Alexa Chung Tells Us How To Dress Like Her (‘Wear Stupid Shoes!’) and Elle Fanning and Kate Bosworth Gush Over Her New Collection for Madewell

Photo: WireImage

LOS ANGELES–When it comes to personal style, there’s no better embodiment of a brazen fashionista than Alexa Chung; and it’s no wonder that Madewell tapped her for a second collaborative collection (sales of her debut collection went through the roof) this fall. InStyle hosted a celebratory soiree in her honor last night, the eve before the collection hits stores, at the Chateau Marmont and packed the house with a stylish set including Amanda Seyfried, Diana Agron, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Zelda Williams and more.

A pop-up shop displaying the entire line occupied guests for hours, while we made the rounds to see just what it is about Chung’s style that’s so decidedly addictive.

“She’s my favorite kind of sexy,” said Kate Bosworth, hot off her European run as the face of Vanessa Bruno. “I think Alexa is so chic and unique and playful. That tomboyish femininity…like she’s not trying too hard. You can tell she’s sharp, totally a smart girl.”

Clad in a prim ivory lace dress from the collection, Elle Fanning excitedly fawned over the fashion before embracing Alexa in a sweet hug to congratulate her. “Everything is so cute! I love Madewell and I love Alexa…having them together is like heaven!” enthused the young actress, who first met Chung at the Met Ball months ago. “She’s really, really fun. I love how she sort of wears baby doll dresses but still has the tomboy thing going on. It suits her so well.”

So what did the girl of the hour have to say about all of the fashion flattery? “Yeah, it’s true. I like to kick against the mainstream. When people hate what I’m wearing, or just don’t get it, it’s like validation that I’ve got it right. It’s like cool, I didn’t want you to anyway!” the style icon laughed. As for the collaboration, she elaborated, “It’s like a dream world to work with Madewell because we have the same vibe, we appreciate the same visual aesthetic. I’m very happy with everything, but the leopard print boots are my favorite because they came out exactly as I drew them. They were missing in my closet. I dreamt them up and now they’re on my feet!”

And after all that, we had to ask, what are the tenets to dressing like Alexa Chung? Without missing a beat, she outlined the following: “Have fun. Don’t take anything too seriously. Try a bit of irony now and again. Don’t wear anything too tight. Borrow things from your brother, boyfriend or father’s wardrobe. And wear stupid shoes!”

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Jen Kao Spring 2012: Dangerously Beautiful Flora (and She Tells Us Why Leo DiCaprio Inspired the Collection)

In a departure from last year’s outer galaxy runway show, Jen Kao was firmly on planet earth–more specifically, Hawaii–for her spring 2012 collection. It was nice to see the esoteric designer lightening up a little bit, too. Well, sort of.

While the visual references to her show were obvious allusions to the sunny flora and fauna of the islands, there was a deeply tragic lost love undercurrent to the collection, too. Set to a backdrop of a hazy sherbet-hued beachfront sunrise, a paper art fascinator-wearing model opened with a sun-ray orb projected onto her chest, which then grew to full-blown daylight in the room. Cue the gasps from the audience.

The color palette of the collection was based on sunrise pastels: lush pinks, soft blues, cheerful yellows, and calming creams. The details were abundant: ornate embroidered lei flowers, Hawaiian shirt-patterned flouncy skirts and flowing dresses, sky-like ombre prints, fine checkerboard knits and Japanese-Hawaiian references, like obi belts and kimono silhouettes. There were editorial-friendly piled-on looks with lots of lacy, fringe-y, flowery layers, but there were definitely pieces that could find their way into our closets.

The models all wore side knots with untucked ends and Jen Kao-designed mismatched poison flower inspired earrings, with ethnic print drawstring rucksacks. The shoes were a casual streetwear mix of cork soled wedges, high-tops and beachy sandals. Oh, did we mention the arty cut paper and origami-reminiscent fascinators, cuffs, belts and capes peppered throughout the show?

After the show, we spoke to the designer backstage. Here’s what she had to say about her show notes, Asian models, and Leonardo DiCaprio as inspiration:

Fashionista: Each season, we really look forward to your extensive show notes. Do you write them yourself?
Yes, I write them all myself. They’re actually really important to me. I know some people might think it’s a long drawn out story, but I like every collection to be personal and emotional and it comes really from me.

The notes are really beautiful, but could you maybe give us a CliffsNote version and talk about your personal inspiration for the collection?
There are so many inspirations in this collection, but it really started out when I was having a conversation with a friend about lucid dreams. It’s something that I used to experience every day when I was younger.

The last line of your show notes reads, “And finally, credit to Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague, and to Tank Girl” (there are tops in the collection named “Chasing Leo”). You have to tell us what that means.
(Laughs) Those also came six months ago, too. I don’t know…I had this vision of Leo in his Hawaiian shirt and the beater and I love that idea of something so kitschy and someone being able to make it look really cool and chic. And Tank Girl is the same thing, so those were the two styling inspirations for me.

What was your thought process in the model casting ?
I wanted to pick girls that weren’t obvious. So I tried to cast girls that are grown. They’re women that know their body and they’ve been through life a little bit.

Speaking of models, we’re seeing more Asian faces in the ads and on the runway lately. As an Asian American designer, do you think this is more of a trend or an actual watershed moment for Asians in fashion?
I think yes and no. I do believe the model “trend”…some people are over-blowing it and thinking “cast an entire show this way” and whatnot, but I think maybe designer-wise, Asians are just coming into their time.

Today is a very momentous and emotional day for the country. What is your feeling on the importance of showing today?
Every time I tell someone that my show is on September 11, they always have this “oh….” sort of reaction to it, but I think it’s a great thing to have a positive moment on a memorial like this. I was excited actually.

**All photos via Imaxtree

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J.C. Penney In Hot Water Over T-Shirt That Tells Little Girls They Can’t Be Pretty & Smart

In the world of irresponsible, gender-cliché clothing, J.C. Penney has been forced to remove a $9.99 T-shirt aimed at tween girls from their website after outrage erupted over the thread’s slogan:

“I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me…”

Penney descriped the T-shirt with the following tagline: “Who has time for homework when there’s a new Justin Bieber album out? She’ll love this tee that’s just as cute and sassy as she is.”

See the dilemma?

In response to the outrage over the T-shirt’s message, Penney released the following statement:

“J.C. Penney is committed to being America’s destination for great style and great value for the whole family. We agree that the ‘Too pretty’ t-shirt does not deliver an appropriate message, and we have immediately discontinued its sale. Our merchandise is intended to appeal to a broad customer base, not to offend them. We would like to apologize to our customers and are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that they have come to expect.”

Well, we’re glad that’s over and done with!

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Suri Cruise Yells at Paparazzi, Tells Them to Take Photos of Baby Doll (Video) - Babble (blog)

Posted by wendym on August 18th, 2011 at 8:11 pm Suri Cruise yells at the paparazzi!

Suri Cruise tells off the paparazzi! Well… sort of. Watch Suri Cruise in this video clip, where you can see and hear the click of the cameras in her face. Suri’s response? Telling the paparazzi to go to hell take a photo of her baby doll instead of her.

Suri shouts: “Take a picture of my baby instead!”

Suri has had it when it comes to the constant cameras in her face – just yesterday, Suri was snapped with a doll in front of her face and later burying her head in mom Katie Holmes’ shoulder.

But to hear Suri talk to the paparazzi? Go Suri! She’s moving up the ranks in celebrity kid attitude, following closely behind Shiloh Jolie Pitt sticking her tongue out at the paparazzi.

It’s got to get annoying, having photographers follow you everywhere and never having a shred of privacy.

What do you think about Suri telling off the paps? I’d say she’s got a legit reason for wanting the photographers to step off!

Image: PacificCoastNews.com

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