Fashion Report: Paris

Today I arrived back in New York from Paris. I'm very sad but hopefully I'll be back. Just as promised, I kept my eye out to see if I noticed any particular trends, and I did! Of course, as I don't know everything in the universe about fashion, I don't even know if they're technically "in" but this is what I saw.

1. Blazers - which I love and I felt so proud of myself because I actually brought one and felt at least mildly Parisian. Worn with skinny leg jeans and converse type shoes (see below).

2. Harem pants - to be completely honest, this is one trend I will never understand.

3. Wedge sandals - not exactly like these, but I think you get the point. LOVE this style and can't believe I don't already have something like them.

4. Converse style shoes - I know this isn't exactly high fashion, but these were the only sneakers I saw the entire time I was there. Not necessarily the brand converse, but this type of shoe. Generally they were in darker colors. Whenever I wore sneakers on the trip I had my own pair of Ralph Laurens in this style but they were pink so I didn't have it exactly right.

Those are just four different styles that I thought were especially prominent. I also noticed when I went up to Normandy that a lot of the French girls were wearing the baggy-ish tank and layering...something I talked about in my very first post, actually. But that's not technically Parisian fashion! I only wish I had paid more attention to bags!! I could make some guesses but I wouldn't be completely right so I'd rather not.

Other related stuff: I did shop on the Champs Elysees (sorry I'm neglecting the accents, I'm much too lazy) and of course it was amazing. Better than Fifth Avenue as I told my friend who lives in France (she stayed with my family as a French exchange student two years ago), but alas she disagreed. Two stores that I really liked that seemed to be quite popular are Mango and Promod. Though I know Mango isn't technically French, I still felt like I could buy French fashion there, which I did. Unfortunately I bought nothing from Promod, which actually IS French, because I didn't have time to wait on the long line (the Champs Elysees can get extremely crowded!). But they're both great, and I'd certainly recommend them, Mango being located right next to the Galeries Lafayette by the Opera Garnier, and Promod somewhere along the Champs Elysees, I don't even remember where.

I will continue talking about France in my next few posts, though it won't be about fashion, I don't think. There is just so much to talk about it, and I miss it already! But now I'm feeling tired and jet lagged (it's 3 AM Paris time right now) so au revoir. :)

Arthur Daniyarov

Arthur Daniyarov was born in 1989 in St. Petersburg, Russia, making him 21 or 22 years old. He became a model at the age of 19, signing with DNA Models in New York. Arthur has been in SO MUCH it's hard to know even where to begin. His debut was 2009 at the fall Prada show in Milan, and since then he also walked Alexander McQueen, Hugo Boss, Lanvin, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Jil Sander, to name a few. And speaking of Jil Sander, he also became the face of them in 2009, which you can see in that first picture I have. Honestly he has done so much I can't even begin to talk about it all. He does a lot of runway, I can tell you that. Recently, he was in Re-rare's Spring 2011 lookbook, if you're familiar with them at all. Sadly he is not on models.com's top models list, but that could easily change.

Mateus Lages

Mateus Lages is the next model I'm talking about...but what's so special about him is that he is extremely new! He's still in the New Faces category in his modeling agency, which is Re:quest (just like Yuri Pleskun!). Mateus is 19 years old, and was born in Miami, Florida, which is also where he started modelling, with Next in Miami. He likes skateboarding, soccer, and photography. I love his profile, which might be obvious since i have three pictures of it up there. You probably won't see him in that much now (unless you read Vogue Hommes Japan), but he's definitely up and coming, and hey, who knows what will happen in the next six months!

Francisco Lachowski

After that short three entry detour about books and movies we return to the male models with Francisco Lachowski! Francisco, nicknamed Chico, is about 19 years old. He is number 25 on models.com's top male models list and is represented by Ford Models. Francisco is Brazilian, and became a model in 2008 after winning Supermodel Brazil. I love him because well, how can you not love that face (or body) and his accent is just so cute! Facts about Francisco, and more reasons why I just love him: he's studying to be a graphic designer, plays tennis (like me!) and loves the beach (also like me!). Look out for him in Armani Exchange's Spring 2011 campaign. :)

river viiperi

So the next male model I'm going to talk about is River Viiperi. Nineteen year old half Spanish half Finnish River was born in Ibiza, Spain. He started modelling in 2009 and is currently with Soul Artist Management. You might have seen him on American Eagle's website for the fall/winter 2010 looks, and more recently, in Calvin Klein's CK One campaign with a bunch of other big models, including the models.com's number one female model, Lara Stone and Yuri Pleskun, something he mentions on his blog, Never Back Down. It's pretty interesting and entertaining, and has good insight on the life of a model. If you're curious the link is riverdelfin.blogspot.com. Oh that's also awesome about him. He uses blogspot like me! :)

(Random update: I don't know if it was like this when I wrote this entry or if it just changed, but I was just looking at models.com's rankings and apparently he's number 35...not sure if I missed that before or what. -April 1st, 2011)

yuri pleskun

I always used to think that the whole male modelling thing was pretty stupid, until very recently when I discovered just how awesome they really are. And that they're not all gay. So I decided that for a couple of posts I'd just go over a few of my favorite male models, and maybe even some female models, just for the fun of it. Number one is Yuri Pleskun, who as of now, is my absolute favorite.

Yuri Pleskun is a 20 year old model with Request Management with a bad boy vibe and a totally different look from the stereotypical pretty boy model. He is of Ukranian origin, but grew up in the Bronx, which is where he was discovered in 2008. Since then he has risen to one of the world's highest ranked male models. A couple of quick facts: he loves fried chicken, hates the fact that he's sometimes treated like an object (in France they call the models mannequins), and is good friends with fellow Request model Cole Mohr. He's definitely my favorite because he's funny with a good personality, and well, who can't resist that wink he gave the cameras during the Nylon Model Citizen interview? Plus he comes from New York City, which is where I'm from so that makes him doubly awesome! Look out for him on Calvin Klein's new CK One campaign.

dress like you're in the military?

I have had the most tiring past couple of days. My family recently renovated our summer house, so for the past week we've been basically cleaning up and putting everything back together. Needless to say, it has been exhausting.

Say what you will about the war in Iraq and the army and all of that, but one thing I've noticed in the fashion world is that the whole military look has been really in lately (even though it actually hit the runways in the fall). Especially those military shirt dresses. Right now, they have it everywhere. Which I show with the pictures below. In order, its Express, Steve Madden, Steve Madden, Marc Jacobs, and Fendi. Only question is...will people actually wear this style of clothing? Because I'm not so sure I'm digging this. Oh well. Fashion is fashion ;D

(In case anyone is interested, other companies that have military outfits and pieces are Calvin Klein, J.Crew, Burberry, and Juicy Couture)