Kinder Aggugini for Macy’s Preview

Rising London-based fashion designer, Kinder Aggugini who previously designed for houses such as Versace, John Galliano, and Vivienne Westwood, will be designing a line exclusively for the Macy’s Impulse Department set to hit stores in February 2011.  Thanks to my blogger status, I was invited to preview this exciting collaboration at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which in and of itself is a gothic work of art.  Kinder’s unique style is seen in his use of expert tailoring combined with a punk rock edge.  His newest collection has a touch of Chanel with edgy rocker undertones.

Going along with the rocker theme, socialite, Alexandra Richards, daughter of famed Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards, DJ-ed for the preview event in which Kinder himself flew in from London to make a personal appearance. In order to cater to the aspiring, most of the line will be in the price range of $40-$140 with a few items going for up to $300. Along with the rock sensibility, Kinder’s designs have an ultra feminine quality with brightly colored aspects and Kimono inspired styles.  We can’t all be the children of rock stars like Alexandra Richards, but every Aspiring Socialite could use a little edge.

Social Media Socialites: FourSquare Goes Vogue

An entrepreneur is just a socialite with a job. Along with genius business ventures, entrepreneurs have given birth to a new breed of socialites that are made and not born. Self-made that is. Dot.Com Millionaires are out in favor of tech entrepreneurs such as myself. As revealed in Guest of a Guest, FourSquare Co-founders Dennis Crowley (fellow Syracuse University Alum) and Naveen Selvadurai along with Twitter co-founder Evan Williams were seen looking very GQ on the pages of Italian Vogue. Congratulations boys!  I started this blog nearly a year ago because I too plan on tweeting, updating, and checking in my way into socialite fame. However, my endless path to stardom (i.e. magazine covers, book deals, reality shows, etc.) has not been without irony. Instead of maxing out my credit cards on priceless couture at Saks and Bloomingdales like any other Aspiring Socialite, I have found myself spending it all on servers and web development.  I guess that is the price of being a Fashion Tech Entreprenette. Welcome to the Socialite Media Age!   TTYL!

Desigual: Be Not the Same

Once you achieve a life of fame and fortune, some days you are just going to want the paparazzi to leave you alone.  However, you NEVER want them to forget about you completely.  So, when you need a little extra attention from friends, family, and the press, consider wearing something from Desigual which in Spanish translates to “not the same.”  In case you can’t tell from the Spanish word and bright colors, Desigual hails from the same land as the House of Balenciaga and famed shoe designer, Manuel “Manolo” Blahnik Rodriguez. Though it is difficult to translate the term completely, “Aspiring Socialite” in Spanish is “Aspirante a Mujer de Sociedad.”

If you are wondering where my Spanish skills come from, I credit my Venezuelan mother who recently fell in love with Desigual while in Spain and brought me back a shirt that I love.  As the nation with the most Miss Universe winners, fashion and beauty are a constant part of the Venezuelan lifestyle.  Two Desigual stores recently opened in the Big Apple within blocks of one another.  One is located in Herald Square and the other on 34th St. and 5th Ave.  But, if you are planning a vacation to Spain, pretend you didn’t hear that and visit the many locations in Spain.

Ivy Club Inspiration

The entire point of an exclusive club is exclusivity. Exclusive clubs line the streets of Midtown bearing the description of a country club without the country.  In the city that never sleeps, there are three tiers of people, those who are members and frequent this elite scene filled with mahogany walls and 1960s charm, those who know the clubs exist, but have yet to catch a glimpse inside, and those who don’t even know they exist.  Days after moving to New York, I became a member of the second tier.  During my first week in NYC sleeping on various friends’ couches, I walked down Park Ave. past the Yale Club on a sizzling late August afternoon.  Seeing that most of my free time was devoted to searching for a job or an apartment (since I had neither,) I rarely had the time to explore the city’s elite venues.  But, on this day I did anyway. After strolling past Grand Central, I shortly ended up in front of the Yale Club of New York and stopped to take a look.  As I stared at the building dreaming of a glamorous future here in the Big Apple, a beautiful bride in a classic white bridal gown pulled up to the Yale Club in an understated black car and I thought, “I’m going to be her today.”

Help PETA & Lea Michele Put Horses Back in the Pasture

Horses in the carriage industry are treated badly and PETA wants to helpWhile walking the streets of my beloved city one evening, I spotted a billboard that captured my vision for a better world.  It was an angelic photo of my favorite Glee star, Lea Michele, fighting against the inhumane treatment of the animals and the horrors of the horse-drawn carriage industry.  Witnessing Lea Michele endorse PETA‘s latest campaign was music to my ears.  Inspired by this selfless action, I too urge people everywhere to boycott horse carriages in exchange for limos.

More attention needs to be brought to this ignored issue.  Horses do not belong in the confining traffic of NYC or in disgusting Midtown stables.  These beautiful animals belong somewhere out in the country on a socialite’s Long Island estate where they can roam free on green pastures.  It has always been my dream to make a difference by starring in my own PETA ad.  So I urge you to join PETA and Lea Michele in their cause to rid cities everywhere of this miserable and unnecessary industry.  You don’t have to be a Socialite or even an aspiring one; you just have to have a heart. For information on the issue and what you can do to make a difference visit NYCLASS.org or PETA.org.