By Milton

The runway shows from the Paris Spring 2010 collections were full of surprises and as expected, beautiful clothes.  Some of these included Alexander McQueen’s short dresses, with digitally printed reptile patterns and shoes that were simply amazing; while Valentino’s short party dresses in soft tones like pale yellow, rose, gold and nudes made from very sheer fabrics such as tulle, organza, chifon and lace. They were very different from the house’s tradition. Chanel’s show took place on a huge barn inside the Grand Palais, with a flirty country look.

Chanel

Chloé

John Galliano

Hermés

Kenzo

Alexander McQueen

Valentino

Louis Vuitton

By Milton

If you love fashion, then you are going to love these highlights from Mercedes-Benz New York City’s Fashion Week Spring 2010.  Fashion week started on September 10th and will continue until September 17^th. There are so many great shows and this is just the first part of a series of images and videos I will post. Keep checking for new posts through the week for more updates!

Carlos Miele

Carolina Herrera

Chris Benz

Donna Karan

J.Mendel

Marc Jacobs

Tracy Reese

Zac Posen

By Milton

As I mentioned in my Fall ‘09 Accessories post, Zippers are coming big in a new way for this season. Designers are using them not only for their function, but also as embellishments on jackets, bags, shoes and anything you can think of.  M&J Trimming just got these new Zipper Rosettes.  Here are some ideas of how you can make your own accessories or embellish the ones you already have. It’s a great way to get the look of this seaon’s  strongest trends.  They have a flat back that makes them easy to stitch or glue, depending on your project. They come as individual 2 ½” Rosettes and a larger 4″ version which comes with 4 Rosettes attached as one piece. 

Now you can have fun embellishing your shoes, all you need is a glue gun and attach the Rosette in the center or if they have straps you could glue them on the side of the strap. If you are doing your bag, I would recommend to use needle and thread to attach the Rosettes because you might want to replace it with something else in the future.  If you want to make a headband, all you need to do is get a plain headband and glue the Rosette on the side.  You can also use a hair clip or a hair comb. Fall is around the corner, so have fun and start getting ready for the season making your own accessories.

By the way, the zipper rossets aren’t available online.  However, you can call customer service at 1-800-9-MJTRIM and order them on the phone.  All you need are the item numbers.

This has been a short summer, and before we even realize it, we’ll be wearing our fall jackets. Although some of us may not look forward to fall, accessorizing our outfits this coming season will be a lot of fun. Some designers added accessories full of details and embellishments to their collections. There are so many to choose from. However, I narrowed  fall ‘09 accessories in four trends: Crystals, Ruffles, Zippers and Studs.

Zippers are coming big in a new and interesting way. We’ve also seen a lot of crystals and jewels used in many ways the last couple of years. For this fall we can see them not only as an accent, but also as the whole body of a shoe or a bag, or mixed with studs and other materials. Some examples are the Valentino Kaleido Vertical Tote, or the Christian Louboutin’s Swarovski crystal round-toe wedge.

We saw some ruffles in the Spring ‘09 collections, and the trend continues this fall, as it is in the case of Dolce & Gabbana and Bruno Frisoni Shoes.

And lastly, the one that might be the biggest trend for the fall, and as Dara mentioned in her previous post, Studs and Nailheads are everywhere. Shoes, Bags, Gloves and in anything you want. There are so many designs and patterns you can get and the best part is that you can also have fun by embellishing the accessories you already own and get the look of the hottest accessories of this fall.

By Milton

This summer, feathers made a come back.  People everywhere are wearing them to accessorize headbands, hair clips, necklaces, earrings, bags, hats, shoes and the list goes on.  The great thing about feathers is that you could get any look you want depending on your personality. You can go from a hipster look to a glamorous look with the right piece.

Feather patches are great if you want to make your own feather accessory. You would be surprised how easy it is to make headbands or jewelry with them. Here are 3 examples of how you could make your own Curly Goose Pad and Cameo Headband, Crystal and Feather Earrings, and Peacock Feather and Tooth Pendant Necklace.

Curly Goose Pad and Cameo Headband

Materials:
- Headband
- Curly Goose Pad
- Oval Coman Head Cameo
- White 16mm Double FAce Satin Box Pleated
- Glue Gun

Instructions:

1. Apply some glue along the edge of the back of the Cameo.
2. Glue the pleated ribbon following the oval shape.
3. Apply some glue on the thin side of the feather patch and glue the cameo with the ribbon on top of it.
4. Before gluing it on the headband, with the help of a mirror, find the perfect spot where you desire your feather piece. Glue to the headband and enjoy!

Crystal and Feather Earrings

Materials:
- Earrings Hooks
- Jump Rings
- Diamond Leaf Crystals
- 4″ Feather Pick with Loop

Instructions:

1. Open your jump ring and insert one end of the crystal and the look of the feather pick.
2. Before closing it insert the look of the earring hoop.
3. Close your jump ring and enjoy!

Peacock Feather and Tooth Pendant Necklace

- Chain
- 5.5″ Peacock Feather Pick with Loop
- Tooth Pendant with Cap

Instructions:

1. Cut the chain depending on how long you want your necklace to be. I recommend to make it long enough so you can slide it in without putting a clasp on it.
2.  Open the last link of the chain and insert the look of the pendant.
3. Insert it to the last link in the other end of the chain and close it. This will be the center of your necklace.
4. About 4 ” higher , open another link and insert the feather loop .
5. Close the link and enjoy!

By Milton

Here is an easy way to create vintage inspired headbands. To make these two  I  used Beaded Trim to cover the headband and then glued the edges at the bottom with Gem Tac and a Glue Gun. Gem Tac is great when working with trims that have tiny beads because it prevents the beads from falling and  dries completely clear. Even  if the bottom of the headband will never show when you wear it, its always good to finish the inside wit a braided trim, it will make the headband stay better while you wear it and hide the edges of the trim you glued under.

Materials:
-Gem Tac Glue
-Glue Gun
-Embroidered Beaded Trim # 28596 (Call 1-800-9-MJTRIM)
-Beaded Trim #37107 (Call 1-800-9-MJTRIM)
-Black  and Brown Braids # 00407

By Milton

Givenchy (Above)

 Here are some highlights from the first round of the Paris Couture shows for Autumn/Winter 2009/10. Haute Couture is French for “High Sewing” or “High Dressmaking”.  Couture collections are defined by the quality of materials used, custom tailoring, and intricate by hand needle work.  A single piece in the collection can take a designer any where from 100 to 1000 hours to create, it’s all in the details.  All though today fashion houses generate profit from their ready to wear collections, couture collections allow the designer to exhibit excellent artistry, setting the tone for ready to wear fashion while earning recognition for the design house.

 A common theme through out the first round of shows was streamline tailoring and over the top embellishments. Chanel’s collection was full of bejeweled and feather trims, Giorgio Armani Privé was also full of beautiful bead work and perfect tailoring with pantsuits and red carpet dresses. Riccardo Tisci also stuck with the strict principals of tailoring in his collection for Givenchy, mixed with exotic Moroccan inspired shapes, and more modern looks using studs, spikes and chains.  Although it appears that this may be Christian Lacroix’s last couture show, the designer did not miss a step with his Autumn/Winter collection.  The collection was flawless with a perfect mix of draping and fitted tailoring and the Byzantine inspired embroidery details were icing on the cake.

Giorgio Armani Prive (Above)

Chanel (Above)

Christian Dior (Above)

 By Milton

Alexander McQueen

The first group of menswear ended yesterday in Milan. The shows included Alexander McQueen, D&G, Dsquared, Emporio Armani, Etro, John Varvatos, Marni, Salvatore Ferragamo, Z Zegna, Bottega Veneta, Burberry Prorsum, C.P. Company, Calvin Klein Collection, Costume National, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gianfranco Ferré, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander, Missoni, Moschino, Neil Barrett, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Trussardi 1911, Undercover and Versace. Here are few a highlights from the Milan shows.  All the fashion excitement is moving to Paris tomorrow, where more designers will present their collections for the Spring 2010 for four days.

Bottega Veneta (Above)

D&G (Above)

Dolce & Gabbana (Above)

Gucci (Above)

John Vervatos (Above)

Prada (Above)

Roberto Cavalli (Above)

Salvatore Ferragamo (Above)

Versace (Above)

By Milton

Chanel (Above)

Many times, small details are the ones that give life and personality to a garment. Too often, we overlook these details and don’t realize how embellishments can make a piece look beautiful.

 To demonstrate this, I picked 7 looks from the Resort 2010 collection. They have different kind of embellishments and they all work perfectly. Notice how without the embellishments, they wouldn’t look the same or they would probably look dull. Most of them utilize sequins plus a different element such as beads, crystals or mirrors.  Others, like the look from Zac Posen, use beautiful buttons and ribbon. You can also make any piece you already own special, just find the right embellishments and have fun being creative with them. 

Alexander Wang (Above)

Diane Von Furstenberg (Above)

Marc Jacobs (Above)

Oscar De La Renta (Above)

Zac Posen (Above)

Marc by Marc Jacobs (Above)