Fall Fashion Lusts and Musts

Here are my fall favorites for this season. They were seen all over the fall runways and are now finally starting to be seen in retail stores now that Fall is almost in full swing.

I chose to include my lust items that I could never afford for such a trendy item, and then I included my possibly I could afford if I buy a few key pieces. As always, you can find all of these items in lower end retail stores, you will just compromise quality (like shopping at H&M, Zara, Old Navy, Gap, Target, etc).




1. Feminine Silk Blouse- I prefer oversize with pockets or a slightly pouf at the shoulder with hidden buttons. Fendi, Chloe, and Ever Kennewick










2. Leather Pleated Shorts- Look great with the silk blouses above with tights and boots or with chunky oversize sweaters (make sure the sweaters are not too short or it will look like you are wearing just a sweater as a shirt). 3.1 Phillip Lim and Rag and Bone





















3. Tight Mini Sweater Dress- Must be long sleeves and can be worn with fur vests, leather motorcycle jacket, tights, and stacked heel or wedge boots. 3.1 Phillip Lim and Splendid













4. Faux Fur Vests- Worn over long sleeve henleys for a casual look, long sleeved mini dresses as a night time/on the town look, and worn with long maxi dresses to be super trendy. BB Dakota, Battalion Munro Veggie Faux Fur, and Alice and Olivia



















5. Capes and Ponchos- My favorite piece by far last fall runway season was the tweed and leather Rag and Bone Cape. So rugged and chic. I also enjoy the standard wool cape/ coat that is wearable and fashionable at the same time. Sweater capes are also impossible to resist because they are adorable, simple, and comfortable. Rag and Bone, ASOS, and Peresteso









6. Utility Jackets- I prefer the olive green color so it looks authentic. The more pockets the better and make sure it has a drawstring capability so that you can emphasize the waist when you style it. 7 for All Mankind and Vince







7. Shearling Buckle High Heel Boots- I would give my left arm to have this pair of Burberry boots, but the TopShop look a likes will have to do. They are adorable, look incredibly warm, and are chic with jeans, a simple long sleeve tee, and the utility jacket.
Burberry and ASOS






















8. Desert Boot Stacked Heel or Wedge- Every brand this season has there own take on this classic menswear style. I recommend a classic look with a stacked heel in either sand, dark olive, or black suede. DVF and Pam Project seem to do it best.





9. Cross Body Small Bags- I prefer a square shape or a bucket shape with either fringe, fun buckles, studs, or exaggerated pockets. Keep it simple, but let it be funky in style. Do not combine too many embellishments or it tends to just look cheap and trashy. Rebecca Minkoff and Khirma Eliazov



10. Menswear Hat- Camel is the new color for coats, shoes, and hats. I will only buy dark green, camel, or black, chocolate brown, burgundy, or navy hats this season and they must be wool so that they keep you warm. Nothing works better to make your day old hair look fashionable. Selima Jim

Shoes to Love or Hate

I found a few shoes that I cannot decide whether I love them or hate them. This spring, as always, the shoes are coming out in full force in different styles of sandals, wedges, heels, and... mule CLOGS?
Truthfully, I usually hate all types of mule clogs but this year I am seeing styles that make me want to change my mind. Mainly, my favorite brands so far are Alexander Wang and Camilla Skovgaard. The fun and funky runner up is Jeffrey Campbell (I cannot pull these off, but the super trendy dresser can). Other fun shoes that I could not take my eyes off include Sam Edelman's embellished, python, high-heeled, strappy sandal (too much or just enough?...), Alexander Wang's cheetah print wedges, and Rachel Comey's open-toe oxford metallic wedges.
These fun and funky shoes make me want to take a blow dryer outside to melt the snow away so I can wear these shoes sooner!

Rag and Bone Fall Winter Show 2010

The Rag and Bone show yesterday was quite possibly the best show I have seen. The collection was flawless and so exciting that I could not keep my eyes off of the models. Not only did they look like they were ready for mountain climbing, they looked completely comfortable and chic.












The show featured tweeds, flannels, wools, and mainly tons of layering of sweaters, shirts, and blazers. My favorite look of the collection was a tweed and wool poncho/cape that I would die to own!

Not only were the clothes perfection, the accessories made the outfits. The accessories were so different and fun, that I had to look a few times to figure out what they were and if they were attached to the clothes or separate. The main accessories included belts in fun places, such as over the knee high socks around the ankles and calves, making them look like they were part of a boot or leggings. Belts were also seen as a harness around the shoulders and connected over the back. The harnesses created a rugged feel and really made the outfits come together. Other accessories included a muff(I am so excited they brought them back!) and belts with pouches attached and then the pouch also attached at the high thigh with a belt. These looked great over leather pants and short wool skirts. The accessories Rag and Bone used were extremely innovative, but also wearable off the runway for a fashion forward look. Kudos to Rag and Bone's women collection this fall.

Alexander Wang Hanne Boot Look Alikes

From the Alexander Wang Fall/Winter collection last year, the triple buckle Hanne boots were probably one of the most memorable pieces. Now, a year later, other designers are catching on and making boots that look similar, but for a more affordable price. Here are some examples that look similar so you can get the same type of look, but more cheaper.

Here are the Jeffrey Campbell look a-likes for $225: (Singer22.com)

And here are the Aldo look a-likes for $130 on their website:

Obviously, we all covet the ACTUAL boots, but for $600 on sale from $1,200, they are still a little too expensive for my college pockets.

Jewelry Finds and Tips

While browsing over People Magazine and other celebrity award show photographs this months, I realized that many stars seem to be stuck in a rut when it comes to accessorizing jewelry. They tend to stick to the matching rhinestoned sets of earings and necklaces, and even sometimes bracelet too. This to me is a huge no no. Fashion is not about matching pieces and buying a set. It's about finding the perfect balance of accessories to emphasize your outfit.

Even though I LOVE statement necklaces, I think the time has come to drop this and move on to focusing on new accessories. For instance, drop the necklace and let your beautiful, sexy, elegant collar bones expose themselves to the world. Instead, wear a cocktail ring that will be a huge conversation starter at the party/bar. If you have small hands and feel that statement rings are too much for your little fingers, try bangles. I like the look where you wear the same stacks of bangles or bracelets on both wrists. No other accessories are needed because your wrists hold sets of bracelets, and other accessories will distract from your statement pieces.

During the cold weather, try wearing some short, chic driving gloves. Whether with perforated holes, studs, lace, etc. these gloves are fun for events to spice up your outfit. For an extremely elegant look, try wearing short driving gloves with your statement ring on top of the gloves. Tip: make sure the gloves are not bulky and are tight against your fingers, and that the ring is a size or two too large to fit over the gloves correctly.

The accessories here are 3.1 Philip Lim studded gloves, ASOS leopard ring, Banana Republic cocktail ring, Club Monaco short gloves, and Charriol Stackable diamond bangles.