Fashion Week? So many blogs were rehashing the same thing about Spring fashion, and if you want the epitome of photo coverage go to the style.com bible.

But mainly because when I look out my window to the sea of fall leaves exploding into gold colors as I snuggle in my new fall sweater with a cup ‘o chai. Why would I want to write or even think about spring?

And as a reader you can’t rush out to stores to get any of it? So doesn’t it just seem plain mean to tease you about something you can’t have for six more months? Well for you fashion sadists that "have to know" – here’s a Spring Teaser of what "The it Lists" expects to be Spring 2007 ~ Top Ten Runway Predictions… (more…)

Sienna Miller is fresh, beautiful and creates her own fashion style. Ms. Miller’s easy, floaty look became the biggest fashion craze of last summer.

She’s given much of the credit for the revival of bohemian style ala BoHo. Although she told US Vogue: No more boho chic! Those two words make me sick now. She’s moved onto more tailored.

An actress and model, Sienna Miller’s film credits include Layer Cake, Alfie, Casanova, Camille and now she hits theatres in September as the Warhol starlet Edie Sedgwick is brought to the screen in Factory Girl; Sienna Miller stars as the former Harvard student who craves fame and fortune at any cost. She’s already on the fashion radar for trends she’ll inspire from the pic.

Trend Alert: Sienna was the first celeb (back in January) to be spotted wearing the now hot, ankle boots! Image [source]

1. Capes /Capelets (or a cropped military jacket with bell sleeves)

2. Stacked Heel Shoes

3. Fab Kneelength Flat Boots

4. Animal Prints

5. Multibuckle Belts

6. Layers of knits

7. Red Splashes

8. Cropped trouser (& a pair of slouchy trousers) – with a crisp white shirt

9. Pencil skirt – with a crisp white shirt

10. Jet Jewels & Luxe Gold ala Tiffany’s Frank Gehry (Guggenhiem Architect!)

Dresses: It’s the season of the dress. A sweater dress is the best choice (and you can warm up with leggings underneath. Legging rules – cover your bum!).

Gold: Gold hardware, around your neck (layers of chains), shoe details, and fabric. It’s a rare woman who can mix silver and gold -so be safe and retire the silver for a little while.

Boots: Knee-high or little booties – just keep in mind the heel is flat or chunky (no stiletto). Cuffs & buckles galore.

Skinny Pants: With so much layering volume on top, you want your bottoms slim. The only skinny I’ve ‘really’ liked is the velvet skinny.

Menswear-inspired Trousers: If skinny and leggings don’t do it for you -your answer is plaids and pinstripes in wide-leg or long Bermuda short-style.

Sweaters: Since skinny is the look below – the counterbalance is big up top. Oversized flowing knits.

Red accents: Red is the No. 1 accent color for the season, says Gregg Andrews, a fashion director at Nordstrom. Buy a red coat, or a red handbag. Wear red lips.

Black accents: Coordinate jet onyx beads and crystals with just the right sparkle to subtly stand out on black.

What are you are coveting for Fall? Or what  are you already living in for Fall? Post your answer on your blog and send me a link to it in the comments of this post by September 25. Your links and summaries will be posted here on The it Lists for the October update.

Fall Fashion is always signaled by the thicker glossies: September Magazine Bibles. Gawker has a fun way of weighing in on fall fashion by literally weighing Glamour, Lucky, W and Vanity Fair.
 

This my teaser way of telling you to check back 1st week of September to see the it list summary of all the September fashion rags rolling out.

A little late because of the timing of launching this blog – but this way I can share with you how you can actually get your hands on some of the hottest Fall Fashion Trends. Save up to 92% on Magazine Subscriptions!

With her doe eyes and baby-doll look, Gemma Ward has been dubbed the "Australian Doll" and inspired a new craze in fashion.

Ward is the youngest model chosen to be in a Vogue shoot of nine "It Girls" in the modeling world, which also included Daria Werbowy, Gisele Bündchen and Karolína Kurková.

She certainly makes our IT List.

Love her or leave her, but Paris Hilton fascinates me in a glam’ trainwreck kind of way (a.k.a. not in the way of Anna Nicole Smith or Tara Reid). So bare with me as I share that I love to dawn my Tiara Misu Tiara and vacuum with the lastest Paris Hilton track on my Nano: Stars are Blind

It’s pathetically boppy, catchy, and cheesy. Enjoy!
The full CD gets released August 22. For a sneak peak of the Stars are Blind video (see & hear it): www.myspace.com/parishilton