Bvlgari is the Diamond of our Eyes

On the busy intersection of Wilshire and Rodeo amidst the mix of celebrities, tourists and cars that bustle by, is the gem of a store, Bvlgari. This mix of passing pedestrians and automotives seem to have polished an architectural diamond in the rough into a multi-dimensional gem in the form of this brilliantly sparkling store. When we were given the opportunity to get a tour of this Los Angeles cultural landmark, intimidation was a word that came to our mind. These diamonds weren’t just diamonds, they were the diamonds that are currently being draped across a naked Julianne Moore and two baby lion cubs in Bvlgari’s current advertising campaign. We’ve seen those pictures, and we do not look like in the nude, and we would not be looking like a red-haired seductress with lions lying across our privates. Intimidation indeed.

But when we stepped inside the store we were instantly at ease in the warmth of arcing blonde wood that enveloped us. The curves in the display cases seem to set in motion that swooping emotion every girl feels in the pit of her stomach when her eyes scan over an expanse of diamonds. The play between the linear and the curvaceous within the architecture seems to mirror the crisp cuts found within a spherical diamond. We happily ogled the diamonds, reclined on the velour sofa, and were even offered water while we waited.

The Bvlgari store is composed of three floors, with a private (fully stocked) bar taking up the upper level, looking over aforementioned intersection. Who doesn’t want a glass of champagne when seated in the lap of luxury? We were happily surprised by the amount of other luxury goods Bvlgari carries, such as handbags, sunglasses, and ties. A trip up to level two met us with all of the above.

Bvlgari is directly associated with luxury, but the best news yet is that you can have a piece of luxury for a fraction of the price with their popular, less expensive yet meticulously designed line, B Zero. Women spend the same amount on shoes these days that they could spend on a Bvlgari ring from B Zero. Even a necklace, or key chain is yours for the taking, with Bvlgari’s name and trademark clean edges stamped across the pieces. B Zero reminds us of the trademark line from that other jewelry store, the one with the robin’s egg blue colored boxes. Those boxes used to drive our jewelry obessions, but now we walk in Manolo’s and have decided our jewelry needs to mirror or shoes, naturally.

Countdown to the opening of Santa Monica Place!

We are beyond stoked that our beloved city of Santa Monica is getting a face-lift with the opening of Santa Monica Place on Friday, August 6^th. Ideally located between the Third Street Promenade and The Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica Place promises to be a mall of the future, fusing together shopping, food, and an overall nightlife experience that is sure to leave a smile on all attendee’s faces.

The fashion palate is one geared towards higher end retailers, including Michael Kors, Barney’s CO-OP, Betsey Johnson, Burberry, Coach, as well as our one of favorite lines that has had multiple shout-outs in this blog, the Los Angeles based clothing line, Ever, will be opening up yet another trendy boutique. We are also jazzed about the Bloomingdale’s, whose retail is supposedly being tailored specifically for Santa Monica customers.

The dining terrace on the roof might even trump the fashion. Not your typical greasy food court, The Santa Monica Place, is providing shoppers a haven in the sky with their “distinctively different rooftop dining.” This open air palace of sorts is comprised of six different chef driven restaurants as well multiple options for more casual fare—some people really do just crave a burger and fries when doing their mall shopping. We are intrigued by The Market, which unfortunately will not be debuted until late 2010 or early 2011, but will consist of independently owned shops that sell artisanal goods such as coffee, chocolate, cheese and baguettes. Can you say merci? We think good ol’ America might be taking a cue from the beauty of France and their daily open-air markets.

For all Santa Monica residents and visitors alike, be sure to check out the events calendar at santamonicaplace.com for a comprehensive run-down on all the fun activities that are planned for August in celebration of the mall’s grand opening. DJ’s, dining, and shopping galore sounds like a good time to us! Can’t wait to have a glass of wine with girlfriends while taking in the gorgeous ocean breeze!

Lions and Karlie and Couture, oh my!

Haute couture is the French word for “high sewing” or “high dressmaking,” and specifically refers to the concept of making exclusive, one-of-a-kind dresses to fit an individual client’s size, taste, and any other wants and desires. We could rattle off our wants and desires but after watching Paris Couture Fashion Week unfold before our eyes, we are silenced in amazement.

Naturally designers like to go over the top, and who can blame them. From opulent settings to star-studded front rows, to Dita von Teese’s strip tease at Jean Paul Gaultier’s show, all eyes were on Paris.

While we salivated over all the runways, our favorite show, from start to finish, has to be Elie Saab. In recent years the design house of Elie Saab has reestablished itself as a red carpet favorite for celebrities and their couture show clearly capitalized upon this Hollywood demand. What we loved was that every piece from the show was gorgeous, meticulous, and wearable. Yes, we understand there is supposed to be a little drama involved in couture, but Elie Saab was able to pull off this drama within in the color and fabric choices, while keeping cuts and drapery flattering for all.

In terms of drama, Christian Dior brought the heat with bold color choices, layered on top of black for a dramatic statement while floral was clearly the inspiration for texture and shape of the tulip dresses. Models’ hair and makeup were also vamped up to match the volume of the dresses.

Yes, the clothes come first, but the models make a close second. The seventeen-year-old Karlie Kloss was clearly the toast of Paris as she not only closed the show at Armani Prive but also opened both Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Dior. How does one go back to high school after that?  We would bet money that there are no bigger than life golden lions in her hometown of St. Louis, M.O.

Thank god for Karl Lagerfeld, and his ability to put on a show while pushing boundaries in all directions. He opted against formal evening wear, the usual for couture shows, and instead showed functional suits that played with proportions. Cropped jackets and adjusted hem lengths updated the classic suit shape to modern standards. As for the lion? Well, Coco was a leo…

A Smashing Morning with Smashbox!

Last week, LalaLuxe founder Nicole Pollard spoke at Smashbox Cosmetics (recently acquired by mega-corp Este Lauder). These gals, and a few boys, may know how to apply a lip liner, but they wanted some fun, trendy, tricks of the trade for sprucing up their all black Fall work wardrobe – belts seem to be the most flattering and chic update of them all, as Nicole demonstrates a “how-to” with a willing model below.

Nicole also put together a cheat-sheet of current fashion trends in the guise of an adorably chic pink and black folder for everyone to take notes on and then keep in their closet for a quick reference when getting ready to bolt out the door.

Nicole was able to give these girls the boost of fashion confidence so that they can concentrate on their own creative craft… makeup! And they do it well, as we got to be guinea pigs and watch them work their magic on our bone structure. Let’s just say we found an excuse to go out for drinks that night before we had to wash off that gorgeous face of creativity!

Bebe makes a surprise comeback!

We’ve grown up amidst Bebe’s ad campaigns plastered across the billboards on Sunset and La Cienega. Overt sex appeal seems to be their overall ad campaign season after season. We tend to pass by their store without so much as a second glance… until now…

Who knows what spurred us to turn our heads and then our feet as we began meandering through the store, but thank the lord we did because look what we found!

Bebe’s designers have definitely brought the label up to the modern women’s speed, sex appeal found within the ability to be on the cusp of fashion. We can’t help but see these pieces resembling one of our favorite boho chic lines, Haute Hippie, but at a fraction of the cost (both tops pictured here hover around $100!).

This season, we became believers of Bebe.

We Got Carried Away…

The fabulous foursome came, saw, and conquered two continents and the box office in the latest installment of Carrie’s escapades in Sex and the City 2. We couldn’t let this happen without a good ol’ fashion girl’s night out to celebrate the occasion. And when we say “good ol’ fashion girl’s night out,” we mean a poolside, pink carpet party at one of the hippest hotels in Santa Monica, The Shangri La.

LA Shopping Reviews and LalaLuxe were happy to help celebrate the girls coming back to the big screen in style. The flood of pink carpet matched the sea of pink cosmos that were being sipped on by the array of fabulous women who brought their girlfriends to relish in the night fueled by women, shoes, and the occasional Big.

Not only did guests get to lounge poolside during cocktail hour while indulging in complimentary massages and snacks, but when the magic hour rolled around, the party migrated, with swag bags in hand, to the nearby Third Street Promenade, where we saw a screening of the movie itself to cap off the night.

We were proud to donate a pair of ruby red slippers, in the form of fuchsia pink Christian Louboutins, with the iconic red sole even signed by the master himself! You may have seen our girl, Nicole Pollard, score these slippers a few posts back, and we were finally able to auction them off to benefit the MS Society.

Indulging in cocktails, clothes, shoes, and cosmos while doing it all for a good cause? Well, now that is something fabulous!

LalaLuxe featured on The Party Goddess!

The Goddess has spoken and she is in agreement with the rest of us– our girl Nicole Pollard and LalaLuxe are the the premiere shopping services in Los Angeles!

Read on here…

http://www.thepartygoddess.com/blog/

Roberto Cavalli is the Cream of Our Crop

The life and energy that pulsates through Roberto Cavalli’s Beverly Hills store is immediately noticeable upon entry. The sales staff buzzes between their clients, mildly resembling honeybees, pollinating the world of fashion with Cavalli’s flamboyant prints. These printed fabrics seem to be vibrating off the racks, begging to be draped and fitted over ones body and then given a test drive with cocktails on a yacht, followed by a night of dancing at the local discothèque. Cavalli’s clothes command all the attention when set up against the monochromatic, sleek, high-gloss interior design scheme of the store.

Roberto Cavalli’s clothes showcase the designer’s unstoppable influence in the fashion world. Originally a textile student at the Art Institute in Florence, Italy, it was a pattern of flowers designed by Cavalli that caught the eye of an Italian hosiery factory that paved his path towards the fashion world.

Cavalli’s path was then cemented in stone when he developed and patented a revolutionary printing procedure for leather fabrics. This path was then gilded in gold when he sent sandblasted jeans down the runway and started a fashion frenzy that could be seen from Paris to Kentucky. Now his name adorns commodities from Just Cavalli Sunglasses to Roberto Cavalli Vodka, which is appropriately served in his newly opened nightclub– an apt venture for the man who dresses the majority of the women (and men) found in the discothèques.

Decadent would be an understatement when describing Cavalli’s overall design theme. If Cavalli’s brand was a pie, it would have a slice of decadence, with a helping of glitz and gold, a dollop of leopard, and a heavy dose of glam rock as the cherry on top. Sex appeal in the form of whip cream obviously oozes from Cavalli’s pie of fashion, and all the club girls from the French Riviera to Hollywood happily ask for seconds.

Cavalli’s Beverly Hills store is a necessity for all women to stock up on slenderizing, leopard print frocks, exquisite caftans and those perfect white pants, before the summer is in full swing. The energy within the store is palpable and contagious, so come prepared to be craving a Mai-Tai on a yacht in Saint Tropez when you leave.

A yacht in Saint Tropez might be a far-fetched dream for some, but when you are in a Cavalli dress, you can fudge the rest.

KORA: Working Towards a Greener Earth

Eco-sustainability is the new black in the fashion world and we wanted to do our part and alert you to our favorite burgeoning sustainable jewelry line, Kora (www.koradesigns.com). Amy Walker and Maxandra Short are the two bodacious blonde masterminds behinds this emerging line of jewelry, made from African cow horns. Their eco-chic philosophy goes a step further than most, as they not only source their materials from Rwanda and Kenya, but also employ the local artisans to produce their designs. This outsourcing creates jobs and economic opportunities for the workshops and artisans who are employed by Kora, potentially spurring long-term economic success.

Browsing their online store and reading their blog, which chronicles their adventures of traversing across Africa, allows us to indulge or fashion needs without the guilt, much like our newly acquired frozen yogurt habit.

Kora’s jewelry is made from the horns of the indigenous East African Ankole cow. These cow horns are considered waste at local butcheries, allowing Kora to scoop them up and dole them out to local artisans in Rwanda and Kenya, who then diligently craft these organic horns into polished bracelets, faceted rings, necklaces and more. On their last sojourn to Africa, the ladies decided to amp up their designs and are now adding brass studs to horn pieces, and wrapping brass wire around the bangles to give the jewelry even more depth and intricacy. They seem to be most excited about the prospect of recycled aluminum as a new medium, as a pile of bangles will simultaneously feel weightless and look divine on a bronzed summer wrist.

What we love about Kora’s jewelry is how these artisans are able to bring to light the inherently organic and original patterns and markings found within the horns’ surface. The juxtaposition between the variation of pattern yet coherence of material within a gaggle of bangles amuses our eye. As soon as we dredge through June gloom in Southern California and finally get to embrace the summer sun, we cannot wait to adorn ourselves with these beauties, perfectly accenting all summer attire, from white linen shirts to bohemian blouses.

“Kora” translates to “work” in Rwanda’s native language, and that is exactly what Amy and Maxandra have set out to do. We could not be happier supporting their dream of creating a symbiotic relationship between the fashion world and a third world county, eco-sustainability bliss!

Here are some of our favorite designs:

A Haven in the Palisades

Amidst the morning bagel noshing and coffee sipping in the trendy yet community oriented Pacific Palisades, you will find the one-stop-shop and couture-boutique, Elyse Walker. Simply an emporium of the must have trends and classic necessities. A girl sipping on her own double mocha latter could happily get lost amongst piles of jeans, tanks and summer kaftans, all while salivating over the plethora of gowns and heels that even Carrie Bradshaw would be envious of. We got lucky enough to be that girl a couple weeks back and are still dreaming of one specific open back studded black dress.

Elyse Walker effortlessly creates a laid back yet elegant shopping atmosphere, from the large cushioned ottomans, plush carpets and fuel inducing snacks such as pretzels and starbursts at the shopper’s disposal. Shopping really is a sport, and we thank our lucky stars they treat it as such.

Shopping may be more grueling than Olympic Curling, but Elyse Walker also acknowledges the tongue-in-cheek aspect of fashion, from the skull embossed pillows to the array of studded converse. This jovial fun within fashion seems to be lost amongst the hype of other couture boutiques. This comfortable atmosphere and easy access to key fashions pieces, invites the moms of the Palisades to browse the racks while their kids socialize with their schoolmates. Community really does seem to be at the heart of this boutique as one of the window displays proudly exhibited a sign explaining that the window had been styled by a group of friends attending a nearby high school.

What impressed us the most was how an entire wardrobe could be created from their racks, but one would never look over-styled in the process. The buyers select from a wide range of established designers to up-and-coming newbie’s. This elegant and effortless mix of old and new allows us to declare Elyse Walker as the backbone of our closet— if only our closest also offered us starburst and pretzels…

*INSIDER TIP: Online shopping coming soon to elysewalker.com!

Elyse Walker

15306 Antioch St

Pacific Plsds, CA 90272

(310) 230-8882

http://www.elysewalker.com