Every growing girl likes to make up

Every growing girl likes to make up. Young ones like to dress up: their dolls, their friends or anything they can catch hold of! In this age of technology, you can find everything you need over internet. Similarly you can even find dress up games girls online, which will help her kill time and also provide a . It has been observed that playing girls games is a technique  which will help your brat to develop learning and concentration abilities in a more interesting fashion. Hence encourage your little ones to play these games and  enhance  their minds and sportsman spirit.

For the boys pleasure , you can find an assortment  of online games all over internet . Several websites have games that are special  to girls, which include dressing up dolls in  various  outfits for many occasions. For many girls, dressing up  dolls becomes habitual. They tend to retain it even after they grow up. If you have grown up, and yet love to play dress up doll games, then don’t worry, you are not alone! There are many girls like you and you can find them by playing online dress up games  and revive your old memories.

 Dressup titles assist girls having a touch  of fashion as well. It is a great way to improve your sense of style. Here you can play several other games related to girl fun as well. Most of us girls wish to play makeover games almost every few days. Now you can try out different types of makeovers depending upon your mood. A very nice feature   about  online makeover games is that you have no rules or boundaries! You can try for different kind of looks or create new looks as per your own wish.

Anyone  can get a make-over  ( virtually of course  ) to define a perfect mood of day at when playing makeover games. If you feel like a  celebrity  , just click on the rock’n’roll option. Here you’ll locate all the accessories and dresses you will need to complement your look. There many other options like creating avatars and learn nail art at “exquisite nail fad”. If you wish to be a princess, just click on “glam gal makeup” and transform into a beautiful girl. If you are bored of your hairstyle, just go to the “funky hairstyles” options and change your hair style and color everyday!

If your doll is getting really late to work , you can award her with a nice make up,  just by clicking on “car makeover ” game. Care  to shift to town side? Give your doll a “chic girl makeover” and make her feel right in place. Inspired by musicians? Get a “lady Gaga makeover” or get the gothic look with “make me emo”. Lots of options await to  those who are smitten by foot fashion as well. You can  play the  the “weird shoes makeover” or “superb foot fashion” and get a pedicure  immediately  ! So go ahead and transform into a diva as you discover the wonder of   makeover games!

 

Hooray, couture is back!

Hooray, couture is back! With daughters of Dubai a calling, Monday John Galliano hauled out the old wasp-waists from the Dior atelier to an 800-seat marquee on the grounds of the Musée Rodin. Meanwhile former Balenciaga studio director Bouchra Jarrar went beyond the veil with a pared-down vision of haute minimalism — that turned out to be a new look critics could fully support.

Designer: Bouchra Jarrar
Date and Location: Monday, January 24, Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe, 2 rue Corneille, 6e
Photos: slide show

“Sending out her third-ever haute couture collection, Bouchra Jarrar … refined the strong linear silhouette that has become her trademark.”

“This is not red-carpet wear, as churned out season after season by other couturiers, but unfussy and appealing clothing for women sure enough of themselves to know they don’t need sequins to shine.”

“Outside of the big houses, where image is all and there is a client list, what is couture and whom does it address? Bouchra Jarrar must have asked herself those questions and come up with excellent answers, for the precise cut and clear vision of her clothes makes them seem modern and desirable.”

“[Jarrar's] thought-out, soup-to-nuts (or rather, navy-slacks-to-leather-jacket) approach to a woman’s wardrobe put her on a Phoebe Philo wavelength.”

“Like a flower unfolding, the designer each season enriches her graphic universe."

Weekly beauty agenda

International beauty events and product releases coming up in the next weeks.

14th IMATS
January 29-30
London, UK

The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show, created in 1997 by Make-Up Artist magazine publisher Michael Key, is back with a diverse mix of products and demonstrations. Each year, thousands of makeup artists, vendors and enthusiasts gather across the world (London, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver), with London kicking off the year's events. Makeup pros from fashion and film (including Oscar and BAFTA award winners) will be on hand to provide education at IMATS. Nick Dudman, makeup effects designer on the Harry Potter films, will be headlining the 2011 London fair. Other attendees expected include Dany Sanz of Make Up For Ever and YouTube guru Lauren Luke.
http://www.imatsshow.com/

4th Hair & Beauty
January 30-31
Frankfurt, Germany

Messe Frankfurt, the organizers behind Germany's largest annual beauty gathering Beautyworld, has ceased the event for this year. Instead, they are putting their energy into turning Hair & Beauty into the premier hairdressing event. The trade fair is expecting to draw more than 130 exhibitors from global companies like Wella, L'Oréal, Paul Mitchell, Glynt and Balmain. On both days of the fair, demonstrations will be given on applying glitter makeup and performing eyelash perms. There will also be on-stage competitions for the titles of Best Hairdresser and Best Beautician.
http://www.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en.html

MAC Wonder Woman launch
February 10
US (worldwide launch scheduled for March)

The beauty brand's upcoming release of its superhero-themed collection is expected to rival its Hello Kitty and Barbie releases, featuring oversized cosmetic mirrors and jumbo lipglosses as well as eyeshadows, nail polishes, and mascaras. All comes packaged in Wonder Woman's signature red, blue, and yellow.
http://www.maccosmetics.com/

3rd Makeup Show L.A.
February 26-27
Los Angeles, US

The annual Makeup Show in Los Angeles - established four years after its New Yorker counterpart - will bring together top industry exhibitors and speakers from all areas of the makeup artistry over two days, along with new product introductions and special offers. The show expects to feature more than 60 pro-makeup industry companies including Smashbox, Korres Natural Products, Stila Cosmetics, and many more.
http://www.themakeupshow.com/makeupshow/LA/press.html

Fragrance releases
February
International

Women's prestige

Issey Miyake has announced that a spring-y update of its iconic L'Eau d'Issey, called L'Eau d'Issey Florale, is in the works, composed of flowery scents including rose, lily, mandarin and white woods. Guerlain launches the flanker to Idylle, Idylle Duet, named for its composition of two notes: rose and patchouli. Tommy Hilfiger has its yearly update of Tommy Girl in the pipeline: Tommy Girl Summer will this time be composed of magnolia, fresh water and "fresh breezes." Yves Rocher releases Comme une Evidence Green with notes of lime, mint, sage and patchouli. Burberry launches flankers of its Sport fragrance called Sport Ice for both men and women, with dominant notes including frosted ginger, citrus, ice crystals, and musk.

Men's prestige

Hugo Boss will release its Orange perfume for men. Actor Orlando Bloom will front the campaign, thereby playing Sienna Miller's male counterpart. Meanwhile, Gucci is to present its Guilty fragrance for men in February, featuring the notes of lime, lavender, pink pepper, neroli, orange blossom, cedar and patchouli. Lacoste launches the Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 collection of three new men's fragrances.

Niche

Bond no. 9 will launch the follow-up to its highly successful London Oud fragrance, this time inspired by the Big Apple. But beware: New York Oud's price of $310 might be too "niche" for most. Serge Lutens will present its new fragrance Jeux de Peau, which was inspired by the "smell of toast with butter."

Celebrity fragrances

Singer Kylie Minogue launches an update of her third fragrance Pink Sparkle, called Pink Sparkle Pop, which will feature notes of pink pepper, apple, peach, gardenia, Bulgarian rose, tiare, marigold, sandalwood, ambrosia and musk.

Other releases

Lingerie label Victoria's Secret is taking flanker season to a whole new level, introducing the flanker of a flanker for the first time: Sexy Little Things Noir Love Me will launch in the US next month. Sports brand Adidas is launching Happy Game for women, following its P

jewelry industry leaders gathered in New York City

Spirits were high and the star power in full effect over the weekend when jewelry industry leaders gathered in New York City for the industry’s annual slate of post-holidays fêtes.

The celebrations kicked off with the Jewelry Information Center’s (JIC) 9th Annual GEM Awards gala, held at Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan. The JIC is the consumer education arm of Jewelers of America (JA). The annual event honors the achievements of those whose work raises the profile of fine jewelry and watches. Style expert Lloyd Boston, host of HDTV’s Closet Cases, hosted the gala.

Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson, who won an Oscar for her performance in 2006’s Dreamgirls, was on hand to present the GEM Award for Jewelry Style to celebrity favorite and red carpet go-to designer Neil Lane. But she wasn’t the only big-name actress to take the stage. Also on hand for the evening was Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon, who presented the GEM Award for Journalistic Excellence to Marie Claire magazine Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles. The magazine won for its consistently excellent coverage of fine jewelry and watches.

In addition, Breitling USA President Marie Bodman accepted the GEM Award for Corporate Communications on behalf of the international watch company. Presenting the award was Breitling ambassador and former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason. Collecting the GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement from JA President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Runci was Jeffrey E. Post, curator of the U.S. National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The awards program ended with a surprise video honoring Post from former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the recipient of last year’s GEM Award for Style.

On Saturday night, members of the industry’s exclusive 24 Karat Club of the City of New York--a group founded in 1902 that is limited to just 200 members of the jewelry industry--and their guests gathered at The Waldorf-Astoria hotel for the club’s annual banquet. Industry leaders mingled and celebrated while Gladys Knight (below), the “Empress of Soul,” wowed the crowd with an exclusive performance.

Such luxury fashion stores had for the local building community

From a fashion perspective, the benefit of a new luxury fashion store in Brisbane is clear.

When Hermes launched on Edward Street yesterday, local men and women with a taste for the finer things in life revelled in the fact that another high-end house had decided to come to town.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman was also quick to point out the “new world city” symbolism of the boutique; it continued the global-standard gentrification of the Edward Street “fashion precinct”.

But what was perhaps less obvious was the benefit such luxury fashion stores had for the local building community.

Milling among the gaggle of sartorially elegant guests at the Lord Mayor's official ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday was Matt Morton of FDC Construction.

Morton introduced himself as the construction manager behind a project he said was worth about $9000 for each of its 95 square metres.

Compared to the fit-out of a CBD office block, Morton said the Hermes spend was about four times higher.

He said this store was the latest in a string of projects that represented a luxury retail boom in Brisbane – news as good for tradesmen as fashionistas.

“There's Swiss glass in the windows and the joinery is out of a Singaporean retailer but all of the base trades for the project have been local tradesmen,” Mr Morton said.

“Normally international companies do this sort of thing so we're pretty glad that we had the opportunity to do it.”

Moving from office work to high-end retail was not without its challenges. Mr Morton said that each premium space demanded originality and pointed to a brand motif underfoot of the well-heeled launch guests.

“That inlay here is the first time anything like this has been done in the world,” he said.

“It has to be done the in place, on site, and the intricacies of it relate right down to the horses eye – they're details that are probably insignificant to most but it represents a great opportunity for our local craftsmen and tradespeople to show off their talent.

“It's a masterpiece in itself and it was done by a bloke from the Gold Coast.”

Yet it was Paris that provides the aesthetic inspiration for the fifth Hermes store in Australia and the third in Queensland.

As with every other global Hermes outlet, the interiors of the Brisbane boutique were designed by French architectural agency RDAI, under the direction of Dennis Montel.

Mr Montel has added a vaguely tropical feel to an otherwise classic design; the design notes suggested a contemporary interpretation of the fashion house's original address on Faubourg Sain Honore, Paris.

As the theme from 1964's Goldfinger poured into the room

Introducing the new "It" model, Andrej Pejic...the "It" Male model, rather.   With long, wavy, blond hair and feminine features, the 19-year-old Serbian is in high demand this season.  He's been recently seen on the runways of John Galliano and Paul Smith, and now Jean Paul Gaultier.

Gaultier's recent Paris Fashion Week show, was supposedly based on famous movie spy, James Bond.  But Gaultier provided James Bond with a twist.  As the models emerged, the "Bonds" started dropped hints they were perhaps more sexually ambiguous than Sean Connery originally let us believe.

Fishnet tights and garter belts holding knives peeked out from under the menswear.  The backs of the suit jackets bore a web of peek-a-boo cutouts.  Tuxedo coats were paired with leggings, all in the name of fashion and art.

As the theme from 1964's Goldfinger poured into the room, Pejic appeared as a blend of James Bond and one of the many Bond girls.  He wore a revealing fur vest, packing a pistol of pure gold.  Gender-bending has long been Gaultier's calling card.  Many of us were introduced to the designer in the '90s during Madonna's famous Blonde Ambition tour.  During the tour, we saw male dancers dressed in the famous "cone bra", structured suits, with a bondage theme.

A magic spell over the realm of fashion

Only a handful of women in the world can afford it, and designers make little if any money from it, but haute couture never fails to cast a magic spell over the realm of fashion.

Starting January 24, 2011, no fewer than 20 houses will be sending out their latest one-off creations over three days of exclusive haute couture shows that get underway in the French capital.

Joining such venerable names as Chanel, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier and Givenchy will be newcomers Alexandre Vauthier (a favourite of R'n'B star Rihanna), Maxime Simoens and Julien Fournie.

Italy's Valentino and Giorgio Armani Prive will be present as well, together with Elie Saas and Rabih Kayrouz from Lebanon.

"An haute couture dress is never expensive enough," said fashion industry consultant Donald Potard, and to the few hundred women who can indulge themselves, the appeal of a one-of-a-kind creation is undeniable.

A unique creation from a young designer is never less than 15,000 euros (20,000 dollars); double that figure for something from a big-name house. Wedding dresses can go for 120,000 euros or more.

"All it takes is some embroidery from the very best workshop to add 45,000 to the bill," said young couturier Alexis Mabille.

Haute couture exists only in Paris, where it is a legally protected appellation subject to strict criteria such as the amount of work carried out by hand, the limited number of pieces and the size of a house's workforce.

Every six months, haute couture houses get together to decide who can join their ranks.

While the carefully choreographed shows are magnets for the fashion press, many buyers -- from all corners of the world, with a significant number from Asia and the Middle East -- prefer to be discreet.

At salons such as Jean Paul Gaultier's elegant quarters in Paris, clients have their own personal mannequin on which their chosen designs can be painstakingly made. The final product can take hundreds of hours to complete.

Few in number, buyers of haute couture nevertheless vary in age and background. "Don't think they are all chic elderly ladies," says luxury industry consultant Jean-Jacques Picart.

"Is there something for me?" is a question that Claude Mialaud, director of haute couture at Jean Paul Gaultier, hears often.

She previously held the same job at Yves Saint-Laurent for 15 years and typically travels outside France about 15 times per season to privately show the collection; she also greets clients privately in Paris.

"They do not want to be seen. They prefer to be discrete, which gives them a certain mystery," she explains.

Mialaud's travels find her in New York, the Gulf, Switzerland, Spain and Hong Kong, accompanied by one or two seamstresses who can perfect the creation on the body of the woman who will ultimately wear it.

Some details on a design can be altered -- sleeves added, for instance, or a hemline changed. But Mialaud is duty-bound to reveal if an haute couture dress has been sold to someone else.

"There are women," she says, "who cannot risk finding themselves meeting someone else in the same dress."

Among those making their haute couture debuts in Paris, Vauthier, 39, previously worked at Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Simoens, 26, a favourite of many French fashion editors, founded his own house in 2008 after working for Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior and Balenciaga, while Fournie, 35, used to be artistic director for Torrente.

Dior goes for fluid elegance at Paris menswear shows

Fluidity defined Kris Van Assche's collection for Dior Homme on the penultimate day of the autumn-winter menswear shows in Paris on Saturday, while Kenzo sought inspiration in Sherlock Holmes.

Van Assche turned an indoor tennis court into a bourgeois Parisian apartment stripped bare to its fireplaces and herringbone wood floors to introduce 37 looks rich in soft tailoring and earthy hues.

Jackets with the narrowest of lapels and softest of shoulders were set against loose-cut trousers, complemented by thick-soled footwear and, more often than not, black wide-brimmed hats.

"It's all about fluidness," the 44-year-old Belgian designer - who took over the creative helm at Dior Homme after Hedi Slemine's departure in 2008 - explained backstage.

"This had to be about warmer coats and warmer suits, obviously, but still very very fluid and comfortable."

Van Assche, who unveiled his own-label collection in Paris on Friday, described his extensive use of knitwear and cashmere as an experiment at "breaking luxury down to what is really essential".

Front-row celebrities included US rapper Sean Combs, alias P. Diddy, who took his seat with two glamourous women in tow just as the show began, and designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Earlier in the day, Kenzo took over the elongated 19th century mineralogy gallery at the Jardins des Plantes to send out a collection that owed much to fiction's best-loved detective.

Despite the label's Japanese heritage, the outfits were distinctly British in character, with plenty of woollens and tweeds, the occasional suit in earthy plaids, even cardigans and sleeveless V-neck pullovers.

Not so elementary, my dear Doctor Watson, were the two-button double-breasted suits and a contemporary black lounge suit with black pleated kilt over trousers that closed the show.

Brogues were more often than not the footwear of choice, again with thick no-nonsense soles.

her winter 2012 collection at Berlin Fashion Week

German designer Anja Gockel celebrated 15 years of her label Friday by using English supermodel Lily Cole to present her winter 2012 collection at Berlin Fashion Week.

Cole opened and closed the show wearing mainly simple, tailored looks in black, tan and beige. Her last piece was one of the show's most striking — a strapless, 1950's-style chocolate brown lace cocktail dress, covered with brown gauze.

The 22-year-old redhead wore straight hair and a somber expression throughout, but her fellow models sported frizzy hair and smirks, presenting camel-colored chunky jackets, high-waisted pencil skirts and wrap dresses made of red and black abstract prints. Most of Gockel's colors were neutral or muted, but she threw a saucy knee-length red dress in the mix, with capped sleeves and a fitted bust spreading out into a wide skirt.

Cologne-based designer Kilian Kerner also chose bright hues, sending a male model down the runway in a hot pink double breasted suit that garnered audience cheers.

His men's and women's collections showed off more funky suits, the highlight being a tightly tailored sparkly tuxedo suit in black and silver stripes for women, with a looser-fitting version for men. Glitz aside, the cut of Kerner's women's suits was reminiscent of those of subtle French designer Yves Saint Laurent, credited with creating the first tuxedo suit for women.

Kerner's breathtaking black evening gown with sparkling shoulder straps and a puffy bow beneath the chest brought to mind another iconic fashion piece: the long black Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Berlin Fashion Week, which wraps up Saturday, has seen collections from other small European labels as well as larger houses like Hugo Boss and Escada.

Beneficial Mutual Makes Money

This morning I added Beneficial Mutual Bancorp (BNCL) to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio. This bank makes money the old-fashioned way: It takes in deposits and makes loans in the local community markets it is familiar with. Community banks with strong, local, long-term ties should be able to make the most of the recovery in their home local markets.

BNCL is a community-based, diversified financial services company providing consumer and commercial banking services. Its principal subsidiary, Beneficial Bank, has served individuals and businesses in the Delaware Valley area for more than 150 years. The bank is the oldest and largest bank headquartered in Philadelphia, Penn. with 72 offices in the greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey regions. Insurance services are offered through Beneficial Insurance Services, LLC and wealth management services are offered through Beneficial Advisors, LLC, both wholly owned subsidiaries of the bank.

The stock hit 14 new highs and appreciated 13.99% in the last month, earning it a 72% Barchart overall technical buy signal. The Relative Strength Index is 65.42%, and it trades around 9.21 with a 50-day moving average of 8.32.

Wall Street brokerages have this on their buy lists of regional banks, with five buy and two hold recommendations published. They expect revenue to increase by 11.30% this year. The real story is next year's EPS, which is estimated to increase by 387.50% and continue by another 10.00% annually for at least five years.

Although the bank is local, it is well known nationally. For a small regional bank, it's gotten noticed by the general investors over on Motley Fool, with the CAPS members thinking the stock will beat the market by a vote of 24-10; the All Stars are in agreement, 6-3. Fool notes that there have been three positive Wall Street columnist articles recently.

The Queen's corsetier hits hard times as bra wars intensify

Rigby & Peller, the corsetier to the Queen and many Hollywood A-listers, may offer bras up to a formidable size M cup. Where profits are concerned, however, it is not so well-endowed: according to its latest annual accounts, the company made a loss of £214,000 last year, compared with a pre-tax profit of £168,000 the year before.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga and Scarlett Johansson are just three of the stars that have benefited from the highly specialised service that Rigby & Peller has offered for almost 30 years. But as any glamour model who has undergone bust-enhancement surgery will tell you, ill-timed expansion can cause problems. Rigby & Peller used to occupy only exclusive London outlets in Knightsbridge and Conduit Street; today, it has stores in Bluewater, Westfield, Chelsea's King's Road, and in Essex and Cambridge.

The range of its stock has also expanded and this has happened at a time of intensifying competition: a consumer looking for a budget purchase may now pick up a bra at any high-street chain for £10. Department stores too offer a huge range of merchandise, as do upmarket retailers such as Myla and La Perla.

Even Rigby & Peller's long-renowned bra-fitting "rite of passage" is no longer unique: a similar service is on offer at Marks & Spencer and most leading department stores.

The company was bought by June Kenton in 1982 for the not-so-princely sum of £20,000. Mrs Kenton – who handed over to her son the day-to-day running of the business earlier this year – still visits the Palace to fit the royals for made-to-measure underwear (any sizing remains one of the world's best-kept secrets).

Her staff are well-versed in catering to the idiosyncratic requirements of anyone from the well-heeled bride looking for something to nip-and-tuck her in all the right places on her wedding day, to the WAG in search of an entirely backless bra to wear beneath a barely-there grand-entrance outfit.

So with this pedigree, why has Rigby & Peller suffered in the past year? Very broadly, lingerie retailers divide their product into two categories: basic and fashion-led. "What we noticed a year to 18 months ago was that people had stopped buying basic product in favour of investing in more special pieces," said Helen Atwood, lingerie buyer at Selfridges.

Women had less money to spend going out so they were buying more glamorous underwear, presumably in a bid to make life more interesting at home. Now, according to Ms Atwood at least, standard underwear is in demand once more. "We're seeing renewed interest in basic lingerie again but it's all about good-quality product," she said. "People are more willing to spend money on a good bra that fits them properly than they used to be."

On paper, that should mean that Rigby & Peller is in its element. But it is far more difficult for an independently owned retailer – that remains small by comparison with rivals – to keep up with the times than it is for the world's better-known and ubiquitous names.

luxury — not sport — dominates next winter's mens fashion

As the menswear preview winter showings wind down it is clear that designers are not in the mood for sports.

After several seasons of safe casual clothes, Italian designers return to their first love — classic tailoring — and in more than one case, go beyond.

Earlier in the week Dolce&Gabbana presented a latter-day dandy who flaunts a velvet tuxedo jacket worn with distressed jeans. On the third of the four day preview presentations for the fall-winter 2011-2012 Monday, Frida Giannini for Gucci created a new dandy based on the rock-star atmosphere of the 1970s.

While every show has devoted a lot of space to revisited suit wear, luxurious fur and ample outerwear also play a big part in the winter fashion scene.

Fur-trimmings, an extravagant detail, are present in almost every collection. Ostentatious jackets, long coats and big furs are another sign that the good life is back.

The new Gucci suit has a classic cut spiffed up by silk ties and pocket handkerchiefs. The jacket is cut short, the pants have a carefree looseness, and the plaids are strictly British.

But where Gucci really goes to dandy town is in the outerwear. Oversized double-breasted shearling jackets, sleek ostrich leather coats, and a big coat in shaggy Mongolian goat are all superbly over the top.

Donatella Versace created a futuristic 3-dimensional fashion, a sort of menswear Avatar wardrobe, for the winter 2011-2012.

Nothing was flat — from the bubbled wool fabric, to the embossed leather, and the fluffy Astrachan fur.

In contrast, the styles were streamlined. The new jacket is double-breasted and slides down to the hips cinched by a warrior-like leather belt complete with bullet holders. Pants are narrow, and stop short of the ankle, the favorite new hemline.

Evening wear is very tuxedo with fetching contrasts of black and blue. A stiff priest collar shirt in place of a bow tie and pointed boots underline the sci-fi feel of the collection.

There's something of Dracula Meets the Military in Alexander McQueen's collection for next winter, also shown on Monday.

The collection features coats with super high collars, turned up against the cold winter wind, and sometimes lined with fur. The coats often recall military styling, and a few of the higher collars in black brought to mind a very stylish vampire.

Coats were the collection's main feature, billowing or short, leather or wool.

Sarah Burton, in her second solo menswear outing since McQueen's death nearly a year ago, layered her jackets — a fur-collared bomber under a trench, or a vest sewn on the outside of an overcoat — for some very striking winter looks.

Honeysuckle is hot in fashion and design

2011 kicks off with verve and vigor, thanks to vibrant lipstick-pink honeysuckle. It's the color of the year, according to the Pantone Color Institute, the research branch of Pantone, which sets the trends and color standards for fashion and home decor.

The energetic, feel-good color shows up in everything from dresses and men's ties to wallpaper and sofa pillows. Designers including Cynthia Steffe, Badgley Mischka and Peter Som have incorporated the color into their spring runway shows. The hue also translates into cosmetics, such as Bobbi Brown's limited-edition Pretty Face collection.

Houston designer and Project Runway winner Chloe Dao featured the color in her spring collection, "Me, I Play." More than half of her collection is crafted from a fabric designed with birds fluttering in six shades of pink, including honeysuckle.

"When you think of pink, you think of baby showers and little girls," Dao said. "But honeysuckle is definitely more sophisticated and romantic. It's a color that older and younger women can wear. It makes me happy."

Unlike 2010's color of the year, turquoise, which served as an escape (think beach vacation and ocean views), honeysuckle is about energizing us, says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.

"In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going, perfect to ward off the blues," she said in Pantone's announcement.

Eiseman also said the color, not the sweet fragrance of the flower blossoms for which it was named, is what attracts hummingbirds to nectar. Honeysuckle scent can bring a wave of nostalgia for its association with the carefree days of spring and summer.

Wearing the color can make you look and feel happier, she said.

Honeysuckle pairs well with black, charcoal or other grays. Green tones can add an interesting touch with honeysuckle. Look for decorative pillows with honeysuckle in the pattern to give a pop of color to a room.

WIN an Elke Kramer or Deadly Ponies bag from Final Episode

When it comes to final episodes, there are those that disappoint (I'm Looking at you, Veronica Mars), those that wrap everything up, and then there are the kind that have it in the bag. E-Boutique Final Episode is very much the latter.

Their stellar edit of high end accessories offers a satisfying resolution to even the most grievous of wardrobe traumas, allowing you to wrap up (literally, they have scarves) your clothing cliff-hangers in style.

Their label selection is as cult as it gets, with eyewear from Dries Van Noten and Alexander Wang, footwear by Camilla Skovgaard, Tristan Blair and Opening Ceremony, and jewellery from Pamela Love.

And then there are the bags - one of which they're giving you a chance to win! In the spirit of starting the new year with a new style, Final Episode are offering you a Deadly Ponies or Elke Kramer bag of your choice. To be in with a chance to win, head to their website and pick which one you want, then tell us your choice, and what you plan to put in it over on the forums.

 

US fashion stylist Rachel Zoe reveals shes expecting a boy

Pregnant fashionista Rachel Zoe has revealed that she is expecting a baby boy.

The 39-year-old celebrity stylist and reality star confirmed the child’s gender during a recent interview with Women's Wear Daily, according to UsWeekly.com.

Talking about the impending arrival, Zoe – whose husband of 12 years Rodger Berman was by her side during the interview – told the US magazine: “It all depends on his arrival.”

Berman then kisses her belly and lovingly declares: 'It's a little boy.'
Zoe, whose star-studded client list includes Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, also told how she's now seven months along.

She will be just one month away from giving birth when she dresses a host of Hollywood A-listers for the upcoming Oscars.

And it seems the notoriously hard-working stylist has refused to put her feet up despite being heavily pregnant.

'I've been asked to slow down,” she tells the magazine. “But to be totally honest, it's kind of next to impossible when you're planning your show and launching your collection, and in the middle of the awards season.'

The Rachel Zoe Project star also revealed that she has yet to start picking out cute baby clothes.

'I'm also Jewish,' she explains. “So I'm a little superstitious. I've been sent a lot of gifts and things and my team just hides them.”

a new direction and era

The New York Fashion Week circus has pulled up its tents, moving uptown to Lincoln Center from Bryant Park, where it was held for 17 years. The tony new location is more grandiose; unlike its predecessor, this canvas tent resembles the marble of the nearby Metropolitan Opera House and New York State Theater.

Fashion insiders hope the artsy setting will incite publicity, generating better sales for designers. "Being at Lincoln Center is clearly a new direction and era," said Fern Mallis, the event's founder.

"I think the industry is in a transitional phase," she said, gesturing at the vast space around her designed to accommodate thousands of buyers, fashion journalists, trend spotters and an equal number of party crashers. "Who is this for?" she said, then answered, "The consumer."

If designers want to sell clothes, they'd better create wearable fashion that will endure and look stylish for several seasons, she noted.

Almost 100 official shows are being staged at four venues within the big Lincoln Center tent, including an out-of-the box idea called The Box where crowds stand within feet of a runway. But probably twice as many maverick shows and presentations are scattered across Manhattan.

Presentations, more popular than ever, are usurping the old-fashion runway hoopla, which is too slow-moving for the Tweeting fashionista accustomed to warp-speed gratification. The hottest young designers are renting big, empty spaces and hiring a dozen or so models to stand still while the audience circulates around them. Less formal than a cocktail party, it's a happy-hour atmosphere with beer or wine.

On the traditional runway and off, the designers who showed Thursday met Mallis' challenge, creating recession-proof clothes for next spring. Richard Chai and Bensoni (the design duo Benjamin Channing Clyburn and Sonia Yoon) showed easy-to-wear neutral colors including chalk, beige, taupe, sand and foggy gray.

The ultralight fabrics may be a response to this summer's record-breaking heat waves. Ruffian's collection by Brian Wolk and Claude Morais used silk mousseline; while LNA designers Lauren Alexander and April Leight used cotton gauze for a collection of simple, basic pieces, often layered.

The prints that have been so successful for the past few seasons - animal, tribal, digital and textured - show no sign of slowing down. Christian Siriano, a former Project Runway champ turned fashion-week regular, was an equal opportunity print-user, incorporating a manipulated Asian digital scenic print on shorts, jackets, one-shoulder cocktail dresses and billowing, bubbled evening gowns. His big finish gown was like a frothy red storm cloud swallowing the model as she dragged a long train behind her. The flamboyant finale seemed appropriate to the high-brow new venue.

Debbie Dickinson, a 1970s star model who attended one show, liked the new location. "Lincoln Center will give fashion elegant status," she said. "It's the platform fashion deserves."

For John Lennon’s son, harmony grows

It’s hard not to feel a twinge of jealousy when Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl discuss the beginnings of the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, their band.
 
He, the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and she, a globe-trotting magazine and runway model, had been dating for a year and, according to Kemp Muhl, “the only thing we were doing was going to cafes and sketching together and talking about movies and things.” It sounds like a scene straight out of a Godard movie, or the fantasies of any would-be bohemian.

“We were just joking around one day, and we wrote ‘The World Was Made for Men’,” Kemp Muhl says in her gentle wisp of a voice. The sparse, spooky song is built almost entirely on lush vocal harmonies and appeared on 2010’s “The Acoustic Sessions” album. “I had started this chord change, I showed it to [Sean], he finished it, and we wrote our first song. We joked, ‘We should have a band’.”

That joke became a reality and the band -- GOASTT, for short -- soon made its debut. Opening for Rufus Wainwright. At Radio City Music Hall.

There’s that twinge of jealousy again, right?

Kemp Muhl, 23, had long been a casual musician, but nothing more. Her dad once gave her an old acoustic guitar that she lugged around the world and strummed during downtime between fashion shoots, but that was the extent of her playing.

Lennon, 35, has been deep into the music world for most of his life. When he was 20, he backed his mother on her album “Rising” and soon after joined New York art-pop group Cibo Matto as bassist. A solo career never gained much traction, though. His 1998 debut album, “Into the Sun,” was an accomplished collection of psychedelic pop released on the Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal label but failed to win him much of a fan base. The follow-up didn’t come until 2006, and the commercial impact of “Friendly Fire” was even more mild.

With GOASTT, Lennon seems re-energized, mostly thanks to Kemp Muhl. He’s quick to praise her growing musical skills at every opportunity during a chat with the couple on a Sunday in December, just after they returned to Manhattan from a European tour.

“In the beginning, you weren’t writing as much,” Lennon says when talking about the band’s creative process. “Now you’re just like, ‘Check it out, I wrote 15 chords to go into the second verse.’ She’s really learned a lot about chords and melodies in the last four years. I’ve never seen somebody figure it out so quickly.”

The songs are always collaborative, but they emerge from varying bits and pieces each time. Sometimes there will be a bass line, a chord change or even a single word that springs the process. “It’s really like filling in a crossword puzzle for us,” Kemp Muhl says. “We’ll start at the top of the pyramid, like a title, and work our way down.”

However the creation plays out, the duo has landed on a specific sound on the debut album. It’s one that plays off opposites. The songs are both delicate and dark, with sweet melodies and foreboding lyrics.

“He climbed aboard / An upside down bus / With bottlecap eyes / He soon realized / Nobody else but he survived,” the pair sing in perfect harmony over lightly plucked guitar on “Robot Boy.” The lyrics about death and disaster paired with the pristine sound is an intentional dichotomy.

“You don’t want to be too saccharine,” Lennon says. “But then you don’t want to be too self-indulgently morbid, so you want to have some musical beauty to relieve it.”

“We really get off on imbuing a lot of subtle dissonance and weird undertones to the words and melodies but disguising it with a pretty, traditional twist,” Kemp Muhl adds.

Traditional may fit as a description of the music, but both Lennon and Kemp Muhl are aware that their backgrounds bring baggage. That’s one reason they are keeping things low-key, eschewing a label and releasing the album through Lennon’s own label, Chimera Music. As for preconceived notions people may have, it’s something they’re used to dealing with.

“It makes people very cynical of you,” Kemp Muhl says of being a musician with a modeling background. “I’m probably more shy onstage since I’ve become aware of the stigma of it.”

Lennon, meanwhile, has the unenviable task of living in the shadow of one of the most beloved musical figures of all time. “There are always going to be some people who are only there for [other reasons],” Lennon says of Beatles obsessives and other curiosity seekers. “We welcome one and all,” he says matter-of-factly.

And while their songs may work with both light and dark elements, Kemp Muhl is happy to put an all-positive spin on the future. “When people don’t know the music, and you can’t expect them to yet, they’ll go for whatever superficial reason they are going,” she says. “But eventually when people hear the music, they’ll come for the right reasons.”

Andy Cohen Has Drunk-Dialed Anderson Cooper

Bravo's executive vice president and Watch What Happens host Andy Cohen has always seemed like the type of celebrity who can hang out with celebrities and still understand non-famous peoples' jokes about celebrities. He walks a fine line between celebrity string-puller and full-fledged famous person. Even Nikki Fine has noted, "Cohen's the rare combination of a programming executive who is also a TV/Internet personality." In this weekend's New York Times, however, writer Susan Dominus describes the head honcho, who will preside over Real Housewives of New York's fourth season next month, in ways that seem to separate him from mortals, and plant him firmly on the side of celebrities. According to this profile, his life is so overwhelmingly fabulous, it's almost scary. Here are the excerpts that make Andy Cohen's life seem both exciting - filled with celebrity friends, fancy restaurants, and hip parties - and also terrifying, for the same reasons.

He understands that he's responsible for Jill Zarin's fame. “'You can imagine, some of his friends, what their opinions are of some of the characters on the 'Housewives” said John Benjamin Hickey, a longtime friend of Mr. Cohen’s. 'It’s like, I can’t believe you created a star factory,' Mr. Hickey said. 'And he’s like, look — they signed on, people like it, get your sense of humor about it.'"

Sarah Jessica Parker is jealous of him. “'I love hearing the next day about his exploits,' Ms. Parker said. 'He’s fashioned a kind of life for himself from another time, a time when there was a kind of elegance to meeting and traveling and cocktails.' As if anyone doubted otherwise, Ms. Parker added, 'I’m not jealous — it’s very satisfying to hear about.'"

He drunk dials Anderson Cooper. "'There’s a lot of manufactured personality on television, and Andy’s not manufactured,' Mr. Cooper said. 'From [his childhood] letters, you see he’s the same person he was at 10, with the same enthusiasm.' Mr. Cooper was once on air delivering the news when his cellphone buzzed. Checking it later, he learned that it was Mr. Cohen, drunk-dialing from the back of a car with NeNe Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, shouting, 'Don’t be tardy for the party!'"

He can't go out to dinner without running into a fashion designer he's friends with. "'No. Way,' Mr. Cohen said to Prabal Gurung, standing up to greet the fashion designer, when he realized they were seated at nearby tables at a West Village restaurant. That two successful creative types would show up on the same night at Morandi hardly strains credulity. To the contrary, it is difficult to imagine the Thursday night when Mr. Cohen, who has been working, dating (men) and socializing with what he calls “show folk” for two straight decades, would not run into someone high profile who considered him a friend at any of the West Village restaurants or bars he frequents."

There's so much name-dropping and so many sceney locations in this profile, we could hardly keep up. He's photographed at Le Bain, attends events at Kirna Zabete, etcetera, etcetera. Ultimately, of course, Cohen still falls on the side of awesomeness versus awfulness in our book. He's living the dream! But the amount of energy expended to live that dream just sounds exhausting.

a new balance on the wrist

Originally designed for the use of Italian pilots and submarine officers in World War 2, the first U-Boat watches were meant to be indestructible, large, and easy to read under the harshest circumstances. Decades since, U-Boat watches still stay true to these very principles. Oversized, bold, and beautiful, these Italian timepieces now have a home here in Manila with the opening of its newly minted store in Maxims Hotel, Resorts World Manila.

Celebrities like Jericho Rosales, Heart Evangelista, Gretchen and Marjorie Barretto, Karylle Tatlonghari and Tim Yap all trooped to the unveiling of the posh new showroom to welcome the arrival of U-Boat’s signature collections.

The man who started it all—Italian designer Italo Fontana—was on hand as well to give a glimpse into his approach in designing the one-of-a-kind U-Boat timepieces. “Dimension, precision, along with a clear identity in design are the main features I’ve worked on to better personify a new dimension in timepieces,” he says.

Accompanying Fontana was Mounir Moufarrige, an acclaimed tastemaker who helped bring U-Boat’s grand vision to life. After rejuvenating esteemed brands like Chloe, Mont Blanc and Goyard, Moufarrige joined forces with Montana to further develop the timepieces which he believes “will gradually replace conventional size watches” because they offer “a new balance on the wrist.”

As a token of appreciation for Fontana’s vision and work for the brand, It’s ‘Bout Time, Inc., the official distributors of U-Boat watches, honored the founder with a one-of-a-kind sculpture by award-winning visual artist Fernando Cacnio. Aptly titled “Timeless,” Cacnio’s artwork featured the grace and beauty of a naked woman on her back, levitated only by her flowing long hair—an engineering marvel that is reflective of the U-Boat timepieces.  

U-Boat has built a strong following among wristwatch connoisseurs anchored on its three signature pieces: the timeless Classico, the sporty Flightdeck, and the adventurous Thousands of Feet. Actor Jericho Rosales was seen sporting the Flightdeck 50 Cab Titanium Bezel, a model that was inspired by the control panel of an aircraft which Mr. Fontana chanced upon while on a flight deck.

Luxury Retailers open 6 new stores At 360 MALL During the First Months of 2011

360 MALL today announced that more store openings will take place in the New Year which includes a wide range of renowned global brands. The new line up of luxury brands include: Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), Emporio Armani, Manish Aurora as well as the first Gucci Kids and Armani Junior boutiques in the region that feature high-end , exclusive clothing and accessories for children.

The French brand Yves Saint Laurent one of the, world's most prestigious international names will open its luxury fashion boutique in the Boulevard zone surrounded by brands such as Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Burberry. The boutique will offer clothing, shoes, bags and accessories of the finest taste and designs, making it one of the most popular destinations for shoppers that are seeking simplicity, elegance and a creative touch. 

Emporio Armani's new store will offer life style collection for men and women, including formal and casual wear, sport wear and accessories.  The 312 square-meter store will open next to Burberry at Day Journey zone on the ground level that enjoys natural light from the mall's spacious sky lights - making for a shopping atmosphere that is truly luxurious.

In addition to these new luxury retailers, Manish Aurora will open their flagship store at 360 MALL in early 2011. The brand is known for his vivid palette of riotous colors and kitsch motifs. Manish Aurora garments combine contemporary silhouettes with a range of traditional Indian craft methods including embroidery, appliqué and beading.

The 360 MALL food and beverage offering continues to expand with the addition of  Laduree, the well known Parisian creators of macaroon. The pastry store will be located at the Night Journey, while shoppers can also enjoy Laduree's delightful desserts at the glamorous seating area situated next to Cartier and Burberry stores.

Claudia Lopusinska, 360 MALL's Marketing Manager said: "Parents in Kuwait will be able to shop for the inaugural Spring/Summer 2011 collection and fill the closets of their children with great Gucci gear clothing, shoes and accessories, allowing them to offer modern energy and style for children up to 8 years.  Armani Junior, one of the world's leading design houses

will open their store with impeccable and fresh elegance for effortlessly chic younger generation at the Sun Court."

"The addition of these exclusive International luxury labels to the 360 MALL's other upscale retailers that include Givenchy, Versace, Cartier, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Burberry demonstrates our commitment to bringing world-class shopping to Kuwait to strengthen the luxury shopping experience", added Lopusinska.

360 MALL, which includes 120 opened stores to date, continuously strives to establish new milestones in luxury shopping experience by hosting the highest quality of distinctive international brands. Leisure facilities at 360 MALL are world class and include the cutting edge Bowling Room and a new concept introduced in Kuwait called the Freeze Club which caters to the needs of teenagers, family entertainment zone " Infunity", in addition to a 15 screen cineplex, offering the 3D IMAX experience as well as 2 digital VIP screening rooms.

Nail the flower power look this spring

Floral prints are always a big fashion story for spring, but this season they’re going to be big on your nails, too.

Sharmadean Reid, owner of London nail boutique Wah Nails, says: ‘Floral designs are being painted intricately onto nails, taking their influence from Marimekko and Liberty prints. We’re already seeing requests for rose prints, too, that will no doubt sky rocket in 2011.’

It’s a trend stylish celebrities have been rocking for a while — with singers Katy Perry, Beyoncé and actress Blake Lively all sporting heavily embellished talons.

The good news is that if you can’t afford a pricey manicure, there are lots of DIY kits enabling you to create your own nail art.

Wah nails has just released a pen with beauty brand Models Own, which is a snip at £6 (modelsownit.com), or try Nail Rock (£6.50, topshop.com) — the sticker-style overlays come in an array of prints including florals and polka dots.

Just don’t don your floral frock with rose-bud nails, or you’ll risk looking like a display from the Chelsea Flower Show.

Craftsman one of last of a dying breed

At his East Memphis shop, furrier Jim Holloway was ironing muskrat to make a man's coat. Later, he used a fur knife to cut pelts, some of which he buys from trappers in this region, and sewed pieces together on a 1930s looping machine.

Furrier Jim Holloway of Holloway Furs can turn a mink coat into a bomber jacket (for $300 to $700), or turn a mink stole into a vest ($700 to $800).

Holloway is one of the last of a dying breed, a furrier who does his own handiwork -- designing, cutting and sewing fur coats and other items. He has been especially busy lately because fur, both real and faux, is a big fall fashion trend.

"I've never seen so many women bringing magazine clippings," he said. Many want fur trim added to their coats or to have old mink stoles turned into trendy vests.

Holloway grew up in Water Valley, Miss., where he was a trapper from age 12 to 30. He caught raccoon, fox, bobcat, beaver and mink, stretched and dried the skins and sold them on the open market.

He came to Memphis in 1984 and apprenticed with now-deceased master furriers Hewlett Lewers for two years and Grady Horton for seven. In 1988, he also worked as a master furrier for King Furs, restyling, altering and repairing furs and overseeing the cleaning. In 1992, he started his own business, Holloway Fur Co., which is now at 404 Perkins Ext.

He's an animal lover who has a menagerie of pets, as well as two horses he keeps in Water Valley, where he owns four log cabins. They were handbuilt by a friend and trapper who went to Alaska to start a bear-hunting service.

"I don't think any furrier I ever knew got as excited about it as I did," said Holloway, who can't stop talking about furs. "When you love something, you eat, sleep and breathe it," he said.

Flipping over a top-quality mink coat, he exposed thousands of short seams that branched through it like veins. The coat was "let out," which means it was made by cutting fur in narrow strips and stitching them together in such a way that it produces a coat that

appears to be seamless. It may take him 180 to 220 hours to make such a coat.

He gets some help from his only assistant, Jimmie Morris, who does finishing work and embroidery.

"True furriers are very rare," said Al Hernandez, furrier at Fletcher & Bensky Furs in Little Rock, the largest full-service furrier in Arkansas. "Holloway is excellent. He makes it as if he were going to wear it himself."

Most American furriers are in New York, said Memphian Greg Gang, a retired millwork manufacturer who grew up in his family's fur trade business in New York and created fur coats himself for 10 years. Americans and Canadians still make the best fur coats, he said, but their numbers are dwindling for lack of apprentices. Young people don't care to learn the craft.

Gang helped teach Holloway cutting and sewing, "but he is far better than I ever was," he said. "He understands couture, style, trends and matching furs," which takes great skill, especially when restyling an old fur.

Holloway views trapping and hunting as part of the ecosystem. He says sometimes those are the most humane ways to handle the overpopulation of beaver and deer that damage crops and land and predators such as fox, bobcat and raccoon that eat turkey eggs, among other things.

"For every hunter and trapper, the No. 1 concern is that the species be preserved and properly managed so the sport never goes away," he said.

Holloway turns mink jackets into fashionable bomber jackets and made a lining for one man's Burberry jacket out of his wife's old mink coat. Old furs may also become fur pillows and throw rugs. He's especially proud of his custom beaver blankets.

Prices vary, but in general, collars and cuffs from his recycled minks can be added to a coat for about $300 to $700, depending on the size of the collar. A mink stole can be turned into a vest for $700 to $800.

Restyling a mink coat can cost anywhere from $150 to $1,500, depending partly on whether the coat must be enlarged. But restyling may be worthwhile since mink coats have doubled in price in the last 10 years, he said, mainly because of growing demand from China.

Holloway said his craft dates to the 1400s. But the first master furrier may go back much further. He keeps Genesis 3:21 carved in wood on his front desk: "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them."

LEAVE it to fashionistas to try on new buzzwords like they’re going out of style

LEAVE it to fashionistas to try on new buzzwords like they’re going out of style. Whether it was our bromance with heritage brands, or the shellacking that some collaborations took, 2010 saw no shortage of P.R.-driven catchphrases and trendy terms. As with all fads, it’s time to put some to rest.

Couture: Calling something “couture” doesn’t make it hand-sewn or high class. Yet the word popped up everywhere last year, from discount Web sites to Canal Street pushcarts. It’s even uttered repeatedly on HSN and QVC to describe handbags, dresses and almost anything else. You can trust that the rayon and polyester cape selling for $49.95 was not hand-stitched by petite seamstresses in a Parisian atelier.

Bespoke: A close runner-up to “couture.” Used by retailers to make their merchandise seem classier, although the items in question are not literally made to order.

Statement outfits: Does your clothing speak louder than words? That seemed to be the mantra chanted by fashion lemmings, who kept referring to attention-grabbing pieces as “statements.”

Smoldering: O.K., your makeup is hot. Your outfit is hotter. You are about to combust. We get it.

Pop-up: It was the year of the pop-up store — Shiseido and AllSaints had them, as did Zimmermann swimwear in SoHo and Liberty of London for Target. Blame it on empty storefronts and skittish retailers, but the hit-and-run retail concept swept the world’s fashion capitals, to the point of losing its novelty.

Fashionista: The word has gone from describing a class of urban style-conscientious sophisticates to becoming a lazy and cheap byword for anyone with a modicum of taste. (See “hipster.”)

Collaborations: H&M and Alber Elbaz; Gap and Stella McCartney; Jason Wu and Tse; Opening Ceremony and [insert name here]. Collaborations went gaga in 2010, making it seem as if solo designing were a thing of the past.

Concept store: Used to describe any store that deviated in the slightest from the norm, whether it was Ann Taylor’s “concept store” in the Flatiron district that featured 10 design finalists, or the OC Concept Store on Madison Avenue that sells watches and yachts. But aren’t all stores supposed to have a concept? Just checking.

Geek-chic: If geeks rule the world, it was only a matter of time before they conquered fashion. In 2010, anyone who sported thick-framed glasses, cardigans and T-shirts with nerdy references was instantly labeled “geek-chic.” The hip-to-be-square term has also become a popular Twitter hashtag. #done.

Eco-fashion: Stella McCartney made vegan platform shoes out of faux leather and cork; Michael Kors used organic cashmeres and cottons in his resort collection. Responsible design never gets old, but this term has.

D.I.Y. fashion: It’s not always necessary to knit your own mittens. And not everyone becomes a best seller on Etsy.com. Save your sanity by going to Urban Outfitters and spending the $8.

Heritage: Waxed Barbour jackets. Red Wing boots. Woolrich sweaters. Classic Americana ruled men’s runways in 2010 — and the cash registers at retail behemoths like J. Crew. But perhaps the only thing more played out than another lumberjack-chic man with a candy-colored ax was this word, trotted out to label the retro-trend.

less denim, more sturdy trousers

Not since the 1990s has the fashion world been so enamored with trousers. Everyone from Hannah McGibbon at Chloé to Christophe Decarnin at Balmain to Patrick Robinson at the Gap emphasized pants this fall.

"It's a wardrobe essential for real women today," MacGibbon told Elle magazine of her penchant for pants, adding that her target customer isn't a 'fantasy' woman: "Women have demanding lifestyles."

Pants have long been regarded as a liberating garment, and jeans have always been top sellers season-round. But this fall, the emphasis is off denim and on sturdy trousers with a more grown-up, relaxed silhouette.

Riding on the trend, both mass market and high-fashion labels are marketing collections centered around the "perfect" pant. This past September, Gap rolled out its line of "Black Magic Pants," a collection in seven shapes and styles that promises to flatter every body type out there. Among the offerings is "The Perfect Trouser" ($59.50, or 45 euros), which Gap describes as: "A perfectly tailored silhouette gives way to a slightly flared leg."

And on December 15, Phoebe Philo, the creative director of the French house Céline, launched worldwide a collection of five pants she deems "building blocks" for every modern woman's wardrobe. Dubbed "Five Perfect Trousers," the styles include a cropped tube leg (370 euros, or $489), a classic tapered leg (420 euros, or $555), a high-waisted wide leg (570 euros, or $753), a menswear-inspired straight leg (590 euros, or $780), and a pleated tapered leg (440 euros, or $582). Each of the pants feature Philo's signature expert tailoring and channel Céline's minimalist chic aesthetic. According to the Wall Street Journal, the five-piece collection will be permanently available with slight changes in fabric and style according to the season.