Glamour girl lifts head-turning looks from fashion mags

By Lisa Hinojosa

CORPUS CHRISTI — I wouldn't be caught dead wearing... a fake designer bag. I feel if I can't afford it, I shouldn't pretend I can. I believe having a sense of style doesn't reflect on how much you can spend it's whether you know how to put it together or not.

Three accessories women definitely need are... a pair of natural-toned heels with a matching purse (because it's easier to match something that's close to your skin tone than it is to find the perfect colored shoe to match every dress) and a pearl necklace with matching earrings -- they just define classy.

Fashion advice I'd give my best friend Keep it simple and you don't have to be revealing to be sexy. My favorite shopping haunts definitely Forever 21. I used to drive to San Antonio just to shop there, so when they brought one here, I was like, "Finally." They have the best prices and a huge selection of styles.

I spice up my wardrobe with bright colors and beautiful dresses that I can dress up or down. Three words to describe my wardrobe bright, simple and a little sexy. I have a tough time shopping for jeans, so when I find what I like, I usually try to buy them in all shades. I have a fashion addiction for shoes and purses... and of course the jewelry to match. The best way to organize your closet is Color coordinate and then organize from casual to evening wear.

The only thing I dislike about shopping is you either don't have enough time or you think, "Will it be here when I get back if I leave it behind?" A fashionable find from an unusual place my little bamboo purse. My former employer bought it for me when she went to Thailand. She knew my taste so well. I have had it for about seven years. I truly love this purse and I always get compliments on it.

I love shopping with my girlfriends, because we know it's just us and we know we really trust each other to be honest about what we're trying on and whether or not it really looks good. My biggest fashion pet peeve is seeing someone wear a cute dress with big strappy shoes that do not match. It really drives me crazy.

Eco-fashion: Transforming trash into treasures

Fashion designers are giving new life to worthless candy wrappers, newspapers and plastic bags; turning trash into trendy tote bags, purses and jewelry. From "post-consumer and industrial waste" comes durable, funky accessories reportedly worn by celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz and Petra Nemcova.

One self-described eco-fashion label, Ecoist, has partnered with Coca-Cola, Luna Bar and Aveda to create handbags made from misprinted and discontinued packaging. "We tap into that source of waste because it is reliable, and unfortunately, it's abundant," Ecoist co-founder Jonathan Marcoschamer said. "We believe that for the next few years, there's going to be a significant amount." How about 7.6 billion tons of waste? That's how much American companies toss each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

During the past four years, Ecoist said, it has sold more than 100,000 accessories created by its designers in Peru and Miami, Florida. The bags -- some of them one-of-a-kind -- are priced from about $30 for smaller versions to about $180 for larger ones. "For now, we're an immediate solution for many of these companies to utilize waste for something that's creative and promotes environmental awareness," Marcoschamer said.

Ecoist isn't alone. Katherine Rasmussen, owner of the label Reiter8, creates totes from recycled boat sails. Nicola Freegard and Robin Janson, the design team behind Vy&Elle, have recycled 100 tons of vinyl billboard ads to create wallets, bags and a variety of other products. Another designer, Anna Built, has opted to create jewelry from recycled tin cans.

But it's not always easy being green. Timbuk2, a company famous for its messenger bags, has encountered resistance in its attempt to produce totes made from discarded plastic bags. The idea seemed feasible when Timbuk2 formed a partnership with RootPhi, which developed a machine capable of bonding plastic bags together. The machine, called the Lamitron, allowed them to produce a new fabric while maintaining the visual details of the original plastic bag. See photos of the eco-friendly accessories »

The timing seemed appropriate; San Francisco had banned the use of plastic bags, and other cities worldwide were considering similar initiatives. Despite a following of 3,000 potential customers on the Timbuk2 Web site, the bags are unlikely to be sold any time soon, if at all. The companies have encountered legal and technical hiccups in their efforts to mass produce the bags.

"Everyone is afraid to be the large-scale manufacturer, to stick their toe in the water. It's a risk and a cost issue," says Doug Patt, co-founder of RootPhi. Tinbuk2 also found that, although trash may no longer have an owner, logos on trash still do. Target sent Timbuk2 a cease and desist letter in September when it discovered that some Lamitron bags showed the company's bull's-eye design. RootPhi and Timbuk2 scrambled to identify and remove the offending bags from its limited collection of prototypes.

"We encourage and promote recycling efforts, including ones that use our recycled bags," Target said in a written statement to CNN. "However, in this particular case we believed that the prominent use of our bull's-eye design mark implied a sponsorship or affiliation with Timbuk2 that did not exist at that time." Target said Timbuk2 has cooperated. Perry Klebahn, Timbuk2's CEO, acknowledges that Target wasn't technically wrong. "The onus was on us to talk to Target and get them to say OK, in this particular case, to grant us a license. If we really are going to make use of this, we should be responsible as the manufacturer."

However, the initial draw for Timbuk2 was the possibility that it could simultaneously clean up neighborhoods and satisfy a market demand for highly localized and personalized eco-products. "What's great here is that no two bags are the same. ... What if you could roll into a town and make artifacts that have a local flavor?" Klebahn asked. His vision was that one day, anyone could drop off their used shopping bags at Timbuk2 and receive a customized tote bag a few weeks later. For now, the masses will have to wait.

Eco-fashion has certainly proved that it has enough caché in the fashion world. Last year, British designer Anya Hindmarch created an instant eco-fad with her $15 limited edition "I Am Not A Plastic Bag" bag. The cotton bags quickly sold out in London and New York, with hundreds of people lining up for them. The bags fetched $400 on eBay and spawned a dizzying number of knock-offs.

Atlanta, Georgia, boutique owner Joyce Justicz said she doesn't think consumers buy eco-fashion exclusively for environmental reasons. "They buy them because they're cute, and it's an added bonus," she said. Will the trend last? Yair Marcoschamer, another Ecoist co-founder, is optimistic. "Businesses and individuals have realized that if something isn't done [about the environment], this is going to have a profound effect on each of our lives," he said. "Consuming products that are fair-trade, that are environmentally responsible, is our responsibility as consumers."

Carrie's purses are towering triumphs in 'Sex'

By Olivia Barker, USA TODAY

On TV's Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw inspired women to think outside the boxy bag and instead pick up purses shaped like horse heads and telephones. In Sex and the City the movie, she's getting them to grab something monumental: the Eiffel Tower.

Since a publicity shot of Carrie embracing Mr. Big and clutching a purse shaped like the Parisian icon was released in the fall, Beverly Hills designer Timmy Woods has sold about 150 of the bags showered with Swarovski crystals at $3,000 a pop and another 1,000 purses without stones for $450 each.

CELEB STYLE: Get that fresh 'Sex and the City' look

The movie may be stuffed with more blatant status bags from the likes of Fendi, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Prada, but the Eiffel Tower's triumph is evidence that four years after the show wrapped, Sex can still sell fashion that's quirky and in contrast to the other characters, consummately Carrie. (Remember nameplate necklaces and saucer-sized flower pins?)

And, like so much of Sex style, it serves a narrative purpose.

"It's a great wink and homage to Carrie's experience in Paris" at the end of the series, says W accessories and jewelry director Brooke Magnaghi. She envisions "die-hard Carrie fans are buying this. It's kind of a fun memento."

Woods, the woman also behind the horse and telephone bags, created the Eiffel Tower purse made from acacia wood four years ago as a valentine to her adopted city. (She has an apartment overlooking the tower.)

"I really wanted it to be very surreal," a la Salvador Dali. "I wanted it to look like it was emerging out of the clouds. Then I decided it should glitter." (The version studded with 6,300 Swarovski stones takes nearly two months to make.)

Last summer, Sex costume designer Patricia Field walked into Woods' showroom and asked for the tower tote. Woods had no idea how it would be featured until a friend saw the publicity still on the Internet. Available on her website and on Field's, as well as at Macy's New York Herald Square location, the model is among Woods' top five all-time best sellers. She's been making wood purses for a dozen years, and her current catalog boasts about 100 styles.

"(Carrie) can get away with carrying a funky little bag like that," says Samantha Durbin, editor of FabSugar.com. "It's cinematic. Everyone dreams of Paris. It kind of has that romantic feel to it."

Gloria Shulman bought her Eiffel Tower purse, the sparkly "major one," a month or two ago after spying the photo of Sarah Jessica Parker holding the original one.

"It was so darling, and she is such a trendsetter," says Shulman, 60, who owns a Beverly Hills mortgage brokerage — and three dozen other Woods totes, including the horse head. "I don't want to say I copied her — I'm little old for copying — but I enjoy seeing what the latest trends are."

When Pam Price carried her Eiffel Tower to a recent luncheon in La Jolla, Calif., someone thought she had stolen it from Parker, asking, "Where did you get that?"

"I bought it," Price replied; along with a horse head model, the tower sits among her two dozen-strong Timmy Woods collection.

"A lot of people think it doesn't open," says Price, 65, a writer and editor in Palm Springs. She manages to squeeze in the essentials: a credit card, $10 bill, tube of lipstick, business card and set of keys.

"You're not carrying your office with you," Price concedes.

But, then, how much time did Carrie spend in an office?