pink rickshaw

mumbai fashion week

"My smile feels like it could stretch from Bombay to Madurai."--Ooh La La from the Broadway musical, Bombay Dreams

Last week, the next stop on the fashion week train was the film and financial capital of India, Mumbai. Indian fashion designers presented all kinds of looks from breathtaking to bizarre. Standouts included Deepika Gehani’s beautiful pastel fusion and sari creations in pastel yellow and blue prints. Indian fashion darling Sabyasachi Mukherjee who has been showing internationally including at New York fashion week, showed more traditional looks while Shane and Falguni went more funky and western. Also seen were trends that had been noted at the European shows like fringe (from Milan fashion week) which was prevalent on the Drashta Sarvaiya runway. The diversity of looks from saris to fun dresses solidified the crossover and international appeal of Indian designers.

Gone are the days where fashionistas would scratch their heads befuddled when Mumbai’s Lakme Fashion week was mentioned. The event got plenty of media coverage even in the U.S. This year, Style.com sent Candy Pratts Pierce to Mumbai for fashion week. Her animated series, Candy goes to Bollywood, captures her fashion experiences with her interesting revelations such as Indian fashion’s “respect for tradition with awareness of today’s mobile audience.” and humorous comments that the bedazzler must have been invented in the subcontinent. Other publications like New York Magazine also covered the event.

While fashion week may have seem more subdued in the US due to tough economic times, Reuters reports in Fashion clashing as India puts on the glitz: “There may be a global financial crisis going on, but in India, one of the engine rooms of the world's pre-crash production boom, there is a clash of the flash fashion.” Mumbai fashion week was the last of three shows (one right after the other), with the other two in New Delhi adding plenty of glitz and glamour to the month of October. And how is the international audience responding? Quite well. According to Reuters, a buyer from  Anthropologie was impressed with the collections she saw saying that they lack in nothing and the article goes on to report, “International buyers said the country’s designers were in sync with global trends.”

Watch out Milan, looks like Mumbai may just be the new fashion week place to be.

More Lakme Fashion Week highlights:
Style.com: Mumbai Express
Lakme Fashion Week official site

image source: nymag.com (top(clockwise)--designs of Deepika Gehani, Shane and Falguni, G Pia Fleming, and Sabyasachi; bottom (left to right)-- designs of Narenda Kumar, Tarun Tahiliani)

-SD

4 minutes: donate my dress

Kevin [In Jane's apt as she shows off her bridesmaid dresses] What is that?
Jane [Holding a Gone with the Wind style dress up to herself] Theme wedding!
Kevin: What was the theme? Humiliation? -27 Dresses

We’ve all been there. You love your girlfriend, but bless her heart; she picked one fugly bridesmaid dress for you to wear to her wedding. But when she uttered those over-used words in earnest, “I think you will be able to wear it again” you went ahead and tossed her the proverbial bone “Yep. Definitely. Definitely going to be wearing this again – especially if I get it cut short.”

Friendship, after all, is far more important than a couple hundred dollars spent on an unflattering gown. So you made a mental note of possible re-wear options for the dress (Halloween, adult prom, company holiday party, cruise) and stuffed it into the far regions of your closet.

Years later you come to a couple of realizations:
1) You have a lot of bridesmaid dresses in your closet that you have never re-worn
2) There is no such thing as an adult prom
3) You wouldn’t be caught dead in any of these dresses at your company holiday party
4) You buy a new scandalous Halloween outfit every year
5) You never went on that cruise

In short, you will never, ever, wear these dresses again, and it is time to clean out that closet. Before you go looking for the nearest trash dumpster, consider this: there are many young gals out there in need of a formal gown for prom that can not afford a new dress. While your dresses (ranging from saris to chiffon nightmares), may not have always suited your tastes, they may in fact be the perfect dress for someone else. Organizations such as the Glass Slipper Project and Donate My Dress allow you to pass on your dress to someone destined to be a princess in your gown. By donating your old bridesmaid gowns (they also take old prom dresses and formals) to these organizations, you are helping others and erasing that little white lie you told your friend about re-wearing her bridesmaid dress. We consider that some pretty heavy-duty clean-up.

image source: 27 Dresses movie still, 20th Century Fox, movies.yahoo.com

-RW

trend: fringe

"I always balance the light with the heavy--a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes."-Bette Midler

fringe (noun) an ornamental textile trim applied to an edge of an item.

There is a lot of talk of fringe these days. In the current political season, there is the lunatic fringe. In entertainment, the much buzzed about J.J. Abrams' television show, Fringe. And in hair styles, the comeback of fringe (or as we non-Brits say: bangs). But at the forefront, is fringe in fashion. Anyone who is from Texas, been to a rodeo or has seen Pocahontas has (unfortunately) been familiar with the trend. Designers have picked up the ornamental trim for fall looks but are thinking more bohemian; less western. PR says less is definitely more if you are going to spend some cash on this trend, so a safe bet is an accessory. Fringe dangles from flat boots and handbags like the Joie boot and Tory Burch tote pictured above.

For those daring to try fringe with more than just accessories, the trend can be found in flirty dresses and fun skirts. Fringe accents first popped up on the Spring 2008 runway with designers like Proenza Schouler, D&G, Burberry Prorsum, and Just Cavalli all showing the look. In particular, the tiered look, like in the Jonathan Saunders and Bruce dresses were also popular and is now showing up in fall cocktail wear. The Thayer gold skirt and LaRok dress paired with some ankle boots or metallic heels may be the perfect type of dress for a party or night out in the upcoming holiday season. No doubt, a look your inner cowgirl will dig.

More inspiration:
InStyle Fall Shoes
Fabsugar: Fashion with Fringe Benefits

image source: fringe fall looks (Joie boot, Tory Burch tote, Thayer skirt, LaRok dress): shopbop.com, runway images (Jonathan Saunders and Bruce from Milan spring 2008 fashion week): elle.com

-SD

wine one: pinot grigio

“Wino Forever” -Johnny Depp’s tattoo

As a loyal member of the I-heart-all-wines club, I always chuckle when I see Johnny Depp’s “Wino Forever” tattoo in a celeb photo. Sure, the tattoo originally said “Winona Forever”, but I can’t hold that against him. Depp, like a fine wine, seems to only get better with age, and if he now proclaims himself a member of the wine lovin’ club, I am happy to be in such good company. If you are a fellow wine-junkie, like Depp, you probably noticed in meet: jim doutre, wine connoisseur, that we are starting a wine of the week series.  This feature is the kick-off for the wine of the week series, highlighting the often misunderstood Pinot Grigio.

Pinot Grigio is a white wine derived from the pinot gris grape (thought to be a mutant clone of the current cool-kid pinot noir grape). It is Italy’s most popular wine, and is also the number one imported wine in the U.S. While Pinot Grigio wines enjoy mass commercial success, they are often maligned by wine critics who describe these wines as flat or uninspired. Perhaps it is the Pinot Grigio's unassuming, consistent nature that turns off wine critics and collectors. Unlike a Pinot Noir, (admit it – for every 3 bottles you have purchased only one is great) a Pinot Grigio doesn’t require an extended wine education to select a good wine. Most consistently deliver a light crispy flavor with a silken texture. However, because these wines are produced en masse, and are reliably good, identifying a knock-out super star Pinot Grigio can be tricky.

PR’s favorite bargain Pinot Grigio is Three Blind Moose’s Pinot Grigio. This wine recently won a gold medal for Best Pinot Grigio at the California State Fair (where winning a gold medal for wine at a state competition really means something). Plus, the quirky fun loving label for the self-described “girl next door in a glass” adds instant appeal. If this is the girl next door, she is one hottie of a neighbor. With a pale yellow-straw color, the wine touts a floral, pear and stone-fruit aroma and pairs well with fish, chicken and pasta. This wine is also universally appealing to those who detest big oaky flavors, because like most Pinot Grigios, it is never aged in oak. PR’s favorite pairing with this wine is a salad of field greens with autumn apples and goat cheese drizzled with balsamic vinegarette.  Keep in mind that Pinot Grigios are known for their high acidity, so when pairing with foods avoid tomatoes and citrus components.

Interested in additional Pinot Grigio stand-outs? Lettie Teague of Food and Wine magazine noted the 2004 Palmina Alisos Vineyard Pinot Grigio (from Santa Barbara County) and Italian Pinot Grigio from Lungarotti as stand-outs in “Drinking Pinot Grigio and Proud of It”.Try one of these wines and you may instantly become a believer in the perfect girl next door.

Need the perfect recipe to pair with that glass of wine? Try:
Roasted Vegetables w/ Aioli
Grilled Squid Salad
Risotto w/ Buttery Shrimp
Chicken w/ Tarragon Cream Sauce
Seafood Capellini w/ Saffron 

image source: its.edu.mt, epochtimes.com

-RW

meet: abi ferrin, part deux

"Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new."-Henry David Thoreau

 

Joe the Plumber says fall may finally be here which means it is time to get that fall wardrobe in order. In part two of our exclusive interview with designer Abi Ferrin, she gives her tips for this season’s fashion and highlights some of the must-have pieces from her own line.

PR: What are your favorite fall fashion looks? What do you think will be the big trends?
AF: Bright colors are back again this fall which I love! Also, look for the fun boleros and accent coats. The biggest trend I have noticed is the ruched legging and pant. I have been doing this for two years now, but it is really catching on as a trend this fall. Our legging offers a control top element, and when worn over your heel is so hip and adds the illusion of two to three extra inches of length to your legs.

PR: What is your favorite piece from the Fall/Winter line?
AF: The D’Andra Balero inspired by my friend D’Andra Simmons. She loves dramatic lines and this piece is dramatic.

 

 

The legging Ferrin mentions is the Casey legging which was recently featured on Daily Candy. Other note-worthy items (pictured above) are the Laura Turtleneck Cape, Reversible Sadie Shrug, Kelly blouse and my personal favorite, the Nikki top. This top which can be tied and worn five ways is one of Ferrin's most popular pieces and was seen worn by fashionista Molly Sims. You can make an appointment with the former LA stylist turned designer in her chic Dallas studio, The Revolving Door or shop online at abiferrin.com.

Ferrin, who is inspired by Carolina Herrera says she would love to have a cocktail with the famed designer. But from the look of things, Ferrin is on her own way to climbing up to super star designer fame.
PR: What advice do you have for up and coming designers?
AF: Persistence is key. If you are not passionate about what you are doing, it will not be worth it. But if this is what you truly want to do, it will be a long road, but persistence really pays off.

image source: abiferrin.com

-SD

 

fashion at the park

"When the economy is not that good, we need to achieve, to do something even more special."-Carolina Herrera on her Spring 2009 collection

While Fashion Week rolls on in LA this week, Dallas is getting its own taste of the catwalk with Fashion at the Park at Northpark Center. Twice a year, the event allows Dallasites to experience fashion frenzy under the tents with cocktails and music, as the Northpark retailers present their top looks of the season.

Monday night, as the champagne flowed and all the pretties gathered under the tent, Carolina Herrera's lifestyle brand, CH Carolina Herrera, showcased looks from their Fall/Winter 2008 men and women's collections. In classic Herrera style, the styles were exactly that, classic. For the ladies: menswear inspired camel and gray tailored skirt suits and trench-style coats accessorized with leather hand gloves and fur trim. The look was polished, professional and tres chic. The color of fall, purple, was seen from the hot suede pumps to the silk skirts and blouses. In the sea of grays and blacks, red occasionally made a cameo in elegant, feminine cocktail dresses. The evening wear included a beautiful lilac gown with obi style belt that caught our eye.

Fashion at the Park concludes with Valentino, Barneys New York and Diesel on Wednesday and Neiman Marcus featuring Marc Bouwer on Thursday.

A special thanks to MS from CH for inviting Pink Rickshaw to the fun show. The Dallas CH Carolina Herrera is one of only a handful of CH boutiques around the nation. It is located near Barneys New York in the Northpark Center.

image source: carolinaherrera.com

-SD

oct super six

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."-Lewis Carroll

Inspired by one of our October reads, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, we found six things that caught our eye this month (thanks to suggestions from our fabulous readers) and tried our best to sum them up in six words. After all, we're a soundbyte nation. (By the way, that was six.)

1) Frosting shots
Six words: Ultimate sugar rush. Hold the cupcake.
Info: Available at Sprinkles, The Cake Box and Babycakes NYC to name a few, average price 75 cents. Read more at Cupcakes Take the Cake.

2) Pink Studio flats
Six words: A Fall staple: cute and comfortable.
Info: See flats and other designs at Pink Studio. Available online at piperlime.com and at Anthropologie stores.

3) Show Me the Curry
Six words: Dallas moms teach some Indian cookin'.
Info: The popular YouTube series averages more than 15,000 viewers a day. Check them out at showmethecurry.com. Also, read more about them out in USAToday's Amateurs Curry Favor with YouTube Shows.

4) Costume Institute online
Six words: Historical fashion goodness at your fingertips.
Info: Plane ticket to NYC too ridiculous? No problem. The famous Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is now available online. You can browse and search the 30,000 accessories and costumes in the collection database.  

5) Las Vegas
Six words: Sin City: safer bet than stocks.
Info: The recession does not appear to hurt the strip. Learn about the new hotspots in Daily Candy Travel's Vegas: The Little Black Book. If gambling makes you quesy, check out a mind-blowing show like La Reve at the Wynn.   

6) Starbucks Good sheet
Six words: Learn about JoeB witha cuppa joe.
Info: Each week, the Good Sheet tackles a new election issue. Available free at Starbucks. Read more in the NY Times' Ice-Breaker at Starbucks: The Good sheet.

Have a suggestion for the super six? Post it in the comments or email us at [email protected].

image source: frosting shot (AP image), pink studio flats (piperlime.com), costume institute (1939 Lanvin dress, metmuseum.org, las vegas (wikipedia.org)

-SD

4 minutes: tx-ou, oh so sweet

"Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that."-Bill Shankly

Buy a Texas Longhorn vanilla cupcake or OU red velvet cupcake at Sprinkles and the cupcake bakery will donate the proceeds to a children's hospital in Dallas or Oklahoma. Last year, Sprinkles raised $3500 for Children's Medical Center Dallas and $2500 for Children's Medical Research Institute at the OU Health Sciences Center. You can get these special Red River shootout cupcakes and help a great cause this Friday and Saturday. Sweet.
While both are delicious, I'm a little partial to the vanilla. Go Texas.

image source: sprinklescupcakes.com

-SD

fro yo craze

Shopkeeper: [Homer has agreed to purchase a Krusty doll for Bart's birthday] Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse.
Homer: Ooh, that's bad.
Shopkeeper: But it comes with a free frogurt!
Homer: That's good.
Shopkeeper: The frogurt is also cursed.
Homer: That's bad.
Shopkeeper: But you get your choice of toppings.
Homer: That's good!
Shopkeeper: The toppings contain potassium benzoate [Homer looks puzzled]
Shopkeeper:.....That's bad.
-The Simpsons

Move over gelato, there is a new cool kid in town. New age fro yo, frogurt or frozen yogurt parlors have been gaining increased popularity recently and are popping up in most major cities in the US. Unlike the frozen yogurt of yesterday, these joints aren’t trying to mimic fat laden ice-cream or provide toppings loaded with sugar (or in Homer’s case potassium benzoate). The new breed of frozen yogurt shops are modern architectural spaces dedicated to providing tart, all natural yogurt (most sell yogurt with live and active cultures) with a variety of natural and healthy toppings such as fresh fruit (not the canned syrupy stuff!), nuts, coconut, raisins, and cereal. The new style of tart frozen yogurt has quickly gained a cult following, with major players Pinkberry and Red Mango going head to head in advertisement wars to gain public loyalty.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, new age fro yo joint Orange Cup recently opened in the Northpark mall with plans to expand to 4 more locations by the end of the year. Orange Cup offers three basic yogurt flavors: natural, zum (infused with orange juice, B-12, and Taurine), and acai berry. Fresh fruit and all natural nut, granola, and dark chocolate chip toppings allow a wealth of flavor combinations. Following its modern, health conscious approach, Orange Cup advertises its core beliefs in its pledge to offer a healthy food option to its customers by “revitalizing everyday life” and promises “to be environmentally sound and eco-conscious in every aspect of our operation”. Urban legend has it that the ladies of nearby Neiman’s dine on Orange Cup for both lunch and dinner. Who can blame them when customized nutrition labels are printed out for each individual flavor combination? One common complaint to note about Orange Cup is the portion size of their toppings - one serving of berries is disappointingly only equal to three berries.

For those looking to exert more control over their yogurt and topping portions, the perfect fro yo solution may be Yogilicous, a new shop that opened in Dallas at the end of September.  Yogilicious allows the customers to build their own frozen yogurt concoctions with all flavors and toppings at the customers’ fingertips.  Once the yogurt masterpiece is created, it is weighed on a scale and priced by weight.  Yogilicous offers 22 flavors ranging from plain to pistachio, green tea, lychee, and New York Cheesecake.  Fresh fruit toppings are available, as well as healthy and not-so-healthy (Oreos, M&Ms, gummi bears) dry toppings.

Interested in checking out a frozen yogurt joint in your area? Below are some of the popular joints in some of the major cities in the US. Let us know which one you think is the best.

Houston: Berripop
New York and LA: Pinkberry
Chicago: Red Mango
San Francisco: Tuttimelon

image source: myorangecup.com, pinkberry.com, yogi-licious.com

-RW

best of 2008: lars and the real girl

"Families are about love overcoming emotional torture." -Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons

 

Every family has a tad bit of crazy going on. Some families hide their crazy, some revel in it and some may even deny its existence. Growing up, my family simply embraced it. In fact, somewhere along the way, we coined the phrase "crazy family fun".
RW: Hey mom, I bought my plane tickets for December today.
Mom: Great, honey. It's going to be crazy family fun.

Perhaps my upbringing with the mentally unstable (as I refer to them affectionately) was a factor in why I found the film Lars and the Real Girl, directed by Craig Gillespie, so compelling. Released to DVD this summer, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Nancy Oliver. However, you may have overlooked the critically acclaimed dramedy in your Netflix cue since it was not a huge box office hit. So, Pink Rickshaw has added it to the "2008's best films you may have missed" file. The film stars Ryan Gosling (who fellow PR gal SD and I religiously follow on Popsugar), who was nominated for  Golden Globe for Best Actor, for his take on the beautifully vulnerable Lars. In the movie, Lars, an isolated and socially awkward man, orders an anatomically correct "doll" named Bianca from an adult website. He then proceeds to introduce Bianca to his family as a woman he met over the Internet. Lars' family is forced to accept Bianca as Lars' girlfriend until they can get to the bottom of his bizarre behavior.

Eventually, Lars' family comes to accept Bianca and urges the members of the church and community to do the same, in an effort to protect Lars. As the relationship between Lars and Bianca grows, the movie brilliantly shows how the community rallies around a member of the community that they may not completely understand, but still feel compassion for. Paul Schneider movingly portrays Gus, Lars' brother; a man conflicted with his own guilt and confusion over Lars' condition. Patricia Clarkson is the surprise stand-out of the movie as Dr. Dagmar, the physician treating both Lars and Bianca. The writing is smart and poignant and the acting is brilliant. The DVD gives some insight into the film as well with Nancy Oliver revealing the inspiration for the story was the website that is prominently featured in the film; a real site that sells dolls like Bianca. But the story really comes down to Lars, his family and his extended family of the community. Anyone who watches will find a bit of comfort in the portrayal of a family with a whole lot of crazy going on.

PR rating: A manicured thumbs up. A must see and considering the subject matter, the film is the exact opposite of what one would expect: sweet and wholesome.

image source: Lars and the Real Girl movie still, Sidney Kimmel Entertaiment

-RW