Ponchos are making an appearance again this fall in the form of chunky knits. Think handmade, warm and cozy. Many are a fusion of sweater and poncho that button up the front, making them easier to layer. You’ll see hoods, pockets and zippers as added features as well. Look for all wool styles made with thick yarns and lots of texture in the knitted design. Or try a lighter poncho on for size; it is more like a wrap and much more fluid than chunkier styles. Go for a neutral like gray or brown that can be paired with a variety of items in your wardrobe.

On the chunkier side, from Haute Hippie is the Chunky Wool Poncho (top left, $495.00 at Nordstrom.com) with classic overtones and a cable-knit design. It has a full zip-front closure, pockets to keep your hands warm and a slouchy hood at the back. From Stella McCartney is a pricey and luxe Zip-Front Boucle Poncho (top right, $1,685 at Neiman Marcus) with oversized buttons button as an accent on the cape sleeves. The poncho is an Alpaca/linen/polyamide/wool blend and made in Italy. Helmut Lang has also done a version, all in a minimalist style of course! Helmut Lang Knit Poncho (bottom right, $260 at Saks.com) is an alpaca/merino/polyamide blend and is super soft as well as warm. This poncho also features a generous hood. From Elizabeth and James is the Olivia Poncho, (bottom left, $545 at Shopbop.com) made of moleskin this is the perfect piece for layering. Pair with a cozy cashmere turtleneck and jeans for a luxe weekend casual look.

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From our friends at TheFindBlog

StyleQ.com has launched its newest celebrity profile collection with Bethenny Frankel, one of the Real Housewives of New York. These 2009 holiday styles were styled by Jose Camilo, the celebrity stylist for E!’s Joel McHale and Giuliana Rancic. This collection of clothing by Cynthia Steffe, Nanette Lepore, Nuj, BCBG, and Funktional is a way for every woman to put together a look worthy of a celebrity. The best part? StyleQ.com is giving customers and Real Housewives fans 30% off when they enter the special code “BETHENNY” when checking out. The offer is good until Friday, November 6.

Here are a few favorites from the collection.

The black silk “cupcake skirt” by Nuj is the perfect skirt for holiday parties. Perfect with a camisole top and a shrug, this 100% silk piece is both unique and versatile. $175.00 from StyleQ.com.

Another hot look this fall is strong shoulder styles. Don’t panic: they’re not like they were in the 80s. Put together with this season’s other hot trend, sequins, you have a dress that can be dressed up for the holiday office party or dressed down with a denim jacket and pumps for drinks out with the girls. $95.00 from StyleQ.com
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This  red dress by Cynthia Steffe is perfect for a nice holiday dinner out with your sweetheart. With its sexy one-shoulder style and flattering silhouette in a gorgeous look-at-me red, you may get a marriage proposal with dessert! $255.00 from StyleQ.com.

Source: StyleQ.com

TransFOURmer Coat - $189

Just in time for fall, the new TransFOURmer coat from the Rachel Rachel Roy collection is not only super chic, but smart and thrifty too! As seen in Real Simple magazine, the Transfourmer coat is one coat that can be unzipped and worn in 4 different ways.

Remove the bottom for a chic motorcycle jacket look or take off the sleeves and bottom for a twist on a vest.?Ǭ† The inside is lined with Rachel?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s signature graffiti print, for an unexpected pop of color.

View the video that demos all of the different looks the coat transforms into:

Source: rachelroy.com

Quirky songstress Katy Perry chats with Karl Lagerfeld after his show at Paris Fashion Week in an exclusive interview for Elle.com. It’s certainly a rare chance to peek into the personality of one of the world’s most esteemed designers. Is he intimidating? Yes, but there is a certain warmth about his demeanor, even as he corrects Katy when she expresses her adoration for the fabric, not metal embellishment on a particular dress. The two discuss music and fashion, and we learn fun facts like what he listened to as he got dressed this morning and what song he feels describes himself best (by none other than Lily Allen, of course). His response to the requisite “if you could trade places with any designer” question is a careful mix of smug satisfaction and pure respect. Oh, and he makes jokes too! Click here to see the full interview for yourself.

From our friends at Stylehive

Marc Jacobs showed a memorable collection for spring 2010 in New York in September and in his front row were two rather iconoclastic women: Madonna and Lady Gaga. If Gwen Stefani wasn’t there, she should have been. Actually, it almost looked like those three could have inspired most of the looks, which were ruffled and frilled, yet closely fitted and brief. The models wore their hair in ballerina buns, and makeup consisted of pale faces with winged black eyeliner. All the models were in flats, too, which was unexpected.

Jacobs recently spoke with Women’s Wear Daily about the increasing media attention to famous people’s personal lives - including fashion designers. Jacobs says that it’s simply a sign of the times. People are entertained by people’s real lives, whatever their profession. “And fashion has also reached this kind of proportion like football or sport, you know - a spectator sport.” He mentioned the use of sports stars to peddle just about everything back in the 1970s (remember Joe Namath wearing stockings?). Perhaps now is the moment for fashion designers to capture that kind of attention.

Overall, Jacobs is positive about the trend of fascination with other people’s real lives, saying, “it demystifies the experience. Any behind the scenes look is always telling of the fact that these are real people doing real jobs and who work really hard.”

We have to accept the way the world - whether we think it is good or bad - is and deal with it, according to Jacobs. One thing that has changed in the past couple of decades is that you no longer have to go to Paris to get Parisian perfume. Because of the internet, pretty much anyone with the money can get anything from anywhere. Exclusivity is a different concept now. “Life changes, and the Internet and the media have been a big part of the change that exists now. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s just better to accept things for what they are and enjoy them.”

Here’s to enjoying things like Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2010 ready to wear collection!

Source: wwd.com

At first glance, a casual follower of Paris Fashion Week might be forgiven for seeing the collection for John Galliano as a nod to eighties female executive wear. But if you look closer you can see who he has really used as his muse for the collection: Lauren Bacall. It even had a winking tribute to her other half, Humphrey Bogart, in the form of lovely belted trench coats. The collection was simply of feminine, beautiful clothing for women who are tired of “club crawling” clothing.

The trench, this time in gray lam?ɬ©, went perfectly with the models’ forties-inspired wavy, controlled hairstyles and red lipstick. There were also lovely evening dresses with waists, hips, and embroidery, for unmatched femininity. The effect was heightened by the industrial look of the steel girders in his show’s set. The trench was shown in many versions: coat and jacket length. Suits avoided a matchy-matchy look by using unmatched pairings that had a fresher, younger look than the traditional matched suit.

Image credit: wwd.com

Lindsay Lohan

It’s Paris fashion week, and so far one of the biggest news items has little to do with fashion and much to do with celebrity. Lindsay Lohan, who was hired as an “artistic adviser” for Italian design house Emanuel Ungaro, presented her first collection at the Louvre, to the chagrin of style conoisseurs and struggling designers everywhere.

Largely seen as a publicity stunt for Ungaro - a brand that is rapidly fading into the background - Lohan’s collection was panned for being, well, tacky, with plenty of orange and pink, ruched orange slacks, and black, heart-shaped pasties. Guilty by association is Estrella Archs, who has designed for Prada, Christian Lacroix, Emilio Pucci, and Nina Ricci.

By way of explanation, president of Ungaro, Mounir Moufarrige, has said, “Twenty-first century muses are extroverts whose personal style and experience gives them strong creative and artistic focus.”

Even among the notoriously tough fashion crowd, fangs were out for this collection. It was only one month ago that Emanuel Ungar “hired” Lohan as as artistic adviser. Many in the fashion industry consider it a huge insult to anyone who had ever really worked in design or graduated from design school.

Then again, the fashion industry has in recent years emphasized flashy, disposable fashion over forward thinking and style. Lohan’s collection for Ungaro was no exception, with plenty of tight micro-mini dresses and emphasis on hearts as a design element. It appeared as a sequin pattern on one jacket and as cutouts on another. But it was the heart shaped pasties that were most universally panned, perhaps as a symbol of a fashion house in a desperate bid for attention from a house that has been fading from view since its founder retired back in 2004.

It’s been approximately 20 years since Jean Paul Gaultier “launched” his rocket cone bra for Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour, so perhaps it was time for a rehash. For whatever reason, the cone bra featured prominently in Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2010 ready to wear collection in Paris last week. He did it up in style, too, with wasp-waisted silhouettes complete with girdles and garters.

The pointy bras were a central feature in overalls that were made like a bustier on top. It also appeared in a white tux, and a stretchy peach corset-suspenders combination. All 40 of Gaultier’s models marched out in a lingerie collection that included yet more cone-bras, stockings, corsets, and French knickers. Of course, being Jean-Paul Gaultier we would only have been shocked at prim, buttoned up “career separates” that annihilated rather than celebrated the female form.

Paris, France. Jean Paul Gaultier spring/ summer 2010 show held at the company?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s quarters at 325 Rue Saint Martin in Paris is attended by the following personalities wearing Jean Paul Gaultier looks.

Janet Jackson wears beige silk taffeta trench coat

Rihanna wears charcoal wool gabardine bondage jacket

Rihanna, Jean Paul Gaultier and Katy Perry

Katy Perry wears black silk taffeta cross straps halter dress with sheer paneled hemline

Dita Von Teese wears crepe/ velvet/ leather black dress

The looks are from Mr. Gaultier ready-to-wear collection.

Image credit: wwd.com and G. Vejvoda p/o JPGaultier

Lindsay Lohan

Behind the scenes at runway show for Emanuel Ungaro’s Spring/Summer 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection in Paris, France on October 04, 2009. The Paris fashion house announced Lindsay Lohan will be their new artistic adviser!

Christopher Kane’s runway look is now available to anyone who has access to TopShop, thanks to a daring and edgy collection that has the fashion world abuzz.

Kane’s much anticipated line for TopShop went on sale September 18, and enthusiastic shoppers have raved about the pieces, which are sexy and feminine without being innocent looking or “girly,” as can be seen in the one shoulder lace dress pictured.

As you can see, they’re both quite snugly fitted, so be prepared. One of the most popular pieces in the collection is the “alligator print” dress you see below. There’s nothing subtle or demure about it, meaning you will be looked at if you wear this.

Even the undergarments make a fearless style statement as you can see in the high-waisted, grommeted panties pictured above.

And if you need a handbag to go with the panties, or just to look edgy yet frankly feminine, check out the studded, fringed, chain handled bag pictured above.

And where would your outfit be without these shoes, perfectly coordinated with every look pictured here, including the eye-grabbing mini-dress pictured below.

It’s no wonder this collection is all the rage, both in TopShop’s London home and in New York.

To see these and other pieces from Christopher Kane’s collection visit topshop.com.