I love love love my bags (sadly. i tend to live by that love). New Bags, Vintage bags, even body bags!...But once someone hands me a paper duffle bag, lines must be drawn. So yes, I can definitely commend the creativity and the fact that desginer's Stefan Diez  used his brain. But how many wears will i get before my entire life falls out on 6th and Collins Ave? They say it's durable  (Comprised of a durable high-density polyethylene fiber), it's waterproof, they even went a step further and called it a "bag" (you know, the accessory?), but I just cant see it for anything more than an Arts & Crafts Project. 

IT'S PAPER!!!!!!!! 

I've never seen a girl so ready for a party! See more here. 

I've never seen a chick look so much like a lady of the evening and been so excited at the same time. I will admit that i do get overly excited for many many things... but never something like this. Aside from its coffee table size, V Magazine is known for it's cutting edge and in-your-face-fashion editorials, and the fact that I've been so disappointed with what I've seen for the month of March, this will have to be the winner thus far. Supermodel Natalia Vodianova makes me understand that not only is she slim and trim, but she cant look completely code error with matted hair and a pale pink lip. Sorts makes me just want to take her out and jump up and down. Doesnt it? 

So... in this final piece of my barrage against the Gap (And I do this out of love... I suppose it's like reprimanding an ex you broke up with because they just wouldn't get with the program) I'm going to examine some of the highlights from the current ad campaign(s).

I truly believe that style has evolved tremendously over the last few years here in the United States. We've gone from a streetwear/mainstream culture obsessed with labels (down to their signature logo prints... ew) and niche/clique styles (goth, emo, skater, prep) to one that is becoming much more wordly, expressive and imaginative.

Now everyone and their mama is a stylist, and it's a good thing (okay, except for us Stylists trying to get jobs)!

So why, as an advertising executive would I push this in the states:

"The New T-Shirt?" "The New Polo?" ...Really? What's so new about it? That they actually fit people instead of swallowing them?

Now what's verrry interesting, is how the Gap alters their campaign for their Japan presence:

 (all images from models.com via gap, inc.)

Look what they're hiding from the American people. Am I seeing what I'm seeing? Is this still the Gap? 

Do I detect Fun? Individualism? Style? Even a splash of SWAG??

See THIS would make me shop at the Gap... so why do they feel like the American public wouldn't respond to this??

Okay, maybe your Middle American soccer mom wouldn't be hip to it...but fine, run those cheesy "New Short" & "Everyone in 31 Flavors of Cardigan" ads in O Magazine and run the stylish ones in V, Nylon, Interview, Spin, GQ and Details.

Hopefully, a company this out of touch with it's customer base will survive to see a day where, like the Japanese, we too are offered the opportunity to express ourselves through fashion, not conform to it.

May we be judged not for the color of our jeans, but by the content of our outfit.

- K R A V E N

So my fellow Coco Chanel Puffs blogger Soulove and I were discussing the Gap’s latest campaign.

I personally am, as usual, duly unimpressed.

They have...to do...something...different. (imagine me pounding my fist on a podium throughout that statement)

The Gap was once the bonafide go-to for your relaxed casual wear and basics… but now it has become, for many, a last resort.

I usually don’t even bother stepping into the store when I take a trip to the mall. (I wonder: how many of you do the same?). Why should I when I can get more exciting offers (yet still magically basic) from, say, American Apparel... or even American Eagle Outfitters?

Every time I did give the store a chance, if I wasn’t smacked with ho-hum customer service (an outrage at that price point) my visit was marred by a lack of quality, brazen attempts at convincing us to conform to a certain image or style, designs that lacked much imagination, and oh yeah, ridiculous price points.

While the leaders of the brand won’t be quick to announce to the world that something is disastrously wrong in HQ… I think the numbers speak for themselves. Take a look at the stock value over the last DECADE.

Now while I'm no analyst (...yet), I think it's safe to say that the current economic state here is only magnifying a trend that was already snowballing.

The Gap has lost it's style. That simple.  

Am I the only one willing to say it, Anna Wintour? Sure... they've still got a couple of fun and traditional quirks about them that keep us at least paying attention... but what about engaging us so that we buy? Or even stop into the store at all?

Will they make it through the downturn? Time will certainly tell.

I just got an instant warm feeling in the pit of my stomach. You figure it's love a first sight? Not quite. You see when you live in places like Miami (a developing country,lol) where most people feel as though they're the walking IT GIRL/BOY... you kind of de-sensitize your guard to what you see on a daily basis. But when you see chick like Aimee. S from from L.A  you almost want to just... RIZE!!!  I encourage you all to rise with me. 

There's a lot of hoopla surrounding the guy, but I'll admit I'm not necessarily a fan of Alexander Wang. NOW... with that being said... CHECK OUT THIS PHENOMENAL women's trench from his Spring 2009 collection. I'm so glad that someone isn't doing the traditional belted silhouette. True to himself, no?  see the rest of his work at Opening Ceremony