Sew Wrong

Runway to Reality: One-Shoulder Trend

From left to right: RM by Roland Mouret, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, Christian Lacroix

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, it’s been obvious that the one shoulder trend is back in full swing for 2009, officially ushered in this year by Michelle Obama at the inauguration and countless other celebrities wearing the trend lately on the red carpet.

Make It Yourself

I’m assuming that these patterns can be adapted to have the shoulder strap flipped to the other side, if that’s more your styling preference. Try combining the one shoulder element with your favorite top or dress pattern for an updated look.

Butterick 4983: Opt for a skinny or wide strap version. Crop it to make a day dress or keep it long and elegant for evening.


Vogue 2881: One shoulder styling and Grecian undertones go hand in hand. Not surprisingly, both trends were prominent features on many runways for Spring 2009.


Vogue 8387: A nice option for a fitted sundress. Or, use a satin fabric, shorten the length, and you have a sassy cocktail dress for a night out.

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The Return of Color

Spring, believe it or not, is just around the corner. Everyday at work I’m reminded of this as new deliveries of spring merchandise are unpacked and set up on display in my departments, the pop of colors and skimpy fabrics an odd contrast to the shoppers bundled up in fur coats and snow boots. And while it’s snowing like crazy in my neck of the woods today, spring is on my mind as I look at my fashion magazines while eating breakfast, identifying trends that I’ve seen arrive in my stockrooms as well as colors that seem to be cropping up all over for spring.

Very subdued and soft. I love love love Fuschia Red and Super Lemon. I bought a pair of Anne Klein flats in December that are the same color as Super Lemon, not realizing that I was ahead of the trend! Click on the image above to see the color names as well as Pantone and CMYK numbers.

You can also download the PDF of colors at the Pantone website for your reference.

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iPhone + NY Fashion Week = Love.

In case you missed the article in the New York Times this week, Style.com has launched a fabulous app for the iPhone just in time for New York Fashion Week, which begins today. Starting today, you can keep tabs on up-to-the-minute photos and video of new looks on the runways and coverage of every collection on the catwalk. The app even allows you refresh your memory of the Couture collections that showed in Paris a few weeks ago. I really like that you can also access the style.com blog through the app as well. I’ve been checking it throughout the day and so far, no updates yet. But I’m sure they’ll start to pour in any hour now. Finally, an easy way to check out the newest styles and it fits in my pocket. This really doesn’t help my addiction to fashion!

Oh, and the best part? The app is free.

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All the Looks Fit to Print

Did you have as hard of a time trying to get caught up on the new looks for fall as I did? Well have no fear, because Harper’s Bazaar has compiled all the looks, organized from city all the way down to designer, and will be launching their “Runway Report” starting July 29 through November.


Finally! Something for the masses to use to keep track of what looks will be new for fall and what to add to their closets. It sure beats sifting through all the photos on WWD in trying to determine new trends, shapes, and colors for the upcoming season.

The publication will retail for $6.95. I’m going to make sure to get mine next week since I’m positive they won’t be around for long.

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Cavalli Knows My Work Wardrobe


Metallic black twill blazer, matching pants, and chiffon blouse
Just Cavalli at Neiman Marcus

Fashion blog Coutorture wrote recently about the advent of the blazer in this fall’s garment rotation, adding what a wonderful transitional and versatile staple it can be in a woman’s closet this coming season.

“Blazers are undeniably making a comeback and it’s not just the long lean sort either. Whether it’s a marching band-style coat or a sleek smoking jacket, the silhouettes options are dynamic. Perhaps because we’ve been immersed in menswear lately, we’ve been getting pretty excited about this diversity.” Read more here.

Well hooray for me, because that’s pretty much all my wardrobe will consist of when I start my job at Big Retail Chain in August. Even more so, my outfits have to consist of all black with 10% color. That means lots of black blazers over colorful blouses and shells, or maybe just wearing all black with a bright belt or funky colored shoes. Cavalli apparently got the memo and created the perfect work outfit for me, available at Neiman Marcus. And hey, he’s even included a cute blouse with a bow.

Happy weekend, kiddos, I’m off to NYC!

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