Designer Clothing - Blinging in the New Year

Are you still looking for that special Holiday or New Year's Eve party dress? I want something really chic and sexy this year for New Years Eve, the biggest party of the year as far as I'm concerned. Here is the designer dress that I've come up with. What do you think? Do you like my pick?

The dress I've chosen is this Gold Sequined Mini Dress by Jovani. This dress is really me. It's short and super sexy, and that's how I like them, and it's both classy and chic. It's got lots style and sex appeal. It's deep V-neck could easily show off the best of necklaces but I also love it without any neck jewelry at all and besides, why shift the focal point from your best assets. Any fashionista will know that when wearing anything with shine or sequins, keep the accessories simple.

Some will not like the Empire waist but heck this silhouette is flattering for figures lacking in the natural curvature department or in the case of pear shapes wishing to disguise the stomach area, especially after all that Christmas indulgence! The higher empire waist also shifts the emphasis higher onto the bust and there's nothing wrong with that, is there!

It will also make this Sally look much taller than she really is, not that I'm short mind you. But even at 5'8" this chick likes to look taller than she is. I also love the dress' loose skirt which seductively skims the body and with its mini length, this makes this dress just perfect for dancing the last night of 2007 away.

I've got the large, gold gypsy earrings, and don't they just suit the look, so all I need really for that sleek sexy look is a pair of glittering gold stilettos or heels. Oh how I love fashion shopping. After a year of indulgence mind you, my cc is just about maxed out to the limit so this dress and the shoes will be the last things I buy in 2007, I promise :)

BTW, I found this designer dress by Jovani at eDressMe, New York. It's priced at $500 and is perfect for blinging in the New Year however the really sad news is that other than size 6 which is available for immediate shipping, this Jovani dress will only start to ship on January 20, 2008! Back to the drawing board :(

Online Fashion Boutiques, Take Note!

If you're a frequent reader then you will know that I love to shop - designer clothes, designer shoes and designer handbags. However, there's something about fashion retailing, especially online fashion boutiques, that really sucks and often turns me off my passion. Simply stated, this relates to the way that many online fashion boutiques display their merchandise.

I don't know if you're like me but often I find designer clothes that are simply displayed and photographed against some backdrop or being modelled by Casper, just suspended in mid air. The halter top shown above is an example. I'm sure you've see lots of this yourself but if not then take a quick look at the teen clothing shown on online fashion boutiques like Aeropostale and Delia's, and the sassy and chic clothing shown at The Warehouse and Miss Selfridge. Now don't get me wrong as I happen to love all of these online boutiques. They are merely examples of the point that I'm trying to make here. I just find that displaying fashion like this does not do justice to the items and often I will simply move on.

Take for example the halterneck top by Bilingual shown above. I wrote about this piece in my post Up To 50% Off La Star Style Celebrity Fashion back on August 18, 2007. As I wrote then, when I first saw this halterneck even at the 50% discounted sale price of £39.99 I asked myself "yeah sure, who'd pay that much for this?" Intrigued, I had a closer look and if you click on the image you'll see how this halterneck top looks being worn by Hollywood A-lister, Halle Berry. How quickly I changed my mind when I saw it modelled in this way. It's nothing short of super sexy and I too wanted one of these exclusive and very limited tops.

Now what I've labelled as 'Casper displays' is not the only thing that sucks as I also often come across pictures of designer clothes on mannequins, life-size dummies sometimes with an egg head with no defined features or anatomical details but also often headless, or armless, or just a torso, and I say, "Yuck. No Thanks". Yet I can see the exact same designer clothes pictured being worn by live models and say "Wow. Yes Thanks" and either go ahead and purchase or at the very least dream about owning them!

Now this isn't always the case as there are some exceptions, however I have to say that this is mostly true for me. Here is a couple of current examples of this taken from another one of my favorite online boutiques, ADASA. The first, the designer dress shown in the picture on the above left, is the Mason by Michelle Mason Dress with Waist Ties in Grey currently priced at $297 at ADASA and the second, shown in the picture on the right below is the Mason by Michelle Mason 3/4 Sleeve Boatneck Dress in Purple, available at ADASA for $407.

Each of these two modelled designer dresses by Los Angeles fashion designer Michelle Mason I could easily order online. I think they're gorgeous, sophisticated and sexy, and look absolutely stunning, just too cute to mouse click past. So here's a simple experiment. As you look at each outfit click on the picture and see how these gorgeous designer clothes look in the alternative displayed on a mannequin. Much like the Bilingual halterneck top shown above, these two Mason by Michelle Mason designer dresses displayed in confident stylish poses on headless mannequins, I can assure I would not look twice at.

Even though mannequins can be very realistic, capable of a myriad of natural human poses and based on human measurements and proportions to die for, as well as being flesh-colored and with that perfect smile, looking so very youthful, I can't explain how as a frequent fashion shopper why I feel this way. I'm not at all sure if my reaction is because of the wooden or plastic doll look or if somehow my brain recognizes that these dummies are not the real thing, that they're just a non-personalized representation of the human form, youthful and with that perfect body but somewhat idealized and stylized, to model the designer clothes. Perhaps it's in the mannequins' body language or that I simply see that they are Barbie dolls, too perfect and not having the body shape of today's average woman makes me feel bad about myself! It might even be that I just get a different perception of beauty and the human body when designer clothes are displayed on mannequins. I really don't know but the result is that I don't buy!

And I have to say that the same applies to mannequins modelling designer jeans and to a lessor extent designer shoes and accessories like designer jewelry and designer sunglasses! And this isn't restricted to online merchandising either as I often have the very same reaction when it comes to mannequins in storefronts or magazine advertisements. Somehow they are a turn-off! Crazy I know but if there are many like me then I think that the display of designer clothes in this way is far less effective than retailers may realize!

Betsey Johnson Designer Sale

Fashion designer Betsey Johnson has been rocking the fashion industry with her unique and original fashion designs for many years now. Over this time her label has grown and now it's not only about designer clothing, it also includes lingerie, designer shoes and designer handbags as well as jewelry and accessories. The Betsey Johnson fashion designer label is now very much an American Lifestyle brand.

As well as being available in better department stores and specialty stores throughout the US, as well as in Europe and Asia, the Betsey Johnson fashion designer label is available in over 50 Betsey Johnson boutiques throughout the US as well as in London, Toronto, Vancouver and Tokyo. There's also the Betsey Johnson online store which has a big range of fashion on sale at discounts as high as 60% OFF!! And there's some great fashion pieces there.

For example, the Betsey Johnson Solid Sateen strapless/backless Bubble Show Dress shown in the picture above in black is gorgeous. In some ways it's similar to the India Frock red jersey and sassy cross back mini bubble designer dress by camilla and marc that I mentioned in yesterday's post Le-Stylist Designer Sale. Discounted by 50% from $350 down to $175, the India Frock designer dress is great value.

Discounted by 50% down from $385 to $192.50, I also love the light and flirty Betsey Johnson Burnout Dots Halter mini-Dress shown here. This designer dress, in teal with burnout polka dots, has a Halter neckline with keyhole and straps that crisscross and tie on across an open back. The dress has an empire waist and ruffled hem, and is fully lined. It's a sexy number.

Even just by browsing the extensive sale collection it's easy to see that what you get with Betsey Johnson is sexy silhouettes, great fabrics (the signature prints are awesome), detail and design, and most importantly, a fabulous fit.

As well as casual dresses, there are some great valued designer party dresses and designer evening dresses included in the sale collection and at discounts of up to 60% OFF, the online Betsey Johnson fashion boutique is definitely worth a visit.

Rachel Pally Designer Clothing Sale

Designer clothing by Rachel Pally is now available at up to 60% OFF plus get an EXTRA 20% off on all merchandise at DesignerLA.com and you'll find a good range of Rachel Pally designer clothing including dresses, skirts, tops and more.

At checkout, use coupon code OFF20 and score an extra 20% OFF all merchandise already on sale.

If you haven't tried this designer clothing line, then you're missing something special. But here's your chance to try out this classic, beautiful and sassy line at the lowest prices.

My pick: I love the Rachel Pally full tie designer dress shown in pictures here, and yes all of the pictures shown here are of the Rachel Pally full tie dress. It's available in two colors, namely Heather Grey or Grape and has been discounted by 41% from $220 down to $129 however, with the EXTRA 20% OFF using coupon code OFF20 at checkout you can save another $25.80 reducing the price of this stunner down to $103.20!!

Now why do I like this dress? As well as its sassy look and great price, it's a very versatile designer dress that can easily be worn for different looks.

For example, in the picture on the very top left above, the ties are tied at the center-front for a backless style and the dress is worn with flats for a sassy, casual look. For a more formal and dressy look, in the picture on the top right, this designer dress is shown being worn as a halter with the ties tied around the back of the neck to give a stylish (especially with heels) halter look. The two pictures on the left, show yet another classy halter-look with the ties criss-crossed across the front and tied at the back. I can think of other tie combinations, can you? Yes, I love it! It's really chic and just wonderful for any occasion!

Visit DesignerLA.com to see the full range of Rachel Pally designer clothing on sale and don't forget to use coupon code OFF20 at checkout to score that extra 20% OFF ;)

Prada Pink Paillette Designer Dress

Along with two other designer prototype items, the gorgeous knee-length silk skirt (Size: S) layered with strips of fuschia and pink paillette sequins as shown in the pictures below was today added by Prada to its designer prototype auction at prada.com. This Prada designer dress is completely handmade and is finished with a hem of matching fuschia cock feathers.

A similar design was shown in black paillette for the A/W 2007 catwalk collection however this Prada prototype designer dress is absolutely unique as it is the only version in this color in existence. Like the Prada Vanilla Flapper Designer Dress, and the Prada Orange Paillette skirt, it fuses elements of Prada’s current style seen in the A/W catwalk collection with influences from 20s design. It's sassy, chic and feminine. I love the color and hip hugging style. I really like it! This very unique designer dress makes for a great party/dance skirt.

65% Off at Bergdorf Goodman

Save as much as 65% off original prices plus free shipping at Bergdorf Goodman online and in store on women's designer clothing including great collections from a top line of designers such as Armani Collezioni, Burberry, Carolina Herrera, Chloe, Derek Lam, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Jean Paul Gaultier, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney, Vera Wang and more, designer shoes by Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Miu Miu, Prada and others, gorgeous designer handbags by Chloe, Marc Jacobs and more as well as jewelry and accessories.

The items are of the highest quality as you would expect at Bergdorf Goodman and there are some heavily discounted items in the sale like the Michael Kors Shantung Strapless Dress shown in the image above. This designer dress, made in Italy, from camel silk shantung with black floral print, features a strapless sweetheart neckline with boned bodice and slim skirt. The dress has been discounted down from $1,395 to $698. I also like the Python-Print Strapless Dress by Michael Kors shown in the picture on the right. This designer dress, made in Italy, has a strapless sweetheart neckline and boned bodice, and a slim skirt with front ruche detail. This gorgeous outfit is discounted down from $1,195 to $598.