Coquette

Doo.Ri

(Photos: Style.com - Doo.Ri Fall 2011 Collection)

Last night I watched the fashion documentary Seamless which focused on three out of the ten CFDA finalists in 2005. The three were Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, Alexandre Plokhov of Cloak and Doo.Ri Chung. The winner ended up being the young and fabulous Jack and Lazaro Proenza Schuler but who impressed me the most was Doo.Ri. There really aren't a lot of women fashion designers who make it – much less an asian one. What impressed me was that she worked by herself in the basement studio under her parents' dry cleaning shop in New Jersey. As she worked, you could see how meticulous and detail-oriented she was. Her draping and clothing have an angelic quality to them. She's now a designer I am definitely going to look out for more.

I love her edgy yet sophisticated style. This Torqued Draped Dress (On sale for $268.50 at Shopbop) and Draped Dress with Leather Hem ($995 at Shopbop) are a couple of my favorites. You can shop for more Doo.Ri at Shopbop.

Doo.Ri Chung at the CFDA awards in 2009 via Harper's Bazaar.

Banana Republic Mad Men Collection on Gilt Groupe

I still can't believe we have to wait until 2012 for the next season of Mad Men. To hold us through, Banana Republic's Mad Men collection is now on sale at Gilt Groupe! Featuring lady-like clothing inspired by Betty Draper, the collection is still fresh for our modern life today. Sizes are going quickly but some of the standouts I love are the Begonia Print Dress ($150) and Leopard Print Cardigan ($89.50) with Betty Scarf ($39.50).

And if you want your man to be dressed like Don Draper, there are a few mens selections too. Pictured above Tailored Silm Two-Button Blazer ($375).

Visit Gilt Groupe to shop!

Book Review and Giveaway: Vintage Craft Workshop

I'm so excited to be a part the blog tour for Cathy Callahan's new book, Vintage Craft Workshop: Fresh Takes on Twenty-Four Classic Projects from the '60s and '70s (published by Chronicle Books. Cathy is Cathy of California where she covers vintage crafts and design on her fantastic blog. There's no need to scour antique fairs for that vintage look you need. With this book, Cathy and a handful of top crafters show you step-by-step how to recreate 24 stylish vintage craft projects.

The chapters of the book are broken up into easy to digest sections related by materials or theme. They are: Chapter 1: Make It with Burlap...and a little Felt, Chapter 2: Ideas for Raffia 'n' Yarn, Chapter 3: Stitching: Crewelwork, Craft Kits, and Applique, Chapter 4: Craft Trends of the 60's and 70's, Chapter 5: Create with Paper, and Chapter 6: A New Look at Papier-Mâché (featuring this lady vase project pictured above).

You can even take certain vintage elements from the book and apply them to your fashion life. The raffia flowers featured in the Loomed Flower Wall Hanging project (p. 35) are the perfect adornment for a beachy summer straw tote. The applique techniques for the Tulip Apron (shown above, p.59) are the perfect adornment to a little girls dress.

Pattern templates are also included at the end of the book so you can easily photocopy them to use for your craft projects. I love the inspiring profiles of famous crafty women of the 60's such as Aleene Jackson creator of Aleene's Tacky Glue (my favorite glue). Pick up this book today if you are a craft lover. There are so many fun and easy projects to make!

Book Giveaway
One lucky Coquette reader will win a copy of Vintage Craft Workshop by Cathy Callahan. Just leave a comment to this post letting me know why you want to win this book. All comments will be closed by 5 pm PST on Friday, May 20, 2011. The lucky winner will be chosen randomly and announced later on the site. Good luck!

Cathy and I have been friends for about 5 years now and I first met her at Maker Faire back in 2006 when she was a vendor at Bazaar Bizarre. I took this quick snap of her at the time and now this photo is something we smile and look back on. It's been amazing to see her grow her business over the years and cheer her on for her appearance on Martha Stewart a couple of years ago.

If you are in the Bay Area, Cathy will be at Maker Faire Bay Area this Saturday at 3pm for a presentation at the CRAFT booth and for a book signing of Vintage Craft Workshop afterwards. Don't miss it!

Here are her famous pincushions which adorn a shelf on the wall of my home office.

Don't miss the other blog tour stops happening the rest of this week with some of my crafty friends:

Wednesday, May 18 – CraftyPod
Thursday, May 19 – This Is Love Forever
Friday, May 20 – Modge Podge Rocks

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered! The winner is Sharon from San Francisco, CA.

Natalie Portman on January Cover of Vogue

(All Photos By: Peter Lindbergh/Vogue)

One movie I want to see this holiday season is Black Swan with Natalie Portman. The star of the movie elegantly graces January's Vogue magazine. Read the interview with Joan Juliet Buck and check out the behind the scenes video where Natalie describes the covershoot as well as her preparations for her role as Nina in the movie.

Here are the gorgeous photos from her spread in the magazine with photographer Peter Lindbergh.

Heartbreaker with Vanessa Paradis

I love romantic comedies in all their cheesy glory but is it just me or has there been way too much cheese and not enough romance? Merci to the French for bringing Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur) to the screen and some much needed amour. Sure the story is a farc but the chemistry and witty banter between Vanessa Paradis and Romain Duris cannot be denied. I loved every minute of the movie from the location (Paris and Monaco), the comedy bits (sometimes the French have a very kooky sense of humor - I should know), to the "Dirty Dancing" homage where Vanessa and Romain re-in act the famous dance scene (love the dancing!). I'm not even going to go into details on the plot here because it really doesn't matter. Just watch the trailer above to get a little taste of some good o' romantic comedy fun a la France while drooling over Vanessa's Chanel wardrobe and Hermes Kelly bag. See if you are able to catch it On Demand with Comcast as I did or wait for the DVD to come out soon!

Bobbi Brown's Beauty Rules Book Giveaway

Who isn't a fan of makeup artist Bobbi Brown? I've always loved Bobbi Brown for natural-looking makeup and style. Now all her beauty and makeup tips come to life in her new book, Beauty Rules: Fabulous Looks, Beauty Essentials, and Life Lessons for Loving Your Teens and Twenties (published by Chronicle Books). As a firm believer in good skincare, her natural beauty focus is an inspiration and I love how a lot of the models in the book are real girls and women she found out and about. My favorite parts of the book are the step by step makeup application techniques that are paired with large photos. The gorgeous photos in the book alone will keep you occupied! She also gives tips according to ethnicity, and I love some of her tips for Asian skin and makeup. She also brings in real women case studies and tips on self-confidence so we can all get the most out of life. Thanks Bobbi Brown for bringing a diverse and real look into skincare and beauty!

Book Giveaway
Two lucky Coquette readers will each win a copy of Bobbi Brown's Beauty Rules! Just leave a comment to this post letting me know why you want to win this book. All comments will be closed by Noon PST on Friday, October 29, 2010. The lucky winners will be chosen randomly and announced later on the site. Good luck!

Project Runway's HP Challenge - Fabric Pattern Design

I'm still not over last week's fabulous Project Runway episode where the contestants were challenged to design their own fabric pattern using HP TouchSmart PCs. The winner of the challenge was the talented Mondo (who is one of my favorites). He created a bold plus pattern to signify how he has been living HIV positive for the last ten years.

I was lucky enough to play with one at a press preview last month. As a crafter and a designer, I am loving how easy the HP TouchSmart PC is to use to create art. You can draw with your finger, pen tool, or even paintbrush and instantly choose the way the pattern will tile. Finally no more drawing on a Wacom tablet, you can just draw directly on the screen. Pretty cool!

Here's the final pattern Mondo created. The left part of the screen is the work area and shows the detail of the plus pattern Mondo made. On the right, you can see the detail of the pattern tile.

Watch this video clip showing how each of the designers made their own patterned fabric using the HP TouchSmart PC.

Mad Men's Christina Hendricks for London Fog

Remember that episode last season of Mad Men when they talk about the brand London Fog? Fast forward to 2010 and London Fog maker of the famous trench coats gets an updated and sexy look with actress Christina Hendricks as their spokesperson. Trench coats never looked so good!

Christina Hendricks stated, “London Fog is a classic brand, which I love. It also ties in to Mad Men, we used London Fog in the show and this was a nice way to tie everything together. The trench is such an iconic shape for men and women. It works for anyone – it worked in the 1960s and it works now.”

Here another still from the ad campaign shot by photographer Nino Muñoz as well more photos from behind the scenes. You can see more online at londonfog.com.

I <3 Rachel Zoe

One of the things I missed these last couple of weeks while I was in France was the season premiere of the Rachel Zoe Project. It has to be one of my favorite fashion reality shows. I still haven't had time to catch up on the missed episodes, but I am loving the recent photo spread of Rachel Zoe in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar. Here she's featured with fashion designers Michael Kors and Vera Wang. See more photos in the Rachel Zoe: "I Die" slideshow on the Harper's Bazaar site.

The September issue of Harper's Bazaar is on newsstands now!

Project Runway Season 8 + HP TouchSmart

I'm excited for Season 8 of Project Runway tonight on Lifetime. I'm so glad it's on earlier now at 9pm! Instead of paper sketchbooks, the fashion designers are all equipped with the HP TouchSmart tm2, a touchscreen laptop/tablet that comes with an attached pen. I love how technology is finally moving into the fashion world and it's amazing to see how colorful and detailed the sketches can be.

A close-up of Andy's design on the HP TouchSmart tm2.

Watch the video above to see the HP TouchSmart in action by the Project Runway designers.

See more photos of the HP TouchSmart tm2 in action on Project Runway.