Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Party Down

If there’s one word that makes me want to shop, it’s the word party. It can be preceded by any descriptor. There can be a paper invitation or an email or a “C U @ 8” text message. It can be on a roof deck. It can involve a beach bonfire. I could be crammed into a studio apartment. None of that matters. I sift through my closet beforehand and rarely find anything to satisfy me. Even if there is no dress code. Even if no one would blink if I showed up in a pair of ratty, skinny jeans, a striped, dolman-sleeved sweatshirt and a pair of beat up Bensimons.

When I was little, parties meant cupcake dresses. Green velvet, big skirts, and white sashes with a matching bow sitting atop my head. In college, I moved in the opposite direction. Halter tops and tube tops. Stretchy, suffocating fabrics. Bootcut jeans. Parties meant tighter and brighter. Can you find something that makes you look like a sequin that took a dip in a tub of glitter? Perfect! The discovery of the nearest Forever 21 was a revelation. It took far too long for me to realize a number of things. Firstly, a Forever 21 tube top lasts about three washes before it begins to disintegrate. Secondly, I rarely looked good in any of those things. And thirdly, having a wardrobe meant only for partying was a waste of space, money and time.

But the urge to hunt for something new when such occasions arise hasn't subsided, even though most of the parties that I go to now are of the "Everyone Bring Some Wine and Hang Out in My Apartment with Me" variety. On Monday, I wove my way up and down Newbury Street in search of something to wear to a party that I'm attending on Friday.

And just what was I hoping to find? Not cupcake dresses or halter tops. I'm far removed from both of those phases of my life. Feminine detailing. Ease. Pieces that can weave their way into my everyday wardrobe.

By Jason Wu


By Rag & Bone


By Tory Burch


And, for those occasions that call for it, something that I can dance in.


Images via, via, via 

Friday, November 25, 2011

The Leftovers: London Fashion Week SS12

London has a history of living a few seasons ahead of the other cities. Yet in recent years, I’ve noticed a shift. A falling in line. Or it could be a growing up. Though if one truly thinks about it, those two ideas are inextricably linked.

This season, I felt more carry over from New York than I have in past years.

The designers showing in London have always had a way with prints, so it was no surprise that the florals seen in New York continued to flourish there in a range of manifestations.

At Clements Ribeiro


At Erdem


At Caroline Charles


At Temperley London


At Matthew Williamson


At Christopher Kane


At Kinder Aggugini


And of course prints of other varieties could be found everywhere.

At Maria Grachvogel


At Paul Smith


At David Koma


At Jonathan Saunders


At Basso & Brooke


At Michael van der Ham


At Mary Katrantzou


Outside of the floral prints, there were small glimpses of the other trends that dominated the New York season.

The colorblocking

At Jasper Conran


At Jean-Pierre Braganza


At J.W. Anderson


At Jaeger London


At Margaret Howell


The peplums

At Paul Costelloe


At Peter Jensen


At Osman


At Corrie Nielsen


The shorts

At Daks


At Erdem


But those pieces comprised only a small fraction of the whole story. And the story in London was one of neons. But there were no stepping back from the edge here as there had been in New York. No toning down of the brilliance. Maybe it was in that way that London retained some of the feel of those seasons past. At times, the colors felt too strong, yet you couldn't help but stare in amazement.

At Maria Grachvogel


At Nicole Farhi


At Ann-Sofie Back Atelje


At Matthew Williamson


At Jaeger London


At J.W. Anderson


At Paul Smith


Especially at the brilliant blues.

At Pringle of Scotland


At Burberry Prorsum


At David Koma


At Emilio de la Morena


At Paul Smith


It's a color used as a backdrop so often that you can forget its power.


Photos via, via

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Leftovers: New York Fashion Week SS12

Fall has been composed of ups and downs. 70 degree temperatures followed by snow showers followed by cold, rainy downpours. When it was perfect out, those mid to high 50s days with the light streaming through the colorful leaves at just the right angle, you remembered why you lived here in New England. But on those other days, the time warp days when everything felt out of place, you tended to wish for something else.

It was in all of this tumult that I finally found the time and space, both literal and mental, to write about the Spring/Summer 2012 collections. Almost two months removed from the last of the Paris shows, I collected my bookmarks and my thoughts and tried to distill them into something coherent.

For New York, that task was simple. After only a handful of shows, the tone of the New York season was set. This would be a season of neons and sherberts. Of a sporting life. Of flowers, flowers, and more flowers. Of peplums. Of the shortest of shorts. Of the enduring power of colorblocking. As always, the creativity emerged when designers took note of those pervasive trends without being swept away by them.

I doubt that we’ll ever be done with colorblocking. The trend has been around for a fashion eternity. So long in fact that I feel uncomfortable continuing to call it a trend. It is simply a way of life.

At Jenni Kayne


At TSE


At Mandy Coon


At Ruffian


At J. Mendel


But New York’s overarching color story was an eye searing one, full of blazing pinks and shocking blues. Some played with those electric shades in unexpected ways, rendering them in fabrics that draped and flowed and dampened the hard edge that can accompany such colors. Others toned the hues down the slightest bit, stepping back from the cliff and finding a home somewhere between pastel and neon.

At Cushie et Ochs


At Vena Cava


At Costello Tagliapietra


At Kevork Kiledjian


At Doo.Ri


At Wes Gordon


At Milly


Starting with such an audacious foundation can often give designers a chance to pull back in other areas. This season that pulling back often had a hint of le sportif to it and could be found in all types of ways from clean, strong silhouettes in non-traditional fabrics to more on the nose references.

At Kevork Kiledjian


At Reed Krakoff


At Victoria Beckham


At VPL


At Alexander Wang


Florals and I have a long, torturous history that has already been documented here, so it was with some hesitancy that I approached the abundance of blooms making their way down various runways and standing nonchalantly in a multitude of presentations. But that breadth fostered a great amount of depth and flowers appeared in every form from the classic to the acid-fueled.

At Oscar de la Renta


At ADAM


At Richard Chai Love


At Altuzarra


At Tracy Reese


At Peter Som


At Julian Louie


At Cynthia Rowley


At Vera Wang


Alongside the florals lived the peplums. But unlike the flowers, the feeling of unease that welled up whenever I saw one did not subside as the week progressed. I find them to be unflattering on almost everyone. Silly and unnecessary. But even with those feelings, there were some that made me pause for a moment.

At Vera Wang


At Marchesa


At A Détacher


At Marc by Marc Jacobs


At Jason Wu


Shorts that barely warranted the name popped up in nearly every collection as well. Feminine and paired with bows and flowers. Laid back and complemented by the stripes that I love so much.  They revealed that I and this New England fall have a lot in common. Here again was an item that only complemented a rarefied few, yet I could not get enough.

At A.L.C.


At Steven Alan


At United Bamboo


At Proenza Schouler


At Jason Wu


And when the shows moved on from New York, I waited for them to appear in London, Milan, and Paris.


Photos via