Cheryl Shops

The Vena Cava for Aqua collection is now on sale at Bloomingdales.com! The handy landing page gives you an at-a-glance preview of the entire line, and I can say it looks very Vena Cava, which is good news for fans of the label. The day dresses are what really stand out for me; this triangle-print chiffon number is my favorite, I think (although it's hard to pick!). The collection is available now online and in stores starting September 1st.

Nitrolicious reports that the Isabel Toledo for Payless collection is now live; I must say, I'm impressed with how much quirkiness the mass chain let her get away with. Case in point: the totally weird yet awesome High Ghillie booties and the fabulous Belted Poodle boots. My favorite pair, however, is the supersexy Toreador pump--with shoes this hot, who needs leather?

And, finally, in other shoe news, Fashionista reports that the next round of Pierre Hardy for Gap shoes hit stores October 19th and, shockingly, cost only $95. I'll take one of each!

Fans of Uniqlo's +J collection, rejoice: Jil Sander has renewed her contract with Uniqlo [subscription required]! The notoriously detail-oriented German minimalist is so pleased with how her first two collections for the fast-fashion chain have turned out, she will continue to work with Uniqlo indefinitely. With her confidence in the future of fashion at a price, it just goes to show how visionary she remains. In related news, Uniqlo is taking over the old Brooks Brothers store at 666 5th Avenue, and the store, which probably won't open until next year, will be more than double the size of the original location. So, in the meantime, don't forget--the Costello Tagliapietra collection hits the Soho store May 20.

Isabel Toledo's shoes and bags for Payless won't hit stores until September, but Nitrolicious has sketches from the upcoming collection, which will include 7 shoes and two bags. Whimsical, no?

Speaking of shoes, Refinery 29 has photos of a Pierre Hardy for Gap fall design; the lace-up boots are reportedly from Gap's main line, but the gray peep-toe booties are Hardy's. All I have to say is: WANT! No details on price or when they hit stores, but as soon as I know anything, I will of course share it. In the meantime, Hardy's spring collection is due in stores next week (May 4th, to be exact). This time, I'm not waiting for my friends & family coupon--those nude wedges must be mine.

And, I totally forgot to mention this last week; bridal is not an area I typically cover, but this is pretty major: Vera Wang is designing a line for David's Bridal [subscription required}. Vera is obviously one of the best-known names in the bridal biz, and David's is, well, a place to go for a relatively inexpensive gown. Wang's dresses can easily run into the five figures, but her line for David's will retail between $600 and $1500, with most of the 20 dresses under $1200. The jury is out on whether this will impact Wang's high-end business; while I would venture that most people who shop a designer's namesake collection don't necessarily shop their masstige collaborations, a wedding dress is something you wear for one day only, and when it comes down to spending $10,000 versus $1,000 for two very similar dresses, I personally would go with the cheaper option. But that might just be me--after all, there's a multi-billion-dollar industry built around giving women their Perfect Day*. Regardless, this is likely to make a lot of brides, who otherwise couldn't afford Vera Wang, quite happy. The line hits David's Bridal stores next spring.

*I haven't yet acknowledged this here, but while I'm on the topic of weddings, I guess this is a good time to note that MW and I are engaged! I hadn't planned on blogging about my wedding, but if anyone is interested, I can talk about dress shopping and the like here. (Several people have asked me if I'm going to start a bridal blog, to which I just laugh.) If you have any opinions on the matter, leave them in the comments below!

Designing Michelle Obama's inauguration outfit last year gave designer Isabel Toledo a boost, and now American women of all income brackets can afford her wares: she's designing a line for Payless [subscription required]. Toledo's shoes and handbags will retail for less than $40 and will hit stores in September. The critical favorite designer will join Christian Siriano, Alice + Olivia, and Lela Rose in creating inexpensive (and, in many cases, vegan-friendly) shoes for the mass shoe chain.

And this is not quite masstige, but it's welcome news: Remember Paper Denim & Cloth? It was one of the original premium denim brands, but as the market got increasingly crowded with the Sevens, Citizens of Humanity, and J Brands of recent years, it lost traction and faded from stores. Denimology reports the label has relaunched exclusively at National Jean Company and--the best part--every pair retails for a mere $100.

If you ask me, one of the most underrated masstige collaborations is Pierre Hardy's Design Edition shoes for the Gap. I have a pair from nearly every collection he's done, and not only are they all incredibly comfortable, but people routinely stop me on the street to ask where I got them. And since Hardy's namesake collection (as well as his shoes for Balenciaga) remains way out of my price range, I am happy to partake. Nitrolicious has photos of his upcoming summer line, which hits select Gap stores May 4th. The nude cork wedges are my favorite pair, but, knowing me, I'll probably buy all three--even so, three pairs of the Gap shoes are still way under what a single pair of regular Pierre Hardy sandals would cost. And, in case you're still interested, Hardy's suede buckle boots have finally hit Gap.com (two months after they arrived in select stores).

Speaking of shoes, have you ever found yourself drooling over Christian Siriano's runway shoes, only to find that his Payless collections contain far more restrained, conservative (and maybe a little disappointing) versions? According to SheFinds, his spring 2010 collection boasts straight-from-the-runway looks, which will retail for $79.99 (a king's ransom at Payless!) and arrive in stores mid-March. I have no idea how I'm going to walk in any of these but, they're so ferosh, for $80, I'll try.

Finally, if Sonia Rykiel's lingerie line for H&M last month didn't whet your appetite for coquettish French clothing, you'll be happy to hear that her full line of knitwear hits stores on February 20th, and The Cut has a video preview of the collection. It's striped, rhinestone-studded, colorful, and, overall, very Sonia Rykiel.