Benjamin Montoya, proprietor of L.A. spec shop City of Angels, has carved out an interesting niche for himself in the eyewear trade. Time and again, Montoya has taken classic sunglass shapes—the wayfarer, the aviator, the cat-eye—and tweaked them just enough so they look totally fresh. His latest creation, the Douglas sunglass, manages that trick nicely, riffing on the round shades that have been all the rage but making the lens un-round, detailing the frame in metal, and adding optional clip-on lenses. What with Daylight Savings Time, we aren’t seeing much sun here in New York, but these specs make me hungry for some.
$350 (without clip-on) or $500 (with clip-on), available at www.leeleelu.com.—Maya Singer
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It’s been forever since we last saw Kate Beckinsale on the red carpet.
The British actress was at Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego, California where she attended the “Underworld 4″ and “Total Recall” discussion panels on Friday.
She showed off her chic style by wearing a cute Tibi Spring 2011 ensemble.
A black knit skirt was paired with black top, which was accented with a black leather belt.
I love her black Isharya chunky cuff.
Wavy ombre locks and Brian Atwood ‘Marcella’ black satin pumps completed her look.
If Kate ever wore sandals I think I would faint from the shock.
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Credit: Style.com, INFPhoto & Getty
What a truly stylish family the Beckhams are.
The family were spotted at LAX on Saturday en route to the UK to spend Christmas at Beckingham Palace.
Victoria was, of course, showcasing her brands as she wore a Victoria Beckham pleated wool coat from her Fall 2011 collection.
It’s very rare to see Victoria wearing a coat, but this one ticks all the right boxes: stylish, classic and a true investment piece.
Her all-black look included a Victoria Beckham ‘Victoria’ soft tote and those Christian Louboutin ‘Daffodil’ pumps she just can’t seem to live without.
Whilst they all look beautiful, Romeo stands out for me. What a dapper little ensemble he has put together.
You can buy Victoria’s Victoria Beckham pleated wool coat from
Net-A-Porter US and Net-A-Porter International.
Credit: Xpsoure
Ashanti chose this pretty pink Notte by Marchesa dress to attend the launch of the “2BHAPPY” jewelry collection in New York back in November 2010.
The sleeveless fuchsia dress features a gorgeous ruffled trim draped along the body.
The singer accessorized with black diamond encrusted ankle-strap heels and “2BHAPPY” jewelry, including an oversized pink heart shaped cocktail ring and rows of bracelets in assorted metals.
Ashanti finished her look by styling her blonde-streaked hair in soft waves and wearing brown and gold smoky eye-shadow.
Kelly Rowland wore the same dress to attend the 2011 BET Awards back in June.
The singer paired her look with diamond hooped earrings and bracelets and nude cut-out sandals.
Kelly chose to wear her hair in a sleek up-do with side swept bangs and don light pink lipstick.
Whilst I prefer Ashanti’s hairstyle and shoes, Kelly is definitely getting my vote as I think the dress fits her body much better. I also like her diamond accessories better than Ashanti’s as they’re much more elegant and complement the dress better. Ashanti’s feel a little too costume-y for my liking.
Credit: Getty
The Grand Seiko GMT Anniversary Edition celebrates the tenth year of the GMT timepiece. The GMT uses the caliber 9S66A which is the same movement originally used a decade ago. It features striped bridges 35 jewels a frequency of 28 tungsten steel band watches supplier 800 vph (4Hz) and a 72-hour power reserve. A circular blue titanium/tungsten blue rotor with cut-outs is visible through the clear caseback and is signed with the Grand Seiko logo. According to Seiko the rotor has high elasticity which absorbs vibration and shock “ten times better” than brass. Functions include hours minutes seconds date and second time zone (GMT). The bright blue dial has applied steel indexes harry winston watch Dauphine-shaped steel hands and a gold-toned GMT hand.
The Grand Seiko GMT comes in two variations: a steel bracelet and a strap version. The bracelet version is 39.2 mm in diameter has a 24 hour bezel and is water-resistant to 100 meters. The strap version is 39.5 mm in diameter has a fixed bezel with no markings (the 24-hour ring is on the inner dial) and is water-resistant to 30 meters. Both cases are in stainless steel.
Limited to 700 pieces on bracelet and 1 000 on strap.
Ref. SBGM031 (strap) SBGM029 (bracelet)
Retail $6 replica watches 300 (strap) $6 700 (bracelet)
Australian fashion label Cue turns 40 this year. By way ofcelebrating the company called on its customers to submit photos ofthemselves in their favourite Cue outfits from over theyears to be featured in a book.
The result is You & Cue, an overview of the fashionlabel’s 40 years as worn by Australian women.
From early black and white snaps of swinging 60s looksto the power suits of the 80s and the smart casual look thatdefines Cue in the noughties, the photos are a potted historyof Australian ready-to-wear fashion.
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Click for more photos Forty years of Cue
Toni Quinn in 1969.
The Cannes festival wrapped up this weekend, with a few more screenings and the presentation of the festival’s awards—two of which went this year to fashion favorites.Terrence Malick picked up the Palme d’Or for Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and newcomer Jessica Chastain, though he wasn’t at the festival to collect his trophy in person. (His producers accepted it on his behalf.) Malick had previously won the directing prize at the 1979 festival for Days of Heaven—the film that was a major inspiration on Rodarte’s Fall ‘11 collection.Speaking of Rodarte, one of the label’s staunchest supporters nabbed the best actress prize. Kirsten Dunst won for her performance in Lars von Trier’s Melancholia, which was almost removed from the competition after the director made impolitic remarks about Nazism. (Von Trier himself was barred from attending the award ceremony.) In addition to being one of the festival’s best actresses, we’d add that Dunst has been one of its consistently best-dressed. She’s wowed in saffron-colored Chloé, in Rodarte, and in Chanel couture, like this Spring ‘10 look she selected for the closing ceremony.
Photo: Anne- Christine Poujoulat / AFP / Getty Images
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Any girl in the habit of carrying around a pair of Newbarks—the foldable, super-simple slip-ons designed by sister stylists Marjan and Maryam Malakpour—has undoubtedly experienced the shoes’ foot-saving graces. Trading out a pair of strappy stilettos or mega platforms for Newbarks at the end of a night out is the podiatric equivalent of slaking a thirst. Said girls will thus be pleased to know that the Malakpour sisters have introduced their first summer Newbarks—black or white canvas slip-ons that not only offer sweet arch relief, but make for a promising sandal alternative, too. The canvas styles will debut shortly, alongside a few new leather colorways available now. The metallic rose is already selling out, which just goes to show: Whatever the season, comfort is always in style.Newbark Love lamé leather shoes (right), $395, available at www.net-a-porter.com.
—Maya Singer
Photos: Courtesy of Newbark; Courtesy of Net-a-Porter
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Va Va Voom Award
Brooklyn Decker brought an aura of sexiness to the red carpet at the 2011 Academy Of Country Music Awards, which took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada yesterday.
The actress wore a sexy nude Victoria Beckham Spring 2011 dress, which is very similar to the one Katherine Jenkins wore last week.
I love how this sleeveless obi seamed fitted dress hugs her perfect body in a way which is just not possible on the model.
I wish like Katherine she’s gone matchy matchy on her shoes choice. Colour aside, those Stella McCartney slingbacks look painful to walk in.
Apart from Decker’s dress, I love her hair.
Maybe she was inspired by her “Just Go With It” co-star Jennifer Aniston, or maybe she just wanted a shorter sassier new do for summer, but I such a great style and she’s totally working it.
Almost inspires me to go short.
Credit: Zuma Press & Style.com
Duran Duran’s much-blogged-about video for “Girl Panic!” went live on the Internet today. In the nine-minute clip directed by Jonas Akerlund of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” fame, Simon, John, Nick, and co. are played by the supermodels they partied with way back when: Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Eva Herzigova, Helena Christensen, and Simon’s wife, Yasmin LeBon, lip-synch, strum guitars, pound on drums, and vamp for the paparazzi just like the boys did in their 1980s heyday. Style.com spoke with Nick Rhodes via phone from London about the new video and the band’s longtime love of fashion. They were sitting front-row at Versace’s Fall show in February, but they’ve been palling around backstage with the likes of Azzedine Alaïa for decades.
