Category Archives: Fashion

Parisian Epiphany

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Anyone who knows me to some small degree knows that if I could declare a love affair with a place it would be Paris.  Consider that opener a declarative admission because it’s entirely true.  Once settled into our accommodations, walking around the city with my partner, tears of joy stream down my face in appreciation for the ability to travel to a place where it feels as though I am traveling back in time to a past life where the familiarity of Paris keeps calling me back home.

We’re here for two weeks on this trip, and the first week is nearly complete.  This post is a rather personal one, and it’s intended to be because I want to share an epiphany of sorts about how coming to Paris pushes my life forward into the future by persuading me to come to terms with the past and to fuse together all parts into one.  Heady stuff for a vacation, but it’s Paris, a place of heady stuff: culture, cuisine, commerce, and couture.

The epiphany relates to design, another key element to what makes me tick.  Largely self-taught, I’m a steady student, looking for any opportunity to keep learning.  You’d think that when I come to Paris, Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, Madeleine Vionnet, Jean Paul Gautier, and other luminary Parisian fashion designers would be my main influencers.  On most days it would be true.

But this trip to Paris, we’ve been studying the architecture of Paris, and the result of this intensive approach has lead to a sudden intuitive leap of personal understanding.

Let me share it with you. Two architects in particular have done more to advance modern architecture and used Paris as their sandbox.  Hector Guimard and Le Corbusier completely transformed the way buildings were constructed in the 20th century and what I learned about their approaches to design has so much in common with my approach to design – only they designed structures, and I help to improve people’s personal structures, you might say.

Guimard is known as the man who brought the Art Nouveau style to architecture in France, particularly in Paris’ upscale 16th arrondissement starting before World War I.   What was so wonderful about his design work was that he designed not just the exterior of the buildings, but every detail of the interiors as well.  In fact, because he wanted apartment buildings to be unique, he would ensure each unit had it’s own special layout so no two in one building were exactly alike.  Even post World War I, when prosperity and resources had diminished, Guimard stayed true to his concept redefining how Art Nouveau architecture would be created.  The net effect on the city of Paris is that when you see curved facades on 20th century built, Haussmann styled architecture, a nod is owed to Guimard for having brought about this changed aesthetic.

The Swiss born Le Courbusier [a name he adopted] took the same approach as Guimard, but with the result of very different looking structures.  Le Corbusier was a minimalist, only incorporating into a structure what it needed to function.  Interestingly enough, Le Corbusier was very concerned with his interior spaces as well.  Of course, his eponymous home furnishings are legendary.  But he also collaborated with a certain cabinetmaker to create bookshelves that would accommodate books of varying sizes.  He always ensured ways of bringing natural light into every space, had metal and glass cut to exacting specifications, and even worked on creating exacting color palettes to maximize the effects of the spaces he designed.

It hit me like a ton of bricks [no pun intended] that Guimard’s and Le Corbusier’s designs – accounting for a structure’s interior and exterior – is just like how I bring balance to my clients’ interiors and exteriors.  Just as a home’s interior is its soul, I must be true to my clients’ interiors to be true to their facades.  By respecting this client trust, my design integrity is maintained.  Now I’m not running through Paris fancying myself a Guimard or a Le Corbusier.  But studying their challenges and successes inspire me to keep working at this level of thinking, feeling, and sensing.  It all worked for Guimard and Le Courbusier to the benefit of their clients, and it seems to be working for mine.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

How Many Image Tips Do You Need?

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Does that question perplex you or make you laugh as much as it makes me laugh?  Well, maybe you don’t know just how much that does make me laugh.  And I have to tell you that sometimes it just makes me howl with laughter.  Not because some people need so much help that they may be beyond help.  That’s just catty.  I’m not beyond being catty, by the way.  It’s just that as a keen observer of people, it’s more in my giving nature to want to help.

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Ladies Eighties Evocation: Fall 2009 Fashion

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This is a season of multiple messages, and it’s no wonder, as the designers had a few things on their minds at the time they were designing the fall collections. It was definitely time to escape from the economic woes that were reaching epidemic proportions about this time last year.

As has been the case for the past year now, absent from the runway have been some of the more avant-garde and opulent creations. It’s still awkward to exhibit one’s affluence, even though designer customers still seek out and want to enjoy luxury. This remains a time for austerity through design. Some of the best designs this season – and no doubt priciest – are those created by designers who exercised such restraint by paring down a piece while utilizing fabrics and leathers so refined, perhaps only the wearer is aware of the high quality goods.

Ruching [fabric that is typically gathered into a ruffle or pleats] is easily one of the most important designer details of the season. Simple to look at, complex in design, ruching is a design motif that gives the look of “a little bit more” during a time when people are thinking of living with “a little bit less.” With this visual element, designers are signifying that life and fashion do go on and that their customers should still aspire to live in comfort. A little fashion along the way will help get over the tough times.

This season, the designers are time traveling us back to the eighties and the women’s power look. Though designers are telling their clientele it’s time to return to classic styling and tailoring, referencing the eighties as a point of stimulation, resulted in the creation of fashions in the present tense that will serve today’s modern sensibilities. Power messages this season are most prevalent in silhouette, primarily anything triangular with strong shoulders and a belted waist.

The power punch continues with an emphasis on looking tough. Motorcycle jackets, studded leather accessories, and even fringed bags will give a girl of any age that rebel spirit. Sometimes the toughness turns a bit more utilitarian, as in dressing in country tweed fabrics.

Many designers used pops of fluorescent color to highlight their collections, especially the use of ‘caution’ orange, a color most women won’t wear unless they’re incarcerated! Speaking of caution, beware of the trend to show lots of skin this season, or perhaps to shroud it beneath a swathe of mesh or lace. Sure, you’ll see it in the magazines this fall, but it could cost you at the office. Reserve looks like these for evenings out.

As more designers are consolidating their efforts, combining themes between women’s and men’s collections, it’s doubtful that some styles seen as feminine by today’s standards will become a hit on the men’s side anytime soon. So this season, look for puffy accents, in sleeves and skirts. And for evening, stand tall in a tulle dress. Fashion will rescue the damsel in distress.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Fall Fashion: Fortification for Men

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Fall is fast approaching and the stores are filling with fresh fall fashions. Unlike past seasons when designers mused of men’s fall from masculinity, this season shows new signs of strength – and of survival – for the modern man.

Internationally celebrated designers created the current collections during the worst economic downturn in recent history, and it shows. The resulting designs aren’t a public pity party about the current value of the world’s currencies or about loss of wealth. Rather, designers seem to be cheerleading their customers to victory with timeless, if iconic, menswear pieces to rebuild their images as the new modern man: a tough guy who’s emotionally stable, yet tinged with the mid-century ethos of doing the right thing for the good of all. It’s a tall order, but so is the return of prosperity after emerging from an economic emergency.

Whatever the crisis leveled on the average man, it consolidated the efforts of the designers who dress them. Men are now focused on keeping a job or getting one. Designers know this, and as if an economic bomb dropped on Western civilization, they reacted to the resultant new way of living by preparing collections to help men achieve their goals. As a man this season, wearing certain key items will keep you looking current in your quest to get made, laid, or paid.

When it comes to tailored clothes, keep it classic. The double-breasted suit made a strong catwalk comeback because its strong-shouldered silhouette says, “I’m serious about business.” While the season’s tailored items are all about sartorial structure, suited for corporate dragon slaying, slouchy sweaters convey calm, cool collectedness once the workday has ended. Try an atypically long cardigan or sweater-jacket, or put on a familiar Fair Isle crewneck, something well worn that Grandma would have knit for you.

Contemporary wingtip shoes smartly compliment a strong suit. Whether black, cordovan, or brown choose a pair with a sturdy leather sole and a toebox that’s right for your personal style. Choose carefully to look current, or risk looking like an outdated and overbearing curmudgeon.

Footwear fashions extend to boots, too. Menswear retail buyers think men need to take a hike or a ride – as long as he’s in Americana Style boots. Motorcycle and suede desert boots are great for more than biking or traipsing through sand dunes. Moreover, with wear and weather they become evermore comfortable. Another great thing about this season’s boot selection is that if chosen well, one could be worn with a suit. Just promise not to wreck them because doing so would eliminate them as a wearable option with a suit.

Outerwear is so important for fall, and the peacoat is a must have. Peacoats give this great look of structured strength on the exterior, a nod to military might. Once indoors and when unbuttoned or removed, a modern man can wow everyone with his softer side. Get your motor running by showing your tough side with a leather motorcycle jacket. From stiff to soft grades of leather, you can look like a total badass or a bit more the strong, sensitive type.

It’s a season of gray goods, which is good for the men who look great in gray garb. A great thing about gray is that there’s a gray suited for most people, from greenish cement gray, to cool bluish gray, to dark charcoal. So complex are some fabrics, some grays are even toasted, ranging from khaki or taupe in their lighter form, to blatant brown-gray blends. Gray has been on the recent fashion scene making the statement of cool ease, but this fall it represents steely strength. From suits to sweaters and everything else that completes a man’s wardrobe, gray makes this strong steadfast statement, and compliments the season’s perky palette.

Designers like Paul Smith, known for his prolific use of color, played with a palette of yellow and red, contrasting with a gray theme. Relying on varying twill textures, his collection took on a town and country attitude. At super luxe fashion house Hermes, gold and red was also de rigueur, juxtaposed against the passivity of gray and navy, and the fighting spirit of khaki. Dolce & Gabbana used lots of black and white with touches of ink, berry, and red hues, perfect for the self-indulgent narcissist to show off to everyone else and say, “Look at me!”

This is just the point of men’s fall fashions. It’s a time to bolster visual appearance so others pay attention to the new well-tailored man with dreams and goals of prosperity. Clothes, such as what are available this fall, certainly do help to make and transform the man.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Nothing Sells Confidence (and Coats) Like a Coat

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A brou haha is brewing about how to dress in the White House’s Oval Office. ABC’s “Nightline” could make this an interesting ‘sign of the times’ segment instead of talking about moobs (man-boobs) as they did last night.

The former Oval Office occupant, George W. Bush, had a hard and fast rule: no one enter the Oval Office without sporting a jacket, out of historical respect for the office of the presidency. This is one policy of Bush’s I absolutely liked. Ironically in 2005, with Bush’s dress-up policy in place, a group of female athletes famously appeared at the White House in flip-flops, causing a flap between pearl clutchers and fashion bugs. But the real issue then had nothing to do with a war of the classes and not so much to do with fashion, but whether they dressed appropriately.

Now enter the era of Obama. In just four weeks, the new leader of the free world seemingly suspended Bush’s sartorial rule of decorum in favor of a more at ease appearance. Photographs of the president in the Oval Office sans suit jacket suggest a man with different priorities. Perhaps his objective is to reduce the feeling of being in a pressure cooker, especially given the daunting economic and global crises he and his administration are tasked to resolve. It’s just more comfortable at times for high level executives — even a president — to remove jackets and to the business at hand.

Sandra Bernhard cracked a good joke during her “I’m Still Here Damn It” Broadway show about presidential jackets. Paraphrasing, she exclaimed that while Predident Clinton always had his jacket off in the Oval Office, President Reagan never knew he even was wearing a jacket. Even in jest, there is an ebb and flow to shoulders and lapels, to Oxxford, and to Hart Schaffner Marx in the White House.

As an image mentor who helps executive men and political figures develop a strategy for looking confident, I’ll say President Obama does look self-assured sitting at his Oval Office desk without wearing a coat. He seems to convey intelligence that does not require the sartorial assistance of a jacket. However, one of his top jobs as president is to instill consistent confidence in the American people during these turbulant times. And when it comes to non-verbal queues like clothing, nothing sells confidence like a coat.

There is a time and a place for a president to appear in public without wearing a coat. The interview President Obama gave Matt Lauer during the Superbowl was a perfect example of dressing down for the right occasion without losing his presidential appeal. The setting was a 21st century fireside chat, having taken place in the Map Room of the White House, with a lit fireplace audibly crackling in the background.

But back to the Oval Office, no matter who occupies it today or in the future, wearing a jacket isn’t just a good Bush policy. It’s a good public policy for the president to be wearing a suit coat in the Oval Office. At the very least, if he is going to be photographed or videoed in this space, he should sport a coat, if not for his own comfort, than for the comfort of the American people. The comfort of the American people rests in his ability to deliver a confident message. There might be a feeling like the ‘weight of the world’ rests on Mr. Obama’s shoulders. But a man with his charisma should be able to support enough weight to wear a jacket for a public photo-op in the Oval Office.

>>>>>>>

p.s. If the president takes my advice to task, he’d be doing the beleagured apparel and retail industries a great service. Maybe people would take their business meetings more seriously and coat sales would improve because people want to show respect for their counterparts. Must the First Lady be the only resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to be a positive trendsetter?

Designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Showing Up Appropriately is Better than Just Showing Up

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It’s the end of a year most of us would describe as ‘tough’. Regardless of how one would characterize one’s circumstances, it’s blatantly obvious to onlookers when today’s current cultural malaise translates into pure sloppiness on individuals everywhere.

A concern friends share is about being judged negatively by my discerning eyes when we get together for dinner or for an event. I insist that unless they’ve engaged me, I’m not there to pass judgment. While this is true, it is also true that if people are in my line of vision, I am going to have a look! It’s a curiosity of mine to see how people present themselves to the world.

Why is it that a woman finds it acceptable to carry a great bag while the rest of her outfit is in shambles? Somehow the bag makes up for the disaster she’s wearing? When I observe this combination, it makes me immediately question whether the bag is even real. It may be a totally unfair characterization, but if I’m questioning this as a professional, think of the numerous average people affected by the very same impression.

Just back from vacation on the Hawaiian island of Maui, a place where dressing casually is customary, I was hardly surprised that even the finest restaurants on the island do not require formal attire. While staying in the luxurious Wailea area, it was easy to spot countless women who forgot all about putting themselves together for their $150 per person dinners but they managed to drag out their designer handbags. But where were their coordinating shoes? What about their outfits? With all the spas and salons in every hotel property, it was inexcusable to see so many women turn out for a chic presentation of cuisine without looking a bit chic – albeit still casual – themselves.

And the men! If the women are having so many image issues, you know the men are not far behind. There are fewer obvious resources available to men. The silk print short sleeve shirts of a ubiquitous fashion seem to fit overweight men better than they are attractive or stylish for nearly any man. Men need to do a bit of work to individualize themselves, but once they do a little ‘style soul searching’ (perhaps even with my expert help) they’ll be able to even travel to Maui looking casual and chic when it’s appropriate to show up that way.

There are many times in our day to day lives when just showing up is not enough. Put effort into showing up appropriately, and enhance your social experiences.

Designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

 

Into the Closet

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If the faltering economy is preventing you from looking fashion forward, now is the perfect time to take stock of what’s lurking in your clothes closet. Over the years of auditing clients’ closets, I have been concerned about the crazy consumption on clothing left unworn, or not worn enough to have warranted the purchase in the first place. It’s time to get back into the closet and get your wardrobe organized.

Carol Stephen, owner of Stephen Organizing Services in Sunnyvale, and I dished about the disorganization we both see in our clients’ closets, and therefore in their lives. Without naming names and outing our honored clients, we had a heart-to-heart about helping them both in the closet, and out. “Usually, I don’t see any organization,” Carol said of the spaces clients hire her to manage. “There’s stuff on the floor, on the bed, on exercise equipment. So there’s no underlying structure.” This might tempt a person to reach for the Calgon bath, but it won’t clear the clutter.

Stephen says the top mistake people make with their clothes closets is “they keep stuff because they paid a lot of money” for various clothing items but that “it doesn’t lift their spirits. Usually when they get rid of it they feel a lot better.” I couldn’t agree more. Often people buy something new to lift their spirits – call it retail therapy – but if the item wasn’t purchased to coordinate or to complete a look it tends to hang in the closet with the price tag attached as a constant reminder of buyer’s remorse. Carol, whose positive spirit is as breezy as a day at the beach, encourages clients to rid their closets of these items so “something great can come into their lives.”

Another reason for the closet chaos is that people “hold onto things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes they think – like with shoes – they’re going to break them in. I’ll just wear them a little longer and they’ll get comfortable,” she said while kindly imitating the good intentions of a client. Apparently not enough people know the rule to shop for shoes after 5:00 p.m., when feet are as swollen as they will be after being active all day. Also there’s a correlation between clutter and weight. “People whose weight vary a lot have a lot of different sized things; so it’s harder to organize,” she claims. “When they let go of things, it’s weird, but that’s when they start losing weight. When they get something that’s really gorgeous and appropriate, they can finally see the difference.”

Then there is the issue of holding onto clothing that’s not age appropriate. “They’re missing out on the beauty that is their age,” says Carol, who has lived just long enough to use herself as an example of appropriately maintaining a youthful appearance. “Accessorize at Forever 21, just don’t buy your whole wardrobe there,” she advises women clients, and says everyone needs to let go of the past. I concur with Carol and think it’s helpful to assess what your goals in life are so you can think about how you want to project yourself as you currently are rather than as you were in college.

The key to organizing the wardrobe is to develop a system. Carol warns against purchasing a closet system without first inventorying what you have. Even trying to decide between organizational systems leads to a lot of confusion, she says. Even if all you have to work with at first is a closet rod, at the very least figure out a way to group items by clothing category or color. For a more sophisticated wardrobe, try to group items by wardrobe cluster. Separate items that you won’t wear again until next spring and summer from the ones you need to wear through fall and winter. If all else fails and you’re ready to pull your hair out, seek out the services of one of us well-organized types.

Carol was known by her peers at such companies like Sun Microsystems, Hewlitt Packard, and 3Com to be quite organized. As a technical writer, “I had to be organized for my job. So I started helping my family and friends. Writing is lonely work, especially technical writing. You can get there when it’s dark, see no one all day and get home when it’s dark.” Somehow through the darkness, she saw the light and nuanced her natural talent into a viable vocation. “I’d like to encourage people to just let go of things. Most of the time, they’re not even going to remember that they owned a particular item. The closet does not need to be so stuffed.”

Organizing Tips:
1. Find items rarely or never worn and look for items in the closet to wear with them. If you don’t find good combinations, let them go.
2. Eliminate items that are not the right fit, color, or age appropriateness.
3. Create separate spaces for seasonal clothes.
4. Organize what’s left by style, color, work-related, non-work casual
5. Invest in a closet system once the wardrobe has been inventoried and you know what needs to be organized to make your ‘look’ and your life easier.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

The Third Season Trifecta: Traditions, Trends, and Trials

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With the world in such a state of monetary mystification, political perplexity, and societal shake-ups, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll be yearning for change, whether in your hand or on your body. Change is fashion’s raison d’être and this season proves to be as good as any to embody the concept. Let’s take a journey through fall’s fashion maze, a full range of mainstays and mayhem. Some will be eminently wearable, while others will be costumes beyond compare. Through the sublime and the silly, we’ll make sense of fall’s fashions for men.

Traditions, as fashion trends, are always rife with retrospection. Jean Paul Gautier, Junya Watanabe, and Lanvin each sent looks down their runways, redefining look of The Gent as rite of passage. Young men, topped off in bowler derby hats and wearing tailored coats, cravats, and chunky soled shoes, were caricatures of grown-ups from a by-gone era. Other designers, like Michael Kors, Valentino, and Paul Smith, made the vest one of their best accessories. Whether it’s a knit sleeveless cardigan worn with a tweed jacket, the third piece of a superb suit, or a contrasting colored and lapelled piece layered to foppish effect, the vest’s been treated with an attitude adjustment that should make it popular for lesbians and lads alike.

Viktor & Rolf even took a traditional tone, and reworked the white tuxedo shirt into one that could be worn in a non-traditional manner. The thought process even paid new attention to the bow tie. Burberry Prorsum went metallic, Neil Barrett did a classic black bow and white shirt with skiwear, and Ralph Lauren’s guy looked like a sexy paper delivery boy, complete with sneakers.

Designers create trends to transmit themes and entice customers to try (and buy) something new. This fall’s fads should influence men to look fearless. Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and Z Zegna showed shaggy and sheared coats in bold designs, and with broad shoulders. The sweater, nearly non-existent for numerous seasons, has made a huge reappearance in a wide array of styles: from fresh and fluffy, flamboyant fisherman looks to classic ski looks for the most fearless of downhill skiers. We could all use a dose of fearless fashion this fall.

Along with fearlessness, boldness continues with this season’s punchy plaids. Costume National showed a bold plaid coat over a somber gray outfit. D & G took the hunter’s approach with a Scottish plaid jacket with over-the-top plaid pants, while Paul Smith put his best plaid forward, toning down a plaid vest and pant with an earthy, solid, tweed jacket. Less colorful, but bold nonetheless, the edgy black-on-black look emerges from the shadows this season. Black leather, velvet, silk, wool, and cashmere have been mixed masterfully, creatively showing bright and dull, flat and textured, monochromatic effects in looks ranging from the Nancy Boy to Gangsta.

And now for trials. These would be this season’s edgiest lines for men. Trials are truly experimental, envelope-pushing fashions that shed light on what’s happening in the world. Often they belong on mannequins rather than on men. The slim styles shown by lines like D Squared have a narrow audience. Collections from Bottega Veneta and Yohji Yamamoto are going baggy, bucking the bonier styles, showing the opposing extreme. The pattern mixing shown by Etro and Dries van Noten are creative, complex, and memorable. Though not likely to be worn by many, plenty would consider sending them up a flag pole or two. Two rabble-rousing designers defied convention. Raf Simons, and particularly Muccia Prada, brought gender-bending clothes to the runway, complete with a bikini bottom peeking out of a pair of pants and a bralette!

Whatever your desire, the designers have successfully updated what modern men’s clothes should look like. The choices available this season make it easy to play it safe, take a chance, or throw all caution to the wind.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Fall 2008 Women’s Runway Wrap-Up: Recession Proof

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A year ago, fashion designers in Milan, Paris, and New York all must have been advised by the same crystal ball that foretold tough economic times. The collections, presented in February and early March, are right on target for the state of our world, showing great insight into the psyche and savvy of many a designer’s mind, as well as our very own. Ultimately, the fashions fall into two factions. Most designers put forth practical designs as proof of the recession, while a minority of others opted for opulence for their recession-proof clientele. Let’s take a look.

The first fashion shows took place in New York, an equally fitting place for a financial meltdown as it is for fashion materialism. Three collections stand out as examples of the New York state of mind. At Ralph Lauren, urban urgings gave way to exurban escapism. Who saw the gritty economic graffiti on the proverbial brick wall when Ralph created these get-out-of-town looks? Inspired by his own Colorado ranch, he deftly drew upon plaids and paillettes to merge the “Rocky Mountain High” and high-rise city attitudes. In stark, recession proof contrast, Oscar de la Renta was showing rich, opulent, fur-trimmed cashmeres and complementing wools, including a fitted pleated skirt, a mainstay for this season. The first-rate clothing, worthy of First Ladies, carries a price tag worthy of a bailout. BCBG Max Azria shows signs of what’s to come from Europe: fresh, flirty and feminine looks awash in neutral tones. Body consciousness is inconspicuously introduced, save for belts and slightly skimming silhouettes.

Across the Atlantic, the Milanese designers channeled inspiration from the 1970’s and the 1990’s to create very different looks to get us through tough times. At Prada, a lace remnant was the foundation for an entirely feminine cache of clothes. The dark neutral palette was punctuated by pale blue and metallic. Lace was layered to offer transparency through a garment while covering up the body’s shape, creating a harmonious contradiction. The look is feminine, yet not overtly sexy, and reminiscent of the austere times of the early 1990’s. Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana took to the London streets of the 1970’s. Gucci resurrected and glammed up its London rock chick with Russian tapestry textiles, chains, fringe, and charm-like baubles worthy of a ruble-rich Russian rock star. Dolce & Gabbana gave their girls touches of town tailoring tinged with country chic checks and texture. The resulting looks ranged from boyish Bohemian to rustic romanticism, perfect for London, circa 1970’s, or for today’s toned-down times.

The Paris shows continue to prove it’s a place of inspiration, if not outright optimism. At Dior, John Galliano set the tone with cheery bright color, in uncharacteristically understated get-ups that seem to channel Jackie Kennedy. Galliano’s girls showed his theatrical side with temperamentally heavy eye makeup. But the abundance of paillettes and embroidery make it a party-ready collection. Over at Louis Vuitton, American designer Marc Jacobs made girl dresses for grownups. The collection was sober yet sophisticated, echoing the elegance of a sculptural silhouette and a perfectly fitting full skirt with a waistband fit to a T. Even luxe Lanvin took a practical approach. Albert Elbaz showed restraint in a tight color palette of black, navy, and metallics. His nifty use of grosgrain ribbon as a fabric simultaneously showed restraint and opulence, and huge jewelry helped to hammer home a bit of escapism, making us forget about everyday reality.

Especially entertaining during difficult days, the fantasy that is fashion can keep us rooted in reality and enable us to escape. So while we may be tempted to tighten our belts when it comes to buying fashions, it still pays to find some femininity this season and wear it for all it’s worth.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Paris, Here We Come!

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We’re just about packed, thank goodness. I’ve had an enjoyable time contemplating what to pack for a two week wintertime trip to the City of Lights. Paris is a city that can bring out the romantic in just about anyone. For me, that means packing enough clothes to look and feel special without going overboard. For example, nothing that we’re doing will require formal attire; so I’ve packed no neckwear, not even a suit.

I’d describe the overall mood of what I packed as ‘sophisticated-sexy,’ with leather shirts, body-conscious knit sweater tops as highlights with beautifully colored, patterned shirts, and even a gorgeously textured and versatile sport coat, for a few dressier occasions. So I plan to be chic yet comfortable, fashionable and sexy, enjoying Paris with my partner. What on Earth could be better?

As you can tell, the trip has all ready begun. Preparing and packing is actually when the trip begins. And, if you give yourself ample time for packing, it can be a totally enjoyable experience. You can envision when you’ll wear one particular outfit, and where you will be when you get the chance to wear another, and so on. Clothes are such an obvious part of our daily lives that making selections can seem mundane. But here I found myself wowed with my selections and looking forward to chilly, rainy Paris.

More soon, from Paris!!!