How to survive ColorBlocking Storm!

Colorblocking is about color that is bold enough that it doesn't require much jewelry or accessories. Overall, the trend, which was big in 1960s clothes, is fashion's answer to pop art, The look is typically very geometric, although it can be more subtle. For example, the look uses complementary colors such as peach, pink and cinnamon or opposites such as black, white and red. It's about using chunks of pastels and bright colors mixed with neutrals and dark colors.

Think about the bold colors Warhol used for his famous painting of Marilyn Monroe. The colorblocking explosion picked up as a fashion trend for spring and is continuing for fall. It even made an appearance in the looks for spring 2012 at Fashion Weeks in New York, London & Milan. The biggest lesson is that color blocking isn't an excuse to pull random, colorful garments out of your closet. "I don't do more than three colors” Don't go overboard or try too hard. When they get into the four and five bright colors, you start to look like a 1980s video game, you start to look almost clownishIf you want to stand out in a crowd, people are going to see you right away. You'll probably get lots of compliments if you do it correctly.

For an adventurous fashionista, colorblocking allows you to show your fashion skills, especially when it comes to pulling together colorful separates, new or ones you already own. If you're a colorblock newbie, stick to color blocking a blouse and a jacket… sooner your combination skills will develop once you take the right first step… Have fun ladies and showoff your colorbloking by sending over few pictures!


TIPS & Examples

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• Still How to Color Block Pink:
 Pink looks great with many colors in the blocking scheme. Some super & safe choices are red, purple and coral. Neutral accents break up the brightness. If you’re looking to stand out in a crowd, opt for yellow!
• How to Color Block Orange:
 Orange is great with purple, white and green. If you’re looking for less of a Spring look, go for brown or red If you want to rock the 60′s Twiggy look, go for baby blue)
• How to Color Block Blue:
 Baby blue and electric coming out on top. Each of these work great mixed together. Accents of metallic, purple, yellow, emerald green and charcoal offset the look.
• How to Color Block Yellow:
Yellow presented itself on the runway in hues from bright to muted. Warning: Do not attempt a color block with dark mustard yellow, you will certainly fail terribly. Color block Spring’s yellows with teal ( killer look), pink and green

Marchesa Evening Bags. YOU CAN'T BUY!

Want a Marchesa Spring 2012 evening bag? Too bad, they’re sold out! Well. That was quick.

I found out quite a while back that Marchesa was going to debut a line of clutches to compliment their gorgeous, highly detailed evening dresses, and since then we’ve seen no shortage of celebs toting them down red carpets from New York to Los Angeles. Finally, 2 days ago, they were available online! And then they weren’t. The recession might just be over, folks: the bags, priced $2274-$3475, sold out in a matter of hours. Above are pictures of the bags you can’t currently buy (but maybe soon!)...

Reem Acra brings on the Glam!

When you’re viewing the work of a great fashion designer you cannot simply cast a cursory glance at the design and make a decision. The skill level and ability of the best of the best requires that you study and absorb to understand precisely what you are looking at. Reem Acra is certainly a designer of that caliber, and compels such a level of effort. It was particularly important for her Spring 2012 collection as she, like many designers this season, changed her design direction. Have a look at my Picks!

The red carpet Queen Reem Acra known for luxury - lavish, embellished gowns. For her spring ready-to-wear collection, she wanted to bring the riches of her fancier clothes into her more casual ones, and she's done it with prints: A vintage jewel print, for example, on a silk sheath dress. Or a mineral print. Or a kaleidoscope print. "It's all about the prints this year," she said backstage. & I say we love all about your prints this year!  Reem Acra tops the list of my favorite designers,when I met her for the first time the room was filled with positive energy, and I felt I was talking to an old friend humble, honest she leaves a mark wherever she goes! I was speechless when I saw her Ready to wear collection and change of direction, the materials were sumptuous. She kept  a luxurious look in daywear and her collection certainly delivered on the glamour. Backstage pictures, Reem with heartbreaker LouLou on stage & Check me out with Reem Acra below! 

Latest News From Acra: “With the International growth and distribution of my collection, I feel that the time has come to enter the prestige fragrance market, I am excited about our agreement with TPR Holdings and I am thrilled that together we will be able to bring the Reem Acra brand to an even wider audience with our entry in the category. Brian Robinson, TPR president said, "Reem Acra has unique positioning, worldwide name recognition and an incredible design sense.  We are looking forward to working with her to translate her prestigious brand into the fragrance category."  

Wishing Reem the best with her new venture! Can't wait to add a touch of Acra, everyday!
Note: for the brides to be! Reem Acra is best known also for wedding dresses gorgeous layering and subtle embroidery that bring out the princess in you! check out her collection. Do not hesitate! I didn't!

Tom Ford wants some things from us!

The New collection is exactly what you’d expect from such a luxe brand and one of the smoothest designers in the fashion world: Ford is bringing old school glamour back with a bang. But he wants some things from us in exchange; he wants us to understand our features because ‘symmetry appeals’ and he has a contouring palette that does the job nicely. 'All make-up should be applied with a brush' instructs Ford, luckily he has the chicest we've seen in a while. And lastly, Ford believes make-up should be perfectly blended and diffused; eyeliners should look lived in and lips soft (which is why you won't see a lip liner in the collection)

So what is there? Well, there are over 130 beautiful products from 'Radiant Skin' which encompasses basic skincare, cleansers, infusions, moisturisers and more. 'Flawless Complexion' – comprised of foundations in liquid and stick form; highlighter and concealer pens, powders and the set-to-be-hero Shade and Illuminate, for achieving that all important and alluring symmetry Ford deems so important. 'The Colour Collection' includes an extended line-up of the existing lipsticks (now housed in black, rather than white packaging), as well as sumptuous Eye Color Quads, blushers, lip glosses and one of the best brow pencils, we have seen - it has an built in sharpener and brush. Nail lacquers are also set to hit stores … (Tom Ford Beauty Launch Sept 2011)

A vos ordres Mr. Ford our homework is done! Let the Ford GlamBang begin... 

New York Fashion Week 2012 Highlights- Herve Lerger, Donna Karen, Marchesa ...

Herve Leger by Max Azria, Continuing last season's armour theme, Herve Leger's girls turn rebel warriors for spring.

Marchesa, While Marchesa usually stages an intimate presentation with models posing stoicly on pedestals, this season the girls took to the runway.Feathered skirts and fringed boleros make the models' struts all the more magnificent.

Zac Posen can always be relied on to bring on the glamour. His friend and muse Coco Rocha shows off one of the most intricate designs of all.

Donna Karan, This season dedicated her collection to the people affected by the Haiti earthquake, where she recently carried out charity work. Her nod comes in the form of tribal prints and chunky ethnic necklaces.

Phillip Lim  offering was inspired by the "the freedom and fragility of kites", hence airy-light silks in billowing cuts, and tops strung from delicate straps

Michael Kors took his inspiration from Africa this season, sending a parade of animal prints, tie-dye and feathers down the runway. Flat, two-strap sandals are notably pragmatic.

Check out Oscar De La Renta & Victoria Beckham NYFW 2012 Reviews

OSCAR DE LA RENTA (WOMENS SS12) NEW YORK

Oscar de la Renta gave a bit of seventies flair for his spring 2012 collection. Full of vibrant jewel tones, lace bodices and tailored suits, de la Renta brought his refined elegance to New York Fashion week in full force. With a smattering of floral prints, the new season embraces full voluminous skirts and form-fitting day wear dresses.

But de la Renta also showed a desire to introduce himself to a new crowd, one that would appreciate the unfinished office space he used as a venue, one that would like the Led Zeppelin-infused soundtrack — one that might seriously consider wearing the flower headband in her hair the way the model wearing a hippie-ish, white faille-yellow chiffon embroidered gown.

 He offered bright-colored evening gowns, including a marigold yellow one and another in tomato red, that had long full skirts in back. They weren’t quite trains, but they trailed beautifully down the models on the runway. 

Oscar De La Renta show was a true fashion moment, indeed.

VICTORIA BECKHAM (WOMENS SS12) NEW YORK

Victoria Beckham has continued to surprise us with her collections - when it was first launched, there were a few copycat claims (Rouland Mouret and Osman Yousefzada "one of my favorite designers" mainly), but she now seems to have found her feet and moved from being a 'celeb designer' to  fashion designer.
Simple, ChicLady was the key-note for the second show by Victoria Beckham whose polished collection. Some may say deconstructed yet these pieces are carefully constructed.With a colour palette of navy, black, tangerine and sand, perfect for complementing that even sun-tan, the only orange tint on this ladies skin is the upbeat citrus on her dress or bag. Latex thin, black leather boots clung all the way up to the thigh while skirts were mini or pencil shaped. 

Luxurious yet casual jackets that borrowed elements from sportswear Thx to David, a drawstring here, a hood there, had sleeves that stopped at the forearm. I can imagine Mrs Beckham wearing all of these dresses and also many other women around the world ( in opposition tho her first collection that was made to fit her Only). Latex usage for SS collection is not my fave...I guess VB lost a point on this one!

Missoni for Target Crash!

My blog article has been on fire since the release of the news!  Missoni for Target collaboration few months ago! The same fashionistas that wear designers labels like Dior, YSL and Donna Karan everyday are now obsessed about a Target-designer collaboration.

Nina Garcia, Fashion Director for Elle, has gone baaaaananas over these zigzag pieces.  She has been tweeting like crazy about it! Also Jennifer Rade and ex-Real Housewife Kelly Bensimon–were toting at the checkout. People were tweeting, “How much of this can I carry out of here?” and “I wonder how much I can get home in a cab. Missoni for Target Pop-Up in Times Square initially scheduled to stay open from September 8th through 10th.  But, according to New York Times Fashion, “…Hordes of shoppers have already picked the shelves clean, forcing it to close on the 9^th! According to one of the store’s workers, the entire inventory was gone within an hour of its opening at 9 a.m. that day.”  The sign goes on direct everyone to the brand’s official launch at Target stores on September 13th.

Enough about all the rave, let’s take a look at what you and I can pick up at Target today.  The 400+ piece collection, priced between $7.99 and $199.99,  includes furniture, garments for all ages and genders, hair clips, bed sheets, table settings, luggage, mittens, and scarves oh my!  Let me just say, you will find 399+ pieces to snatch up of this 400+ collection.
Now that the collection is officially launched at Target stores and Online… OMG Am so excited !!! credit card Super ready / Aramex account number memorized, here’s what I get! A Dog & not even wearing Missoni outfits! the website has crashed due to popularity and global traffic!

Few (only if I could gather the 400+ items in one picture to show you my real picks!) on my list in the picture below hoping that the website will get UnCrashed ASAP! WOOOOF

Check out the full collection at http://www.stylecaster.com/fashion/14851/epic-lookbook-missoni-target-collection#138888

Chanel ‘Shade Parade’

Chanel’s nail lacquers need little to no introduction (remember the frenzy over 2009’s Jade?), but here are a handful of good reasons to indulge. Featuring Black pearl, Inattendu, Particuliere, Orange Fizz, and more. (Yes, really.)

Set to the cheery tune of “Little Bitty Pretty One” by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, I'm more than impressed by these twinkle toes—er, tips—and their corresponding manicures. What an amazing way to market nail laquers! Dancing, with elegance and humour, on the tips of fingers that emulate legs! I see them as - perhaps belonging to the Paris Lido Bluebell Girls or dancers at the Moulin Rouge - on a mirrored Chanel stage, swinging on strands of pearls and chains, and sashaying down stairs.

Lady Gaga as we've never seen her before!

We've seen her sporting facial prosthetics, slabs of raw meat, every hair color, and more latex than a balloon factory. But now we're seeing Lady Gaga as we've never seen her before: barefaced.

Make up by MAC, Photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Gaga this time opts for a less controversial look and even a “realistic “conversation about style to Harpers Bazaar far away from pieces of meat and plastic, latex or anything super extraordinary, weighing in on her current go-to labels ("there are some amazing emerging kids from Parsons ... I've been wearing a lot of young designers," she says), workout routine (she credits yoga, Bikram, running, and surfing for her slim figure), and the impetus behind her new, softer look.

Coutesy of Harper's Bazaar

About her new cover look"I don't really view it as 'natural,'" she tells the magazine. "I think that artifice is the new reality. It's more about just being honest and sincere to the core of what you do. Whether I'm wearing lots of makeup or no makeup, I'm always the same person inside.

Gaga also confesses to a certain devotion to shoes. "There's this one pair of shoes I've had for years, and they cost like $25," she says. "I have such an emotional attachment to the shoes that every time I see them, I can hear the fans and feel the bass coming through the bottom of the stage."

I personally like her barefaced look more than anything she’s ever done before, and I don’t don’t get it q! Why is she always trying to hide her natural side when she looks like that!  The real her is much much better than the Fake GaGa!

Fashion Night Out Count Down

Start counting down now to celebrate our love of fashion  in the best global party ever on September. 8th From Manhattan to Milan, Atlanta to Australia, London to Russia, the after hours shopping extravaganza Fashion Night out is back! For the 3rd year in a row, celebrities, designers and stars will perform and mingle with shoppers as they take part in the events and snap up special designs.

Sharing with you some of the highlights this year, Alexander McQueen is giving away a limited number of special Fashion's Night Out 2011 keys containing a unique code, which can then be entered online for the opportunity to win the Folk Tote, McQueen's latest iconic handbag.  Sarah Jessica Parker Unveiling a new shoe collaboration Manolo Blahnik, 31 West 54th New York NY 10019, Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Trachtenberg and Hayden Panettiere Unveiling their Young Hollywood Cares Shoe Collection
at Stuart Weitzman, 625 Madison Avenue New York NY 10022…

Vogue has put together handy calendars for this event, for UK pls. check http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2011/04/11/fashions-night-out-2011-dates-and-events/gallery/2

For details on the global and specifically NYC check out http://fashionsnightout.com

Will Dubai & Beirut enjoy a Fashion Night Out next year ? I don't really get it, why are we excluded anyway!!!!

Hermès waiting list soon to be back!

They’re called It bags for a reason, with many thanks to Grace Kelly and Jane Birkin, of course.

The iconic French luxury brand Hermès just announced a 49.5 percent jump in first-half profits, with a net income totaling 290.9 million euros, or $418.6 million at current exchange rates.

It’s quite a chunk of change, even considering the Kelly and Birkin bags can easily go for tens of thousands of dollars a pop. But to keep up with ever-growing demand, the company has reportedly hired nearly 400 new employees.

Getty Images

“We are selling at the rate we are producing,” Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas told the Guardian. "We haven't yet seen a reduction in the number of people coming into our shops, not even in Japan [following the earthquake and tsunami disaster] ... ”

So, if there’s a Kelly calling your name, get thee to an Hermès store! We have a feeling the whole waiting list phenomenon may soon come back into play, and a faux just won’t cut it ...

Is this a sign that the economical crisis is way behind us… or is it a new trend of investment & we will soon hear about it in "Wall street"