*Runway: Balmain

For those who never heard of Balmain:
Pierre Balmain founded his exquisite namesake Parisian fashion house in 1945, dressing the likes of Ava Gardner and Brigitte Bardot.
After his death in 1982, a slew of designers took the helm including Oscar de la Renta, and now it's the turn of elegant French designer Christophe Decarnin.
Bringing a distinctly modern vibe to the label, the fashion pack are hankering after his crystal-embellished drummer boy jackets, super-skinny acid wash denim and studded high-waisted mini skirts.

His spring show is all about a mix of Native Americans and India.

Here some of my favourite pieces of the show:

Sources:

www.balmain.com

www.style.com

www.harpersbazaar.com

*Fashion: City dresses

In the last few years, city dresses have become the welcome alternative to the skirt and blouse under a jacket.

Simple shifts in beautiful colours and fabrics under an unconstructed cardigan-style jacket are both easy to wear and comfortable.

Against such a simple backdrop, you can add a finishing touch such as a striking necklace, a mixture of pearls and gold chains with earrings and look terrific (oversized jewels) and peep toe ankle heels.

Like all other items in your wardrobe, the fit of your dresses is very important.

A dress only looks elegant and businesslike if it is slightly loose, not figure-hugging. This is why you should choose fabrics of substance, such as wool, wool and cotton blends, linen, tightly-woven knits, challis, etc.

I have chosen 5 of my favourite dresses based on the current season:

(all these designer dresses are shown as example/directive, but there can be found lots of cheaper alternatives)

Asymmetric pleat dress, Marchesa

Cove Satin Dress, Zac Posen

Beaded cashmere tank dress, Michael Kors

Amber Mini Dress, Rachel Gilbert

Jeweled tank dress, Catherine Malandrino

Sources:

www.net-a-porter.com

www.vogue.com

www.zacposen.com

www.catherinemalendrino.com

*Runway: Alexander Wang

2009 has been a surprisingly good year so far for Wang.

His newest collection is a mix of tailoring and luxury, but tailoring and luxury laced with a savage thread.

The show contains jackets with sleeves edged in cubed metal rivets; leathers fringed with foxtails; and a trench with beastly toscana sleeves and croc flaps.

All accesoiries matched completely with the outfits; shoes, belts and bags.

Even with all that matchy-matchy, the polish, and the new maturity, his models stomped down the runway with their accustomed and almost dangerous sexiness.

It’s this unexpected mix that keeps the designer’s fans keep coming back for more!

Here some pictures:

Sources:

www.elle.com

www.style.com

www.vogue.com

www.alexanderwang.com

*Street style

The times when glossy magazines provided inspiration for the fashion-conscious and shopaholics are gone.

Street-style fashion blogs are popping up all over the world. From Berlin to Barcelona, from Munich to Moscow, from Hamburg Helsinki... self-proclaimed fashion bloggers are taking to the streets and snapping pics of people who they think have style.

Here, I made a collection of photos that celebrates both avant-garde style and individualism.

And the nice thing about spotting street styles, is that it shows photos from all kinds of women: from the stylish to personal individuals.

Sources:

www.elle.com

www.style.com

*Trend: peep toe ankle heels

There is something about a peep toe shoe that is irresistibly vampy and sophisticated.

The open-toe shoe has enjoyed a strong revival over the past few years, and fashion forecasts for 2008 indicate that the trend is expected to keep up its momentum over the next few seasons. This year, women can look forward to wearing the peep toe in retro-inspired looks as well as styles that have never been seen before.

Rupert Sanderson Oracle leather boots

Jimmy Choo nort shoe boots

Midory Heels

Violet Ankle heels by Corse cosmo

Burberry Studded heels by Burberry

Sources:

www.shoesclogs.com

www.christianlouboutin.com

www.maryjanesshoes.com

www.rupertsanderson.com

*Trend: oversized jewelry

Jewelry has its trends and its stages in fashion too...

So dig out those oversized jewels from your closet and wear them with pride this fall.

Keep attention, cuz this trend is kind of tricky if you're trying to exaggerate.

But luckily, every and each trend designers make us wear can be up- or downgraded, so I think there's a good chance of wearing even the oversized trend without looking like a blob rolling down the company hallway.

The main rule is to keep the rest of the outfit simple, so arrange your jewels with a good taste of clothing and you will definitely make an exquisite appearance.

Here a couple of pieces who are worth the investment:

Large anaconda cuff, Kara by Kara Ross

Coral cocktail ring, Kenneth Jay Lane

Diamond droplet earrings, Anita Ko

Silver Disc Bracelet, Phillipe Audibert

Triple Stand necklace, Christian Lacroix

Large stone ring, Roberto Cavalli

Sources:

http://www.anitako.com/

www.robertocavalli.com

www.style.com

www.kennethjaylane.net