New York Fashion Week 2012: Corey Lynn Calter

The fall/winter 2012 runway show season started with a joyous jolt of color from Corey Lynn Calter. The designer, who lives in Los Angeles, said she was inspired by light and positivity. The collection was full of easy, tailored separates in light brights, including a rust, button-front pencil skirt worn and floral print T-shirt, lace skinny pants with a lemon yellow short-sleeve coat, and an ombre sequin stripe shift dress in sunset tones.

More louche looks included a rainbow stripe shirt-dress and clashing geometric-print palazzo pants. Sparrow bird intarsia knits, color-blocked Peter Pan blouses and colorful iPad cases added to the prissy, grown-up schoolgirl vibe. (Attention "Glee" costume designer Lou Eyrich, you might want to check out Calter's clothes for the lovable priss Emma Pillsbury.) 

Calter's collection packed a lot of punch for the price. It will retail for $150 to $500.

-- Booth Moore from New York

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Beauty Bag: Corey Lynn Calter's must-have makeup picks

Photos of Corey Lynn Calter's Fall/Winter 2012 collection. Credit: Joe Kohen/Getty Images for Corey Lynn Calter.

Beauty Bag: Corey Lynn Calter’s must-have makeup picks

Designer Corey Lynn Calter has been a fixture in the fashion world since launching her line 10 years ago. The L.A.-based mom of two is known for her vintage-inspired, whimsical and colorful collections in clothing and home décor (she designs home items that are carried at Anthropologie) as well as her cool and eclectic personal style.

Calter’s darling dresses have been seen on celebs such as Zooey Deschanel,  Krysten Ritter and most recently Taylor Swift while the singer was promoting her new fragrance.

But it’s not just ingénues who love the line, older women wear it too. Calter just collaborated with Advanced Style, a blog that celebrates super stylish seniors. Ninety-one-year-old artist and performer Ilona Royce Smithkin modeled Calter’s fall 2011 collection with exuberance and punctuated the already colorful pieces with a pair of amazing and over the top red eyelashes.

Calter loves accentuating her eyes as well (think more smokey eyes and Chanel lash curlers than false lashes) and here she shares her very glam, go-to beauty items.

Chanel Precision Eyelash Curler, $34 at Nordstrom -- Calter’s favorite eyelash curler happens to work well at curling her lashes, but, she claims, “It’s also really cute.”

Tom Ford Brow Sculptor, $42 at Neiman Marcus –- “If I could only have 1item in my bag this is it. The angled pencil makes it great for everything,” says Calter.  She uses the flat, wide angle on her eyes for a daytime smokey look and turns the occasional blemish into a beauty mark. “I use the point side to fill and shape my brows.”

YSL Faux Cils Mascara in black, $32 at Sephora.com–- Calter loves this product so much that she buys it as a two-pack at the duty-free shop when traveling abroad.

Tom Ford Lipstick, $48 at Bergdorfgoodman.com–- “Yes I know I always plug this product, but it is officially the best, even for the price,” she says. “I wear True Coral for spring/summer, but will be transitioning to Violet Fatale for fall.”

Clinique BB Cream, $37 at Sephora.com –- This is the designer’s favorite new product because not only does it act as a primer and light foundation, but it’s moisturizing and has SPF 30. And a product that does quadruple duty suits Calter’s busy lifestyle. “I'm really into less is more these days,” she says. “I have been going every other day without creams to let the skin breathe and reboot its own natural oils.”

--Melissa Magsaysay

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Photos: Top: Corey Lynn Calter/Corey Lynn Calter; below left: Chanel Precision eyelash curler/Chanel; Tom Ford lipstick in Violet Fatale/Tom Ford, left: Tom Ford brow sculptor/Tom Ford; right: YSL Faux Cils mascara in black/YSL Beaute; left: Clinique BB Cream/Clinique

Krysten Ritter creates a dress for Corey Lynn Calter

Actress Krysten Ritter may have a polished and ultra-feminine style, but when tasked with creating a dress for designer Corey Lynn Calter, her inspiration was a bit darker than her usually sunny ensembles and vintage-looking outfits. "I love 'Beetlejuice'!" Ritter exclaimed about her inspiration when designing the black-and-white-striped halter neck dress with a flouncy black skirt. "Basically, every single movie that Winona Ryder was in the '90s is my favorite movie. People used to call me Lydia in high school, and I’m finally embracing it. This dress is very 'Beetlejuice,' and I'm obsessed with Winona."

The striking, raven-haired actress and a group of about 20 women gathered in the garden of the Chateau Marmont on Thursday afternoon to celebrate the "Krysten" dress (100% of its sales benefit the Dare to Share organization). Her friends and fellow starlets joined her, making for a super girly and very well-dressed group that included Kate Mara, Anna Faris, Sophia Bush and Rachel Leigh Cook.

 "This is such a gorgeous group of girls!" said a delighted Ritter, who was every bit the hostess and thanked Calter for the opportunity to play fashion designer -– a role she is interested in pursuing further, saying she would love to do a small capsule collection of eight to 10 pieces in the future. At the moment though, she seems tied up with her day job. She has four movies in the can, and one she wrote that's tentatively titled "BFF and Baby," starring herself, Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson. "The fashion in the movie is heaven," she said about the costumes, which were designed by stylist and Confederacy owner Ilaria Urbinati.

Calter seemed to give the actress her seal of approval as a budding designer, saying that Ritter was very hands-on and had a strong idea of exactly what she wanted the dress to look like. "She was much more involved than what I expected," Calter said. "She really wanted something she could travel with and wear with flats or heels, something very girly but not too prissy.”

If you want to get yourgirly-goth look on for summer, the "Krysten" dress is available now at www.coreylynncalter.com for $196.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Top photo: Corey Lynn Calter and Krysten Ritter. Credit: Chris Weeks / WireImage

Second photo: Sophia Bush. Credit: Chris Weeks / WireImage

Third photo: Kate Mara. Credit: Chris Weeks / WireImage

Bottom photo: Anna Faris and Krysten Ritter. Credit: Chris Weeks / WireImage

Weekend Shopping: Sample sale madness!

There hasn't been a weekend in recent memory so chock-full of tasty sample sales. Here's our curated hit-list:

Showroom Seven sample sale Friday through Dec. 22:  Get 80% off wholesale prices on brands including Odd Molly, Erickson Beamon, Orla Kiely, Issa, Tony Cohen, Bloch shoes and Charlotte Ronson at this showroom event that's open to the public.

Cooper Building, 860 S, Los Angeles St., Mezzanine Three, Los Angeles. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays only. For more info: (213) 316-0112

Animal Advocates Alliance sample sale Saturday: Come support the Animal Advocates Alliance at this annual group sample sale featuring 30% to 50% off apparel from LNA (mens and women's), jewelry by Nola Singer, Cleobella purses and wallets, Chic & You Shall Find vintage clothing and Bailey Blue dresses.

715 North Foothill Road, Beverly Hills. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Elizabeth and James sample sale Friday: The Olsen twins' second-tier collection hosts a sample sale downtown.

Cooper Building, 860 S. Los Angeles St.,  Suite 415, Los Angeles. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, Mike & Chris, Patterson J. Kincaid, La Rok sample sale Friday: Fabulous contemporary brands come together for a mega-sample sale.

Cooper Building, 860 S. Los Angeles St., Suite 422, Los Angeles. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Kain sample sale Friday: Chi-chi T-shirt-centric brand Kain is practically giving away its spring and summer tees, tanks, dresses — with discounts up to 80% off retail. Fall merch (sweaters and jackets) will be discounted up to 50% off). 

Cooper Building, 860 Los Angeles St., Suite 505, Los Angeles. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Poketo warehouse sale Saturday: Accessories and housewares brand Poketo hosts a gift-friendly sample sale featuring prices up to 75% off.

510 Hewitt St., Suite 506, Los Angeles. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Corey Lynn Calter sample sale Friday and Saturday: Score past-season looks marked down to as low as $10 from L.A. designer Corey Lynn Calter.

719 S. Los Angeles St., Suite 807, Los Angeles. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. 

Rachel Pally sample sale Friday through Sunday: Shop the L.A. collection that specializes in chic, uber-comfy jersey-knit looks. Expect to find merch discounted between 55% and 85% off.

2301 E. 7th St., Suite C100, Los Angeles. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Sale will continue next weekend with the same hours.

Brian Lichtenberg sample sale Friday and Saturday: The edgy L.A. designer joins forces with jewelry brand Alex & Chloe and fellow clothiers Lazy Bones Vintage and Battalion for a sweet sample sale. Cash only.

819 Maple Ave., Floor 3 Suite A, Los Angeles. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.  

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: A Spring look from Rachel Pally. Credit: Rachel Pally.