anna sui s/s 2012

Editor's comments: STAM! KAREN! Talk about an all-star line up. I love the classy, dramatic pieces mixed with the bright colors and prints that are typical of Anna's designs. 

marchesa s/s 2012

Editor's comments: I can't be the only one who dreams of getting married in a Marchesa dress someday, right? No way. Or at least attending the Met Ball or some fancy party of sorts. GORGEOUS. And speaking of gorgeous, how amazing is Karen Elson?! Love. 

fall 2011 fashion week scene

Jessica Stam at Proenza Schouler

Anna Dello Russo

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld at Adam

Karen Elson at Marc Jacobs

Leighton Meester at Marc Jacobs

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld at Alexander Wang

Sofia Coppola at Marc Jacobs

Alexa Chung at Burberry 

Daisy Lowe at Burberry

Allison Mosshart at Burberry

Rachel Bilson and Kate Bosworth at Burberry

Kerri Washington, Kate Bosworth and Zoe Saldana at Calvin Klein

Pixie Geldof and Alexa Chung at Unique

Christina Hendricks at New York Fashion Week

Olivia Palermo at Tibi

Jessica Stam at New York Fashion Week

Leigh Lezark at Jeremy Scott

Anna Dello Russo and Mario Testino at Prada

Karen Elson at Anna Sui

alexander wang spring 2011

An Alexander Wang collection with no black? Say it ain't so. But the reigning king of cool made his collection just that with lots of white, metallics, and a flash of camel. A nod to the heroin chic days of Calvin Klein, the models appeared to have vaseline on their faces and hair slicked back with white paint. No exuberant hair and makeup (well, as far as fashion shows are concerned) or any bold accessories to speak of, Alexander made it all about the clothes and less about the entire aesthetic. 

He's been called the champion of reinventing sportswear and making it more modern. He incorporates an industrial look, almost utilitarian with the clothes donning straps and boots made for serious walking (behold the treaded hiking boots...love, love). His mint green and nude pieces show that Alexander indeed possess knowledge of the rainbow. He just chooses to not always show it, critics be damned. 

If Alexander wanted ethereal downtown Manhattan, he got it. I tend to prefer darkness in my wardrobe, but he proved with this collection that he's capable of going soft while remaining tough. 

photos: style.com

my fair ladies

(Left to Right) Supermodels Coco Rocha, Jessica Stam, Shalom Harlow, and Karen Elson

What do Coco Rocha, Jessica Stam, Shalom Harlow, and Karen Elson have in common? Beautiful and successful, most certainly, but it's their creamy fair skin that sets them apart from the bronzed ladies walking the Victoria's Secret runways. The desire to be tan has long since been the most coveted trait for girls and women, especially the ones my age…and especially in Omaha. You'd be hard-pressed to find a strip mall that doesn't have a tanning salon of some sort, and the number of self-tanning products sold in grocery stores is at an all-time high. With so many models and actresses embracing their pale, why is it that tanning is still the most sought-after physical attribute? 

Everyone has their thing; I know many people who cannot imagine not hitting the tanning beds at least once a week. I know people who won't dare step into the sunlight without being slathered in SPF 100 (myself included…and, yes, they make such a thing). It used to be that being tanned was seen as "lower-class" because it showed that you were working outside all day. Nobility had the very fair skin because they were able to lounge around indoors. Certain societies would actually try to whiten their skin.  How did it all turn around? I blame Coco Chanel.  She inadvertently bronzed her skin while vacationing in Cannes on a yacht. When she returned to Paris, everyone wanted her golden glow. And so the trend began. Thanks a lot, Coco. Flash forward to 2010: the uber-classy ladies of 'Jersey Shore' have such a deep tan, it's practically orange. Marc Jacobs has his models in the Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 show donning a vintage look, completely with fair skin and curves. Who do you want to emulate? 

Snooki from MTV's Jersey Shore and Jessica Stam at the Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 show

Having been extremely pale my whole life, I've experienced my  "fair" share of alienation and teasing in grade school. Even today, I can't go in public without people staring at my ghostly white legs. Yet, strangely enough, I've never felt the urge to join a tanning salon or lay out in my backyard. I think people should embrace what they have (naturally) and look to role-models who do the same. I love reading French Vogue and Nylon and seeing the cover girls rocking their porcelain complexions, some of them. Most models featured in any fashion magazines today are imperfect or, dare I say, even strange looking. Pale skin, crooked teeth, gap-toothed; It's what makes them so interesting and beautiful.

(Left to Right) Fair actresses Anne Hathaway, Julianne Moore, Rachel Weisz

                      

So for those of you who share my plight, remember that you're beautiful the way you are, tan or not. Pale skin is glamorous and healthy; it's okay to be different. And being true to yourself? It's fabulous and always in vogue. 

xox

Jessica