Fashion Week Meets Geek Chic

September 11, 2008 by admin · 2 Comments
Filed under: fashion & beauty 

HP + Tam techcessory came down the Fashion Week catwalk.

From Ad Week’s Creativity Online comes news of HP’s newest attempt at geek chic:

The digital clutch, a mini-laptop encased in fashion designer Vivienne Tam’s Chinese-inspired exterior, was revealed on the runway with Tam’s spring 2009 line during New York’s Fashion Week at Bryant Park. Inside, the notebook’s enter key is adorned with the Chinese symbol for double happiness. It’s expected to hit stores early next year.

Guru’s Take: I have a luscious neon green Mac laptop that I had colorized by the geniuses at colorwarepc.com. I also had colorwarepc.com ‘bake’ me up a gorgeous aubergine Mac and an iPod in Berkeley gold and blue. All of this geek chic routinely gets oohs-and-aahs at coffeeshops, airport hot spots and presentations. Anyone who works in trendcasting, digital media , branding or social marketing strategy ought to make sure they’re colorized and cooool. Vivienne, put me on your list!

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It’s A Lipstick Jungle Out There.

September 10, 2008 by admin · Leave a comment.
Filed under: fashion & beauty 

The cynic in me has to wonder if Lancome is behind this week’s Lipstick Wars. Was all this piggish punditry simply a brilliantly buzzy campaign for their new killer kisser colors: Piha Red & Piha Black?

The limited edition luxe lip set is amazingly and aptly being launched in November.

Created by new artistic director Aaron de May,  this deep, dark Goth-y gloss is oozing with shine, shimmer and sass. Lancome’s low pigment lip glaze is an alternative to heavy black lipstick, and can be layered over colors over or left slightly sheer. Supposedly it works as an eye glosser too but that may be a tad too emo for most.

A mere 500 of these so-15-minutes-from-now sets will be available in the United States: at Bloomingdale’s on 59th Street in NYC; www.lancome-usa.com and the five Lancome boutiques. Waste no time getting yourself on the waiting list : 212-705-2886.

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Project Runway’s Olympic Designs versus The Real Olympic Designs.

August 12, 2008 by admin · Leave a comment.
Filed under: fashion & beauty 

With 15% of the world watching, the opening night ceremony at the 2008 Olympics has got to be The Ultimate Catwalk. So it was a kick to compare the recent Project Runway designs to the real-life designs sported by 204 countries during the Parade of Nations. Style elements that were sometimes tunked by Runway judges — like Jerelle’s hat — turned out to be virtually de rigeur in Beijing. Hats, in fact, turned out to be the It fashion accessory, especially the traditional Panama, maxed out by the Peruvians to a hat and half.

The preppy theme dominated the night as well, with legions of Olympians in yards of piping, crests and classic blazers, looking like escapees from the Ralph Lauren Country Day School. Jerelle also nailed another uber-stuffy, strangely unsporty trend: the ascot.

One look I wished we’d seen: Suede’s flirty, flouncy short skirt, which would have made all of those hot Olympian legs look (if possible) even hotter than they are.

No surprise that Leather Queen Stella’s signature leatha was missing-in-action.  Maybe in 2012 Stella’s Olympic design dream will come true: To represent the country in a bad ass way.

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The Tale of Two Bettys, Both Confidential.

June 13, 2008 by admin · Leave a comment.
Filed under: Technology, Uncategorized, Women, fashion & beauty, marketing & advertising, media & publishing 

This is the tale of two Bettys, both products for women, both with a just-we-girls brand strategy, both looking to chisel an identity in this fiercely competitive and hugely complicated marketplace.  With America’s CPOs –Chief Purchasing Officers – controlling 85% of all purchases, the stakes are high for these tightly targeted products.

One succeeds beautifully.

Let’s start with Betty Beauty. I first heard about this particular kind of follicular-fun from my dear friend,  glam hair stylist, Alicia.  I walked into her salon and found her giggling hysterically.  Then she handed me a small package decorated with a bright magenta triangle and the words: COLOR FOR THE HAIR DOWN THERE.  “FUN” BETTY.  HOT PINK (Rose) 

On the back of the package: FUN IS WHERE YOU FIND IT! GET YOUR BETTY READY!

Lest you think this Betty was destined for the backroom of beauty salons, it turns out that prettying up your pubic hair has gone public in the biggest way possible — via the June issue (hello Bridal Betty) of Oprah’s magazine.  According to beauty editor, Valerie Monroe, she put off getting her Betty ready until the story deadline loomed and finally she had to “match carpet to drapes.”  Amazingly, she admitted to actually liking the new product.  In fact, Ms. Monroe said she was ‘inordinately pleased with my new  (zingy) look.’

Are you ready for the other Betty? This one is a new website for women’s ‘lifestages’ developed by a high profile executive with long experience in the media.  The site features a wide array of writers opining on everything from ‘kissing frogs’ to ‘navigating a career’ to ’shaping a marriage’ or ‘finding you.’  There are message boards called Betty Talk and lots of tips and teasers.  And like Betty #1, the ‘product’ is front and center on the big media outlets like Good Morning America via founder Deborah Perry Piscione.

So there you have it.  The two Bettys. Two contenders for the hearts and minds and Kate Spade purses of America’s 66 million+ time-trapped, stressed, striving and thriving women. 

Did you think I was going to tell you which Betty won my heart and mind? Never mind my preppy striped Kate Spade bag?

Not this time.  You tell me.

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Winners and Sinners in the Green Name Grab

June 2, 2008 by admin · 3 Comments
Filed under: Uncategorized, Women, eco & sustainability, fashion & beauty, marketing & advertising, media & publishing 

Everybody’s out to grab a green name. 

Last year, applications with the word ”green” more than doubled from 2006 to 2007, from 1,100 to 2,400; there were some 900 applications each filed with “clean” and “eco” (up from 800 for “clean” and around 450 for “eco”), and trademarks with “environment” or “enviro” went up from 325 to 450. 

Other words that saw some of the largest jumps in applications were “earth” (increasing 60 percent from 550 to 900), “planet” (a 50 percent increase to more than 400) and “organic” (going from 450 to 700 applications, a 57 percent increase).

These tidbits come from Greenbiz.com, itself a big Winner this year, with a newly launched site redesign that finally does justice to Greener World Media’s pioneering place in the thriving environmental business landscape.  Cleaner and uber-readable, the new look showcases the remarkably robust level of cutting edge content. Joel Makower, with 20+ years as a leading Green Guru, and Pete May, b2b publishing veteran, lead the charge.

Not such good news over at another (formerly) growing green pub.  One of my favorite girly-green sites, Green Girl Guide, will be no more as of June 23rd:

We didn’t want to say goodbye, but a few months ago National Geographic sent us a cease-and-desist letter because of a perceived conflict between our site and NatGeo’s TheGreenGuide.com (Who knew?) and suddenly, what started out as a side-project for three green-minded women suddenly turned into a David and Goliath story of epic proportions. With no resources to fight the geological giant, we’ve decided to part ways.

Thankfully, we sense a new green winner-in-the-works, with the upcoming ecostiletto.com, founded by ex greengirlguider Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, who wisely hired (my friend) Courtney Owens Zielinski to design the site.

Stay tuned for updates from Sustainable Brands 2008, held right here in eco-paradise Monterey.

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Oops! WOM Beats The Pundits Again. Sex and The City Glams Its Way To A $55 Million Opening.

June 1, 2008 by admin · 1 Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized, entertainment, fashion & beauty, lifestyle & leisure, marketing & advertising, retail 


Hollywood pundits underestimated the massive femme power of the SATC franchise, with many predicting opening box office in the typical chick-flick realm of $20-30 million. Some wisely hedged it on higher, but always with the disclaimer that their usual methodologies were not jibing with word-of-mouth.

Therein lies the issue with traditional research tools — Word of Mouth, particularly in the realm of female fashionistas and passionistas, wields power like nothing else.

In Santa Monica, the SATC showings at Mann’s theater were sold-out from 6 until midnight Friday night.  Thanks to a savvy friend, we were lucky enough to sneak in at six, beating the line of giggling girlfriends — some in their Carrie-best — that snaked around the block.

Inside, it was a blend of focus group, pep rally and the annual Nordstrom spring sale. The target-specific satisfaction was palpable.

Reviews. Schmooz. It’s all about the shoes.

 

 

 

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