Eyes To The Sky: Before BOHO There Was KOOS. From the Fall '10 Collections: 1. KENZO, 2. John Galliano, 3. Betsey Johnson. All other images are Koos Van Den Akker.

Flipping through the images of the Fall ‘10 shows, I not only noticed an obvious theme, BOHO, but that this time around it was so totally reminiscent of one Dutch designer, Koos Van Den Akker. The first image of the KENZO show screamed KOOS!

Before there was “BOHO” there was Koos. A Dutch designer who studied in Paris under Christian Dior in the 60’s, came to New York in 1968 and never looked back. He describes his style as “painting with fabric”, mix matched woolens and jerseys and colors and prints. This technique was new to the American scene but he explains was everywhere in Holland, therefore the US industry freaked out. Much of his introduction to the masses came about in the 80’s. He was responsible for Bill Cosby’s sweaters on The Cosby Show, which created quit a stir. Koos says that his work is “a thin line between awful and genius”. I would err on the side of genius and from the looks of the Fall ‘10 collections, I would say that many of the designers would agree.

Eyes To The Sky: Before BOHO There Was KOOS From the Fall '10 Collections: 1. Anna Sui, 2. & 3. Alexandre Herchovitch 4. Roberto Cavali. All other images are Koos Van Den Akker.

Get the look by piling on the layers, mixing and match prints, patterns and textures or search out a piece of your very own KOOS and be the look. Learn more about the man himself on the VBS.tv interview.

JumperFalEyes To The Sky: Jump Around! Jump, Jump, Jump! The Jumpsuit Is A Keeper. From the Fall 10 RTW Collections: Acne, Erin Wasson x RVCA, Cynthia Steffe, Ports 1961, and Acne.

Is it the ease of putting together an outfit that we love about jumpsuits? Or just the ease of simply getting dressed? Because it can’t be the fact that you have to completely disrobe to use the restroom…and make sure your ensemble doesn’t hit the ground. Whatever it is, the jumpsuit has secured it’s position in the fashion closet, like your favorite pair of blue jeans, the jumpsuit has become a staple.

There is something comforting about being completely encased in an all-in-one. If you’ve ever tried to find a vintage jumpsuit you’ve more than likely come into the unsightly fit issue…camels toes are better left on the animal itself if you get my drift. There’s something about older styles and the length of the torso that make it hard to fit sometime. But now that we can thank the fashion Gods for the modern updates to the jumpsuit you can hopefully find the fit that suits you and your body. And no matter the decade, keep in mind what I said about camels. Love the look but be honest with yourself when trying on…you’ll thank me for that later. So hang on to your jumpsuits if you’ve got them and if not, get one! It’s like instant fun!

Eyes To The Sky: Jump Around! Jump, Jump, Jump! The Jumpsuit Is A Keeper. From the Fall 2010 RTW Collections: Cynthia Rowley, Preen, Shipley & Halmos, Vena Cava and L.A.M.B.

Eyes To The Sky, Ears To The Streets: The Hotness & The Hot Mess 2009

2009 proved to be a wild ride for most. With the economy in a state of craze, the “Recessionista”  was born and fashion savvy ladies were challenged to get creative and spend wise, perhaps looking towards one of the million high-low collaborations that launched this year or going green with vintage. We welcomed new style icons from lady-like First Lady Obama to the polar opposite goo-goo get-ups of Lady GaGa. Ed Hardy continued to bring shame to the House of Swarovski (crystals) while our favorite no-pants-wearing New Yorker Kerin Rose dazzled us with bling-blam-BONG! eye wear and her line, A-morir, bedazzling done proper. Green became the new grey in the world of nails diding and Minx made the Midas touch a reality. Gals all over the globe went TKO for OTK boots and the motorcycle jacket secured it’s place as a fashion staple. Why Linsay Lohan was appointed Artistic Advisor of anything, namely Ungaro, is beyond me. And let’s PLEASE leave “Jeggings” in 2009.

What will you take forth in 2010 and what will you leave behind?

Eyes To The Sky: Go Clog Wild And Get Ready To Get Clogged!! Clogs from Chanel's SS10 collection.

Leave it to Uncle Karl to get you clamoring for clogs! Yes, those wooden soled things, the things (that I would bet money on) you said you’d never wear. But grace anything with the “CC” stamp of approval and the fashion masses will follow. Thanks to Chanel’s SS10 RTW collection, complete with wooden clogs, you better start thinking about how to work these into you Spring wardrobe.

And if Chanel isn’t in your budget or you can’t walk more than a block in the sky high double C version, then take a look into these more budget and back friendly versions from Scandinavian craftsman cloggers like JanSwede, Sven’s of Sweden, Tessa of Sweden and Dansko. Or try your luck with a vintage find on eBay or Etsy. Ok, who am I trying to kid, nothing compares to the double CC’s!!

Eyes To The Sky: Go Clog Wild And Get Ready To Get Clogged!! Top left CW: Tessa of Sweden, Dansko, Sven's of Sweden and Tessa of Sweden.

Eyes To The Sky: Go Clog Wild And Get Ready To Get Clogged!! Top left CW: Tessa of Sweden, JanSwede and both bottom pairs from Sven's of Sewden.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now, the question at hand: to clog or not to clog? What will you choose?

Eyes To The Sky: Taste The Rainbow in 2010. Chanel, 3.1 Philip Lim, Lanvin, Giles and House of Holland.

Don’t know about you ladies but I love color!! The future of fashion is looking towards lots of black, white and khaki, which is fine and certainly has it’s place but when I think Spring, I think COLOR. So I poured through the collections and pulled out some brights to provide inspiration at the end of these cold gloomy winter months. And not just one color but all colors. My suggestion for your coming Spring wardrobe is head to toe color, monochromatic dressing is fun: pair your blue dress with blue heels, a green all-in-one with green kicks, shades of yellow go together like a bunch of bananas and dare to go red-to-toe. Taste the rainbow in 2010.

Eyes To The Sky: Taste The Rainbow in 2010. Sonia Rykiel, Viktor & Rolf, Zac Posen, Yves Saint Laurent and Sonia Rykiel.

Eyes To The Sky: Taste The Rainbow in 2010. Chloe, House of Holland, Zac Posen, Sonia Rykiel and House of Holland.

Eyes To The Sky: Trend Spotting. Trade Show Round-Up.

Our time in Las Vegas was brief but busy!! In two days we covered Pool, S.L.A.T.E. at Magic, Capsule and Project. We saw many brands and took note of tons of trends both current and future.

The Crop is HOT: The crop top and jacket has been showing off the past few seasons but was in FULL FORCE this time around. Many brands offered there basic “t-shirts” or tanks on cropped versions and with t-shirt hems rising so are jackets. With the hi-waist trend we’ve been working with in recent years it only makes sense that our tops would get shorter. *please note I was properly displaying this trend with my Cheap Monday t-shirt worn with hi-waist vintage Z.Cavaricci’s on day one of trade show madness

Eyes To The Sky: The Crop is HOT, cropped sleeves hoody and hi-waisted harem pants from Rojas for SS10.

Rojas

Eyes To The Sky: The Crop is HOT, cropped tees and tanks from Dusen Dusen SS10.

Dusen Dusen

Eyes To The Sky: The Crop is HOT, Modern Lovers offers (to the right) an asymmetrical cropped tank top, also available as a blank for SS10.

Modern Lovers

Eyes To The Sky: The Crop Is HOT, JOYRICH offers the cropped denim jacket for SS10.

JOYRICH

Floral Fantasy: Floral prints are still going strong from tops to bottoms to kicks to sh!t kickers. Don’t think that flowers are just for girly girls and don’t get it twisted, these prints are powerful but not all “flower power”. Get into it and make Blossom proud.

Eyes To The Sky: Floral Fantasy, UNIF marries the crop and the floral print, two trends for the price of one.

UNIF

Eyes To The Sky: Floral Fantasy, 80%20 decorates a favorite with a bouquet or blossoms.

80%20

Eyes To The Sky: Floral Fantasy, Bensimon picks petal patterns.

Bensimon

Eyes To The Sky: Floral Fantasy: Boos & Besito shoe blossoms.

Boos & Besito

Eyes To The Sky: Floral Fantasy, Dr. Martens gets into the bloom boom.

Dr. Martens

Eyes To The Sky: Floral Fantasy, JOYRICH gets fancy with floral.

JOYRICH

Eyes To The Sky: Floral Fantasy, Keep shoes keeps it pretty for the ladies.

Keep

Fringe Benefits: We chatted last week about fringe and it’s continued usage in clothing and accessories. We spied a few items in Vegas.

Eyes To The Sky, Fringe Benefits from Rojas.

Rojas

Eyes To The Sky, Fringe Benefits from Steel Coutore.

Steel Couture

Eyes To The Sky, Fringe Benefits from UNIF.

UNIF

Designer Impostors: An all time favorite of M.I.S.S. The continued play on high end designers, love it!

Eyes To The Sky: Designer Impostors, Blood Is The New Black shouts out the big'ns.

Blood Is The New Black

Eyes To The Sky: Designer Impostors, If you love Chanel then you'll love Free Gold Watch.

Free Gold Watch

Eyes To The Sky: Designer Imposters, If you like Versace then you'll love JOYRICH.

JOYRICH

Eyes To The Sky: Designer Impostors, If you have a sense of humor then you'll love Brian Litchtenberg for UNIF.

UNIF

Heritage Brands: Brands with a long history, the brands our mom and dad used to wear, the brands you wore as a kid, show they have staying power in the world of fashion.

Eyes To The Sky: Heritage Brands, Keds is still killing it and this time with Opening Ceremony.

Keds

Eyes To The Sky: Heritage Brands, Red Wing Shoes proves that fashion needs function.

Red Wing Shoes

Eyes To The Sky: Heritage Brands, Trethorn was once mentioned in the Preppy Handbook...need we saw more?

Tretorn

We also noticed some of the usual suspects: more pyramid studs, more motorcycle jackets, more exposed zippers, chiffon fabrics and sheer fabrications are showing up and as to be expected black is still holding reign supreme.

A most refreshing trends was back to basics in the footwear world. Thanks to the likes of companies like Nike, who have helped to kill the sneaker game by over saturating the market, we can rest easy in simple canvas sneakers. Brands like 80%20, Keds, Bensimon, Tretorn and Keep offer up budget friendly and style savvy offerings that are a breath of fresh air in the frooty loopy sneaker market these days. Keeping it real simple is a key trend that we’re happy to see!

Eyes To The Sky: Get Laced With A Timeless Classic. Resort 2010: Stella McCartney, Temperley London, Naeem Khan, and 3.1 Phillip Lim.

When is lace not in style? It is the stuff that makes us feel feminine and sexy, whether it’s a bit of trim or a full on Material Girl moment. Mix lace on lace, go for a hint of lace, printed lace…your future fashion moments will include……….yup, you guessed it, lace. You can go trashy or classy…rough it up or keep it polished and refined there is always a way to work in a bit of the fancy. Tights, legging, skirts, bodysuit, camisole, dress, top, jumpsuit, gloves, veil, shoes, purse…oh the list goes on. However you wear it: torn and tattered or like a lady, this timeless classic will continue to be a keeper.

Eyes To The Sky: Get Laced With A Timeless Classic. Resort 2010: Alexander McQueen, Preen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Dior.

Eyes To The Sky: Not Just For Biker Babes & Ladies Of The Night. Get Shorty In Leather. From left to right: Resort 2010: Diane Von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Celine, Thakoon, Emanuel Ungaro, Rachel Roy, and Akris.

Is this love? That I’m feeling? I think yes and it is for leather shorts. Cuffed, baggy, pleated, belted, tight, short, long…If you’ve ever considered it, flirted with the idea, the time is coming. Leather shorts are a fun way to dress-up a casual look or add a casual element to a dressed up look…makes looking dressed up effortless. Leather shorts can add depth and texture to your look. I am personally loving the Rachel Roy version, almost like a flouncy skirt but are indeed shorts, I can envision a white ribbed tank and casual high top sneakers for running around or of course stacked stilettos to the sky and a fancy top for a night out. Like the title says, leather shorts are not just for biker babes and ladies of the night, so go forth and get your leather shorts on ladies!

Eyes To The Sky: Get Classic This Fall. The Camel Coat.

Like a white button up shirt or a little black dress, the Camel coat is a classic that will always be en vogue. A true camel coat is made of the hair of the two humped Bactrian camel. In terms of fashion these days a “Camel Coat” refers more so to the color of the coat. Yes, Camel hair coats are still made and often times the Camel hair is blend with other fibers like wool. But for the sake of this entry, let’s focus on that warm “Camel” hue and add this one to your list of Fall “Must Haves”. Sticking to a classic silhouette is probably best for fashion longevity’s sake…the Louis Vuitton version done my Marc might be of the moment come Fall 09 but the broad over-sized shoulders might not find it’s way back for a few seasons…or ten. Wrap yourself in Chloe or belt yourself tight…whatever you do, jump on the hump(s) this Fall.

Eyes to the Sky: Color Theory...Fall is Green with Envy

Kelly, Forest, Mint…This Fall Green means GO! From top to bottom, green was a predominant color on the catwalks for Fall fashions. Shown in big doses or small hints, shock the masses with Marc Jacobs Kelly Green outerwear or perhaps add a touch with accessories from Balenciaga or Louis Vuitton. With so many shades to choose from, you are certain to find a hue perfect for you.