Designers have a major impact on what will be in vogue. Designer fashion shows are held five months ahead of season. Explaining why Spring/Summer collections are shown in Fall/Winter months and vice versa. The media including fashion editors and buyers view the designers’ collection and get to work immediately picking out what they think will seduce their readers and customers in the coming season. Celebrities and other glitterati are usually the first to sport the brand new looks by the designers. Hence, inspiring the more commercial market, simply speaking, the mall. In the end it’s you who decides if the trends are either in or if they’re out.
Fashion is nothing unless you make it your own, meaning dress your body in trends that flatter your figure and not falling for trends that make your body look less than perfect. The whole point of dressing well is to look slim and tall, no matter what your figure. So I decided to share some of my basic rules of dressing.

· Have a color palette. I can’t explain how important it is to have your own color palette. It’s basically sticking to a palette of 6 colors or less in one color family. This insures everything in your closet will match. Pick a color palette to match your skin tones. If you have cool undertones (blue, green, or a porcelain skin coloration) stick with cool colors like white, blue, purples, silvers. If you have warm undertones (red, yellow, or an olive skin coloration) stick with an earthy color palette , which includes greens, yellows, reds, browns. Remember everyone can wear black and white.

· Buy for quality not quantity. People in France look Fabulous all the time. Why, you ask? They’re wearing those oh so chic designer digs day in and day out. The next time you’re out shopping check the tags. Stay away from synthetic fabrics and look for luxurious fabrics like 100 percent cotton, silk, etc. Also every wardrobe needs at least one piece of cashmere it’s the greatest wardrobe indulgence.

· Don’t be a slave to trends. It’s easy to fall into the trap of piling on all the trends of the season at once. Trends are fun but they can get ugly if they don’t fit your style, personality or body. Instead pick one trendy item and pair it with a classic piece. For example take those huge Boho beaded necklaces and pair them with a basic Gap tee and keep your ears bare instead of pairing your gigantic beaded necklace with huge earrings along side a flashy club top. You get the picture.

· Dress your body for what it is. Bright colors like hot pink and yellow draw your eyes to them. Use this to your advantage by wearing these hues in areas that you’d like to flaunt. Wear high heels! Whether you’re vertically challenged or lucky and statuesque high heels will help you have fabulous posture and automatically look long and lean. I’ll devote a whole article on dressing each kind of body in another issue.)

All in all fashion is a wonderful thing. It’s one of the world’s leading industries and it’s defiantly here to stay. Have fun with fashion, play with it, be creative and most of all make it your own. Until next time, Ciao.