Sharon Haver - FocusOnStyle.com black posts

Stylist Advice: Your Classic Uniform, My Way!

Wardrobe Reprise- I don't know about you but this sudden cold snap has me relying more and more on my favorite classic pieces before I even think about turning my closet over (yes, I'm layering). Take take a look back at some of my favorite tips to make getting dressed easier. And chic. --S.H. No-brainer fall into winter dressing starts with a great coat... Dear Sharon: I get confused at what to wear when I have appointments all over town and getting ready for work gets complicated. I wish for the days of a classic uniform, like school but a stylish one of course! Do you have any ideas on how streamline my wardrobe to a few good, solid pieces to

Marc Jacobs Off-The-Shoulder Satin Dress

This week’s summer spotlight is How to Wear It Week. Let's look at a classic way to wear a summer standby.I recently bought a black short, off-the-shoulder dress. It is body-hugging until the hips and then has a balloon skirt until the knees. I later realized on that I am not very comfortable wearing an off-shoulder style. Can you suggest a jacket type or coverup that I can wear with this dress and in what color or pattern? (via Fashion Advice) >> MORE: How to wear a LBD postsHumm, what makes you uncomfortable wearing an off the shoulder dress now that you liked so much when you bought the dress? It's always best to try to fall out of love with something when you still have the

There's something about black. Maybe I started to be a fan because I'm a native New Yorker and the perennial color du jour is chic + never faltering black. It's the one color that has that cool edge besides being the glue to almost everything else you own, and says I've arrived rather than where am I going. Try that mint green, why don't you? I'm not talking about dour and dreary funereal black that washes you out. But the dynamic and urban way of combining fabrications and cuts that's grown-up, classy, and very New York City, or Paris, or any metropolitan city for that matter. What about your other basics, like denim and white, you ask? They play right in to the refined mix.

When we think of the black dress, an L.B.D. typically comes to mind. Well, not so fast. Kicking off New York Fashion Week, I made at very worthwhile stop at the opening of The Black Dress: Ten Contemporary Fashion Designers which celebrates the singular vision of featured black fashion designers: Jeffrey Banks, Samantha Black, Stephen Burrows, Donna Dove, Epperson, Michael Jerome Francis, Byron Lars, Tracy Reese, Omar Salam and LaQuan Smith who have found success in an industry that historically downplays their achievements. >> MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS And TREND SPOTLIGHTS The exhibition's fashion consultant Walter Greene explained the relevancy of the coterie of designers as, "it represents a coming together of Black designers from the diaspora. They are designers who were born in Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the US, the common thread is

When I start thinking ahead to my favorite fashion season, rather than going gaga about opulent accents, I think of what would be the best fall wardrobe staples the glue that plays nicely with the rest of my wardrobe. Here, you have it. My style in a nutshell: If I could encapsulate all my go-to timeless fall wardrobe staples over time, it would be iterations of a perfect fitted black turtleneck and a leather flare skirt. Ok, sometimes, it's wool. This look (Norma Rollneck turtleneck, Torre Leather Skirt, Doris Belt) from the J.Brand Fall 2013 Look Book has my name all over it. Why? It's sleek, powerful, strong, ageless, chic, pulled together, urban, and suitable for an hourglass figure as well as to

I'll Have What She's Having: Classic French chic by way of can't go wrong black + white I love a trend that is age-appropriate for everyone, has endless mix and matching possibilities, is striking and classic, and never goes out of style. Hard to find? Not when you consider the endless appeal of classic French Chic black and white, the classic tried & true color combo that never gets dated. Look at the inspiring Paris street style ladies pictured here to easily tell that the better than basic closet constants, look revived, refreshed & oh so easy to pull off whether you are 20, 30, 40, 50 or beyond. >> DON’T MISS MY FREE FRENCH CHIC GIFT TO YOU: Download Passport to French Chic & receive regular

Style Notes for the Top 5 London Fashion Week Trends: You loved our extensive coverage of NYFW and our Top 7 New York Fashion Week Trends for Fall 2013. Our Fashion Week street style trends from NY & London have been a hit too. Wink, wink. So, without further adieu... we bring you the Top 5 Trends from London fashion Week for fall 2013 to start to add to your wardrobe NOW. Do I here a sale rack calling??? As news breaks that designer Christopher Kane joined the big leagues with new funding, London Fashion Week trends saw many of his generational peers adapting a stronger, more directional approach to their collections. In other words, some of the fashion world's most notable, forward

Make What You've Got Current with Runway Trends Pre-Fall 2013 ... Runway trends can be as simple and wearably divine as the perfect pantsuit from Dior Couture above, or as over-the-top grand as the lace cape from Alexander McQueen, below. Either way, there is an essence that you can steal into your wardrobe. Be inspired. Great style is all about interpretation on how it best flatters you. We made it easy with some how-to's and reason's why you should consider elements from these next season now fashion looks into your daily wardrobe.--S.H. Alexander McQueen, a bigger than life example of the lace trend for Pre-fall 2013 New York Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2013 is just about to start, and as important as

I'll Have What She's Having: Black leather pants that look so right Yesterday, we talked about the ageless chic of a black leather motorcycle jacket, and today it's time to talk about your lower half. >>MORE: Leather Style There's an off-handedness that Italians have. They could be wearing the most extravagant item -- think a healthy dose of gold, a swath of fur, ornate embellishments, or in this case, black leather pants-- and throw it together in a manner that's effortless and molto elegante, and even casual in their own way. Never garish. Always fun. >>RELATED: When in Rome Black leather pants are one of the hottest trends this season, and we all know how tricky they can be. Let's look at

Kate Moss, Isabelle Hupert, Sarah Jessica Parker in black leather jackets

I'll Have What She's Having: A modern & global spin on a classic black leather jacket as an age-appropriate celebrity favorite Baby, it's leather weather! Not too hot, not too cold (yet) and just right for some hard core downtown motorcycle style done right, may it be city, casual, or dressy. From London, New York, to Cannes, we've got Kate Moss, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Isabelle Huppert sporting a black leather jacket in three ageless ways that will surely suit YOUR wardrobe. >>MORE: Leather Style When it comes to rocking it out whist still being both age-appropriate and ageless, please note that these ladies are in their LATE 30s, 40s, and 50s. Style doesn't have an expiration date when it looks right. Kate Moss in

Valentino Spring 2013 From the Spring 2013 runways, basic black is back on trend... Black is the new black as the runway trend you want to covet. But, if you are like me, your wardrobe is brimming with better than basic black pieces. So, here's so the 411 on how to have next season, right from your closet. With the last leg of the Spring 2013 shows winding down in Paris comes a look at top trends for next season to get you on track for the Fall season ahead. >> RELATED: We love black fashion, the ease of an LBD, and fab pieces under $100 too Take a cue from one of the Spring's strongest trends, a return to

Basic black becomes beautiful black when it's worn in the right French Chic way... It's funny how there are photos of us that almost instantly look dated and others that have timeless perfection. What we are wearing plays a huge part in what sustains looking chic and vital rather than overdone and garish. Take for instance, the style power and endurance of perennially black clad Juliette Binoche and Malgorzarta Szumowska pictured here. >> Day One of the three-part FoS series Ageless & Age-Appropriate French Chic At A Certain Age Let's think about this: every season there is a trend color; something eye-catching to refuel your need to buy something new. You wear that color. Like this season's trendy shade of coralish-roseish-tangerine formerly rightly reserved

Naomi Campbell masters wearing brown and black Roberto Cavalli

I'll Have What She's Having: Old school rule breaking that keeps you looking all the more chic... As this crazy mild winter transitions towards spring, we are not quite ready to don the brights yet are still not wanting to be buried in heavy hues... unless artfully combined, that is. Let's start with a simple disclaimer: There are FEW woman who can wear a skirt as short and hair as long past 40 other than supermodel Naomi Campbell- the woman has a bod carved out of stone, for sure. >> EASY STYLE: How to wear brown and black Naomi Campbell masters wearing brown and black Roberto Cavalli with ease as both pieces though stylish, aren't meant to make a blaring

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Stylist Advice: Your Classic Uniform, My Way!

How to Wear It Week! What to wear with an off-the-shoulder dress

Summer Chic Noir- Black Never Boring or Basic When You Style It Like a City Girl

The Black Dress- Black Fashion Designers in celebration of Black History Month + New York Fashion Week

Black is the new black for Fall Wardrobe Staples: The Black Leather Flare Skirt + Black Turtleneck + Wide Belt

Are you looking for something ageless that never goes out of style? Try classic French Chic black + white

Don’t Miss The TOP 5 London Fashion Week Trends From Fall 2013 To Wear NOW

How To Update Your Wardrobe- Runway Trends Pre-Fall 2013 Fashion Cheat Sheet

Leather Weather: Black (leather pants) + White = Italian Style

Leather Weather: A Black Leather Jacket At Any Age To Suit Your Every Mood!

Wear It Now: Black is Back As The Runway Trend To Steal – Spring 2013 Highlights

French Chic at a Certain Age: The power of black a la Juliette Binoche… not so basic!

Stylist Advice- Naomi Campbell masters wearing brown and black Roberto Cavalli, here’s how

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