LupRocks Gossip

Trend Report :Accessories for Fall 2008

Top accessory trends for Fall 2008.  This trend report is based on the accessory picks from the buyers at Neiman Marcus, and Fashion Wire Daily’s Renata Espinosa coverage of their picks. 

1) Animal prints – For those of you that stick to a neutral color palette, adding a hint of an animal print with a bag or shoe can help liven up an outfit without introducing a new color to your wardrobe.

2) Berry Tones – Deep purples, maroons, and blues bring some rich color to fall.  After a summer of very bright colors, this trend will ease us back into a more subdued and more appropriate color palette for the colder days that follow.

3) Booties – Booties, specifically in black, continue to remain a hot trend, although the 2008 version is more sexy with more delicate details like peep toes, stiletto heals, and lace.

4) Rhinestone Costume jewelry – Big 30’s art deco style jewelry with rhinestones are the perfect way to add some glam to darker Fall outfits.    

5) Lace – The trim of choice for fall.

See a sideshow of these trends here!

David and Golaith

In light of my recent reporting on the superhero craze that has taken front and center of the fashion buzzosphere these days, I wanted to offer this little bit of reinforcement data I found on Style.com.

And now on a different note…While I was perusing the aforementioned list of top comic book/superhero inspired must-haves on Style.com something very important came to mind.  Style.com is the Mecca of online fashion reporting, because it combines all the genius minds of the fashion focused Conde Nast family.   Therefore their list is bound to contain all the big names you would expect to find in a Vogue or W, with a few lesser-known wildcards thrown in for authenticity.

However as I read names like Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga, I found myself less covetous of these "it" items by these "it" designers, and thinking more about other sources to help me swing this trend. By the time I was done looking through this list I had come to the following conclusions:

1) I would much rather have a piece of jewelry or a handbag (or anything) designed by someone I know.  It makes it personal and special.

2) One-of-a-kinds, or one-of-a-hundred, are just as special whether they cost $100 or $1 million and whether they come from a big name or new up-and-coming name.

3) Starting a trend or wearing a new designer is much cooler than following a trend or wearing an already established designer.

4) Some of the designs cranked out by the über famous designers are actually impossible to wear if you are just a normal person, in a normal city.  Other designers who design based on the same inspiration have much more wearable designs that are just as fashion conscious, and are much more mainstream. (And usually cheaper.)

5) Whatever it is, I can find a reasonably close substitute for a lot less money (Superheroes is NOT a trend that will stand the test of time).

6) Products that have stories behind them are more authentic than items that are produced in mass as crowd pleasers.

7) I would rather have your take on the big trend, than theirs.

8) You are the David and they are the Golaith.  The David wins eventually in some way or another. 

Don't get me wrong, a Christian Louboutin shoe or a Chanel bag is special and something worth coveting.  But so is your collection!

Superheroes, Super-stars, and You

It’s a bird. It’s a plane.

 

No, it’s just celebrities arriving on planes, and birds live in the sky, seeing one is only inevitable if you look up. Although we hope it doesn’t pooh on the red carpet. And by red carpet, we speak this week of course of the always fashionably a-list attended Gala at the Costume Institute (Met) which kick-started the new “Superheroes” exhibit, showcaseing the costumes of comic book heroes and the fashion they have inspired. No fashion crimes in need of special powers, the attendees kicked some serious fashion behind. To see images of the amazing haute couture worn by your favorite celebs check out Style.com or Fashion Wire Daily.

 

But on to the real news - jewelry. This exhibit comes at the perfect time. With a big focus on statement pieces, a new line by Diane Von Furstenberg inspired by Wonder Woman, and a craving for gold hardware (people want most what they can’t have – gold prices rise, so does the desire), there is a huge open window for some great jewelry pairing. For example, when costumes and superheroes were all the buzz this week in the blogoshphere, I happen to clip a page out of JCK Style for a friend, Nicole Landaw, who had a great yellow gold and diamond star ring placement.  The funny thing is when I told the designer how much the ring fits in with the trend de jour she laughed because the ring was created two years ago.

 

Moral of the story: You never know when your designs will have relevance. With the ever fast pace of fashion and more imaginative inspirations, your designs will shine when ready. 

 

Oh, and now to the bat-mobile!

some digest from the Digest

Anna Wintour move over...there is a new breed of influential editors in town: Jewelry editors.  I mean, sure Anna inspired a block buster hit movie that grossed millions of dollars, but General Hospital is a house-hold name.  Plus, I don't think that Anna, Kate or anyone else will make you giggle as much as our beloved editor of Couture International Jeweler, Victoria Gomelsky.  Our lady du jour has all the answers to the questions that have been plaguing you!  Okay, not exactly, but you will walk away a better person after reading this juicy interview. 

Because it is on all our minds this week...

I know my crowds. The designer crowd is not the crowd that forgets it is Mother’s Day. People who create the gifts that many will give their mommy’s dearest (and less than dearest) next Sunday are not the ones who are running to the local 24 hour drug store at 2:00am on Saturday night in order to at least bring some lame card to the celebratory brunch. The problem is after your Mother’s Day sale/trunk show/sample sale is over, you are so tired from all the orders you have to fill, that it is hard to focus on an original idea for your own mother. While we are sure she is happy to adorn another one of your lovely designs, give her something she is not expecting – say jewelry or accessories designed by someone else. The front page of WWD today, featured a jewelry trend report on little charms. This got me thinking of a couple good ideas for mother’s day. Alex Woo has a perfectly simple gold M necklace that would make a wonderful gift - per the suggestion of People Magazines mother’s day gift guide. Heather Moore has beautiful little initial charms as well. Group several of them on one chain to represent all of your mother’s children or grandchildren, box it up, put a bow on it, and you are sure to make her smile. Also, don’t forget about your loved ones who may have mothered a new or collection. They deserve some in the spotlight acknowledgment as well. We recommend Emma-Jane & Tan’s cupcake necklace as the perfect charm for any New York gal who has caught the “I’m addicted to the amazing cupcakes that this city has to offer syndrome.” (Guilty as charged!)

Speaking of Mom’s…My mother was a brilliant enough woman to have us grow up watching Sesame Street. I learned how to count to twelve from the ladybug’s picnic and at the age of four I would walk around my house singing “You really got a hold on me.” Jessica, co-founder of LupRocks.com, is an award winning set decorator for the children’s education show “Between the Lions,” one of our flock’s father has been art director of Sesame Street for the past 20 + years, and all of us here at Lup have the general feel good hearts of children (with the brains of experienced educated adults of course), so we bring you this link as our little mother’s day present to all of you. Whether you are the mother of children or the mother of a wonderful company, we want to offer you this quick link in the hope that it makes you smile, and brings joy to you on what we hope is a very happy “mother’s” day.

Because it might make you laugh...

I will put my more profound thoughts on hold for a moment to bring you this bit of post Passover silliness. When I was growing up my mother used to have a Passover pin that she wore one week of the whole year. While I always thought it was a cute piece of fashion jewelry – cheeky at best - this brings Passover jewelry to a whole new level. (Pay attention for #17!) And you thought I would never find a way to tie Passover and jewelry together….

Here, There and Everywhere...

Two quick stories:

Emily and Ashley have their jewelry in the showroom Fragments. The owner of Fragments went to lunch with two editors from InStyle, to which she wore an Emily and Ashley ring. The rest is history. The editors came into the showroom and met with Emily and Ashley, took lots of photos, and then requested specific samples. That month InStyle printed a full page feature on Emily and Ashley.

Kara Ross had a gold cuff appear in WWD last Friday. I saw it, and told my friend about it, since I was happy a LupRocks.com member got such a great placement. My friend went to look it up, loved it, and ended up ordering a different Kara Ross design from Vivre.com.

Product placement is truly here, there, and everywhere. You never know where your next client or placement will come from, but is exciting to know that the possibilities are endless. Anything can happen. And anything can happen to you!

Saying Thank You

Before I begin to wax poetic…I want to direct everyone to PR Couture. It seems your hard working team here at Lup HQ is starting to turn some heads. Read the buzz about us!

After a placement…something to consider:

Say Thank you. Two simple words. In fact they are so simple and short (aka obvious) that we almost forget them. Jewelry and accessory designers are often sending products into the office for various reasons. Sometimes they include a thank you note. I can remember every name of every designer who sent me a thank you note for something I did for them in the past few months. We have become the generation of “thanks!” emails. We have evolved from the much more personal hand written snail mail letters of yesteryear. The next time a shoot wraps up, or a production is finished with your product, send the person who has given you great exposure a nice written letter. Put your good vibes out there in the universe.

Last year we worked on a film that had several costume designer assistants, and I can only remember the full name of the one who sent me a hand written letter – in purple crayon. It matters. If you are one of several designers whose product is pulled for a shoot, and you are the only one that sends a letter, that person may remember you too. And when their next need for product shortly follows, you will still be fresh on their mind.

A designer was recently bothered by the need to gift every media member she comes across. “Don’t,” I told her. There are times when gifting is appropriate, but this type of gift costs you only $0.41 cents, and is sometimes just as effective. If not more!

With this ring, I thee Wed

Did you know that last week was Bridal Fashion week in New York?   

 

Why you should know:  Thinking it has nothing to do with you is the outlook of yesteryear, because the future of tomorrow holds more in store for you than you may realize. First, many of the designers on the roster at last week’s bridal runway extravaganza do not have bridal jewelry lines, and they often team up with a bridal jewelry designer to bejewel models for the catwalk and for photo shoots. Second, this year the toughest critics (often the best critics) took note of the fashion forward thinking incorporated into the lines of almost all the designers.  If bridal trends continue to move forward in concept and design, which we believe they will, then won’t the jewelry move forward as well?  And the accessories? And the bridesmaid’s accessories?  With bright colors the trend de jour these days, and collections of gowns that are all inspired from the rest of the ROY G BIV color spectrum, the looks seen on the runway call for jewelry that is more colorful, more playful, and more eccentric.  The days of all white gowns with classic platinum/pearl/diamond jewelry will stand the test of time, but outside-the-box accoutrements will certainly join the mix more and more every year.   

Why you will know next year: You can check out all of the shows at NY Mag online, but to give you an example of where YOU will fit in to the equation in the next year, I would like to focus on two of my favorite wedding dress designers.  First up, the line by Monique Lhuiller (see photos above), who is no stranger to adding color to wedding gowns, was full of trims and draping that had an air of exquisiteness that can only be found in something vintage/something unique/something authentic.  Her aesthetic is a throw back to a time of decadence and aristocracy, and the jewelry should match.  Intricate or vintage-like pieces and non-traditional metals like rose gold, green gold, or oxidized gold would compliment beautifully.  Next on my list is Reem Acra, who sent a fresh line down the runway, which was inspired by such outrageous characters as Alice in Wonderland and Raggedy Ann (see photos below).  This fantasy like collection requires jewelry which is as mystical as the designs themselves.  Bright and big cocktail rings, colored diamonds and gemstone, and big statement pieces, would bring out the underlying personality of Acra’s line.

Furthermore, Aja Magnum (NY Mag) reported that the biggest trend for bridesmaid’s dresses is black gowns that are multi-purposeful.  Too bad nothing matches black…oh wait…everything matches black.  The possibilities of jewelry for bridesmaids are endless.   

It comes down to the ultimate question:  Do you take thee (non traditional bridal jewelry) to be thy (non traditional bridal gowns) mate?  I do!

 

Photos from NY magazine online and Fashion Wire Daily.

A blog about blogs

If you are addicted to gossip magazines or insist on flipping through the pages of every fashion mag – no judgment, we do it too - but are sick and tired of wasting that four dollars every week at your local newsstand, then we have a solution for you. (Although I am sure you have other plans for that four dollars – hmm…like a cup of a certain over priced big chain brand of coffee?) It’s called the internet. Magazine addict meet Mr./Mrs. blogger. We think you two will be very happy together.

Why you NEED blogs:

1. All blogs offer information available for sharing. If a million people each have a blog, then there exists a million more pieces of information available to you that weren’t there before. By searching for blogs (google has a search option for this) you can find a blog by a commodity financial-ist discussing gold prices, another jewelry designer in your neighborhood who is sharing her do’s and don’ts of getting her business started, or anything else you would like to know more about. Disclaimer: most of the information is of no value to you. You will not want to read a blog about the Jones’s family vacation in the middle of nowhere. Everyone should go out and find one blog to read today besides this one.
2. Sort and save. Three small words that will make one big change in your life. Stop wasting your time, which you have less and less of these days, by flipping through 20, 40, 100 pages of advertisements and articles you won’t read, when you can more simply just click on the information you do want to read.
3. You are saving paper. We know the jewelry industry is in-tune with the flower child / tree hugger that lives within all of us. How do we know you care? JCK put out a “Green” issue for April, and it is packed with articles about environmentalism and the industry. And that’s right – JCK has a blog too.
4. There are people more aggressive about staying on top of their topics of interest than you, and they are willing to share their info. Use this to your benefit! For example: AngelaReneDesigns leant a brooch to David Schwimmer’s girlfriend for a big movie premier. That very same week she found a blog that had this picture of the lady de jour wearing her brooch. She now has a picture of the star in her jewelry to share with her potential clients/customers. (Congrats Angele Renee Designs on the placement!)
5. You can find the same quality of information in blogs that is in printed media (if you look), except that blogs are not censored (some are), and so they are often much more entertaining to read. They have not been edited to please advertisers. The competition for readers causes the bloggers to be witty and relevant. What more could you ask for?
6. Blogs about sharing. So, not that you have taken, give back. I know you have thoughts and information you want to share. A successful sale or placement story, a crisis you solved, a sale your company is having, etc., are all good things for you to put in YOUR blog.

Choose one printed magazine, (the one you don’t really read), start reading it online, (almost all magazines are online now), and while your out there in cyber world, find one blog to read as well.