From left: Versace’s animal punk bright fur; Fendi’s brightly hued tribal bags; Jimmy Choo’s crystal-studded high-heel pump; Dolce’s deliciosly decadent cardinal-red lace finale; Dolce’s saintly handbag (photo & caption credit)

This Fall/Winter 2013, it seems like bright colored fur prints and bags will be all the latest fashion.  Versace showed off an electric-yellow zebra stripped coat perfect for catching anyone’s attention on a gloomy day. If you don’t feel like attracting too much attention with a zebra yellow coat, how about toning it down with an animal print bag like Fendi’s pictured above?  This would be a fabulous accessory to make any neutral outfit stand out.  If brightly colored animal prints are not your thing, than you can still be glam with studded shoes and bags . Studded bags have been around for quite a while, but now the fierce decorations are going to be seen more on shoes.  Jimmy Choo’s black pumps feature crystal studs giving the shoes some sparkle without completely going over the top.

If acid yellow was the dominant color story coming out of Europe last week, it was a push towards “ladylike” cuts that caught our eye in the shape department. We saw classically feminine silhouettes in the dresses and skirts on nearly every runway, and many designers also showed beautiful high waisted pants, jeans and bottoms in both skinny and wide legs.

We use the term “ladylike”, because a high waisted pant is a more mature, sophisticated look, offering extra coverage for the wearer in both the front and the back, so you don’t feel like a teenager with your backside hanging out. The silhouette also shows a woman’s curves in all the right places, drawing attention to a small waist, and hiding “flaws” like thicker thighs and legs, for those that might be insecure about those areas.

Some of our favorite high waisted looks came from J. Crew and Vena Cava, who went with wider leg cuts, and Gucci, who led off their show with a slimmer version featuring button cuffs. Oh and hey, there’s that acid yellow again in a wide leg street look.  HABITUAL will offer several ladylike, high waisted looks in both wide and narrow leg for Spring, including the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny, the Harrison Ultra Hi Rise Bell Bottom, and also the Thalia and Inga Ultra Hi Rise shorts.

It appears we’re trending from the 70’s back to the 50’s and 60’s. Prada showed their Spring 2012 Collection yesterday at Milan Fashion Week, and one of the big influences was 1950’s and 60’s Southern California, an iconic era of customized muscle cars and surfer babes, made forever famous in songs from The Beach Boys, films like Grease, and books by Tom Wolfe.

Some of our favorites from the collection included dresses with hot rod flame details burning up the hem, and the throwback one piece swimsuits that still manage to flatter the figure.  Ms. Prada also presented some very literal hot rod prints that could easily double as young boys pajamas, if the silhouette wasn’t so perfectly feminine. She even took the car motif into several pairs of strappy heels with flames shooting out of the proverbial tailpipe.

By the way, we are really loving how accessible the fashion business has become. Once a closed up industry reserved only for the VIPS invited to attend each show, practically every brand is making investments in digital media, streaming the runway walks live from the tents, and exciting a whole new generation of fashionistas. It’s also a fuller picture, as the public gains exposure to the creativity that goes beyond the clothes and into the styling, music and overall show presentation. For example, you can watch the entire Prada Spring 2012 Show right on YouTube: