LupRocks Gossip

Halloween Costume Count-Down

As so many of the talented designers on LupRocks.com can attest to, inspiration often comes when one least expects it.  In the case of coming up with a good Halloween costume, at least around the LupRocks.com office, inspiration comes when we need it most (as in, the final hour).

We here at LupRocks.com HQ spend most of our time admiring designs, but very little time actually coming up with our own tactile creations.  So we set out this morning, with a budget of, well, nothing (though it is always fun to have an excuse to buy a wig!) to brainstorm some costume ideas that we could cull right from our own closets (Jackie O, Cher and Joan Crawford turned out great after all!).  After discarding the witch and Little Red Riding Hood outfits we had access to as being too slutty, we started off by getting some inspiration from this post in the Refinery 29 blog.  A few calls to locate a Big 10 school sweatshirt, some crafty work with a wardrobe tag and voila!  A Price is Right contestant is born.  Some "mom" style jeans, a pair of white sneakers and a really (and I mean really) enthusiastic attitude, and we're all set!

Since one of our fearless leaders is going to channel her urge to play dress-up through her baby boy, who she is dressing as a lobster, we only had one more costume to go.  While the thought of donning all of my Western style attire at once and going as a cowgirl had enormous appeal, I've decided to draw on the white-trash heritage of my home town and go as Pregnant White Trash.  I was sort of fearful of getting beat up for crimes of abuse against my unborn baby (the effect of which will be achieved by one of my nephew's partially deflated balls), but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it.  A side pony, high bangs, Lee Press On Nails, a beer cozy and some stretch pants and I'll be the belle of the ball! 

We'll get back to you with incriminating photos and a head count on Sarah Palin costumes on the New York City streets next week, but for now we'll leave you with Halloween wishes and the below picture of the award winning pumpkin created by my big brother and his lovely, Aussie wife.  While admittedly lacking in actual technical acumen, need we point out that it's accessorized?  As Wonder Woman would tell you herself, accessories make all the difference.  

Party Dos and Don'ts

Last week I attended a party for iconic watch company Vacheron Constantin.  While I was thrilled to go with my friend (a big time watch editor) and very excited to see the famed I.A.C. Building, I have to admit that overall, the party fell flat.  Sure it was cool eyeballing Salman Rushdie and his hot new female companion, and it was fun to check out Kate Bosworth and see just how skinny she is in person (very!), and I felt honored to be in the same room with the architect Richard Meier, who designed, among many other famous building, the very building the party was housed in, but the general atmosphere of the party was one of snobbery and those who aspire to achieve it.

Designer extraordinaire Yves Saint Laurent once said, "We must never confuse elegance with snobbery." and while I agree wholeheartedly, the organizers of this event should have realized that the same is true in reverse.  The reason for the party was the launch of the "un-knock-off-able" Quai de L'ile watch, which was fabulous, so this is not a critique of the company, I know nothing about them other than they've been making highly respected watches for hundreds of years, but there had to be a way for the organizers of the event to shuffle us nobodies past the red carpet line without being so blatant about the fact that they think we're nobodies.  And I know for a fact, because I've done it myself, that there is a way to tone down the backstage chaos when you're in front of house--it makes people nervous and anxious when some stressed out PR girl is pushing through the crowd screaming into her headset, even if it is about getting Kate to go through the photo line.  Behavior like that doesn't make you look important, it makes you look rude. 

I guess the bottom line is, having famous people attend your event and ignoring everyone except them does not make your event fabulous.  While the wait staff were in general pretty friendly, the tone is set from the top, by the people making the decisions.  Those people should remember that everyone at the event is a potential customer, fan or foe.  While a regular person's endorsement of a brand might only reach 20 of his closest friends and a famous person's can reach millions, the two do not have to be mutually exclusive.  And besides (and maybe this is the naive midwestern girl in me) how hard would it be to just be nice? 

AGTA Spectrum Awards Brings Big Color to the Big City

The media event for the 25th Annual AGTA Spectrum Awards took place yesterday in New York City and all 500 + pieces entered were celebrated by the impressive roster of media that attended the exclusive viewing.  It’s not a bad gig hanging out in a sun-drenched, West Village loft all day, and we here at Lup HQ had to remind ourselves that we were actually working and not just hanging out in a gem filled room trying on fabulous jewelry and sharing our excitement with influential media! 

LupRocks.com’s own Erica Courtney took home four different awards—two in Bridal, one in Classical and one in Evening Wear!  We were also super impressed with the designer Evelyin Clothier, who submitted some of our favorite pieces, and we were in love with the resounding media favorite--an exquisitely crafted enamel cuff with amethyst and citrines by Rina Limor.

Photographs are being shot as we speak, so we’ll update with pics of some of our favorites in future posts. 

LupRocks.com Designers in WWD Accessories Supplement

We were thrilled to come across two of LupRocks.com designers in the highly acclaimed WWD Accessories Supplement.   A nod from this venerable publication means that one really has arrived, and TDM Design and Helena de Natalio are well-deserving of the acknowledgment (especially considering that everyone in the LupRocks.com office is currently rocking pieces from both of these designers!). 

LupRocks.com Designer Spotlight

Jessica Kagan Cushman on "Ugly Betty"

We just love it when something we've already embraced as the hottest new trend is seen on one of the hottest shows on television!  I mean, I knew that my "Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?" and my "No Wire Hangers! EVER!" bracelet by Jessica Cushman was a huge hit, getting compliments everywhere I go, and the "Martini, Shaken Not Stirred" bracelet that I gave to my very important editor friend has been worshiped by all of the other fashion editors she hangs out with, but to see "Amanda" from Ugly Betty, a veritable icon of "what's hot" rock the look just fills us with a little flutter of self-love....

Look for Jessica Kagan Cushman on LupRocks.com. 

She Works Hard for the Money

I was in the supermarket last night and the place was completely deserted.  I'm sure it was because of the Jewish holiday and the fact that I live in a neighborhood highly populated by Jewish people, but with the dismal economic news that's inundating all of our lives, I started to freak out a bit that it was some sort of ominous indicator of the future.  Until....a couple of things happened.  First of all, I read, Seth Godin's blog entry asking the question "Is effort a myth?" and speculating on luck verses effort.  He suggested, among other things, that we already are extremely lucky, if you really think about it.  And beyond luck, effort is something that is never in short supply, it is something accessible to all of us, in any economy. 

Then I got a call from my older brother.  He reminded me that the very rich, or even the comfortable, are not slowing down their consumption of their indulgences, and he pointed out that comforts like television and movies are always popular during rough times, making a product placement service specializing in designer-focused products extremely relevant.  And while that little pep talk made me feel confident in the success of LupRocks.com and that of all of our treasured designers, my big brother also reminded me that no matter what happens in the economy, we always have our brains and our work-ethic.  Yet another thing that is never in short supply, and is accessible to all of us, in any economy.