when even a little is too much

This month saw vancouver's finest in fashion strut their stuff. they once again showed the world why they arent a fashion capital. boring, highly conservative cuts were met with a slew of prints that made the models look like they were attacked by a box of origami paper.the designers took the trend of printed fabrics to an extreme when they shouldve only used a hint for a maximum effect.

the hem line of choice was mid thigh, darker shades of green were the favourite and interestingly leather was the repeated material of choice.

surprisingly, amongst the not particularly attractive cuts and colours were a few shining gems. Laura Siegel that recently graduated from parsons shone very brightly as

she showed her talent for draping by manipulating the volumious shapes to give line and shape. She chose a deep earth colour palate for the beautifully unusual garments. there was a definite african influence in her line. natural fibres were used in shades of cream and brown. layering the fine knits created the bulk and were complimented with accessories such as fingerless knit gloves and head scarves.

Carolyn Massey from the UK took a new direction for the british mens style. key notes were layering, tailoring and soft nautical colours such as sea blues and beige. the preppy was met with modern street style of denim, short pant suits and classic sunglasses to polish.

after sorting through the mountain of designers showing at vancouver a hand full were inspirational and a breath of fresh air. the long list included many foreign designers confusingly as i was under the impression that being canada's official fashion week they might proudly show canadian talent??..however my two favourites above werent canadian so perhaps it is a good idea to keep vancouvers fashion week open to one and all especially if we have another origami explosion again next year.

painting my toes

sitting on my steps today i thought about the email i received from a good friend about her success at showing for latvian fashion week. the neutral tones, sheer blouses paired with tailored military pieces. i was surprised at how great it looked. hmm, who knew latvia had a fashion week and on such a big scale? but then again who knew any city outside of the list of paris, milan, new york and london had a fashion week thanks to the press? all i mean to do is point out what goes on with some while we go about our usual business of say painting our toes.

we all move at such different rates. we all leave school. some marry, some dont, some have kids by accident, some reach for the stars and some sit watching the world. i think i fit in the last category. there's something so enriching from observation.

Sarmite's show was a success with interest from leading latvian boutiques and magazines. there were structured dresses with capped sleeves, epaulets used across the body and in multiples to give a feminine look or twist on the traditional. hem lines were high and tailoring the new structure. garments were tailored for the feminie with a tough side. paired with flat boots and high uniform socks the show was strong, clean and showed potential.

the common trends with the designers were clean lines, modern, neutral palettes. just when you thought you felt a yawn coming on a few designers pulled out the bold. the play with shapes was amazing at times and uh..interesting? at others. the colour palette needed a little work for all designer's lines. the designs were great but would've popped a lot better with the impact colour has. neutrals were the favourite for everyone although it would've been great to see more colour somewhere.. oh well, maybe next week?