When Baby Phat first launched all those years ago, it was an edgy, street brand – the little sister to Phat Farm, all fierce with the sassy kitty logo. Fast forward to today, and Baby Phat has changed quite a bit. The cat logo remains, but gone is the urban feel, replaced by a softer, more boho look for Spring/Summer 2012. The tropical collection features “an elevated glam aesthetic,” perfect for days lounging on the beach, or heading to it. Think printed maxidresses with flouncy ruffles, batwing-style tops, zig zag shorts and maxi skirts to wear with breezy tank tops, crocheted...  Read More..

The floral-print trend is in full bloom this spring! (Pun intended). We first caught a glimpse of florals on the spring 2012 runways, and on celebrity It girls over the past few months. Drew Barrymore recently wore a vibrant J.Crew Jules Floral Print Silk Dress on the Tonight Show, paired with delicate Aurelie Bidermann jewelry and chunky suede Brian Atwood shoes. Solange Knowles rocked a blue floral print suit at Diane Von Furstenberg’s Fall 2012 show. She paired it with a contrasting orange and white print top and yellow pointed-toe pumps. Actress Tika Sumpter wowed at the Tracy Reese show...  Read More..

London Fog, known for its classic khaki trench coats, has been targeting a younger, hipper audience. Last year they cast Eva Longoria and ex-usband Tony Parker as the faces of their ad campaign. This year the new face is The Pussycat Dolls front woman, Nicole Scherzinger. The Spring 2012 ad campaign, shot in Los Angeles, features Nicole wearing a trio of London Fog coats, and not much else. Nicole recently got axed from “The X Factor“, so it’s great to see she’s got other projects lined up. You can buy London Fog trench coats at Bluefly, at Macy’s and at SmartBargains. Become...  Read More..

Even though this February will mark my 11th season attending New York Fashion Week, the excitement never ends! I’m looking forward to seven days of complete chaos and craziness – fashion shows, afterparties, celebrity sightings, presentations, fashion and beauty suites and many treks back and forth across the city. And I love it all. This season I’m excited to have been selected as one of 12 lucky bloggers making up the Kohl’s Rock & Republic Reporter Team, and I’ll be attending the Kohl’s Rock & Republic fashion show as an exclusive guest! Rock &...  Read More..

After being spotted in Milan, Italy at Armani’s headquarters early last year, and after months of speculation, Rihanna was finally named the global ambassador for Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans last summer. Her first set of ads for Fall 2011 were both sexy and edgy – total Rihanna style. She donned a boyish blonde wig for the promos, posing atop a car in jeans and underwear and little else. We got our hands on Rihanna’s Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans campaign images for spring/summer 2012 and she’s revealing a much softer side. Gone is the blonde wig...  Read More..

We fashion and beauty-nistas are fickle, aren’t we? We can’t wait for the fall to hit so we can start wrapping up in our chunky knits and chic coats, and as soon as it gets chilly, we’ve got our eye on spring again – the warm weather, the popping colors, the trends, and spring beauty products. Essie just released its Spring 2012 nail polish collection that we want now! It’s full of pretty pastels and vibrant juicy colors plus shimmery metallic shades. Here’s the collection of shades – called “A Spring To Invest In“: Navigate Her (pastel green) A...  Read More..

Tuleste Market‘s Spring 2012 collection has us wishing for warmer weather now. The brand that orignally started as a vintage-inspired jewelry line branched out into designing shoes a year ago. For next season, their footwear takes an ultra-chic, mod turn, with a collection of architectural heeled sandals, mules and booties, sky-high wedges and covetable not-so-flat flats. Designing sisters Satu and Celeste Greenberg said the collection was inspired by “powerful women, sci-fi and superheroes” and we can see it evidenced in eye-popping cartoony colors like red and yellow trimming...  Read More..

Chanel barely finished promoting its limited-edition ‘Les Jeans’ nail polish collection and already there are images of new ‘colours’ from their new Spring/Summer 2012 Les Vernis nail polish collection. The new nail polish trio are called ‘April‘ (garnet red), ‘May‘ (a bubblegum pink) and ‘June‘ (a creamy tangerine/apricot/light orange hue). Chanel always makes ‘hits’ when it comes to their nail polish (and everything else too) which usually means a guaranteed sell-out. So stay tuned to What’s Haute so we can let you...  Read More..

Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony show their first collection for Kenzo (New York Times) Photo: Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times Check out these two new ads for the Versace for H&M collaboration (Racked) Check out the full lookbook of Balmain’s new lower-priced collection – Pierre Balmain (Fashionista) Watch designer Rachel Roy get ready for Spring 2012 Fashion Week in this exclusive video: ‘The Week Before’ (Stylelist) Preview the looks from the upcoming Uniqlo Innovation Project, a line of “high-performance clothing” created...  Read More..

With a stellar lineup of models (Karlie Kloss, Chanel Iman, Anja Rubik and Jourdan Dunn) plus a star-studded front row filled with designers (Azzedine Alaïa, Dean and Dan Caten, Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott) AND celebrities (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Ciara and Lindsay Lohan), we expected only the best of Kanye West‘s debut womenswear collection. Instead, the Spring 2012 line received mixed (mainly negative) reviews from the NY Times, Wall Street Journal and fashion editors tweeting from the show. We checked out the collection and it’s not bad for a first attempt at a line....  Read More..

The Gucci Museum opens to the public today in Florence, Italy, the birthplace of the brand. The museum is housed in a medieval palazzo and will feature all things Gucci, including horse bit loafers, luggage, accessories, red carpet ball gowns and of course, handbags. (Accessories Magazine) Coming October 26, The Limited will launch online, “eloquii by The Limited” – a new plus-size, full-figured women’s line with designs “in the same spirit” as the The Limited. Eloquii will target professional women, 25 to 34 years old. Sizes will range from 14W to 24W. (WWD,...  Read More..

A Few Goody Gumdrops hopes to raise Thyroid Cancer Awareness and asks…Is Your Neck In Check? Handbag du Jour loves the ice cream-colored handbags on the runway at Mulberry for Spring 2012 London Fashion Week! Shopping and Info thinks women who have had thyroid cancer surgery will love this Ferragamo chiffon scarf. TheFind wants to know: Chanel sporting goods – are they chic or silly? What’s Haute encourages you to get the Light of Life Purple Scarf and save a life! Get more What’s Haute – Follow us on Twitter and ‘Like’ us on Facebook!  Read More → Read More..

Matthew Williamson Spring 2012 runway London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear shows have officially kicked off this week and among the many designers showing, one thing seems to be the common trend on the runway – color, and lots of it. Colorblock is still present but designers are going beyond that and pairing multiple garments in similar shades, rather than contrasting colors. And they’re also infusing bold bursts of color into each and every garment. At Matthew Williamson we saw colorful prints mixed with solid brights. Model Anja Rubik donned an orange and white Japanese...  Read More..

For Spring 2012, Cynthia Rowley debuted a collection of contrasting sporty and sweet looks. Her funky sportswear consisted of ‘mixed media’, like multiple iterations of perforated stretch fabrics (seen in tops, short-sleeved dresses and sleeves alone), gilded gold touches (overlaid on dresses, a ‘liquid’ gold skirt, shoes and handbags) plus an explosion of multicolored floral prints (on flirty frocks, satin blazers and leggings). Silhouettes included cinched-waist dresses with full, flouncy skirts, structured and kimono-style blazers, printed leggings and pencil pants,...  Read More..

There’s only one thing as bad as showing up on the red carpet dressed in the same outfit as someone else. And that thing is showing up to a fashion show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, dressed in the same designer’s dress as another celeb at the show! But supermodel Veronica Webb and singer Corinne Bailey Rae played it off nicely. The two posed together at the Sophie Theallet Spring 2012 show, while both dressed in the same red Sophie Theallet Silk Dress. Veronica wore it with nude pumps; Corinne accessorized with strappy black sandals. This stunning, sleeveless silk frock features...  Read More..

For spring 2012, fashion house Timo Weiland took us on a trip to the beaches of Hawaii with Weiland and Alan Eckstein‘s surfer girl and guy inspired looks. “It’s Basquiat goes to Hawaii, goes surfing, and invites all his cool downtown city girls as guests,” Weiland said. Backstage, Ouidad created free-spirited, relaxed and natural hairstyles with a “surfers-gone-wild” look. Using the Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel, Tress Effects Styling Gel and PlayCurl Volumizing Foam, the team of hairstylists played up texture and created glamorous up ‘dos...  Read More..

September marks the end of summer but the start of Fall shopping and of course, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! New York Fashion Week begins this Thursday, Sept. 8 and runs through Thursday, Sept. 15. As Fashion Week Insiders, we’ve got you covered, with coverage straight from the runways at Lincoln Center, MAC/MILK Studios and other locations throughout the city. Here’s a sampling of the designers presenting their Spring 2012 fashions this week: Nicholas K, Porter Grey, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Richard Chai, Supima, Tadashi Shoji, Candela, EMERSON, Project Runway, Electric Feathers, Luca Luca, General...  Read More..

It takes a lot (like, a village) to get us out of our heels and into a pair of sneakers (aside from working out, of course). Very few brands have been able to do so – Ash, Reebok and Puma to name a few. And now – Nine West. Nine West has been a mainstay in our closets since, like high school, and every season we add more of its shoes to our collection. Next Spring we’ll be able to add sneakers as well, since the company just entered into a licensing agreement with Philip Simon Brands Group Inc. to develop a line of fashionable sneakers. The collection will debut at FFANY this...  Read More..