Lusiana Fashion

Herbert Matter’s "Surreal Shopper" appeared in a 1939 Harper's Bazaar cautioning shopper's not to lose their heads to fashion. (Via bits&bites, via The Eclectic Eye)

Face it; nothing says President’s Day like a good sale. It used to be that Washington’s Birthday was when stores made final markdowns on Winter’s leftovers, in order to make room for the Spring line. Alas, the holiday is now called President’s Day, Winter merchandise went on sale before Christmas, and gauzy florals have been hanging in stores for at least a month or two. And even though, the mere act of shopping, in itself, is downright American, gone is that reverential moment of handing over presidential portraits in exchange for our purchases. Somehow, swiping a credit card just doesn’t make me think of George.

Lacoste windows, Rockefeller center, the first week of January.

Betsey Johnson: Juliette, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette

… well, on her sketchpad she does, and it’s a wide-eyed, leggy, jean-clad, midriff-baring Juliette from the opera Roméo et Juliette. Johnson and a group of other fashion elite agreed to embark upon a truly delectable flight of fashion fancy--to reinterpret the classic-opera character of their choice. The results, which have all been generously donated for a most worthy cause—The New York City Opera--will be auctioned, tomorrow, Thursday May 20th, at the annual DIVAS Shop for Opera benefit event.

Organized by the New York City Opera Thrift Shop (declared NYC’s best thrift shop by Vogue magazine), the Divas Shop for Opera is one of the city’s most anticipated shopping events by fashionistas everywhere.

Visit ‘Soul Stylist’ Lori Sutherland’s blog for details of some of the incredible vintage and designer deals to expect. This is serious stuff—Pauline Trigere, Zandra Rhodes and Issey Miyake, to name a few—at stunningly low (cue for diva to faint) prices.

Here are a handful of about two-dozen designer “reinterpretations” to be on view and auctioned at the event. I’m not sure if it is sold out yet, but you can check here for tix.