One of our favorite things about working out of LA is finding those little pockets of creativity that exist in and around the city. That’s a safe description for the ocean-view studio we used for our Fall Winter 2012 Shoot yesterday in Pacific Palisades. The hilltop space allowed tons of natural light, great acoustics for music to keep everyone excited, and a cool air from the ocean. That it sits adjacent to the custom music studio of a major Hollywood composer (and his endless collection of design books and film posters) helped open up everyone’s creativity.

The new collection is full of luxe details and finishes, signature prints, new styles and colors for coated, and beautiful silhouettes, so we chose the set and styling to emphasize the design: clean, solid tees and shirts and simple heels matched a neutral backdrop and the occasional piece of furniture.  A clean face with a blackened red lip and a tight ponytail was just the right amount of effortless chic and interest for our repeat look book model Angelika.

We’re already picking selects for the look book and it will head off to the printers in a couple weeks. Look for an online version here on The Habit soon afterwards!

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