Eye candy of the week

Kudos to Brooke for finally sitting me down and showing me this new clip for next month's premiere of "The Hills". Just like my love for Audrina's love for Justin Bobby, Monday nights at C's cozy AdMo abode will live once again!

How would I rock a pair of dramatic dress trousers at a black-tie event? You're lookin' at my answer right here. Minus the "Brian [Austin Green]" tattoo, of course.
To borrow a term from the ladies over at GFY, this ravishing redhead (Teen Vogue's Accessories Director, Taylor Tomasi Hill) at the Tuileries yesterday creates the ultimate in 'lady cum tramp' scroll-down chic. Holy legs, Batman!

I've always liked men's watches far more than women's, but this one -'The Motif'- from longtime favorite line Nixon, is making me reconsider that preference. So very pretty, no?

We all fawned over Penelope's feather-bedecked Chanel Haute Couture gown on the red carpet, but how many got to see the second dress in which she stepped out for the many Oscar after parties? Penny's always been a favorite of mine, because she's one of the few beauties who can pull off the smolder and the cute with a quick dress change and hair tousle.

Before the unfortunate bang chop. Sorry, but that's all I can think about here. That and how HRL would snap this black and gold banded skirt up in less than a New York minute and then, in all honesty, ask me, "Really, you think it's '80s?"

I just want to see these new ruffled Prada runway pumps in person. Just to touch. Okay, maybe to wear, too, but only to work.

I can finally die happy knowing a benevolent soul and not some horrid socialite earned the honor of wearing the $14,500 Proenza Schouler cocktail dress. You say serving food to the hungry, I say serving Vogue to the fashion hungry. It's all charity in God's eyes.

I get in this same exact 'J' position after crunches and before prison push-ups, but aside from the sultry look and feelin'-for-progress hand placement, the similarities end there. Oh Katie Moss, no matter how old or drugged up you get, you'll always be the most glamorous chick in the coop.

The Coterie: a structured affair

So this...Got me into here:

No wait, here:

And once inside, I realized my Chocolate Factory comparison from last week may have been written with my tongue pressed a little too firmly in my cheek.

This place was, in all seriousness, a veritable wonderland for anyone who loves to talk, look, buy and breathe fashion.

I expected all along to gravitate toward ASJiNE standbys like Robert Rodriguez, Mint and Karen Zambos Vintage Couture, but as the hours ticked by and my red satin flats logged another lap, I found myself no longer looking for a familiar name on a placard but rather drawn toward uniquely-cut pieces, the majority of which, it turned out, came from a crop of brilliant, unfamiliar lines like Stella & Jamie, Erik Hart and Form.

Considering the volume of information and inspiration with which all this Coterie-ing hath filled my head, I decided it'd be better for you in terms of keeping your 'scroll finger' from developing a callus and for me in terms of not losing my mind trying to weave everything into a single cohesive post, that I break down my 180+ photos, my eight identified trends and my five newly-in-love-with designer discoveries into more manageable, one-per-day portions.

Today's focus is on a hugely popular trend I hope is here and here to stay: structure.

Enjoy.

Oh, and please, try to remember that a decent camera does not a decent photographer make.

From the stiff sleeves to the hard-pleated neckline to the giveless fabric - I found in this dress a piece of pure, structured perfection.

Ardistia*

The pretty party frock's perfect date -- a structured silk topper.
Biba

So strictly structured I half expected to find hinges -not a zipper- on its side.
Chace

No double-sided tape required on this securely stayin'-in-place kimono-sleeve dress.
Candela NYC

Even the handbags have lost their slouch
Jack Rabbit

What I imagine the Dita von Teese of the Victorian Age might have worn on her way home from work...
Mackage

Hervé Léger + Salvador Dali = strikingly structured strapless.
Iódice

The wearable-for-work version of Miu Miu's Spring '08 structured runway skirt
Chloe & Reese

And because I'm an unabashed fan of reality TV and all the people it has launched into semi-stardom, looksies at whosies I bumped into while making my way over to the Anlo booth:
So entranced by the extent of Jeffery's unique tattage -not to mention the charming contradiction of his preppy ensemble- I found it quite difficult to keep my hand steady and my celebriwhoreitis under control.

Thankfully for her and me, only LC's (ahem, underwhelming) eponymous collection was present at yesterday's show...

*unfortunately, the Ardistia representatives wouldn't allow me to take any photographs of what was hands-down my favorite collection of the entire show. So that you could still enjoy the view of one of their Mouret-inspired designs, I included an image from their website.

There's no strapless in baseball, er, boardroom

Sadie Hawkins Dance? Lah-dee-dah fourth of July rooftop cookout? Cocktail waitress taking a break?

Dream sequence? High-budget porn? Film still from an MSNBC "Dark Heart/Iron Hand" documentary?

Oh no. None of the above. This was the ensemble of choice of The Hills' L.A.-based Whitney Port to deliver the most important professional presentation of her young, well-dressed life. In Manhattan. In September. In the AM.
For this woman.

I gasped out loud every time Whitney, her halter bikini tan lines and Milly 'Filcoupe' dress sashayed on-screen. I gasped when she matter-of-factly told LC as they waited in the Teen Vogue lobby, "I would never wear this to work in L.A. - but this is Manhattan, it's different here." I gasped when, in the middle of her presentation, when Whitney explained - er, tried to explain - where the flower arrangements would be placed in the venue, she inserted both thumbs into her sweetheart bodice and shimmied her cleavage back into place. I gasped when she bent over at the waist to pick up a piece of posterboard and we the viewers, not to mention the entire Teen Vogue senior staff, got to see just how mini her mini actually was. I gasped when, upon Whitney's return to L.A., her relentlessly condescending boss, Ms. Lisa Love, met her with a half-smile, tilted head and a very icily delivered, "So...I heard your dress made quite an impression."

And finally, I let out a last gasp when Whitney nodded, shot a lip-bite and curious look at an equally confused LC, and said, "Oh, did it?"

In the spirit of maintaining equilibrium - a concept I absolutely believe in - for every flower-emblazoned ruched strapless party dress worn to a morning business meeting, there scientifically has to be an outfit of khaki capris, a denim jacket and oxford pooties* having drinks at an upscale hotel bar.

Both, in my opinion, are equally offensive, but I just wish we, the women of DC, didn't always have to be the latter.

*actual outfit sighted last night at Palette in the Madison Hotel

(all photos courtesy of the Vh1 blog)

Please to envision with opaque black tights and sweet Mary Janes

Yesterday was one of those days where everything from the big to the small to the everything in between went not just right but really, really right.

Thanks to Monte's insistence I take a "me" day, I enjoyed my first almost eight hours of sleep on a weekday in recent memory; knowing I'd burn it off later in the day during my run, I had the rare pleasure of eating the carbtastic salt-heavy-heaven that is the side-slice of Cosi bread; I took a liquid stroll down memory lane with two heavy-on-the-Grenadine Shirley Temple kiddie-cocktails during a fabulous girls night out on the Local 16 rooftop; and best of all, on my way to pick up my morning skim, extra-hot capp at the Mudd House on the corner of 17th/M, I saw sitting behind the glass showcase a glorious sight I hadn't expected to see for a good four to six more weeks: the first pumpkin muffin of the season.

Couldn't get any better, right?

Well, as Spencer so famously said to Heidi on episode 2 of Season 3 of "The Hills," the answer to that question is a resounding, "Ennnnnnhhh."

In other words, yes, it could get better. Way better, in fact.

Like, Holiday Party Season '07 dress finally arrived better:

How many days 'til the first party on the holiday circuit? 92? Nice.

Behold the deliciousness of the "circus" neckline!
Why do I have the urge to just wear the cummerbund?

Meeeeow! Who's got drama in the back? I do! I do!

Who's got a chewed-up Santa's-helper hat, running shoes, a Chinese take-out menu, a tennis ball and a Welly strewn about her floor? I do! I do! 'Tis a wee bit (read: three inches) shorter than I thought it would be, but with these and these, I'll definitely be able to class this sh*t up right. Mmmm...class...

Ladies, don't wait until the last minute as I unfortunately did last year with my Winter coat (the result of which was so impulsive and regrettable I already have a fund set aside for its replacement) -- go now, look for great deals on pieces you might not need today or tomorrow but you know you'll need in the near future. Scoop up that perfect party dress before the masses beat you to it and leave you with nothing to choose between but a generic looking J. Crew shift and overpriced (shudder) suburban-Mom Caché leftovers.

Your ability to out-dress your friends this holiday season depends on it!

Back by popular demand...

So that you, too, can waste hours and hours searching online for that perfect dress or find more easily that pair of shoes you'll never be able to afford but to which you masochistically pay homage every night, late at night, with the lights off, I'm sharing with you for a second time my newly-updated trusty list of online links.

If you have additional websites you'd like to share with the group, please raise your hand and the talking stick will be passed your way.

On an unrelated but equally important note, not that I need to remind any of my readers, but just in case it slips your mind between that rerun of "Frontline" and settling into the 'United States' section of The Economist (ahem, Miss Teen South Carolina), tonight is a "The Hills" night, and in this newest half-hour we get to see the ever-charming Spencer begrudgingly turn down a Malibu barbecue to meet Heidi's family in Colorado, Brody and LC (who, above is wearing the dress - another of her own design - I wish I'd worn to my senior prom) reunite for a pensive "I lost my best friend last year, too" convo, and perhaps most anticipated of all, Justin-Bobby-ditches-Audrina part deux -- a classic episode in-the-making. Oh, and don't forget the after-show immediately following at 10:30; none of my girlfriends caught it last week, and as a result, I was the only one among them who knew Justin-Bobby was not in fact a Brown educated trust-funder who just happened to look like a vagrant but instead a stylist who "does hair for like, Vogue and stuff."

Now if you'll kindly excuse me, my heavy legs, unhealthily bony shoulders, fug face and I have to head down to Dr. Cosi for what I like to think of as my daily vitamin injection -- an ice cream scoop heaving with Gorgonzola.

Happy shopping, ladies...

Shoes:
1. http://www.zappos.com/*
2. http://couture.zappos.com/

3. http://aldoshoes.com/

4. http://ninewest.com/
5. http://www.endless.com/
6. http://www.lorisdesignershoes.com/*
7. http://www.shoepavilion.com/
8. http://www.amazon.com/
9. http://www.stevemadden.com/
10. http://www.katespade.com/
11. http://www.toryburch.com/
12. http://www.plazatoo.com/

13. http://www.barefootess.com/

Swimwear:
1. http://www.victoriassecret.com/
2. http://www.lisacurran.com/*
3. http://www.shopbop.com/
4. http://www.dianesbeachwear.com/
5. http://www.swimwearboutique.com/

6. http://www.everythingbutwater.com/

7. http://www.jcrew.com

8. http://www.aerinrose.com/

Unmentionables:
1. http://www.agentprovocateur.com/*
2. http://www.victoriassecret.com/
3. http://www.thelittleflirt.com/
4. http://www.barenecessities.com/
5. http://www.chicmystique.com/

6. http://www.coupdefoudrelingerie.com/

Clothing (department stores):
1. http://www.saks.com/*
2. http://www.neimanmarcus.com/
3. http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/
4. http://www.bloomingdales.com/
5. http://www.macys.com/
6. http://www.dillards.com/

7. http://www.barneys.com/

Clothing (boutiques):
1. http://www.shopbop.com/*
2. http://www.net-a-porter.com/*
3. http://www.activeendeavors.com/*
4. http://www.eluxury.com/
5. http://www.couturecandy.com/
6. http://www.lisakline.com/
7. http://www.ronherman.com/
8. http://www.miostile.com/
9. http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/
10. http://www.pinkmascara.com/*
11. http://www.tobi.com/
12. http://www.urbanchiconline.com/
13. http://www.asos.com/
14. http://www.topshop.com/*
15. http://www.daszign.com/
16. http://www.revolveclothing.com/
17. http://www.edressme.com/
18. http://www.shopatmilk.com/
19. http://www.shopchantal.com/
20. http://www.southmoonunder.com/
21. http://www.betseyjohnson.com/
22. http://www.scoopnyc.com/
23. http://www.blondette.com/
24. http://www.girlshop.com/
25. http://www.patriciafieldonline.com/
26. http://www.anthropologie.com/*
27. http://www.freepeople.com/
28. http://www.toryburch.com/
29. http://www.shoshanna.com/
30. http://www.shopintuition.com/
31. http://www.shopkitson.com/
32. http://www.bluefly.com/
33. http://www.burberryusaonline.com/

34. http://www.styleviolet.com/
35. http://www.shopemilygrace.com/
36. http://www.intermixonline.com/
37. http://www.hornfashion.com/
38. http://www.fashionchateau.com/
39. http://www.store.irissinger.com/
40. http://www.shopbutante.com/
41. http://www.bigdropnyc.com/
42. http://www.shopjake.com/
43. http://www.satineboutique.com/
44. http://www.lagarconne.com/
45. http://www.blaec.com/

46. http://www.otteny.com/*

47. http://www.nationaljeancompany.com/

48. http://www.80spurple.com/

49. http://www.urbanminx.com/

50. http://www.shoptwigs.com/
51. http://www.yoox.com/

52. http://www.forever21.com/

53. http://www.satineboutique.com/

54. http://www.delias.com/

55. http://www.adasa.com/

56. http://www.bellegray.com/

57. http://www.fcuk.com/

58. http://www.clicktwentysix.com/

59. http://www.designerapparel.com/*

60. http://www.factorypeople.com/

61. http://www.starsandinfinitedarkness.com/*

62. http://www.standardstyle.com/

63. http://www.fredsegalfun.com/

64. http://www.basicboutique.com/*

*your editrix's favorites

T-8.75 hours...

Super busy today, but I couldn't let you go without mentioning once more that tonight at 8pm (and then again at 10 and 10:30), MTV will air the third season premiere of the most fashionable half-hour on television, a representative taste of which can be seen above with Lauren (at the show's L.A. launch party last Thursday) in an art-deco inspired Alexander Wang plunge-front dress and simple-'n'-sweet black round-toed pumps.

Keep your fingers crossed the producers were smart enough to fill the void left by Heidi "You don't know what he's like when it's just the two of us" Montag with my favorite character: the leggy and calculating East Coast 'Super Intern,' Ms. Emily Weiss.

LC in my living room *and* in my closet?

Scarlett O'Hara, Gloria Wandrous, Heather Chandler, Claire Standish, Regina George, Emily from The Devil Wears Prada, my college friend S, my DC friends K, C and E -- these are the type of women to whom I've always been most drawn both on-screen and in real life.

Put simply, I like a sharp, confident bitch.

It's no wonder, then, when I tuned into MTV's first episode of "Laguna Beach" three years ago - and every episode subsequent - it was toward Kristin, the conscience-free beauty born with a made-for-sin body and an acute understanding of how to use an eye roll and a smirk to make everyone around her feel inferior, I felt the most affinity, not her co-star and intended main draw, Lauren Conrad -- better known as "LC."

But for a number of reasons over the past year and a half - her string of unsavory male companions, her painful gotta-pay-the-bills appearances at shopping malls, the fact that she abandoned her Boston Terrier puppy when she left now ex-boyfriend Brody Jenner and proceeded to replace him with a Yorkie, among others - I've slowly begun to uproot myself from the Kristin camp and shockingly, because I really couldn't stomach her until the second season of "The Hills," move toward Team LC.

Now I still think Lauren is often insufferable (please, just let the Heidi/Spencer drama go already) and has squandered much of what she's been afforded through nepotistic internships at Three Dots and Teen Vogue, but where she makes up for all her immaturity and all her self-entitlement is in her classy-beyond-her-years, very ASJiNE-approved wardrobe.

Word is, Ms. Conrad is even debuting an eponymous clothing line later this season, a delicious taste of which you can sample in the first picture below.

It's not clear whether the Lauren Conrad Collection will be a more moderately priced SJP/Bitten endeavor or a pricier Sienna/Twenty8Twelve one, but either way, I'm in such an excited state over this news that I can't decide if I'm more looking forward to my Carvel Cake and "The Hills" premiere with the ladies on Monday night or for the day in the not-too-distant future when I find LC's name tucked in between 'LaROK' and 'Lauren Merkin' on the left hand side of Bop's website.

Enjoy a small stylish slice of LC's signature style:

In a knit bubble-hemmed dress of her own design and metallic round-toeds*

In an empire-waisted DvF cocktail dress and Jimmy Choo sandals In a belted cowl-neck sweater dress and an embellished headbandIn a square-neck halter trapeze dress by 3.1 Phillip Lim and Louboutin peep toes*
In a crocheted-neckline Development mini and Moschino cutout pumps

In a Pamela Roland strapless gown and Giuseppi Zanotti sandals

In a rosette-detailed Rebecca Taylor tank dress and Louboutin peep toes

In Tsubi skinny jeans, a bell-sleeved tunic and Mary Jane stilettos

In a cotton mini skirt, buckled peep toes and a paisley-print chiffon blouse

*your editrix's favorite looks