Judging the Judges: Simply Vera by Vera Wang

Kohl's recently started selling their exclusive Simply Vera by Vera Wang collection. What does Kohl's have to say about it?

"Known for her pricey couture wedding dresses, Vera Wang offers up more attainable clothes with a new line designed exclusively for Kohl’s department stores. She already has mattresses, wedding dresses, hotel rooms, perfume and stationery under her bejeweled grosgrain belt. Now, Vera Wang is romancing the masses with a soup-to-nuts cheap-chic line for Kohl’s called Simply Vera by Vera Wang. And it uses the same design ingredients as Wang’s existing empire of high-end goods. Dark, moody and voluminous don’t usually describe the cheap and cheery world of designer collaborations – but this time, they do. With a smoky palette of navy, black, ash and dusty lavender, and a nod to Eastern Europe, the Kohl’s line is straight out of Wang’s fall runway collection."

Yeah, it's straight out of her last collection - and we're not sure that's such a good thing. There's nothing wrong with muted colors; we happen to be fans of them ourselves. But there's muted and then there's clinically depressed.

It's not bad, really. It's mostly classic shapes and looks and the clothes look like they're well made. It's just that, as a collection, or more specifically, as a brand, it's a bit of a downer.

Still, Kohl's isn't always known for having the most stylish clothes in the world, so this is a bit of a step up for them. It makes us think of Tim Gunn, actually. These are the kinds of wardrobe basics he would force his makeovers to wear. That's not a bad thing, necessarily. It's like they're clothes for women who don't know how to dress stylishly.

Can't say we're any more impressed with the accessories:

Nothing to write home about (although some of those bags looka little cheap). What do you gals think?

(Photos: Courtesy of kohls.com)

Judging the Judges: Betsey Johnson Spring 2008 Collection

Either Betsey is mellowing in her old age or we are, because we used to think most of her output was crazy, punk-inspired, debutante-on-acid stuff, but this collection is frilly and feminine and cute. Looking back on her past couple of years' worth of collections, we can see that she's been heading down this road for a while, so we tend to think we're the ones mellowing in our dotage.

Oh sure, it's all a little costumey, and it's really only appropriate for a small slice of the female population, but overall, it's a fun little collection. We can't really point to anything that we hate. We're not crazy about some of the over-crinolined skirts and you'll never find us complimenting a grown woman with a bow in her hair, but we like this one.

Watch the Elle Magazine video of Betsey Johnson's Spring 2008 collection: