LupRocks Gossip

Trends from Accessories The Show

We braved the lousy weather this morning and took to the Javitts Center because we didn't want to miss Accessories The Show.  We're always impressed with the way that place (meaning my fav spot, the Javitts Center) transforms itself for that show.  The carpet is hot pink, the booths actually look like places you'd want to hang out with chandeliers being the prevelent decorative touch, and they have upbeat music pumping through to set the mood.  We also spotted a couple of trends that we personally are planning on embracing.  One of these trends, which we'll call "Tie Me Up," we first spotted at Club Monaco a few weeks ago.  From simple silk cords, to studded cords with charms accents, cords wrapped with chains, and beed and leather combos,  people are wrapping themselves in these make-shift "bracelets" in a variety of different ways.  Probably our favorite trend came from LupRocks.com's own, Janna Conner who perfectly highlighted the new "My Gemstone Has a Gemstone" trend.  Though we saw different versions of this theme, we absolutely loved Janna's color combos in her pendants hanging on long, gold vermeil chains.  Check out Janna's site and test our trend foreceasting ability by looking for this on a multitude of fashionistas soon!

 

Novice New York Fashion Week Coverage--Part 1

I'm not even going to pretend that I'm an authority on the good the bad and the ugly when it comes to fashion week, but I do know what I like and what I don't like, and I'm definitely loving the fact that smaller, under the radar designers like Jason Wu (well, he was under the radar until his inaugural coups anyway), Chadwick Bell, Prabal Gurung and Bensoni are getting rave reviews this season.  Wu in particular showcased a feminine and whimsical collection and, best of all, he didn't skimp on accessorizing, something that is near and dear to all of the hearts here at Lup H.Q.!  

Jason Wu Image: NYMag.com

We were also excited to learn in today's WWD that many independent jewelry designers, including LupRocks own Kara Ross and Alexis Bittar, are taking part in the fashion week festivities by collaborating with various clothing designers.

While I'm wary of making this next statement, because I fear the fashion gods are going to strike me down with lightening, since my absolute favorite part of fashion week is reading the cleverly snarky and always hilarious reports from the Fug girls on NYMag.com, I'm just going to say what everyone I know is thinking....WHAT WAS MARC JACOBS THINKING???  I'm sure there is some profound "ism" that he's somehow channeling that I'm too dense to understand, so please enlighten me if you can!

Marc Jacobs Image: NYMag.com

Sentimentality is the Way

My entire day has been colored by my incessant "coverage" of the inaugural events last night (from the comfort of my couch, of course), and the overwhelming emotions yesterday mustered up.  I feel like Beyonce backstage at the Neighborhood Ball, ready to burst into tears at any second, which is why it's especially appropriate to report on one of the biggest trends we saw at the JANY Winter Show this past Sunday through Tuesday--sentimental jewelry.  While it's true that traffic was down overall, those designers that specialize in jewelry "with meaning" were slammed with business the entire three days.  Now I know that diamonds have long been considered gifts of love and therefore have inherent sentimentality, but I'm talking about more blatant displays of affection, like personalized charms from LupRocks.com designer Heather Moore Jewelry, or bespoke lockets from Monica Rich Kosann. 

It seems that if people feel like they're buying something for purposes other than adornment, they will feel less guilty about spending the money they still have.  Maybe this is a good message to send your customers?  It's not just a silk scarf, it's reminecent of the silk scarves your grandmother used to wear!  It's not just a handbag, its color identifies your political affliation....okay, I'm reaching here, but you get the idea. 

Now I have to go wipe my eyes, I just thought about yesterday again....

Rain Gear on LupRocks.com

What's the best inclement weather accessories?  A taxi cab of course!  But seriously....there are plenty of cute rain coats, scarves and umbrellas out there, I just didn't happen to have any of the above this morning when I left the house.  Nope, I was the one with the crazy, wonky, cheetah print umbrella that I acquired who knows where, fighting the wind so that it wouldn't flip inside out, with no rain coat, no scarf and inappropriate footwear.  Before you start cackling at how silly I must've looked, please remember how painful my bad weather accessories envy must be, given the fact that we've got so many yummy designers on our site that I'm confronted with every day! 

Speaking of yummy, I don't know what possessed me to leave home without my "Buttery Blissful" cashmere wrap from TDM Accessories this morning.  That thing is like a blanket, and what's better than walking around wrapped in a soft, cushy, stylish blanket when it's brick outside?

Instead of donning my impractical heels this morning, I should have walked the Swedish way with a fashionable pair of Cape Clogs.  While these may not seem like the ideal rainy weather choice of footwear, I figure if the Swedes can rock them in Nordic conditions, they should be perfect for the mean streets of NYC.
 
 
The most obvious rain gear I was missing this morning was an appropriate umbrella.  I wanted a clear, over-my-head umbrella for so long and one day, Leah surprised me by giving me one.  Very recently though, the handle broke off (yes, while I was using it) so I've been stuck with whatever cruddy umbrella I've managed to scam from other people.  I'm now eying one of the fabulous designs from Tray 6 at Niche 212 Showroom.  If I had one of these, I might actually look forward to the rain!   

LupRocks Fantasy Headlines

Today on the street I was handed a copy of the fake New York Times containing fantasy stories of what life might be like on July 4, 2009, and a clever take on the iconic tag line that reads, "All the News We Hope to Print."  The internet is abuzz with the possible source of this newspaper, and it has many New Yorkers contemplating a very different kind of future, with titles announcing the end of the war in Iraq, and "Nationalized Oil to Fund Climate Change Efforts." 

We here at Lup H.Q. came up with a few headlines of our own that seem far more plausible than Bush being indicted on charges of high treason and facing the death penalty.  Herein are some titles from "Future Luprocks.com:"

Celebrity Product Placement of Fine Jewelry and Accessories through LupRocks.com Results in Spike in Sales for U.S. Retailers

Film Production Quadruples in 2009--LupRocks.com Product Placement Service Sited as Cause of Budget Savings and Production Boom

LupRocks.com Media Sweep "Ellie" Awards

LupRocks.com Costumers Take Home Emmys

Personal "Jeweler to the Stars" Sites LupRocks.com as Gateway to Success

Got any of your own dream headlines??  Submit a comment! 

Update!  Gawker.com gives us the scoop on who was behind this brilliant prank! 

Designer Success Spotlight

Gossip Girl Respite

While tonight and the next several months will have us all focusing on the oval office no matter what the outcome of the election, last night's episode of Gossip Girl gave us a welcome break from politics and instead let us focus on some really fabulous fashion (not to mention delicious scandal!).  Many of LupRocks.com designers appeared on the show, including one of our favorite handbag designers, Isabella Adams.   The leather tote that figures prominently in the ill-fated "babysitting" scene just happened to be one of our past Product of the Month giveaway items.  We recently saw the lucky editor who won this bag rocking it at the AGTA event and it really is just as fabulous in person!

With fashion (and drama!) like this, it's no wonder the witty editors at NY Magazine are as obsessed with the show as we are.  Tune in each Tuesday for their cunning "Reality Index" of the previous night's episode and add your two cents. 

Halloween Wrap-Up

Halloween just wrapped on Friday night and it already seems like ages ago!  The streets of New York were as chaotic as ever and the number of great costumes on the town definitely out-weighed the losers.  Some of our favorites included:

• Our very own Price is Right Contestant
• Milli Vanilli
• Richard Simmons
• A baby lobster
• Bristol Palin
• An attendee of the Burning Man festival 
• Einstein

Some of the lamest included:

• George Costanza (come on, that's a total cop out!)
• A Douche Bag (really??)

As you can see by the aforementioned list, it's the people who thought outside of the box and didn't just run out to Ricky's and buy a slutty version of some fairy tale character that really got us excited about the holiday.  Clearly, so many of the costume designers who use LupRocks.com feel the same way, which is why the television shows we work with always showcase the best jewelry and accessories!   We can't wait to tune into Gossip Girl tonight to see all of the LupRocks.com designers that make the fashion really shine, and we will keep our fingers crossed that other shows, like 90210, will see how much better it is to work with real designers creating original designs verses working with off-the-rack-designs from Macy's.

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.  

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!).