TREND I-SPY

I think it's safe to say that it has been a very snowy winter thus far, both in Europe and here on the East Coast of the US. Even "Down South", which never gets hit, has had more than its fair share of the white stuff this season. So it doesn't take much to surmise that this was a major influence behind so many designers sending so much fur and parka-type outerwear down the runways. Oh I hear you say, so what's new about that? Well, I'll tell you what and I think I know where it's coming from too, Snow Monkeys!!! Who can resist these exceptional creatures?; as gorgeous as any super model. I have been reading all about them. The Japanese Macaque lives in mountainous areas of Japan. It survives winter temperatures below -15 °C (5°F), and is perhaps most notable for the amount of time it spends in naturally heated volcanic hot springs in Snow Monkey Park located in the town of Yamanouchi , Nagano Prefecture , close to a historical hot spring area named Sh

The London shows for Fall 2011 are on and there is lots and lots of color, both solid brights (Burberry for instance) and in an extension of last year's ombré theme, splashed on, in the manner of the artist, Jackson Pollock Jackson Pollock in his studio Ombre and splashed-on-colored hair might have caught on with the fashion crowd after editor Katie Shillingford was seen in Style.com's blog, Jak & Jil a couple of years ago. Katie Shillingford, 2009 And if you haven't seen the adorably precocious Willow Smith's video , where she splashed paint around by whipping her hair, check it out. Found this photo of Hamish Bowles with lavender-splashed hands on one of my favorite blogs, Little Augury Hamish Bowles by Danko Steiner Splashy prints at the London shows for Fall 2011, from Erdem Erdem Fall 2011 Erdem Fall 2011 Erdem Fall 2011 Erdem Fall 2011 Erdem Fall 2011 Erdem Fall 2011 And in New York at Libertine Libertine Fall 2011 Libe

Recently on display at The Didier Aaron Gallery some paintings by an unknown seventeenth century artist from Italy, simply known as The Master of The Blue Jeans. As the Didier Aaron website describes, "Although we do not know his name or nationality, the Master of the Blue Jeans holds an original place among the European painters of reality of the seventeenth century. In his hands, poor, humble people are depicted with a dignity and directness rarely given to such subjects.   The paintings show women and children wearing a blue cloth with a white-thread weave that typifies the famous Genoese fabric. This forerunner to modern denim derives its name from ‘Genes’ in French, which became ‘Geanes’ in seventeenth-century English. Imagine that! 500 years ago these poor Italian folks were wearing denim". Centuries later, not so dissimilar looks shown on the G-Star runway during New York Fashion Week. G-Star Fall 2011 G-Star Fall 2011 G-Star Fall 20

New York Fashion Week is well underway, one of my favorite shows so far has been Edun. I think this gypsy trend is going to be huge. Here is the style.com review. Edun, By Nicole Phelps Sharon Wauchob is now in her second season at the reins at Edun , and the picture of what the brand will become under the Irish designer's leadership is coming into focus. Her Fall runway, not unlike last season's, was full of real, wearable clothes. As hard as this might be to believe, you can't necessarily say that about all the contemporary labels out there. But Wauchob has apparently surrounded herself with a fresh, young team and she says that helps keep her in touch with what cool girls want to wear. Let's start with the coats. The quilted khaki storm trench that opened the show has the X factor that will make it a popular personal order item with editors. In this era of influential street style blogs that really means something, and there was more soli