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Isabel Toledo Spring 2012 Runway Collection In Miami

Besides having Michelle Obama as one of her most ardent celebrity clients, Cuban-born designer Isabel Toledo has been wowing critics and fashion fans including yours truly since she began her eponymous line in the mid-80's with her artisinal-minded, avant-garde confections and her deliberately off-the-radar cult of personality. MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS Leave it to Toledo to debut her Spring 2012 collection just weeks after the fashion-show season has ended and all the way down in Miami...Miami? Well, it makes sense after reading that the event was in conjunction with Vanidades' 6th annual 'Magia de la Moda' fashion event followed by the Fashion Group International honoring Toledo and her husband Ruben with a lifetime achievement award. Here's a breakdown of the show

Because every season calls for a bit of vintage flair we thought it would be a good time to look back at all of our favorite vintage-inspired looks from the Fall 2011 collections to cull a handy bit of inspiration to help you cultivate a look that incorporates notes from the past with a thoroughly modern sophistication. >> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS And since you can always use real-deal vintage pieces to pull together a completely customized look, we couldn't think of a more practical guide to get you started. From the 40's to the 70's, designers were looking at the past in ways we hadn't ever seen; here's our top picks. Miu Miu (and above) Bringing you 40's starlet glamour as

Katie Holmes wearing a CARVEN indigo ruched stretch-wool dress to Marie Claire Magazine’s Second Annual Women on Top Awards

I'll Have What She's Having: A Carven indigo ruched stretch-wool dress played down to look perfect for day.A navy dress-- particularly in the fall or winter-- can get a bit tricky when it comes to deciding what color hose to wear with it.Summer months are a no-brainer with bare tan legs and tobacco, nude, or bold colored shoes.But, what to do when it gets cool out?Navy hose and a navy dress can get a bit old school flight attendentesque or schoolmarmish, and nude hose make the dress too dressy for a business day.MORE: CarvenGrab the Katie Holmes CARVEN indigo ruched stretch-wool dress available at farfetch.comKatie Holmes got it right by wearing black tights with the navy dress from Carven (FYI: A

With head-to-toe prints now de riguer on runways around the world it's time to cozy up to one of our favorite fall prints and fabrications as the alluring, graphic and even sexy use of snake & python we saw for Fall 2011 felt undeniably fresh. >> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS Use them to add texture to all of your favorite fall looks while keeping up with the trends...here's a look at how to pull it off. Prada (and above) Miuccia Prada used python coats, boots and aviator inspired headpieces to add a subversively sexy and confident bent to her otherwise ultra-femme collection of 60's inspired dolly dresses. Chloe Chloe's mad assortment of snake & python whether in print or in skin offered a

Just as we've been eyeing penny loafers as they gain momentum with the cool-prep inspired girls around town from Alexa Chung to NYU grads as the classic shoes makes sense for these hi/lo sartorial times we live in, comes a smart new collaboration from two of America's foremost preppy outfitters. Leave it to Tommy Hilfiger, the reigning king of collegiate cool, to update the American sweetheart's stand-by, the classic G.H Bass "Weejun" penny loafer, with a canny dose of unexpected quirkiness in an array of offbeat colors and fabrications. Offering a full range of both men's & women's styles fabricated in pony skin, suede and polished leather in a myriad of colors from classic prep( think burgundy, hunter green &

There's a very "inspired by" version of the Isabel Marant "Poppy" bow pumps that Emmanuelle Alt had been sporting quite a bit over at the GAP. So what if the sold-out style was from last season, they are classic, super cute, and very French Chic. Pair them with skinny jeans for a Parisian take on understated lady-like look or wear them with your favorite plaids of the season. You can't go wrong and if you don't tell anyone, I won't mention that the GAP Suede Bow Pumps version has the bow at the back rather than at the side. Superb!

To celebrate its 30th anniversary Emporio Armani has launched a limited edition sunglass range featuring two iconic styles in a myriad of unexpected monochrome shades for men and women that have an effortlessly cool, modern vibe to them. For her comes an oversized flat-faced round silhouette while the men's offering boasts an ultra-flat tear drop shielded front with both featuring a '30th Emporio Armani' logo on the front of the frames and classic signature eagles on the temple. Use them to enhance fall's omnipresent greys & blacks as the range offers an array of effervescent colors in pink, red, purple and green as well as softer versions in shades of brown, grey and smoke. Kudos to Armani for celebrating its

While color-blocking is no new trend story, it wasn't until this fall season that we really saw a spike in contrasts with ingenious iterations from designer's the world over. >> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS Along with some simple shopping advice, here's a look at some of our favorite uses of color-blocking that are certain to make a graphic statement this season and most probably many to come. Balenciaga (and above) Nicolas Ghesquiere has been doing graphic sci-fi couture for many seasons and fall's addition of thoughtfully color-blocked asymmetrical layered tunics and dresses made for a bold and completely modern update to his repertoire. His use of layering also made for shapes with dynamic trapeze effects full of endless layering potential as evidenced

After several successful seasons collaborating with Uniqlo, Jil Sander's +J collection for the Japanese fast fashion giant is unfortunately ending this season. Word is that a Uniqlo collabo with Undercover is up next, which of course we can't wait to get our hands on (we love Undercover), however, we've also been diehard fans of the +J range for its minimal techno separates that harkened back to Jil's own days at her eponymous label. And while her namesake label is thriving in the hands of Raf Simons, Jil's return on the scene with Uniqlo produced what we consider to be one of the greatest collaborations of all time. This season is the last time we'll all be able to score covetable

With all the insane streams of money coming her way, Kim K still manages to look cheap. We get celebrity style pr tip sheets of almost every celebrity and celebutard that you can imagine wearing something or another. Usually they end upon the trash, but this time I couldn't bear not to share this Kim Kardashian "celebrity style" alert as it's so tacky that I've got to hope no one out there wants to make it stick. We all know that the Kardashian klan own a batch of boutiques, but did she have to wear the entire accessory department all at once? In defense of the Boulee Brynn dress, it's perfectly lovely in its BoHo styling, uneven hemline, and "Downtown"

Leather sleeved tops, jackets and coats have been at the top of our most-wanted lists for quite a few fashion cycles but it wasn't until this season that we saw the trend really gain momentum with designers using hides of all kinds from snakeskin to lambskin to toughen up and add an edgy contrast to even the most classic of pieces. >> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS From heritage minded trench coats to traditional black wool toppers, outerwear of all kinds were given a dose of tough cool with leather sleeves and even epaulets like those seen at Chloe. >>MORE: Leather Style Here's a crash course on nailing the trend and a look at some of our favorite iterations of it... Chloe (and above)

After seasons of major statement making shoes with mind-boggling heel heights and preposterous ornamentation, we're really feeling the simplicity of the footwear options we saw on the runways for next spring. That's not to say that footwear has been reduced to the simplistic and merely functional, quite the contrary indeed. From YSL's shielded heeled loafers to Rochas' mirrored slides, there were plenty of options out there to lift your wardrobe's potential and your spirits too. Here's a look at the statement makers for next spring that caught our eye... >> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS Yves Saint Laurent (and above) With heeled loafers making the top of our footwear lists this current season and for that matter, the past few season's as well, YSL's

After a month+ of consecutive international fashion shows, it can be hard to not only remember what we've seen, but to get a second to glance at all of the astonishing details seems sadly unlikely. That being said, we wanted to take a moment and look back at everything one could easily miss. Here's a look at our favorite elements from all of the Paris shows starting with Rochas' angular techno take on 50's starlet glamor as seen above. >> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS Valentino The espadrille, a classic summer stand-by, got an ultra-chic re-thinking chez Valentino via delicate and forever feminine sheer lace. Yves Saint Laurent At YSL, strict buns were given the gilded treatment with sculptural gold crescents. Nina Ricci

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The Blog Posts...

Isabel Toledo Spring 2012 Runway Collection In Miami

Shopping the Trends of Fall 2011- Vintage Inspired Fashion

Celebrity Style- Katie Holmes Knows What Color Hose to Wear with a Navy Dress

Shopping the Trends of Fall 2011- Snakeskin

Get Prepped- Tommy Hilfiger x G.H. Bass and Co.

ADVENTURES IN EXTREMES- The Isabel Marant Pumps that Emmanuelle Alt Loves or the GAP version

EMPORIO ARMANI EYEWEAR Celebrates 30 COLORFUL YEARS

Shopping the Trends of Fall 2011- Color-Blocked Separates

The final +J Collection from UNIQLO and Jil Sander

Kim Kardashian manages to take a perfectly fine– and loose-fitting– dress and make it look cheesy

Shopping the Trends of Fall 2011- Leather Sleeved Outerwear

Leg Work- Spring 2012’s Best Footwear -Celine, Dries Van Noten, Rochas, Yves Saint Laurent

In the Details- Fresh Spring Ideas at Paris Fashion Week You Shouldn’t Miss

Female Entrepreneurs: Helping You & Your Business Get Out There!