New Feature

Now that Blogger allows for multiple pages, I am adding a new page called "Shoes You CAN Walk in."  See tabs above.

I love to shop for shoes.  Usually I buy 4 or 5 pairs at a time.  The best is when I do not have to buy a particular type or style or color shoe.  When I am free to select whatever suits my mood, feels good, looks sexy.

But lately pickings have been slim.  At only 5' 3" in height, I do not have long feet.  How is one to wear the shoes with heel heights at 4+ inches?  Have you ever seen anyone move gracefully in those things?  Want some free entertainment?  Go to the Meatpacking District in Manhattan's west side.  Watch as the club goers wabble around, not only due to the excessively high heels but also trying to keep their balance on the cobblestones.

Join me on my quest for wearable shoes, walkable shoes.  See examples of the mile-high-madness at its scariest.  And were you can get either one, or both if you're feeling lucky.

Sidewalk Catwalk Stunner by Rachel Roy - Not Rachel Ray

Not to be confused with the talk show host Rachel Ray, this installment of Sidewalk Catwalk features the stunning design by Rachel Roy.  From the bold coloring of the mannequin itself, to the thigh-high boots (gotta get me a pair) and spicy fabric combination, this design is a crowd-pleaser.

The fashion designer Rachel Roy was born in California and attended college in Washington DC.  Roy moved to New York City to pursue her love for design and creativity.  She worked as a freelancer, doing the styling for magazine shoots and music videos.

Then Rachael Roy started at Rocawear as an intern, amazingly in the mail room.  Later came the marketing department; finally she moved into the very appropriate area of women's design. Since the company was still fairly new, Rachel was able to quickly make a major impression and contribute greatly to the company's growth.  As a key player she eventually became the Creative Director.  She  oversaw many licensees and ran all of the design departments for Rocawear Juniors and Girls.

 

In Fall 2004, she began her own collection, RACHEL ROY.  Department and specialty stores carried the Spring 2005 line. The innovative styles and silhouettes could be assembled to transit beautifully from day to evening.

RACHEL ROY designs, clothing and shoes, have been seen on such famous people as Michelle Obama, Iman, Eva Mendes, Kate Hudson, Lucy Liu, Sharon Stone and Penelope Cruz.  Oprah Winfrey had Rachel as a guest on the show in January 2007.   Other honors included Roy being inducted into the CFDA as a new member.



 Currently RACHEL ROY
collections are available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman (my favorite store), Neiman Marcus (my 3rd favorite store; Selfridges in London is 2nd), Nordstrom and top specialty stores worldwide.  You can even find some of her Rachel Rachel Roy designs via Amazon.

A beauty in her own right, Rachel Roy has a talent for making other women look and feel beautiful as well.  See for yourself her Fall 2010 collection at style.com.

Sidewalk Catwalk - Mannequin Struts in a Maria Cornejo

Our next Sidewalk Catwalk fashion designer to be featured is Maria Cornejo.  THIS is the design that moved me to start taking photographs of the mannequins along Broadway, and to write about their designers.

Maria Cornejo was born in Chile.  During while she was a child her family moved to England.  There is a very well written account of her early life by Sabine Heller, entitled "A Glimpse Of Designer Maria Cornejo: A Michelle Obama Favorite".  Her childhood was not an easy one.  Yet she overcame many hardships to become a stellar designer with her own thriving business.  She now lives in New York City with her husband, Mark Borthwick and their children.

Maria’s varied career spans London, Paris, Milan and Tokyo.  She ultimately developed her own signature “Maria Cornejo” collection, and has worked as a creative consultant for major retailers, including Joseph, Tehen and Jigsaw.

In 1996 she moved to New York City. In 1997 she opened an atelier and store in Nolita; since relocated to 33 Bleeker Street.  In 2006 Maria Cornejo opened a second store in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, an area that has transformed into a very chic and fashionable location.

In 2006 Maria Cornejo was honored as the winner of the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Award.  She was recently featured in Modern Painters magazine, May 2010 issue; March 25, 2010 issue of Womens Wear Daily (WWD).  My favorite the multiple page article in Surface China that highlights some of her designs (could only enjoy the photographs, since I do not know how to read Chinese, yet).

Maria Cornejo shows her new collections during the New York Fashion Week and also in Paris.

You can check out more of her stunningly sculpted and sleek designs at her website: www.zeromariacornejo.com.  Be sure to return regularly to see her latest collections.  There are at LEAST 5 items in her 2010 winter collection  (see photos of items 4, 15, 21, 38, and 40) and 7 from the resort collection (see photos of items 2, 8, 9, 14, 17, 22, and 24) that I have got to get.  Check out her site soon, to see my favorites, before they rotate to the next season's fashions.

I hope you are thus far enjoying “our” stroll along Broadway, as we admire mannequin interpretations by top fashion designers.  I am certainly learning a lot, as I am inspired by these designs to learn more about the people who create them.  All on display in the Sidewalk Catwalk.

Sidewalk Catwalk - Elie Tahari

The third installment in the Sidewalk Catwalk series is a mannequin design by Elie Tahari.


Born in Jerusalem, Elie Tahari arrived in the USA as an electrician in 1971, with only $100 in his pocket. A true rags-to-riches story that we love. Selling clothing in a Greenwich Village boutique gave Tahari the education and exposure to women's fashions. Inspired by the New York City nightlife and disco scene he began designing womenswear. In 1974, only a few years after arriving to the USA, Tahari was one of the first fashion designers to open a boutique on Madison Avenue, which is now fashion boutique heaven.


In the 1980's Tahari turned his fashion design skills to the tailored suit. The timing was perfect. Tahari and his wife expanded the business over the years. Now there are Tahari Boutiques in Atlanta, Bal Harbour, Boca Raton, Boston, East Hampton, and Las Vega, and showrooms in New York City and Milan Italy. His designs include womenswear dresses, coats; menswear, and accessories and handbags.


And my first high-end designer gown was a black velvet Tahari, with a dramatic waist-to-floor pleated chiffon train, that I purchased at Bloomingdale's at the Riverside Mall in New Jersey. The dress remains one of my favorites.


The exhibit ends September 3, so hurry to see the mannequins strut down Broadway, between Times Square and Herald Square, in New York City's Sidewalk Catwalk.

Sidewalk Catwalk - John Bartlett

Welcome to the second installment of my Sidewalk Catwalk series.

John Bartlett is a native of Cincinnati, born 1963. Graduated from Harvard in 1985, having majored in sociology.  Bartlett enrolled in Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.  After FIT he worked with Willi Smith and other prominent design houses.

In 1992 John Bartlett launched his own label, supplying orders from such iconic fashion stores of Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys.  He expanded into womenswear in 1997.  After a sabbatical to Thailand and Cambodia in 2003, John Bartlett returned, providing not only finely constructed and tailored clothing designs but also furnishings and accessories.  In 2007 the John Bartlett flagship store was opened in the West Village of New York City

According to a post at http://www.answers.com/topic/john-bartlett-american-designer, by Richard Martin: “Bartlett is a designer of convictions and of compellingly suggestive and allusive menswear. His spring/summer 1995 collection demonstrated the designer's learned and connected awareness of culture.”  Also, “Bartlett's designing capacity exploded in 1997 with the premiere of his first womenswear collection. "Designing for men is about subtlety; but women want fantasy. And I don't want to follow someone else's lead," Bartlett told Newsweek writer Frank DeCaro in April 1997.”  I agree.  John Bartlett's design for Sidewalk Catwalk is indeed compelling, and sensual, and for the woman who is very self-confident.  Many of the Sidewalk Catwalk designs are interpretations and not intended for actual use.  But this Sidewalk Catwalk design is one that I could definitely wear (given the proper fabrication).

This fall John Bartlett relaunches his womens collection, coinciding nicely with the Sidewalk Catwalk exhibit.  Of all the fashion designs on display, John Bartlett's is in my list of top 3 designs.  The silhouette is elegant and the fabrication of the “fabric” incredibly intricate yet giving the sense of being touchable, drawing one in close for a fuller experience on a tactile level.

Awards include the first menswear designer to receive the Perry Ellis Award for Best Newcomer” 1993.  Menswear Designer of the Year in 1997.  Designer of the Year by the American Apparel and Footwear Association in 2010.

Be sure to stroll down Broadway, from Times Square to Herald Square and enjoy the mannequins in the Sidewalk Catwalk.  Exhibit ends September 3, 2010, so hurry.

Fashion Exhibit Ends Soon

Seen Sidewalk Catwalk yet? No? Broadway fashion display ends Sept 3. Walk the Way. See & be seen. Designer dressed mannequins strut from Times Sq to Harold Sq.

Sidewalk Catwalk - Isabel Toledo

There is a new fashion display in New York City.  Walk down Broadway, from West 42nd Street to West 34th Street, by Macys, and you will see quite a sight.  Top fashion designers have presented their interpretation of their take on fashion.  Called “Sidewalk Catwalk”.

Follow my postings and photos as I present a little background on each designer to accompany my photos of each mannequin on Broadway transformed into the NYC Sidewalk Catwalk.

Our first featured design and designer is by Isabel Toledo.  

First Lady Michelle Obama picked fashion Isabel Toledo, (born April 9, 1961), to design her Inaugural ensemble. The resulting design was a creamy yellow dress with a matching overcoat,  made of satin-backed wool guipure (a type of lace sometimes used in French Haute Couture).

Isabel Toledo was born in Cuba; later moved to New Jersey where she attended high school and met her future husband and collaborator, Ruben Toledo. After high school she attended two famous and fashion colleges in New York City – the Fashion Institute of Technology  and Parsons School of Design.  In college she studied painting, ceramics, and, of course, fashion design. Toledo showed her fashion skills as seamstress from a young age.  She has been designing for over 25 years with various fashion houses.  In 1985, Toledo presented her first collection

As a prominent Manhattan-based fashion designer, who works out of a studio on Broadway and 28th Street along with her fashion-illustrator husband, Isabel is not a typical mainstream fashion designer. In 1998 she broke with tradition and stopped presenting biannual fashion collections, instead choosing to create on her own schedule.

The hat/headdress is definitely an eye-catching look.  Perhaps depicting the many faces we present to the world, as a mask?

 Isabel Toledo has received a number of awards over the years.  In 2005 she, along with her husband, Ruben Toledo, was the recipient of the Cooper-Hewitt Design Award for their work in fashion.  In 2008 Isabel Toledo was presented with the 3rd annual Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion from the Museum at FIT.  The fashion award event was held in New York City’s Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center.

The Isabel Toledo for Payless line is set to debut this September, (2010) and will average about $40 an item.

 Complementary fashion commentary regarding the NYC Sidewalk Catwalk can also to be found at http://worldvillage.com/fashion-to-be-chic.


Be sure to return to read and see the next featured designer and TRULY UNIQUE display, on the NYC Sidewalk Catwalk down Broadway.

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to Fashion To Be Chic, a blog devoted to encouraging and promoting that unique spark in all of us.  Chic is ALL about ATTITUDE.  Let your uniqueness shine for the whole world to see and be blessed by it.

Fashion is a key component to showing to the world how special you are.  Your mood is often reflected by the clothes we wear: whether you are heading for fun times or getting down to business, casual in the morning, flirty in the afternoon, high style in the evening and provocative after midnight.  Whether you spend thousands on Haute Couture or a little less on a "shoestring" find, you can and should be as chic as you care to be.

Come with me on a journey to discover, explore, and celebrate what it means to be fashionable, elegant, and uniquely chic.