Dolce and Gabbana Sunglasses

They are distinctive, expensive, good quality, stylish, fun, cool, cool, …COOL… I don’t know if I mentioned cool.  Yes, they are Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses.  Long renowned as the purveyors of All Things Cool, the house of Dolce and Gabbana is best represented by something that’s timeless, slick, and, well, cool!  Ok, done geeking out now – I think the point is, if you’re going to buy sunglasses, go with Dolce and Gabbana (and within that, I include the D&G subsidiary).  The message sent is clear:  “I hereby proclaim my existence within the exclusive sphere of cool-dom, I attend the ‘it’ parties and get with the ‘it’ people I meet at exclusive ‘it’ venues… and I’m cool.  Did I say that already?  Oh, yea, well.  Whatever”.

First off, gentlemen:  Observe.  If you want to look a little bad-ass, aviators are for you.  Stubble + Aviators + tight faded jeans = instant sex appeal.  I really love the pair I used to head off this post: they’re really a work of art.  The next ones down are a little more plain, but they go with more outfits (don’t try to wear aviators with a business suit or something fool like that…).  These ones are slightly more squared-off, and the subtle metallic sheen lends itself well to most outfits.

I grabbed this next pic to show off the side of this pair… Sorry I cropped it strangely, but it looked cool at the time.  These are a bit bolder, but I like sunglasses with thicker sides (especially if they’re more square).

Last up for men, I couldn’t help but put in a pair of prescription frames.  These are exemplary of the ‘hot nerd’ look – further proof that Dolce and Gabbana are capable of sexing up everything they touch – including nerd glasses (*innocent face* … I’m not in love with the brand… am I?)  The “D” / “G” on the side is sort of a cool touch, too.

Now, ladies.  Listen up.  Big hair = big shades.  Who else would make such a great pair of sunglasses for your 80s fro, than Dolce? 

AAAAAAH ALIENS!  (cool ones).  These bug-eyed glasses are really glam, and if you’ve got yourself the right ‘do they’ll make you look really sexy.  However, beware of short hair:  you might look like an extraterrestrial.

If you have shorter or more conservative hair I recommend this pair.  They’re square and a bit less out there – so they’ll be perfect for you!  As with men, the funkier ladies’ sunglasses are NOT to be worn with suits or formal wear, no matter how much you paid for them.  (for example:  Junya Watanabe costs a pretty penny, but would you wear his spiked punk boots to an interview at an Investment Bank?).  The point is, these are the perfect balance because they’ll go with anything you put them with.  Make sure you get a pair if you plan to be wearing your suit at all during the summer.

Check out the rims on these!  So retro – and the red colour is just about perfect.  These are, again, more for an outfit with funky flair, but they’d also look perfectly at home with a casual beach outfit.

Problem: Fashion Hobo cannot find sunglasses that fit his face.  Solution:  Shopping tomorrow!  I plan to find out the best fit of sunglasses for my face, and report back to you on what that is.  Wish me luck – I’ve only bought one pair of non-unfortunate sunglasses, to date.  I’ve been cursed since the age of six, when I thought it would be cool to wear heart-shaped sunglasses to school …. oh.  What happened.  Over and out.

-FH.

Chanel Eyeglasses SS08

Now that I’m on a roll with Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection, I might as well give you some Chanel Eyeglasses to consider getting. Chanel Eyeglasses are a great way, in fact, to break into the brand if you haven’t already. Prescription eyeglasses are not cheap, and it only costs a bit more (well, $100 or so extra) if you want to upgrade from some generic run-of-the-mill perscription brand, to runway-for-your-eyes. This is why you see people wearing Pradas all the time: it’s a cheap way to get the brand!

A friend of mine did this and paid the extra $120 to upgrade to her Chanel Eyeglasses and she loves them. This was about a year ago, and she does not regret it at all (though it took her 2 hours to choose a pair). She was looking for a pair that gave her a sophisticated look, but not too prudish – something that she could wear with most of her clothes and look stylish without becoming a tacky, overly-trendy eyesore. Eventually she settled on a pair of black wire-rimmed squares, with the crossed Cs on the sides. Here’s what’s new from Chanel eye wear this season:

This first pair – what the hell?! Trompe-L’oeil eyebrows. (EYEBROWS!). Definitely for the adventurous only. These will look great with a more artsy look, but I find that most of the new Chanel glasses will. Pair these with a bohemian, vintage-indie style and you’ll be fine. Another option would be to use these to spice up a very sophisticated but bland wardrobe: Imagine wearing a grey suit with minimal accessories… Topped off with a pair of these babies! Oh, and before I continue, it should be noted that all of these accessories come in different colours. If you’re interested, click on the Chanel link at the bottom of the page. =)

Next up, gold-topped glasses. Very, very retro look. I love these ones, but you have to wear them with a really funky sense of style to avoid looking like the stereotypical ‘frumpy librarian’. This pair is great because it goes with so many accessories – as long as they’re gold, royal blue, red, light pink… you get the idea. I need say no more about them: Either you understand them or you don’t.

This pair is for a sophisticated, classy, understated chick (and most similar to the ones my friend bought – but hers were slightly thinner rims and more squared off). She knows what she wants, and that’s a pair of sturdy glasses that will look cute, but won’t age, and will go with all of her clothes. These I recommend if you’re a first-time buyer, or someone with a very centred, mainstream sense of style.

Minimalist. That’s all I can say about the front of these. When you turn them to the side, however, they have the signature Goatskin-on-Metal Chanel Weave! That’s pretty cool. It’s executed in a way that keeps it very up-to-date, this look isn’t retro at all. Good for a girl who needs a functional pair of classes that stay out of her way, and don’t steal too much attention away from the rest of her look. Subtle, classy, understated, elegant.

Whoa … Funky! If I were a girl, I would be wearing these. Yes, in the red colour and everything!!! I know these look a little bit more like the classic Prada glasses (although those ones are in black) but hey .. These ones come in RED (and other colours as well that I don’t enjoy quite as much)! Either way, if you’ve got a Chanel bag then these are gonna complete your look much better than slapping on a pair of Pradas – if you wear too many different name brand accessories (aka. eyeglasses, bags, etc) you will look like a brand whore. If you stick to one brand per outfit, you’ll do just fine under the eyes of even a critical fashionista. Anyway, these are my all-around faves.

This last pair, I chose to show in the turtle-shell colour because, well, that’s what they look best in. Turtle-shell is getting to be overdone, but if you wear the right colours (browns and greens) you will work them well. Notice the sides on these are quilted: I find it tacky, but to each his own, right? As long as your bag isn’t quilted, too… (awkwarddd)… Then you can wear these and the quilted pattern is acceptable.

I know I didn’t give a full range of colour here so I’ll leave it to you all to check out Chanel yourselves and see: www.chanel.com . Oh, and one last thing: Keep in mind you’re going to be (ostensibly) wearing your prescription glasses for quite a while. Especially if you’re getting the brand name ones … So don’t do anything overly trendy. Unless you’ve got money … Don’t choose rash, without the cash! Over and out!

-FH.

Chanel Dresses, Part II

I didn’t post these ones the other day — too many dresses! Anyway, here are a few of the other ones. I found Chanel dresses to be very hit-and-miss this year, (but maybe I always do and just forget each season) but maybe that’s just high fashion for you. I now present the remaining Chanel Dresses worth buying from SS08!

At this point, the collection takes on a more gothic, streetwise appearance. That would be the dark colours and ubiquity of chains kicking in. Interestingly enough, chains were a favourite of Chanel. She liked to weave metal chainlink through with lace or leather: a look still seen today (but often really shoddily executed). All I have to say about the silver boots is… Look out, Eastern Europe. And maybe Tokyo. The boots are definitely only for the daring (and from my experience with Ukraine and Russian, those girls are up for just about anything, fashion-wise. Even if it means teetering down cobblestone streets in 4 or 5 inch tall stilettos).

I am a big fan of the sheer black dress. A really big fan. Granted, if everyone wore this out and about, the magic would fade but who cares; it’s really cool! I can guarantee only a few people (again, see about re: the silver boots) are going to dare to wear this. If you’re looking for something a little classier and easier to pull off, I strongly suggest the cute navy dress with the bow. yay ! It will look good on you, I guarantee.

Again with the dark colours! All of these dresses are cool but I think the first one, the one with the navy that’s floor-length, is paticularly interesting. I like how it’s different – not for everyone, but still cool. I also think the second dress stands out in terms of originality, it plays on gothic influences, like some of the other dresses in the collection. Very cool.

Finally, these last two – nothing too special, but I really like how light & fluttery they are! Very spring/summer. And that’s that, these are *the* Chanel dresses for the season. Over and out!

-FH.

Chanel Dresses to get for SS08!!!

Screw the stars – most of them don’t know how to dress, anyway! For all of your wardrobe advice, Fashion Hobo can give you a good dressing-down on what (or what not) to wear. In this post, you will learn how to look good in a Chanel dress. You’d better look good in these, because they aren’t cheap, as well you all know. So. Here is Fashion Hobo’s pick of Chanel Spring/Summer 08 dresses, complete with running commentary.

First down the runway, these leading ladies look great in red, white, and navy concoctions. I don’t think I need to point out the irony of the Stars and Stripes spangled throughout Chanel’s SS08 collection?! What does Lagerfeld think he’s doing? Chanel would not approve (then again, she did have that affair with a German officer in WW2 and then retreated to Switzerland – so one has to wonder, would she even have cared?). I understand that ’summer nights’ is a whimsical enough reason to smatter stars everywhere, but the red-and-white stripes are not subtle. Not at all. Stop trying to make some sort of commercialized political statement, or at least realize that your future markets lie in Russia and China – so if you’re going to go the political route, JUST STICK WITH RED! ok? ok. But I digress. Beautiful draping (this is key to dresses, because aside from patterns and adornment, otherwise they all look the same but for draping), and classic Chanel cuts.

Again, with the starry dresses (which happen to be very cool). I like the dangly necklaces, and the jackets over top. The longer dress reminds me more of Hussein Chalayan (with the outlandish pattern), but the mini-dress is quintessential Chanel. Even though it might be too short to wear in public, this one sure looks great on the runway (or maybe even on the boardwalk at the beach).

Next up, the classics. These dresses emanate class. The subtle colours, traditional-yet-updated cuts and accesorizing, everything hints at Paris of the 20s, 30s and 40s. All of these still manage to look very ‘now’: wear any of these, look well-put-together.
That’s all for now: There are more to follow, but I don’t want to put them all in one enormous blog. Over and out!

-FH.

Chanel Earrings

For all of you Chanel-Crazy fashionistas out there – I present the Chanel earing collection of SS08! As you all know, I’ve been looking into Chanel lately and one of the particularly distinctive accessories released by the fashion house is their earings. They’re so cool! Very good use of the signature crossed ‘C’ emblem, and most of them are quintessential Chanel: Cutesy, girly, arty, a little bit of nostalgia for the Paris of bygone decades.

Chanel earrings are also a great way for first-time buyers to ‘break into’ Chanel products. Karl Lagerfeld is well-known for his iconic fashion work and his time spent at Chanel has done nothing but emphasize this. However a lot of fashion pieces are, well, trendy… So first-time buyers are better off mitigating the risk of dropping, say, $800 on a skirt by purchasing something a little smaller, that can be worked into their existing wardrobe (what are you going to pair with a Chanel skirt… unless you have a really nice blouse? There goes another $1000 on a few nice blouses!).

This pair is one of the gaudiest of the lot. Lately, Chanel has been using stars as a repeated symbol throughout their collections. Well, this season, anyway. I really like it though – go to chanel.com to see some of their other great examples of star-studded couture (the beach cover-up is beautiful!). Anyway, back to topic – these glitzy earrings would look great on someone young and fun.

This pair would be used for a completely different occasion. Get these to pair with that skirt suit you wear to work – or get a funky, vintage summer vibe going with a light cardigan and an A-line skirt.

These beauties immediately below are great club-wear. I can’t help but feel that Chanel has sold out its image a bit in recent times; I mean, it’s supposed to be cute, feminine and artsy, and represent the various aspects of such a girl’s lifestyle. This might include clubbing, but since when was Chanel supposed to be glitzy and so over-the-top?! Leave it to D&G; that’s what they’re there for. Then again, I rarely like Chanel’s ‘pre-collection’… I find a lot of it to be tacky (these hoops are pre-collection SS08, and they definitely border on just that).

Next up, a really sweet, innocent-looking pair. Aww. Butterflies! Again, great for summer – wear these with a pretty flowy dress, or a casual beach look, and they’ll make your outfit stand out. It’s amazing that something as small and insignificant as earrings can do this, but people often don’t realize what makes them look twice at something – typically it’s a small detail that just stands out. These definitely do that for you.

This pair is one of the classier, dressier ones of the season. These beauties would look good with a little black evening dress – well, pretty much any evening dress – but they’re probably a little over-the-top to wear to work. I think the little hearts are a bit tacky (and prone to slipping into the grasp of well-meaning people who are hopeless dressers), but let’s hope the world proves me wrong on that.

Finally, the last pair of the season. I love the champagne colour of the stones. It should be noted that all of these earrings are from Chanel’s ‘costume jewelry’ collection, so the stones aren’t rare, the metal isn’t platinum, etc . Hey, these are still really classy. I think that these would look good on a lady with more mature styling to her – if you’re 20 and wearing these, you’re going to look very sedate. Not as if that’s a bad thing… Anyway, pair these with a dressier outfit; nothing too flimsy or fluttery. Well, maybe a white flowy dress, but only if you’re on a yacht.

And that’s Chanel’s earring collection for SS08 – that’s from the main collection, pre-collection and ‘cruise’ collection. Over and out!

-FH.

Chanel Handbag Video

While I was researching Chanel handbags for the previous post I came across this video
showing off a Chanel handbag. Interesting in that it’s like going into and experiencing an exclusive store (the nearest store to me that you can buy Chanel handbags they actually LOCK THE DOOR during business hours – you have to knock to get in!). At any rate, check it out, it’s a fun video (I particularly love the *white glove treatment*).

Although I think the presentation would have been better with a spoken description, I enjoyed it all the same. The person who posted it has a few other videos of Chanel handbags as well as some other designers in the same video style. http://youtube.com/user/maggymay2007

The Top 10 Chanel Purses and Handbags of 2008 SS

You knew it was coming – inevitably, every fashionista worth his or her critical stare and designer digs must pay homage to Coco Chanel. I am no exception; why would I even want to be?! The lady revolutionized the way we see fashion, laying the foundations upon which all of modern ladies’ fashion is built. Thanks to her, ladies can wear anything men can – oversized cardigans, slacks, shots, mens shirts. We also have her to thank for the sweeping popularity of jersey-knit and more flowy, comfortable fabrics. Women used to be confined to long skirts and full-on dresses: Chanel gave them the freedom and flexibility provided by alternate modes of dressing. As for the 21st century, well, we’re still waiting for someone as visionary as Chanel – someone who could take a common affliction of humanity and turn it into an aesthetically pleasing pillar of design.

OK, enough on Chanel herself. For all you stylish ladies out there, I’m writing a post on Chanel Purses and Handbags. We all know that none of you would be caught dead without a Chanel clutch with your evening gown, or a Chanel tote hanging by your bed… Or the legendary crossed C’s on some sort of purse in your room (or on a pedestal or with a spotlight shining on it). The point is, women (and some, ah, guys?) have fallen under the spell of Chanel – and the easiest way to quell the craving is by sporting a Chanel bag. So, without further ado, I present: The Top 10 Chanel Purses and Handbags of 2008 as per the Gospel According to Fashion Hobo!!!

one. This wicked metallic clutch (metallic!!!) will catch everyone’s attention, so don’t buy it if you don’t want to be seen. This one will carry well with a daytime outfit (as long as it’s not too casual) and into the evening (think “little black dress”. hehe…)

two. This is a larger bag which would make a great carry-all. Nothing too special in terms of flair, but it’s a classic look and great for carry all your stuff in.

three. Look at this colour. It’s amazing … This is like summertime, technicolour, mediterranean BLUE ! This will look great in the sunnier months – this is what they’re all about. Colour, colour, colour.

four. I had to put this one in, it’s too cutesy to pass up. If you’re got a girly outfit that needs some serious spicing up (emphasis on ’spicing up’… ie. *plain*…) Then you’re in luck, because this purse is just what’s in order to take your look from good to great. Well. If you’ve got the money.

five. This one definitely got in for its colour and sheen (I’ve always been a sucker for shiny objects). I am not usually a fan of less structured bags (they’re so hobo!) but this one manages to look good. I think it’s the combination of colour, size and structure that give it a bohemian look that’s still sophisticated.

six. This one’s pretty classic stuff. I just liked the red goatskin. It looks vintage. I think this clutch would look good with a flowy white summer dress. Impress your friends by casually pulling it out of a white linen satchel at the beach. Not that you’re a brand whore…. right…?

seven. The quilted flower decals are a cool touch. This is Chanel at its utmost – feminine, cute, stylish. Somewhat artsy. Pencil pants, cropped blazer, square-rimmed glasses, wedge heels, and this purse would make a killer look.

eight. I am a fan of the puzzle-piece quilting as well; quilted shapes seem to be a trend with Chanel this year. Not that I’m complaining – maybe more of you will stop carrying those overdone monogram logo totes and get something with a bit of flair, for a change. This, again, is a pretty classic bag, which is what Chanel has always been about.

nine. OK, maybe this one’s a little less classic (and a brand logo clutch – what a hypocrite!!! Fashion Hobo hates logo luggage!) but it’s still cool, ok? ok. Moving on, this is the sort of clutch that you’d carry around with a plain sort of outfit. I can already imagine the girls pairing this with “ooooh a CUTE pair of metallic boots and maybe a CUTE metallic hat and maybe a CUTE –” stop. Maybe a pair of *tasteful* silvery-gold shoes, but it would have to be with a plain white outfit. Nothing else. Minimal accessorization, ladies. Wear it simple; the bag speaks for itself.

ten. I actually find this one to be rather hideous. But hey, if you can wear this and pull it off, you’re beautiful and I’ll give you major props. At a second glance it looks a bit better – this is one of those Chanel products that tries to be imaginative without losing their classic, original recipe for success. However, it’s a little on the trendy side. I just wanted you all to see the excesses of Chanel.

So there you have it: The Top 10 Chanel Bags, Chanel Purses, Chanel Clutches, Chanel Totes, etc. for 2008 Spring Summer. Now, the trick, ladies, is for all of you to buy one and then figure out how not to run into anyone else wearing the same one. Have fun and good luck with that! Over and out!

-FH.

Haute Couture Masks

For decades, they have graced (or disgraced) the faces of pretty girls on catwalks everywhere. What makes masks and facial coverings so exotic is that they are an uncommon sight, especially in North America. I found these beauties in Flaunt magazine, and I feel they demonstrate well the allure of the haute couture mask.

If you were to take fashion as a form of outward persona and conealment, then the mask would epitomize the whole notion. By concealing or changing the face, you censor the wellspring of most of our instantaneously-drawn conclusions about a person. Therefore, the mask speaks not only of what you wish to conceal, but how you want others to view you (or what you wish others to see in you). As high-and-mightily intellectual as this passage purports to be, I think it’s a great way to look at clothing and the various accoutrements that accompany it.

A much more popular and subtle relative of the mask would be sunglasses. These are masks in their own right – some of them are even couture, or at least high end – And they conceal the most telling feature of a person’s face. Yes, we use sunglasses to block out the sun, but they have also found their way onto the faces of people for other reasons (think spies, bodyguards and poker players, to name a few). Some people just love wearing them for the anonymous look they give them.

Well, that went off on a complete tangent but the point is clear. People love to cover up their faces – this form of concealment using sunglasses is probably just because nobody’s got the guts to wear a bona fide haute couture mask in public. Over and out!

-FH.