London Fashion Week Fall 2010 - Burberry Prorsum

The Minx is a bit of a coat-and-jacket-a-holic. While it's true I tend to wear the same drab parka pretty much constantly, there are at least 6 others in my extremely small and cramped coat closet. At least three more are casually tossed in a corner of the spare bedroom. And let's not forget the closet full of blazers/jackets. But compared to the quantity in the Fall 2010 Burberry Prorsum collection, I have very few coats and jackets indeed.

I'd love to have the closet space for all of these:

London Fall 2010 Fashion Week - Basso & Brooke

Designing duo Bruno Basso and Christopher Brooke never fail to delight me, and this season is no exception. Inspired by a trip down the Silk Road, East met West in B&B's own cacophony of digital pattern. The garments forms are simple, but the overall effect is quite complicated and striking.

Drive-By Bags

I went to the American Craft Council show this week to get a little inspiration for my own line of beaded jewelry. But what I was really inspired to do was spend money! I was a good girl and limited myself to one purchase - a tote bag by Drive-By Bags & Things - both because it excited me and I've been looking for a new tote to haul my books and lunch and whatnot to work.

My groovy new tote bag is mostly solid black on one side, and a pattern of mostly yellow and red speckles on the other. The exciting part is that it was made from what used to be a billboard advertising Miller Genuine Draft. Yeah, a billboard. You know, those giant 48' x 14' foot advertisements that shout at us as we drive up and down highways. These things:

Once upon a time, these ginormous ads were printed on paper, but now they're on huge sheets of vinyl. Sturdy and lightweight, this stuff makes for great tote bags, lunch bags, messenger bags. It's a freakin' clever way to recycle something that would otherwise be a huge waste of materials and landfill space.

Oh, and see the bag below? It was made from the billboard above (I believe the "able" label is on the monkey in the lower right corner, near the words "May 22").

What's more, Jeff and Gail Greengard are really nice people. Check out Drive-By Bags for yourself at Drivebybags.com.

Ping Wu at the American Craft Council Show

I try to go to the American Craft Council Show every year, but have been negligent of late. I prefer to attend the wholesale days, when the crowds are smaller and I can chat more with the artisans. When I read that Ping Wu (season 7 Project Runway designer) was going to be selling her wares at the Baltimore ACC show, I made a point to attend this year. Although she was cut early from the competition, I could see that Ping is an extremely creative person and I was eager to see her offerings in person.

Not only is Ping creative, but she is a very, very clever gal. Her line of transformable winter accessories is astounding. She's created scarves that can be worn five different ways and as a hat. And as a shrug. She makes gloves/mittens with iPhone users in mind. Her knitted hats are unusual and adorable. As is Ping. Check out some of her designs at PingWuDesignStudio.com.

Ping is one of the sweetest people I've met in a long time. We chatted about selling wares on the Web, about her work, and basically everything except Project Runway. We did speak a bit about her experience with the various sites that allow viewer comments, and she expressed pleasure at the fact that Blogging Project Runway insists that only positive comments be left on posts about designers. Cuz the BPRs are nice like that. :)

Now I'm eager for her to get back home from her visit to Baltimore because I want her to make me one of those groovy convertible scarves (one not shown on her site...and patent pending!)

NY Fall 2010 Fashion Week - Matthew Williamson

I love the patterns that Matthew Williamson usually incorporates into his line. But for Fall 2010, there are fewer patterns and more solids and even tweedy numbers. Still gorge. Here are some of my favorites for the season.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards

The Orange British Academy Film Awards were held this past weekend and there were, as always, celebs wearing clothing worth talking about.

In the case of Rising Star Award winner Kristen Stewart, it was her hair that was most noticeable. As in - why didn't she bother washing it? Spend too much time with that Pattison dirtbag?

Kate Winslet is usually admired for her womanly figure, but she is currently as emaciated as any Hollywood starlet. For shame, Kate. I hope your excuse is that you are playing an anorexic in your next film.

I'm not sure if Jane Ross' dress clashes with her hair or the other way around.

I like the style of Jaime Winstone's dress, but I think the banding would have worked better if the fabric didn't resemble stretched out nude pantyhose so much.

That's just too much dress with too much pattern on gamine Carey Mulligan. It might have worked better as a mini, without the train.

The 80s are back, and they've taken Audrey Tautou hostage.

Anna Kendrick is wearing a cute dress, but I'm not really liking the color against her pale skin.

NY Fall 2010 Fashion Week - Anna Sui

As a huge fan of Art Nouveau, particularly the more geometric Wiener Werkstatte style and the Arts & Crafts Movement, I am ga-ga over Anna Sui's Fall 2010 collection, which is chock-full of the graphic sensibilities of that era. The patterns and colors are scrumptious, and while I can't imagine all that much of it being worn on the street, I love it all. Here are my favorites from the show.

NY 2010 Fall Fashion Week - Badgley Mischka

After a constellation of gowns came daywear with a modern geometric feel. It was as if two different designers were presenting on the same runway, which is almost the truth. Badgely Mischka presented not only their line of familiar sparklers so often seen on the red carpet but also their Mark & James line of contemporary fashions. An odd juxtaposition, perhaps, but all interesting, pretty, wearable.

Here are some of my favorites.