Don't have the spare cash to invest in the Fall 08 hat/head piece craze? Don't worry, we're aware there's a recession coming on (or else you could definitiely drop thousands on a feather mohawk). If you haven't the energy to hit up the markets or vintage store's, Etsy's a gold mine. Remember: if it lends itself at all to 'crafty' you can find it on Etsy. Here's one hat that references the Fall 08 collections by Marc Jacobs (feathers), Monique Lhuillier (flappers) and James Coviello (hats) in one fell swoop. This classy piece of millinery is very inexpensive and we're pretty sure, if you tell people it's couture they won't blink an eye. Oh, fashion, you walk such a thin line!
There's nothing like some fun, independent design on a slow Monday morning. Mandate of Heaven is a line loved by many young, New York girls. Each garment is one of a kind and often created by recycling vintage pieces (we're talking hundred year old blouses, not Salvation Army bathrobes). The line is decidedly bombshell in spirit and offers wild young things an affordable avenue with which to stand out. Carissa Ackerman, who started the line while still in college, is most noticeable for her ability to make pin-up like silhouettes no matter the body type, as well as her dedication to costumery and decadence in fashion. That is, while we call Herrera nutso for putting a few feathers in some hats, Mandate of Heaven is employing tule and ribbon with reckless abandon.
The Herrera show just finished here at the tents, and damn if it wasn't pointed and dandy-esque. Long feathers emerged from hats, from the backs of frocks, from nowhere in particular. The message seemed directed at the sloppy, bed-headed generation of twenty-somethings. A certain maturity was exaggerated for A/W 08, perhaps simply because Herrera is no Betsey, and never adheres to an adolescent aesthetic. With Oscar to follow, it looks like today's a day for the grown-ups.
In addition to the boom of floral prints expected for Spring, we'll be seeing a lot of rose-colored frocks. Red is a classic color, and appears every season, but the most common shades this season are rose and poppy colored. So it seems, florals are back in more ways than one. Click through our gallery with rose and poppy colored garments from Carolina Herrera, Rebecca Taylor,Three As Four, Temperley, and Tracey Reese. To drive the point home, we've even included a few red floral prints.