The colour palette was summer sunset with vibrant purples, reds and blues dominating. Long trains seemed to be another trend of the evening, along with one-shoulder silhouettes, updos and bold jewelry.

January Jones took long trains to an entirely new level. Emily Deschanel showed us how to be sizzling in one-shoulder gowns. Eva Longoria proved that, sometimes, there’s no better look than a classic updo. And Glee’s Lea Michelle looked bold and beautiful in her chunky necklace.

What really stood out were the colors on the red carpet. Despite a warm, summer day in Los Angeles, there was no question that dark purples, blues, and even blacks were the popular color trend for the evening. Let’s check out some of the winning looks!

Lea Michelle in a navy Oscar de la Renta gown

Padma Lakshmi looking exotic and sexy in navy.

Heidi Klum showing off her gorgeous legs in a black, Marchesa mini dress.

Kelly Osbourne showing off her hourglass figure in Tony Ward.

Jane Lynch in a gorgeous, purple Ali Rahmani gown.

Jayma Mays in a dark Burberry gown.

January Jones in a controversial, blue Versace dress

Eva Longoria looking gorgeous in a black dress with hubby Tony Parker.

Anna Paquin looking vampire-esque in Alexander McQueen.

Kyra Sedgwick wearing Monique Luhillier

Of course, there were other colors on the red carpet but there’s no doubt that dark jewel-tones were most popular this year. I’m no psychic, but I’d venture to guess navy is going to be incredibly popular this winter. Plus, becomegorgeous.com agrees:

For Fall/Winter 2010-2011, we find ourselves among a multitude of refined colors with autumnal hues. Khaki, beige, red, navy blue, and different prints are some of the choices designers made for the cold season.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post on camel couture this winter. In the meantime, what do you think of these “winning” looks?

Photo credit: www.sify.com

Topshop in downtown Soho. Photo Courtesy: http://www.solostyle.it/01042009/negozio-topshop-a-new-york-domani-la-cerimonia-di-apertura/

Everyone knows the heavy-hitters when it comes to shopping in NYC. These are the stores that draw in tourists from all over the world: Bergdorf’s, Bloomingdales, Saks, the European designer stores on Fifth Ave. But having lived in the city for 3 months now (working in fashion, mind you), I’ve discovered some lesser known, more affordable options with the same iconic New York style that are just as fabulous as the top-dollar choices. Here are my top picks.

1. TOPSHOP. With chic clothing and unique style, this not-so-little gem is an absolute must. Prices can vary, from $12 tee shirts to $80 sweaters and blazers for $120. For men, their AAA collection (rock and roll style) is especially trendy and unique.

2. CENTURY 21. No, not the real estate company. Dubbed “New York’s Best Kept Secret”, this massive city-block-long department store is home to the best designer discounts in the city. You can get the newest collections for more than half the original price, and then some. On my most recent visit I purchased a Dolce & Gabbana sweater for $70. The trek down to Tribeca is totally worth it.

3. ALL SAINTS. While it may be a little pricey for most of the year ($150 for a sweater… shut up it was necessary), if you can manage to go in late July/early August you’ll catch their once a year sale which marks down items up to 70%. This includes their famous leather jackets, which can go from upwards of $700 all the way down to $200, just in time for fall.

4. PATRICIA FIELD. Designer store devoted to the woman who styled Sex and the City and Ugly Betty, this one is for those with a more adventurous style, to say the least. Though the loud noises and distracting colors and prints may be enough to repel some shoppers, it’s the only store on the lower east side where you can find flirty party dresses mixed with geometric jewelry, latex arm-length gloves, ammo belts, vibrators, and jumpsuits for men. Did I mention you can also get your hair cut?

5. RAG & BONE. This American brand has been garnishing attention on the runways for years. While it’s definitely the steepest of the lot price-wise, you are paying for quality with pieces that feel both classic and modern, meaning they’ll never go out of style. A trip to the West Village may just be worth that unpleasant call from your parents (or credit card company).

-Will Defebaugh, Creative Director

Let’s start on a positive note… (photos from omg.yahoo.com):

Sandra Bullock at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Sandra Bullock looked absolutely stunning on the red carpet in a Marchesa dress that deserved to be on stage accepting the Best Actress award.

Penelope Cruz at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Though Penelope Cruz could have showed up in sweat pants and still looked incredible, this Donna Karan gown further solidified her status as red carpet royalty.

Gabourey Sidibe at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe has been the talk of the town since her debut in the movie Precious and she continued to draw the spotlight in this Marchesa dress.

Now onto the less positive…

Mariah Carey at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Between the weird draping, flower broach, thigh-high slit, and awkward one shoulder, Mariah Carey and this dress are pretty much a hot mess (please disregard the rhyme).

Charlize Theron at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Charlize Theron’s dress drew a lot of controversy at this year’s Oscars due to the fact that there were flowers on her breasts. I don’t really know about all that, but I do know that the flowers look stupid and her weird up-do is just a continuation of that theme.

Diane Kruger at the 2010 Academy Awards.

I’m typically of the persuasion that Chanel can do no wrong, but this dress with the bizarre inflated, ruffled midsection is simply not acceptable.

Shabayeva’s latest collection premiered at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York on Saturday February 13; built around a theme of aviation, it featured feathers, hand-painted detailing, wool, leather, fur, and… well, yes, if you looked at the terrible pun titling this article, Tupperware.

Shabayeva has an incredible talent for mixing the feel of soft femininity with a sartorial confidence of the detailing in each piece, and her emphasis on the essential luxe that imbues her work makes even the materials that make up the plastic container holding last night’s leftovers classy, chic and stylish.  It’s because of every other news report that one can even realize that it is not just fabric and feathers that Shabayeva uses to create her art, and the seamless integration is really inspirational–what else can we do with unconventional materials in clothing?

Think about it–a plastic dress, while not exactly biodegradable, is sort of like a redesigned plastic bag.  It can be worn for years, and if you gain a few pounds, the gown can stretch with you (just not back the other way!).  You find and buy a snazzy looking one, and it’ll be in style forever–you can pass it off to your daughter, who’ll give it to her daughter, who’ll… for the next 500-1,000 years, or however long a plastic bag will take to disintegrate.  Scientists haven’t figured it out yet.

What’s your take on plastic-wear?  Does this bring back too many memories of technicolored vinyl pants that left too little to the imagination, or are you psyched to cut up some old lunch boxes right now and start assembling your own DIY-plastic-detailed-dresses?  Are you gonna take other cues from Irina Shabayeva, and try incorporating some animal exteriors into your clothing?

(I recommend pulling the feathers out of your pillowcase if you can’t find any foot-long behemoths on your local carrion, and with the overabundance of obese squirrels on campus, you’re living in a city-wide fur factory).

Ninny C.

Even though the pictures I see of Mary Kate and Ashley in tabloids often look like they are dressed for Halloween, when it comes to their designs I have nothing but respect. Their lines The Row and Elizabeth and James are gorgeous and show that these ladies know what their doing. The fact that these very high end, collections have been thriving in the recession speaks to the fact that they are designing things that people actually want to wear.

With this in mind I was so excited to come across the website for Olsenboye and I was not disappointed. The concepts behind the line are “the trends and qualities unique to cities around the world,” according to the site. I love the idea of putting the energy and style of cities into fashion that is widely affordable for word travelers or girls who have never been on an airplane.

Preview of the Olsenboye line on Good Morning America

This first spring collection, available exclusively at JCPenny, is all about New York City. The tops and sweatshirts are adorned with peace signs, the words I Love New York, and the Olsenboye logo. The dresses are light and comfortable, perfect for spring layering and I am infatuated with the bow skirt. The shoes are an eclectic mix of heels and flats and the bags are spiced up with giant safety pins and peace sign buttons.

And for all aspiring fashion designers, the website also features a design contest to have your styles featured in the next Olsenboye collection.

Audrey Tautou in "Coco Before Chanel"

Of course, nautical stripes are usually pretty on and off, especially around spring and summer. Fortunately, they are distinctly on this spring, as many seemed to have had my gushing reaction to the image. Nautical stripes have popped up in almost every major fashion retailing store including Forever21, shopbop.com and H&M.

Essential Striped Dress from forever21.com

I, for one, have been on the lookout for the perfect striped dress to pair with leggings, a bright scarf and boots. This basic striped dress from Forever21 might just be it at an affordable price of $12.00. When spring comes around, I’m looking forward to sporting the stripes with bare legs and wedged booties. If sailor stripes are a little too summery for you, wearing black stripes with touches of red accessories will evoke a distinctly Parisian feel. Tres, tres chic!

In summer 2009 Charlotte Ronson launched the “I Heart Ronson” brand for JCPenney and this past fall Jimmy Choo released a collection of clothing and shoes through H&M. To ring in the New Year, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the founders of Rodarte, have followed suit with their new line for Target.

Rodarte for Target features clothing and accessories including dresses, tights, and swimwear, with the most expensive items coming in at $44.99.

Despite original skepticism, I have to admit that I like what I saw. The dresses are extremely fun and unique, especially the leopard print lace dress.

Rodarte for Target

The lace halter floral dress is very light and feminine, but has a solid black bow that creates great contrast. The tulle crepe skirts have color and texture that stands out even when paired with a simple, solid color tee shirt.

The mesh and lace tops are very cute with one of the Cami’s or print tops. The leopard print hoodie is fun and one of the more functional pieces.

The few pieces of swimwear are as unique and feminine as the rest of the collection and feature floral prints and ruffled styles.

So, if you are strapped for cash this winter, this line can help you incorporate something new, fun, and inexpensive into your wardrobe.

Manufacturing similarly styled but independent designs from The North Face, college freshman Jimmy Winkelmann’s The South Butt company is based on providing clothes for relaxation and comfort. Started in response to seeing the people around him buying clothes from an unnamed (but obviously implied) brand, Winkelmann emphasizes to customers to make decisions “based on what you like; not what you are expected to.”

Looking at the two companies, there are obvious similarities–North Face? South Butt? (Next thing you know, we’ll have The West Kidney peddling parkas.) Take a look, too, at the two companies’ logos:

The North Face logo, top left, The South Butt logo, bottom left, and 18-year-old The South Butt founder Jimmy Winkelmann, right.

The South Butt is obviously a parody of The North Face, but honestly, there’s no way to really confuse the two.  To further emphasize the ridiculous idea that consumers can’t distinguish between the two poles and the words “face” and “butt,” The South Butt has even released “The Face or Butt Challenge” application on Facebook, where users, obviously, try to distinguish between faces and bottoms–it is mildly addicting, very much amusing, so a warning to those easily fascinated by clicking on images.

In essence, The South Butt is a company that personifies the various quirks of Generation Y; we enjoy what’s popular, but even more so, we enjoy making fun of the popular and investing in the sardonic alternative.  We like a personality behind the products we invest in, or a personality whose products we can invest in, and the way The South Butt interacts with its consumers provides a company-customer relationship The North Face would find hard to emulate.

Instead of trying to create the same kind of easygoing culture with its consumers however, The North Face is suing Winkelmann’s company; such action, however, is backfiring, as it looks like “The Man” is throwing his weight around to take down “the little guy.”  With all the backlash from consumers and coverage by international media, this looks like a situation to avoid in the future for any big company that finds itself parodied.

MC Hammer and his "Hammer pants," waaaaayyy back when.

No, this article isn’t about the questionable mentalities of groupies who hang around rappers of equally questionable talent–believe it or not, but it’s been 20 years since MC Hammer‘s unparalleled single, “U Can’t Touch This,” was released January 13, 1990 and of course, the induction of harem pants into pop infamy.

Since then, MC Hammer has had a glorious rise and fall–Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em became the first rap album to sell over 10 million copies before Hammer became overexposed in the media, embroiled in some deep financial doo-doo, and criticized for the “pop rap” genre of rap that he forefronted.  Even so, MC Hammer’s still considered one of the great innovators of rap music, and has rebounded greatly with his own reality show, Hammertime, on A&E and various business and ministry works.

The “Hammer pants,” however, have not rebounded quite as well.  Baggy at the top, often with a dropped crotch, the pants taper at the ankle, so often, the wearer looks like they are wearing an odd combination of skinny jeans and a sagging pouf skirt.  Though harem pants on women have, largely, regained a degree of respectability by donning the legs of a wide range of well-respected fashionistas including Sienna Miller, Rihanna, and Heidi Klum, most men are still shying away simply in memory of the pain caused by excessive glitter flashing from MC Hammer jamming out.

Cute London boy named Marshall, photographed by Vanessa Jackman on her street style blog.

Can men pull off the harem pant? Yes, but like women, with great caution.  Generally pair it with something minimalist or skinny on top, to counter the bagginess of the crotch, or throw on a jacket (see right) about the same width as the wide panels of the pants.  If you’re too ashamed to wear such an outrageous piece of clothing in public, at least buy a pair for lounging about the house–more comfortable than jeans, more classy than sweatpants, more appropriate than your boxers, and yet you still have that nice breeze around your privates, thanks.

Ninny C.

This past Wednesday at the Union, there was a spark of fashion and fun amidst all the snow, ice, and finals. Dorothy Elizabeth, a student here at the University, held a Street Couture fashion show displaying all of her latest student work. The designs were fun and urban-inspired, incorporating vibrant colors and accessory pieces. Check out the outfits of the night yourself, in the photo gallery below.