Monique Lhuillier: Wet 'n' Wild

So many of the gowns at a Monique Lhuillier show seem impossible to make. All those beads, all that tulle... Each one easily suitable for a red carpet event and a crew of camera-weilding journalists. These types of gowns were of course the gasp-inducing features of Monique Lhuillier's Spring 2013 collection, but the cocktail dresses that were also included gave the show a much needed shot of modern art. Inspired by her sail around the Mediterranean Sea (oh, the life), this collection was clearly water-themed. In addition to the beaded masterpieces were gowns with digitally printed fish scales, koi, and even an abstract crane.

Peplum was featured throughout, and while some may say the overall silhouettes didn't change much, I think that the differing patterns, prints and colors were enough to give the collection the variances needed to be dynamic. Besides, it's a great silhouette and if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Get Me Outerwear!

I love a great coat.

Cold-weather outfits in general are just much cuter than anything else. Since my house full of college students has yet to turn on the heat in the attempts to see how long it will take 8 girls to freeze to death in Seattle's hop-skip-and-a-jump-over-fall-and-straight-into-winter, my fingers are little on the chilly side. So I'm gonna nix my sartorial comments and give you the glorious cashmere-infused, 3-layer wearing looks from J.Crew for this winter that I will be trying out, if not for outdoor excursions then for keeping warm in my freezer bedroom.

(all photos courtesy of jcrew.com)

Awesome Autumn

I'm skipping the obvious sorry-it's-been-two-months-since-my-last-post statement and cutting straight to the point of this entry: I'm ready for fall.

I've had it up to here with these dumb Seattle days where you wake up to frosty car windows and freezing wood floors but by noon you're sweating more than a whore in church. We've had pumpkin flavored lattes and beers for weeks; football season is well under way; Halloween candy is overflowing the grocery aisles: but we're not there yet. I'm ready for the weather to catch up and cool down enough to wear sweaters, tights, boots, and scarves without feeling like I'm four seconds from internal combustion.

So, in an effort to persuade the cooler change of climate, I'm offering up my favorite trends for fall fashion.

1. Army green. Swap your chambray shirt out for a more fall-appropriate hue. You can wear it buttoned under a striped top, belted, or tucked into your jeans. Or you can wear it open like a light jacket over a grey tee or a fun printed shirt.

I got the shirt above at Madewell and LOVE it! I'm finding more and more ways to style it.

2. Burgundy accents. It's been deemed the "it" color of the season. But it's not a shade to go all out on, so try it in doses. Whether on your lips, nails, shoes or bag, it's guaranteed to catapult your look into autumn.

Try this shade of nail polish called Merlot, at J.Crew - only $10!

3. Leather. Not much needs to be said about this trend, but instead of your go-to leather jacket, try it in a more atypical way. Skirts, leggings, gloves, and bags are all fun ways to incorporate this trend.

Try these Kirna Zabets for Target faux leather pants to get the same look, only $29.99

Whatever your take, I hope you'll join me in a group prayer for cooler weather and the chance to try out these trends.