Yes. I know. I haven’t blogged since September 23. The world has shifted. We have a new president, the economy has officially tanked and yet, my world has been filled with style adventures. I truly feel lucky to continue to express myself through my art. I wrapped at the end of October on The Whole Truth which was an incredible creative experience for me.

Music-wise, I did manage to check out some great shows despite working seven days a week. The Presets, Does this Offend You Yeah and Santigold are all top on my play lists these days. Fun, electronic and dance-able…not to mention 80’s influences. I love it.

I did a quick weekend trip to SF to cheer my gal pals on in the Nike Women’s Marathon. The route was incredible. I was so proud of my friends who ran for almost five straight hours…they are truly inspirational. It was great to be back in SF. I did do some killer shopping with clients in Union Square. The Barney’s in SF is fabulous ~ especially for men. I found a terrific store that I had a hard time leaving near North Beach called Eden Eden. The owner is a lovely British woman with exquisite taste. She has a lovely collection of very unique jewelry and accessories ~ including vintage pieces. Her clothing was wonderful and she carries a lovely Finnish designer, Ivana Helsinki, who just showed at Paris Fashion Week last season. Her knits and prints are incredible and the kind of pieces in this economy that are worth the investment because they are classic. Her spring pieces are playful and I will definitely keep you posted on her. The Eden Eden site doesn’t do the justice to the store, but it will give you a good idea. If you live in SF…go there. Food was difficult for some reason on this trip…however, did finally have a lovely cocktail at the Clift.

For those of you who know my routine, you probably can guess I am in NYC again. After 11 straight weeks of work, it is great to have a little time to clear my head, get inspired again and get caught up. It was great to check in at my fav Greenpoint stores, Alter, Daglaya and Hayden-Harnett. I have also gotten a chance to go to some of my favorite spots like Dressler, Diner, Coco 68 and NuBlu. I now have new fav spot in Greenpoint called Five Leaves. Since I have a bit more spare time and the timing was right, we did hit up a few galleries for the Williamsburg Art Openings on the second Friday of each month. The highlight of my trip was last night when I was the guest of my talented friend Etta Lillenthal who was selected to have her work shown at a new collective of women in theater; mainly costume and production designers. Etta is a very talented production designer and i was honored to be there. The collection called Curtain Call is showing for the next six months at the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center. The photo at the top is from the exhibit. Since this is an obvious area of great interest for me, I was truly inspired. It is interesting to note how make dominated costume and set design has been. I think that mostly catches me up for now. I must say that given everything that has happened in the world since my previous blog, I do have hope that through art we can and will stay inspired. RL

I have been back in Seattle for a week and it has been action packed with prep of The Whole Truth as well as Fall 08 Shopping with clients. Mid-week last week, I attended Madina Vadache Spring 09 show in Seattle. The garments were impeccable with Madina’s refinement in her “power knit” fabrics couple with tulle and chiffon. Her garments are not only beautiful, but constructed for real women with real lives. I wore one of her pieces that was a prototype for this current SP 09 collection…it had been to Vegas and NYC and all it needed was a quick steam. Amazing. The stylist style for the evening that I apparently got right, was a tight black legging under a cocktail dress…very chic and very inspired by the Mogul period in India. Great show with great artists showcased throughout the night…the rest of my week was busy as I mentioned. Today was the first day shooting on The Whole Truth and I am still busy dialing in the looks…RL

No shows today. Shopped all day with clients and in between, shopped for the movie. Wine and snacks at the Soho Grand. Fashion note for the boys. Bow Ties & Glasses are cool. RL

I don’t make it a practice to be anywhere before 10 a.m., even in Seattle, but today I rallied and headed from Brooklyn to Bryant Park to check out the Bryan Reyes show. As I was waiting patiently for the PR gal to seat me, a lovely woman approached me. She looked familiar, but I was quite certain she had me mistaken for someone else…she didn’t, it turned out to be a gal who I worked with briefly back in the dot com days…she and her gal pals, and JJ, were in town for the shows, shopping etc. I ended up sitting with them and it was fun…”small world”…My favorite pieces at the Bryan Reyes show were the long sleeveless trench dresses that had another dress layered under. It’s refreshing. The rest of day I spent prepping and shopping for clients. Dinner in Greenpoint and early night. RL

Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images North America

Today was great. Not much fashion week related work today. I was focused on working on The Whole Truth and went to Max Mara to pull for costumes. One of my favorite garmentos in the world, Rita, works there. It is always fun to see her. I did stop by the Marina Rinaldi Fall event and love, love, love this line for plus size. The fabrics and cuts are gorgeous and the designers are committed to the high end quality. Accessories and shoes for Marina Rindaldi were a suprise hit for me. It was fun to meet all the lovely Italians. After that little event, I met BFF elles and some her work crew from Sandbox for Taco Tuesday…don’t remember much after that…(lol) RL

Photo Courtesy of Marina Rinaldi

I just arrived in town yesterday and had to do running around and catching up since Fashion Week started on Friday. My day included stopping off a the tents to check in and get materials. It was the usual circus….fashion report at the tents, black dresses, everyone was in them including myself. Black was actually everywhere considering it was 80 degrees…hot for this northwesterner.

I checked in at one of my favorite LES stores, Peacock. Found a great little spot a couple doors down called Funky Lala. I loved everything in the store for myself and for clients…stand by for more on this little gem.

I did hit a show away from the tents. It was Jordache; Remember? “You’ve got the look, the Jordache look…”? I went out of pure curiosity and was happy to find that the designers have stuck true to their brand. I went with my sidekick elles and we determined the market for Jordache is young and for some who may be young at heart. I loved the purple leopard jeans and thought that would be great next summer with a simple over-sized white tee…yes, it screams the 80’s…but, it would be cute.

elles and I then cut out for some sushi at the famed Blue Ribbon Sushi before we braved the lines at the 360 after party hosted by Nigel Barker. It was a zoo and a super strange venue. While I love Bloomingdales, I had a hard time concentrating on Nigel’s editorial photo work as it hung next to the jean bar…around the corner from the Juicy Couture sweat pants…need I say more? We met some interesting cats however and my day overall is exactly why I love NYC. RL

Hey there. Here are some pics of the black and white film short I worked on last week written and directed by Travis Senger. I did the costumes, hair and makeup. Gorgeous photos by Kyle Johnson.

I normally don’t go to these trade events in the industry. I stick to the shows since I’m not a buyer. It has been years since I went to MAGIC and it has evolved. They are adding shows and the buyers can check things out according to the demographic/style, etc. As I mentioned a couple days ago, I was here representing SSF and facilitating fabulous strategy salons. It was a complete success in my opinion and we met some amazing folks; designers and manufacturers. [photo of gals from SUST and editor from PLENTY Mag]

In ECollection, for the rock and roll gal in me, I was intrigued by Loka. They were a standout in the ECollection section not just because the girls were super cute and sweet, but they have a distinct non-eco look. It’s very refreshing. I can’t wait to start wearing some of their pieces.[photo of Loka Designer and the booth]

Pool was super fun and hip. I saw a ton of brands I know and love, as well as, new ones. Funny, but I found a eco-brand there too that I happen to be wearing today ~ Velvet Leaf. The designers are adorable and really committed to sustainability. Top it off, their brand is super cute. I am a fan and will be writing more about them in the future. [photo of Velvet Leaf designers with Sp09 collection in the background]

That’s it for now…got to take a disco nap to rev up for the last night in Vegas. I will give you a run down of new places besides Hard Rock to check out. RL

Whew…the month was incredible for me, my friends, my colleagues…It started off with the final preparation and execution of my husband’s 40th birthday which was 8.8.08. I came out of retirement from doing major multi-media events to do this and it was quite a party. Amazing food, friends, dancing live bands, burlesque…we had it all and my guy loved it. We haven’t had a chance to upload all the photos, but my fellow blogger, photographer and friend did. Here is the link to his blog to check out party pics…http://kipbeelmanphotography.com/blog/2008/08/13/napperfest-08/ .I will blog again when we have photos and give you the full credits for all the folks involved in this production. They were all amazing.

I went right in after that into costume designing for a fab film short written and directed by Travis Senger and produce by LT Production Group called CC2010. This film is a sexy little homage to Seattle. I got to do fun period looks (1969 - 1994) which was a fun time. It was exciting to be involved although the night shooting always gets to me by day 3. Stay tuned for news on this project. The great news is that I am also starting a new project (right now) as Costume Designer again for a feature film called The Whole Truth by Colleen Patrick. It is a comedy and should be super fun. Already deep in the creative process for this one.

I am catching up on my blogging while in Vegas where SSF will be hosting Strategy Salons at the ECollection in MAGIC. MAGIC is a fashion trade event that can best be described as a bit more “sporty spice” than Fashion Week. However, everyone shows here. Not only will I be facilitating these Strategy Salons with my co-founder Sean Schmidt, I of course will be checking out Spring 09 in a more casual environment than the tents at Bryant Park…where I will be in a week in a half. So that catches me up for the past 24 days. Stand by for more about Spring 09, Vegas and New York Style. RL

Photo Credit | Kip Beelman