Nordstrom at NYFW

Michael Kors: Quintessential American Sportswear

More often than not, Michael Kors is spot-on when it comes to offering easy but chic American sportswear. This season, he showed urban casual vs. country luxe—i.e. perfect for the city jet setter with a country estate.

Now, I don't live in the "big city," nor do I live in the country in a place large enough to require a name like "Highfield Estates" (though that would be an ideal setting to don his camel mohair cocoon sweater). No matter, I still have a fair amount of Michael Kors in my closet, and my bet is that this season—just like me—you can find amazing pieces to update your everyday wardrobe.

For his Fall 2010 Collection, Michael mixed fabric textures like crinkle and crushed cashmere, mohair, tweed, silk and jersey, The crinkle or crushed cashmere came in the form of Chesterfield coats in smoke and camel—we love. As Pamela, my colleague/fellow blogger, was leaning over and pointing them out to me, someone from Michael's team sitting next to us said those were Michael's favorite, too!

Speaking of favorites, I adore when Michael does evening; it's always simple, clean and sophisticated. He ended the show with three sequin numbers that hug the body—the last look was a black paillette jersey gown with a slight slit at the hip...oh, so very sexy.

 

Jason Wu and Tse Collaborate: Lush Feminine Knitwear

I wanted to share about Jason Wu's capsule collection with cashmere house, Tse. We really loved some of the pieces resulting from this collaboration (and with the snow outside, I wished I was wearing one of the chunky, metallic, looped-tape-yarn scarves around my neck). The collection was full of lush knitwear, flannel blazers and cashmere sweaters layered over chiffon dresses and skirts.

A few of my personal favorites: a red and beige, blocked cashmere tee that was incredibly soft (the more informal fashion presentation allowed us to touch and feel a bit). Wu explained his science behind hand washing some of his fabrics, including cashmere and chiffon, to get that "extra feel" to it.

I loved the black cashmere dress with an off-white silk chiffon pleated underskirt (so much so that I asked our national buyer to take a note for me—a pitfall of the job).

Yes, it took me and few others about five minutes to figure out that it was one easy piece (I'll admit it; we had to ask the model). It was accessorized with black chunky ribbed gloves and a black leather skinny belt. A note about Wu's dresses: most of them deliver with the belts included, which is a huge plus in the designer world!

If you're near Seattle, visit with Jason, and shop his Spring collection as well as place pre-orders for fall on April 15, from 1-3PM at our Downtown Seattle flagship store!

Disco Punk at Phillip Lim

The makeup vision for the Phillip Lim show was very rebellious and exuded a strong sense of confidence. This look has many layers—from punchy eyes to soft lips.

Lisa Butler, Lead Artist for NARS, mixed pink shades with grays and beiges to give a more textured look to the skin. Reminiscent of Blondie's Debbie Harry in the late 70's—very punk rock princess.

The tip with this look is to do a lot of contouring right under the cheek bone with a foundation one shade lighter than your skin. Lisa sculpted the models' faces into beautiful works of art.

The final outcome was a brilliant mix of elegance and rock and roll.

Frédéric Fekkai Partners with Marchesa

Renato Campora, lead hair stylist for Frédéric Fekkai, was inspired by the whimsical feel of the Marchesa Fall/Winter Collection. The overall look was a bit romantic with a loose edginess.

Renato created an artistic, textured twist at the nape of the neck. Starting with wet hair, he added Fekkai Extra Control Styling Gel and combed it through evenly. Once the hair was dry, he worked in Fekkai Au Naturel Dry Shampoo to create a matte look.

Renato then teased the hair and placed twisted foil throughout. He allowed the hair to set and then brushed out the curls for dramatic texture and volume. Leaving some of the textured pieces at the front to freely frame the face, he pulled all the rest into a low twist at the nape of the neck and secured it with pins.

The look was finished by tying everything off with grosgrain ribbon at the base and set finally with Fekkai Sheer Hold Hairspray.

This hairstyle has such wild romance. My favorite part is the fullness of the loose ponytail coming together at the end with a bow. Simply beautiful.

Strong Lips at Nanette Lepore

Lead M·A·C artist backstage, Makky, designed a very soft version of the smokey eye for the Nanette Lepore Fall 2010 Colletion's show. The eyeshadows were blended out giving a youthful appearance to the eye. The skin was kept matte and cheeks contoured.

The key feature of this look was the lips. On the top lip, Makky used a magenta lip pencil and, on the bottom, he used a new shade of lipstick from the M·A·C Fall 2010 Collection called, Love Forever. It is a beautiful pink burgundy .

You can clearly see the difference in texture from the top and bottom lip. It gives a very unexpected look to the lips. Remember: lip pencil on top and lipstick on the bottom...both in the same color family. I'm going to try this when I get home. So unique.