I love shopping of obviously and in Amsterdam you have lots of different shops and boutiques. The places where you can find cute and exclusive items are in the little streets near the canals in the centre of Amsterdam. It’s so hard to choose only three but if I must narrow it down I would say:

"This is a fun little boutique in the 9 streets (this is a part of Amsterdam with 9 parallel streets full of independent boutiques in the centre of Amsterdam). To me The Darling is definitely one of my favorite shopping spots because of the bags, the jewelry and the cupcakes (edible ones!). They also sell clothing."

"This is a very affordable brand from Denmark; they have chain stores located in different countries in Europe and in the Middle East. In Amsterdam there’s a big NewYorker store located in the ‘Nieuwedijk’ street (main shopping street in the centre of Amsterdam). What I love about the store is that you can find fashion for such affordable prices that are very stylish and look almost like designer stuff if you mix & match it the right way with items from other brands!"

"This is literally designer shoe heaven. Even when the store is closed I find myself drooling at the window with these delicious shoe snacks displayed in front of me. It’s quite expensive because they mainly sell designer shoes but if you’re planning a trip to Amsterdam do it during sale time because they reduce the prices so much that it becomes (sort of) affordable! The store is located in the ‘Leidsestraat’."

"My favorite Dutch designer at the moment is Dennis Diem. At the last edition of Amsterdam fashion week I was sitting front row at his show and I was blown away by his ‘Fool’s Gold’ collection. Gorgeous corsets, chiffon dresses and golden chains everywhere! Even Miss J. Alexander from ANTM attended the show in Amsterdam (he helped out the models with their walks)."

"In Amsterdam people are pretty fashionable in the streets so everyone really has their own style, you see a lot of different trends mixed up. But lately I think that a wave of jungle prints has taken over Amsterdam. You see a lot of python and leopard prints (witch I both happen to love!). I think the mainstream will just add a touch of jungle to their outfit, like an iPhone sleeve or a belt, but the real fashionistas go all the way and wear leopard wedge boots or (fake) leather python leggings. Or gloves with an animal print, fabulous!"

"I’m French so I love to go to Paris three or four times a year. Although I was born and raised in Amsterdam, Paris is really my second home! Usually I travel there with my sister, Alizia. I love to go shopping, eating in little restaurants (people go out a lot in Paris) and just wander the streets and discover new places. Also I get to see my dad who lives there, and my cousins. Paris makes me feel alive! I just love that I can speak French when I’m there (I miss that sometimes in Amsterdam). I’m heading there for Christmas again with my sister, can’t wait!"

"If you were in Amsterdam for 24 hours you should go shopping in the 9 streets like I mentioned before. Have lunch at George in Amsterdam-South (sort of the upper side of Amsterdam). Also you need to take a walk trough the Vondel Park (famous park of Amsterdam) where everyone hangs out. In the summer people chill in the grass, listen music, have a picnic or barbecue and in the winter you can walk trough the snow (cover yourself because it’s very cold) & drink some hot coco, and you will still see a lot of people! The park is really a place where you can spot cool street styles. Everyone is dressed ‘casually-chic’. If you’re in to art you should definitely check out the museum square where three different museums are located, like for instance the Van Gogh Museum. If you’re only interested in fashion there’s even a museum for you! Check out the Bag Museum located at the ‘Herengracht’ where you can see 500 years of bag history in one building. Also, you should have dinner at Pata Negra (Spanish tapas) in the ‘Utrechtsestraat’. The location has a good ambience and really delicious food! In this same street there are lots of little bars and shops you should check out. Have drinks in the afternoon at my favorite spot Bar Italia. If you want to go to a nightclub then you should go to Jimmy Woo (pictured above), just make sure you’re on the guest list they’re kind of selective with whom they let in. Or check out De Kring for a more relaxed vibe, eclectic beats & artistic/fashion people. I you still have an hour then take a canal tour (boat stations are located everywhere near Central station). It’s a beautiful sight to see all the little canal houses and learn a little bit about the history from Amsterdam."

For all our internet-obsessed style mavens out there, the International Academy of Arts & Sciences has announced their Webby winners.  Let’s check out the ones we care about:

Best Fashion Website: Nowness

Best Retail Website:  Groupon

Best Beauty and Cosmetics Website:  Boss Bottled Night

People’s Voice Award for Best Fashion Website:  Vogue.com

People’s Voice Award for Best Beauty and Cosmetic Website: Redkin.com

Best Shopping App: Walgreens Mobile

Best Celebrity Fan Website:  Team Coco

Best weird website: Awkward Family Photos

Best Magazine: New Yorker

You grew up in creative New York neighborhood SoHo in the company of artists and in the midst of your family’s loungewear business, Perfect Negligee. What influences from your background, both culturally and business-wise, do you interpret for your own line?
My grandfather left Lebanon in 1920 and started Perfect Negligee based on the caftan. My great-grandfather was cultivating mulberry trees for silk worms, so there has also been a history of textiles and silk in my family.

I grew up with Canal Street in my backyard and spent time rummaging through the odds and ends I found there. I was seeing the emerging scene in the East Village and SoHo, and loved it because I’m a creative person. There is always a refined angle to my designs because you can’t take elegant out of my DNA. I grew up in velvet robes with lace collars. Sunday at my grandmother’s was layers of china, crystal and silver. My family was extremely formal and my father very dapper. He never wore jeans. I remember going shopping with him and I would be like “look daddy this is so cute” and he would say “no honey look at the poor stitching.” I couldn’t buy anything that was bad quality.

So you spent a lot of time in your grandmother’s attic and exploring the treasures of Canal Street. Do you have any favorite pieces that continue to inspire you?
Oh yes, I have a lot of those things. I saved all the leather suitcases and lots of jeweled shoes. I have this bronze statue of a 1920s girl arched back holding a dish. I saved perfume bottles from the 20s that belonged to my grandmother. I discovered these Elizabethan-looking velvet sleeves adorned with white mink and tubes of black velvet. I was saving everything as soon as I got my paws in the drawers, and those objects continually inspire me.

I found this really cool chain on Canal Street once. It’s an intricately designed, cast leaf texture on figure-eight shaped link. I found out it’s a chandelier chain because I recently saw it on the Bowery in a store going out of business. I loved all the little trinkets I would find on Canal.

Your father always made you pay attention to the quality of a garment, and your customer is looking for this same type of elegance. What do you do to make sure your product stays consistent with these expectations?
It all starts from the beginning. When I decide to work with a material and a factory, I have to be able to trust the quality. If I think the material is too fragile, I decide not to work with it, even if I love it. We ship internationally and a material must withstand production, handling and wear. There are things I can’t do because I know the quality will disappoint my customer.

Do you ever find you are inspired to create around a fabric rather than starting with the design itself first?
I look at many aspects when I approach design. I look at all materials to see what I like and then figure out what to do with them. I look at the attributes and obstacles to working with them. What are the confinements and what are the opportunities? Then I look at all of the manufacturing possibilities. Some pieces require handwork, and others are made with machinery. I take everything into consideration before settling on a final design.

What can the Colette Malouf lady not leave the house without? Who is your customer, and what is she like?
She is highly educated, likes to travel and try new things. She has a very strong sense of integrity. Before buying something, she carefully decides if she identifies with its quality or originality. She’s curious and a culture seeker. She goes to the theater and listens to music – she’s so interested in life. She shops in the most expensive stores, but also goes antiquing and likes to find unusual things to mix with her collection of modern pieces. Something old, something new, always elegant in her motto.

You occasionally lecture students at Parsons about design and the fashion industry. What do you tell young designers in the industry about starting a business? What can you learn from these students?
I tell young designers to think about what it means to have your own company because it’s a huge sacrifice to have all that responsibility early in life. I can’t even count how many times I couldn’t attend Sunday brunch or go on vacation. Owning a business isn’t for some but inevitable for others. I couldn’t work for anybody else because I needed to express this strong vision I have. My life is dedicated to my vision, and I’m sure you’ll hear the same story from many designers.

I look to young people in the industry as a checkpoint. I ask myself if I’m getting too serious or too safe. I try to listen to my assistant because even if I can foresee obstacles with certain designs, it’s good to be open to others’ opinions.

Do things like nature, architecture or other designers inspire you? What really speaks to you?
For a long time, I was really nature and object-inspired. But now I’m much more passionate about being experientially-inspired. I feel a piece can be inspired by one single element, but it doesn’t work that way for the collection as a whole. A recent trip to Turkey heavily inspired me, as do the 1920s. I think about what I would wear sitting in a cabaret in 1920 and bring the customer into a narrative. It’s the storytelling that I really enjoy and find inspiring.

Sometimes its hard to remember why I get into something, but seeing a picture, texture or material can start to spark my inspiration. I have all these impressions of life stored in my memory bank that I build upon and turn into a story.

All photos are from the Colette Malouf Fall 2011 collection lookbook. To view past collections and learn more about the brand, visit her website at colettemalouf.com.

Shot for the New Yorker in 1995 by the legendary Richard Avedon, this creepy shoot seems worthy of a concept for Americas Next Top Model. Featuring gorgeously style models that appear to have no idea that their loves are merely skeletons, Avedon creates many shots of sheer passion and romance. In agreement with WickedHalo, this shoot has a striking resemblance to the Corpse Bride, but with a ‘Corpse Groom.’ As creepy as these decomposed grooms seem, you can’t help but notice the beauty in each shot, and have a hard time looking away from the photos, no matter how gruesome the concept may be. Each shot brings the couple into a different scene, of love or catastrophe. There’s even a sex scene, which could perhaps be followed by the family portrait with the child as a very creepy doll, even more so than the skeleton. A few of the shots seem straight from a horror movie, but the concept overall would do Tim Burton proud.

GALLERY: In Memory of the Late Mr. and Mrs. Comfort

LINKAGE: Wicked Halo

Okay folks, you can put down the champagne bottles, party hats and noise-makers. The celebration (for most…) was fun while it lasted, but the party is over. It’s pretty safe to say that Anna Wintour is NOT retiring and is NOT being replaced by Carine Roitfeld. We all know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Anna Wintour, so let me help the fashion diva out and provide all of you indies with a few trustworthy sources and put this rumor to rest:

Wintour herself told the New York Observer this morning:

 ”I have no plans to leave American Vogue now or in the foreseeable future.”

Also, while speaking to a panel at the Plaza Hotel (Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and New Yorker editor David Remnick were present) she revealed that she wasn’t yet “fed-up” with her job:

“My father always said to me that when you get too angry that’s the time to stop. The day I get too angry is the day I take up gardening.” 

Carine Roitfeld, editor for Vogue France and supposed replacement for Wintour spoke to WWD from London and told them:

“I’m very happy at Vogue France.”

Si Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast, said through a spokesman on Tuesday:

“There’s no truth to it. This is the silliest rumor I ever heard.”

So there you have it. Wintour, Roitfeld and Newhouse all disaffirmed the rumors of Wintour’s retirement and replacement. This is a prime example of why we should ignore non-credible sources and not jump to conclusions. But I did hear that Anna Wintour was pregnant with twins…only kidding… Or am I? No, I’m really just kidding.

Thanks NY Mag!