Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Redux & Eckhaus Latta Fashion Show

Our mission (Ha! Mission Impossible, more like!) at Lincoln Center was to photograph fabulous gray-haired women. To our amazement, although the plaza there is usually a good place to find fashionably dressed gray-haired women, Fashion Week is definitely not the week to do so. Below is the lone gray-haired gent we spotted. Since we ourselves were the only gray-haired ladies we found at Lincoln Center that day, we had no choice but to (gasp!) photograph people who might have been half our age!!! To be fair, since we're working women, we only went on Saturday and Sunday, so perhaps our demographic was better represented Monday through Friday. Here, then, are some of the Sunday pickings from 2/12/12:






















Sometimes it was hard to tell the photographers from the photographees.

Lovely stitchwork on this woman's boots.













































Wataru Bob Shimosato (check out his blog, An Unknown Quantity ) and Ryo Miyamoto.























Last week we showed you a close up of the shoes Wataru wore on Saturday; below are the shoes he wore the next day. Hat mavens that we are, we confidently told hatless Wataru on Saturday that we'd have to find a hat for him. On Sunday, he showed up wearing the perfect hat with no assistance from us. A humbling experience. But not at all surprising.



















Later, we spotted Wataru with two dandy friends.























We loved this gent's pants and shoes.






















Here's the whole outfit. And the gent, Van, who turned out to be pals with Ryo & Bob.
























We remember giant houndstooths from the 60s. Have we spotted a new trend? Or a re-new trend, to be more accurate?























Another woman in black and white.























And her shoes.























We both loved this woman's coat, which she said was vintage 70s.























And check out her boots!






















This mother and daughter pair, who were both wearing chinchilla jackets, were not unaccustomed to the attention of strangers.






















Mini-Me was not only wearing a silver sequined dress but also a Christian Louboutin bag (a fact that had escaped our notice but was specifically pointed out by mom).























This woman was all business, rushing for the show.






















We're not sure, but we think this outfit is vintage 70s.























The Elmer Fudd look. Elmer never looked this chic, though.























These two women made great counterpoints for one another. A contrasting study in white and black.























This woman had a great outfit and a Prada bag.























Great look, great platform shoes.























And skirts like the ones WE used to wear in the 70s. (Actually, these are a little longer than the ones we used to wear!)























And finally, as we left the plaza to hail a cab for our next stop (off to see Diego Rivera murals at the Museum of Modern Art), we were met by one last nifty bit of fashion, getting out as we waited to get in.












ECKHAUS LATTA FASHION SHOW

On Sunday evening, February 12th, we made our way to Jack Chiles' Gallery at 208 Bowery for the Eckhaus Latta fashion show. Here we are after the show with the designers, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta.























But, once again, we've gotten ahead of ourselves. To that end, we are covering the party first, followed by photos of the models wearing Eckhaus Latta's fashions. Our link to the designers and many of the guests that evening was none other than the talented and beautiful Joana Avillez, author and illustrator of "Life Dressing: The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas". Joana went to RISD with Zoe and several other alumni in attendance, many of whom came to our book signing at Primetime Gallery in Brooklyn in September. In one of New York's many "small world" encounters, Jean had run into Scarlett from Primetime earlier this week in lower Manhattan. Here, we bookend Joana after the show.























We met Jack Chiles (left), proprietor of the gallery, at one of his shows last year (which we covered in our 3/13/11 posting "Balloon-acy on the Bowery"). He also came to the Primetime Gallery. (Click on our 10/29/11 posting "The Book That Launched A Thousand Shapes" for more on the book signing party.) We loved the scarf on the gentleman on the right.






















Although many of the women that evening opted for pants or very short skirts, these two exceptions illustrate the wide range of fashion choices in the crowd. While both ladies' outfits are below the knee and of slightly transparent materials, they appear quite different.

We complimented the wearer of this two-piece outfit (with black top and pale green bottom) on its minimalism and simplicity. She chose to wear it with no jewelry or adornment.























This young lady, who was positively charming, accessorized her dress with lots of chains (necklaces and bracelets) and vintage looking oxford school marm shoes.























We met this gentleman in Brooklyn in October. We loved his shirt's Versace-esque roman columns.






















Our friend Annie (center) who was in town from Baltimore joined us for the evening. Jesse (left), one of Joanna's friends, designed the light fixtures in the gallery. Jesse was sporting a "Mr. Goodwrench" jacket and terrific platform shoes.























The DJ and his friend posed for photos. (He wore the memorable skeleton sunglasses and his signature topknot to the Primetime Gallery.)























This pair looked so good, both coming and going, that we had to share.























Likewise, Leslie indulged us with a front and back view.























Here's a shot of Joana with a trio of her pals.























The crowd at the show was one of the reasons our own photographs of the models were less than stellar.























This model and several others in the show sported "fishtail" braids.























FASHION SHOW PICS

Fortunately for us, Zoe saved the day by sending us these photographs taken by Maggie Mondanalie and Amanda Dandeneau. Eckhaus Latta designed the shoes in collaboration with Ian Horowitz. Bags and lighting are in collaboration with Elise McMahon and hair is by Brittany Mroczck. Rafael is modeling a body-conscious slashed top with belted blue-green trousers and matching shoes.























Katia models a very non-girly pink number paired with grey leggings and flat grey booties.






















Nathan models a shawl collared top over trousers slashed below both knees and flat slip-ons.






















Shane is wearing a long knit top over shorts and platform sandals with socks which appear to have been lashed to her feet.























Martine is wearing a hat and textured shawl and jacket over a nubby knit dress, socks and platform sandals.























For more coverage of the fashion show (including a couple shots with Valerie in the background), go to http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/9VTrkGioVin/Eckhaus+Latta+Presentation+Mercedes/8m/TZAqKgg3s featuring photos by Cindy Ord/Getty Images North America.
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What we're wearing:

Valerie is wearing a vintage curly lamb hat (unlabeled), vintage Norma Kamali coat, scarf by Tiiti Tolonen, sweater by Banana Republic, vintage Versace jacket, vintage Issey Miyake belt, vintage Krizia pants; at Lincoln Center: vintage Tony Lama boys' snakeskin boots; at Eckhaus Latta: Arche ankle boots. (The change in shoes was necessitated by the Tonys' starting to irritate the neuroma on the foot that hasn't been operated on yet.)

Jean is wearing an Ignatius hat; High Use coat (Inter-Fashion Spa, Rimini, Italy); Timbuktu pants; Underground black & white "Creepers; Lux De Ville bag; vintage red bakelite bracelet and rings and red & white plastic bracelet