We love to dress tonally, picking one color and taking it from head to toe, but the problem with tonal dressing is that you’re often restricted to the neutral colors in your closet – grey, black and khaki. One of the reasons we are so excited about the colored denim trend is that you can get a tonal look in a new color, while still enjoying the comfort and fit of a jean. Start with a great pair of colored denim, here we have the Alice Skinny Coated Denim in Chianti, and look for a pair of shoes that pick up the tones of the jean. Up top, we like a comfortable light-colored shirt, covered by a comfortable sweater in the same tone as the jean. While you can definitely do a top, pants and shoes in the same tone, be sure to break up the color a tiny bit where possible. A contrasting shirt collar, patterned purse, textured belt, coat, or even strong jewelry can do the trick.
Tops: Marni Cardigan, Prabal Gurung Collared Shirt, Slubby Knit Sweat from Top Shop, Allsaints Spitalfields Char Coat
Jeans: HABITUAL Alice Skinny Coated Denim in Chianti
Belt: Reversible Skinny Leather belt by Calvin Klein
Bag: Snakeskin Square Messenger Bag from Zara
Shoes: Isabel Marant Gatsby Pump
The Council of Fashion Designers of America handed out their annual Awards at Lincoln Center on Monday, with all the fashion bigwigs in attendance. In a relatively brief ceremony hosted by Anderson Cooper, Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez took the women’s wear designer of the year award, Michael Bastian won for men’s wear, and Alexander Wang took the accessories category.
In the junior division, Prabal Gurung won the Swarovski Award for women’s wear design, which is given to new and emerging talents, along with Robert Geller in the men’s wear category and Eddie Borgo in accessories. Perennial CFDA winner Marc Jacobs was on hand to receive his Lifetime Achievement Award.
But as is usual, even in a room full of A-list celebrity and the gatekeepers of fashion, all eyes were on Lady Gaga, who received the Fashion Icon Award. She arrived in a heel-less platform shoes, a long custom-made Mugler skirt, a black corset and a short blue wig. For her acceptance speech, she dropped the skirt, and by the the time she got to the afterparty at the Standard Hotel, she had dismissed the bodice as well, leaving only a thong with black spikes, and a sheer body suit. R&B Legend Patti LaBelle invited her on stage to sing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ before the DJ took over and the newly minted Fashion icon danced into the night.
Prabal Gurung, Billy Reid, and Eddie Borgo. Image by Steve Eichner
In the world of high fashion, lower pricepoint mashups, J. Crew has enlisted 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Billy Reid, along with runners-up Prabal Gurung and Eddie Borgo, to each create a capsule collection for the brand.
The three designers recently joined Anna Wintour and other members of the fashion elite at the newly renovated Fifth Avenue J. Crew shop to celebrate the forthcoming collaborations.
Gurung and Borgo have made clothing and jewelry pieces for the ladies, respectively, while seven pieces designed by Reid will be available on the men’s side. We’ll be stopping by to see the collections once they start to hit stores in May.
