Posts tagged stella mccartney

It’s Easy Being Green…with the Right Designers

It’s easy to go a little green in your closet, whether it’s an organic t-shirt here or a vegan leather bag there. But if you’re someone who craves high-end designers, you’re also in luck. A number of designers are jumping on the eco bandwagon to offer green pieces or full lines of earth-friendly items. Here are a few of our favorites that are sure to make you and the earth look good.

Stella McCartney: This is the mothership of high-end, non-leather/non-fur fashion. While this label does use wool and silk in some of her designs, some of her shoes and handbags are completely vegan, while all of them are leather and fur-free. This label is living proof that you don’t need leather to be considered high-end, which is a pretty incredible realization out of an industry that glorifies leather-loving labels like Louis Vuitton and Hermes.

Edun: High-end, but slightly more contemporary, this label has emerged as a fashion week power player. Using only certified organic cotton grown and stitched in sub-Saharan Africa, Edun’s line is all about promoting sustainability through making change in Africa. They have a real positive relationship with the continent, and encourages us all to change through fair trade.

Organic by John Patrick: Devoted to sustainable fashion, John Patrick pioneered a line that uses natural fibers such as organic wool, flax, cotton and recycled fibers. Discovering that one could grow cotton in different colors, he has produced lines sold by Barneys and has been recognized by the CFDA/Vogue Fashion.

H&M Conscious Collection: While it doesn’t scream upscale, I think it’s worth mentioning since it’s such an omnipresent brand, with everyone from teenagers to celebrities flocking to the store. This new Conscious Collection is made from organic cotton and  And with its recent announcement of its high-end line “& other stories,” maybe it will be another label to take green upscale.

Met Gala 2011: The Solids, the Sequins and the Sleeves

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala is the high fashion event where the style elite can push the envelope in the hautest way possible. Unlike the Grammys where celebs show up wearing cans of tuna or weird disco sunglasses, the Met Gala showcases the true potential of designers, fashion-forward celebs and ingenious stylists. Join us as we break down the top trends, the fashion elite and the style disasters that graced the Met Gala red carpet.

Americandy
While this is a great event to showcase haute gowns and bold picks, it is also refreshing to see a group of ladies strutting their stuff in simple, streamlined ensembles by American designers. Michael Kors must have worked overtime, dressing Diana Agron (below, right), Brooklyn Decker (below, left), Emma Roberts, and model Caroline Trentini. From Brooklyn’s hot pink, high slit fierceness to Caroline’s nude, textured concoction, Kors got it right, sending out the perfect amount of American minimalism with the Met Gala-required wow-factor.
Always the American minimalist, Claire Danes showed up in a metallic Calvin Klein Collection gown, while Zoe Saldana (below, center) also donned the designer wearing a strapless pale lemon dress. Both were low-key looks, yet they managed to not underwhelm us with their fresh choices in color.

Got Something Up My Sleeve
One of the biggest trends of the night was sleeves. These stars must have finally been affected by the raging winter the rest of the country experienced, because you could not take a step without bumping into a not-bare arm. However, this trend seemed to work only on the stars who were able to keep it simple. The stand-outs of the night got this trend exactly right, including Renee Zellweger in a nude Carolina Herrera gown with just the right amount of sparkly detail on each hip. Naomi Watts also must have gotten dressed with Renee, because she too showed up in a nude gown with sparkle accents (by Stella McCartney), however hers created this ethereal feel with the illusion sleeves and light, translucent material. Gwyneth Paltrow brought the classy element back to gold in a stunning Stella McCartney, open-back, fitted gown, along with Sarah Jessica Parker in a silver, high-neck Alexander McQueen creation with the perfect silver-on-silver pattern detail. Going for a bit of a fashion risk, Ashley Olsen (below, right) encompassed the overall image of the evening in a vintage Christian Dior black gown with full, ivory, off-the-shoulder sleeves.

However, her sister, Mary Kate (below, left), missed the mark with her oversized Givenchy dress that looked like it was fit more for a trip to an Amish 1970s beach rather than a costume gala. Iman also looked like she was out of another decade a Stella McCartney gold, belted jumpsuit, and in the bad, 1980s type of way. But the biggest trend offender of the night? Christina Ricci in Zac Posen, evoking a morbid, just-raised-from-the-dead-in-a-Tim-Burton movie motif.

Surprise Designer: Topshop
When I think of the Met Ball, I think of haute couture gowns with feathers, studs, sequins and an expensive designer label attached. This year, however, three stunning starlets graced the gala in a label even we frugal fashionistas can afford. Jessica Szohr (below, center) edged things up a bit in a black velvet and tinsel minidress, while Maggie Grace (below, left) hit the red carpet in a limited-edition black gown by the mainstream label. Finally, Ginnifer Goodwin (below, right) wowed in a knotted green dress with a deep v front, which was ever so slightly overworked with the matching green eye makeup.

FashioniSTA Best Dressed: Diane Kruger in Jason Wu (left). Between her use of the illusion, sleeves and bedazzled trends, you’d think this would be a complete miss. But she managed to make it all work, evoking an old Hollywood glamour rather than a trashy mash-up of trends, which is definitely not easy to do.

FashioniSTA Worst Dressed: Fergie in Marchesa. Not only is this dress an atrocious bridal nightmare from 1982, but the overly bronzed makeup and borderline frosted hair just added to the disaster. Bring back Grammy 2010 Fergie please!


Most Improved: Rather than give this to an actual person, this award goes to Valentino’s daisies, making their big comeback as appliqués on Dakota Fanning’s tulle dress. After seeing Michelle Williams in these daisies at the Golden Globes, we thought that this trend would die a slow, painful death, but they have come back at the right event, on the right starlet, and in exactly the right way.

~Ashley, FashioniSTA, Second Time Around

Designer Spotlight: Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney is one of my favorite designers. She makes clothing, shoes, bags and accessories that are timeless and trendless, yet always extremely fashionable. Her designs are – in essence – very simple. They have few embellishments, adornments or superfluous details. But, the fit, the shape and the proportion are unmatched in my eyes. They truly could be worn forever, no matter the ebb or flow of the style tide. In addition to her eponymous line, McCartney has also made numerous fashion collaborations. Adidas by Stella McCartney has been going strong since 2005 and her lines for LeSportsac, H&M and GapKids were extremely successful, often selling out in record time.

Aside from her work, I also love her for her personality. She is calm and quiet, never hogging the spotlight or making a fuss. In fact, she made a name for herself entirely on her own, never once relying on the fame of her parents – Beatle Paul McCartney and his first wife, model Linda Eastman. Also, she is friends with many celebrities – most notably Liv Tyler, Kate Moss and Kate Hudson – but is never seen out-and-about partying hard or making a fool of herself. Furthermore, she has refused to let her personal beliefs be sacrificed for her work. As a vegetarian, she use neither leather nor fur in the creation of her garments and accessories and all items are cruelty-free – a true rarity in the fashion world. It is clear that she takes both her work and her personal life - she is married with three small children – very seriously.

I have been lucky enough to snag a few fabulous Stella McCartney items at Second Time Around, and I am always keeping my eyes peeled for more. Have a favorite designer of your own? Hit up your local Second Time Around on a regular basis or get on one of the store’s wish-lists and you will be sure to find some treasures too.

Happy Shopping!

~Marisa, Director of Styling, Second Time Around