Uh Oh, It's Happening…..

Well my friends, the time has come. The tax returns are rolling in, Spring is literally(and finally) in the air and there is a clearance sale at The Outnet.

Now while some of these pieces are not necessarily for Spring, just think of the head start you will be getting on your Fall wardrobe. 

(Of course this only works if your not a trend collector.)

Check out some of the pieces below that I have my eye on.

And, of course, let me know what you've bought!

Haider Ackermann

The Row

Calvin Klein

http://www.theoutnet.com

The End Is Here

With fashion month over and many people traveling home from Paris, I would imagine a lot of questions are dwelling in people's mind.

How did they think of that?

Why the hell is that trend back?

Or my personal favorite, where can I get those shoes and how soon?

Without the daily inspiration dressing from sites such as www.vogue.com and www.style.com, hopefully we'll all continue our festive fashion moods and not let even the weather inhibit our ideas.

I figured I would dedicate this post to fashion week and include many inspirations to get you through the upcoming weeks.

Acne Studios 

Alexander Wang

Creatures of the Wind

Dries Van Noten

Louis Vuitton

Balenciaga

Celine

Chanel

Christian Dior

Proenza Schouler

Prada

Marc Jacobs

Tom Ford

The Row

Saint Laurent

Rodarte

Rag and Bone 

Public School

Anyone Hungry For Chanel?

I think Karl finally answered the inevitable question: what does a stylish woman wear to the grocery store?

With the Pre-Fall collection taking place in a country western themed show, a complete 360 took place when a real life grocery store popped up in the middle of Grand Palais. 

The infamous Cara Delevingne opened up the show with no other than a cropped sweatshirt and sweatpants. Both had strategic rips throughout, silver waist jewelry, sneakers and of course a tweed long jacket to keep the audience from thinking they were in the wrong place. 

Similar sweatshirt looks followed with the tweed suits gradually covering more and more and no model went without sneakers or knee high sneaker boots.

The 80's were channeled with the help of a cowl neck sweatshirt, leggings and flowing, colorful fabric tied at the waist. Metallic colors were used on many pieces as well.

The accessories matched the vibe with many models carrying a metal grocery basket with the famous leather and chain detailed wrapped around the handles and bars and included a leather quilted bad smack in the center.

Classics crept in with knotted pearl necklaces that would make Coco herself proud.

Karl never ceases to amaze even the fashion community who is constantly changing themselves.

From a western to the supermarket, what could be next, a circus?

Stay tuned….

All photos from www.style.com

Was Our Style Pre-Destined From Our Childhood?

People have different opinions on whether style is innate or acquired but after being told that I hated wearing dresses, stockings, anything girly when I was younger and the fact that I love menswear dressing now, it made me think whether our childhood style affects our adult style.

Back in the day, all of that plus a trip to Bloomingdales would send me running for the hills.

Note: I do like Bloomingdales now so I guess it was more of a tastebud situation.

Anything girly was not for me. No skirts or dresses, just pants were my number one choice, especially in Winter when I was frozen in stockings.

Also, I grew up around two brothers that could have instilled the menswear gene although their version of menswear was the typical 90's sweaters and jeans for teenagers, which no offense to them or anyone else back then, but that my friend was not style.

I remember loving those plaid shirts unbuttoned, a true tomboy look that actually seems trendy now and something I relish in wearing.

Also, the fact that my mother wore dresses and skirts seem to not affect me or want me to wear any of it. I always hear of many woman getting their style from their mothers or grandmothers and I start to feel a little out of the loop. My grandmother was a particularly stylish woman buying her fur coat with the first job she had. And while I followed in her footsteps, it certainly took place in my adult years, not the child ones.

I always believe that style was innate and the ones that acquired it had some influence from a friend, parent or even a stylist. However those facts are not in my favor. Or maybe innate style takes some time to kick in? 

Whatever your particular style may be, take some time to think about where you got it from. An innate instinct that has always followed you or an influence from someone in your life.

http://petalandthornhandmades.blogspot.com

Are We Sick Of Designs By The Time They Hit The Store?

With the runway shows coming to an end and all the beautiful clothing, shoes and accessories we've seen, are we going to feel the same way about it in a few months?

With the reality of the situation being that all of these items need to be sifted through by buyers, ordered, manufactured and shipped to stores, it leaves us six months down the road from actually acquiring any of it. Also, with the current state of the industry being so accessible to the farthest ends of the earth, we can look at these clothes not only in magazines but a hundred times over on any website if we want. Does this in fact make us not want the actual piece when it's the most necessary for the designers and retailers?

When you are constantly looking and studying, whatever your job position is, at these collections, does it limit that newness appeal since you've been looking at the same piece for 6 months and by the time you actually get it, are disappointed and already on to the next thing?

Moda Operandi is a website that you can purchase certain items straight off the runway. With a deposit upfront and the rest paid when it ships, it does offer less anxiety because you aren't chasing it down at every Saks or Bergdorf when the actual season in question hits. On the flip side, maybe this technique is as good as it can get. With the possibility that some of these pieces may never hit other retailers, you are left with an original piece and the anxiety of finding it dissipates the second you hit place order so you aren't searching high and low and seeing it over and over again.

I'm a sucker for the pre-order on many websites. However since my budget and my need for designer duds don't exactly match up, I'm left to stare at the item, put in cart, remove from cart, put in cart, remove from cart for months before I even get it, if I even end up buying it.

Note: this may work for people who can't actually afford these clothes. 

Tamara Mellon is trying to stop this issue by having clothing made in season. Now whether this actually works or not (people will still have to wait for the most trendy or favorite designer pieces for six months), it's a testament to the fact that we may have a real issue on our hands. 

Retailers also fight for exclusive buys to certain pieces to stand out in the crowd of many brick and mortar or web retailers to set themselves apart.

Whatever the case may be, the reality of the situation is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do we continue to be exposed over and over again for the sake of the designer to get his or her name out there,or do they actually suffer in the long term when overexposure sets in and they're left with nothing more than a bunch of markdowns.

You be the judge…

www.zimbio.com

Was Balenciaga Thinking Of The Working Woman For Fall 14?

Something that resonated with me while watching the Balenciaga show was the immediate thought of work while watching it and I'll tell you why.

Typically when you see these runway shows with models walking down in beautiful clothing, shoes and handbags, sometimes it doesn't seem realistic for work. If it's a clutch(which it isn't always) many woman can't get away with just that for the workplace. If it's a 5 inch heel (which it isn't always) many woman cannot walk in heels above 2 or 3 inch. And when I saw models at Balenciaga who were walking down with multiple handbags, it finally made sense to me. 

How many woman out there carry multiple handbags to work? A clutch just doesn't do it anymore in a world when everyone is connected 24/7 with their iPhones, iPads, laptops, etc. In the industry I work in, I find myself carrying multiple paperwork, my laptop, my iPad and my iPhone home every night to continue the work load. Even if they aren't carrying home their work, they may be using a tote to carry their lunch as well. 

OK, let's get back to the show and the fun details.

Models walked down with two or three totes at a time. Some had a black fur tote in one hand, while carrying crocodile and leather totes in the other. Beautiful fall type coloring with black, burgundy, orange and blue.

Maybe a new trend has emerged. Or maybe Alex picked it up from Miroslava Duma when she famously had two Chanel bags wrapped around her two years earlier.

Whatever the case is, Alex has always been a trendy designer and he sure hasn't let us down this season.

Runway photos: www.style.com; Miroslava Duma photo: www.guestofaguest.com

Is Monogramming Coming Full Force?

After scanning through many of the shows over the past couple of weeks, I started to notice a small detail appearing on many models and street style star's clothing, monogramming. Rag and Bone hit the runway with bowling inspired looks and had the likes of Georgia May Jagger and Kate Goodling rocking their own versions. 

Fast forward to the streets and woman are walking around with jackets and embroidered names on the back. 

Monogram seems to always be a consistent force whether it's a simple initial stamped on a handbag or collared shirt or going all out with full names embroidered on clothing. Whatever the case may be, this monogram trend is starting to peak so I guess the only question left to ask is, will you be participating?

All photos by www.style.com