Taylor Jacobson Leaves Rachel Zoe Inc.

Here's a fashion news item for those of you who don't read The Cut daily or rather, choose to read me daily (i wish!) - Taylor Jacobson, Styling Associate and second in command to Rachel Zoe at Rachel Zoe Inc. is leaving the company to go off on her own. Jacobson plans to style under her own name after four years of working under style powerhouse, Rachel Zoe.

Taylor formally announced her departure this week when she told Fashionista:

"After four amazing years at Rachel Zoe Corporation, I’m saddened and exhilarated at the same time to announce my departure. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to take the challenging leap to go off and style on my own."

I watched this past season of The Rachel Zoe Project with bated breath, waiting for the moment Taylor would leave Rachel for good after she clearly felt she was not getting the accountability and the credit she deserved in the office. I (along with other RZP fans) was astonished when in the finale, Taylor seemed to be afforded the street-cred she had been craving when Rachel sadly had to relinquish some of her control to her team and specifically, to Taylor, after the onset of something along the lines of stress-related vertigo.

However, according to PEOPLE - Jacobson was fired, and did not simply leave Rachel Zoe on her own accord. Reason for the termination is unknown, as Zoe's rep will only confirm that Taylor is no longer with Rachel Zoe Inc. Being let go from a job, especially by Rachel Zoe would send me to the hospital - if this is true, its nice that Taylor can feel both saddened and exhilarated by her firing.

As someone who works in styling myself, I secretly always hoped that Taylor would step down and leave an open position at the Rachel Zoe empire. As I am sure you all know, I think Rachel does incredible work - I shudder at the thought that someone would not appreciate or respect working with her. In other words, Taylor's job is in essence, my dream job. While I do respect Taylor's desire to work on her own and make a name for herself, it blew me away that as unhappy as she was, she stayed for so long when in the words of The Devil Wears Prada, a million girls (namely, me) would kill for her job. I found myself screaming at the television "If you're not happy, just leave!" each Monday night - I guess Taylor finally got the message.

If only Rachel would somehow find my resume and hire me to work alongside Brad in Taylor's place - What? A girl can dream.

Yours,

-C-

News via The Cut and PEOPLE.com

Image via stylesuperstore

GEM Magazine

Just wanted to share some exciting current events - I am currently working on a small pilot publication with five lovely and creative ladies called GEM magazine. GEM is focused on the perfect balance between luxury and affordable style as well as the hidden gems that the top publications ignore but can lead to any reader becoming the genuine style maven they aspire to be. We're all fans of fantasy and aspirational inspirations but understand the necessity in today's economy to edit one's desires and to be practical and financially conscious.

Spoiler Alert! It's the Erin Fetherston We've Been Loving!

I won't give away all of our plans for our magazine which will come out in December, but I am currently working on a fantastical editorial shoot with the ladies that we will begin shooting this weekend. A la Grace Coddington, the story of the shoot comes from traditional tales, made exciting, trend-setting and interesting through our modern spin on the classic. Just a sneak peak to the clothes: we have been contemplating designers like Erin Fetherston, Vintage YSL, BCBG runway, Chippelane headwear, tons of vintage and fantastic footwear galore for the fantastical looks we are planning on updating for GEM. I thought I'd share my excitement about this with you all since the planning for this along with my daily workload has been keeping me from blogging for you! I will also be sure to keep you posted on future updates as I spend the next few weekends on location shooting with my darling magazine mavens.

Yours,

-C-

Image via ErinFetherston.com

Echo: Keepin' Me Warm Indoors and Out

Recently, I stopped by the Echo Design showroom to get a sneak peek of their newest designs for winter accessories and home. Echo really knows how to get a girl with an obsession for accessories when the economy is down - not only are their items unbelievably affordable, they were exactly what I needed! Lately, I've been working on decorating my new room in my new apartment, naturally, I loved every minute of my walk through the showroom and have been on their website every day since.

My room's decor is inspired by the same concepts that inspired the decor for this blog, the delicate colors and bold expression of the December 2003 Haute Couture Alice in Wonderland spread in Vogue. My room is full of neutrals, clean whites, heather greys, the lightest aqua you can imagine is painted on the walls. My goal is to keep the delicateness as a foundation for the bold accents I planned to place in the space.

The Echo Jaipur collection may be the perfect addition to my room. Not only is it colorful enough to add a POP to my room while being soft enough to work within my aesthetic, its affordable nature makes it easily attainable. This collection managed to find the perfect way to express an ethnic print in a modern way. The aqua color in the print even brings out the color in my almost-white walls! The second I saw the Jaipur collection I knew it was perfect for me, and for anyone else looking to add some tasteful and delicate color and prints to their permanent home or their beach house.

It's important to note that the Jaipur collection only distracted me from my wants and needs in Echo's line of winter accessories. Their gloves run the gamut from fashionable to functional; from leather to cashmere, high cut to biker cut - these folks know how give a girl a tough time - I still cannot decide which ones I'd rather own, in fact, I sort of want them all. Two of my favorites (If I have to choose...) are definitely Echo's Bow at Your Wrist gloves and their Scarlet gloves - both are undeniably feminine and unbelievably chic.

I ended up leaving the showcase with a pair of Echo's new Touch gloves. Designed to give you friction at your fingertips for those of us with smart phones and an iPod touch - texting, twittering, and typing emails on the go has never been easier.

Being able to use a touch screen without taking your gloves off gives you no excuses - as the colder months hit us, your cold hands are no longer a reason for your forgetting to text and tweet to your friends, family, and followers. I've been sporting them this past week and do not know how I spent so many winters without them! Thanks to Echo, keeping in Touch has never been cozier.

Bow at Your Wrist glove, $88.00

Scarlet glove, $115.00

Touch glove, $30.00

Yours,

-C-

Images via Echo.

Cha-Ching! My Nails Are Made of Nickel

Essie's Steel-ing The Scene, $8.00

Lately I have become obsessed with the metallic manicure. After seeing it done so perfectly on "it" girl DJ meets fashionista Harley Viera Newton and my dear dear fashionable friend, Sarah Rockney (twitter: @sarahrockney) as well as in the form of Minx on none other than the Real Housewives of Atlanta, I knew I had to try it out for myself. I sampled the goods, tried many a metallic from salons, to Ricky's and beyond and came across two from Essie that I think will please the masses... and me for the next few manis. Steel-ing the Scene, a more tarnished looking silver recommended by The Cool Kid List (my nail polish connoisseur) and Loophole, a more shiny nickels and dimes look (that I am sporting as we speak) are my two favorites thus far. We may be in a recession, but my nails are decked in what shines like small change.

Essie's Loophole, $8.00

Cha-Ching!

-C-

Images via Essie.com

I Think I Just Died and Went to Fashion Heaven

Although I am forever torn about wearing real fur as opposed to its equally fabulous faux counterpart, I think I just died and went to fashion heaven. This is the most unbelievable fur vest I have ever seen. Thank you to The Cool Kid List for bringing such a glorious treat to my attention. Just released from the Where The Wild Things Are X Opening Ceremony collaboration, this vest is a statement while still maintaining the laid-back chic, draped quality a larger vest should. It's perfection - just the right of volume, the perfect tawny color, and a texture to boot.... pardon the Rachel Zoeism, but I die. For a mere $415.00 at Opening Ceremony, this baby could be living in my closet. The line also features jewelry by Pamela Love, whose daring and edgy accessory aesthetic I have admired for some time now - that eagle claw bangle of hers means business!

Love it, need it... got.to.have.it.

-C-

Images via openingceremony.com

Loving This

Refinery29 has noticed a fabulous phenomenon - SS10 runway looks that mirror the looks of animated disney characters to a tee! They lay it all out for you in their article - check it out!

Clearly my favorite is Alice's fashion doppelganger, but I was a huge fan of Flounder's and thought Ursela's was spot on! Read the piece, smile at the pictures and enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you to the lovely Amaya Maurie of TheCoolKidList for sharing this with me!

Yours,

-C-

Images via Refinery29

Fashion Week Recap: Eveningwear

Now that you have a taste of my favorite daywear looks, check out my picks for Eveningwear! Although these are looks that I rarely get a chance to wear myself, its such a pleasure and a treat to watch these couture confections float down the runway. While daywear is where I make my fashion impact, true fashion moments that have the ability to take your breath away tend to occur on the red carpet. The moment when movie stars become stars always involves the drama and the impact of the perfect gown or cocktail dress. Here are the ones that took my breath away from the SS10 catwalk.

This upcoming spring and summer, orange is the new black. Carolina Herrera gave us a classic cut with a twist. This citrus punched number with a loose fitted top and a ruffled bodice gave me chills. Orange never tasted so good.

OH Oscar! These creative confections made me gasp as they graced the runway. A bold orange and metallic sprinkles make these gowns ideal for the red carpet, making a statement without going over the top. I love myself some tule and go gaga over daring construction so Oscar officially has me hooked. If you are a daring dresser or even a daring bride, these are the gowns for you when deciding what to sport to your next gala, award ceremony, or special occassion.

I could stare at these dresses for days. Their construction and structures are so ornate and thoughtful that its a shock that when worn, they exude effortlessness. Philip Lim is a genius, enough said.

There is no designer right now that does adventurous formalwear better than Marchesa. Ideal for the red carpet and the fastest way to feel like a princess, the two women behind the label know how to make women feel stunning, sexy, and special. Wear one of their creations and ensure you will never get lost in the crowd and will feel confident and comfortable standing out.

Not only did Marc Jacobs deliver stunning gowns, these dresses look completely comfortable. Wear one to your next formal event, dance the night away, and come home only to plop yourself into bed for a sleep-in-your-gown moment a la Carrie Bradshaw in the SATC finale.

Is Yigal Azrouel getting married on a beach in Israel? If not, he certainly knows how to dress a bride for dreamy destination nuptials.

Isaac Mizrahi knows the way to my heart, give me some faux fur, some metallic, and a dash of ice princess and we're in business.

All who know me know how much I have been raving about Prabal Gurung these past few months. New to the scene, Prabal is prabably one of the most promising new designers to date, not abandoning luxury in this wretched recession. He delivers breathtaking separates and his gowns are pure genius. Check out Prabal's website or follow him on Twitter to see and hear more from this innovator!

Yours,

-C-

Images from nymag.com