375 Person Photo Shoot by Daslu

So how awesome does this sound: your favorite store (if you have one), where you and your family have been shopping for years, surprises you with your very own personal, professional photo shoot. And not only that, but your photo gets published on the cover of your very own personal copy of that store's monthly publication?

Too good to be true? Well that dream (or, rather, the surprise of their lives) came true for 375 of the Brazilian department store Daslu's most loyal clients. And then all of the covers were shared in a large, greatly admired, exhibit.

Wow. Why don't stores in the U.S. treat its customers so well?
[if they did, Rue 21 would have my face plastered on their windows for sure.]

(get the full story on the JC Report)

Happy Black Friday!!!

Well, everyone, the time has come for one of the best shopping days of the year! That's right, Black Friday!

Unfortunately, I'm not taking part in the shopping festivities right now. I just got in a car accident on Sunday, so I'm wiped out until I get a new car. bleh. To be young and poor.

Anyways, my inbox this morning was filled with not only several Black Friday shopping offers, but also many Holiday shopping ideas. So, I decided that instead of cataloguing my Day-After-Thanksgiving shopping conquests, I'm going to share some great gift ideas with you! Stay tuned!

Blog Roundup Part 2

It's a slow news day in my sheltered little world, so I've decided to bring you yet another installment of great blog posts that weren't created by moi. Here goes:

I've never heard of Daydream Nation before, but My Fashion Life's interview with the brother and sister team behind the label gave me a lot of insight. Be sure to watch the attached video of their AW07 fashion show, I promise it's like nothing you've ever seen. Theatre + Fashion = bellisima!

Burberry's back! And the best part is, they're going to be opening up new stores in the U.S! If you're as excited as I am, check out Second City Style for the complete story.

SASSYBELLA offers a summary of the new Australian TV show "The Truth about Size Zero," a new twist on the weightloss show, to let teenage girls know that thin isn't necessarily the way to go. I think it's a great idea, but read on and judge for yourself.

FabSugar covers the new Twinkle By Wenlan book entitled "Big City Knits," a book that can show you how to create chunky-chic fashions like the famous designer.

And more news on the environmental trend - Chic Inspector features a great video about clothing waste.

Until next time, enjoy!

Going Green: Organic extends to fashion and beauty

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple decades, you know that pollution and global warming are ever-increasing problems in our society. Recently, there has been a major boom in the production and purchase of "organic" products, everything from food, to fabric, even beauty products! Here, a list of my all-time-favorite organic fashion and beauty products.

Fashion

According to Azalea Online, a premier web marketer of Eco-friendly clothing and beauty products, "High-yield cotton farming, worldwide, uses about $2.6 billion worth of pesticides a year. 35% of that is used in the U.S. It’s harmful to humans and wildlife, contaminating water supplies and killing native species." That's reason enough for me to start adding organic cotton products to my wardrobe.

And Azalea Online has a great selection from different brands, like Loomstate. They design everything from cute animal-inspired tees, to denim, to track jackets, such as this one. And it's all made from organic cotton.

Loomstate Track Jacket in White, $161, Azalea Online

Another great organic brand is Stewart+Brown. I absolutely loved this jacket when I saw it online, then when I found out it was made out of all-natural materials, I was shocked. This just goes to show that organic can be stylish as well!

STEWART + BROWN Organic French Terry Tailored Jacket in Graphite, $190.00, Azalea Online

Stewart+Brown also has cute tote bags and capri pants, among other things, on their Azalea Online page.

And did you know that there are organic jeans as well? I sure didn't. And I also didn't know that they could be as fashion-forward as well, such as those designed by Bread Denim. I definitely want to get my hands on a pair of these dark skinny jeans.

Bread Denim The Deviant Twisted Jean in Carbon, $229, Azalea Online

My favorite organic brand by far has been featured in Glamour magazine, and they're also available on Azalea Online. Edun makes fashionable clothes made from organic materials, they're diverse, and if you didn't know any better, you would have no idea that their clothes were organic, which means they blend in seamlessly with the rest of your wardrobe.

Edun Gertrude Cardigan in Jute, $215, and Bronte V-Neck in Multicolor Natural, $155, Azalea Online

Beauty

I'm not a big fan of Stella McCartney, but once I heard about her new line of organic beauty products, called CARE, I became very interested. One of the most popular, and in my opinion, useful, products from this line is this Purifying Foaming Cleanser, which contains extracts of hawthorn that helps refine your skin. And you can try this product yourself for a bank-busting $35 for 5oz. I'm not sure if it's really worth the price, but if you're gung-ho on organic cleansers, this does seem like one of the best available.

Stella McCartney CARE Purifying Foaming Cleanser, $35, Sephora

Origins is another online retailer with both nature, and your wallet, in mind. Featured in the April issue of Glamour magazine, this lip balm is great for the environment and your lips.

Origins Smileage Plus Liptint, $10, Origins, available in 5 different shades

My longstanding favorite organic products are made by Burt's Bees. I've loved their lip balms for years, and when I found out that they also sold lotions, I was extatic. I'm extremely eager to try this Chemical-Free, 99% organic sunscreen that claims to be non-greasy and better for your skin than the non-organic ones. I'm sold!

Burt's Bees Chemical-Free Sunscreen SPF15, $15, Burtsbees.com

Let's face it, there are some companies that are merely trying to capitalize on the organic trend, so before you buy, make sure the product is legit. The easiest way: read the label. If it's filled with hard-to-read chemicals, it's probably not really organic.

Need more? Another great organic clothing website to check out that I haven't featured: http://www.btcelements.com

A blurb about Paris.

I know I said I wasn't going to do a blog about Paris, but I promise, this won't be a long one.

To tell you the truth, there weren't any full collections that I liked, just bits and pieces from each one. I will say that my two favorites overall were Valentino and Christian Lacroix.

Oh, speaking of Christian Lacroix, there was a rather unexpected visitor at his show...

PETA cracks me up. I had a feeling that this was going to happen. It never fails, really. It's only a matter of when and where.

However, I will say that her flats are very stylish. =]

Also, I'm really liking the oriental theme that's prevailing on the Paris runways so far. Other than that, I'll try to get through the rest of the week with an open mind.

What are your thoughts on the collections so far, or even on PETA? Does anyone our age even support them anymore?

Oh, to be rich...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! Today, I'm going to try something new for my blog, as a little special treat to you. Something I've never done before. Ready? Here goes.

Over the years, I've gradually fallen more and more in love with Diane Von Furstenburg. However, her most recent collection on shopbop has completely taken my breath away.
That is, until I remembered the price tags.

Diane Von Furstenburg Renny Wrap Dress, $325, Shopbop

The price of beauty happens to be far too high for the average college student [such as myself]. But if I actually had $300-$400 to spend on a dress, I would definitely snatch up one of Diane's.

So, I decided to make it my mission to find equally [or almost-equally] stunning pieces that create the same effect without breaking my already severely stretched wallet.

Impossible? Let's hope not.

After searching far and wide on the good ol' internet, I came to this acceptable conclusion:

Obviously, Diane Von Furstenburg's innovative designs are impossible to duplicate, BUT there are inexpensive alternatives to achieve the same styling effect.

So, I've taken two of DVF's magnificent creations and their [for lack of a better word - cheaper] counterparts, comparing them side-by-side and offering you tips along the way to make your clothes look high-end, when in reality, they're far from it.

First up: The Classic DVF Wrap Dress, modernized for this spring season with a bit shorter skirt.

As you can see, these pieces are quite similar. Both have the half sleeves; similar structure, length, and V-neck; and an eye-catching print. However, the Diane Von Furstenburg dress is an outfit in itself. The latter will need just a bit of updating. Since the print is a bit more drab than the DVF number, I would suggest dressing it up a bit with a large medallion necklace. Add a nice pair of pumps and you're good to go!

Diane Von Furstenburg Jeanne Wrap Dress, $325, Shopbop; and GoJane Lainey Dress, $38.99, GoJane.com

Next is something fairly new from Diane, a sweaterdress, presumably a product of her fall collection, compared to a piece from Urban Outfitters, the epitome of chic for teens and twenty-somethings.

This is one of my favorite looks because of its simplicity and functionality. Both dresses can easily be paired with leggings or tights and boots for a cozy winter look.

Now for the comparison. Both pieces have a similar structure, as well as a large knit pattern and unique collar. The DVF dress is more visually interesting overall, due to the button details and hood. However, the less expensive competitor has long sleeves, which proves to be more functional.

Diane von Furstenburg Kody Cable Knit Sweater Dress, $415, Shopbop; and Free People Funnel Neck Sweater Tunic, sale price $49.99, Urban Outfitters

Hopefully this leads some of you more monetary-conscious fashionistas in the right direction to find unique, stylish pieces for spring and fall that won't damage your budget.

Coincidence?

I'm no stranger to the fact that the fashion world has an open sharing of ideas, but is it possible that two pieces by two completely different designers could be almost identical?

I was looking at an email I recieved from shopbop and I saw these stunning flats by Tory Burch.

Nappa Leather Reva Ballet Flats, $195, Shopbop

And I remembered seeing a similar style elsewhere, on Steve Madden's website. So I went back to check, and I actually found three different variations. These two were the ones that most closely resembled the Tory Burch design:

Dagny and Matrixx, $79.95 each, Steve Madden

Now, you can obviously see the similarities here. Both are a black ballet flat with a bit of a heel, and a large medallion like design on the front. Obviously each medallion design is different, but I thought it was odd that upon first glance, the Dagny style in particular, the styles looked so similar as to be indifferentiable.

However, the Steve Madden styles are obviously made of different, and much cheaper, materials, and they also come in a variety of colors and fabrics, such as metallic and patent leather.

I'd like to hear everyone else's opinions on this one. Do you have any opinions on this coincidence, and have you seen others like it?