Fall Shopping List

I've been plotting planning my fall shopping list and gameplan over the past week.  I've picked out a few essentials and plan on fulfilling my list while in NYC this coming weekend.  Below are some of my top picks for fall...

Cream Silk Blouse

              

Gold Watch

Faux Fur Vest

Camel Sweater

          

Tan Skinny Belt

Beige Crocodile Bag

Lace-Up Booties

Velvet Pants

                

Beach Ready

Summer is winding down, so I'm excited to take one more beach trip before it's over.  I recently was shopping for a new swimsuit, which inspired me to explore some of my favorite beachwear collections...

Diane von Furstenberg

Michael Kors

Shoshanna

...and cute cover-ups

Photos: Style.com; Shoshanna.com

Michael Kors Fall 2010 Campaign

Another one I love...Michael Kors.  This campaign makes me wish for fall, even though I am 100% a summer person.  Many pieces from this collection are desired - faux fur, tailored sweatpants, camel everything.

This look is my favorite - I want to own every piece of it.

Fall Favorites

It was a tough decision, but I narrowed down my favorite collections from Fall 2010.  I tried to pick a top three, but ended up with six. 

Tommy Hilfiger was surprisingly my #1 choice.  I loved every single piece of this collection. Highlights for me were the heeled duck boots, sleeveless trenches and touches of plaid throughout.

Thigh-high boots are clearly still huge for next fall, which is tempting me to find a pair (although they look best on supermodel skinny legs).  I loooved Christian Dior's mix of leather and soft ruffled dresses.  Highlights were plaid of course, thigh-highs, jodhpurs and beautiful chiffon mini-dresses.

Speaking of chiffon - Erin Fetherston had beautiful dresses and I want to own all of them.  After seeing her collection, I went to Topshop and bought dress similar to her orange s/s wrap style dress.  The flowy fabric mixed with velvet, leather and suede made for a perfect collection.

Michael Kors' collection was full of pieces that I would love to wear day-to-day.  Highlights were the fur skirt and accents, tailored sweatpants, clean lines and neutral color palette.

The fur, sequins and beading in the J. Mendel collection made the pieces appear very rich and sophisticated.  My favorite look was the sequins and wool dress with fur accents on the shoulders.  I would love to have any of the dresses in this collection for a night out.

I watched the Gucci show online and as each look came down the runway, you could tell the pieces were impeccably made.  The collection started out with beige and caramel day looks and outerwear.  The colors darkened to reds and blacks as the show progressed, and the looks involved more sequins and fishnets - perfect for a night out.  Highlights for me were the outerwear, tailoring and accessories.

Photos: Style.com

Fall 2010 Trends

With the final week of Fall 2010 fashion shows over, I thought I'd address some of the trends we can expect, and which I am so excited to try in the Fall...


Statement Color - Red

No matter what show you were at (if you're very lucky), watching online or reviewing on style.com, almost every one incorporated red into their collection. From beautiful gowns at Altuzarra, Alexander McQueen, Valentino and Carolina Herrera to luxe coats at Oscar de la Renta and Givenchy. Red is the official statement color for Fall/Winter and will definitely bring a pop of color to those cold days.

Velvet

The Fall collections also brought us velvet pants, dresses, jackets and accessories. Many designers mixed the red and velvet trends in lavish dresses - perfect for holiday parties, red carpet events or just wanting to stand out. I'm on the fence about trying out the velvet trend. My favorite use of it was at Erin Fetherston with her cream colored velvet skinny pants. Gucci also provided some tasteful velvet usage that looked rich and sophisticated.

Furs

Faux or real, furs were all over the runways for Fall and not always in a predictable way. Fur boots, skirts and head to toe fur [Chanel] provided inventive ways to look stylish and keep warm. Burberry and Balmain created beautiful, plush fur coats and Michael Kors brought fur pieces to accent very wearable outfits.

Minis + Long Sleeves

Another trend I'm on the fence about is the mini dress combined with long sleeves; however, I found that this look was reoccurring in many of the collections. Some just a strapless or shift mini over a long sleeve shirt and others a mini paired with cropped long sleeves [Preen]. An interesting look and something definitely worth testing out - but I'm not sure how this will translate off the runway.

Winter Whites

Anyone who says you can't wear white after Labor Day is either 65+ years of age or crazy. Winter is prime time to brighten up your days with all shades of white. The runways provided beautiful dresses, skirts, coats, pants and everything else white. I had to stop and remind myself a few times that I was viewing Fall collections and not Spring. My favorites were the Valentino l/s mini dress with a tiered skirt and the Celine lace dress. Erin Fetherston also brought in a white flowy chiffon dress as well as beautiful prints on white.


Ruffles

Finally we have ruffles - ruffles on virtually every runway in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Christian Dior's use of ruffles was flowy and dream-like, while Valentino used ruffles in a very modern and crisp way. Mulberry created a ruffled mini-skirt that had the appearance of fur. I love ruffles - they add instant femininity 
and will absolutely be in my closet for Fall and before that.

Photos: Style.com