Peirce Mattie's "Haute List"

Just when i thought i was pretty tuned into the fashion scene - our friends at Peirce Mattie Public Relations released their 2008-2008 "Haute list." The list features the top three fashion/lifestyle related brands in 16 different categories.

This list is intense folks.

In the words of Peirce Mattie PR and PR Couture: "Check to see if you are on the pulse with the following fashion related brands and mags and if not, start copy pasting into Google immediately!"

Due to the fact that I'm familiar with only ten of the uber cool fashion listings, i better get cracking. I think i smell a night of "fashion cramming" coming on.

See for yourself:

Indie Fashion & Beauty Magazines:
1. Visionaire
2. Metro.Pop
3. VMAN

Foreign Beauty & Fashion Magazines:
1. Company (UK)
2. Jessica (Hong Kong)
3. Trendi (Finland)

TV Shows:
1. 90210
2. Kath & Kim
3. Gossip Girl

Women’s Apparel:
1. Topshop
2. Valentino under Alessandra Fachinetti
3. Rodarte

Men’s Apparel:
1. Pastelle
2. RMC Martin Ksohoh
3. ANAMA

Jewelry Brands:
1. John Hardy
2. Alexis Bittar
3. Trollbeads

Handbag Lines:
1. Rebecca Minkoff
2. Foley+Corinna
3. Timi & Leslie

Cosmetic Lines:
1. e.l.f.
2. Colorescience
3. Classified Cosmetics

Skin Care:
1. Korner
2. Lavera
3. Kaeline Argatherapie

Hair Care:
1. Re:nu by Joico
2. bain de terre
3. Intelligent Nutrients

Dermal Fillers:
1. Restylane
2. Evolence
3. Elevess

Nail Brands:
1. Butter LONDON
2. Dr. Remedy Nails
3. Borghese Nail Care

Fitness:
1. Mixed Martial Arts
2. Triathlon Training
3. Boxing

Cocktails:
1. Bourbon
2. Martinis (Lychese, Pomegranate, Apple, etc.)
3. Mojito

Vacation Destinations:
1. Panama
2. Costa Rica
3. “Staycations” (finding hot spots close to home)

Social Media Sites on the Rise:
1. LinkedIn
2. Ning
3. Ustream

The Decisions Have Been Made...

Remember my dream job? Social media, fashion, Gossip Girl celebs? Right, well the PR firm i'm describing, Porter Novelli pop-up firm Jack+Bill have finally annouced the lucky clients that will be receiving FREE PR services!!

Read the information posted below - compliments of prcouture.com

:)


Jack + Bill, Porter Novelli’s pop up fashion PR agency, has finally announced the results from its casting call! Last month, the agency staged a two-day open audition for New York’s next big fashion stars, promising the winners free representation leading up to Fashion Week.

For Jewelry Design, J+B picked DANNIJO, a line created by sisters Danielle and Jodie Snyder (top left). AIRA has been chosen as Women’s Apparel Designer (top right), Kalyn Johnson has been named Fashion Stylist (bottom right), and Christopher Fawcett is J+B’s hot pick for Model (center).

Attendees at the casting call competed in one of the four categories mentioned above. And in a surprising development, J+B created a fifth “Wild Card” category, and announced Badgley/Sneed Designs as an additional client. Badgley/Sneed Designs is a new jewelry line created by Gossip Girls’ star Penn Badgley’s mother, Lynne, and godmother, Jan Sneed. As has been widely reported in the press (Jack + Bill landed People and a sound byte on E! News to name a few), co-stars Penn and Blake Lively accompanied the Badgley/Sneed duo to the casting call. After presenting the jewelry line to J+B, the four special guests posed for pictures and spoke to media.

Alyson Campbell, partner at J+B, explained the agency’s decision to bring in a “Wild Card” winner: “There were so many talented individuals. We thought, let’s give exposure to more people.” But isn’t J+B concerned about possible criticism of its celebrity client, given its mission to represent emerging designers?

Alyson added that August will be a busy month as J+B as staff sit down with their new clients and plan their PR campaigns. The agency’s services to the winners end on September 5th. J+B plans to throw a rap party at the end of Fashion Week to celebrate its clients’ achievements. For more information on its new clients, including videos from the casting, visit J + B’s blog

All The Rage

Interesting fashion tid bit...

My friend Val recently sent me a journalist query from the New York Times requesting a PR person to find an adult who wears fashion and designer bandages as accessories (meaning even if they don't have a cut). The request got me thinking - is this for real? Are there really people out there who are taking bandages and putting them on their face, arms and legs because they think it's "cool?" I had to get to the bottom of this.

As it turns out, fashion bandages are all the rage in Japan. And it's not just colored band-aids that are making a statement. Some girls have been photographed sashaying down the street with random eye bandages (think Captain Hook) strapped around their heads.

As you'll notice in the photo above, Japanese women are actually going as far as wearing different color leg casts to make a statement.

I'm praying to god that this doesn't catch on in the U.S., I can't imagine that leg casts are slimming, and i look horrible in white gauze. :)

I'd welcome your thoughts on this trend....

My Dream Job

Seriously, I think I've found my calling.

Porter Novelli (huge global PR Firm) and their new fashion/lifestyle pop up agency - Jack+Bill have decided to turn the PR world upside down in a new PR experiment that involves a team of young executives, social media and a few LUCKY NYC dwellers.

Launched in early July, Jack+Bill is dedicated to identifying, branding and publicizing emerging fashion talent. The twenty-something team celebrated their grand opening by confidently announcing that they didn't actually have any clients on board and that they weren't going to be charging any clients brought on board for the first three months of service. What the $%&*?! this is insane right? No! It's brilliant. Here is the scoop:

Instead of using traditional business development techniques, Jack+Bill decided to provide free branding, buzz building, media relations and viral marketing services to one young model, stylist, women's apparel designer and jewelry designer from mid-July to early September. To really spice things up a bit the team decided to find these lucky peeps by holding a two-day casting call in NYC.

Check out jackandbillpr.com to link to the agency's Facebook page, YouTube casting call videos (packed with celebs who have been supporting this experiment) and take a peek at the Jack+Bill blog.

So my next question is how do i possibly get in on the action? Social media, fashion and a group of motivated millenials - sound like my kind of a place.

Jack+Bill, I'm here to serve.

Big Girls Like Fashion Too!

As you all know, I'm a big fan of celebrating the curvy woman. I make it a point to not issue style advice for the girls that bask in the size 0 category because it's just not realistic. No one is a size 0 that really matters in this world. I'm sure some stick thin model with half a brain could make a strong contrasting argument (or not) about the statement above but i'm not scurred. My curvy blogging girlfriends have my back.

Ladies, I give you (trumpets in the background)"Manolo for the Big Girl!" a blog dedicated to fashion, lifestyle and humor for the plus-size woman. It really is a brilliant idea. I mean, just because one has meat on their bones doesn't mean they don't like Saks, Neimans, Oscar or Gucci. Sure, they probably can't fit in to anything more than a knit top with 100% stretch fabric but gosh darn it every woman craves style and glamour! And if you don't your obviously mixed up.(Disclaimer: I probably can't fit in to anything but Gucci spandex either!)

Four lovely ladies hold down the online fort over at Manolo. First allow me to introduce Manolo the Shoe Blogger, she is the publisher. Co-editors Francesca and Plumcake along with weekend columnist Twistie keep readers on their toes with blog categories like "Fat and Famous," "The Fats in the Fire," "Stuart Wietzman Makes Em' Wider" and "This week in Fat Blogging." It really is riveting.

My personal favorite entry is "There's no shame in wearing patriarchal underwear," by Francesca. Don't let the funny name fool you, these ladies cover real issues in today's society that center around the over-weight population. This particular entry covers the do's and dont's for fat women attending a job interview. The question is - do you buy Spanx or let it all hang out? Or do you wear a fat person outfit and hope for the best? What if your future boss is a skinny bitch or a sexist, size 0 loving male pig? How do you take a stand and make yourself credible in the professional world?! See, i told you it was riveting!

For your own hearty helping visit manolobig.com!

Allow Me To Explain

I know what your thinking - what a bitch!

She left us hanging for more than a month? No calls, no emails and most importantly no blogs to satisfy our fashion and lifestyle needs.

Don't worry, I'm back. I admit, it was a bit shaky for a while. Work got crazy, my emotions were all over the place and then i hit a dry spot with my blogging and dang it i got frustrated. But - we're all good now! I am ready to fulfill all your needs in terms of fashion, lifestyle, and the occasional petty celebrity gossip.

Stay tuned for two glorious blogs! And thanks to all my fans (and by fans i mean the five people who actually read this blog) who encouraged me to keep blogging. You're the best!

--Style Junkie

Goodbye Yves Saint Laurent

I was working away in my office on June 1st when much to my surprise i received three email messages within five minutes. As i quickly switched screens to see what all the commotion was about, I was immediately saddened. The three headlines in my inbox, all from different fashion Web sites, read "Breaking News: Yves Saint Laurent Dies at 71. And with that, another fashion legend passes and more people forget about the true beauty and intricacy of fashion design.

Though most of us have never experienced the chic comfort of a YSL frock, or the smooth thick leather patched perfectly on a classic YSL tote, many of us have worn his designs without knowing. For example, the tuxedo blazer you wore out to drinks last Friday, YSL designed in 1966. Bolero Jackets, see-through blouses and thigh-high boots were all made famous by being featured in Laurent's critically acclaimed collections. Still not convinced? The man invented the pant suit for crying out loud!

Laurent captured his life through his designs. Know for his bright colors and black contrasts, he frequently used ethnic themes and patterns within his garment collections. He designed for the modern day woman who was/is "all business."

So, here's to you Yves Saint Laurent. Your brilliant masterpieces will be forever remembered by generations to come.

Note: Yves Saint Laurent's funeral was held today at the botanical garden in Marrakesh, Morocco where the reclusive fashion designer found inspiration and refuge from fame.