AWEAR | Be fashion aware: be awear.

Oscar’s refined, ladylike ensembles and over-sized jewellery made for a safe collection that doesn’t stray far from his signature look. It was, however, much brighter than his previous resort collection, while also including several chocolate brown items. Colourful brooches and beaded jewellery gave a sophisticated look, along with luxurious ruffles and high-waisted trousers. As at nearly every other designer at the moment, prints, bows and chiffon were prominent, as well as the lace that Prada brought back in A/W this year. (Mind you, I’d much rather wear OdlR’s lace!) Being a resort collection, it had to have big hats, and Oscar beat Dior hands down. Finishing off the 66-outfit show were fabulous evening dresses and a varied assortment of stunning LBDs. I can’t decide which is my favourite, but I adore the combinations of orange and blue!

The 2009 Resort collections are coming out! So far it’s only Fendi and Christian Dior, but I’m pleased nonetheless. I wasn’t too impressed with the Fendi collection; it was nice, but not worth paying for - I almost wouldn’t have known the difference if it was a show for some high street store. Dior, on the other hand, was marvelous. If this is any indication of things to come, the next S/S collections will be better than…than…okay, never mind. They’ll be great. Ruffles were an aspect of both Fendi and Dior, with Dior’s many A-line skirts adorned with layered ruffles. Big resin jewellery was featured on almost every outfit at Dior, along with beading and embroidery. Fendi and Dior both had stripes, although I much preferred Dior’s colourful vertical use of them; Fendi’s horizontally striped bathing suit made the model look nearly overweight. I am glad to see the return of strappy shoes and longer hemlines, but it looks like brights, sheers and bows will be sticking around for a while. Of course, that prediction is only based on one show, so we’ll see, but at least one designer seems to think so. I loved Dior’s off-shoulder necklines, too. Above are a few of my favourite looks. Don’t they make you feel all warm and fuzzy?

Pictures courtesy of Style.com

The catwalk has shown plenty of lovely examples of how to wear a jumpsuit, but somehow when somebody tries it in real life, it just doesn’t work. Many of the common playsuits available look cheap and nasty, so unless you can afford to pay many hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars for designer versions, it really is hard to find a decent number. The non-designer ones generally come in three categories: really awful terrycloth, horizontal stripes, buttoned with a drawstring waist. Boring, non? The necklines also tend to be similar: strapless, spaghetti straps or crossover. No wonder they look horrid on most people!

Hot:

What makes these hot is the contrast between top and bottom. Ferragamo’s has the different stripes direction; Armani’s and Sienna Miller’s have the different colours; and the jumpsuit at Preen has an unusual neckline. Mara Hoffman’s number is a great look for winter and a good example of how to pair a playsuit with stockings. Most of these are also cinched at the waist so they don’t look like an extended boobtube.

Not:

These are the terrible ones seen on many girls during summer. Rihanna’s is original, but she looks like a clown or grandma. Nicole Richie seems to have a penchant for playsuits, but this one doesn’t work.

So what can we conclude?

1. Cinch the waist, but not with a drawstring
2. Contrast between top and bottom
3. Go for a neckline that’s a little different

By the way, I just discovered a jumpsuit is a full-length playsuit, but a romper is the same as a playsuit. I probably should have known that a long time ago…

Photos courtesy of New York Magazine, Just Jared, Birds of a Feather

Navy is definitely this season’s ‘it’ colour. It’s classic but not boring, trendy but not faddish, everywhere but not common. It comes on everything from mascara to shoes, and looks fabulous in patent leather. It’s great for office wear as it’s stylish without being flippant or too in-your-face.

However, it generally doesn’t go well with bright colours; remember Katie Holmes’ red dress and navy shoes at the Met Gala? If it hadn’t been a superhero night, she never would have gotten away with that. It looks best with metallics, black or white. Follow the catwalk looks and pair a navy dress with sheer black or navy stockings.

If you don’t have anything navy and can’t afford much else, just go for some navy nail polish: Chanel’s has risen to cult status already, but a cheaper option would be the OPI Russian Navy shade (it isn’t as purple as it looks in the photo).

Is it just me or does that Vivienne Tam dress look like a high-end readier-to-wear knock-off of Balenciaga?

Photos courtesy of Style.com, Fendi, Chanel, OPI and Dior

If nobody likes a bogan, then why are girls everywhere making pitiful attempts to channel bogan? It’s so last year, and most girls just can’t pull it off. Flannel shirts belong on emos and tradies. Please don’t ever wear them!

The unfortunate reality is that some styles probably could be worn decently if the trend hadn’t saturated. I don’t know if it’s just an Australian thing, but some strange trend really catch on and don’t die for far too long. For instance, that Arabian-looking scarf…the kaffeyah, is it? It would be a nice look if everybody didn’t have it (and I wish they didn’t…I love my scarves).

Photos courtesy of Canined.com, Urban Outfitters and Butterflyxx.net.au

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s new line, Elizabeth + James, is pretty good. But that isn’t what I’m here to talk about today; some of their products just made my eyes pop at their similarity to certain other numbers seen recently.

Now I’m not saying that MK & A’s dress is anywhere near as nice as Kate Bosworth’s vintage Chanel. But just bear with me: just imagine that Chanel dress had a lovechild with a Pucci shift. I think that baby would look somewhat similar to this versatile sequin dress (that was my first thought upon seeing the Olsens’ creation).

The first time I saw Serena’s jacket on Gossip Girl’s “The Blair Bitch Project”, saliva somehow made its way outside my mouth and formed little rivulets running toward my chin. Maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but I did come close. Thank goodness, then, for this lovely jacket: it will certainly save much time replaying that episode just to get another glimpse of Serena’s top.

Please, please, Elizabeth + James, come to Australia!

Photos courtesy of Gossip Girl Insider, ThisNext, Style.com and Elizabeth + James.

There really aren’t many fashionable people in Adelaide, so it took me half an hour before I could find a decently dressed person. (Maybe I should go somewhere other than Rundle Mall. Wait, there isn’t anywhere else to go.)

This woman’s coat had a subtle gold shimmer which isn’t visible in the photo.

What: Bag from Zara, Shoes from Nine West, Coat from Lily

Where: Adelaide Central Plaza

Why: I liked how she used patent leather (on the shoes as well) to add interest to an otherwise boring outfit. I think it would have looked better with something around her waist, perhaps a coloured sash belt.