Why are you reading this?

In the world of style, there’s just so much to follow. From one end, there are designer trends trickling down from the runway. At the other end of the spectrum, there are street trends bubbling their way up the fashion food chain. As a consumer, the trend information I ingest from fashion magazines, newspaper articles, television, store displays, and the like can be mind-boggling. To make things even more complex, this trend information can be downright contradictory at times. And more often than not, it doesn’t help me meet my daily challenge of find something good to wear in the morning. That is, an outfit that is:

1. Flattering.
2. Functional, and
3. (My holy grail of fashion) Makes me feel better about myself and/or life as I go about my day. I call these Power Outfits.

As a designer and stylist, however, it’s part of my job to sort through the commotion to discern what’s important. In the color world, is green just a short-term trend, or is it here to stay? Is pink Really the new black? I think not, but I do appreciate the dusty rose hues we’ll be seeing more of come fall.

Or how does a fashion trend, say controlled volume (a Big Thing on the runways for Fall 05) translate into something a normal non-model would want to wear? There’s the runway-to-reality translation (e.g. de-exaggerate the details, keep the style message). But then there’s the secondary translation that is so often forgotten: translating that trend to your body type, or personal architecture.

The good news for you? I’ll sort through the buzz so you don’t have to.

The cool thing (and perhaps, to others, one of the most annoying things) about style is that it’s so subjective. One person may love the bohemian hobo look, for instance, and another equally style conscious person might find it lacking. The moral of the story? Diversity is good. Especially diversity in opinion. It keeps things interesting. After all, what would the world be like if everyone dressed alike? I cringe at the thought.

So use the comments form. Tell me about Your Power Outfit(s). Let’s talk about style.