Betsey Johnson, the cartwheeling fashion designer, renowned for her over-the-top designs and funky bangs has not had the best of luck. She unfortunately suffered breast cancer in 2002 and disastrously filed for bankruptcy in April 2012.
Yet things are picking up for the funky designer. She has been inducted into the Fashion Walk of Fame. She has a reality show with her gorgeous daughter Lulu, debuting on the Style Network. And most pertinently she has a whimsical new collection of bridal shoes set to hit Zappos in April. The line is called BLUE and retails in the $100 range.
Designer extraordinaire and style icon Betsey Johnson is inviting all of her "Betsy babes" to stop by Macy's Herald Square tomorrow, March 7th from noon to 3 pm! Catch Betsey in action as she dresses and styles a window along the famed 34th street store. The buzz surrounding Betsey and her new dress collection is that the pieces are budget friendly, yet completely detailed and designed with true Betsey spirit! Score a complimentary coin purse with the purchase of any fabulous dress from Betsey's new collection.
The edgy, yet girly, collection begins at $99 and features playful frocks and a pretty floral belted dress that could easily take you from work to after work festivities with the addition of a crisp blazer or cardigan! The strapless peony blue lace overlay dress is perfect for an outdoor party. It's fun to be girly, again. We also are anticipating the debut of Betsey's new show with her daughter Lulu, "The Betsey and Lulu Show," on Style Network. Spring just became that much better! Inquiring fashion minds want to know if she'll do one of her famous cart-wheels?!
See you there!
Gone are the days of the “basic” watch. Today’s trendiest watches come in a variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and patterns. They convey style, personality and are capable of so much more than telling time. In my opinion, the bigger and more “bling” the watch contains, the better. Here are five of the hottest and most sought after watches and trends for 2013.
Animal Print: Animal print may not be for everyone, but the trend hardly ever goes out of style. Watch faces and bands that come in zebra, leopard, tiger, and giraffe print are both eye-catching, fun, and make any “basic” outfit pop. Designers that offer a sexy and playful collection of animal print watches include: Guess, XOXO, and Betsey Johnson and can be found in most department and specialty stores. Spice up any outfit with these trendy watches; a little animal print goes a long way!
Times are tough, and it seems the recession just keeps hitting the fashion industry harder and harder. Betsey Johnson wasn’t the only high fashion designer in financial trouble; it’s been reported that Marithé + François Girbaud have also filed for the French equivalent of Chapter 11 for their high-end designs.
According to WWD, it has been said that representatives of the French brand were at court last Thursday where they were trying to extend the observation period as an opportunity for potential buyers to step in and save the day. No details on this matter have been presented yet, however, there is one prospect among buyers that is whispered to be interested in the brand: Indian weaver Fibres & Fabrics.
As you may have heard—Betsey is bankrupt! Well, not Betsey exactly. Neither the brand nor its eccentric creative director is involved, but the licensing firm that operates Betsey Johnson boutiques filed Chapter 11 a little more than two weeks ago. While this is unfortunate news for 54 BJ boutiques and 9 outlets around the nation, it seems there’s a silver lining for loyal Betsey shoppers. For a cool $5.2 million, two retail liquidation firms have partnered to take the remaining inventory off the hands of the shuttering shops. A major going-out-of-business sale began last Friday and will run until all merchandise has been sold.
If there’s one thing that we love about a real good designer, it’s the fact that they design for a real good woman. Yes, we said it: real bodies, real curves, real hips, real busts, real sizes; we’re talkin’ some regular ole’ R-E-A-L.
While shopping the runways in Paris, New York, and Milan might be discouraging for those of us with curves, (if you got it, flaunt it!) fear no more, we've got a designer for you. Even though bigger names in the industry are the brands we tend to gravitate to, these notable names and designs don’t always hug and squeeze (read: flatter) in all the right places. So, what’s a girl to do?
After months of brainstorming solutions and plan revision, Betsey Johnson LLC has exhausted all of their resources and, we are sad to say, have filed for bankruptcy. Within the next few weeks the brand known ‘round the world will be closing its 60-some freestanding stores and letting go of over 300 employees.
Though we are sad to say goodbye to the eccentric fashion shows Betsey Johnson has been putting on for years and years, we are happy to say that this is not the end of Johnson all together! The creative director will still be overseeing all of her moderately priced designs sold in Macy’s, as well as her jewelry line, Betseyville. WWD even reported the possibility of a reality show in the making.
While this classic trend has never gone out of style, floral prints and patterns will certainly be making a much more diverse statement for summer 2012. Betsey Johnson mixed vibrant colors with oversized tropical floral prints for her spring/summer 2012 collection, while Prada brought back the mod-look, and still others like Valentino and Isaac Mizrahi took a romantic approach.
CFDA and Ebay have taken a second lap around with their collaboration of customized handbags promoting awareness for the unfortunate spread of counterfeit fashion with a strong tag line in big bold print saying “You Can’t Fake Fashion." More than 70 designers have contributed their creations to this cause including Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Betsey Johnson and The Row. The auction started this morning at 11 am EST, and all will be sold on Ebay until March 31st. At $200 a bag, the designs are in 4 exclusive shapes: the duffle tote, the satchel tote, the gear tote, and the bucket tote. There is also an exclusive line of simpler bags going for $45, encouraging all you creatives to customize them yourselves. But hurry up and get them while they are still available! Many have sold out in just hours, and if it’s anything like the CFDA and Ebay collabo that went down last year, fans from all over the world will be scrambling to get the last of these stylish totes! All items will be sold under Ebay’s “buy it now” tab.
Join in on a good cause; contribute to the awareness of counterfeit designs and carry around a great bag to show your support for fashion and its right to be real!
Fashion Week is the week to know what is going to be treading, or should we say trending, our way in the coming seasons. The runway is of course where we all study styles and figure out what trends to prepare for. However "street chic" is just as much a part of the week as the runways. Some of the best styles and inspirations can be found on the streets of New York and fashion week just happens to be the time when all of these trend setters are baited into one single place by their common hunger for fashion. This, my friends, is the perfect opportunity for those who can't get into the shows, to find fashion forward looks!