Say hello to a new era in home furnishings. Hollywood Regency, in it’s hey-day, was all about making your guests feel as comfortable as possible in your home. That’s why certain elements of this design aesthetic channel 1930’s and 40’s hotel rooms. The look is a bit more staged than comfortable – i.e. your living room organized according to entertaining, serving, and conversation, rather than all pieces of furniture in full focus of the television.

Editing is key in this aesthetic; it’s way too easy to get carried away with all of the tufted furniture, crystals, and gold detailing. Try not to jump at every formal piece of vintage furniture you see – go for cotton twill upholstery over velour, and blown glass over multi-faceted crystals. Modernizing Hollywood Regency can happen in a lot of ways, too. You can make it fresh and youthful with a bold, graphic print area rug in a coordinating hue, or soft and traditional with natural elements like coral and distressed wood.  One of my favorite, and widely conveyed themes in regency is that of chinoiserie (meaning chinese-esque in French).  This can come in the form of greek key print fabric, vintage oriental print China, and faux bamboo furniture.

Last but not least, one should ideally aim for only one piece of the quintessential Hollywood Regency mirrored furniture in each room - before it starts looking like Vegas.

Pottery Barn Chinoiserie Drapes $69+

Williams-Sonoma Home Chippendale Bamboo Chair $562 (30% off!)

Target Sunburst Mirror $69.99

Inside Avenue Greek Key Bench $715

West Elm Safari Rug $99+

Colorful jeans are one of the easiest ways to integrate color into your everyday routine. I can honestly say I was never much for color in New York - one of my favorite things was pairing black and navy and feeling like I was somehow being totally fashion rebellious and breaking the status quo of never mixing the two. Now when I check into the NY Times Style section or Style.com for New Yorker street style - I see why I was so dark-driven, it’s just the culture - edgy, interesting, chic.

In the south, things are a bit different. Not one day goes by where I don’t feel totally overdressed, but I’m starting to get the hang of it a little more by pairing offbeat hues together that let me re-invent myself a bit, and step outside of my way too chic for Austin little box. It’s like living resort everyday - and you’ll be surprised with how many colors compliment each other in your wardrobe, without even pulling out the color wheel.

With yellow - think of pairing bold bottoms with royal blues & violets - and with tangerine, think yellows & fuchsias. The best way to experiment without coming out of it looking like Rainbow Brite, however, is to pair the jean with a chic white top, and layer on the color with seed bead necklaces or earrings that give just a hint of colorful contrast. Not so surprisingly, playing with color really makes you feel bright.

Delia’s $49.50 (BOGO 50%)

Element @ Lulu’s $62

Express $23.99

Akademiks $29.95

So Atari, can I say Atari and chic in the same sentence? Miss Pac man would die for this, and then rip that bow out of her hair quicker than Blair Waldorf can ruin someone’s day. Inspiration comes in all forms.

Above - Dries Van Noten Spring 2009 daring digital looks. Below - Woodland restaurant in Austin, TX.

It’s now officially spring in Texas - which for most is summer type temps - we’re at 80 about every day now! So, with the nice weather comes some much needed showers, and a much needed excuse to invest in a cute rain jacket. When I was at Target this weekend “styling” some friends with the new McQueen - I fell in love with probably the most outrageous looking outerwear on the planet - a flourescent yellow, transparent, short rain coat. It was adorable, but it really only rains 5 minutes a year here - so it would be best suited for those in say - Seattle, Portland, London who could rock it more than once.

I loved how it had that 70’s, “Now and Then” vibe - and I forget her name but I swear the pudgy girl character in the movie ran around in a pink one, while everyone’s parents chose plastic to cover their furniture instead of bodies. As transparency has been such a big trend in the Fall 09 shows thus far - I am just waiting for these to hit more fast fashion chains. I would buy one in every hue - pink, blue, and green! Finish off the look with a complimentary pair of Hunter rain boots (worthwhile investment), and a sweet transparent bubble umbrella to keep the wind from turning you inside out, and you’ll actually look forward to trudging to work in the less than desirable weather.

Toki Doki $38

Boscov’s $22

Hunter boots $115

Feature image taken from Sebnem Tasci

I didn’t initially latch on to this trend when Ralph Lauren first showed harem pants for Spring - but something just clicked this week and it’s all I’ve been shopping for. Harem pants have a Middle Eastern origin of course - but this isn’t the first time they’ve seen the catwalk. In the teens and 20’s, Paul Poiret was the first designer to utilize the vast source of inspiration that is the Middle East - and is infamous for his caftans, turbans and of course - harem pants.  There’s a lot of hesitation to jump on this bandwagon because most gal’s just don’t think it’s feminine or attractive.  I can see that - but at the end of the day it’s how you carry yourself.  Pair it with a fitted top, gold bangles, a killer gladiator - and a lightweight knit or silk pant will flow and fall against your silhouette giving your look movement it wouldn’t usually have.  I guess that’s the Marni in me though - who dresses for men?

Top Shop $20, originally $90

ASOS $38

Forever 21 $15.80

Neon, due in large part to the huge wave of 80’s influence in fashion recently (Sprouse, Marc Jacobs, LV) – is in high demand. These shades are not for the light of heart – and are especially hard colors to pull off depending on skin tone. For darker skin tones, hot pink looks gorgeous from torso up – think hot pink hoops, scarves, and flowing tops. I like to stay away from a lot of structure with these colors, it makes it a little too futuristic, too dated – and fabrications like chiffon and lawn help to ease the color penetration and appear more ethereal than in your face. For lighter skin tones – you can go with the neon yellow, and lighter shades of neon green that will compliment rather than contrast. For everyone – a burst of color jean is also a great alternative if you don’t want to fully commit – paired with a clean top neon bottoms are very resort. If you’re going to pair anything with neon, go with white – you’ll look modern chic rather than early 90’s. Now that spring/summer is right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start picking up pieces here and there to ease yourself into this fresh, and seemingly nostalgic trend. Kind of makes you want to put on a slap bracelet!

Asos $25

Forever 21 Tank $11.80

Go Jane $19.40

Girl Props $1.99

Urban Outfitters $29.99

By far one of Vogue’s best shoots. I actually unpacked that blanket and had NO idea at the time that it was all over a baby elephant in Africa - but obviously I’m still alive and kicking so it was fine. I think this was the last time I can say I was truly inspired from one of Vogue’s celebrity spreads - maybe it’s budgeting, maybe it’s location, but everything about the safari chic was done so right. You could imagine yourself in the clothes and living the story, and when I started at Polo this spread was actually the inspiration for the first season I worked on, which I thought was an absolute dream.

Images like this make me dream of linen, gauzey flowing dresses in the summer heat. The summer heat is going to be a lil different this year in Austin - so I will definitely be investing in a lot of lightweight dresses for the Texas sun. When attempting safari chic, your best bet is to stick to khakis, olives, and whites as your base palette. A splash of modern Maasai inspired red and plum will liven it up, but the key is to keep it minimal. And - by no means does safari equal animal print in my book. There is a time and a place for that and it is called Bridge & Tunnel in the Meatpacking District.

Forever 21 Tunic $22.80

American Eagle sandals $29.50

Delia*s shirtdress $44.50

Paul & Joe Sister @ Urban Outfitters $98

Girl Props bangle $6.99

Cavalli rarely creates too much outside of the barely there box - he’s great when it comes to dressing starlets in sultry dresses for the red carpet (the JLo’s & Beyonce’s), but wearable pieces aren’t really his cup of tea. So, although this new statement isn’t the best definition of wearable, it’s moving in that direction. These pieces are definitely more editorial, so there will be more visibility and therefore expect to see trends trickle down from it, but I am loving how it’s this sort of urban influence mixed with vodka pipe dreams on the coast of Italy.

Shop Roberto Cavalli @ NetaPorter.com

Like I said – I had no idea I would fall so hard for this menswear movement! Now that my job here in Austin requires a bit more subtlety in terms of dress – (i.e. straight men, not the garment district, etc) I plan on LIVING in these types of bottoms for the next year. To me, this is half of the new power suit – and the beauty of the balance is that the pant is the anchor, you can go with a feminine or basic top depending on the occasion - and the pant still looks effortlessly chic and pulls it all together, and so on trend with the shows. As much as I miss running around Polo in a bubble skirt, towering heels, and endless baubles - I just can’t walk around the new office sticking out like a sore thumb anymore. The first time I tried this pant in my new environment – it was for a huge presentation (which, I nailed) – and I wore black ankle Audrey pants (like the UO pair below) with a black fitted collar shirt (tucked in, sleeves rolled) & a pair of strappy and complicated sky-high gladiators.  I felt on top of the world! There’s definitely something to be said for dressing the part – just don’t call it business casual.

Victoria’s Secret $69.50

Urban Outfitters $58

JCrew $79.50

Hannah MacGibbon showed her first collection as Chloé’s lead designer for Spring 09 - and I fell completely in love with the oversized scallop-edge detailing, especially on the shorts. Unfortunately - the real things are hard to find and even once found, are definitely unattainable. So, luckily I was able to find some cute alternatives until the fast fashion cycle catches up.

Urban Outfitters $48

Asos $30

I will also openly admit that I love Heidi Montag! She’s like a living Barbie doll - I kind of love that she ran with it unapologetically. AND the girl does have undeniable style that LC should (and probably does) envy.

Celeb images taken from People.com