Poshmark “Summer In The City” #PoshPaty

Last Thursday, I had the privilege to attend Poshmark’s “Summer In The City” Posh Party on behalf of Dana-Maxx. Poshmark is this really cool site/app where you can sell clothes or accessories. When you sell items they take a small percentage of the final selling price. My posh closet is: @fashionroyalty. Poshmark has several events similar to this one in different states to unite their users, which I think is pretty awesome.

Left to Right: Martha, Sarah, Jen, Olivia, and Naty

The “Summer In The City” party was hosted by five amazing bloggers: Olivia from The Corporate Catwalk, Sarah from The House of Sequins, Martha from M Doll NYC, Jen from Skirt the Rules, and Naty from A Love Affair With Fashion. I was excited to not only see them, but also the other bloggers in attendance as well.

First off, the hosts were so nice. They were very excited to meet the ladies who shop their closets as well as read their blogs. All of these amazing ladies were humble and sweet, which is always pleasant.

At the venue there were drinks, hors d’oeuvres, a mani and pedi station, amazing music and a place to take photos with awesome props. At the event I was able to meet some amazing bloggers who share the same passion as me. Also, I met some amazing women who would love to support Dana-Maxx and her amazing designs. To make this post short and sweet, this was a fantastic event for having a good time, shopping, and networking. If there’s a posh party in your area or closer, I would suggest going. Until we meet again PoshParty.

#OOTN:

Dana-Maxx blazer, H&M black lace romper, H&M black booties, Forever 21 black shoulder bag, Michael Kors black watch, Scent Elate olm necklace,

Here are some photos from the venue and of the night:

 

Rihanna: The New Face of Balmain

This has been a great year for my favorite artist, Rihanna. This season she has managed to launch holiday products for her Mac collaboration, debut the video for her single “What Now”, and break the record for most pop songs. I mean just to name a few of her accomplishments.

Photos courtesy of Mirror.co.uk

This holiday season RiRi’s 10 million followers saw first hand the beautiful designer gifts she has received. But that wasn’t all she wanted to share. On Monday, RiRi announced on Instagram that she is the new face of Balmain Paris. She revealed the first-ever campaign for the Spring 2014 collection.

This whole summer she has been dropping hints and sporting Balmain looks. She also spent a lot of time at the Balmain headquarters in Paris. So, I can’t say that I am surprise. However, I am so happy! This was absolutely one of my favorite collections during Paris Fashion Week and I’m pleased that this edgy goddess is the face for the campaign.

Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin shot the campaign in NYC. In a press release Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director, said “Not compromising, fresh, modern, the icon of my generation, Rihanna embodies my vision of Balmain in this new campaign. In front of the camera, she makes you feel like she is the only girl in the world.” The styling was obviously done by her personal stylist, Mel Ottenberg. This campaign is just one of the many she has done, to refresh your memory Emporio Armani and Gucci.

RiRi looked absolutely stunning in this campaign. I love the styling of her hair and the neutral makeup. It really accentuates her natural beauty. Here are some images of the campaign:

Photos courtesy of Mirror.co.uk

Photos courtesy of Mirror.co.uk

Photos courtesy of Mirror.co.uk

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Coach Opens New Flagship Store

Photo courtesy of Fashionista

Over the years, Coach went from every teen’s favorite brand to a forgotten brand. It’s stores, clothes, and brand seemed extremely outdated and sales were declining. Coach has put forth efforts to revamp their brand and transform into a luxury lifestyle brand. To kick off the transformation, Coach has a new CEO (Victor Luis) and creative director (Stuart Vevers) in place. To give their brand a new vibe and a new makeover, Coach launched a holiday campaign staring two of the hottest models, Karlie Kloss and Liu Wen. They also ditched all of their old designs and opted for a look that’s high scale, minimal, chic, and luxurious. To continue the brands transformation, Coach has reopened up a new flagship store.

The New York flagship store received a huge makeover and was labeled its “next generation store.” Luis’ vision for the brand is to expand Coach into a luxury brand positioned to compete with Tory Burch and Michael Kors. The New York flagship store on Fifth Avenue reopened on Friday, November 22^nd.

The new flagship store looks completely different. The interior design of the flagship store is absolutely beautiful. There was a clean monochromatic color scheme throughout the whole store. The flagship store looked chic with the use of grey, cream, and black. The only dashes of color were from the garments on display. The layout and color scheme makes it comfortable for everyone, men and women, to shop.

The store is also broken up into different rooms, which will hold different items. One room has the brand’s full women’s ready-to-wear garments. Another room has men’s clothing and accessories, which also have an entrance on 16^th street. This is perfect because men don’t really want to shop in a handbag store. Isolating the men’s department and giving it their own entrance will bring more male consumers in. There is also a shoe salon dedicated to the brand’s expanding footwear collection.

Photo courtesy of Coquette

In the NY flagship store, the front section is dedicated to the Borough collection. This collection is to die for; I love the range of colors and the tote/bag style. The prices of the Borough collection range from $378 to $1,198 (for the leopard version, my fav). I love that Coach tries to keep their bags affordable. The most expensive Coach bag is the Legacy Tote, which goes for $10,000. In widen the variety Luis also stated that Coach will debut more bags within the $2,000 to $5,000 range. Which is a great idea because it will target a variety of consumers.

The design of the new Coach New York flagship store was great, because it brought a luxury feel to the store. Not only is the new design chic, but also has updated technology. By the entrance of the store there is a 12-foot LED screen, which displays the holiday campaign. Also, near the men’s section of the store there is a hidden cash wrap. However, the sales associates are equipped with iPads to make transactions. I think this is a huge plus because of the location and the amount of customers they could potentially have. It’ll speed the checkout process up, which is always a plus.

Here are photos of the inside of the new store:

Photo courtesy of Fashionista

Photo courtesy of Fashionista

Photo courtesy of Fashionista

Photo courtesy of Fashionista

 The revamp of the NYC flagship store feels upscale yet comfortable. Coach is doing a great job turning the brand into what it’s truly meant to be. If you’re in NYC take a visit to the store. To share your experience at the Coach NY flagship store, comment below or tweet me (@FPR_Royalty). By the way, enjoy your Cyber Monday!

Best, Jair xx

Related articles

• Coach Begins Transformation Into Lifestyle Brand With New Flagship Store (fashionista.com)

Meadham Kirchhoff x Topshop is Finally Here!

This fall has been the season of collaborations! The next massive collaboration is Meadham Kirchhoff for Topshop. I think this collab is a perfect fit for Topshop because they are known for always having the latest styles and trends as well as some quirky options.

Photo courtesy of Fashionista.com

This super fun collaboration will have about 89 funky pieces.  The collection had fur, pastels, cherries, bold bright colors, blacks, whites, ruffles, and lace. Even though this collection was a little bright and over the top for me, there were some staple statement pieces all throughout the collection.

“The [collection’s] over all aesthetic was influenced by Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, Kembra Pfahler, and glam rock,” Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff stated to Fashionista. “It is an enormous and all encompassing collection which will offer a myriad of choice for any customer to adapt or reject as they see it.”

The looks in this collection can be worn as a whole or individually. So it’s perfect if you have a quirky style or you just want a bold awesome statement piece. The colorful and kooky color and pattern scheme is perfect to brighten up your wardrobe for the fall/winter and carry over as essentials for the spring/summer.  Some of my favorite looks in the collection were the cherry coin purse, the cherry button up blouse, the fur multicolored vest, the pastel multicolored fur bag, and bright pink leopard sweatshirt, to name a few.

The collection will be available at Topshop today, November 21^st. The prices range from $8 to $1,200. I would love to see what pieces your favorite pieces or the ones you were able to snag. Follow me on Instagram (@_Jairx3) and hashtag #fashionroyaltyblog to show me your pieces! Here are some of the pieces that caught my eye (all photos courtesy of Fashionista.com and to see more photos of the collection visit Fashionista.com):

Best, Jair xx

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Abercrombie & Fitch Tries to Redeem Themselves, Is It Too Late?

Yesterday, it was reported that Abercrombie & Fitch are finally going to offer plus-sized options (FINALLY).

I think everyone remembers the whole A&F controversy that happened in 2006. A&F’s CEO, Mike Jeffries, admitted that he only wanted “people who look good in his stores” and that his brand offered exclusive sizes because they only target people who look good. He also stated, “In every school there are cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids … A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

You would think Jeffries would be a little more censored with his words… I bet his PR team flipped a shit. Anyway, he didn’t get away with the things said in that interview. Over this year, A&F have experienced plummeting sales. Abercrombie and Fitch’s shares fell 10.4 percent to $34.35. This didn’t help that there are more popular and trendy brands out there (Forever 21, ASOS, and more) who offer a larger variety of items as well as a variety of sizes. Also, Benjamin O’Keefe created a petition on Change.org, which was organized 6 months ago and received 80,000 signatures… Okayyyyyyy *snaps*

Anyway, Abercrombie and Fitch finally claim that for their Back to School collection there will be sizes beyond 10 and large. As well as offering more colors, styles, and expanding shoe sizes. They’re hoping that these efforts will attract and keep more and new shoppers. Now, the question we’re all asking, is it to late? I mean the damage has already been done. The brand’s PR team took way to long in trying to find solutions to this problem. I appreciate the new efforts A&F, but maybe your time is over. What do you guys think?

Best, Jair xx

Related articles

• Abercrombie & Fitch Offering Plus Sizes? (dimepiecelifestyle.com)
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Banana Republic L’Wren Scott Holiday 2013

Happy Monday Dolls!

We all know how much I love collaborations. As said before, I think it’s amazing when luxury brands team up with huge retailers to give consumers that luxury piece at an affordable price. L’Wren Scott’s first collaboration is with Banana Republic. We have known of this collabo since the summer, but finally it’s almost here. This holiday collection will be available on December 5th, which is perfect for preparing gifts or snagging a chic outfit for those holiday parties.

Instead of imagining what’s in store, the lookbook has leaked (sucks, but yay for us!). The collection consists of garments in bold jewel tones, chic patterns, sequence, and faux fur. All of these things are definitely in for the fall and are perfect for the holiday season. The collection will consist of over 50 pieces that are class L’Wren Scott designs.  Here’s a photo to show what the collection will look like.

Photo courtesy of Fashionista.com

Personally as a college student, I haven’t been able to afford L’Wren Scott designs. However, many die-hard fans say that the tailoring of the clothes are perfect and have ultra-flattering cuts. In that case I cannot wait to see the pieces in person. I’m sure they’ll live up to the L’Wren Scott brand’s standards. The prices of the apparel range from $39.50 to $165 and the accessories ranges from $39.50 to $198. I cannot wait to see the rest of the collection in person. I’m sure every piece will be worth the money and those that are higher priced will be worth it.

Will you go out and snag yourself some Banana Republic L’Wren Scott? If you decide to, you better get it before it’s sold out!

Best, Jair xx

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Next Fashion Exhibit Located in Missouri

“This is an absolutely new take on fashion and fashion exhibitions.” -Sofia Hedman, Curator

I am very excited about the news of the next fashion exhibit. There have been plenty of fashion exhibits in major cities. While growing up I remember there were so many fashion exhibitions at the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art). I think it’s awesome that they are finally bringing a major fashion  exhibition to St. Louis, Missouri.

Photo courtesy of Fashionista

A Queen Within: Adorned Archetype, Fashion, and Chess premiered today (October 19th). This fashion exhibit included looks from Gucci, Viktor and Rolf, Maison Martin Margiela, and Alexander McQueen, to name a few. To date, this was the largest private collection of Alexander McQueen (over 70 pieces, so exciting). The pieces in this exhibition explores the archetypes of a queen. Not only will this work display pieces from different designers, they will also present selected works from photographer Anne Deniau. To see some items in the exhibit, visit Fashionista they have a fantastic slideshow.

Tickets for this exhibition are pretty reasonable. For an adult it’s $10.00. Children under 5 and members do not have to pay. Senior, students and military only have to pay $5.00. So if you’re in the St. Louis area, you must visit!

I think it’s awesome to have designers contribute some of their work for exhibitions. People tend to forget that fashion is a work of art. I also love that they decided to put this amazing exhibition in a city that isn’t considered a “fashion city”. It’s good to be able to share such beautiful work to a variety of people.

If anyone decides to visit, please leave a comment of your experience. I’d love to hear it! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

-Best, Jair xx

Related articles

• The Next Major Fashion Exhibition (McQueen! Margiela!) Is at a Chess Museum in Missouri (fashionista.com)
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Revlon x Marchesa

I am always a fan of more affordable lines collaborating with luxury brands. I think it’s great that designers try to get their products out to customers who can’t spend that type of money on clothes (ex. broke college students, I’m guilty!) I also think it’s a great move with their PR teams because it’s allowing more people to buy products and support brands they normally wouldn’t.

I’m pleased to say that the Marchesa x Revlon nail art is now available in stores. Revlon by Marchesa 3D Jewel Appliques resemble some of Marchesa’s collection. The intrecite design, beading and embroidery has always been elements that made this brand well known. I think it’s so exciting that these details will no be available in nail art. It has been a trend for a while to have statement standout nails, so I think this is the perfect product to achieve that.

The collection will have 8 limited edition appliques (well nail wraps). Each will be textured and have 3D jewels on them to give them a look that resembles Marchesa gowns perfectly. Each wrap costs $9.99, so it’s supper affordable to have chic and unique nails. This is just the beginning for Revlon x Marchesa. They plan on coming out with nail polish, eye pallets, lip sticks and glosses, and beauty tools. This part of the collection will debut later in 2013 and 2014.

As said before I’m extremely excited to get my hands on this collection. I think it was perfect timing because nail art is all the rage these days. It’s the perfect way to get professional looking nails without the price.

-Best Jair xx

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Karlie Kloss and Liu Wen the New Faces of Coach!

In light of their new Fall campaign, it is evident that Coach is not only launching new products but they are revamping their brand’s image. When I was younger, I used to love Coach’s classic look, their monogram bags, shoes, wallets, scarves, basically everything! However, as I got older my friends and I noticed that it wasn’t fresh and to say the least we abandoned Coach. While other luxury designers continued to deliver fresh and chic collections, Coach found themselves struggling with their brand image and to sell their products.

Karlie Kloss for Coach FW 13

I remember one day I was walking in East Hampton. When I passed the Coach store I glanced inside,  I saw that the store had a different aura. The interior was decked out with earthy-warm tones, compared to bright white with splashes of color. The change was fresh, new, and chic. In the fall campaign you can see all of those elements in their advertisements and throughout their collection. You can see that Coach and their PR team are trying to revamp the brand and show that they are a luxury brand that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Liu Wen for Coach FW13

Having two models that are considered fashion royalty as the face of their brand really gives Coach a updated look. Coach’s PR team really put the time and effort to make this brand relevant, fresh, new, and chic. And I can say that they did a fabulous job. Coach’s fall campaign was shot in New York City, I think it was the perfect setting. Both models, along with others, are sporting Coach looks and are carrying their accessories and leather goods. To say the least Coach’s PR team really brought their big guns, this campaign showed class, sophistication, and a new face of a credible brand. For additional photos and videos from the shoot, check out Elle’s Blog.

What do you think about Coach’s new fall 2013 collection? Love it or hate it?

-Best, Jair xx

Betsey Johnson’s Fierce Comeback!

I remember when I was a junior/senior in High School; I was obsessed with Betsey Johnson’s fashion line. From the bright colors and bold prints for her handbags to the black lace, glitter, and ballerina inspired tutus for her gowns, I loved everything about her lines. Everyday I sported my bright pink metallic leopard print BJ backpack. In 2012, I was beyond shocked to hear that she was filing for bankruptcy. After much research I found out that it was because her line was way to expensive for her target market, which didn’t come as a shock to me.

I was surprised with the things her PR team did to keep Betsey relevant through it all. Betsey decided to come out with a reality show called “Betsey + Lulu” which aired in July of 2012. She also released a second fragrance called “Too Too” Pretty and also has a third fragrance developing. Betsey’s team continued to strive to keep Betsey relevant even though her fashion empire was falling.

As a Betsey Johnson fan I was extremely excited to hear that she was going to have a show during fashion week. Betsey decided to have a dress line that was catered to her younger audience. The dresses are going to retail at a more affordable price. However, she will still dedicate part of her line to her older audience. On Wednesday, September 12^th Betsey’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection hit the runway. To say the least the show was bright, fun, and was a party. Her 80’s inspired looks we represented perfectly on the runway with special thanks to her energetic, playful, and beautiful models. Her classic collection ranged from punk couture to flirty and sweet gowns. Her signature tutu’s, glitter, lace, cheetah print, and floral ensembles floated down the runway and made a lasting impression. (For pictures of her SS 14 collection: Betsey Johnson Spring / Summer 2014)

 At the end of the show Betsey strutted down the runway with her granddaughters. I was pleased to see that she still had that special spunk and still did her fabulous signature cartwheel. However, this time she showed us how she was passing the torch to her granddaughters who also did the signature cartwheel and split. This was the perfect touch to Betsey’s perfect show. This show just reminded me of how much I love Betsey Johnson’s collection. I can only image how happy and proud Betsey and her PR team are, especially since they have come so far and they have done and continue to do a fantastic job.