Written by Sasha

TIFF is finally over and if I hear someone say “TIFF’ again I might have to sew their mouth shut. Sorry, it’s been a long ass week and I’m feeling fragile. But as promised, here’s my guide for a few things to look out for this season.

All in all, the red carpet attire was pretty boresville-- no major couture moments, no jaw droppers. Really, the only dress that had people talking was Carey Mulligan’s Christopher Kane. But being boring is almost a good thing when it comes to picking out what us simple folk can really wear. The trick about trends is you don’t want to be suckered in. I know we’ve all heard this before but I need to remind myself of this constantly. There will be some things you just can’t pull off. Deal with it and move on. The key is to take a cue from what you see and from there figure out how much or how little you want to apply it to your wardrobe.

So let’s start off with color. Besides the sea of black, the colors that seemed to prevail were ruby red and winter white. Now, red is a tricky one to pull off. I think if you’ve got dark/olive skin or a milky white complexion you are in luck, but for anyone in between, it’s a toughie. Again, you don’t have to bust out in a whole red ensemble a la Malin Ackerman but maybe a great pair of red shoes, like my love for Carey’s Prada’s.

Then there was white. We saw it on Megan Fox, Rachel Weisz, & Freida Pinto to name a few. And moving into spring 2011 A LOT of the designers were showing white again on the runways at New York Fashion week. So my style advice: incorporate one white piece for the season: a great knit sweater, a drapey blouse, or a great oversized (but tailored) shirt.

One of my favorite ‘real’ looks was Liv Tyler at the airport earlier this week. And it’s so simple, it’s literally three pieces: 1) a black blazer, 2) a white shirt and 3) jeans. I mean, it doesn’t get easier than that.

And as a side note, a great color combination for fall is combining dark blue and black -It’s really so pretty together.

Now onto another trend that I can already tell a lot of you will disagree with me on. I’m saying it……velvet. I remember distinctly saying last year that if there was one thing I would never wear, it would be velvet. But I’ve changed my mind. Whatever, back off, I’m fickle.

Hilary and Minnie both wore velvet to their premiere. Hilary pulled it off where Minnie I think missed the mark. Why? Well, for me it comes down to the thickness of the velvet. Minnie’s dress was really thin feeling and just ended up looking cheap whereas Hilary’s Pucci dress was thick and rich in texture which made a difference to me.

Okay, stay with me here because this is a doable trend. One of my favorite designers is a Canadian girl named Erin Kleinberg. Check out some of my standout selections from her fall collection, in, yes velvet. It’s as simple as a tiny hint on a lining of a cardigan. Just try it.

As for some reoccurring trends, there was a whole lotta shoulder action this week. Blake, Marion, Freida, Rosamund….the list goes on. I think after a couple of seasons we’ve got a good handle on this one, right? Email me if you’re still confused.

A heavier shoe or bootie is still making its mark. And of course short hemlines are still in circuit. But having said that, a really big movement is for longer length skirts and dresses so mix it up a bit.

I mean, obviously there are soooo many great things we can do this season; these are just a few that have stood out to me in the last 8 days. And if I can get real right now, after looking at so much fashion all I want to do is go home and burn everything I own.


Photos from Jason Merritt/Splashnewsonline.com and Punkd Images