Jill-ing me softly

Since I missed 2 collaborations from Macy's, I've been very mindful of the Department Store and often check their site. It's my way of tracking whether they have new and upcoming designer collaborations.

And they do have one this spring!

Jill Stuart!

Because it's a Spring/Summer collection, there were a lot of soft, flowy clothes in pastels and flowers. And this dress is one of my favorites from the lot.

Plus, she added some elegant evening wear into the mix. Such as this black, structured gown.

Days like this, I wish there was a Macy's store nearby.

Missed Macy's

Looks like I haven't been too diligent about looking out for designer collaborations.

While the news about the Macy's x Anna Sui collaboration was in my radar, it turned out that there were 2 previous collaborations that went by without me noticing it.

First, a collection by Yigal Azrouel! How could I have missed this master of tailoring and details.

Second, Cynthia Rowley! Gosh! I love her fun aesthetic, and I missed it!

Better be more alert this year.

How Sui it is

Macy's has been absent from the designer collaboration scene for quite sometime. A few years ago, they launched a series of partnerships with major designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Alberta Ferreti, Doo Ri, and Giambattista Valli. Luckily, my sister was able to get some items from the last 2 designers.

While leafing through the September issue of InStyle, I found out that they're back! Collaborating, that is.

This September, Anna Sui x Macy's I.N.C. will drop! Woot!

I've seen the campaign and it combines Anna's penchant for details with a modern western flair. I'm still waiting for the whole lookbook to drop to see if there are must-buys from the collection.

We shall Sui.

Ferretti's Fast Fashion

One of the more common complaints about high fashion designers doing capsule collections is the fact that their main and diffusion lines don't look alike. Most of them look like regular clothes with a designer's name slapped onto them.

Of course, there are cases such as the H&M collaborations with Lanvin and Versace where they actually got designs from their archives and mass produced these items.

In a recent press release for the Alberta Ferretti for Macy's collection, Ferretti said that her capsule collection is inspired by and based on her couture collection. And while this might sound like the usual release, I think her claim is actually true.

Here's an item from her current S/S2012 collection. A long, one shoulder gown in a pastel color.



And here's an item from her Macy's Collection.



In terms of the look and feel, they're very similar. The only difference are the little details like the ornamentation and embellishments. But overall, I think Ferretti was right in saying that her main and capsule lines come from the same aesthetic.

Now I'm interested to see what other designs she has for Macy's.

Doo ri is in the details

And Doo ri has landed!

Muchas gracias to Biboy who looked for them in the U.S., and Mom who brought them with her today, the two Doo ri for Macy's dresses that I had my eye on are finally here.

Design-wise, the dresses are gorg. But as the reviews from Macy's website read, there were still bits and pieces that could've been improved.

One thing I like about these dresses are the details that Doo ri Chung put into them. They were thoughtful details that came as a surprise, especially since they weren't on the photos on the website.

Let's start with the black painterly dress. It has a nice shape, the crinkled fabric is a nice touch, and the print is very pretty.



Yup, it's Doo ri, baby!



The dress came with a magnetic belt with Doo ri's signature on the buckle. Nice touch!



And while it's smashing up front, the view of the dress from the back reveals another cute detail.



The zipper is exposed and there's a red ribbon lining it all throughout. It really pops out against the black.



The only minus factor about this dress is that it isn't lined. But other than that, it's a great buy.

Moving on to the red painterly dress, while the print might be similar to the black dress, the material is different. This one is a softer cotton, which makes it ideal for summer.



And to keep the overall lightness and breeze of the dress, the top detail is actually made from cotton jersey, which looks very comfortable. It's like wearing a shirt - a chic one at that.



Plus, this red fabric goes all the way to the back, providing a nice contrast to the strong print of the dress.



And that plus is also the room for improvement. The jersey fabric could've been a bit more substantial.

But overall, these dresses were a great buy, considering the designer and the price point. I'm glad that Biboy was able to find time to get them.

Next stop: Alberta Ferretti for Impulse!

Yes, doo come over

So it's true. These painterly dresses from Doo ri's capsule collection are coming over to Manila!





I can't wait to see how they look like in person.

Doo-Ri(ght)

Macy's Impulse is really working hard to establish its cred as a hub for high/low collaborations.

After its successful design partnerships with Karl Lagerfeld and Giambattista Valli, they have another designer collaboration coming out in a few weeks time, and they chose someone equally impressive.

It's Doo-Ri Chung!



Doo-ri came into the scene at the same time as Thakoon and Alexander Wang, and she's part of the Asian-American group of talented designers. Her aesthetic is very clean and linear, and she also has a penchant for prints. Those are two of the trends for Spring 2012, so Macy's is right to bring her in.

I can't wait to see her full collection.

Once, there was a Valli

It's always a thrill to find items from fast fashion collaborations like Uniqlo x 3.1 Philip Lim, H&M x Lanvin, and H&M x Versace. While these items are a bit tricky to find, the fact that there are Uniqlo and H&M stores in Asia makes the task easy to do.

So, when I find items from collaborations that aren't found in Asia, then that becomes a bigger thrill. The perfect example would be these items from the Giambattista Valli collection from Macy's that my brother Biboy scored from the U.S. The items arrived before Christmas, and they're much cooler than I imagined them to be.

First is this raspberry dress with layers of ruffles.



It looked nice in the photo, and it's even nicer in real life. the ruffles are soft and flouncy, but still gives the dress a bit of structure.



Yup, my sister is going to be a "Valli girl" in this number.



The other items is the dress I wrote about more than a month ago.

What makes this dress so eye catching is that the jacquard material is actually shiny and sparkly. Which makes it stand out amidst the strong color block provided by the black ponte and fuchsia grossgrain material.



Yes, another product of the Valli, now here in the city.



That's the second designer collaboration that I've scored this year. Up next: Marni x H&M and Jason Wu for Target!

Captured!

Thanks to the efforts of my brother Biboy, that wild, leopard print dress by Giambattista Valli has been captured! It's the one on the right side of the photo.



Come December, it's time for my sister to domesticate that wild cat of a dress.

Sweet Valli High

When news of Giambattista Valli's capsule collection for Macy's came out, I didn't think there would be that much excitement since he's not that big a household name in the U.S.

But I've always liked his designs. He likes to play with color, texture and prints - all at the same time. One might think this cacophony is confusing, but he has a way of putting them together in a chic way. Like this dress that plays with black and white, print and texture:



His Macy's collection has one dress that has the same spirit as the one above. This one plays with black and red, plus two animal prints. Again, that might be confusing for some, but for Valli, it all comes together perfectly.



Maybe I should ask Biboy to hunt down this animal for me.