TREND I-SPY

There's been a tendency recently in ready-to-wear to both reveal and conceal: cold-shoulders on a long-sleeved high-necked dress for instance. Or think about Angelina Jolie at the recent Oscars wearing a sober black gown with a provocative split-up-to-there slit.  It has also spawned a fascination with net-like fabrics from several of the designers. Some have given it an athletic spin, while others favor something more attuned to the Helmut Newton-esque dominatrix that seemingly lurks inside so many of us. Here are a few examples. It all began a year ago with the Jil Sander hat with a  facial net.  I love it because it manages to be a sporty beanie AND a vintage 1940s lady-like creation all in one.  In this Vogue.com photograph, model Hanne Gaby Odiele successfully negotiates eating an ice cream cone whilst wearing it. Here is the marvelously iconic Anna Dello Russo in a pale blue version of the same hat. From Dolce & Gabbana SS12 Fo...

Giambattista Valli                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ...

Considering her many God-given physical attributes, there have been occasions in the past when Angelina Jolie's appearance somehow misses the mark on the Red Carpet. The Golden Globes 2011 was NOT one of those times.  Her wonderful long-sleeved A telier Versace   gown, encrusted with Swarovski crystals, was arguably the best dress there. Its color, a deep emerald green, was a knock-out. Even though Hot Pink has been touted as THE color for 2011 in some quarters, it is already the wearing of the green that has had folks talking thus far in this Awards Season. It is a color that perfectly reflects our current fascination with ecology and sustainability. Green is the color of fertility and Mother Earth!  In the Middle Ages, wedding dresses were green as in the Jan van Eyck painting, The Arnolfini Wedding. Angelina Jolie in Versace Catherine Zeta-Jones in Monique Lhuillier Mila Kunis in Vera Wang SJP on the cover of Elle Jan 11 Mika...

Hermes S2010 with Karlie Kloss by Paolo Roversi It's London Fashion Week and designers such as Basso and Brooke and Mary Katrantzou are showing conversational prints for Fall 2010 of the sort Hermes and Gianni Versace made popular in decades past. The Hermes Spring campaign is similarly eye-catching. Mary Katrantzou, Fall 2010 Basso & Brooke, Fall 2010 US Vogue, July 1989