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Check out the new spring colors of Keds Champions. And at a cool $35, you can have both!

Start with some high-waisted denim shorts:

Lyell at Refinery 29

Next, go for understated ruffles during the day and high-drama ruffles at night:

Bib Button Top-Topshop; Robert Rodriguez Ruffle Top

Then casual sandals when it’s sunny and fancy when it’s dark:

Gladiator- Jeffrey Campbell; Woven Sandal-Frye

Tote for day, clutch for night:

Striped Tote-Forever 21; Gold Clutch-Hobo International

-Valentina

When you’re short and you pop on a pair of sneakers, you run the risk of looking like a baby. “Diminutive” is the word. And if you’re like me, you’re so obsessed with adding height that all your pants are hemmed way too long for flat shoes anyway.

Ah, the horror.

One solution for this age old problem might be at Oak. May I present to you the wedge sneaker? It sounds gross I know, and maybe the term makes you think of those yucks that Victoria Beckham once wore, but these are a far better, yes? Too bad they’re sold out.

There are a lot of short women in this country. Maybe our cries will finally being heard.

UPDATE: A wonderful reader let me know that they have them at Urban Outfitters.

–Valentina

The other day, this girl I know was saying she wished she could find some fancy jellies (shoes not food) and then Saturday, I saw these Jelly Flats from J.Crew. Personally, I think I’d wait until they went down from their $45 asking price, but do what you want.

They also have red, green and black.

–Valentina

I was checking out Refinery 29 this morning and saw this Lyell blouse, which looks so inviting on this gloomy California day. Its super-fem silhouette and detailing made me wish it was sunny and that I was near the beach (or in some wheatfield or something) lilting around. What’s it like to lilt, anyway?

So, then that got me wanting more ladylike grub. Like this Stella McCartney dress for instance:

Sure, it’s never going to happen being that it’s $1,695, but as my friend Joanna was saying, there’s always hope for an H&M knockoff. Amen to that.

On the lighter side of the wallet, there’s these skirts from Forever 21:

The tiered skirt is back in with a vengeance, and they’re pretty versatile. You can wear them with a blazer or just a tank. My friend and I are obsessed with Keds right now, so of course, we wonder: wouldn’t these look cute with some Champions?

And then there’s there’s the no-fuss frills option from Alexander Wang:

-Valentina

I think a lot of people who shop at Barneys also secretly love Target (who doesn’t?), and tomorrow those shoppers can hit both stores at once. Sort of.

Tomorrow until Sunday in NYC and then next weekend in LA , Barneys will be featuring Target’s latest Go International collaboration with Rogan. You can only buy 3 pieces, but the line will be available in Target stores later this year.

I’ll be in Vancouver when the line is in LA, and I’m sad that I’m going to miss my opportunity to buy something for $15 at Barneys.

–Valentina

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When I wrote about Urban Outfitters’ designer collaborations last week, it didn’t really occur to me what a good match UO and Geren Ford are, but check out this sneak peek of the collection.

Geren Ford’s designs are pretty subtle–the silhouettes always speak for themselves and so do the details. These easy dresses, jumpers and tops are no exception; this is one of the few designer collections that doesn’t look like an afterthought. They look like stepped-up Urban Outfitter’s fare.

Pretty cute and pretty perfect for summer. The best thing is that the clothes are moderately priced from around $48 to $128. Not too bad, especially if the quality doesn’t suck. But that’s hard to tell from pictures.

-Valentina

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I always say “when all else fails, slap on a cool piece of jewelry and it will make everything better”. Luckily we are surrounded by an abundance of amazing jewelry designers these days. There are so many I can barely keep from overdrawing my bank account. Following is the “COOL JEWELRY REPORT”… Hey, I couldn’t think of any other name.

MARI FUNAKI

Numero uno on my list is Mari Funaki, Sydney-based jewelry designer by way of Japan. It’s actually an insult to include Ms. Funaki on this list since she’s been, like, an Australian Jewelry legend and mentor for over 30 years now! But I had to include her incase you’ve never heard of her.

Never have I seen someone so masterfully interpret architecture into jewelry. This is because Funaki is not only a designer, she’s an artist and gallery director of the Gallery Funaki in Melbourne. She used mild steel to create sculptural bracelets, rings, and even containers. She lets basic shapes distort themselves to create magical pieces and her industrial-inspired work simply speaks for itself.

www.galleryfunaki.com.au

BIJULES

Who needs acrylic nails when you can wear gold serpants instead?! Bijules, an NY-based jewelry designer, gives us these little gems as part of the Serpensive collection. It doesn’t stop here, though. The current collections also include “hairrings”, part of the Hairem collection and my personal favorite the Bar rings, part of the signature collection.

www.bijulesnyc.com

RENATA MANN

For your more bohemian side, check out jewelry designer, RENATA MANN. I appreciate this designers use of kind of otherwise boring materials like abalone shells that she turns into fun crafty yet very high-end necklaces. Not to mention the knit-covered abalone necklace comes with any color thread over them! Another favorite of mine is the knitted bauble necklace which comes in a multitude of colors. Stones are in-cased in colorful knitted material. It’s almost like the artist’s way of protecting each stone in its own little pouch!

www.renatamann.com

-Camille L.

Is it just me, or is Christian Siriano turning out to be the most visible Project Runway winner ever? Well, he’s easily the most talented, and he’s certainly a firecracker, so it makes sense that he’d be everywhere. He deserves it.

He also deserves high-paying gigs, and I’m just going to assume that his latest project–designing a mini collection of clothing for Puma with British singer Estelle–is just that.

Oh! I do need to call lame on one thing. Wasn’t it lil’ Christian who was complaining about celebrity designers just a couple of weeks ago? Hmmph…Well, he’s calling Estelle his muse, and he made that dress she’s wearing–it’s the first piece of the collection.

I like Estelle, and I urge you to watch her new video with Kanye. It’s fun.

–Valentina

Everyone knows that Louis Vuitton hates copycats, but this is ridiculous.

Artist Nadia Plesner started her Simply Living campaign last October, selling posters and shirts depicting a Darfur victim. The twist is that the victim channels Paris Hilton, while carrying a chihuahua and a designer bag.

Her thought process for the project was this:

My illustration Simple Living is an idea inspired by the medias constant cover of completely meaningless things. My thought was: Since doing nothing but wearing designerbags and small ugly dogs appearantly is enough to get you on a magasine cover, maybe it is worth a try for people who actually deserves and needs attention.

One hundred percent of the profits go to Divest for Darfur, a foundation that helps the victims of the genocide. Pretty awesome, right?

Well, Louis Vuitton doesn’t think so.

According to Plesner’s website, the luxury goods company sent her a letter in February, demanding that she end the campaign immediately and referring to her website as “Exhibit 1.” Like any self-respecting artist, Plesner told them she wouldn’t comply with their request. So…..on April 15, they slapped her with a lawsuit. The company, which is known for aggressively fighting LV fakes, has demanded:

• $7,500 for each day that Plesner continues the charity campaign
• $7,500 for each day their letter is published on her website
• $7,500 a day for using the Louis Vuitton name on her website

And that’s not all. They also want her to pay for their lawyers and $15,000 for damages.

I’m sorry to not be more eloquent, but they’re really a bunch of dicks. I don’t really buy their intellectual property argument. This is art, and it’s not even being sold for profit but, rather, to help human beings who are living under horrific conditions.

I find it totally frustrating that Louis Vuitton promotes their brand and image as iconic, practically acting like their product is integral to our civilization, but then pulls this kind of stuff when an artist portrays it as such. They can’t have it both ways. If they want to sell their goods as symbols of luxury, they should expect that artists would contrast that with symbols of human suffering.

They should be happy that their symbol is earning money for a worthy cause. Now go buy the stuff.

-Valentina

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