Cubannie links come to us courtesy of  designer Annie Basulto. Get it? Cuban Link like the type of chain, and Annie as in the designers name. It’s clever without being gimmicky.  There are a few pieces made out of Cuban link chain but most of the pieces have an aggressive edge to them.

These earring are double duty. Sure they look unassuming to the untrained eye but if you unscrew them you will find several tiny tools inside. The tools include a spoon, a pick  and even a flat head screw driver tip. It is very possible that these earrings could actually help you out in a time of need.

These earrings a dubbed “Tupac’s”. I don’ t like that at all. What do these guns have to do with Tupac? The website describes them as machine guns which they clearly are not. Even if that was true, I don’t know where the Tupac association comes from. This leaves me feeling like the designer used Tupac’s name just to get attention. These earrings are sold out. There are lots of gun earrings available all over the internet but the only ones I’ve seen that are completely out of stock until I cam across the “Tupac’s”. It kind of makes you think…..

Cubannie Link is not all about edgy pieces. There are some pieces that are just flat out cute. For example the Mantanza bracelet pictured above. This bracelet comes in a couple of different colors of leather from orange to pink and gold….. Apparently the Mantanza is a place where pigs go to get slaughters so even when I think our Annie is losing her edge she is just slipping it under the radar and in Spanish.

Annie Basulto is proud of her Cuban heritage. Her native country serves as the inspiration for this necklace which is named after the Pinar Del Rio province in Cuba. This glittering crystal teardrop is the least aggressive of all the Cubannie Links items I’ve seen. This pretty piece has garnered the most attention to Cubannie Links because it was been worn by several celebrities. It’s a little plain for me but its definitely a good foundation piece if you’re going to layer your necklaces.

Here we go again with the gratuitous Tupac reference. According to Cubannie Links this is “Tupac’s Rosary”  I think Tupac would be offended at this reference along with a lot of other Christians. I’m all for pushing boundaries but maybe Annie should put her name on that rosary instead. After all she is the one who created it. These designs are daring enough, Annie doesn’t really need to even bring Tupac into it at all.

For all of the girls out there who can’t wait to prove how tough they are by wearing aggressive jewelry there are five others who are completely turned off by it. Either way there are going to be a lot of people who are eager to see what Cubannie Links will do next. I didn’t think that Cubannie Link was as cheesy as other jewelry brands I’ve seen such as Office Tramp, but I’m starting to think  they may be one in the same. I hope Annie Basulto will prove me wrong and leave Tupac alone already.

As far as street wear brands go FreshJive has been around the block. They have been hot and played out too many times to count. Right now, fortunately for them, their men’s wear is hot again. FreshJive is like street wear training wheels. Fashion know-it-all’s may scoff at you for rockin’ FreshJive but that is just because they have all been done that. If you’re new to the street wear game you have to start your style somewhere and FreshJive is as good of a brand as any of the others.

I’m glad the designers at FreshJive are still proud to be from Los Angeles. It feels like so much of the street wear industry is based in New York or  has New York attitude. This tee comes in two color ways, both of  which are Los Angels Lakers colors. Poor Lakers they may not have been able to beat the Celtics in the finals but Los Angelinos are still proud of them. Whether they win or lose their colors continue represent Los Angeles to the fullest.

I had to speak on these jeans because they’re called “Classic’s”. First off these jeans are way too stacked. No matter how long your legs are you will have a lot of extra sag, if that’s what you’re into. Secondly the crotch length on these pants looks way too long. These “Classic’s” ride the line between skinny and wide leg jeans. I’m not saying these are bad jeans by any means. I just think if you’re going to call these “Classic’s” they should try to be a little more timeless.

I thought I could give an objective review of this shirt but the model just looks too dorky. It’s distracting. All I can say is I love basketball court graphic especially the proportion. If it didn’t take up the whole shirt it would lose a lot of cool points.

This shirt proudly states “Fairfax still running game” along with some other writing that I can’t make out right now. While the state of Fairfax in the game is debatable the green and yellow on black color combination is hot without a doubt. I’m so glad the designers at FreshJive are not stuck on the day glow color ways that the rest of street wear seems to be hooked on.

FreshJive may have a hip hop only image right now but their target market used to be completely different, Before urban was the way to go FreshJive was the brand of choice for  raver’s across the country and especially on the west coast of the United States. That is not a bad thing. That just goes to show how many changes this brand has made and still managed to stay relevant in street wear as a whole. FreshJive is still running game.

William Rast is Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala. Not just Justin Timberlake alone so don’t get it twisted. The two have been friends since childhood although only one of them is fodder for the tabloids. It is surprising to me that these two would come together to make a women’s denim line but they did. Our legs and hips will reap the benefits of that partnership.

Me and these pants are going to a summer concert somewhere. Something about the fit says “wear me all day comfortable and your butt will look super cute“. I love low rise jeans, ever since they hit the scene in the early 2000’s. I’ve been wearing them since without looking back. Flares haven’t been my thing for a while now but these look so wearable I would gladly make the switch, for the day. There is distressing on the knees and pockets as well as the upper thigh area. This combine with the medium blue wash makes for a really sweet pair of jeans/

I’m sure these jeans have another name but I like to call them the perfect medium. The was is not so dark that you would be in fear of staining light surfaces. The fit is just right. Relaxed enough to be worn everywhere and the bootleg is flattering to most shoes. These jeans will bring you from the summer to the fall with ease. An added bonus is the natural distressing you will have by fall giving you a whole new reason to love these perfect medium jeans.

Wow. I haven’t felt this excited about white pants in a long time. The flat front is going to be flattering on just about everybody. Everybody who is daring enough to wear white pants that is. I love the idea of wearing white especially on holidays like the 4th of July. However asking me to keep them clean is a lot easier said than done.

What denim collection would be complete without a mini skirt? This skirt is a total of 12 inches in length so it may not be so mini on some. This skirt comes already distressed around the thigh area with a hole already in the works on one side. I’m not really into that. I don’t like my distressing to go so far as to create weak points in my garments. If I had my way I would like to see a dark wash mini skirt. That’ll be the day…

Who knew Justin Timberlake and some guy named Trace Ayala would do women’s denim such justice. Most of the time when you think of celebrity labels its accompanied by a lot of doubt and laughter. William Rast is no laughing matter. For the price the denim is great, its everything you should expect from an up and coming label. And the best part is there are no celebrity brand indicators or excessive logos anywhere to be found.  I must say I am pleasantly surprised to see William Rast is alive, well, and growing more and more successful by the passing season.

Kiss your bare legs and hands goodbye because the 2008 fall season is all about going monochrome from head to toe. There is nary a designer that hasn’t found their own interpretation of this trend.

Bottega Veneta is not the only house pushing this rusty rose color this season. If you’ll note everything the model is wearing shares this same rusty rose hue. The shoes, the belt, the gloves and obviously the dress.  In this color it is just overkill to me. I couldn’t even stand one piece of clothing in this color.

What a lovely Mediterranean blue. Is that a kimono bishop sleeve? Crazy. Again in the house of Allegra Hicks we see the monochromatic trend in full effect with this Mediterranean  blue being used on the dress, belt, and tights alike. The look is made for the mature woman.

Even Jean Paul Gaultier is following the monochromatic trend. When I first saw this photo I knew right away it was Jean Paul Gaultier because of the quilting along the collar / arms eye pieces. While the matching black bag distracts from the monochromatic trend the rest of this look is cast in same stormy grey color.

Anna Sui can make any trend look super cute! Instead of using solid colors like other design houses Anna Sui chose to repeat the design found on the dress on to the tights. These are the first set of tights I have seen from this monochromatic trend that I would actually hunt down and buy. This whole look is cute and I’m so glad Anna Sui didn’t take this monochromatic trend as literally as some other designers.

Abstract beauty take the monochromatic trend to a different level at Paul Smith Women’s. This double breasted coat is covered in so many random brush strokes just like the tights that are worn beneath it thusly the monochromatic trend is carried on.

What’s going on at Central St Martins? This may be the most fashionable cocoon I have ever seen.
No matter how odd the look may seem to some of us it still demonstrates the monochromatic trend to the fullest by echoing the curving lines on the cocoon on to the tights the model is wearing.

The focus of this article was supposed to be the monochrome trend but when all is said and done that’s not what I will remember most. I will be thinking about all of the tights pictured above until the fall season actually hits. Without the tights these looks would be lost in the sea of bare legs and hands distracting from the aesthetic the designer is trying to create. So far the monochromatic trend is in first place for my favorite trend of the 2008 fall season.

L’Wren Scott herself is long and lanky. It is no wonder that her clothes are most flattering if you have a similar build. Dresses were plentiful in the 2008 fall collection so that is why this article will contain only dresses. I know I said I would lay off the dress only articles but I didn’t do this one on purpose.

If only this model had prettier hair I think it would make the whole look, look ten times better. Good hair or not I love this dress. L’Wren Scott must really be feeling those little brass buttons because they are on so many garments in her 2008 fall collection. I love the midnight blue color of this dress. The hip level quilting will give the illusion of hips for those without them. Scott has been quoted saying “My clothes are not made for 12 year olds they are made for women.” I like that the length is just below the knee it helps cement the idea that this look for the grown and sexy only.

L’Wren Scott has taken a different approach to the high waist trend. Instead of this skirt having a typical waistline only 6 inches higher than normal this skirt has an arched raised waist. It’s cute. There is definitely a lot of versatility in the skirt pictured above. Its black, its slimming, what more could you ask for, its an automatic wardrobe staple. The blouse is just okay. That almost cornflower blue doesn’t sit well with me.

This will be the first and maybe the last Egyptian collar I’ve seen in the 2008 fall season. I’m quite sure this collar is not made of roofing shingles but it certainly looks like it. Leave it to L’Wren Scott to use denim in her collection but not for jeans, shorts or a mini skirt. This silhouette of this dress is best suited for the long and lanky. If you tried to squeeze some hips into this dress the contrasting piping would call great attention to them. So take that for what its worth, its up to you if you want to have that much attention there.

AHHH! I love this dress!! It’s the perfect little black dress for fall 2008. Frankly I feel that this dress is seasonless. If you look closely you can see that this dress has epaulets similar to the ones used on the cape with no arm holes. Epaulets and cuffs give whatever garment their on a military feel. This is a little black dress with a lot of authority. The deep v-neck combine with, my favorite detail from the L’Wren Scott 2008 fall collection, little brass buttons down to the waist, mean this dress is sure to be a best seller.

L’Wren Scott had a couple of different evening gowns but this disco armor dress demanded the most attention. The bodice looks like the beginnings of a suit of armor made from pieces off the disco ball itself
If I had to name this look I would call it the “Tin-man’s Girlfriend” because I imagine if the Tin-man from “The Wizard of OZ” took his girlfriend to an awards show, she’d probably come out wearing something like this.

Gosh I’m completely out of time! It was a pleasure getting to know L’Wren Scott’s 2008 fall collection!

L’Wren Scott is not your typical girl from Utah. She has worn many hats in the fashion game switching her focus from modeling, costuming, styling and eventually to design. She is known best for her limited collections of all black dresses but today we are going to view selections from her fall 2008 collection.

If I buy this cape how will I lift my arm without slits or holes or something? Without them I can only assume that I will be wrinkling my cape needlessly. It’s a pity too because I really did like the epaulets and mandarin collar on this cape.

Wow this coat is basically the same color as was used in a different coat at Alberta Ferretti. Perhaps that amethyst purple will be a trend all in itself. The medium sized brass buttons and generous belt are a nice touch to this coat. I love this coat and I hope its weather proof so I can wear it throughout the fall and into the winter with layers underneath.

All I can see is cornflower blue. What an odd color for a dress. And speaking of odd the brown bolero jacket looks more like someone sewed together the sleeves from a high school letterman jacket. This look has me confused and a little disgruntled. Confused because that is a perfectly fine dress in a dreadfully boring color. Disgruntled because the hair and make up on these models does nothing to compliment to clothes instead all of the models look barely there at best.

Ooooh I love that little hat! I also love that the dress, hat and the purse are all made from the same fabric. I can’t put my finger on what that fabric is but I like the gold undertones a lot. The square neckline of this dress means it will be great with or without jewelry. if you choose to wear jewelry with this dress the square neckline will act as a frame, drawing attention to your décolletage or if you go without it will just draw attention to your pretty little neck.

There is a lot of shimmer in this look and yet all I can see are those white granny/witch boots. I am crazy about all of those tiny brass buttons. Similar buttons are used on the cardigan as well. Black and gold are a common combination for fall of 2008. This gold fleck mini skirt will be perfect for the holiday season because you can play the sparkle factor up or down depending on the occasion.

So far I have been a little disappointed with the color choices from L’Wren Scott’s 2008 fall collection. But what can you expect from a designer that prefers to work in black, maybe her perspective is a little skewed. I wish I knew who gave the green light to all the models with extra wind blown hair because they did a favor for no one. I can hope that some of the models in the next article will do better by the way of their hair styles but I won’t hold my breath.

Previously I spent some time gushing over the Luxuirie by LRG today I will turn my focus to some of the t-shirts available from LRG. Animals are heavily represented in the LRG men’s line as a result of this all of the t-shirts featured today have animals within the designs.

Ladies and Gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce to you the King of Style. He’s a panda. You didn’t know that panda’s are the international symbol for style? They’re not but this one is cute isn’t he? With his little crown and muscle arms the King of Style looks like he is ready for some action. This shirt is OK but its hard to take the cute and cuddle out of animal like the panda. The bulging arms make him a little more masculine but I’m not sure if that will be enough for most men.

Water ski for your life lady, Jaws gone’ getcha!  Well at least I can say there is nothing cute or cuddly about this shirt. The shark is a pretty masculine animal to begin with so there are no issues there. The problem here lies in the overall cheese factor. I can’t really put my finger on what exactly is bringing down the value of this shirt but something is not right. I think it’s the bloody looking text, that’s not a great look.

This shirt is called the 80’s R.I.P. I suppose the death of the last unicorn would definitely signify the end of an era. I dunno about the 80’s though. If you can point me in the direction of a guy who wants to wear a faded pink unicorn as the only thing on his otherwise all black shirt. I’d be glad to meet him to talk about his style and what he can teach others. This shirt is not bad its just risky. This shirt feels really bare like there should be more graphics added to it or maybe something that would explain why this shirt is even called 80’s R.I.P.?

Of all the animal inspiration t-shirts at LRG this one is my favorite. The giraffe is making a come back this season and not just at LRG. Giraffe print has been seen all over but most notably at Michael Kors where giraffe print graces both handbags and luggage. This shirt will go well with all of the other neon and day glow  items that are out right now. This shirt doesn’t look  undone or cheesy like the others it. However I am still questioning if I know any guys who would be willing to rock this shirt, even if it was a gift.

All I can say is at least LRG is trying something new. I love animal inspiration so all of these shirts would work for me but unfortunately I’m not a guy and altering men’s shirts to for me is not on the top of my list of things to do. It’s ok LRG better luck next time!

Lace is back and I am rolling out the red carpet for it’s timely return. Gone are the days when lace was relegated to predominately Victorian inspired garments. The lace of fall 2008 is much younger, sexier and edgier.

I love this dress from Balmain’s fall 2008 collection. I don’t understand the choice of booties instead of some sort of pump but that’s ok. The best part of this dress is the basically invisible bateau neckline. I just like the way it lies right along the collar bone. These sleeves are pretty sweet too, I love a ¾ length sleeve.
Is it just me or is this look pretty much made for Victoria Beckham?

Above we see lace being used in a couple of different ways at Chanel. First you noticed the lace stockings with a design that is so unconventional I don’t know what it is supposed to resemble. And second if you look close you will notice the robe the model is wearing is made of lace trimmed in lace. You can see right through it making it very cool temperature wise and very hot in the way of sex appeal.

This gold gilded lace frock is from the Derek Lam 2008 is a littler grandma if you ask me. From the modest neckline to the knee length, there’s not a lot of sex appeal in this lace. Once again I am at a loss for nice things to say about this design so I just won’t say anything else at all.

This lace look comes to us from designer L’Wren Scott. Prior to this dress I had never heard of L’Wren Scott, this dress caught my eye and begged me to learn more. Soon I’ll post a whole review of her 2008 fall collection. Until then we can still enjoy her interpretation of the lace trend in the dress pictured above. Unlike all of the other designs we have seen that actually contain traditional lace, the fabric of this dress has a lace design printed on top of it with a scalloped edge. Pretty clever, just what you should expect from L’Wren Scott.

The designers at Phi are never scared to be different. They have taken the lace trend to a new level by combining the black lace that practically ever other design house is using and pairing with hot pink almost magenta underneath. I must say I am intrigued to know more of Phi after seeing how they flip the trends to their advantage. Above we see another lace robe similar to what we saw at Chanel. Maybe the robes are a developing trend in themselves.

Trend forecasting is so important when it comes to staying on top of the fashion game. It’s all about knowing what to look out for first. After you know that how you will handle and embellish the trends you see is completely up to you. I’m excited to see being used in a more modern way. The fall of 2008 is shaping up to be a really sexy season.

I’m back with the hottest pictures from the red carpet of the 2008 BET awards.

Above we have one of the most recognizable female MC’s in hip hop, Lil Kim. I can see that Lil Kim’s purse matches her shoes and that’s just great. Now why don’t her shoes and her bag match her dress? I think she missed the point. It is a recent occurrence that Lil Kim has appeared in public so covered up. This dress looks awesome. She should have held out for more awesome shoes.

This is rapper/ singer Lil Mama. Lil Mama has a ton of talent in the areas of dance and rapping. Will someone please tell her she doesn’t have to keep running her “I’m so Lil” gimmick into the ground. Every time an awards show rolls around she is there  dressed in something  childish and borderline candy raver. For someone who sings about her “lip-gloss” and “getting loose” she is dressed  way too young. I wish she would just  stop trying to make the same silly statement with her clothing and go for something a little refined, at least at awards time.

Here we have Nelly and Tyrese wasting a perfectly good chance to dress up by wearing regular every day clothes. Would it kill these two to put on a suit or a nice blazer and act like they care? Yes I know the BET awards are a little more relaxed than your average awards show but if the ladies are showing out why shouldn’t you? I’m disappointed.

Is that Keyshia Cole? Oh no its it’s just the real Rhianna. Sorry I got confused, they must have the same stylist they look so similar. I really like this chartreuse tiered dress and I bet it looks really cute when it bounces around when Rhianna walks. I’m glad to see Rhianna wearing no bracelets at all instead of mixing too many accessories at once. This look is clean and effortless chic.

Last but not least we have rapper Rick Ross.  Ross looks really relaxed in his head to toe white track suit. Though truth be told I feel like this is the only way we ever see Rick Ross, in a track suit. How can you tell me a man from Miami with as much money as he says he has would want to be seen in a track suit on such an important occasion? Time for Rick Ross to step his game up just like Nelly and Tyrese.

Well the 2008 BET red carpet has come and gone. We saw lots of great looks on the likes of Alicia Keys and Rhianna. Everyone else was just ok, no big deal. I can only hope for next year some of these celebrities (Lil Mama) will put a little more effort forth next year.  I can hardly wait for more awards show to come on TV!

Last night, June 24th the 2008 BET award were held in Los Angeles, California. The audience was filled with singers, actors, rappers, dancers, ect and many who came along just to enjoy the show. Like every awards show the BET awards have their own red carpet for guest arriving to the ceremony. In this article and the next I will be letting you know exactly how I feel about the attendees of the show and their fashion choices.

Here we have Alicia Keys, looking pretty in pink. I love the origami folds on the bodice of this dress. I think she looks great the color of the dress really makes her skin look great. She didn’t over do it with her jewelry and that should definitely be commended. Although I wonder  what those three finger rings she is rocking really look like.

Pictured above is P.Diddy’s one hit wonder / rumored girlfriend/ model Cassie.  Cassie’s look is a little confused or mismatched if you will. Sure those shoes are fine but why would you choose them of all shoes available to wear with this baby pink  mini dress? Moving right along we see that our Cassie is also wearing a gold watch on one write and silver bangles and one gold bracelet on the other wrist. For a regular day mismatching metals is a forgivable offense but for an awards show? C’mon now Cassie. I don’t know if its your or your stylist but some one needs to try harder.

Here we have Chris Brown along side with some little boy, maybe Will Smith’s youngest son. Chris Brown looks like he’s in the beginning stages of a mini fro-hawk. Been there done that. He is young and should be trying new things with his hair not copying the style of an old man like Diddy and even he has been over it for awhile.

For those of you who don’t remember the movie “Dream girls” this is Jennifer Hudson.  This dress looks like it was dipped in copper from old pennies. I feel like there hasn’t been a time when Jennifer Hudson wasn’t wear some kind of metallic to an awards show. She looks great in this dress don’t get me wrong I would just love to see her in some different colors. New or more daring shoes wouldn’t hurt her either.

Oh Keyshia Cole, at least you’re trying. I’m actually really impressed with the dress choice on Miss Keyshia however it doesn’t feel like her. This dress is more Rhianna. Maybe I should just come out and say it, Keyshia Cole is dressed up like a bootleg Rhianna right down to the haircut and color of the dress. I love Keyshia Cole, please don’t get it twisted that is why I love it when she is wearing clothes that represent her a little better.

This article has really got me excited for all awards shows to come. It’s always nice to take a second to really look at what people choose  to wear to what could be a very important night in some of their lives. There is plenty more to come from the BET red carpet.