Friday, November 23, 2012

Maison Martin Margiela x H&M Purchases Reviewed

Maison Martin Margiela x H&M oversized cream cashmere sweater and pink candy clutch, Isabel Marant boots. Cozy and comfortable. Sleeves unfurled go past my knees.
More pics here, here, and here
Despite missing out on launch day, I've come home with several pieces of the Maison Martin Margiela for H&M collection over the last few days, including the narrow shouldered blazer, oversized cashmere sweater, sock sweater, and pink candy wrapper clutch. There is still a ton of stock left at the stores I've stopped at (Century City, Beverly Center, Sunset), and they've even already marked down certain pieces like the horizontal dress and leather and suede jackets by 50% already. I'm happy that this collection wasn't as appealing to the mainstream; I was able to try on everything I wanted in my size, which is pretty unheard of with previous H&M guest designer collaborations. While I would have loved to have waited until the rest of the collection went on sale to get what I bought, I don't think my sizes will make it until then as these were amongst the last pieces in my size. Hard to say though; I hope I don't regret it as there is only a 7 day return window. I really like this collection in person; I'm impressed with the construction and details of the more tailored pieces and I like the whimsy and slight ridiculousness of the oversized pieces. I was really surprised to find not one, but two candy clutches at Beverly Center (bought one for N. as well), as they seemed to be the hit of the collection. Definitely a lot of unique looks (though sounds a bit like an oxymoron in connection with H&M).  I find it a lot more inspired and more my style than last year's Versace collection. I like the exaggerated and menswear inspired shapes, as with +J (Jil Sander) and Uniqlo collaboration. I stuck with the separates from this collection, which are wearable, practical (sort of) everyday pieces, vs. Lanvin and Versace which were more cocktail / special occasion appropriate (opportunities to dress up are far and in between with an almost 6 month old). The other looks that I liked, but could wait until sale as they are not must haves, were the red hitched up dress, darted turtleneck sweater, darted pin stripe blazer (though I like the narrow-shouldered jacket more) and hitched up skirt. The horizontal dress, which was on sale, did not work for me at all; after 10 minutes of grappling with figuring out how to put it on, it was just way too much fabric for me. I was also bought but then returned the suede jacket, while it was a great price (on sale) for a suede jacket and had a cool silhouette, it just was too stiff and uncomfortable. As for sizing, it depended on the look; I preferred the size 2 / XS in the red hitched up dress, trompe l'oeil dress and oversized cashmere sweater, but went with the size 4 / S in the sock sweater and narrow-shoulder jacket. This is my favorite time of year to shop with the beginning of all the end of season sales. Happy shopping everyone!

update: the collection is now mostly 60% off. After a call to corporate, I was able to return the items that got marked down after a bit of a battle (even though I was within the return period). I had to go back the next day to rebuy as they would not allow a price adjustment or for me to repurchase the items at the sale price (total pain, I can't believe they would turn away a paying customer), and also picked up the darted sweater and trompe l'oeil dress on sale. I decided to skip the red hitched up dress as I have more than enough cocktail dresses. More pics later! Despite my aggravations with H&M and in particular the Century City store, I still really love all the pieces that I bought, and have already worn the oversized cashmere sweater and pink candy clutch out on the town.

update #2: final toll from the collection (mostly at significant discounts): leather drainpipe pants, dolly cardigan sweater, red hitched up dress, oversized cashmere sweater, darted sweater, sock sweater, narrow shouldered jacket, candy clutch, nude, red and black plexi invisible wedges, suede pattern cut jacket
MMM x H&M narrow shouldered jacket. I really like the cut, fabric and details of this blazer.
Same narrow shouldered blazer buttoned all the way up with the pink candy clutch. Nothing subtle about the clutch, ginormous, shiny and pink
MMM x H&M sock sweater. Yes, those are heels of socks at the shoulders and elbows. Hard to see all the details in this picture, but the various socks have different textures and patterns. Definitely a unique piece
On the wishlist for later (images from www.hm.com)
Red hitched up dress. Image from www.hm.com
Darted Sweater. Image from www.hm.com

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Burberry Owls

Burberry Prorsum's FW 2012 collection was one of my favorite collections of this season. I loved the tweeds, tailored separates and was particularly enamored with the owl shirts. I really wanted a little piece for myself; I love the owl cashmere sweater, but it's pretty much sold out everywhere plus out of my budget at $1,000. I noticed though that Burberry put the same owl images on their childrenswear collection. While the girl's cashmere sweater was sold out in the larger sizes, I found the long sleeve t-shirt at Bloomingdales. At $50, after a friends and family discount, it was a lot gentler on the wallet than the $300 adult version. Perfect top for a cozy fall outfit.
Burberry girls owl t shirt, Etoile Isabel Marant skirt, Opening Ceremony boots, Fred Flare Carrie sunglasses
Burberry Prorsum FW 2012 show. Images from style.com

Monday, November 19, 2012

Maison Martin Margiela x H&M Preview

I stopped by the Century City mall today to check out the MMM collaboration with H&M. They had pretty much the entire collection still available in my size so I got to try lots of things on. I have to say, despite the weirdness, I liked quite a few pieces. And I couldn't even figure out how to put some pieces, like the horizontal dress on. More pics to come...

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Maison Martin Margiela x H&M Launch

image from www.hm.com
One of my fashion highlights every year is the release of H&M's major fall designer collaboration. Two years ago, I lined up for Lanvin x H&M, and pretty much bought the entire collection over the release. It is still my favorite collaboration to date. Last year, I was out of town for Versace x H&M, but managed to buy two dresses a few months later for 50% off. This year's collaboration was with Maison Martin Margiela, which is definitely a lot more avant garde than previous collaborations. I definitely appreciate the artsy aesthetic and whimsy of the collection, but it's just a little bit too out there for me. I don't think that I can pull off the silhouettes as most things are oversized and either knee length or longer, which doesn't work for my proportions. Some of the items, like the hair necklace and glove purse are just a little too creepy for me. As usual, the ad campaign is beautifully shot and perfectly captures the brand aesthetic.  A few of my favorite looks from the campaign: the duvet coat (obviously unnecessary for LA) and the hitched dress. I hope to make it to a few H&Ms next week to see the collection in person. All images from www.hm.com
Image from www.hm.com
image from www.hm.com
image from www.hm.com

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