I must go to Zara...

I've been looking for a faux fur vest and this could be it...

I like to wear dresses all year round. This one would be great with tights and boots.

I've always wanted a white winter coat.

 This hat is so cute, I love it with the ribbon.

I did get this camel coat the other day :-)

Have you found anything at Zara recently?

A happy Monday!

My week is off to a good start! Yoga first thing in the morning, followed by lunch with a friend. It's actually sunny today! It has warmed up considerably (the last few weeks have been seriously cold) and we sat outside, enjoying the sunshine. My lunch today was a yummy avocado-mozzarella-potato salad with bread and a coke.

Followed by strawberries and vanilla ice cream!

What were / are your lunch plans today?

Paris Fashion Week 2010 - Givenchy Fashion Show

Spring 2011 Ready to Wear

Vanessa Seward's Azzaro is a go-to brand for starlets looking for red-carpet razzle-dazzle. There was plenty of that in her intimate Spring presentation, from a relatively understated white strapless column accompanied by a gold chain-mail bolero to a swingier, short, gold fringed number with crystals strung on the silk threads. Like the rest of the collection, they looked like a good time, but they weren't exactly what you'd call unexpected.

Seward did attempt to introduce some newness into her dress-focused lineup. First, she enlisted her friends the graphic artists Kuntzel + Deygas (perhaps best known for their Catch Me If You Can opening credits) to create a few drawings based on her cat Jo, and had them embroidered onto a group of short white cocktail dresses. Charming and whimsical, certainly, but presumably quite limited in their appeal. Seward's other idea was to turn slouchy sweatshirts into minidresses, in a navy and white heart print for day and a burnished gold for night. "They're still short," she explained, "but not as aggressive as something tight." In a similar vein, she showed a silk jumpsuit with an easy drawstring waist. Yes, there were crystals at the neckline, but its otherwise sporty sensibility was fresh for Azzaro. It made you want to see Seward get better acquainted with her relaxed side. 

 

Kilian Kerner Spring Summer 2011 Collection

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2011 Spring/Summer Fashion Week

The excitement surrounding the Spring/Summer 2011 shows was palpable and the season’s work turned out to be far more ambitious and adventurous than those that had come before.

This season is Fall/Winter 2011,but one day we’ll let next season start before we began looking beyond it.We’re already looking beyond it to Spring/Summer 2011.We glad to present you the latest trends in fashion industry,latest collections and all about fashion of season 2011.
The Versace Theatre in the Piazza Vetra had been laid to grass like a playground,decorated with swings,a slide,a roundabout and a climbing frame.

The collection was a fun and funky riff on Kane’s own Glaswegian roots,mixed with the body-con silhouette versus the flirty,short skirt theme he has made a signature at London Fashion Week.

Clashing plaids in yellow/red and blue/red encased the body in skinny trouser suits, or in tightly-wrapped, over-the-knee dresses, or spilt out in short, godet-mini skirts, with bra-tops. The clash of the tartans went further, when blue and yellow miniature floral prints were added to the mix, as in an off-the-shoulder wrap or waist basque on a curvy, fitted dress, or were used to fill in the godets on swingy little skirts, with apron details, and strapless bodices, with a stretch-mesh and plaid cardigan over the shoulders.

Several key trends stood out amongst the S/S11 shows. The first of these was a clever new take on colour blocking, where the main base colour of choice was tan and nude or for others (such as Nicole Farhi) midnight blues and sea greens. These base colours were then accented with neon hues, which, when done successfully, produced striking effects.

Many designers seemed to be using lime, a staple colour carried forward from last spring-summer, in addition to the colour of the season, canary yellow. Christopher Kane took the neon trend even further, using laser-cut leather to jazz up his neon outfits. Others such as Maria Grachvogel and Emilio de la Morena showed infinitely more wearable ways of following the trend, Grachvogel with a canary yellow silk top tucked into nude, high waisted trousers and de la Morena by using triangular patchwork like colour flashes.

Biker fashion: motorcycle chic trend

Trends begin, they evolve, and then they fade or simply become a standard. Skinny jeans became a standard, the military fashion trend cannot. So as 2011's fashion trends come to fruition, as we move fully into a new decade, and as military chic becomes as drawn out as the war that inspired it, what becomes of the military influences that have helped keep the likes of Balmain and Burberry in fashionisers' conscience? What replaces it?

The answer may lie in a trend that has been around for some time, but a trend that hasn't been able to be much more than a blip on the radar while in the shadow of military fashion. The trend?  

 Biker Chic

And we're not the only ones to think so. Take Burberry who, with little ceremony, dwindled the military motifs that they've been known for of late down to a few select elements in their S/S 2011 collection. Much of the rest of the collection was biker inspired and infused, so much so that the collection is named Heritage Biker. So with biker fashion elements not exactly being something new for 2011, it leaves to be discovered what elements will help take the style to a new level.

Motorcycle Jacket

Can you imagine the military trend without a military jacket? Not possible. And so it goes without saying that the motorcycle jacket is the key statement piece for the motorcycle / biker fashion trend. Naturally, not any motorcycle jacket will do. While we undoubtedly will see fast fashion stores give us motorcycle jackets in the now-subdued vein of the 'Brando jacket', the motorcycle jacket in 2011 needs to be much more of a statement piece.

And so it goes that it's not merely about an overused cut and simple black colour. In fact, many a colour will suit. You can take the lead from Burberry's colour offerings (above in a traditional Burberry colour, immediately below in silver, and further below in two-tone leather), or you can look to spring 2010's colour trends, specifically those for leather, for inspiration.

Silver Motorcycle Jacket from Burberry

Two-toned Leather Motorcycle Jacket from Burberry

 

Of course, just because the biker chic trend is about more than Brando jackets and black motorcycle jackets doesn't mean to say that the trend is completely devoid of both styles. Take Balmain's, pre-spring 2011 offering for instance: it's a motorcycle jacket that is somewhat military-cum-Brando.

Balmain Motorcycle Jacket

 

So with everything from boring blacks to statement silvers having been designed, what key elements should a fashioniser be looking for in a statement military jacket for 2011?The answer is two in particular.

Zipped Sleeves

 

Zipped Motorcycle Jacket Sleeves from Burberry

Quilting

Quilted Motorcycle Jacket from Burberry

Trench Coat With Subtle Quilting and Motorcycle Jacket Zips from Burberry

Leather Pants

You may think of biker pants as anything skin tight and black. But again, that's not necessarily so in 2011. Christopher Bailey's leather motorcycle pants for Burberry can grab attention just as well in neutral tones, with mesh side-panels and an exposed, feature zip. As with other elements of the bike chic trend it's all about the detail, and last season's plain leather leggings won't quite cut it. Panels, quilting and padding, and zips all add to the tough yet ultra-slick and modern feel of the neo biker pant, while other thick, skin-hugging materials like neoprene can also work as an alternative to leather.

Leather Motorcycle Pants from Burberry

The Skirted Alternative

As it is with other elements of the biker chic trend, there's also an alternative to biker pants. Drawing on the quilted motifs of their motorcycle jackets, Burberry have produced a neo-mod leather skirt with quilting detailing that not only sits perfectly with the bike fashion trend, but also acts as the perfect alternative statement piece to the motorcycle jacket.

Leather Skirt With Bike Dhic Detailing from Burberry

Motorcycle Boots

And last but not least, motorcycle boots round out the key elements of the biker fashion trend - hardly a surprise given no trend is complete without a tie-in shoe trend. Biker boots, having been in fashion for some time now, won't be hard to come by. You could consider that a plus, but don't rest on your laurels: mass marketing of biker boots means that a lot of very average styles are going to be seen on the streets already, so in order to get motorcycle boots right in 2011 look for a statement pair; something that exudes quality and style - a pair such as the Chanel biker boots.

Chanel Biker Boots