Yes, Please

Full preview of Alexander Wang's accessories collection here. Below are The BB selects:

Final Word: Nuff said.

Queen's Day

New Orleans has Mardi Gras, Brazil has Carnival and the Dutch - well, they have one of the biggest street parties in the world.

Queen's day—a Dutch national holiday celebrated each year on April 30th in honor of the late Queen Juliana's birthday—calls for an excuse to dress up in orange and party. Every year about one million people travel to Amsterdam for the celebrations where as much of the partying occurs on the canals as the streets.

I was fortunate enough to go this year and experience it first hand and it true Dutch fashion, on a boat for eight hours. Before our water excursion, I perused the "free market” or vrigmarkt, with a glass of champagne in hand. On this day, every store/individual is allowed to sell their wares on the street. After a few glasses of bubbly I picked out an old tin sign and a set of beautiful baroque pencils in a matching box for 3 euro!


All aboard! Time to drink Heineken on a boat equipped with two DJ's, confetti cannons and a saxophonist. Can you tell that they take this holiday very seriously? At the end of the day I came to the conclusion that A) the Dutch are one of the friendliest and welcoming people and B) they can seriously party.


Final Word: Whether or not you make it to Amsterdam for Queen's day, I recommend you stay at The College Hotel which has 40 rooms and is run by college students, pop in for a smoke and lunch at Barney's Uptown, grab a hot croquette from a Febo vending machine, and for the best steak frites and beef tartare north of Paris, make a reservation at Le Garage.

Why? Because I heart you. MET EDITION

BB Exclusive: First Look At May 14th Matthew Williamson for H&M

We already know that the initial delivery of Matthew Williamson for H&M sold out in about .2 seconds last week. We also know that the actual launch party happens tonight and the buzz around it is about equivalent to that of the collection. But don’t let either of these items lead you to believe that MW4HM is yesterday’s news. In reality, it is quite the contrary—the best is yet to come.

If effort to temporarily beat the heat this past weekend, we serendipitously stumbled upon—or were granted—a super sneak-peak at the yet-to-be-released May 14th H&M delivery.


Last week the fashion rags reported ga-ga gals cashing their unemployment checks and getting fired from their jobs to get their hands on the first delivery, now they’re going to wish they had held out for round two (apart from also wishing they had not spent their unemployment checks and gotten fired from their jobs, but that’s a separate issue).

Where plenty of peacock prints and Daria-dominated ad campaigns defined the first delivery, the May 14th collection capitalizes on what Matthew does best; vibrant prints and beautiful embellishments. From encrusted leather vests to floor-length tunics and tiered embellished gowns, this collection looks like it hailed from London Fashion Week, not 59th & 5th.


In fact, many of the resemblances to the actual Spring 09 runway collection are quite uncanny. And when priced from $125-$250, you can totally understand girls wanting to spend their last dime. They should have just saved a nickel for what is still to come.

Final Word: Don’t mind my ghetto pics seen here. It looks awesome in person and you’re going to want it all. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to get on line now.

Go, Go Ask Alex!

Final Word: Check out Racked giving our girl AWill some love today! The majority of the public thinks she's "perfection" and we happen to agree.

Go Ask Alex: Racy Rompers

Dear Alex:

Every night I put on boy shorts and any old vintage t-shirt to go to bed, and frankly, I'm getting quite bored.  Although I don't see myself prancing around scantily-clad in negligees, I would certainly like to spice up my ho hum nighttime uniform.

-Boring in the Bedroom

Dear BITB:

First of all, you can look sexy without looking like an 18th century call girl. In fact, many runways were filled with boudoir-inspired nighties this season. I think a good place to start would be with the romper. They're adorably sexy without being over the top, a perfect leap from boring boy shorts. Take a look at my options below.  

Good Luck!

This organic piece is so soft, you'll never want to get out of bed. 

We love the playful polka-dot pattern on this sheer, black and white option.

With a vintage belt and boots, this jacquard romper could work for night and day.

Touchably soft tri-blend cotton, sexy halter spaghetti straps, and a vivid green color add up to an option we simply can't resist. 

Moss: "Dead is the new black"?

If you are like me, you’ve incorporated your Blackberry into basically every aspect of your daily life. Beyond phone calls, text messages, work emails, personal emails, BBMs, Facebook, Tweets, Googles, daily forecasts, daily horoscopes…the list goes on (and quite extensively), I also use my Blackberry as my daily alarm clock. Therefore, it’s the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning.

One of the adverse affects of this addiction (and there are many) is that you really can’t control what you wake up to. For me, it’s usually annoying emails from my West Coast colleagues or the new delivery at Bergdorf’s (which they love to send at 6 AM). But the other day I woke up to the subject “Dead is the new black,” and opened up to the creepy image seen here.

While still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I was left trying to figure out what ghost of email sign-up past was sending such a cryptic communication so early in the morning. Who is pitching me death? And why?

As it turns out, the email was from Moss, the home design store in Soho and LA. I had bought my friends a wedding gift there a while back and have received very sporadic, very random emails from them ever since. So they weren’t trying to pitch me death, they were trying to sell it—in the form of finger puppets no less, an obvious vehicle for selling death if you ask me.

The commemorative finger puppet series, called Gone But Not Forgotten, “pays tribute to six of those who crossed over in 2008,” including Yves Saint Laurent, Heath Ledger and Charlton Heston; each is adorned with either a halo and angel wings or devil horns and a tail (I am going to guess halo, horns, horns for those listed). And while I assume they are attempting honor those no-longer among the living, I can't help but think they've done quite the opposite.

Final Word: Since we're selling death these days, this six-some can be yours for a cool $75! So the next time you’re stumped in that someone-that-has-everything gift giving scenario maybe creepy finger puppets are the way to go. I would bet my life they don’t have these. Available at mossonline.com.

For All The 'Fellas

As much as I hate to admit it, I can honestly say that giving someone the once over has become second nature to me. I’ve come a long way in my attempt not to pass judgment based solely on how someone dresses (I’ve been known to roll out of bed and into the office on more than one occasion), but, for guys, there’s still one faux pas I just can’t forgive: bad shoes.

Too often, I’ll come across what seems to be a well-dressed guy only to glance downward and see the cuff of his pants hitting what I imagine is a cobbler’s worst nightmare: a pair of boxy, square-toed leather things with a heel that may or may not double as a hockey puck.

The extent of a man’s wardrobe can only reach so far, for we all have the same basic items to choose from that essentially boil down to a shirt and pants (I know many of us will go on to elaborate on these basics, but as this post is about what’s on the feet, I digress). Any old Joe can pair a button-down shirt with some tailored jeans, but to me what truly separates the Joe Shmoes from the Joe Jonases are what he chooses to step out of the closet in, literally.

Overcome by fantasies of warmer weather approaching, I recently stumbled upon the perfect pair of kicks to enhance any guy's burgeoning summer wardrobe: The Ace Hotel Palm Springs Shoe, a limited edition style born from the collaborative efforts of the Ace Hotel, LA art mag Arkitip, and NYC-based shoe label Generic Man. Nothing says summer-cool like a pair of fresh white sneakers, and the Ace Hotel shoe's eye-catching perforated body not only gives it instant street style, but also functions practically by giving your little piggies a chance to breathe. And at only $85, these will hardly break the bank, leaving you with plenty of funds to still cover your summer share.

Final Word: Gentlemen, take your style a step in the right direction this summer by treating your feet to these sweet sneaks, which you can pre-order now at www.arkitip.com.