Father’s Day is a national salute to everyone’s favorite man, Dad.  Fathers come in many shapes, sizes, and varieties, so no one gift fits all – but we put together our top five favorite ideas for 2010 to get you started:

Let Him Shine.

Some Dad’s really do have everything, and if this is the case – get quirky, and find some gifts that let him look like the hero.  If he’s been known to put together a mean flapjack breakfast – slip him some of these Star Wars pancake molds from Williams-Sonoma at The Oaks ($19.95) and let him “strike back” in the kitchen.  Or, does he like to entertain?  A frozen margarita maker makes him the center of attention.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

We had the pleasure of being invited to artist Greg Lauren’s “Alteration exhibition” in West Hollywood by our lovely friend Robyn Berkley from People’s Revolution. When we walked in we were greeted with champagne and immediatley in awe of the beautiful 40 paper sculptures which Lauren hand-sewed into replica to-scale clothing. The clothes are re-created into iconic pieces he says defined him as he grew up, such as Cub Scout shirts, Superman uniforms, tuxedos and white shirts with a rack of ties. They each represent dominant male archetypes Lauren felt he had aspired to be as he developed into the man he is today.

When you make the connection between Lauren, a 40-year-old artist with a degree from Princeton in art history, and his uncle Ralph, everything starts to take on a new meaning that would not be possible for someone outside of such an iconic family. Lauren, an L.A. resident for the last ten plus years, was born and raised in New York City, where the first version of this show opened in September 2009, the Angeleno version has a few new items including 10 white paper suits, against a film loop of Cary Grant in “To Catch a Thief”.

All pieces are made from paper, none are wearable, but guests at the event certainly wished they had been, Lauren hopes to create a different type of atrifact with this unique art. “When people do make the association [with Ralph Lauren], what they don’t understand is that the world in those ads is this imaginary, aspirational place that we grew up with as kids — a place where movie stars, athletes, superheroes and high-society types mingled and hung out together. And you could be a part of it, if you wore the right things.””Growing up learning how to dress like Cary Grant, JFK and Gary Cooper but feeling inside like I was Oliver Twist.” was one of the statements Lauren made while explaining that each work in the exhibit was based on an actual vintage garment, using pieces cut by his pattern maker (costume designer Marilyn Madsen). Then he completed each piece himself, most of them using the sewing machine given to him by his mother before she died a year and a half ago.

Our friend Style Expert Rachel Zalis joined us and happened to wear a white blazer, which we had to snap the shot of her with the display, even women can appreciate menswear.

Every jacket has a real meaning behind it behind it, almost like a diary that of memories of these men that effected him and then sprung to life, similar to how Superman went from a comic book onto the silverscreen for us to all feel a real connection to. The exhibtion perfectly marries Fashion Style with Art.

Source: New York Times: Fashion

Published: June 6, 2010

PARIS — A second high-style/low-price hook-up took place last week from the same source: Tokyo Fast Retailing, which is the umbrella company of the American brand Theory.

Olivier Theyskens, the Belgian designer known for a couture sensibility, has been tapped by Andrew Rosen, chief executive officer of Theory. In the spirit of the Jil Sander/Uniqlo collaboration — but at a middle-market price point — Mr. Theyskens is taking to Main Street an aesthetic that has formerly been seen at the Paris houses Nina Ricci and Rochas.

“I think it is a breakthrough for the next generation — it has to do with clothes that are not so preciously made, but made with great integrity,” said Mr. Rosen, who founded Theory in 1997 in partnership with Elie Tahari. “Today, you can’t just be good — you have to be great. I want to be proud of the clothes I make.”

Mr. Theyskens, 33, admits that he has had problems reconciling his haute design with the frustration that it was unapproachable to his own generation.

“For a long time I have been thinking about affordable fashion — you can be disappointed when not so many people can wear your stuff,” Mr. Theyskens said. It was a learning curve to work with Theory to make “a perfect modern look” and take responsibility for its development, he said.

The Theyskens capsule collection, which will be shown in New York in September for the Spring 2011 season, by appointment, will fill the barren middle ground between high street and high end. This is the territory that Mr. Rosen has explored with Theory, aiming for a no-fuss emphasis on wearable, well-made clothes.

“I think the space is very crowded and the idea is to find new ways to stimulate the customer,” said the executive, who met Mr. Theyskens by chance when he was launching a book in New York.

Eager shoppers have been teased with short-lived collections from major designers ever since Karl Lagerfeld partnered with H&M in 2004, setting off a slew of further collaborations from Comme des Garçons at H&M to the current Stella McCartney line for GapKids.

But if Theory succeeds in bringing designer clothing down to a reasonable price on a more permanent basis, it will help usher in what already seems like the dawn of a new 21st-century fashion era.

Source:  Fashion Newspaper

Date: June 8, 2010

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) today announced that total sales for the four weeks ended May 29, 2010 decreased 1% to $193 million, compared to $196 million for the four weeks ended May 30, 2009. Consolidated comparable store sales decreased 3% for the month, compared to a 7% decrease for the same period last year.
Total sales for the year-to-date 17 week period ended May 29, 2010 increased 6% to $853 million, compared to $808 million for the 17 week period ended May 30, 2009. Comparable store sales increased 3% for the year-to-date period compared to a 9% decrease for the same year-to-date period last year.

The company is reiterating its second quarter adjusted earnings guidance of $0.12 to $0.16 per diluted share. On a GAAP basis, second quarter guidance is ($0.01) to $0.03 per diluted share and includes estimated closing charges and an operating loss related to MARTIN+OSA of approximately $0.13 per diluted share as outlined in the table which follows. This guidance also excludes potential investment security charges. Second quarter guidance compares to adjusted earnings of $0.18 per diluted share for the second quarter ended August 1, 2009, which excludes a tax benefit, a non-cash, non-operating foreign currency loss and an operating loss related to MARTIN+OSA as outlined in the table which follows.

From:  Yahoo News: Fashion Wire Daily
Date:   Tuesday June 8, 2010

New York – It may have been the American fashion industry’s big night, but international fashion greats also got their due at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards last night at Lincoln Center in New York on Monday, June 7.

The late Alexander McQueen was honored with a special tribute, presented by Sarah Jessica Parker, and his Fall 2010 collection was shown for the first time outside the small Paris presentation in March, where it was originally shown shortly after his death on February 11, 2010.

British designer Christopher Bailey of Burberry also received this year’s “International Award,” presented to him by Donna Karan.

A typically star-studded affair – like the Academy Awards and fashion week wrapped into one event – actors including Jessica Biel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz and CFDA designers themselves, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, mingled with fashion’s finest, such as CFDA president and designer Diane von Furstenberg, Kenneth Cole, Zac Posen, Betsey Johnson, Rachel Roy, Brian Atwood and Peter Som.

Top honors of the Swarovski-sponsored night went to Marc Jacobs for “Womenswear Designer of the Year,” David Neville and Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone for “Menswear Designer of the Year” and the “Accessory Design of the Year” award went to Alexis Bittar.

Swarovski also underwrote the awards for the top emerging designers, who this year included Jason Wu for womenswear, Richard Chai for menswear and Alexander Wang in accessory design. The winners in this category will receive financial support from Swarovski, as well as access to the company’s crystals for use in their own designs.

The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Michael Kors, presented by Anna Wintour who recalled a humorous anecdote about how Kors once stayed in the ocean in Jamaica for four hours because Ralph Lauren was also on the beach – and Kors didn’t want Lauren to see that he was, in fact, wearing Ralph Lauren swim trunks.

Paper magazine’s founding editor and publisher Kim Hastreiter, a longtime champion of new and undiscovered fashion talents, was given the Eugenia Sheppard Award for excellence in journalism, which actress Brooke Shields introduced, while Caroline Kennedy presented Vogue fashion director Tonne Goodman with the Eleanor Lambert Award. Isabella Rossellini introduced Iman, who received the “Fashion Icon” award.

For the second year in a row, the “Popular Vote” award went to Ralph Lauren. Through a joint Web site sponsored by L’Oreal Paris and WWD.com, anyone could vote for their favorite fashion designer.

Bill McMullen's drum machine rings. Just like cocktail rings, you can pile them on.

New York based artist Bill McMullen mixes popular culture with urban street art to create artwork, collectible toys, t-shirts and limited edition jewelry — like the drum machine rings.  His style and flair for capturing what’s current is so on track that he has developed a very strong following —  and it’s no surprise that the Beastie Boys is one of his clients.

McMullen is the artist behind Beastie Boy’s “Hello Nasty” and “The Mix-Up” graphic packages.

Artwork by Bill McMullen.

McMullen got his start in San Diego designing club fliers.  Now, just a few years later, he’s on tour with his own art show.

Artist Bill McMullen at work.

His art project “Hype Hustle Rip-Off”  is at the Constant Gallery in Los Angeles until March 28. 2009.

Bill McMullen's show ""Hype Hustle Rip-Off" at The Constant Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.

And clearly, McMullen is influenced by Star Wars…

"Font Wars" by Bill McMullen.

Let the force be with you. Bill McMullen.

"Invasion" by Bill McMullen.

But back to the drum roll rings.  The ring is fun, creative and you know the person who wears a ring like this must have personality —  and here at Style Seen Daily we want you to rock your style.  You can learn how to purchase the limited edition drum roll rings at our Style Seen Daily Showroom, Mens section.

[Show as slideshow]

Source: Fashion News
Posted: June 8, 2010

Now there’s a new way for consumers to save money and compare prices while shopping online. Superfish, Inc. announces the beta release of Window Shopper, a free browser add-on that once downloaded, places a mark next to product images on hundreds of online stores. Click on the mark and Window Shopper opens up, instantly showing deals for that product as well as similar-looking alternatives.
The secret to Window Shopper is its proprietary visual search technology. The application first recognizes the image on the site and then instantly finds and presents visually identical or similar images from its huge index of product offers. Their index includes over 30 million products in almost every product category. Superfish expects to expand their index to over 50 million products in a few months.

Window Shopper currently functions on hundreds of U.S. online stores including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Macys, Nordstorm, Overstock.com, Staples, Target, and Wal-mart. More stores will be added weekly.

“With the Window Shopper Add-on, there’s no more jumping around from site to site to compare prices or to find what you want,” says Joe Dew, head of product for Superfish. “If we find a deal, we’ll show it. If we can’t, we’ll show you similar products you may also be interested in.

Although it’s been still in beta, thousands of people have already downloaded Window Shopper in its first few weeks since release.

About Superfish, Inc.

Superfish is a young, privately held startup with headquarters in Silicon Valley. The team is made up of technology enthusiasts and mathematicians who have been working for several years on visual search technology. Our vision is that visual search will one day allow people to use any picture at any time from any place as a search query.

Source:  New York Times: Fashion

Posted: 6-8-10

Forever 21 has been sued more than 50 times over the past three years for allegedly knocking off other people’s clothing designs. Not too long ago, Trovata’s high-profile case against the company was brought before a jury, in what was hoped to result in a landmark ruling in knockoff regulations. But the knockoff fight is a hard one for a victim to legally win, and the weary Trovata ended up settling. The genius mind behind Forever 21′s practically iron-clad designer-imitation design business is CEO Don Chang, and The Wall Street Journal shares his story today. After moving to L.A. from Korea in the early eighties, he pumped gas, among his many first jobs as a new immigrant. The gas led him to his calling: After he noticed that clothing-store owners had the nicest cars, he knew where he belonged. After all, L.A. is a place where nice cars really matter.

So Chang opened Fashion 21 in L.A. in 1984. He enjoyed sales of $947 million in 2005, more than doubled those to $2.3 billion in 2009, and expects to do $3.2 billion in sales this year. Most of his 480 Forever 21 stores are in the U.S., but he hopes to open 100 eventually in Japan, where he just opened his fourth store. And don’t forget that a Forever 21 that is so massive it’s terrifying is about to open in Times Square. But Chang’s personal touches remain:

The Los Angeles fast-fashion retailer famously has “John 3:16” printed on the bottom of its yellow shopping bags, a reference to a New Testament scripture.

“That’s my purpose of life,” said Mr. Chang, a lifelong Christian.

We are curious as to when Chang decided to change the store name from Fashion 21 to Forever 21, which is pretty brilliant since it encapsulates that thing so many women want, which is to look 21 years old forever. And no matter how much its purported shoddy labor practices and knockoffs bother us, we all shop there anyway.

Sandra Bullock with Scarlett Johansoon on stage at 2010 MTV Movie Awards.

Sandra Bullock shined as she accepted the Generation Award at MTV Movie Awards 2010 in Los Angeles, California.   The Oscar winner is the first woman to receive the honor.  Congrats Sandra!

Looking stunning in a short black Oday Chakar dress, Bullock locked lips with Scarlett Johansson on stage and made jokes about her soon to be ex-husband.

Bullock’s Oday Chakar dress with a plunging back encouraged Betty White to tell her, “don’t ever wear that dress backwards!”

The night was filled with good laughs and hot styles.

Sequins, minis, neon colors and glitter filled the red carpet. Stars like Whitney Port, Anna Kendrick, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, and Miranda Cosgrove stepped out in true fashion forward style, perfect for this nontraditional award show, in bright colors and eye-catching heels. And the guys weren’t too shabby either, Russell Brand, Zac Efron and Peter Facinelli came wearing trendy vests, stylish jeans and hip shoes.

Have a look at some of our favorite outfits and not so favorite from the eventful night.

The 17-year old actress Victoria Justice was pretty in pink. She lit up the red carpet with a BCBG Maz Azria one-shoulder patterned dress with a pair of nude heels. This starlet may be young, but this fashionista caught our eye.

Lucy Hale from the upcoming new ABC Family Show, “Pretty Little Liars” wore a sparkly navy cocktail dress with beige accents designed by Touy. With her hair pulled to one side, we got a look at her edgy spiked necklace. She wore the form fitting dress with a pair of trendy black heels.

Country singer and Dancing With The Stars alum Julianne Hough came wearing a chic black peekaboo mini with sharp shoulders. A simple yet stunning look by Camilla + Marc Caraletta Frock looked amazing on Julianne. The mini is a great look for any summer time evening out, dress it up like Julianne with a pair of black pumps.

Kristin Stewart may have taken home the award for Best Female Performance and Best Kiss, but her outfit was not one of our favorites. The gold and metallic Dolce & Gabbana mini was a great length for this Twilight star. Although we found the straight across top was not so flattering. We did approve her her messy pulled pack ponytail, showing off her striking face. Simply by pulling your hair back like Kristin can show off any bold outfit.

The Hills star Audrina Patridge was very dazzled up for the awards. Wearing a metallic backless mini she was definitely able to be seen that night. She even wore studded silver and black heels to add to her bling-out outfit. We thought the outfit was a little too much for this reality star.

What do you think about these stars’ looks?  Sign up and become a part of our Style Seen Daily community, click here to join, and leave your thoughts below.

Sometimes we start off on one path and are lead to another, which changes everything. This can be exciting when you find yourself in love, which is what happened when NY Fashion Institute graduate Meredith Kahn went from clothing designer to jewelry creator.

“Jewelry is given to share one’s heart, and it’s amazing to be a part of that.” Meredith mixes diamonds with feathers, various metals and plastics with multiple colors, textures and styles. The feathered bracelet here makes for a delicate, yet hip and romantic accessory. Its also so different than anything else you can find, it really feels special when you wear it.

Plume Bracelet

Hollywood talent like Rihanna, Kate Hudson, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Kate Bosworth and Eva Mendes are among her devoted following. Editors, tastemakers, entertainment executives, and Lower East Side hipsters are all coming together to agree that Kahn’s creations merge soft romantic with edgy chic, appealing to both the romantic and inner rock starlet in each of us.

Check out the story from Life & Style with a Q & A from Meredith;

Prices range across the board, meaning there is something for all budgets and we believe you will be seeing a lot more of her beautiful wearable art. Kahn creates limited amounts of each design and style, but a variety enough that you can purchase everything from rings, to necklaces and bracelets or even handbags to wear year round and with nearly anything. Her funky and fun style is inspiring to us here at Style Seen Daily, where we believe that we all need to create our own style and people like Kahn make it possible to do that.

For more on Made Her Think, click here.