Fashion Week: Part 1

Last week was Fashion Week here in New York, so I spent way too much time on NYMag.com looking at the designer slideshows. In order to pretend that I was being productive by doing this, I decided to bring you a few of my favorite looks (mostly dresses, obviously) from Spring 2009.

First, Anna Sui's collection was full of weird, artsy-craftsy hippie dresses, plus these two incredibly adorable outfits on models with great hair. This orange and pink printed halter dress is so fun and floaty, and the pink shift dress with Indian-inspired details is perfectly, effortlessly cute. And I would kill for that second model's wavy hair, and I love both of their shoes.















Next, there's Christian Siriano. I am super impressed that he's showing a full collection at Fashion Week just a year after winning Project Runway, and that it's both innovative and gorgeous. Personally, a lot of his designs are too foofy for me-- they're a little "I'm wearing a giant cotton ball," you know? But these two gowns are exquisite. The shades of grey shot through with yellow is so fun while still sophisticated, and the diagonal stripes are so flattering on a girl's curves. I can imagine anyone from a random starlet to Kate Winslet wearing the long version on the red carpet, and the cocktail-length dress would be a great attention-getter at some downtown event. Those shoes on the second girl, though? No. The hat on the first? Fierce. (I'm sorry, I had to.)









Oscar de la Renta is known for outfitting Ladies, both First and Who Lunch, but he also showed a few dresses that wouldn't look out of place on a Young Lady. I adore this strapless blue and white frock, and how the gathered fabric makes the print seem a little bit rowdy. I wish the hem was a bit less asymmetrical, though. This second dress looks like a tall glass of milk, very creamy and flowing. The orange piping and band at the waist keep it a bit structured, while still allowing a lot of looseness. Doesn't this dress look as comfortable as your favorite bathrobe, but about a billion times more glamorous?








Speaking of flowy, this silk column dress by Naeem Khan
is like a tall glass of something, set on fire at the bottom and sprinkled with tinsel at the top. But I love it! I think ombre gets a bad rap because it can look like you spilled something on part of your dress, but I've always believed it's a dynamic way to combine multiple colors and shades. And the sparkly bodice on this dress makes it that much more fabulous. I think we can all agree to ignore the ginormous side ponytail, though.



That's all for now; a new appreciation of cobalt and a love letter to all things Monique Lhuillier is coming up soon.