The Price Tag of Fashion

Ah Christian Louboutins! The sound of the famous designer brings a smile to any fashionista's face. Mr. Louboutin's shoes are well known for being extremely beautiful and extremely expensive. Recently, the timeless designer went to court with YSL over alleged trademark infringement. YSL produced shoes with red soles similar to the look of Louboutins. Surprisingly, Louboutin lost the lawsuit. Now that YSL won the court case, should we expect to see other designers produce similar shoe designs to Louboutins, but for a cheaper price? If so, this wouldn't be the first time a high fashion brand's designs have been sold to an affordable outlet...

Vera Wang, perhaps the most loved wedding dress designer, has a line at Kohl's called "Simply Vera Vera Wang". Don't let the implication of 'simple' fool you. The collection is actually really cute! Here's a look at some of the outfits from the line:

Karl Lagerfeld, head designer and creative director of Chanel, designed a collection for H&M in 2004. This collaboration showed the danger of a high end fashion designer working with middle class stores. H&M demanded an apology from Lagerfeld after he spoke out against his designs being sold in a size 16. Lagerfeld also expressed his disappointment in the outcome of the relationship. Despite the failed attempt with H&M, Karl designed another affordable collection this past year. His new line for Macy's will hit stores on August 31:

How do you feel about designers joining forces with these stores? Would you buy the clothes? Personally, I love the idea. I think women of all different classes should be able to experience the amazing collections without paying an unreasonable amount of money(Olsen twins I'm looking at you and your $39,000 purse). However, I don't want to see fashion brands lose their high status credibility. Let's be honest, a diamond from Tiffany's is special because of it's rarity. If everyone could afford the diamond it wouldn't make you feel so different. I prefer having the best of both worlds. I would like to own the affordable collection pieces but also still be able to dream big. If there ever comes a day where I own a Birkin bag, I want it to be because I earned it. The pricey Birkin bag symbolizes how success can help one achieve their dream. Louboutins at Payless may sound exciting, but the experience of owning the shoes shouldn't be cheapend. If everything was so easy to reach, what would we have to look forward to in life?

"That's the thing about needs. Sometimes when you get them met, you don't need them anymore"

-Sex and the City

How Fashion Is Represented On Television

Lately, I've noticed how poorly fashion is represented in the entertainment industry. Yes, there's brief red carpet recaps and competitive reality shows, but that's really where it ends. Personally, I can only tolerate the constant makeover shows for a short period of time. I have yet to find a show that is made for people who are passionately interested in the fashion industry where designer's collections or new trends are discussed. And the shows that do try to touch on these subjects come off insulting with their shallow representatives.

Back in the fall of 2010, E! announced that their special of "Fashion Police" would air every Friday night. I was so excited to watch a show with weekly fashion updates. What could go wrong? The show would include four cast members who would discuss different red carpet looks, new trends, and name the best and worst looks of the week. It all seemed like a fun idea until I saw who the cast members were. First off, I can deal with Joan Rivers and Giuliana Rancic. I actually really like them. Joan is a comedian, but she's been doing red carpet specials for years. In fact, her raunchy humor is a big help to the show and its ratings. Giuliana works for E! news and co-hosts mostly all of the red carpet events. She has a fun personality, cute style, and actually sees all of the styles in person.

On "Fashion Police", there's not much credible experience in fashion. George Kotsiopoulos may be a stylist, but is a serious downgrade from Jay Manuel who used to be part of E!'s fashion coverage. Then, there's Kelly Osbourne. It's hard to sit still while Osbourne (who's claim to fame is that she lost weight and was on DWTS)name drops and brings up her 2004 feud with Christina Aguilera. Really?!

When one of these cast members is absent, their substitute is some D-List reality star. Because according to who's ever running this show, fashion has no serious substance. If you feel this way, watch and listen to Queen Meryl Streep's speech. Last week, the show redeemed itself a little when the guest was Kimora Lee Simons. It was interesting to hear Kimora's opinions seeing as she's a designer and a former model. I'm not asking for prestigious legends like Karl Lagerfeld or Anna Wintour. Just people who have earned their success and know fashion.

I really don't hate E!(it's actually my favorite network) or any of the people mentioned. It's just annoying to see something you love treated so terribly. I mean one of the show's regular segments is called "Rack Report." Do we really need to be notified when an actress wears a low cut dress? Recently, it was announced that Nicole Richie, Jessica Simpson, and John Varvatos will be starring in NBC's "Fashion Star". The Simpson part is a little questionable but I guess it's better than a Kardashian or another reality star. Besides, Richie is the perfect person to mix entertainment and fashion. NBC scored with The Voice, here's to hoping they can do it again while shining a positive light on fashion. Until then, maybe I should give Project Runway a shot?

"I think what I often see is that people are frightened of fashion and that, because it scares them or it makes them feel insecure, they put it down. On the whole, people that say demeaning things about our world-I think that's usually because they feel in some ways excluded or not part of the cool group, so as a result they just mock it."

-Anna Wintour

Spotted: Chanel

Today, I came across such an eye catching Chanel purse. I was trying to pass time at the nail salon by flipping through Allure magazine, when I spotted the handbag's advertisement titled, "Fashion Cult Object".  Usually I'm not a huge fan of Chanel purses. They're beautiful and classic, but I've never been too obsessed with needing a Chanel purse. That was until I saw this advertisement. Karl Lagerfeld's latest design is gorgeous. I love that the print is abstract yet still simple. After a little research, I was informed that the purse is from Chanel's Spring 2011 collection. My obsession with the purse had me hooked on Chanel's website a little longer than I'd like to admit. The vague advertisement started a huge infatuation. Now, I'm one of those girls who needs a Chanel purse.

"You're in desperate need of Chanel."

-The Devil Wears Prada