I’m a huge fan of combining the casual with the chic - so when a girlfriend said she wanted wide-legged jeans and asked me which ones I liked, I of course turned her on to Grey Ant. The pants in their Spring/Summer 2008 collection actually transcend the “jeans” label and would be better categorized as proper denim trousers. These pants fit amazingly well through the hips and seat and thigh before blossoming into flares that are large enough to blow in the breeze. The large width of the flare is the key to why these jeans look so chic. They are in fact that rarest of animals - the statement pant. As such, they are not for everyone and you should proceed with caution when attempting this look. Done wrong, you may well just end up looking sloppy. Done correctly however, (paired with massive, chunky heels? floppy hat? fitted blazer?) and you have a guaranteed head-turning look that should carry you through just about any early summer engagement, day or evening. - x eddie

Somewhere I’m sure there are people who do not care for champagne, hor d’ouvres, or live lingerie modeling. I however do not count myself among their number - which explains how I ended up tonight at the La Perla party on Madison Ave.

Last night in Soho, Alan Cumming, Willem Dafoe, Paper mag’s Mr. Mickey, Marvin Jarrett of Nylon, the MisShapes, Costume National founder/creative director Ennio Capasa, and a cast of thousands, gathered at the Costume National boutique. The occasion was a cocktail party to celebrate the chic Italian fashion line’s 21st anniversary and the book launch of Costume National 21 by Assouline. I stopped by with my camera to record everyone and their outfits - which ran the gamut from charcoal to black. Have a look…

When it comes to fashion, men often get the short end of the stick - we are encouraged to stick with the basics, the classics, keep the hair cropped short, wear a muted palette. Girls on the other hand have loads of cute options to choose from - things like the new Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony. Whenever I see a girl wearing clothes this damn cute I suffer from a strange mixture of attraction and jealousy. I actually dress in sort of a male version of this look, which requires a great deal of planning, shopping at 14 different stores, and mixing new and vintage. Cool downtown girls just walk over to the OC on their lunch break and boom there you go - the whole look all there on one hanger. So not fair…
The Chloe Sevigny line is for Spring 2008 - that means it will likely be hitting the floor sometime between late January and mid-February - in case you want to start lining up now. I plan to stop by the showroom and take a look at the pieces before then, but from the photos I’ve seen so far, here is my take:

• - The line combines the (Liberty-print) preppy and the punk.
• - It combines an 80’s Merry-Go-Round, cool-store-at-the-mall feel with a 90’s grunge feel.
• - It’s very Opening Ceremony.
• - It has a bit of a preppy/chic French schoolgirl look - I think of Repettos or other oxfords, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and riding a scooter home from class.

In short, it looks like the perfect wardrobe for a cool but somewhat WASP-y gal from Connecticut on the loose in the grungy/cute early 90’s New York of her dreams. Sound familiar?

Henry Holland relaunched his House of Holland website yesterday. They have a proper online store up now, so you can actually buy all of those t-shirts you’ve seen in every fashion spread and in every MisShapes photo for the last 18 months or so. Yep, you can buy one…now that you no longer want one. That’s what happens when you become an overnight sensation - it becomes a blur of press and photo shoots and afterparties and overnight flights to Dubai Fashion Week. The next thing you know, two years have gone by and you never even got around to setting up an actual website. Whatever - this is still one of the coolest t-shirt lines of all-time. The site is worth checking out to see the cool photos of Agyness if nothing else. I’ll probably get one of the Model Tees from the new collection too - the acid bright colors will look great peeking out of my black jacket this winter. Besides, it’s almost time to bring HOH back as a retro thing…