Friday, April 25, 2008

Go Green Expo! A Full Weekend of Green! April 25 - 27 at the Hilton NY in Manhattan

1335 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue at 53rd Street)

FRIDAY, APRIL 25!

Business Goes Green (Daytime):Go Green Expo has partnered with the producers of Hollywood Goes Green and created a compelling Business to Business summit in NYC. Business Goes Green will discuss how "Going Green" is good for the bottom line. We have a tremendous line up of experienced industry leaders and experts to discuss the eco-friendly roles of Advertising, Technology, Communications, Building and more. Speakers include CEOs, VPs, Managing Directors and a variety of representatives from Intel, Verizon, Ogilvy & Mather, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Team Marketing, BBMG, Davis & Gilbert LLP and many others.

If your company is interested in sponsoring the Business Goes Green Summit, please email
mailto:%20BRand@GoGreenExpo.com before April 18th as time is of the essence. There are multiple levels of sponsorship that grant you access to eco-minded CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business executives.VIEW the agenda. Tickets will sell out in advance, purchase them HERE

Go Green Expo Gala Awards Dinner (Evening):A black-tie benefit dinner featuring the eco-fashion couture of Maggie Norris. The menu for this special dinner has been created by Rachael Ray.

The following individuals will be honored for their excellence in Environmental Awareness:Alex Matthiessen, Anderson Cooper (accepting via satellite), Bryan Welch, Congressman Steve Israel, David Bach, David Zaslav, Graham Hill, Laura Turner Seydel, Kevin Wall, Nina Guralnick, Kevin Burke & more!

7pm ~ Cocktail Reception by 360 Vodka
8pm ~ Maggie Norris Eco-Couture Fashion Show
8:30pm ~ Go Green Expo Gala Benefit Dinner & Awards

Tickets: $500 each • $5,000 Table of Ten • $10,000 Table with prime location
Kindly RSVP to Allison Chamberlain at:
AChamberlain@Riverkeeper.org or
(914) 478-4501 x232

Limited Sponsorship Opportunities are still available. Please contact Bradford Rand at
BRand@GoGreenExpo.com or call (212) 655-4505 x223.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Balenciaga F08 Paris Runway Fashion Week

Cristobal Balenciaga was born in the Basque country, hence the “Spanish” drama. The best: the skinny gray pants and Goya-inspired draped velvet and taffeta tops—superb.


Monday, April 14, 2008

Recent Inspiration - "Turning Japanese"

After seeing some new pics from my kin in Japan, I was inspired by the beauty and grace of Okinawa. So I wanted to post a few pics to share the experience…

Requiem Fall 2008 Runway Show Paris

I just can’t agree with Nicole Phelps’ comment on Style.com. I thought the line was clean, stylish and very wearable. What else would a fashion consumer want? I agree that the houndstooth jacket is a bit loud, but that’s why I like it - because it is unique. That’s what being fashion-forward is about!

Here’s what she wrote about Requiem…

“But an oversize yellow, black, and white houndstooth looked garish, and the dirndl skirt they cut it in verged on dowdy. The couture feel they often refer to in interviews just wasn’t there.”

Check it out for yourself


Sunday, April 13, 2008

Karl Lagerfeld Fall 08 Show - Paris Fashion Week

PARIS, February 27, 2008 – "The show began, as usual, with boy-for-girl tailoring: Double- and single-breasted pinstripe jackets were worn over pleated miniskirts and flat patent oxfords; starchy white collars, not unlike the designer's own, peeked out from the jackets' lapels, this time with big bows replacing skinny ties. Austerity is too strong a word, but the tricky cuts and heavy-handed styling sometimes associated with the collection were absent. In their place were smartly wearable pieces like a belted vest dress that hit mid-calf; a narrow, fitted sheath with raised leather ribbing; and a jacket with a rounded eighties-ish shoulder and a built-in corset." - Nicole Phelps Style.com


Friday, April 11, 2008

Givenchy Fall 08 Paris Fashion Show

Fashion is turning in the direction of his kind of dark, romantic, faintly goth aesthetic…
Note the skinny leather pants and ankle / gladiator boots - these trends are emerging.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

A New Earth Quote by Eckhart Tolle

Reading this book is awesome... Here's a great quote from A New Earth that I just read last night...

"The more unconscious individuals, groups, or nations are, the more likely it is that egoic pathology will assume the form of physical violence. Violence is a primitive but still very widespread way in which the ego attempts to assert itself, to prove itself right or another wrong. With very unconscious people, arguements can easily lead to physcial violence."

Hmmmm.....is our government and the rest of the world participating in this war unconscious?It seems like there needs to be an overhaul with the world's ego. Why are we spending 400 BILLION dollars on unconscious activity when we can be doing so much more with that money!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Oprah's Show Today - Puppy Mill Horror

After seeing Oprah's show today about inhumane puppy mills, we at Blend New York had to post some comments from the show. We have also decided to put the Lange Foundation and Main Line Animal Rescue into our charity list. Here's some of what was said on Oprah's show...

"To see what goes on at puppy mills, Lisa Ling brings a hidden camera and joins Bill on a tour of puppy mills in Pennsylvania. According to The Humane Society of the United States, there may be as many as 10,000 puppy mills operating across the United States.

Bill has fostered relationships with hundreds of breeders across Pennsylvania. He asks them to give him the dogs they no longer want or, worse, the ones they're planning to kill. Bill says these breeders most often want to get rid of older females and younger males. Breeders only need one or two male dogs to breed with every 20 fertile females, so young female dogs are valuable in puppy mills.

Before they go to one breeder's property, Bill warns Lisa about what she may see. "It's probably the worst place I've ever been to in my life. He has dogs running on wheels in fan casings," Bill says. The contraptions look like big gerbil wheels. "[The breeder] claims that it's good for them because they get exercise," Bill says.That breeder wouldn't let them see his dogs, but Lisa and Bill saw two dead animals on the property.At a third breeder's facility, Lisa and Bill see outdoor cages that house scores of Pomeranians. Bill tells Lisa that not only have those dogs probably never been out of those small cages, it's likely that they remain outside even in bad weather and could die from exposure.

Bill says many breeders call him to see if he wants to pick up unwanted dogs. "We form relationships with some of these people, and they're actually the good breeders because they give us the dogs," he says. "A number of times they'll call us and give us 45 minutes to an hour to come out and pick up a dog before they shoot it when they no longer want it. It's always amazing to me when I go out to pick up a dog, they've had the dog eight or nine years and it doesn't have a name. It's never been out of the hutch. It doesn't know how to walk. I have to carry it to the car. It's heartbreaking."

Bill says he's asked the breeders who own puppy mills why they treat the dogs so badly. "They think that we're fools when we pick the dogs up," he says. "I just went back to one of the mills, and they were asking me about the cocker spaniel we pulled out. … And I said, 'Well, she's fine. She's walking around the house and everything.' And he said, 'You let that dog walk around the house, where the people in your family live?' And I said, 'Yes, we do.' He just couldn't get over it. It's a different mentality. [Dogs] are considered agricultural products. They're like an ear of corn."

For some dogs, the medical care is urgent. Some have mammary tumors caused by years of nursing and overbreeding. Bill estimates that one cocker spaniel could have given birth to as many as 140 puppies. Before they were rescued, many of these dogs spent their entire lives in wire cages and had trouble walking on the ground once they were out. Some had their vocal chords damaged by a pipe in order to keep them from barking. Others were completely filthy, with their coats overgrown and soaked in urine.

Bill says Main Line Animal Rescue has rescued approximately 7,000 to 8,000 animals—about 5,000 of those from puppy mills. Their mission is to ultimately place each rescued animal in a loving family, and they are remarkably successful. "We have one of the highest placement rates in the country," Bill says. "We place about 99 percent of the animals we take in because we have a really good trainer who comes and works with us. We actually have something called a 'shy dog' class where we do massage therapy on them and everything else. It's great."

If you are thinking about adopting a new pet, make your first stop the local shelter or animal rescue office. "You can find any kind of dog you want, any age you want, at a shelter or rescue," Oprah says. Consider these facts when adopting a dog. Sometimes, what you see isn't always what you get when it comes to that doggie in the window of a pet shop. "You can be deceived when you see these cute puppies in the stores," Lisa says.

What you need to know about animal shelters and finding responsible breeders.

The Lange Foundation was founded in 1993 by Jillian Lange, a woman who turned her passion for animals into her life's work. At least twice a week, Jillian visits Los Angeles's animal shelters to rescue dogs and cats that are unlikely to be adopted. Her mission is to save as many animals as possible before their time runs out. "I know that saving one dog is not saving the world, but it sure makes a heck of a difference in that one dog's life," Jillian says. During a typical day Jillian drives out to shelters and picks animals as she can—including dogs who have been disfigured or have expensive medical needs. "When I get in the car and leave here, all I do is think about the ones left behind," Jillian says. After rescuing the animals, Jillian brings them to her no-kill shelter, which has placed 17,000-18,000 animals in loving homes over the years.

Taking care of animals is a duty that every person should assume. "It's precisely because we are intelligent and powerful that we have responsibilities to these animals. They are helpless before us, and they rely on our good conscience," Wayne says. "The terrible thing is the inhumane treatment of these animals at the puppy mills. It's awful. It's contributing to the larger pet overpopulation crisis, which is resulting in over 4 million dogs and cats being killed every year." So what can we do to make a difference? "What we can do is we strongly discourage people from going to a pet store to obtain an animal. Go to a shelter. That's got to be your first stop," Wayne says. "A third of the animals are purebreds—go to a breed rescue group. And if you insist on going to a breeder, go visit the breeder, talk to them. See the condition of the animals, especially the breeding females."

Resources to help you fight puppy mills
What you need to know before you get a puppy
What you need to know about animal shelters and responsible breeders
Change the world you live in

Thursday, April 3, 2008

BCBG Max Azria F08 Runway

This time around, the colors were a bit muted and serious, but as always, BCBG provides the most wearable and up-to-date designs.
You can never go wrong with wearing this line!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Emanuel Ungaro Fall 08 Paris Runway Show

Soft draping was the focus this year. Much credit given to the 23 year old designer Esteban Cortazar, who is the fourth heir to take the throne since Emanuel Ungaro retired from ready-to-wear in 2001. These are some of the favorites of his show...

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Dries Van Noten Fall 08 Paris Runway

We at Blend love original thought and creative direction when it comes to runway fashion. The mix of prints were pleasing and the colors were fresh and alive. See what Sara Mower from Style.com said about this fashion week show…

“On his runway, the argument for multi-printed, many-textured dressing is upheld with such grace he almost makes it look easy. It goes without saying that Van Noten has been the go-to designer for lovers of arty-ethnic textiles and undemanding shapes for years, but now something more interesting is happening. Lately, his collections have shaken off the feeling of being a specialist refuge for anti-mainstream devotees.

But back to those prints. Van Noten moved into marbleized printing techniques that added a beautiful distortion to traditional paisleys, and he replaced last season’s giant painterly blooms with micro-flowers. These appeared on slim chiffon mid-calf sheaths, tunics, and at the end, two amazing floor-length fan-pleated dresses. Still, it was the things he did with solid color and knits that actually made the collection gel: layered raw-edged chiffon dresses in mauve or dusty pink, holey-stitch sweaters that happen to look perfectly in sync with the current avant-garde edge of fashion. Put together with multi-strapped, multicolored high-heeled sandals, the impression of grace in movement became poetically compelling. Even though there was, ultimately, a nod toward the ethnic embroidered vest and dress beloved by classic Dries customers, the success of this show was that it presented a shopping list that many more kinds of women might want to dip into for winter.”

– Sarah Mower (Style.com Fashion Flash)