Carol Han

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Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:26:37 -0400

I know I’ve gushed shamelessly on this blog about perfumer...

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:58:51 -0400

I know I’ve gushed shamelessly on this blog about perfumer Romano Ricci (a.k.a. Nina Ricci’s great-grandson) and his couplet of perfumes for Juliette Has a Gun before, but I felt it necessary to broach the topic once again upon hearing the news that the handsome young Parisian lad is releasing the third fragrance in the line this month. The original two perfumes in Juliette Has a Gun, Lady Vengeance and Miss Charming, are inspired by the heroine in Shakespeares’ classic play, Romeo and Juliet. Although the heart of each scent is comprised of antique rose notes, they branch into very different directions. The dark, musky, stronger impressions that Lady Vengeance leaves one with conjure up visions of an older, more consciously seductive siren, whereas Miss Charming is exponentially lighter, fruitier, and more innocent. Miss Charming is the one that I’ve been wearing day in and day out for the past few month, to endless compliments.

As different as the two of them are, they are both unquestionably exquisite. And now, comes the third component to Romano’s scented tale—Citizen Queen. Word has it that the fragrance was crafted after Romano parted ways with his “nose,” Francis Kurkdjian, and that the scent holds onto the line’s signature rose center with the addition of rare ingredients such as Iris Absolut. It’s intended to invoke a sense of mystery, an rarified air of elusiveness.

I’m dying to get my hands on this new take on his beloved heroine. Mystery, elusiveness….sounds like the ingredients for a grand seduction if you ask me.

Here’s a first look at the highly-anticipated November...

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:58:23 -0400

Here’s a first look at the highly-anticipated November 2008 cover of W magazine. On it, Angelina Jolie is photographed by Brad Pitt (using a camera she purchased for him) breastfeeding their child. This is only one in a series of intimate portraits that Pitt snapped of his wife for the feature story, but if it’s any indication of the photographs inside, I can’t wait until the issue hits newsstands. Not only is it totally refreshing to see a magazine cover that is completely natural (read: not overtly stylized), the portrait is actually really good! Who knew that Brad had other talents in his stable besides acting, architecture, being hot, general do-goodery, and, er, being hot.

In the portrait, it appears as though Angelina is completely relaxed, happy, at peace, and in love. Sigh. As much as I want to be jealous, I just can’t help but look at this picture and get happy little goosebumps. Kind of makes you believe in happily ever after, doesn’t it?

Tuesday night found me hopping into a cab straight from work to...

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:57:52 -0400

Tuesday night found me hopping into a cab straight from work to hit a party at the Lacoste boutique on Fifth Avenue and 49th Street where Vogue magazine was hosting a little bash to launch the Lacoste PINK collection. In spite of the unfortunate timing (pre-presidential-debate), it seemed that guests were in no hurry to get home to watch the candidates go at it (a result of the now-ubiquitous DVR capabilities, I’m assuming). Instead, it seemed that attendees were more than happy to relax and sip some champers along with event hosts Aerin Lauder-Zinterhofer, actress Rose Byrne, Marisa Noel Brown, Gigi Mortimer and Cynthia Lufkin. All items from the PINK collection are available now in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with 10 percent of the proceeds going to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

As for me, I laid off the bubbly (for once) in favor of the last juice of the day in the three-day Blueprint Cleanse I’ve been engulfed in this week (today is the last day—whee!). Surprisingly, despite my lack of solid food, I managed to make it down to the Iconoclasts party with pals Kristian Laliberte, Timo Weiland, and designer Frank Tell just in time to see Wyclef Jean taking over the stage at nightclub Kiss & Fly. An added bonus? I spotted Gossip Boy Penn Badgley laughing and chatting away on his cell right outside the venue on my way out (and nearly swooned from the combination of ~~starvation~~ cleansing and proximity-to-hotness).

Until next time. XOXO

Ladies, behold the amazing hairpiece on model Raquel Zimmerman...

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:57:09 -0400

Ladies, behold the amazing hairpiece on model Raquel Zimmerman at the Chanel S/S 09 show in Paris. I’m obsessed with the thing—it’s dark and glamorous, glittering and opulent. It looks a little wicked—almost like the most beautiful spiderweb you’ve ever seen. And it’s the perfect evening accessory to top off just about any ensemble. Need it, and need it fast. Do we really have to wait ‘til next spring??

P.S. The Polaroid comes to you courtesy of one of my favorite photographers, Jeremy Kost, and Fashionista.com.

"The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort,..."

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:28:21 -0400

“The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.”

- David Foster Wallace

A Letter from Hughes

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:14:32 -0400

The following is a letter written by Ted Hughes after the suicide of his wife, Sylvia Plath. It’s full of regret, self-incrimination, and love, and it’s very, very heartbreaking. The part of the letter that struck me most is when he says, “We were utterly blind, we were both desperate, stupid, and proud — and the pride made us oblique, she especially so. I know Sylvia was so made that she had to mete out terrible punishment to the people she most loved, but everybody is a little bit like that…”

I wonder if that’s true….I wonder if everyone, for some reason, feels the compulsion to hurt those they love because of some sort of perverse self-defense mechanism.

History portrays Hughes as having been remote and distant—there’s a lot of blame put upon him for Plath’s suicide. This letter paints a different portrait of the man:

15 March 1963
Ts Lilly Library

Dear Aurelia,

It has not been possible for me to write this letter before now. Jean, the Nanny, is wonderful with Frieda and Nick, and already very attached to them, especially to Nick. She is even better than I thought she would be. Now that she’s used to us she’s not so shy. She comes from a small village on the coast of Dorset, and there’s a true country peace and sureness about her. Nick is his old self, and both walks odd steps and speaks odd words. Frieda has started talking in quite long sentences and talks constantly. She’s also much less selfish now she’s calming down, and when we have guests she plunders them and takes everything to Nick. It is not a bad thing for her to have somebody as calm as Jean. It would be disastrous for her to lose me now.

I shall never get over the shock and I don’t particularly want to. I’ve seen the letters Sylvia wrote to my parents, and I imagine she wrote similar ones to you, or worse. The particular conditions of our marriage, the marriage of two people so openly under the control of deep psychic abnormalities as both of us were, meant that we finally reduced each other to a state where our actions and normal states of mind were like madness. My attempt to correct that marriage is madness from start to finish. The way she reacted to my actions also has all the appearance of a kind of madness — her insistence on a divorce, the one thing in this world she did not want, the proud hostility and hatred, the malevolent acts, that she showed to me, when all she wanted to say simply was that if I didn’t go back to her she could not live. Only in the last month suddenly we became friends, closer than we’ve been for two years or so. Everything seemed to be prospering for her, and we began to have happy times together. Then suddenly her book about her first breakdown comes out, fifty other hellish details go against her, she became over-agitated, begged me to leave the country because she couldn’t bear to live in the same city, my presence was weakening her independence, and so on, then very heavy sedatives, then this. If I hadn’t been so blindly involved in the struggle with her, how easily I could have seen through all this! And I had come to the point where I’d decided we could repair our marriage now. She had agreed to stop the divorce. I had that weekend cancelled all my appointments for the next fortnight. I was going to ask her to come away on the Monday, on holiday, to the coast, some place we had not been. Think of how it must be for me too.

We were utterly blind, we were both desperate, stupid, and proud — and the pride made us oblique, she especially so. I know Sylvia was so made that she had to mete out terrible punishment to the people she most loved, but everybody is a little bit like that, and it needed only intelligence on my part to deal with it. But the difficulties caused by that, the fact that on the surface the situation was no more difficult than the normal one for separated couples — it was better than most in that she had money, fame, prospering plans and many friends — all these things delayed the workings of our reconciliation.

I don’t want ever to be forgiven. I don’t mean that I shall become a public shrine of mourning and remorse, I would sooner become the opposite. But if there is an eternity, I am damned in it. Sylvia was one of the greatest truest spirits alive, and in her last months she became a great poet, and no other woman poet except Emily Dickinson can begin to be compared with her, and certainly no living American.

So now I shall look after Frieda and Nick and you are not to worry about them. I will write as often as I can about them. Frieda has just gone to School — she wakes up shouting to be taken to school, and she’s very good there, mixes well and has two special friends. Jean is putting Nick down. This Nanny costs only 6 pounds a week and does absolutely everything. She has a day and a half off each week.

I didn’t know how to start this letter and now I don’t know how I can end it. I’ll write again, and tell you my plans.

Love
Ted

Okay, so I know that the entire fashion industry is up in arms...

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:57:18 -0400

Okay, so I know that the entire fashion industry is up in arms about PETA and their, er, not-so-subtle ways of getting their points across (i.e. dumping buckets of red paint on women wearing fur, storming runway shows screaming protests a la DKNY spring 09, etc.). And I completely agree with my fashion comrades when they say the PETA folks need to switch up their strategy in order to be more effective. But secretly? I kind of agree with their philosophy. Do I think PETA should be terrorizing the style masses? No, I don’t. But do I think innocent animals should suffer unnecessarily for the whims of fashion? Absolutely not. No way. This is why I’ve never in my life invested in a new piece of fur—vintage fur is another matter, as I like to think that I’m not contributing to new manufacturing. What’s done is done, right?

That said, I’m not even going to try to pretend that I don’t appreciate a good fur jacket, especially in the freezing winter months. And when I see pieces like this lapin box jacket by favorite label A.P.C., it’s all I can do to resist whipping out my credit card faster than you can say “murder.”

I hovered over the computer, lingering on Net-a-Porter and staring at said jacket for longer than I’d like to admit, two warring voices in my head. “What’s the big deal?” the devil on my shoulder rasped. “It’s just one little jacket and you’ll wear it every single day this winter.”

“Thousands of cute little rabbits had to be brutally murdered to make that thing,” the angel on my shoulder whispered into my ear plaintively. In the end, I shut down my computer and headed to Resurrection, one of my favorite vintage boutiques in search of a similar jacket.

What are your thoughts on the war between PETA and the fashion industry?

Oh, Riccardo Tisci, how do I love thee? Let me count the...

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:56:35 -0400

Oh, Riccardo Tisci, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. For your “western bondage” themed spring 2009 collection for Givenchy that literally had me salivating at my computer this morning.

2. For those thigh-high boots (pictured above) that are so clearly destined for mile-long waiting lists come spring.

3. For the super short, super sexy cocktail dresses that I will be wearing to countless parties. Love a man that gives me exciting nighttime options.

4. For those crazy black leather leggings that were part denim, part chaps, and totally fierce (for lack of a better word).

5. For your sheriff’s badge-shaped diamante brooches because they’re a little funny, slightly costumey, and very, very pretty.

6. For the amazing black leather cape that Carine Roitfeld (EIC of French Vogue) got to debut in the front row before it even went down the runway.

Seriously? Givenchy has been one of my favorite collections of this fashion month. Love, love, love.

A little bit of Friday afternoon eye candy for you: From...

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:56:10 -0400

A little bit of Friday afternoon eye candy for you: From ShowStudio, we have the finale of the Alexander McQueen show. McQueen is the consummate showman, always turning his runway shows into little theatrical sets for your viewing pleasure. This season, it seems that the theme of the show involved animals, and lots of them. I’m loving the short, colorful little dresses in this run of show, and the fact that the runway (or, in this case, stage) is split in half between gorgeous models and a menagerie of animals. Also, the man sure does look good in a bunny suit, no?

Rihanna has been making the rounds in Milan this week, appearing...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:21:25 -0400

Rihanna has been making the rounds in Milan this week, appearing front row at the Gucci spring 2009 show yesterday, and then appearing at Vanity Fair’s celebration “Fab 5: 5 Years of Vanity Fair, 5 Decades At Hollywood” held at the Triennale Design Museum (to which she wore the gorgeous bohemian dress in the photo above). Rumor has it that a fashion line is in the works for stylish young performer. “I’m not one to rush into anything. I want to take my time,” she told WWD. “I can’t say when it will be released, but it’s definitely going to happen.”

Considering her never-ceasing capability of picking out exactly the right ensemble for any given occassion from lunch at Bar Pitti to a fashion show to a red-carpet event, I’m pretty confident that when her line does eventually launch, it will be light years ahead of the lines of her peers (i.e. Lindsay Lohan’s leggings line, Hillary Duff’s tragic clothing collection, etc, etc.). I’m thinking that it will more likely be able to go toe-to-toe with MK and Ashley Olsen’s surprisingly chic efforts with Elizabeth & James and The Row, but I guess we shall see.

What are your predictions and predilections and projections for Rihanna’s creative fashion debut?

Wednesday night found me hopping from Norwood House for drinks,...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:21:00 -0400

Wednesday night found me hopping from Norwood House for drinks, to a gorgeous high-rise in Tribeca for an Accompanied Literary Society event, and then finally to yummy LES restaurant Allen & Delancey for the much-anticipated seasonal Hudson Jeans dinner. Every denim editor in town and then some looks forward to these dinners with a fervor usually reserved for tropical island vacations, meals at Le Bernardin, and Swedish pressure massages. The Hudson boys, Tony Chu and Peter Kim, are known for being unbelievably fun, lovable, and down for a good party (along with all of their denim-making-and-marketing skills, of course).

This time around, they hosted a seated dinner and presentation at the aforementioned Allen & Delancey with delicious offerings like Wild Mushroom Risotto, Vine-Ripened Tomatoes, Sea Scallops in Butter, and an especially guilt-inducing Snickers dessert. Seated at my table with me were some of my favorite editors, Noria Morales of Lucky magazine, Jade Frampton of ELLE, Ariela Suster of InStyle, and bestie Jessica Karcher of Harper’s Bazaar, along with Hudson’s PR gal Ali Tyrangel of BNC PR. ‘Twas a fun, gossip-filled meal, indeed.

Afterwards (and upwards of three vodka shots and a couple of glasses of prosecco later—because that is how the Hudson boys roll), we all headed over to my friend Hari Kalyan’s lovely speakeasy-inspired lounge, The Randolph on Broome, to continue the night ‘til the wee hours.

Not only did Hudson host a fantastic night, the new jeans for spring 2009 they unveiled at the restaurant were super chic…they introduced a brand-new flat back pocket (minus their former signature flap) that made the pieces leaner, meaner, and that much more covetable. Looks like Hudson’s got a new groove.

On this rainy, Hurricane-Kyle-dampened day, I can’t help...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:20:45 -0400

On this rainy, Hurricane-Kyle-dampened day, I can’t help but feel the first uncomfortable twinges of real advent of chilly fall weather. I tend to go into major denial at the end of every summer, thinking to myself, “Well, so what if it’s late September?! It’s still going to be warm until November, right? Right???”

Unfortunately, I usually get a rude awakening in the form of bad weather around early October and it always catches me by surprise (i.e. I’m still wearing sundresses and bright pink nail polish). It’s no different this time around—as I was walking to work this morning in the torrential downpour, I looked down at my cherry-red manicure and cringed, thinking, “This is all wrong.”

So, upon entering the office, I immediately started in on fall inspiration research and stumbled upon the backstage snapshot above of the Derek Lam fall 2008 show. And lo and behold, it made me feel better about the impending, inevitable fall transition. These girls look darkly glamorous, mysterious, dramatic in a way you can never quite pull off during lighter, sunnier months. I especially love the dark, dried-blood-red nail polish on Caroline Trentini on the far right. It reminds me of Chanel’s Vamp craze circa 1994. I love anything about the mid-90s so I’m beyond excited to bring back the Vamp. Time to make an appointment at the nail salon.

The ubiquitous, never-ending search for the perfect black...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:20:18 -0400

The ubiquitous, never-ending search for the perfect black legging has officially ceased. Ladies, feast your eyes now, thank me later. Brand new London-based line Les Chiffoniers’ black leather leggings are the best things I’ve seen in ages. They’re painted-on-tight, unbelievably sexy, and…wait for it….flattering. On the body, they have the effect of sucking everything in like Spanx and thereby acting as camoflauge to excess winter weight. Seen on stylish gals everywhere from Kate Moss to Juliette Lewis, and on the bodies of professional mannequins like Jessica Stam and Lily Donaldson, these little babies should go directly to the top of your fall shopping list.

And if, for some bewildering reason, black PVC pants aren’t Priority Numero Uno for you, then Leena Similu, the label’s St. Martins-trained head designer whose pedigree includes serving as Head Designer for the likes of Stella McCartney and Jil Sander, has other fantastic stand-alone pieces in her line. I’m personally hankering after a silver sequin blazer and a snug black PVC motocross jacket myself.

The best part? You can buy two pieces (silver sequin leggings and black leather leggings) right on Net-a-Porter, who picked the line up this season.

As if I didn’t love Jil Sander’s Spring 2009 runway...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:19:53 -0400

As if I didn’t love Jil Sander’s Spring 2009 runway enough as it was, Raf Simons had to go ahead and add on the most amazing earrings ever. In a first-time collaboration with Italian jeweler Damiani, the designer created tribal-influenced, slightly dangerous-looking spikes that pierced through the models’ earlobes with some kind of ferocity. Taming the wild vibe a bit was the fact that beautiful little diamonds and semi-precious stones perched delicately at the tips.

I’ve never really seen jewelry quite like this—it’s fresh, atypical, a guaranteed attention-getter in this attention-starved society.

While I never dislike the Jil Sander runway, I never quite fall...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:19:24 -0400

While I never dislike the Jil Sander runway, I never quite fall in love with it either. It’s always struck me as being too sterile, a bit unexciting. Until now. Flipping through today’s images from Raf Simons’ showing from this morning literally made my heart skip a beat. I don’t know if it’s end-of-work-day low blood sugar or midweek lethargy but I was somehow compelled to go through the show no less than NINE TIMES. Yes, you read that correctly. And each time, I just got more and more crazed with fashion lust. I wanted everything! Simons drew inspiration from such sources as tribal Africa, Man Ray, and the 1920s, and it made for an (obviously) captivating and interesting collection. Fringe played a key role in a majority of the looks, my favorite being the long white dress in the picture above.

I can just imagine myself running up the steps to a grand old building in New York, on my way to a gala on the arm of a handsome tuxedo-clad man, white fringe billowing out behind me. It’s rare that a collection makes me start fantasizing romantic scenarios, and this recent effort by Simons did just that. Exactly the inspiration one hopes for at the end of a long fashion-filled day.

I’ve been touting the comeback of the croptop for as long...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:19:02 -0400

I’ve been touting the comeback of the croptop for as long as I can remember (about three months, to be exact, which is a lifetime in fashion time). I saw it first on style icon/muse Diane Kruger a few months back, and then it showed up in a scattering of covetable runways this Spring 09 season (read: Alex Wang, Proenza Schouler, etc.). But this just solidifies things as far as I’m concerned—Miuccia Prada, doyenne of trendsetting herself, has littered her most recent collection with the barely-there pieces, and I’m loving them more than ever. This is it, folks—get ready to get fit for next spring. I suggest a steady diet of balanced meals topped off with some Physique 57 classes, pre-bedtime stomach crunches, and more than an ounce of sheer gutsiness.

But seriously—look at how adorable the look above is. It’ll be worth it. All in the name of Prada.

I have a slight obsession with perfumes. There are few things...

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:53:40 -0400

I have a slight obsession with perfumes. There are few things that get me as excited as shopping for a new fragrance once I’ve tired of my current one. There’s something so sensual (literally and figuratively) about discovering the perfect new scent that communicates something hidden and intangible about your personality, your life, your dreams, and desires. AND, I think it’s the sexiest thing to have a paramour actually pick out a perfume for you—it can speak volumes about the way a man views you. Example: I once had a boyfriend who eagerly presented me with a bottle of Angel, by Thierry Mugler. To me, that particular fragrance is cloyingly sweet, overwhelmingly strong, ubiquitous….common. We broke up soon after.

I know that seems a bit drastic, but I’m really into it. Obviously. The problem with this little hobby, is that it tends to literally take over my personal space. Insert picture above of my bedroom dresser. I counted no less than 19 different bottles this morning while I was musing over which one I felt like putting on today. Clearly, I should edit my selection down, but I just can’t seem to part with any of them. My current favorite is Miss Charming by Juliette Has a Gun (white bottle on far left). I had the pleasure of meeting the perfume’s creator, Romano Ricci (handsome dandy-about-town and Nina Ricci’s grandson) the last time I was in Paris, and he was just as lovely, unique, and seductive as his scent. Rose is the main note in the mix, but it gradually shifts into a clean, powdery, slightly musky, floral smell with hints of berry. In a word, it’s delicious.

Ricci actually has two fragrances in his Juliette Has a Gun line—Miss Charming and Lady Vengeance. When I asked him which he would pick for me, he said, without hesitation, “Miss Charming, of course, because you seem young, pretty, and untouched. You still have innocence.” Needless to say, I was sold.

You can buy it at luckyscent.com for $110.

What a sight for sore eyes/tired post-NY-fashion-week...

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:48:37 -0400

What a sight for sore eyes/tired post-NY-fashion-week spirits/Wall Street financial ruin/etc/etc. Looking at Luella Bartley’s Spring 2009 collection when I got into the office this morning literally lifted my mood and made me think of prom dresses, garden parties, and cool girls with a liberal sprinkling of purposeful eccentricity. My favorite dress in the line up came towards the end on Kim Noorda in the form of the frothy one-shoulder confection pictured above.

Also, the hats! I’m obsessed. Good-bye feathered headbands, hello bow hats with veils. Love, love, love.

There’s nothing like watching already-ridiculously-thin...

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:47:41 -0400

There’s nothing like watching already-ridiculously-thin models work out to get you in the mood to whip your own butt into shape. This is exactly the scene that awaited London Fashion Week attendees upon entering “Stella’s Gym,” a showcase to the brand new adidas by Stella McCartney collection for spring 2009. Not only were there different stations for varying types of sports, there were personal trainers on hand adding to the mix. Specifically, the brand introduced the new adidas by Stella McCartney trainer, Tracy Anderson, who works out with the likes of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. You can only imagine what kind of shape she’s in.

Perusing the pictures this morning made me think a number of things including, but not limited to:

1. Holy crap, I need to start working out.

2. I need that hot pink visor (see picture above).

3. Is it really possible to look that cute whilst exercising??!

4. I wonder how much Tracy Anderson costs per hour….?

One thing’s for sure: I can’t wait to get my hands on the collection come next spring. Also, maybe a gym membership. Or, you know, something like that.