A runway show I actually like

Transitioning from structured and sophisticated to delicate and feminine to fun and flirty, from super glamorous to just super weird in one collection Alexander McQueen created yet another unique and vibrant show. Some pieces are genuinely weird and I can't imagine anyone wearing them, but others, like the pink to purple chiffon dress with black butterflies are absolutely gorgeous. I want that dress...

The structured:

The sophisticated:

Delicate:

Feminine:

Fun:

Flirty:

Glamorous:

Weird:

My rule of 4

As much as we would all like it to, the right look doesn't always happen. The right combination of edginess and style is difficult and combines aspects that have to be put together very carefully. Today I saw a man wearing a navy pinstriped suit, white and blue checkered shirt and a fuchsia tie and hanker chief. The suit was traditional, with very thin grey pinstripes and the shirt, a basic navy and white check. With a plain tie it would have looked nice, but bland. The fuchsia tie and hanker chief brought the combination to an entirely different level of style. The look worked because the colors and patterns were limited and carefully put together. If another color or pattern was added, the result would be overwhelming and messy (shoes don't count, men don't have as many options as women).

Unfortunately other attempts don't work nearly as well. A few minutes after getting out of the subway I noticed a girl wearing what should have been a trendy and basic outfit. Dark skirt, jacket, tights and boots. Simple right? And yet, it just didn't work. After a few seconds I realized what was off - there were too many colors. One color less would have been perfect but with 5, it was too much. Thinking about it, I figured out the the ideal color strategy - no more then 4. If you have more, change something. So basically, white shirt, navy jacket, black skirt, green tights and brown boots = too much. On the other hand, a white shirt, navy jacket, black skirt, black tights and brown boots = street style hot. And yes black, brown, and grey count for colors. After all girls' shoes are part of the outfit, not a necessity.


Check out these color combinations from shopbop.com:

When fashion fails

I finally had a chance to start looking at some of the fashion shows from last week, and I have to say, I'm not impressed. I'll keep looking just in case there's something bigger and better to come, but so far everything has been pretty much the same and not overly outstanding. The colors are mainly creams, yellows, oranges and blues, and the shapes focus on high wasted short shorts and pencil skirts, structured pieces similar to what we saw in the fall 2007 shows, breezy shapeless summer dresses (and I thought those were gone for good) and a few super-feminine full or synched at the waist skirts and dresses. And to the horror of horrors, the shoulders got bigger. I understand the need to balance out the shorts or the high waists but I'm not a man, I don't want to look like one! So in the case of blah fashion, what's a girl (or a boy) to do?

Well, one can turn to the look of the streets, and New York is one of the best places to be for street fashion, so I think I'll be writing about that a lot in the future. Also check out the Sartorialist blog on Style.com, great street looks! One can look for indie designers, there's so many in the East Village, LES and the trendy neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and I'm sure there's a lot selling online. There's always the sticking to the classics option-going for simple, clean cut pieces that look good any time – this is when my love for Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein is strongest. Or you can rebel all together! Forget the conventional, the trendy and the practical, and do your own thing! Just make sure that everything fits and your undies aren't showing, cause you want to be a fashion master, not a disaster (ha, I just rhymed!)

Anyways, here's some pics:

Spring 2008 collections from 3.1 Phillip Lim, Anna Sui, Bagley Mischka and Behnaz Sarafpour

Some classic looks from Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein: