Necessary Roughness...Hellz Bellz

I rock Hellz Bellz with my new Chanel. You rock fake nails, Chanel with 2 L's.

Hellz Bellz had me from the start from this line alone, before I had really gotten into viewing the entire line. With style names such as ridin high, and knockin' bitches out the box tee, ruff me up top and no frontin bomber. As Lanie Alabaze mentioned in a previous interview, "this aint no church line" and I confess, I'm in love.

Personamagazine.net caught up with one of the founders. Interview with Lanie Alabaze from Hellz Bellz By Ackley Kidd Contrary to popular belief not every girl is, well, a girly girl when it comes to fashion! Though on average it would seem like the fashion industry has a decent handle on what it takes to satisfy ladies clothing needs, sometimes certain voids are left unfulfilled. With street wear being one of the fastest growing sects in fashion, it was a matter of time before the evolution of ladies apparel took center stage. Making a personal mission out of killing the early design format that many street wear brands use for ladies apparel, Hellz Bellz founder/creative director, Lanie Alabaze, designs are to street wear what Rosey the Rivitor was to feminism. Unnecessary hype? Read on and you be the judge.

Persona Magazine: Where did you grow up? Laurie Alabaza: I grew up in south east San Diego. PM: What are some of your early influences that you feel affected your design style? LA: umm….well coming from San Diego I was definitely effected by the skate culture we have here but most of my inspiration came when I was in New York. I really took in a lot of the culture there and it really had an impact on me. PM: Prior to Hellz Bellz where did you get your start designing? LA: I started as a graphic designer for the ladies department of Triple 5 Soul, from there I moved on to become the art director at Rockawear which I worked at for about 3 years prior to starting Bellz. PM: What do you feel Hellz Bellz brings to the fashion market? LA: Well what we did with Hellz is to design it very differently from what was in the street wear market at the time. A lot of the designs that were out there were designed by men. So many times you would get shirts that had flowers and overly cute designs that they felt women wanted. Really what women want is cool progressive designs so I feel that Bellz fits that void. PM:What are some of your company’s goals for 2009? LA: My goal for this year really isn’t different then last year which is to grow the brand slowly. Maybe we will add more accessories to the line and possibly a men’s line. PM: What person or thing you feel best explains your collection? LA: Hmmm… good question know one has asked me that! I would have to say myself because first and foremost I design the collection for myself and what I like so I would have to say myself.

PM: Who is your favorite designer? LA: Vivian Westwood! She pretty much started the whole punk style and esthetic. PM: What are some of your favorite material to use while designing? LA: I try not to repeat things but currently I really like denim. PM: Where do you see fashion going in 2009? LA: I think more of a clean look is going to be the new thing. I think loud color will still be there but not as much. PM: Well that’s pretty much it for us but one last question… who do you feel is the best dressed cartoon character? LA: Definitely Betty Boop! For more information vist www.hellz-bellz.com The Collection

The combat jacket

The Grotesked Jean in Raw Black

Jackin Jacket in Tourquise

The Bandit top in Red

The Switch Blade Sisters

Celeb Support

ON-LINE STORES UNITED STATES http://www.80spurple.com/shop/category/sub/5066_1523 http://www.karmaloop.com/vendor.aspx?VendorCode=HLZ http://shop.shreddingbetty.com/ https://shopcultist.3dcartstores.com/Hellz-Bellz--Leggy-Blonde-Leggings_p_14-380.html&catid=[catid] MISSBEHAVE STORE http://www.cmonwealth.com/shop2.php?brand=hellz http://5andadime.com/shop_list.php?Brand_ID=hellzbellz&Gender=All&Type=All&Status=All http://www.boundlessny.com/clothing/77/hellz-bellz http://www.robustflavor.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=334 http://www.revolveclothing.com/brandpages/HellzBellz.jsp

The Spotlight Finds Jason Wu

MINUTES before Jason Wu was to become famous as the 26-year-old designer of Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown, he ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Domino’s at his apartment in Midtown, then sat down with his boyfriend, Gustavo Rangel, and a neighbor to watch the festivities on television. Jason Wu, 26, is an up-and-coming (has he made it now?!) designer who was born and raised in Taipei. According to his FashionRoyalty site — a line of “high fashion collectible dolls” — Wu has traveled the world from early on in life. He spent a portion of his life living and studying in Canada, France and different parts of the United States before establishing himself in New York City where he attended the prestigious Parsons School of Design. Like the rest of the world, Mr. Wu had no idea what the new first lady would wear on Tuesday night. He had never met her, nor did he know that the design he had submitted to Mrs. Obama, last November, was being seriously considered. At first he wasn’t even positive that the white chiffon dress she wore, which went by in a blur, was his until the phone began ringing and ringing and ringing. “It’s difficult to describe,” Mr. Wu said the next afternoon, after appearing on the morning shows and talking endlessly about the symbolism of the dress, the color and the selection of a designer barely known outside the fashion beltway. “I was over the moon. I know I am an unusual choice for a first lady. I didn’t think it was my turn yet.” In his small studio on West 37th Street, Mr. Wu, with close-cropped hair and a lineless face, wore a cardigan and a necktie and looked like a truant from boarding school. His work space is spotless, with a big rustic slab of wood as a table, which is precisely where the thousands of organza flowers and crystals had been hand-sewn to Mrs. Obama’s dress over many late nights by Mr. Wu and his staff of four.

An assistant popped her head in the room and asked, “Do you want an inside snap or inside buttonholes?” Between interviews, Mr. Wu was working on samples for his fall collection, which will be shown next month.

ALTHOUGH he was already something of a fashion darling — Anna Wintour attended his last show, when he was a finalist for Vogue’s annual prizes for emerging designers — he is expecting a crush of new attention. On Wednesday, Diane Von Furstenberg sent him a congratulatory note, and Parsons the New School for Design issued a press release boasting that Mr. Wu, Isabel Toledo and Narciso Rodriguez, all designers of clothes worn by Mrs. Obama last week, had once studied there (though it did not note that none of them graduated). “No doubt, this is going to give the business a boost,” he said. Mr. Wu started the label in 2006 with money from his family and his savings from a job he has held since he was 16, as a freelance designer, and now creative director, for a line of designer dolls called Fashion Royalty and manufactured by Integrity Toys in Chesapeake City, Md. His dolls ($70 to $400) are sold at F. A. O. Schwarz. His evening dresses ($2,990 to $4,700) are sold at Bergdorf Goodman. The word “prodigy” comes to mind when Mr. Wu mentions that his collection is expected to have sales of $4 million this year. Even when he was 5, growing up in Taipei, Taiwan, his parents, who operate an import-export business, recognized his creative ambitions. His mother sometimes drove him to bridal stores so he could make sketches of the gowns in the windows. When he was 9, the family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where, like many future designers, he began experimenting with fashion by using dolls as mannequins. He carried on with his hobby as a student at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Mass., and at the prep school Loomis Chaffee in Windsor, Conn., during a senior year in France and then for three-and-a-half years at Parsons until he left to intern for Mr. Rodriguez. And if you think this pursuit sounds strange, Mr. Wu would point out, “Vionnet used to have a doll on a piano bench, which she used to drape her couture.” Mr. Wu’s clothes are most often described as ladylike and seem to belong to an earlier era, meaning polished jackets, flower prints and dresses with nipped waists and teacup skirts. He spends a lot of time at stores around the country, at Satine in Los Angeles, Jeffrey in Atlanta and Ikram in Chicago, developing ideas for specific customers and climates. It was Ikram Goldman, who has played a behind-the-scenes role in connecting designers with the first lady, who introduced Mr. Wu’s designs to Mrs. Obama. (She had previously worn one of his dresses for an interview with Barbara Walters; she bought it at cost — for a little less than $1,000 — through Ikram, he said.) After the election, Mr. Wu immediately sent sketches to Ms. Goldman. “The only protocol, to quote Ikram, was that ‘It has to sparkle,’ ” he said. Ms. Goldman has not spoken publicly about her role. Two days later, Mr. Wu recalled, Ms. Goldman asked him to make the white dress. It was ready by Thanksgiving, when Mr. Wu, who is 5-foot-7, flew to Chicago, carrying the floor-length gown in a garment bag on his lap and hand-delivered it to Ms. Goldman. He was not paid for that dress or two more colorful designs he submitted later, he said, but made them with the understanding that if Mrs. Obama should end up wearing one, the dress would be donated to the Smithsonian Institution.

“It’s priceless to be a part of history,” Mr. Wu said. THE symbolism of Mrs. Obama’s choice of such a young American designer is invigorating for the fashion industry, especially at a moment when new companies are facing tight odds of survival. “I think Jason is supertalented,” said Kristina O’Neill, the fashion features director of Harper’s Bazaar, “and it’s so exciting that she wants to champion young designers.” Shortly before 5 p.m., Mr. Rangel, who manages the company’s finances, was waiting to take Mr. Wu to a celebratory dinner when Alison Pill, an actress who appears in “Milk,” arrived at the studio. She had come for a fitting of an emerald dress she plans to wear to the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. “When I saw the movie,” Mr. Wu told her, “I cried.” But it was Ms. Pill who appeared star-struck as she replied, “I’m the next Michelle Obama!”

The Kats Meow

The higly anticipated Mac loves Hello Kitty is just a few short weeks away. While I am a huge fan of Hello Kitty I cant say I absolutely love the entire collection. After being snubbed for the Mac loves Barbie collection, (which I can say I wanted every single item) when I heard the Hello Kitty news, I strarted my research and planned my attack . I was hoping for traditional white Hello Kitty packaging and imagined the Kouture collection would have lots of bling. I'm asuming they went with black to make it seem more edgy and modern . I was hoping for more shades of pink, I guess I'm still stuck on Barbie but I do love the pink lipstick, the pink lipglass although I find myself quite intrigued by the purple shimmer one.... and all three shades of the nail polish. The line will arrive on MAC’s Web site Feb. 10, in North American stores on Feb. 12 and into overseas stores in March as well as the Kouture line.

I love mostly everything on this display, even the quad eyeshadow. Im not sure about orange lipglass,or pink frosty lipstick with my complection. Ok so I lied, I like the eyeshadow the darker pink lipstick lipglass and polish. The blush isnt horrible but I'm currently obsessed with Gingerly. This isnt a horrible thing, after adding up the entire collection which I was planning on purchasing before having seen the colors, it gets pretty pricey.. so maybe not wanting everything isnt a bad thing. Wish I could get my hands on the display, it'd be great for storing the collection.

I am an absolute pink lover but I find this purple lipglass slowly pulling me to the other side, I will definitely try it on.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE and I believe there is a silver glitter one as well.

Im not sure how to apply pigment yet but the colors are beautiful

I NEED this pink one.....

Love but not sure if I will purchase yet I have ALOT of shadow....

uhhhhh yessss you can never have too much pink and mayyyyybe the gold one...

Yep pink again!

Brush set..........

Inflated Kitty, I think I will get an extra lipglass instead, but very cute as a gift. This is just ok, I think I would rather save my money for this mirror covered in Swarovski crystals, which I assumed the Kouture line would have but I was sadly mistaken... I guess if I really loved it I could have it done myself but ugh who wants to deal with that !!

Here's what WWD had to say about the collaboration; “MAC has been mining pop culture since the brand was founded,” said John Demsey, group president of the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. “This is a sexy and innocent fashion line, and a true MAC moment. In these times, everyone can use a little fun — and a little Kitty.” While the 34-year-old Hello Kitty character is usually assumed to be a cat, she is actually a girl, according to Sanrio. And a girl without a mouth, so she “speaks from the heart,” the company said. While this collection is intended to have a sophisticated presentation, MAC hopes to appeal to younger fans with two shades of lip conditioners.

Hello Kitty Kouture is intended to be the high end of the collection. Two shades of Dazzleglass, each $28, each feature a reusable silver chain pendant with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals on black with a pink crystal bow. Sheer Mystery Powder, $90 and available in three shades, is packaged in a silver powder compact with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals with a pink crystal bow on a black background. The Hello Kitty Colour items, a Petite Makeup Bag, $22, and a medium Makeup Bag, $35, will be in all doors, currently about 581 department and specialty stores in North America including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, as well as MAC’s 138 freestanding stores in North America and at maccosmetics.com. Internationally, the items will be in 1,307 doors in 69 countries, including 296 MAC freestanding stores outside North America. Hello Kitty Kouture will be available at MAC stores and maccosmetics.com only. At the maximum, the collection will be available for eight weeks.A plush doll, $42; purse mirror, $22, and three-brush collection, $49.50, will be available at MAC stores, Nordstrom doors and maccosmetics.com only. A mirrored key clip, $16; beaded bracelet, $34, will be sold in MAC retail stores and at maccosmetics.com only, and a tote, $45 and soft vanity kit, $55, will be exclusive to maccosmetics.com. These items are intended to animate the counter presentation and create an entire Hello Kitty world at retail, Gager noted.In-store visuals, shot by Nick Knight, show the polar opposite aspects of the collection. One is an image of a blonde model holding a black vinyl Hello Kitty doll, which will be part of the accessory line. The other visual is what Gager terms “more of a dominatrix creature.” The point, said Gager, is to show that makeup can be transformative. Makeup was done by Val Garland, with hair by Sam McKnight.And Demsey promises the surprises aren’t over yet. “There will be more products to come in the next three months with this partnership,” he said.

I didnt include everything so here's a complete list of the line The Hello Kitty Colour Collection includes: LIPSTICK ($14 US) Cute Ster Sheer peachy pink with pearl Big Bow Sheer bright intense blue pink Fresh Brew Creamed coffee Fashion Mews Sheer pale lavender Strayin’ Frosty midtone mint Most Popular Sheer deep berry Lipglass ($14 US) Sweet Strawberry Sheer berry with blue pearl Mimmy Light creamy pink with pink and gold pearl Nice To Be Nice Sheer bright intense orange with pearl Nice Kitty Sheer neon pink with blue pearl She Loves Candy Pale blue pink with gold pearl Fast Friends Sheer bright intense purple with pearl Tinted Lip Conditioner ($14.50 US) Popster Lively coral pink Pink Fish Soft neutral pink Eyeshadow x 4: Lucky Tom ($38.00) Stylin Midtone violet blue with multi-dimensional pearl Lucky Tom Dark charcoal brown with gold pearl Creme Royale Yellow wheat gold Pardisco Soft bright pinky coral with golden shimmer Eyeshadow x4: Too Dolly ($38 US) Too Dolly Frosty midtone mint Stately Black Rich blue with silver sparkle Yogurt Soft pale pink Romping Rich magenta with pink pearl Glitter Eye Liner ($16.50 US) Her Glitz Blackened gold with multi-dimensional glitter Glitterpuss Orangey bronze with multi-dimensional glitter Kitty Power Pink with with multi-dimensional glitter Girl Groove Clear/white teal reflects and with multi-dimensional glitter Pigment ($19.50 US) Milk Frosty pale silvery pink Deep Blue Green Rich, deep bluish green Reflects Glitter Reflects Blue Sparkling blue Reflects Very Pink Sparkling fuchsia pink Nail Lacquer ($11 US) Something About Pink Blue pink fuchsia On the Prowl Light creamy grey Vestral White Creamy white Plush Lash ($12 US) Plushblack Black Beauty Powder Blush ($18 US) Fun & Games Soft orange peach Tippy Midtone blue pink Beauty Powder ($22 US) Tahitian Sand Soft coral peach Pretty Baby Soft sunny pink with gold Lashes ($12 US) Hello Kitty Lash Half lash with overlapping hairs to emphasize outer Accessories Hello Kitty Tote ($45.00) Hello Kitty Petite Makeup Bag ($22.00) Hello Kitty Makeup Bag ($35.00) Hello Kitty Soft Vanity Case ($55.00) Hello Kitty Purse Mirror ($22.00) Hello Kitty Brush Collection ($49.50) Hello Kitty Mirrored Key Clip ($16.00) Hello Kitty Beaded Bracelet ($34.00) Hello Kitty Plush Doll ($42.00) There will also be some beauty accessories in this collection, including: petite Makeup Bag and medium Makeup Bag plush doll, purse mirror and brush collection (available only at MAC stores, Nordstrom and maccosmetics.com) mirrored key clip and beaded bracelet (available only at MAC stores and at maccosmetics.com) tote and a soft vanity kit (exclusive to maccosmetics.com) Make sure to sign up for MAC news on the M·A·C Cosmetics site!

Runway to Real way

In this tight economy, today's lesson is one in how to wear over the top fashion trends,and where to find budget conscience renditions of them so you have enough left over for a taxi, latte, and the latest issue of Harper Bazaar magazine....and maybe your light bill (-: I do things in a big way, so this seasons trends of ruffles, embellishments, layered jewelry is right up my alley. One of my absolute favorite collections right now is the Louis Vuitton/Stephen Sprouse/Marc Jacobs collection of graffiti and roses.This line as you can see below is not for the faint of heart. Filled with neon brights and roses, the collection can be pieced separately or as shown on Teira Marie, you can go for the gusto and pile everything on.I'm all for it, if your going to be a bear why not be a grizzly right? You have to be a certain type of person with a certain fashion sense and a certain confidence to pull off graffiti leggings

Here's the dilemma, you have the fashion sense, you have the confidence, you have the swag BUT you don't have the cash! Well, you're in luck!!!!! Below I have featured some celebs in some of my favorite looks and as well as some links where you can find similar items so you can recreate their look. First up we have Cassie who is usually noted for her superb fashion sense. Below Cassie's necklace is from from the Fall 2008 runway collection of Givenchy when she appeared on FNMTV. The starting price for this layered Cross and charm necklace is $2000. After some extensive research I've found a suitable replacement... at an UBER reasonable price!

http://www.forever21.com/

yep (-: (who loves you baby?) Me being the type of girl I am, I ordered two and I'm going to layer them, too much for some, just enough for me! I'm a firm believer in going hard or going home. Next up we have a fur situation! As seen here on Madge wearing Louis Vuitton in light of her new very very serious ad campaign. This is a perfect example of Runway to Real way. She is straight off a page in a magazine, literally!

While Madonna's outfit rocks my world and if given the opportunity I would wear it everyplace short of the bodega to buy milk. Your probably thinking as am I this is great for an event or a great fashionable chic party but what if I'm going to brunch with my friends or just out for Saturday evening cosmos with friends......Wellll here are some cool ideas and very affordable I might add.

*Purple Couture Vest* http://www.forever21.com/

http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=FOREVER21&category%5Fname=outwr%5Fvest&product%5Fid=2056717440&Page=1#

Feather vest, Elizabeth & James, $595, Intermix Elizabeth & James, the high end clothing line developed by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen

American Apparel, Sheer Rib Racer Back Tank-$22

American Apparel BabyRib Spaghetti Tank -$15

All courtesy of www.AmericanApperal.com Last but certainly not least, we have a great combination of both the feather vest and word block leggings.

These Fabulous Leggings are available at http://www.shop80spurple.com/ and they offer a few different types of word block leggings for you to mix and match for around $78. Hope you have enjoyed my little rendition of the look for less! "Retail Therapy, it seems to work. Its not the longest lasting therapy in the world, but it does its job. I'm not pretending to cure the nations economy, but, we do what we do, and if people enjoy it even better"-Marc Jacobs