Couture Central

For any guys who are looking for the perfect sexy Valentine’s Day gifts for their sweetie, look no further. There is a luxury lingerie boutique that is popular among celebrities, called Kiki de Montparnasse (with U.S. locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York) that have the perfect luxury erotic gifts for that special woman in your life.

Below are some totally haute finds for Valentine’s Day that will definitely impress your sweetie.

Pearl Necklace Restraints, $2400

French Lesson Panty Gift Set, $295

Heart Panty, $175

Are you looking for hot shoes to enhance your Spring wardrobe??! !Watch out, because we have found some haute shoes unlike any others in your closet!

The Calvin Klein “Fish Skin shoes” may not compare to your favorite pair of Louboutin’s but you have to admit, these are absolutely to die for!

If the CK Fish Skin shoes are not for you; we are sure you will love these Christian Louboutin. With these adorable Toutenkaboucle Buckle Sandals you will be standing 6″ taller and looking haute in pink! There is no better way to pump up your Spring wardrobe this season.

The holiday season is coming around, so that means it’s time to start getting together your gift recipiant list and start figuring out what gifts you’re going to buy. For many people, gift cards are a favorite and of course just like with any gift there are some gift cards that are better than others. Many of the gift cards that are available most people have heard of but there are a few that may surprise you. If you’re looking to avoid the post office this holiday season, consider sending E-gift cards.

Below is my list of the Most Wanted Gift Cards of the Holiday Season for 2010.

• Gilt Groupe E-Card
• Loews
• Home Depot
• Victoria Secret
• Southwest Airlines
• American Airlines
• Amazon.com
• Bloomingdales
• Macy’s
• Four Season’s Hotel
• Ritz Carlton Hotel
• Barney’s New York
• Nordstrom’s
• Visa
• American Express
• Spa Finders
• Best Buy
• Williams-Sonoma
• Travelocity
• iTunes
• Sephora
• Harrods

If you’re the true fashion fanatic who wants everything top of the line, you must enter the world of exclusive shopping clubs or “invitation only shopping”. There are three websites that offer members access to fashion from some of the world’s hottest designers at reduced prices. These websites are selling second rate designer fashions like many retailers. They are offering fashions that are fitting of the quality that many of Hollywood’s elite are wearing. I bet many of A-listers shop on these websites. These websites come highly recommended by fashion magazines such as InStyle Magazine. If anyone is interested in becoming a member, post a comment with your email address, and you will be personally invited to these sites . There are also invite links available for some of the sites. I have personally shopped at all of the sites, there is a rating for each site. Enjoy!

Rating System:

******= Excellent; timely deliveries, excellent selection, fabulous deals
****= Good selection; decent variety; good deals
***= Decent selection, lacks variety, worth checking out; good deals
**= good merchandise, “an okay place to shop every blue moon”.

*= Check out every once in awhile for a good deal.

• Swirl *****
• Rue La La *****
• Billion Dollar Babes***
• Beyond The Rack*****
• Gilt Groupe *****
• Invite Link for Gilt Groupe
• Haute Look ****
• Editor’s Closet ****
• Ideeli*****
• Invite Link for Ideeli
• I Shop Fem ****
• The Top Secret ****
• DD Push ****
• Regents Secret **
• Gomatta Girls ****
• Catwalk To Closet ****
• Beyond the Rack *****
• Glamlist ****

All of these sites sell men’s, women’s, and childrens clothing and accessories, on occasion they are known to have some decor for the home. Gilt Groupe has added Gilt City to their collection; a new site to experience the best of some of the metropolitan cities in the U.S. We’ve seen VIP passes to awards shows, top rated restaurant experiences, and more!!!

Apple has sold over 10 billion songs though it’s iTunes music store. The person who purchased the 10 billionth song won $10,000 iTunes gift card. Out of those 10 billion songs the most downloaded iTunes song of all time is… I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas!

Here is the most downloaded iTunes songs of all time, as of this writing.

• I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas/The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)
• Poker Face, Lady GaGa/The Fame
• Boom Boom Pow, Black Eyed Peas/The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)
• I’m Yours, Jason Mraz/We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things
• Viva la Vida, Coldplay/Viva la Vida
• Just Dance, Lady GaGa & Colby O’Donis/The Fame
• Low (feat. T-Pain), Flo Rida/Mail On Sunday
• Love Story, Taylor Swift/Fearless
• Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis/Bleeding Love – Single
• Disturbia, Rihanna/Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded
• So What, P!nk/Funhouse (Deluxe Version)
• I Kissed a Girl, Katy Perry/I Kissed a Girl – Single
• Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It), Beyoncé/I Am… Sasha Fierce (Deluxe Version)
• Hot N Cold, Katy Perry/One of the Boys
• Stronger, Kanye West/Graduation
• Live Your Life (feat. Rihanna), T.I./Paper Trail (Deluxe Version)
• Hey There Delilah, Plain White T’s/All That We Needed
• Right Round, Flo Rida/R.O.O.T.S. (Deluxe Version)
• Party In the U.S.A., Miley Cyrus/Party In the U.S.A. – Single
• Don’t Stop Believin’, Journey/Journey: Greatest Hits
• Bad Romance, Lady GaGa/Bad Romance – Single
• Use Somebody, Kings of Leon/Only By the Night (Deluxe Version)
• Fireflies, Owl City/Ocean Eyes
• How to Save a Life, The Fray/How to Save a Life

Sources:

• Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga Top iTunes All-Time Most-Downloaded Songs
• iTunes 10 Billion Songs

Milan Fashion Week has begun with Elena Miro showing off her 2010-2011 Fall/Winter Collection. Her show drew significant attention due to the models showing off a different look. Apparently, the days of super skinny models are out of style. The fashion industry does not want to encourage models or aspiring models to starve themselves. This show was put together to “help real women to feel confident and at peace with themselves”, Elena Miroglio.

One of the highlights from London Fashion Week was Naomi Campbell’s The Fashion for Relief Show to benefit Haiti. The show as also accompanied by an auction. Celebrities such as Geri Halliwell, Amanda Holden, Kate Moss, and more participated.

Tragically, famed designer Alexander McQueen committed suicide on February 11, 2010. Sadly, the week before the designer lost his mother.

Alexander McQueen will be remembered in the fashion world for his Alexander McQueen and McQ labels. He designed elaborate fashion for stars such as Lady Gaga, Kate Bosworth, Nicole Kidman, and more!

Ideeli is another one of our favorite shopping sites. We thought we would take time to highlight some of the fabulous items you can find for sale this week at Ideeli. To join, please use the Official Couture Central Ideeli Invite.

Every year has a color that’s “in” when it comes to fashion each year. Throughout 2010, we should expect to see more turquoise worn by local fashionistas and celebs alike. Turquoise definitely has more of a spring flare, so we will continue to watch the runway to see if these predictions made by fashion insiders are true.