Prada Fall 2008 - Prada $390 (left) and Forever 21 $7.80 (right)

Florals are nothing new for Spring, so that’s why you’ve got to approach them in a new way. Rather than thinking inside the southern belle box of floral sundresses - try eclectic, embellished jewelry, and hints of floral prints in accessories as a chic way to feel the spring in your step without looking like you’re going to a tea party.

Prohibition bangle @ Anthropologie $68

Scarf @ Forver 21 $8.80

Necklace @ Urban Outfitters $58

Headband @ Jcrew $16.50

Feature image by Mika Ninagawa

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

Bettye Muller $345 @ Endless.com

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. Unfortunately a lil pricey for my 24 year old salary. So - I feel a DIY coming on. All you’ll really need is a sweet pair of rope wedges - with some kind of mechanism - strap, covered toe, to glue a pretty bud onto. Just remember to use fabric glue if on canvas - or you could go the even quicker route and buy a flower pin to attach. Easy peasy.

Silk flower hairpin @ Forever 21

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

Forever 21 paper bag pants $22.80

Happy to see a feature in the January Harper’s about jumpsuits, I knew it! See post “You Jump, I Jump: Who Knew, Jumpsuits.“  I almost interned at Harper’s right after Teen Vogue - I interviewed and was good to go until FIT wouldn’t give me credit (credit crunch, those mags don’t pay) - so it would be slavery, but I sooo wanted it. Definitely a lot of red tape at SUNY.  Regardless, I feel a bit better now as there’s a typo in the January issue’s linguistics regarding jumpsuits - Sportmax is one word, not two!

Luckily for the other alma mater of sorts, Vogue’s Style.com has an easy search engine that leads you directly to a compilation of all Spring 09 jumpsuit looks from a bevy of different designers (click here to view).  I would have never been lead in the direction of London designer Danielle Scutt without it (far right), so - Vogue 1 Harper’s 0.

From left to right - DSquared, Dolce & Gabbana, Danielle Scutt - view the complete collections on Style.com

Top Shop $90

Urban Outfitters $68

Forever 21 $27.80

Forever 21, zip leg jodhpur $10.99!

At two different, ridiculously cheap price points this time!  Really, it comes down to whether you’d like two layers of fringe or one - or if you want to stick to the replica brown suede, or head in an evergreen, berry, or black direction (available in both twinsies).  Booties like these go well with not only tights and a boho dress, but a pair of Levi’s skinny jeans & a skimpy top - I’m talking rocker skinny, where it’s essentially a legging in denim form.  I can’t stand where the jean starts to get baggy around the knee - when it’s tight around the knee that’s when it looks Baby Shambles - esque.  And when wearing below fringe booties - this is all the fringe you need.  I often have to choose between my fringe bag and shoes when putting together an outfit, and no matter how difficult it is to choose which to highlight, they should always be kept separate to avoid that Stevie Nicks aesthetic.  Totally unfortunate.  What’s also unfortunate is that I’ve been seeing various forms of this studded fringe ankle bootie even before the Fall 08 Gucci show.  I love the looks and it was a huge movement for Fall, but this is definitely a trend that moved from the streets to the tents, which a lot of designers have really been identifying with (i.e. Marc Jacobs and Murakami, Stephen Sprouse).  So - at least we can all think we have a little bit of an impact on the world of fashion by just being ourselves.

Shop Forever 21 bootie $36.80 & Ami Clubwear bootie $19.99