Lines & Tiger prints & Barely there nude ... oh my!

By popular demand... yea, really, popular AND demand... here is my list, synthesized after scrutinizing all the fashion 'zines, websites, and Project Runway reruns this fashionista can stand (which is quite a lot, lemme tell ya) ...

THE TOP TEN MUST-HAVES for the NEXT SIX MONTHS

1. Black & White -- preferably together in the same outfit. Now don't go getting all 80s on this look though. Keep it simple. One main choice, a few other accents. Crisp white linen little dresses, with eyelet lace particularly (see #5) will be huge. Black and white spectator pumps are hot. Oh... and please, NO all-white shoes before Memorial Day -- Easter if you're in a sunny clime. Anytime ONLY if you're south of the Equator. Otherwise, it's just not done, Alice.

2. Wedges -- Preferably cork-soled. Or solid-wood soled. Or sisal-soled. Anything earthy-soled. And the higher the better. Teeter 'til you totter girls. The impossibly high (and this said by a girl who regularly wears Manolo 104s) Christian Louboutin wedge espadrilles set the trend at the Paris Fall runway shows. Also anything that ankle-ties and winds up the leg a bit. Forget forking out the $700 those Louboutin puppies will cost you, though. Go to Target. Seriously. And do NOT crisscross those laces up your legs gladiator-style unless you have a tan and you've got the calves for it. And I do NOT mean cows in your back yard.

3. Kelly Green and Barely There Nude. These colors (um, is nude a color? Hey there was that "skin" colored crayon, right?) are absolutely everywhere. On jackets at Target and silk dresses on the Calvin Klein NY Fashion Week runway. Estee Lauder has even taken its classic Youth Dew and made it Youth Dew Amber Nude. This is not your Mama's cadillac fragrance. Just do NOT let me catch you wearing kelly green in an alligator polo. (Bernard Lacoste died last week. Um, shame.)



4. Wide, Wide Belts. These have moved up from the low-slung hipster thang, to the Marilyn Monroe waist-cinching thang. This is a shame. I have no waist. I'm trying, but it's just not there yet. It used to be. I used to be a little slip of a thing. Alas. Back in the day. If you are not now, or never were, said slip of a thing... skip this trend. The thinner YOU are, the wider your BELT is allowed to be. And very definitely vice versa. If you don't have the waist for it, swing low sweet chariot.

5. Skinny Jeans. Welcome back to the retro, zipper-leg look. Stella for H&M does a great pair that sits low enough on the waist that you don't feel like 2 pounds of potatoes in a 1-pound sack.

6. Pencil Skirts. I love this. In black or light patterns. The whole retro Euro sophisticate thing is coming back strong. Has been really since Fall '04. It has a bit of an 80s New Wave vibe to it... but think Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn with an edge. And no helmet hair.

7. Lace. Everywhere. Lace is the new ruffle. But do NOT let me catch you in lace ruffles. You'll see it on the models. It does NOT look good on you. Trust me on this. Unless you're Johnny Depp. See previous posts. Mix girly lace with something rough. Like on jeans. Or with a wife-beater tank. You get the idea.



8. Metallics. All that glitters is gold, in this case. Or silver. Bronze, not so much. Glam is great but keep it light. One piece at a time usually works. You want to be a bit flashy, not a flash in the fashion pan. Ballet flats or big bangles are a great way to wear the new metals without bronzing the eyeballs of onlookers.

9. Animal prints. The zoo is alive and well and living in your closet. Not so much the mammals this season. Mostly snakes. In addition to being on planes (see next post), they have been skinned and are all over bags and shoes. This is mostly a trend that's simply continuing from Fall -- but interestingly there's a lot of dyeing going on so we're getting lilac python and pink cobras. Hmmmm... could be a whole new Stupid Animal Horror Movie. (See next post.)

10. Hobo totes. Again a continuing trend from Fall and Winter. Summer sacks are straw, or woven, or lighter canvas ... but they are still chock full of buckles and bulges and bangly hardware. Personally, this trend saves my butt. I can travel around the world on what's in my bag at any given moment. Tiny little clutches might be just fine for some, but this diva prefers her bags BIG.

And there you have it. There are of course TONS of other trends. But that's my opinion on the "get it now" list.

So... go get it now!