Net-a-porter.com is what makes my Mondays and Hump-days bearable. Feasting my eyes on what fabulous merchandise they have stocked on these blessed days is the source for Designer Discoveries and the ever present goal in fashion; seducing me into things I never knew I wanted or needed. Warnings for the site should advise shoppers, and especially browsers, on the potential side effects: Sudden onsets of fashion orgasms, impulse purchases of items that were once thought impossible to obtain, and the occasional shopping blackout, triggered by overwhelming salivation at the available options, an innocent glass of wine, and followed by general disorientation and irrational justifications for the numerous packages that arrive during the following week. I'm happy to say my credit card has never had to endure a Net-a-Porter shopping blackout. However, this week has been borderline, and I just had to share the options.

First, a little pit-stop.

All this month, my internship has taken me on photo shoots, it's a fashion magazine, and we took the above glove with us on numerous occasions. While waiting for hair and makeup or other tedious tasks, the stylist and I played with some of the jewelry, and I always picked up the glove and fooled around with it; mostly mocking it's Michael Jackson-esque ridiculousness. Lo and behold, it's on Net-a-Porter today and it's worth a whopping $1,170. Had I known it was that much, I probably would have been a little less dismissive, and more careful. Oops. Oh, well. Moving on.




#1 D&G Dress

This confection is super cute and functional for this humidity plaguing New York, my current location. It cute, easy to dress up or down, and it's D&G. I saw this in the boutique in Soho first, but now I know the price, it's not terrible.










#2 Oscar de la Renta flats

How fun are these? They're Parisian with a carnival twist. I don't know, perhaps its the sudden desire to have more "fun" in my wardrobe that I'd developed today when I bought a black lace dress, and dismally realized how bland practicality was making my style. Whatever the motivation, these are worth a mention and, perhaps for the sake of name dropping an American favorite, worth an investment. Decide for yourself.





#3 Vivienne Westwood Anglomania coat

This little number caught my eye in the back of Vivienne's London shop near Oxford street, kind of. I don't really remember where it was, but the coat was, of course, the only thing not on sale and sadly my pockets were rather empty by that point. Here it is again, back to entice me again, and it looks less overwhelmingly shapeless than it did on the hanger. I can say that up close, the material is divine and the large collar is just so yummy for the fall.




#4 Alice and Olivia dress

This color struck me with this one. It's a little drab with it's neckline, but the styling here makes it seem very versatile. It reminds me of the comment my roommate made when she was watching the city. She noticed that Olivia Palermo never wears low cut things, and this seemed like just the chic, pleated, "oh this little thing?" sort of dress that she would have. To, you know, just throw on for the market.




#5 Balmain Jacket



Although Balmainia has passed, it's hard to deny the striking silhouette and impeccable tailoring. Add in a pinch of military and a dash of tuxedo and you've got this guy, subdued but chic enough to transform even the lowliest of hipsters into a power Manhattanite. Note how the satin isn't wrinkling in the slightest, a downside most designers struggle with.





#6 Marni purse




If you're into the shearling trend that's cozying up to the fashion elite, this might be an easy way to join in. It's cute, neutral, and when you stop paying rent to buy it and you're sleeping on the streets, you can use it as a pillow.







#7 Etoile by Isabel Marant Coat

Who doesn't love Isabel Marant, and at reasonable prices? This tweed is just darling for the winter and it's spacious for the sweaters and extra pounds that usually accompany the wintery months. The model even has liquid leather leggings, and a Rocco bag! How on trend is she?

A few honerable mentions that are also available this week:

-Plethora of P.S. 1 bags that sold out in 24 hours (for the few that don't yet have theirs).
-The actual Rocco bag by Alexander Wang is available, I think? It might be sold out by now.
-The hot pink rabbit jacket in all the D&G ads, if you're feeling frisky.
-A tiara. The one in our opening picture. Yeah, not sure who is going to buy it, but brownie points for Net-a-Porter for going big or going home on that one.

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This one comes from my Lady Gaga obsession. Asher Levine is a New York City based designer, supposedly "up and coming" but don't quote me on that. He's an edgy kid with a new fall/winter 2010 line that looks something like a Rodarte and Rick Owens love child. He went to Pace, worked in fashion advertising, and took a stab at designing with results that will give you whiplash. His website bio paints his history a little more colorfully, but you can check that out for yourself.

Check out some photos of his collection that will hit stores this fall, and start the nail biting.
Remember that infamous Lady Gaga photo of her flicking off the paparazzi at a hotdog stand in nothing but this jacket? Mr. Levine is responsible for that. Apparently, this bespoke jacket was made for her and is not, and will not be, available to the less audacious public like us. Here, the one-of-a-kind jacket is her only wardrobe in a recent Rolling Stone issue, June of this year, I believe.

This is an amazing leather jacket that's part of his fall collection and, if you can get past the crocodile skivvies, that deserve a closer look as well, the detailed photos are delicious.

The animal sacrificed for this vest is unbeknownst to me, but what a way for it to go.

Who can resist a moth-eaten shirt? Not groundbreaking, but desirable none the less.

This one is taken by Gaga's stylist, Niccola Formachetti backstage at the Today show earlier this week. The jacket is, again, custom I believe, and this photo is from Niccola's Facebook.

No word on a women's line, although I should calm down considering his first collection isn't even in stores yet. It will be available at Oak on Bond Street this fall, and online via Oak and Levine's website. I'm not sure if I'll pick up anything, but I'll make a note to stop by Oak this fall and stroke the garments wantonly.

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The gods have spoken. Lady Gaga has selected a director for her newest video, Alejandro. Steven Klein was given the honor and yes, he is a fashion photographer. It's not a complete shock given Gaga's torrid affair with both fashion big wigs and little known crazies that share her penchant for the avant guard. But lets review: Steven Klein's most recent work. I wanted to explore his aesthetic and see what attracted Gaga to him and what he can potentially input into the project. His site, StevenKleinstudio.com, is rich with photographic content and beautifully laid out with every Ad/editorial/media project he has done, including a few haunting motion projects that exhibit his potential video editing style. All in all, I was extremely satisfied that his style seems to fit my visual musings of Alejandro frighteningly to a T. I have a deep love for her and her music and I was put off and frankly disappointed with the vulgar, choppy, and boring Telephone video that was perhaps hyped too much by myself and her fans. Here's a best-of gallery of Steven Klein's style and how he's gonna firefight, gonna cool the bad that was Telephone. Vamos.


I wanted to start with his most recent work to date, Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston in W promoting their romantic comedy. Note Jennifer's gargantuan cross hanging from her neck and her severe lack of pants compared to her demure lace top. The entire situation is fantastically Gaga with Jennifer being shoved into an old police car in the center of some godforsaken desert. If this is where he's at stylistically, I see bright horizons.



Seeing Bruce Willis so helpless and sexual irks me to say the least, but the spread speaks for itself. Masochism is such a heavy element in the song and it's tone and here it's displayed in a near desirable way. It could very well be the Lady herself perched atop Bruce in the black bird suit.



Creepy? Why do I feel this is creepy? I don't know but its so deliciously disturbing. Check plus.



We all know this ad campaign from the magazine's on our coffee tables right now and it is one of Steven Klein's most recent exports. This presents the potential romanticism that is also imperative for the music video. It is a love song... sort of.




Here we have Alejandro multiplied and the exact tone I would like to see. My bet is that Gaga saw this campaign, which is D&G's current one, and demanded to have Klein for her video. It really is perfect.



Ginnfer Goodwin in W, a common canvas for Klein. Speechless.




Angelina Jolie in his adapted W spread, the once "Domestic Bliss" spread was transformed for his own gritty film. This is a still of the product.




Scarlett Johannson in a short W profile. Moon shines away as she's howlin' at it.




Lara Stone in W a while back. Situationally, Alejandro is nearly mirrored in this shoot. Lara in the third picture IS Gaga.


Ahh the coveted Posh and Becks shoot for W. A vacant desert, slick hot bodies, and a violent undertone capture Alejandro's untouchable emotions that I hope Klein calls on when directing Alejandro. I'll leave the post at this saccerine eye candy and cross my fingers that Gaga doesn't let us down this time. So happy I could die.

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As the lovely Ezra croons, as much of a city kid I may be, I will always crave the peace and simplicity of summer at the beach. Where is this going? Vampire Weekend just released their new music video for what I'm guessing will be their new single, Giving Up the Gun. It's a series of tennis matches in a white room between our ginger-haired protagonist and her many celebrity opponents. It really is a fabulous video and allot of fun to watch, beside the fact that the song, and album is amazingly relaxing and reminiscent of a sunny beach in my dreams.

Beyond my subtle adoration of the quartet, the video is peppered with fantastic tennis clothing. I always forget how much I love the pleated skirts and polos. Tennis players have such an air of simple sophistication that not many athletes have. Their sport is up there with Polo and croquet as one of England's snobby but oh so enviable hobbies. So I snagged some of the best outfits from the video to express my desire for an entirely tennis wardrobe come spring time. I am extremely against this ugly morbid utilitarian look that designers are pushing on us. Give me colorful tennis skirts or give me nudity!

This is the full outfit, white hoodie, pleated skirt and polo. I give honorable mention to how she dressed in all red instead of the white ensemble. Its probably how I would do it considering I can't wear all white all summer long. Also, I LOVE LOVE LOVE how she has tights on. Also red.

Joe Jonas makes his cameo here, and he's surprisingly not obnoxious with a solid sense of humor. He loses to our protagonist, and does so in a nice striped twist on a mens tennis polo. The wrist and head bands are appreciated as well.

What tennis outfit would be complete without the transparent colored visor? This woman proves bigger is better and although she also lost, she did so in style.

Here we have the techo tennis ensemble consisting of a white body suit. There are shoulder pad-esque things that aren't really visible in this resolution. If Daft Punk were to really play tennis, I'm sure they wouldn't wear anything else. I'll pass on the body suit though, I just thought this picture was worth sharing.

Ah, Jake Gyllenhaal and his short shorts. He played with a flask of whiskey and a cocky attitude to match his incredibly cool outfit. The primary colors seem to be a trend in this video and I like it.

Her tennis outfit is the usual white on white, but she adds her red pop of color in her Keds and her headband. I also condone the blown out hair as a summer style. My hair does that naturally so I'll embrace any trend that requires little effort. Here's a closer look at our fierce competitor, who nearly beats our protagonist.

Stunning.

Yes, it's Lil' John himself in a straw panama hat and double breasted blazer. He exemplifies the tennis observer's attire which is equally important. When the camera's pan to you sitting in the stands, you don't want to look dowdy.

Our protagonist at last! She, again, wears all red and her skirt seems to have a clasp of sorts on her left hip that interests me. I couldn't, dispite internet sleuthing, find a tennis skirt that long or that color, or any color for that matter. The length is what makes it so wearable as more than just a tennis outfit. Below are her Keds, that I normally abhor, but in this case, they work superbly.

Tennis for the win!

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The lovely man above is Terry Richardson, a famed photographer who's signature aesthetic is raw, hard flash, no makeup, and often too close for comfort. He's most famous, in my mind, for his Rolling Stone cover and spread with the Gossip Girl cast early last year. He does various work for magazines and his own pleasure, with a hint of perversion I'm not to fond of. But what really catches everyone's eye is how raw his photos are; you feel as if you're seeing the deepest side of the subject. That, and there's something so provocative about his photos, kind of in a basement-porn way... not that I know anything about that.

The following are photos of shoes he was using on a recent shoot. They consist of the pod shoes from McQueen and were posted yesterday on his photo blog, www.terrysdiary.com. Check it out if your bored, but be warned, some photos are NSFW. My fav are the blue McQueen shoes and what's best is you can see every contour and detail which makes me fawn over them even more.

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