Our society has became obsessed with litigious actions to combat against almost anything. Step on my toe? I will sue you. Throw a glass at my face for no apparent reason. I will sue you. Replicate my bags or use my name? Guess what?

Yes, you guessed it, I will sue you. Or maybe Chanel or Gucci will.

Gucci accidentally sued Chanel in a freak website domain ownership fiasco. It went like this: Last year Chanel and LVMH sued websites for selling replicas of their bags and won. In doing so they took over the domains and posted the court ruling along with other information on counterfeit websites. This past month Gucci decided to sue several websites for trademark infringements including a website that Chanel had already taken over. Clearly a paralegal mistake, they added the Chanel owned website to the list of defendants, served the summons and complaint along with a temporary restraining order.

Oops.

Gucci has apologized and went slinking back to its headquarters bamboo tail in between their leather legs.

AND apparently, now Chanel could sue... even me.

Chanel has taken out an ad in Women's Wear Daily that reads:

Fashion’s Night Out was a blast. We started at Chanel on Rodeo. We arrived about five minutes before the doors opened and our chances of getting a polish change with their limited edition polishes looked positive. Flash forward to the opening of the doors; women and girls were pushing and shoving to be first in line and I refused. I will not run nor push my way into Chanel. Annoyed, I went directly to the back to buy all three limited edition polishes but was denied  because I needed to get a polish change first. Fine. I directed my energy to Floor 2. Found gorgeous gold and black ballet flats and made them mine.

We made our way, champagne in hand back downstairs. I smiled sweetly at the woman who denied me, showed her my black bag with new shoes and she relented. I was able to procure all three polishes.


Next stop, YSL where my girlfriend bought some beautiful dark camel Tribtoo pumps and I almost did too. Then Jimmy Choo, Prada, and Tiffany’s. With champagne at every store - we were unable to make it to Robertson and Melrose but I was extremely happy with what I saw and what I bought. There should be parties for shopping every Friday or maybe every day...

I don’t know where to start. Even I am overwhelmed so I will do my very best to relay this information to you in the most efficient way ever...

Fashion Night Out is fast approaching: Friday, September 10, 2010. Last year was Fashion’s Night Out’s first year and barely represented in Los Angeles but thrived in New York. This annual shopping extravaganza is led by Vogue Magazine and the Council of Fashion Designers of America and for the second year, LA is going all the way. The following areas and shopping centers will be hosting FNO:


Take a look here for all participating Retailers. Participatingretailers.com

I am only going to touch upon highlights in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and West Hollywood — but if you have a favorite designer - call the store because within these city limits over 300 parties, personal appearances, shopping discounts and the like are all occurring simultaneously.

Rodeo Drive is bringing Fashion’s Night Out in Style. A Ferris wheel will be strategically placed and free to ride with a receipt from a participating retailer. Chanel will be offering manicures with their limited edition shades, Fendi will be showing a special installation shot by Karl Lagerfeld, Hermes will be demonstrating scarf-tying, Valentino will be offering a Casino night and so much more. rodeodrive.com

The Beverly Center will serve as the headquarters with free parking and shuttles starting at 4pm to six retail districts centered on Melrose Avenue, Robertson Boulevard, West 3rd Street, Abbot Kinney Boulevard, downtown Los Angeles and Los Feliz. Charles David founder Charles Malka will be performing an in-store shoe signing (in the Beverly Center) from 6 to 9. Fred Segal on Melrose will have appearances by Quiksilver's surfing team, and Decadestwo is holding "400 dresses for $400 or under". LAcity.com

WeHo is also going big. There will be a Julia Clancey runway show at the Andaz, artwork will be displayed at the 3.1 Phillip Lim Boutique and if you spend $300 at John Varvatos on Robertson, photographer Robert Knight will shoot your portrait. weho.com

The list of events is huge. I am leaning towards Rodeo just because I want to ride the Ferris Wheel....

It is a sad day in retail land.

It has been confirmed with a telephone call that the sales associate clearly didn’t appreciate, that Chanel has really raised their prices yet again - now 20-30% more.


I am pretty sure Vintage prices are about to increase too, if they haven’t already. Now attaining your own Chanel is a little bit farther away then it used to be.

Rumors are flying that the brand would like to be less accessible, similar to the Hermes brand. It is true though, I see Chanel everywhere. Many women have one piece of Chanel and for those who don’t they wish they did or just plain don’t care. Still, although being part of the elite is a welcoming idea, I am all too familiar with the ache I felt when I didn’t have one and how long I coveted the soft caviar leather, silver chain with sparkling interlocking C’s. And really, how mad can you get at Chanel?

I think tonight I will lay in bed with my Chanel handbags. My dog and boyfriend can sleep in the extra room. I need some time alone to contemplate and accept that it will be just me and them for a while.

Cheap and Chanel are hardly uttered in the same sentence. Yet, Chanel’s temporary tattoos by Les Trompe L'Oeil Temporary Skin Art ($75 for five sheets of 55 designs) are now available. Designed by Peter Phillips, Chanel’s creative director and as seen in the Spring 2010 RTW collection, the tattoos feature pearls, chains, sparrows, flower blossoms and of course, the famous Chanel logo.

They are now available for a limited time here, at Chanel.com Chanel boutiques and makeup studios. These temporary skin arts, which are synonymous with any other temporary tattoo are applied the same way and easily removed.    

I am not sure how I feel about these but I doubt you will see me sporting a Chanel temporary or a  real Chanel tattoo ever. Even if I did think a dragon tattoo on an Asian at age 14 was a good idea.

In other Chanel news, the Coco Before Chanel DVD is out. It follows Gabrielle before she became a fashion icon. I really enjoyed this movie. Exaggerated from Chanel's biographical material, its a truly feminizing piece that screams: love is not always everything.

I do not.

 

And this was made painfully obvious after I failed Home Economics. I'm not sure if my failing grade had to do with a pair of shorts without leg holes or the small fire.

 

Still, if you have golden fingers or a sewing machine or a tailor, you need to stop by Bella Fabrics.

 

Bella Fabrics

8350 Beverly Boulevard 

Los Angeles, CA 90048

(323) 655-8686

 

Several months ago, I was walking to my car from a brunch at King's Café on Beverly. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as I spotted a McQueen skull in the window and I was neither on Melrose or Orlando. They carry different designer fabrics from Pucci to McQueen and sometimes even Chanel. A quick warning, it isn't cheap. I paid $50 a yard for the McQueen skull but when comparing the price tag of a McQueen t-shirt, it’s a steal.

 

Is this illegal? Maybe, but let’s live dangerously.

 

I have recently returned from Berlin, Paris and London. My trip abroad was filled with sight-seeing, eating, visiting with friends but mostly lots of partying. My boyfriend, the disc jockey made the trip possible, so the amount of shopping and tourism was limited but expected.

 

I was able to peruse some shops in Berlin but wasn’t able to fully explore the shopping possibilities this city must have.

 

Paris was another story. I had to make time to visit some stores and we did just that. First, of all let me say that I think it is important to only buy what one can afford. After several unsuccessful stints with credit cards, the only card I carry is the one attached to my bank. So I always spend what I have keeping in mind my monthly bills. It seems to work out fine in Los Angeles but if I lived in Paris, it would be another story. I have no doubt my love for clothes and shoes in an easy accessible place would be the end of my financial responsibility. Although Paris is known for its great vintage shopping, my time restraints forced me to save exploring vintage shops for the next trip. (Which will hopefully be very soon)

 

The first day in Paris, we went to Galeries Lafayette Department store located at 40, Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, France. If this place isn’t heaven, I am unsure what is. Underneath a cathedral dome ceiling, is the equivalent of ten female orgasms, maybe twenty. Circular in nature, you don’t miss a thing. 

 

One floor dedicated to shoes: from Geox to Chanel, it doesn’t disappoint. You can find something for every budget, although I had no interest in budget shopping at this place. I saw the lovely Chanel black suede and lace flats but refrained from purchasing due to the strength of the euro. I also wanted to get something that I wasn’t able to get easily in the Los Angeles area. One floor dedicated to handbags, another to couture: Alaiia, Dior, Chanel, Galliano, they were all there and more. I saw dresses I would die for. Another floor held contemporary: from Vivienne Westwood to Alexander McQ to Sandro. The world was my oyster. I tried on a couple dresses but fell in love with a Westwood piece - puffy shoulders, ties in the back or the front with a trail that touches my ankles. It wasn’t black, as 90% of my closet is and it was Westwood – which is nearly impossible to find in Los Angeles. Although, I need to research this further because I think she is becoming one of my top ten designers.

 

I was in awe of this place. It really is like nothing I have seen. For me to shop for what this store has would be the equivalent of going to about 30 stores. So there is no doubt in my mind that if I lived even remotely close to Paris, I would be the best-dressed homeless girl there was. Unless my boyfriend took pity on me and took me in but I’m sure it would only be on the condition that I stopped shopping, and that is a promise I wouldn’t be able to keep!

 

CHANEL. The word rings in my ears. What a love/love relationship I have with the quilted caviar of my dreams. I have been coveting a Chanel bag for what it seems an eternity, which I just recently made a reality. Unfortunately due to financial restraints Rodeo Drive, is a street I am least traveled on. But last Wednesday as I decided my bank account's fate would be decreased by at least two thousand dollars I knew Rodeo was the place I needed to be. Upon my entrance into Chanel, I was greeted with the smell of No. 5 and a tight smile from a tall thin blonde woman. I browsed the glorious handbags even though ultimately I knew I had to choose only one. I tried on the large shopping handbag and the large classic flap handbag. I decided on the large shopping bag for my everyday needs but the classic flap handbag is on my want list; at the very top. (Take note admirers - there is an easy way to bed me.)

 

 

Woe was me! The elusive Chanel located at 400 N Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 did not have my black large shopping handbag in stock but the Chanel Concept Store saved the day. They were contacted, the handbag was placed on hold and I rushed over to 125 N. Robertson Boulevard but not before I treated myself to some lovely earrings. After 3 roundabouts, I finally found a meter… where is the valet?? I purchased the handbag straight away. Walking out of the store holding a bag with outstanding bright white letters C-H-A-N-E-L so boldly placed behind a shiny black background might have been the highlight of my month. The giddiness I felt could only be compared to that of a mother and her first born. As I sit here and glance behind me at the handbag I've wanted for so long, a huge smile spreads across my face.

Let me say, that if possible, treat yourself to the ultimate luxury you can give your shoulder: a Chanel.