Archive for February, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Cinch your waist with a bow, an obi or a skinny belt for a flattering hourglass shape.
Color Palette: Steely greys and neutrals, with pops of rich color such as garnet and charmeuse.
Silhouettes: Dresses and skirts with wide belts with exaggerated buckles. Tulip skirts and cropped jackets are both here to stay for at least one more season. Stiffer, more ornate fabrics — like embroidered silk and jacquard — replaced flowy spring fabrics.
Accessories Report: Uber-wide belts are back! This doesn’t mean, however, that you have to put your skinny belts away — both are wearable this season. Bows were huge at the show as well, manifesting themselves as large ties at the neck and also as cute adornments elsewhere on the body.
What’s Wearable: An above-the-knee strapless dress with black-and-white chevron stripes. So classically Bill Blass.
What’s Not Wearable: Full-sized ballgowns with wallpaper patterns.
February 8th, 2006
News Flash (by way of Traci and Daily Candy): the much-anticipated City Bakery in Los Angeles is now open!
The girls of Omiru can’t get enough of the cold hot chocolate and the chocolate tarts (deeply rich chocolate filling surrounded by a slightly flaky chocolate pastry crust!). The melted chocolate cookies are also divine. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
And I’m glad I don’t have to Jet Blue it over to NYC (3 W. 18th St, at 5th Ave…a couple of doors down from the Express) to get my fix!
The City Bakery
Brentwood Country Mart
225 26th Street at San Vicente Boulevard, Santa Monica
310.656.3040
February 8th, 2006
Even if you’re just meeting the girls for a quick latté at the corner coffee shop, you’re going to want to look great. Maybe not Dressed Up chic, but definitely casually gorgeous.
After all, you never know who else you might see there.
Fashion Formula = Peacoat + Cute Casual Top + Cropped Pants + Carry-Everything Bag + Casual Flats.
Diesel Estichyn Jacket | $290 at CoutureCandy
Iisli Lace Hoodie in Black | $228 at CoutureCandy
BCBG Drew Relaxed Linen Pant | $126 at CoutureCandy
Botkier Stirrup Handbag in Twilight | $615 at CoutureCandy
Gee WaWa Solid Weave Flat | $90 at CoutureCandy
At CoutureCandy, you can shop all the hottest designers in one place. You can read the latest industry news, get the inside scoop on the designers, and even keep up on (and purchase) what celebrities are wearing. You can share ideas and connect with other members of the CoutureCandy Community via the exclusive "Couture Talk" Forum or get inspiring wardrobe advice from their "Personal Stylists".
Editor’s Note: Yup, that’s right…this is Omiru’s First Ever advertisement. To mark this occasion, we wanted to let you into our conversation about how we think about advertising.
We strongly believe that advertising can be helpful. We know people who buy the Sunday newspaper just for the ads! And don’t tell us that you’ve never clicked on a Yahoo or Google text ad because it seemed like the best answer to your search! With that belief in mind, our goal is to make our ads as useful as possible. Hence the design of this post like a "Ready Made Outfit."
That said, we want to make the distinction between editorial and advertising plainly obvious. In case it wasn’t already clear, this post is sponsored by our friends over at CoutureCandy.com. In this case, and in all advertising going forward, we’ll note these special posts with a "Spotlight" tag in the headline.
February 8th, 2006
Here’s our update to Omiru’s Mid-Week Fashion Week Trend Recap:
Oversized Collars: We’re talking HUGE collars here. Overwhelmingly Large Lapels.
Doo Ri, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Willow, Marc Jacobs
Short Sleeved Dresses: And they’re not even matronly!
Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Narciso Rodriguez
Asymmetry: We’re seeing this trend play out beautifully on coats with asymmetric closures.
Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs
Fur Trim: Seems to be the status symbol du jour.
Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Zang Toi
Shearling: I suppose this counts as an offshoot of the fur trend.
Oscar de la Renta, Lacoste
Powerful Working Woman: Nicely cut pantsuits and skirt suits…great for the office! BTW–if you want to check out a group of powerful women bloggers, stop by BlogHer.org. Disclaimer: I’m pitching in over there as the Fashion and Shopping co-editor.
Carolina Herrera, Zang Toi, Luella Bartley, Tuleh, Narciso Rodriguez
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Last season was about controlled volume, and while this season continued that theme, it was more about volume and less about control. Key trends include (1) Bubble skirts, (2) Waistline emphasis, (3) Oversized collars, (4) Voluminous Sleeves, (5) Asymmetry, (6) Ruffles, and (7) Boatneck necklines, and (8) Fur trim detailing.
Color Palette: Mostly neutrals and muted colors, with splashes of red, blue, and gold.
Silhouettes: Three major silhouettes: (1) Slim all over, (2) Full over slim, (3) Slim over Full. Perhaps the most memorable silhouette is the bubble skirt with fabric gathers at the waistline. Oscar also showed oversized collars, boatnecked styles, cape-like jackets, tuxedo detailing, poufy sleeves, and an overwhelming emphasis on the waistline.
Accessories Report: Long gloves, trunk-like purses, necklaces with giant beads, and clutches.
What’s Wearable: Eveningwear Standouts: A little black dress (shown above) that’s anything but ordinary–short sleeves, cinched belted waistline, and an cross between a boatneck and a funnel neckline. And that sexy black lace strapless number that accentuates a woman’s hourglass figure.
What’s Not Wearable: A blouse with a leg of mutton sleeve…reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld’s "Pirate shirt." The bubble skirt, as is, is going to be a tough one to pull off.
Want more Fall 2006 trend information? Check out Omiru’s Mid Fashion Week Trend Recap!
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Carolina Herrera’s collection encompassed both business-appropriate daywear and eveningwear. Key trends from this collection included (1) Emphasis on the waistline (throwback to Spring 06), (2) Voluminous sleeves (seems to be a Big Thing this season), (3) Natural to High waistlines, (4) Square sunglasses, (5) Boatnecked styles, (6) 3/4 length coats, and (7) Tights. Embellishments included fur trims, beaded styles, and bows (also So Spring 06).
Color Palette: Both warm (red, orange) and cool (turquoise, lilac) colors complemented Herrera’s base of neutrals.
Silhouettes: Waistlines were either at the natural waist or above, though bottoms came in both fitted and baggy varieties. Sleeves tended to be voluminous, either at the shoulder or at the wristline. Herrera seems to have a thing for asymmetry–and 3/4 length styles (both coats and sleeves came in this length).
What’s Wearable: Personal standout: An exquisitely detailed pintucked black sheath dress. We also appreciated her asymmetric suits, her slim pencil skirts, and her boatnecked jackets.
What’s Not Wearable: Huge medallions around your neck…what are we, on the Sopranos? The Victorian-inspired getup with the pouf sleeves and Full skirt isn’t going to win anyone any Best Dressed awards. Traci would also frown upon the vinyl-ish black and clear polka dotted dress.
What’s hot for Fall 2006? Check out Omiru’s Mid Fashion Week Trend Recap!
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Key trends in Monique Lhuillier’s day-to-evening collection included (1) capes and capelets, (2) bell (and other voluminous) sleeves, (3) the Bubble silhouette, (4) higher waistlines, (5) oversized collars, (6) waistline emphasis, (7) oversized fabric brooches, (8) tuxedo-style detailing, and (10) fur.
Color Palette: Black, grey, turquoise, sky blue, and greyed out shades of rose and yellow-green.
Silhouettes: Lhuillier’s silhouettes tended to be either (1) big over small, or (2) small over big. Either way, they balanced out the body nicely (at least on a model’s figure). Particularly oversized items included sleeves, collars, capes, and bubble skirt silhouettes.
Accessories Report: The ubiquitous long gloove and an oversized fabric brooch.
What’s Wearable: A black cocktail dress with poufy ruffles caught our eye, as did a grey double breasted coat in a trapeze shape. Both daywear and eveningwear were highly wearable in this collection.
What’s Not Wearable: The heavily oversized brocade coat with 3/4 sleeves would be better left on the runway.
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: In the past three seasons, Narciso Rodriguez has been loosening up his silhouette. Even though fashion is heading towards the more voluminous, we wish that Rodriguez would stay true to his roots and give us more of the svelte, understated style that earned him the praise of the CDFA in the first place. For women, key trends are: (1) short sleeved dresses, (2) bubble shaped skirts, and (3) colorblocking. For men, the key trends are: (1) the Three Button Suit, (2) narrow ties, (3) knee length shorts, and (4) short sleeved sweaters.
Color Palette: Black and white, with shades of cream, peach, and bluish grey.
Silhouettes: Not the classic Rodriguez "fits like a glove" silhouette–even the fitted items were worn looser. We also saw capes, short sleeved dresses (a new trend?), and slightly bubble-shaped and flared skirts for women. For men, we saw slim cut three-button suits, narrow ties, knee length shorts (paired with a button down shirt, tie, and jacket!), 3/4 length coats, and short sleeved and sleeveless sweaters.
Accessories Report: Structured handbags, bags with chain handles, capes, and colorblocked knee-high boots.
What’s Wearable: Most everything shown, both for men and women, is wearable, though we would appreciate a more structured fit to the clothing.
What’s Not Wearable: Shiny vinyl-type fabrics don’t generally translate well off the runway. We also won’t be wearing Rodriguez’s long sleeved dress with a center front lower torso vertical cutout. And because of the generous cut, some of the dresses ended up looking matronly.
February 8th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: A major turtleneck comeback is in the works. For one, BCBG has elongated the traditional turtleneck into a slimming mini dress. Turtlenecks were also layered beneath dresses, saying goodbye to the bare décolleté. Knee-length boots are old news, but this collection saw knee-length tights peeping out from under the boots. This BCBG girl is less sophisticated and more medieval and carefree. Tres innovative!
Color Palette: Black, teal, blue, rustic orange, purple, brown, mustard yellow, khaki, and grey.
Silhouettes: Things are pretty loose around here: Chiffon dresses, puffy shorts, knit jackets, cropped cardigans. The turtleneck dresses are the exception to this rule because of their stretchy nature.
Accessories Report: Knit beanies are a must; almost every outfit in the collection has a matching one. White and black square and tiny glasses (looked more like reading glasses than shades) were also prevalent. An occasional mid-size handbag with a chain-link strap was seen. And the latest trend brought back from the Clueless era: knee highs.
What’s Wearable: The turtleneck dresses should definitely be sported with a pair of tights, especially on a rainy day. Many of the fancier dresses are quite practical as well.
What’s Not Wearable: If you choose to work the knee highs under the boots, you take the risk of looking like an agricultural farmer. One kimono-like jacket with wide sleeves is quite unflattering, even on a stick skinny model. Finally, one fancy gold dress with a turtleneck underneath looks more like a walking lampshade than a dress.
February 8th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Knit sweaters, knee highs, and heavy scarves worn like neck braces dominated this collection. Although feminine and girly touches existed, only a really confident woman could pull off these clothes with great ease.
Color Palette: Black, off-white, neutrals, pink, grey, brown, grayish blue, and olive green.
Silhouettes: Steffe riffed on some common fashion week themes: bubble skirts, flowy dresses, and knit jackets.
Accessories Report: Thin belts worn at the waist, scarves worn like neck braces, knee high stockings, t-strap heels, and once again, the ubiquitous long leather gloves.
What’s Wearable: Many of the pieces in this collection are wearable, but like we stated in other collections, there needs to be a bit of modification. A knit short-sleeve jacket paired with a knee-length khaki skirt is doable without the black knee highs.
What’s Not Wearable: The knee high comeback may not translate as well on the streets as it did on the big screen in “Clueless.â€
February 8th, 2006
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