How do I love thee Fall collection at H&M? Let me count the ways: 1. It’s the perfect special occasion dress, $49.95 2. Haute couture that’s hotly priced, $59.95 3. A woven knit dress that looks chic with a blazer taking you through the workday; ditch the blazer and add statement jewelry and kitten heels for a sultry look for dinner and drinks, $49.95 4. The only accessory you’ll need with your skinny jeans, $49.95 5. A comfy, chunky knit dress is a staple for Fall, $59.95 Check out H&M.com for more haute Fall fashion. Share and Enjoy ...  Read More..

Remember when Fall was on the horizon and you looked forward to back-to-school shopping? For me that meant not only clothes and shoes, but cool new school supplies like Trapper Keepers and pencil boxes. But now that I’m “all grown up”, the only Fall shopping I’ll be doing is in the clothing store. I’m loving this fantastic skirt from Twinkle by Wenlan. The Pencil Box Skirt only slightly makes me think of school with its classic pencil shape and knee-length, and smart detailing along the top and bottom. Made of cotton, the skirt will take you into Fall but you can...  Read More..

We thought we’ve seen every nail color known to man (or woman) but Chanel recently anonounced that it’s going green this Fall. Not eco-friendly, but the actual color green. It’s releasing Peter Philips‘ (Creative Director of Chanel Makeup) Jade Green nail polish from its Fall 2009 collection as a limited-edition this October. If green nails sound horrid to you, don’t worry, it sounded that way to us too but once we saw the bottle we were sold! The highly coveted minty green shade will be joined by a Jade Rose shade as well (wonder what that will look like?) and we...  Read More..

What does it take for a designer to move beyond convention, and more importantly, to get everyone else to follow them? Convention is a tricky word, especially when it comes to shoes, for in shoes a great deal of the design potential is lost because…people have to walk in them. I learned during my interview with white-hot rising shoe design star Camilla Skovgaard that accepting that a great portion of shoe design is what you do after you satisfy the demands of the foot and the physics of simply walking. One look at Camilla Skovgaard‘s footwear and you know she’s not satisfied...  Read More..

For Fall 2009, Tibi designer Amy Smilovic presented a colorfully cohesive collection based on “a lighthearted moodiness influenced by the Russian fairytale, “The Tale of the Firebird“.” Smilovic’s jaunt to Russia resulted in a vivid display of satin dresses, chiffon tops, chicly cut wool coats a peacock-style prints throughout in hues of blue, black and gold. Though heavily incorporating this Fall’s ‘black is back’ trend, Smilovic’s frequent pops of color and punchy cut pieces set her collection apart. Asymmetical cuts, and carefully placed...  Read More..

Nanette Lepore is known for creating ultrafeminine pieces and her Fall 2009 collection was no different. The designer told media sources that she was inspired by “opulent women who mix and match pieces, travels a lot, collects and keeps clothes and mixes something fabulous with something old and vintage.” In her runway show, it was obvious to see the touches of vintage influences in the fabrics, silhouettes and color choices. But Lepore managed to put a modern glamorous spin on it all. Rich color combinations were utilized – gold metallic accented black, brown and coral tones in...  Read More..

Here we are in the blender. Many of the downtown up and coming designers and the clients that wear them are consistently combining the rebellious looks of the past as a way of striking out at the homogeneity that was constricting fashion. What happens when designers like Jordi Scott and Starr Rinaldi of Jordi Scott get a hold of the uniforms of rebels past is they become style terrorists and use design to attack the numbing fog of blandness that is commercial fashion. As with many designers who have been marginalized and denied exposure, for Fall/Winter ’09 there was a strong sense that...  Read More..

Typically reality show winners suffer the curse of the sudden death of their careers once the show ends. But Christian Siriano seems to have shaken and broken the curse and his meteoric rise in the fashion industry has been something worth watching. Siriano won last year’s Project Runway and since has reached celeb status, partly due to his fierceness, but mainly due to his incredible talent as a fashion designer. His over the top creations on the show won him fans but we all wondered if he was a one-note. Well, his Bryant Park debut proved otherwise. It was great to see Siriano duplicate...  Read More..

Applause is due to Tia Cibani of Ports 1961 for shifting her inspirational focus to a climate that is far, far away from both her home and the home of her last Fall/Winter collection. The choice of India was a risk as far as fabrics and cuts. I really liked the softness of the color palette and the materials looked very soft and luxurious. Being luxurious these days is akin to a mortal sin as well, so hats off to Tia for that choice as well. Some of the dresses were lovely and feminine, but overall far too many of the pieces looked as if the cuts had just missed the mark in terms of fit. I am...  Read More..

Fashion Week went by in such a blur that I didn’t even have time to run and check my mailbox. Had I done so, I would have realized that I received an invitation to one of the most opulent shows of the week, 3.1 Phillip Lim. Complete with a performance by Lissy Trullie, the designer’s show featured an incredible range of rock and roll and mod looks in which he channeled vintage 1960’s London style. The collection looked as if its inspiration was drawn directly from The Beatles and Twiggy, with a laid-back cool aesthetic. Models sporting vintage bob haircuts rocked the runway wearing...  Read More..

In this strangest of seasons where everyone felt the pressure to reinvent themselves, and a great variety of reactions to that pressure have been on display. The designers who have been the most interesting to watch have been designers who have a fairly traditional, and therefore commercially acceptable, aesthetic. They didn’t need to change for cash but they still had to not appear insensitive. Everyone under the Bryant Park circus this season seemed to change at least a little, simply because they knew that everything else had changed…a lot. So it was with Rebecca Taylor, she used...  Read More..

While other designers’ drab and dismal collections mirrored the state of the economy right now, ADAM by Adam Lippes went against the grain and shot bursts of color right up the runway. Though the pictures don’t show it, ADAM’s collection was an ‘ode to Japanese iconography’ and chock full of colorfully vivid pieces. But ADAM didn’t solely rely on color to show off his design chops. A basic black dress was given a drawstring neck with cutout detail and unexpectedly paired with cranberry tights. In addition, ADAM incorporated delicate details like embroidered Japanese cherry blossoms...  Read More..

Last night found me at a fashion presentation for my favorite designer, Tory Burch. Her designs are a breath of fresh air, consisting of pieces that any and every woman can wear, anywhere. Her Fall 2009 presentation consisted of a multitude of day and evening looks, shoes, boots and handbags. Her design house is truly a one-stop-shop for all of your ready-to-wear needs. The collection was full of charming, ladylike layered separates like print blouses, cardigans, skirts and pants mixed with short day dresses, peacoats, full-length sequined evening gowns and even flattering satin jodhpurs. On the...  Read More..

This was my first time attending The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection 2009 and it was an amazing way to kick off fashion week. Stars who usually sit front row were front and center on the red catwalk, donning stunning red designer dresses to raise awareness about heart disease in women. Twenty celebrities strutted their stuff in the show. Following an introduction by Project Runway’s Tim Gunn, Amanda Bynes opened the show in Daniel Swarovski, followed by Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling, of Beverly Hills 90210 fame, in Badgley Mischka and Betsey Johnson, respectively. Then out came actresses...  Read More..