Big under the radar trend for Fall: Elaborate headgear!

With fashion week approaching, I get more and more enthusiastic about the great fashions that will be shown during fashion week.  At times I can't decide if I'm more eager to see the fashion shows or the attendees.  Perusing the past street-style snaps from the fashion week shows that have occurred so far this year I'm noticing an amazing trend that many of the attendees have been sporting: Elaborate and Extravagant Headgear.  Iconic fashion week inspirations such as Anna Dello Russo & Bryan Boy have showcased some serious headgear as of late, so why not take some inspiration from them as well as from the designers themselves.

Check out my favorite pieces below. Are you fashion forward enough to take a nod from these inspirations to werQ an extravagant headgear piece come this fall?

Armani Prive

Shona Tawhiao

Jil Sander

Maison Martin Marigela

Balenciaga

Resort 2013 Recap: My Fav Looks & Trends!

Check out my round up of the Resort 2013 collections and what are the top looks and trends that you should look forward to emulating next Spring.

Top Resort 2013 Looks & Trends:

3.1 Phillip Lim: Comfy, clean lines are the staple shape.  And yes, there are still hints to the relaxed  Pajama trend.  Now it's urban chic

3.1 Phillip Lim: Workman vibe re-done in a urban chic way with the update to a skinny  boyfriend  fit leg & by using leather as the focal fabrication

Celine: Updating the current sheer trend by layering a sheer jumpsuit over a short ensemble of fun scarf prints

Erdem: Lace isn't going anywhere. Update to incorporate key pops of neon colored lace.

Givenchy: Taking the current print-tastic trend to a whole new level by using prints & geo-shapes to create an optical illusion

Givenchy: Introducing Spring's new silhouette/shape, The Cape

Jonathan Saunders: Prints, prints, and more prints.  Now in a clear symmetric, hazy,  and hippy chic version.

Lanvin: Pleats aren't going away anytime soon.  Add some edge to maxi pleats via a leather belt.

Ostwald Helgason: Sporty meets Print-tastic.  Don't be afraid to mix and blend the two, in fact it's encouraged

Prada: Keeping with the Athleticism theme but giving it a twist with color-blocked fur

Stella McCartney: Florals, florals and more florals.

Thakoon: Cut-outs are still a huge trend and now are more prominently done as a pattern.

The Row: Sporty outerwear featuring chic and clean lines

Valentino: Lace being a tried and true staple being elevated here as texturized  layered appliques

*Photo Credit: The Telegraph

Cat Eye Sunglasses: Instant Ensemble Changer!

My number one accessory that I never leave home without on a beautiful warm sunny day are a pair of chic sunnies.  Truth be told I actually always carry at least 2 pairs with me at all times (sadly sometimes I have 3 pairs).  At the moment I'm in love with the cat eye shape not only because they are a great nod to the glamorous 50's and 60's but are also a great way to infuse the current trend of modernizing the shapes and silhouettes of that great fashion era.

Check out my Top 6 Cat Eye Sunnies you can score right now!

Pictured above: 1. Elizabeth and James 2. The Row 3. Mauricio Stein for ASOS 4. Marc Jacobs 5. Dior 6. House of Harlow 

The Leather Jacket: Rev up with Rebel Cool!

What's the one article of clothing that can take any ensemble from safe to edgy or from blah to instantly on trend in seconds? Answer: The Leather Jacket.

The leather jacket instantly ups the ante when paired with a frilly and flirty cocktail dress or when worn simply with a pair of boyfriend jeans and a basic crew t-shirt top.

Check out my top picks below and let out your inner 'Rebel Cool'!

The Leather Jacket: Rev up with Rebel Cool! by afonua featuring genuine leather jackets

Tie-Dye: Denim's New Big Trend

Elle Macpherson & Olivia Palermo are just a few of the handful of starlets who have been reviving the long associated "hippie" pattern of Tie-Dye.  While this denim trend is still under the radar, I was a bit surprised that with the recent music festival Coachella there wasn't an explosion of tie-dye.

I am definitely a fan of how Olivia P has incorporated this trend.  Since it is a pattern that has a deep historical association with a fashion movement, you can separate yourself from this pattern's past by pairing it with polished neutral separates such as a structured jacket, collared blouse and definitely a simple heel.

Want to be ahead of the fashion pack? Try out one of these tie-dye chic pairs:

• Current/Elliott 'The Stilletto': Net-a-porter.com
• Bleulab 'Detour': Nordstrom.com
• Diesel 'Phukig': Diesel.com
• AG 'Luscious Sateen': Bloomingdales.com

Are you in the Flat Pack?

Left to right: Marc Jacobs, Haider Ackermann, Christopher Kane and Paul Smith Spring 2012

While the high street and catwalks are still swamped with skyscraper heels, some designers - and a group of celebrity style icons - are fighting for the right to be flat and proud.

The heels-or-flats debate may always divide opinion, but there is no denying that the right flat shoe has become a must-have item for even the most trend-conscious customer, thanks in no small part to the 'Flat Pack' --a host of style-savvy starlets like Kristen Stewart who like to keep their feet quite literally on the ground.

Leader of the Pack is undoubtedly Alexa Chung, the flat shoe's biggest celebrity ambassador and face of Italian plimsoll brand, Superga. If her love of brogues, loafers and pumps wasn't why the public voted her their 'Style Icon' for the second year running at the 2011 British Fashion Awards, then it certainly didn't do her any harm.

Flanking Miss Chung, Flat Pack regular Agyness Deyn's androgynous look has lent itself to lace-ups and boyfriend boots, while Fearne Cotton has lately favored Spatz-inspired loafers and purple Joker-chic treads. Bringing up the rear, Olivia Palermo has taken to stepping out in patent silver Derby shoes, whilst Gwen Stefani, Pixie Lott and Kelly Osbourne have all been leaving the heels at home and earning their Flat Pack stripes. Even rapper Nicki Minaj went against type and put aside her pop star platforms in favor of metallic hi-tops at the recent American Music Awards.

Designers, too, are embracing the fact not every woman is willing, or indeed able, to trot their way through the day, SJP-style, on six-inch spikes, as shown by the array of flats that strolled comfortably down the catwalks of the spring/summer shows.

Christopher Kane's acclaimed collection of flower-speckled shifts and skirts was accompanied by rubber-soled sandals with embroidered and jewel-encrusted straps. Elsewhere, Marc Jacobs showed two-tone loafers in his Twenties-tinged collection and came over a little Sporty Spice with multi-colored hi-tops for his diffusion line. Paul Smith's bright yellow and turquoise loafers were no less colorful than his classic tailoring and Acne's oversized tassels made theirs just as dramatic.

The foremost flat for spring, however, must be Haider Ackermann's brogue-clog hybrid. Presented in all manner of rich colors and intricate prints, there's a broque for every girl.

Expect to see them on the Flat Pack's feet come spring. Will you be joining them?