SARTORIAL SANITY: The Row S/S 2012

One part mental asylum. Two parts Calvin Klein. Shake well.

I'm on the fence as to whether Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the duo behind The Row, hit it out of the ballpark with their spring/summer 2012 collection or merely came close to pulling it off. From pieces bound in silk cord and minimalist sheaths to fringed tuxedo pants and what looks like drawstring sleepwear, I'm not really sure what ties the collection together other than the apparent lack of color (which I applaud).

The epitome of Calvin Klein minimalism, no?

Trapped in a room with padded walls.

Love the silhouette of this structured/textured top.

SARTORIAL SANITY: Alexander Wang hits...and misses - by a lot

I hate to say this because I love him dearly, but is it just me or did Alexander Wang's F/W 2011 collection kind of suck? If the models weren't looking like rundown and unraveling mummies, they were stuffed in down tuxedo cocoons, boxy vests or what looked like cheap men's sweaters with a bit of silk at the hemline--not a fan. If anyone has fleshed out any redeeming qualities of this collection, please do share.

SARTORIAL SANITY: The Runway's Resident Bad Ass - Erin Wasson

ROUGE & ROUGE: Cool Cool

SARTORIAL SANITY: '90s Flashback for Organic by John Patrick

I love it when you can pinpoint a definite jumping off place for a designer's collection--even when it's your own personal take on the designer's initial inspiration. From what I remember of the early to mid '90s, this collection is the epitome of an era. Oversized felt coats and tweed blazers, sheer thin-strapped florals, cropped loose-knit sweaters, and lace-up combat boots? These girls look like they're ready to party like it's 1995.

COCKTAIL CHATTER: Zoe Chanel, Chanel Zoe

It looks like Rachel Zoe was 'inspired,' to say the least, by Karl Lagerfeld's Fall/Winter 2010 Chanel collection.

SARTORIAL SANITY: St. John the Victorious

Growing up, St. John was always the brand my grandmother went to for what she called the epitome of 'timeless.' From my grandmother and mom drooling over the classic knits and opulent tweeds, I always thought that St. John was an 'older' house. But last Fall I bought my first St. John piece--a grey, cropped and ruched jacket.

I am now officially converted to the 'older is wiser' team and am taking queues from my more 'sophisticated' family. Pairing these pieces with younger and more modern designers makes for a classically cool look--just like the industry defining brand has done in combining a simple white t-shirt with a fur muffler and a formal floor-length skirt.

THE ROW SPRING/SUMMER 2011

Favorite Fall beauty

There's not doubt about it that it's almost time to put the peep toes away and bring out the parkas. And while I will have missed the opportunity to wear the Boutique 9 basket weave stilletos I just bought, my unfortunate purchase timing comes with a pretty solid consolation prize: fall beauty trends. Check out photos of my favorite three fall beauty trends below that I am so excited to try out.

Ice-y blue shadow:

Berry wine lips:

Bold Brows:

Starch much?

Maison Martin Margiela's spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection has me at a bit of a loss for words. The collection brings an entirely new meaning to the "strong-shouldered" jacket. The quasi-sandwich-board-effect seemed to be the dominant look as menswear inspired jackets and shirts had me waiting for models to start cat-calling sandwich specials. An ironic emphasis of menswear on the woman's body? An attempt to put women in a chic box? A stance again dry-cleaners who over-starch our shirts? Any help in making some sense out of this collection would be greatly appreciated!

The traveling chair

I absolutely love this series, "Rachel takes a trip" by Gavin Rea. Shot in New York, this story of the traveling chair has a beautiful way of marrying this piece of architectural furniture with the clothes so that they become one visual entity - when I first saw one of the images, I thought the chair was some sort of gigantic veil. Such a great departure of the norm that's out there right now - so refreshing.

Christian Siriano: he's back in the game

Last season, I was a bit harsh (i.e. "Christian Siriano up in smoke") on Project Runway alum, Christian Siriano's, fall 2010 collection. I think it was a coupling of the fog machine (which pretty much ruined any chances of a good runway shot) as well as a lack of what we know and love Siriano for - romantic details and an over-the-top finale. Well, this season, I am relieved to say, was magic: the Ralph Lauren-reminiscent bronze sequin gown (with a neckline to die for), champagne metallic suits, buttery leather capes and fluted shorts, and - of course - finale girls swathed in organza and chiffon.