Blake Lively: The New Face of Chanel

Blake Lively is now promoting Chanel's new blood red handbag in the latest ad campaign. This seems to be an obvious choice with the way this actress has been almost everywhere lately. Now, I do not mean everywhere as in all over the tabloids. You will rarely see her there unless mentioned in a "Best Dressed" category. She is in almost every fashion and beauty magazine, if not for her makeup, hair, or the latest trend she's sporting by top designers. Designers are smitten over her. From Michael Kors to Lanvin to Karl Lagerfeld. How lucky is this young woman? Those are three designers any person interested in the fashion industry would kill to be oogled by. Who could blame them, though? She is around six foot, blonde, and has a great body. She is sexy but not provocative. Last summer she did a spread in Vogue where her curves were obvious, but covered up for a surf and beach shoot. She might be considered perfect. She has played the classiest but most controversial "It Girl" in the Upper East Side in Gossip Girl, as well as a sell out drug addict playing the ex of Ben Affleck in The Town. Lively is a young woman to be inspired by, in the acting industry, as well as in the fashion industry.

Text Alexandra Faye

A Good Excuse to Buy Another Bag (No Really)

Earth day isn't until April 22; but in fashion, looking ahead is never a bad thing. One stylish way to celebrate is to gradually cut off those pesky, plastic grocery bags and opt for cuter ways to carry your pre-made organic salad or packets of ramen noodles. Eco-friendly options have been around for a while now. And with those disturbing documentaries and heart-pinching PSA's, the continued existence of plastic bags is baffling.

19 billion of these usually, tacky plastic sacks are used every year in California alone. So, let's show those corporate lobbyists and the Senate, which rejected the state's proposed ban on plastic shopping bags last September, by rebelling in style with these reusable totes. Other than clean streets and sanitary parks, the good news is that many of these are cheap, come in every color of the rainbow, and can be conveniently tucked away in the deepest cranny of your PS1 (real or knock-off).

American Apparel Emergency Bag (pictured above), $16; Baggu, $8; Etsy Eco Sail Tote, $75 (okay, kind of expensive for a grocery bag… but it's made from recycled sail boat sails! Just think of the crying Indian.); Thank You Tote Bag, $20; Smartcycle Reusable Shopping Bag, $4.95; For All The World Tote, $6.99. Click after the jump for pictures!

Text Kristina Bravo
Sources: LA Times, NBC San Diego, American Apparel, Baggu, Etsy, ThankYouToteBag.com, Reuseit.com, ModCloth.

Label Watch: Conjure a Charming Spell in Lindsey Thornburg's Cloaks

If at age 11 you cried yourself to sleep over not receiving an acceptance letter from Hogwarts, rejoice! You can still live out your magical fantasies, well sartorially at least, through Lindsey Thornburg's cloaks.

Growing up in Aspen, Colorado, Thornburg studied philosophy (to make mystical stones, who knows?) in Santa Barbara and attended design school in Los Angeles, where she made her first dresses under the label Fabric. A trip to Machu Picchu in 2006 and her collection of Pendleton blankets inspired her to create a cloak collection. The indigenous prints of many of Thornburg's designs perfectly complement the draped silhouette of a cloak, resulting in an edgier alternative to the good old jacket or coat. If you're not really the cloak wearing kind (I guess muggles deserve pretty things too), Thornburg also makes other ready-to-wear pieces that are equally stunning.

Text Kristina Bravo
Images courtesy of Lindsey Thornburg

In Need of a Fashion Giggle?

Anna Wintour's face and the "fierce" expressions of models walking down the runway don't exactly scream fun; but that doesn't mean that the fashion industry doesn't have any sense of humor. Case in point is Garance Dore in her post, "Talking Fashion".

The French illustrator and street style photographer (just like her beau, The Sartorialist's Scott Schuman) has always had her quirky way with words. In this entry, Garance writes about fashion industry semantics in which she reveals that "I'm going free-lance!" can really mean "I just got fired," and "I have a huge project with a huge client but I can't really talk about it" equals "I just did a shoot for Target." The first of what will hopefully be many installments is hilarious, despite the fact that they could all just easily be true. See, fashion isn't all anti-Semites and miserable interns.

Text: Kristina Bravo

Image courtesy of Vogue.co.uk

Lets Talk Turkey

Apparently there is a new trend emerging in shameless self propaganda and meat wear...and it's not very subtle. Miss Turkey is apparently taking her origins quite literally and now advertising turkey burgers for Carl's Jr; yes, the same Carl's Jr. who brought us the masterful artwork that brought together Paris Hilton and a juicy burger. Not only does Gizem Mimec (Ms. Turkey) don a turkey burger printed bikini while eating her burger (in what some are calling porn worthy) but she does it all while keeping her tiara aloft and her sash perfectly placed. So what do you think...genius advertising or pathetic ploy? Maybe a mix of both?

Text Corinna Fabre