The Find: Alice and Olivia flower necklace

I was at a showroom appointment this morning and saw this Alice + Olivia flower necklace that totally said “spring” and just made me really happy.  It’s bright, colorful and cheery and would look great with a white T-shirt and jeans as it would with a solid-color cocktail dress.

It’s $198, which is a little steep for one necklace, but I think it’s really versatile and makes a powerful statement for spring.

 It’s going into stores now and available at the Alice + Olivia store on Robertson Boulevard.

 -- Melissa Magsaysay

Photo: Alice + Olivia flower necklace/Melissa

Plaid men: Dressed to Kilt takes Manhattan

Dressed to Kilt -- the seventh annual exercise in Scottish pride that involves men in skirts and plaid-clad women returned to Manhattan's M2 Lounge on Monday night, raising money to benefit the Wounded Warriors program and the Paralyzed Veterans of America through a nonprofit group called Friends of Scotland.

Among the attendees were Sir Sean Connery, "American Idol's" Kellie Pickler, Indy 500 champ Dario Franchitti, Mike Myers, a more pneumatic than we remember Andie MacDowell and, in what was perhaps the oddest "celebrity" turn of the evening, Amber Lee "Obama Girl" Ettinger, in a red floor-length tartan dress (who knew she had any Scottish in her?)

Ostensibly a "judged" catwalk contest, Pickler pulled down the award for "most elegant," male model Marcus Schenkenberg for (you guessed it) "sexiest model," "Gossip Girl's" Ed Westwick took honors for "most stylish" and Mike Myers took home the (Scottish Canadian) bacon in the "best catwalk comic" category.

I  still have fond memories of one of the earliest Dressed to Kilt events in L.A., in 2003. It was the first -- and last -- time I wore a kilt. You can read the whole story here, but let's just say that I ended up feeling more like Mrs. Doubtfire than Braveheart by the time I made my public debut in a skirt.The memory still haunts me to this day

Some things are just better left to the Scots.

-- Adam Tschorn

Click here for more photos of the event

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Toms Shoes to launch oxfords, with laces, for fall

 Santa Monica-based shoe company Toms is known for its signature canvas slip-ons that look a bit like a chic karate shoe. The style is cute, with the most appealing part of the purchase being the “one for one” policy: for every pair bought, another is given to a child in need of shoes.  

That signature slip-on just got a lot more stylish with the launch of oxfords for fall. They look good with or without laces (there’s an elastic strip inside so the shoe stays snug should you choose to go sans laces). There are a few color combinations, but I loved this ivory canvas with luggage brown leather and colorful plaid lining.  Prices are a little higher than the slip-on, $69, but the oxford looks less like a beach shoe and has a more substantial rubber sole.

And of course, the best part being that “one for one” rule.

Toms Shoes oxfords hit stores this August or go to  www.tomsshoes.com.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photo of Toms Shoes oxford by Melissa Magsaysay

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G-20 fashion smackdown: Obama vs. Brown vs. Bruni-Sarkozy

First Lady Michelle Obama took off for the G-20 Summit in London today wearing an ivory tulle tweed coat with black grosgrain piping made especially for her by young New York designer Thakoon Panichgul. It’s her first trip to Europe as first lady, and fashion enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the chic smackdown between Obama and her European counterparts.

Obama has already met Sarah Brown, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s wife, who brought first daughters Sasha and Malia a TopShop care package when she visited Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Brown scores points for extending a stylish olive branch. (TopShop opens its first U.S. store in New York City on Thursday.) But she doesn't offer much competition in the wardrobe department.

Despite being a cheerleader for London Fashion Week, Brown hasn’t tapped into the British scene’s extraordinary rising talents such as Richard Nicoll, Erdem Moralioglu and Giles Deacon for her own wardrobe. It's a shame, too, because London designers are in desperate need of exposure from someone other than Kate Moss. And though they may have a reputation for being edgy, they could surely be tamed for a chance to dress the British first lady. You only have to look to British designer John Galliano to know that.

At Christian Dior for 12 years now, Galliano has gone from rockabilly transvestite and geisha girl looks to sober luncheon suits after embracing French first lady and former model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as his muse over the last few seasons. And no doubt, when Bruni-Sarkozy meets Obama over the weekend, she will look impeccable, a tribute to her nation's haute couture heritage. But will she look interesting?

Even with the French first lady’s model pedigree and good looks, we’re still betting on Obama to steal the spousal wardrobe stage. Not one to wear watered-down versions of European fashions, a la Jacqueline Kennedy, Obama is likely to continue to take risks, choosing pieces from a roster of multi-cultural, up-and-coming American designers such as Panichgul, the Taiwan-born Jason Wu and the Cuban-born Isabel Toledo. By doing so, she’ll help put those new American names on the world fashion map, and no doubt give us all something to talk about in the process.

 

-- Booth Moore

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Photo: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama take off for the G-20 Summit in London. Credit: AP / Ron Edmonds

Rock the croc: Lacoste celebrates reptile style with limited-edition kicks

Ever wonder how the crocodile ended up as the brand ambassador for a line of French polo shirts? Today Lacoste leverages its famous emblem with the launch of a website and viral YouTube videos dedicated to the cult of the croc, which kicks off a series of limited-edition Lacoste sneakers that reference the animal's place in mythology and urban legend around the world.

From the flushed pets that become Manhattan's sewer-dwelling terrorists to Sobek, the Egyptian half-man/half-crocodile (manodile? cran?) said to have created the world, the site showcases nine such tales each with a pair of myth-inspired kicks to match. The footwear will be rolled out three styles at a time to a small selection of boutiques nationwide (consult the store locator at the website for specifics).

My favorite is in the first crop out of the gate on April 1; the Tiller Egypt (pictured, $120), with a green shade inspired by the belly of the Nile crocodile and a canvas upper with laser-etched pyramid designs that resemble the croc's skin.

But back to the origin of the emblem in the first place. Here's the way the company explains it:

"It began in 1925, when Rene Lacoste, the founder of the brand, made a bet with Pierre Gillou, the French Davis Team Captain, the prize being a crocodile skin suitcase that Rene had spotted in the shops of Boston.

To win the bet Rene Lacoste had to win his next Davis Cup match against the Australian player Anderson, during the days that followed the story of the bet was recounted to George Carens a local journalist. Following the match, which Rene Lacoste did not win, Mr Carens wrote “The young Lacoste has not won his Crocodile skin suitcase but he fought like a real crocodile”.

The nickname stuck and Rene Lacoste adopted the crocodile as his emblem and soon had a crocodile embroidered onto the outside pocket of his jacket and the legendary brand logo was born."

-- Adam Tschorn

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Photo: The Tiller Egypt, the first of nine limited-edition Crocodile Mythology Lacoste sneakers celebrating the reptile's place in pop culture. Credit: Courtesy of Lacoste.

What's more undead than goth fashions? Vampire fashion.

Last winter, we listed the goth resurgence as one of the top 10 fashion moments of 2008, after L.A. fashion house Rodarte went to the dark side in February of that year and brands like Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent and Dior did black lip gloss. Not that the look had gone too far underground, witness the goth weddings we profiled in 2007 (see pictures here).

The sensibility's still emphatically undead. Aside from goth, goth and more goth at L.A. Fashion Week, things seem to be trending toward, how shall we put it -- vampire-specific style.The website Trend Hunter shows us what's at stake with this video.

Trends via TrendHunter.com.

-- Whitney Friedlander

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Buy celebrity-worn La Perla pieces for a good cause

On Thursday, six La Perla pieces that have been down the red carpet on the backs of celebrities will be auctioned off by Clothes Off Our Back to benefit children’s charities. 

The dresses, previously worn by Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Rachel McAdams, Kristen Stewart, Gabrielle Union and Molly Sims at various and sundry red carpet events, will be on display the evening before at a party at the label's Rodeo Drive boutique, where guests will not only receive 25% off all purchases, but 10% of the night's proceeds will go directly to the nonprofit organization founded by husband and wife actor/philanthropists Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford, which pillages celebrity closets for the benefit of a host of kid-related charities.

At first we thought the Wednesday night event was a wholly private affair, but since RSVP information is posted at the group's website, we couldn't help but pass it along.

RSVPs and a minimum age of 21 are a must so clear your calendar and e-mail rsvp@laperlafashions.com.

We can't guarantee you'll make the list, but we can't think of a less foolish way to spend our April Fools' Day.
April 1, 7-9 p.m. at La Perla, 433 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. Auction starts April 2 at Clothes Off Our Back.

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Photo: This style of La Perla dress, previously worn by Kristen Stewart at a red carpet event, will be one of six celebrity frocks by the label that will be part of an online auction starting April 2. Credit: La Perla

Lindsay Lohan's tan? It's all in the numbers.

Perennially tan redhead Lindsay Lohan is expanding her “lifestyle” offerings to include a tan in a can. Sevin Nyne is her new $35 self-tanning spray that launches April 15 on Sephora.com. Named after her favorite numbers, seven and nine, the actress wanted to keep the number theme going: Her line of leggings is called 6126 (Marilyn Monroe’s birthday).

The spray solution is infused with gogi berry extract, known for its antioxidant properties, and Chardonnay extract to keep the skin hydrated. I don’t know if they mean the white wine, but my experiences with Chardonnay are terribly dehydrating. As long as the stuff in the spray-tan can doesn’t leave me with the same headache.

— Melissa Magsaysay

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Sevin Nyne Tanning Mist/Sevin Nyne

Sale rack: Chloe opens a boutique on Melrose Place

Chloé, the French luxury house, is devoted to casual separates with enough edge to appeal to young women. Its casual looks, what the French refer to as "day wear," are Los Angeles day-to-night wear. As a matter of fact, the line looks so right for an L.A. woman's closet -- sheer blouses paired with shorts, one-shoulder dresses -- that you wonder why Chloé, which just opened its first proper Los Angeles boutique on Melrose Place,  took so long to get here.

Founded by Gaby Aghion, Chloé introduced luxury prêt-à-porter to the masses 57 years ago and was the springboard for designers Karl Lagerfeld in 1966, Stella McCartney in 1997 and Phoebe Philo in 2001. Philo's former assistant Hannah MacGibbon stepped in last year as creative director and has been toughening and updating the brand's trademark gauze, ruffles, trousers and pastels with menswear fabrics and boxy shapes.

The Chloé boutique, nestled between Oscar de la Renta and Temperley in a row of faux French chateau-style white bungalows, was designed by Sophie Hicks Architects, a London firm, and incorporates such elements as skylights and laser-cut abstract panels. The street-facing unit houses accessories, while a separate two-story building in the rear carries the collection, using its veranda to frame the fashions.

The spring/summer collection, in colors influenced by the desert, fills out the store until MacGibbon's well-reviewed fall lineup, including  hot, thigh-high pirate boots, lands. Styles include a $1,550 boyfriend blazer, meant to be worn over a $575 gauzy gray silk blouse, and $775 leopard-print shorts. Chloé's trademark scalloped hemline shows up on a $1,795 navy polka-dot mini dress with three-quarter-length sleeves, a $2,495 white linen coat and a $595 tan sling-back heel.

Accessories are the main focus, including the buzzed-about new pebble-embossed leather, $1,995 Sally bag that is structured rather than slouchy and the multi-strap $995 Carrie suede wedge that embodies Chloé -- classic design tweaked into hipness but eminently wearable.

8448 Melrose Place, Los Angeles. (323) 602-0000. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday.  www.chloe.com

Click here for more news on shops and sales.

--  Max Padilla

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British denim brand MIH parties in style

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British denim brand MIH parties in style

Thursday night MIH denim designer Chloe Lonsdale hosted an intimate party at the Hancock Park home of celebrity stylist Estee Stanley. It wasn’t the usual fashion crowd, most of whom were probably at Decades Two where Rachel Zoe auctioned off her costume jewelry while being filmed for the second season of her Bravo reality show. The people mixing it up at the MIH party were a low-key bunch, peppered with a few A-list stars.

The diminutive Olsen twins lurked in the shadows of the dimly lighted back patio, sinking way into the couches and smoking the occasional cigarette. Rashida Jones held court in a dark corner by a heat lamp. Servers dressed in MIH jeans and chambray shirts passed trays full of traditional English food such as fish and chips, shepherd’s pie and a delightful, layered dessert called Eton Mess -- all bite size, of course.  

“I don’t have that many friends in L.A.,” said Lonsdale, but the crowd of actors, stylists and tastemakers, including Lonsdale’s sister Tamsin who just held her Supper Club soiree at the Mondrian on Wednesday night, would prove otherwise.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos: On the left, Nicole Richie, left, and Estee Stanley. At right, Chloe Lonsdale, left, and Amanda Ross. Credit: Tyler Boye