Putting on the glitz

From glitter to snakeskin, fall accessories will help you amp up your wardrobe. Thigh-high boots are being kicked to the curb in favour of much more wearable but still sexy knee-high boots, while practical yet chic shoulder bags resplendent in details are must-haves.
"Accessories are very luxe and polished this season," says Anna Alfonso, senior marketing manager of the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. Designers have liberally sprinkled glitter, sequins and rhinestones over their creations. "We're also seeing lots of dimension and texture, such as snakeskin, crocodile skin and alligator skin, as well as animal prints."
Put your best foot forward this fall beginning with the hottest trends in footwear. Alfonso lists some favourites:
- Lace-up booties with wedge heels look great paired with a dress and tights
- Harness boots featuring plenty of buckles, ideal with jeans for a casual look
- Dramatic shoes featuring detailed heels (spikes, bling, animal prints and bows) and bright colours like fuchsia and royal blue ramp up a conservative suit
- Heeled loafers offer a new take on the penny loafer with stiletto and stacked heels for a polished look
- Riding boots, always a classic look
There's also a new bag in town this fall: the structured handbag in rectangular and square silhouettes. Its strong and crisp clean lines are a welcome break from slouchy hobos and can be worn in both sophisticated and casual settings. "They're very chic and we're seeing them in rust, a red-orange mix perfect for fall," says Alfonso. Jewellery is making a bold statement this season, with big, unusual and colourful pieces. "We're seeing lots of intricate details, with gems, jewels and shine," she says.
Fashion expert Janette Ewen, a stylist at Vaughan Mills, a shopping centre just north of Toronto, identifies several strong accessories trends:
Snakeskin: It's being used in unique ways this season. "It's definitely on footwear. We're seeing lots of brown and red dyed snakeskin," she says. "It has an edgier feel than in seasons past. Shoes are chunkier and stronger. It's also kinda quirky, such as snakeskin socks."
Navajo: This earthy-cool style is evoked by fringe, beading, feathers and denim. "It's so pretty," says Ewen. She suggests pairing a Navajo print wedge and a necklace with a feather with an all-black outfit. It's sure to inject any ensemble with a dash of cool. Southwestern cowboy: A bit of a different spin on the Navajo look, this new fashion frontier won't mark the return of cowboy boots, but instead features more sophisticated accessories like Western-style fedoras. "It's a really new trend that will probably get bigger next spring," Ewen says.
Sequins and sparkle: What makes this trend fresh is that it's no longer for evening only. Think sequined shoes worn with jeans and an off-the-shoulder sweater. "We're also seeing a sparkle shoe mixed with velvet for a very brocade, Baroque style," says Ewen. "Shoes are layered with sequins and lace in jewel tones. We're also seeing velvet booties."
As with most trends, the key to pulling off the hottest new looks is to never go overboard, style experts warn.

Get ready for new season shoes

Ceri Roberts writes: We’re kicking up our heels at the thought of buying some new shoes for autumn.
Any shoe addict will tell you that this is the most exciting time to hit the shops. High street stores are full to bursting with fabulously wearable winter boots and we’re also beginning to get a look at the sexy shoes that will see us through the party season.
So what should we be looking out for?

Well the good news is that the high street has really come up trumps this season and the Mary Portas collection for Clarks had nailed most of the key trends.

The La Magdalene stiletto in fuchsia pink and lipstick red has been the runaway hit of the collection with more than 1,000 frustrated shoppers on the waiting list prior to the launch.

Although the heel is high at 110mm, the slim platform and underfoot cushioning mean that they're much more comfortable than they look.

If a new pair of boots is at the top of your list now that we're getting into autumn, then copy Jennifer Aniston and go for a pair of wedge ankle boots. Wedges are still a popular choice because they're so much easier to wear than stilettos: they look great with skirts or trousers, are comfortable enough to wear for work and stylish enough for a night out.

For a fashion-forward look head to Topshop for some leopard print wedges, or keep things classic like Jen and choose a sleek shape in classic black.

Most fashion editors agree that Miu Miu has come up with the shoe of the season with its stunning glitter and suede peep-toe ankle boots.

These beauties have already been responsible for driving otherwise right-minded women crazy with shoe lust - we blame it on the sparking silver glitter and totally of-the-moment banana-shaped heel.

At £555 they are firmly out of most people's reach, so we're very jealous of Alexa Chung who has a pair in black.

Luckily, Office does a similar style for a fraction of the price - so we say opt for these unless you can persuade someone else to, er, foot the bill.

If you're so good at walking in heels that you could teach Victoria Beckham a thing or two, then a pair of ‘pencil heels' should be at the top of your new season shopping list.

These lethal-looking beauties from Kurt Geiger aren't for the fainthearted, but they're a real statement shoe.

Again, they're not cheap at £295 - but if you're buying a heel that's this high and this skinny then it's worth spending some money to make sure that they don't snap as soon as you step out of the cab that you'll need to transport you from door to door.

Finally, fans of knee-high boots will be pleased to hear that they're back with a vengeance this season. Instead of flat riding boot styles look for a Seventies-influenced shape with a stack heel. We can't guarantee that they'll make you look exactly like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, but beige-toned boots will make your legs seem like they go on for miles.

If you prefer a darker colour avoid black and choose berry colours, dark green or navy instead - they work brilliantly with this season's retro look.

Happy shoe shopping!

Hart of Dixie Fashion Guide

Hart of Dixie Fashion Guide for Rachel Bilson's Dr. Zoe Hart and Jaime King's Lemon Breeland

Rachel Bilson is a total fashionista, so you better believe that her character of Dr. Zoe Hart on The CW's Hart of Dixie is going to be wearing some fashionable attire.

In the Hart of Dixie pilot, we see a big difference between Zoe (the City Mouse) and Lemon (the Country, Southern Bell Mouse.) While Zoe sticks to dark colors, Lemon embodies everything that is overly girly, embellished, and frou frou.

For one outfit, Zoe wears an Anagram shirt, Chanel jacket, Marc Jacobs shorts and Valentino Shoes. The entire palette is refined and sophisticated. Later on we see her in a Veronique Leroy jacket, cropped Veronique Leroy pants, Theory shirt, and Alexander Wang brown wedge sandals.

As for Jaime King as Lemon Breeland, you'll spot her in a vintage dress with ruffles, accessorized by a Kate Spade necklace, belt and shoes. Kate Spade is known for being a cheerful, bold line with feminine appeal. And seriously, that dress? Wouldn't you love to do some twirls in it? It's the ultimate tea party couture.

We'll be continuing our Hart of Dixie fashion coverage and weekly episode reviews on Small Screen Scoop. So subscribe and get ready to enjoy this show!

Road test

I can think of five spots around town that are tricky traffic situations. I will spare you three.
One is at Rising Sun Avenue and Martins Mill Road, where if you turn right at the green light, in a very few yards you are confronted with another light, which is invariably red. Out-of-towners will be momentarily stumped. (The heart of Northeast Philly is not a good place for reflection on the vagaries of highway logic.) My friend Rich, who lives on the next block, says the correct answer is to proceed through the second light—which seems clear enough to me now that I know!
The second sticky-wicket is at Shoppers Lane near Cheltenham and Ogontz. This one is definitely a civil engineering goof. They have two left turn lanes feeding into a large parking area that serves a Shop Rite, Target, and The Home Depot—and as a matter of fact the leftmost of the two lanes leads to nowhere. (It was intended to siphon overflow parking, but that was a bad idea and they have yellow school buses parked there now.) You have to merge into the right lane at some point in order to proceed to your happy paint brush purchase.

I noticed today that the locals handle the latter situation in one of two ways. There is the group that sticks to the right, either from some upper-story rectitude (see Francis Schaeffer), or fear of the Lord, or fear of drivers in the right lane who, having made "the right choice," are now in no mood to reward you for your selfishness in trying to muscle in. The other group, a minority (usually in cars vibrating visibly with deep bass sounds), speed past the idling do-gooders on their starboard side, and manage somehow to wedge into the narrowed artery.
My concern is for the innocent alien, the Philadelphia first-timer, the unsuspecting motorist from Montana, who, heaven forbid, dutifully but ignorantly applies his brakes at the Rising Sun Avenue light after turning right at Martins Mill. He will be lucky to escape with a chorus of angry car horns—and very unlucky indeed if the incident happens after the Phillies lose (or win) a World Series.
It is well for us to remember the times when we have been out-of-towners, or had a goldfish bowl on the front seat. Or when a snake that earlier got loose from our son's shoebox suddenly started slithering out of the heating vent (which happened to me). Your fellow motorist has life complications you cannot even guess at. Could be that pregnant lady's water just broke; maybe that guy who forgot your "wave" got a bad diagnosis today; maybe that moron creating gridlock at the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge just discovered he has gephyrophobia; maybe that rude lane straddler needs to find a bathroom—quick.
And if we may be permitted to extrapolate from macadam roads to other "roads," we may perchance find in ourselves a tempered judgment toward our fellow man who seems off course but is merely the victim of appearances. My son drove up from the city on a Saturday night to go to church with me on Sunday but forgot his good shoes, and had only the cruddy, grout-encrusted boots he had worn to install ceramic tile. May the well-dressed brethren at such times remember the day when a tuna casserole destined for the post-worship service potluck spilled on their dresses and patent leathers.
And if you happened to be in that pharmacy near Lansdale when I walked in with my granddaughter and purchased candy cigarettes, they were actually not for her but for my mother, to help her quit smoking.
"Love believes all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7). These words were written because of twin left turn lanes off Ogontz Avenue, men wearing dirty shoes in church, and grandmothers caught red-handed with chalky ersatz Chesterfield Kings. They bid us consider that the person whose wind we ate eight miles back, and who now begs with plaintive eyes to let him merge, is a man from Montana, and just following the arrows in all innocence. We would want the same respect from him.

Augusta's Charles Howell is three shots off the lead in the Tour Championship

Charles Howell gave a little sheepish wave with his wedge after stealing a birdie on the 18th hole.

“It was a good shot that got lucky,” Howell said of the closing 2 that lifted him into a tie for fifth after Thursday's opening round of the Tour Championship at East Lake. “I probably deserved more of a (par) after that tee shot.”

Officially it was that 23-foot pitch-in and two other birdies that put the Augusta native near the top of the leaderboard with 3-under 67, but the saving grace of the round were three pars on the back nine that might seem ordinary by just looking at the scorecard.

As any golfer knows, they don't draw pictures on a scorecard. It doesn't say “how,” just “how many.”

But the psychology of a par save is perhaps the most uplifting thing in golf. Getting away with an errant shot and avoiding bogey can be just the catalyst a player needs to keep a round alive and turn it into something special.

“Sometimes when you make a nice par save you feel like you stole one and kind of got away with one,” said Howell. “In a weird way it kind of builds you up a little more, like ‘I can make a mistake and still make par.'”

Howell's round Thursday was a perfect example of that. He eased into the round with eight consecutive pars and finally made a tap-in birdie on the par-5 ninth.

But he nearly erased it immediately when his second shot found the bunker on 10. He poured a putt in from 10 feet to save par.

Then on 11 after his birdie putt released 10 feet past the cup on slippery downhill green, Howell drained the comebacker then made birdie on the next hole.

His last Houdini act came on 16 where his first wild drive of the day went into the trees right. After a punch-out clipped a pine tree, Howell's wedge checked up 22 feet short of the pin, But he made the putt and kept his bogey-free round going.

“You're going to have to make some saves around here,” Howell said. “There's too many difficult holes.”

Everyone still in contention after the first round at East Lake made a save somewhere. Adam Scott made big par-saving putts on 10 and 11 to keep him hanging around until he made birdies on 14, 17 and 18 to shoot 67.

“It means a lot at these kind of golf courses that are set up so difficult and not necessarily easy to make up shots on,” said Scott, who won at East Lake in 2006. “So saving a shot is huge for momentum just to keep a round going and buy yourself some time until you can get in a situation where you can make yourself a birdie.”

Some have argued that the most important shot in Darren Clarke's victory at the British Open in July was the 12-footer he made for par to avoid a shaky three-putt on the very first hole Sunday.

A month later, Jason Dufner certainly learned the value of a par save. Just one of them on the 16th or 17th holes in the final round last month at Atlanta Athletic Club would have won him the PGA Championship. Thursday Dufner credited the par saves in his 66 with keeping him within two shots of PGA winner Keegan Bradley again in Atlanta.

“Any time I was in trouble, I was able to make a par,” Dufner said. “I kind of dodged a tree here or dodged a tree there or had a good lie.”

Hunter Mahan had the even rarer scorecard anomaly Thursday – the “good bogey” – when he took his shoes off and hit his second shot out of the lake on the 17th hole. He followed that recovery with a closing birdie and 67 of his own.

“If you're in trouble on a hole and kind of hitting it everywhere then make a 15-footer for par, it's a huge momentum boost,” said Mahan. “It makes you feel like you can get it up-and-down from anywhere. Especially when you're hitting it good and not getting anything out of it, making that one big par save can kind of turn the tide a little bit and pump you up.”

The red numbers always hog the publicity and the highlights. But more likely than not, this Sunday the Tour Championship and a $10 million bonus check will probably come down to a clutch par as it did last year when Jim Furyk got up-and-down out of a bunker on 18 with rain dripping off of his cap.

“Psychologically you can really benefit from a big par save,” said Mahan.

Financially, too.

What they said: Geoff Ogilvy

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Geoff Ogilvy into the interview room. He enters the TOUR Championship by Coca Cola No. 24 in the FedExCup standings, making his fifth start at this event. Take us back to last week, third place finish at BMW, exactly what you needed to do to get here.
GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah, last week was obviously pretty good for me. You often we don't often, I guess, but you have sometimes you can weeks in golf where you have to do something or you have to have a good finish and you often don't do that, so it's nice to actually have one where you had to do it, and do it. So it's a tough course, Cog Hill. I've never really played very well around there. I think I played okay the year that Stephen Ames won.
But I've always found it quite tough. So to have a good week like that was pretty good. Sunday was pretty tough withholding the umbrella up all day and it was cold and rainy and not exactly what you want to see when you play golf. But I played my best on Sunday, and I probably played my best over the last five or six holes, which was nice. So it's good to be here.
Q. Do you ever go back to being stuck on that rock on 17 at Boston and wonder how you got here?
GEOFF OGILVY: I don't often, but
Q. You had to take a penalty, right?
GEOFF OGILVY: I did. It was in a pretty deep hole. At that point I didn't think I was going to be playing in Chicago when I was picking the ball out of the hole. But I didn't really know, actually. I thought it was going well before that to be honest because I wasn't playing very well that day. I wasn't really sure, actually. But yeah, I wasn't definitely wasn't thinking of being here when I was in that hole. So the fact that I am is pretty nice.
Q. Luke was in here yesterday, and I asked him kind of the $10 million question, and his thoughts going into it was, well, we're all pretty set anyways, we've got a little bit of a bank account, and the $10 million is nice but I don't really think about it too much. Is that the case with you? And if not, do you really need the $10 million to get yourself excited to play in these events?
GEOFF OGILVY: It's less, I think, about what's going to end up in your bank account and more about the principle of holing a putt or doing like getting up and down like Jimmy did last year. It sounds better when you say that, doesn't it? The money is obviously really nice, but it's like beating your friend for $2 on the putting green. I mean, it's better to beat him for $2 than it is just to beat him for the fun of it, you know what I mean? There would be something about coming down the last nine holes, this is for $10 million and doing it. Irrelevant of what ends up in your bank account, it just sounds better, don't you think?
Q. To me, yeah.
GEOFF OGILVY: That's part of the appeal of the FedExCup is that carrot dangling at the end, whether we need the money or not. The first few guys who have won it Tiger probably didn't even notice it going in his bank account. It was all retirement at that point anyway, wasn't it?
Q. The first one was.
GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah. Vijay would have noticed it go in. That's going to make a difference. Most guys out here have got a lot of money and it's not going to be a life changer, but guys are going to be pretty happy with it, I think. It makes a difference.
Q. When you were young did you play golf when you were young?
GEOFF OGILVY: Uh huh. I started when I was about five or six probably.
Q. Did your golf game when you were young affect what you do today?
GEOFF OGILVY: Probably, I think. I can't really remember, but I think so. I think it all starts there. I think if you start off doing all the right things, good things happen later on, I think. I wish I could go back and change a few things, what I thought was the priorities of what I worked on. I wish I had worked a bit more on my short game when I was a youngster and not my long game.
But I think it all when guys get out here, it's an accumulation of everything they've done their whole golfing life. So I think everything you do from day one is pretty important, I think.
Q. Just wondering if you could talk a little bit about growing up near Royal Melbourne right next to that track and why you bought that house and how close it is and how cool it's going to be to walk to work in the morning when you're over there.
GEOFF OGILVY: Well, it's a pretty cool place to grow up if you play golf. Quite spoiled because Royal Melbourne, like a lot of the greats, is probably a hair short these days, but it truly is a top 10 course in the world. It's an astonishing property, really.
Next door is Victoria Golf Club, which was right up there. Kingston Heath is just around the corner and it's a whole supporting cast. It's a bit like out on Long Island or Westchester County or any of these places in the world, or Surrey in England that are dense with some of the best golf courses in the world around every corner. That's that area in Melbourne.
It was also probably the most visible golf course in Australia, especially through the '80s, because it had golf tournaments it seemed like every year, Australian Opens, famous ones where the greens got too fast, and Greg led a walk off in '87, but then he won the tournament by 10. Watson won in '84. There's a massive tournament called the Bicentennial Classic in 1988 where the whole world where effectively the top 50 in the world played. It was maybe one of the first World Golf Championship type events. There was a World Cup there in 1988, as well. Allenby nearly won the Australian Open as an amateur in 1991.
It was the golf course in Australia that was the best golf course, and it was also the golf course where great things happened in professional golf, and I grew up right next door, so it was pretty nice. A lot of times I would have a ticket but the gate was right around the other side of the property, so I would just jump the fence to get in because that was the easiest. I wouldn't go to school and mom and dad would go to work, and I would jump the fence because that was the quick way. And the other way I had to walk a mile and a half to get to the golf course.
Q. So you were, A, cutting school; and B, hopping the fence?
GEOFF OGILVY: Pretty much, yeah. As I said, a lot of times I had a ticket anyway, but I wasn't going to walk all the way around to the gate. I might as well just jump the fence. I never got caught. I think a lot of people used to do it. I think probably people do it a lot less; it's probably harder to do it these days, but in those days. So I spent a lot of my young life watching professionals play around Royal Melbourne, so a big part of the reason I play golf, I guess. To go back there and I watched the last Presidents Cup in '98, the weekend anyway. I had just turned professional, and I was blown away with the magnitude of the excitement. I just had never seen anything like that on a golf course.
Like anybody, I think, when you first go see a team event, you can't understand that it's just incredible, the atmosphere. I was pretty blown away by that and I guess secretly hoping that it would happen in Australia again.

Look For Less: Man Repeller

If you don't know who the Man Repeller is, you've been living under the interweb rock for too long.

The Man Repeller is a fashion blog that is run by 22-year-old Leandra Medine who is everything one could wish to be as a fashion blogger - stylish, a runway show mainstay, and undeniably cool. Her blog won the 2011 BlogLovin' award for Most Original Blog - as if you needed any more reason to check her out.

More and more she has been recognized and photographed on the street by photographers big and small. I even saw her get hounded down outside the Prabal Gurung SS12 runway show.

Since Leandra is someone I look up to so much style wise, I decided to choose her as my first "Look For Less" article. Here, she wears a trench by Gryphon (~$400), Joe's Jeans (~$169), Alaia shoes (~$500), and an unbranded button-down. If you can't do math, let me do it for you... That's about $1069 for one outfit. I don't know about you but there is no way I could ever afford that.

Don't fret though! I'm here to give you an outfit that looks similar for one-third the cost. If I were to recreate this fall-worthy ensemble I would try DKNY's "Dakota" trench for $119, Tripp NYC leopard jeans for $66, Asos' Hide Away Velvet Wedge for $83, Quicksilver's Highlands plaid shirt for $64. Now you can be as stylish as the Man Repeller.



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Beker: Fun, fearlessness reign at New York fashion week

It used to be said in style circles that less was more. But that's a dying notion these days.

With so many labels, so much fashion information and incessant celebrity style hype, it seems we all can't get enough of the scene and its material trappings. While some insiders say that the corporatization of fashion has sucked a lot of the fun out of it, keeping up with all the looks coming down runways into stores and onto peoples' backs has become an intense and dizzying form of entertainment. It reached a fever pitch in New York this past week.

Marc Jacobs

“Staying focused,” said director Sofia Coppola, when I asked her how she thought friend Marc Jacobs was keeping his cool these days. The rumours about Marc Jacobs taking over creative reigns at Dior were the week's biggest buzz, and the designer has never been hotter. Many felt his take on spring — a retro riff on saloon and chorus girls — was one of the week's most striking. It felt utterly new and modern. Models coasted down a circular runway enhanced by strips of dressing room lights in a fascinating mix of garments and accessories including cellophane organza dresses, little plastic cowgirl boots and dance-hall shoes, shiny fake crocodile coats, gingham print and fringe. It was a witty and colourful tribute to pop Americana, and a real crowd pleaser.

Proenza Schouler

Lazaro Fernandez and Jack McCullough at Proenza Schouler never fail to charm with interesting cuts, disparate directions and fresh attitudes. They sent their clothes out to a tribal beat, and while Africa may have informed the show's jungle motifs, tiger and zebra accents, they claimed that continent had nothing to do with this exotic trip. Still, the orange eel A-line skirt was reminiscent of a Kenyan sunset.

Michael Kors

Michael Kors made no bones about sending his customers on a luxe safari — or making sure they'd have the wardrobe for it. His spring collection oozed rustic modernism and a laid-back attitude. There were capes and sarongs in gorgeous tie-dye linen and cashmere and zebra print on a linen shift. Teak and olive tie-dye chiffon jersey columns gave easy evening gowns an earthy glow, and lace up boots, sandals and oversized bags will undoubtedly keep cash registers ringing.

Jeremy Laing

Textile experimentation is the name of the game for Canadian Jeremy Laing. Inspired by a trip to Joshua Tree National Park in California, the fearless Hamilton native sent out a strong collection of flowing garments designed for women to move in. Soft organic prints, some smudged and others with fine geometric lines, and earthy tones came at us in a variety of interesting fabrics. Using crepe jersey, crinkle chiffon, hammered satin, silk linen and jacquard, Laing pushed the notion of sensuality and experimented with drape and flow.

Thakoon

Spice colours surfaced on several runways, including Thakoon. “I started out looking at the way cowboys dress, and studying some of those paisley bandanas,” he said. Then he realized the paisley prints were Indian. “So then it became this whole story about bringing the two worlds together.” From beautiful beadwork on an emerald silk shift dress to a shimmering gold pioneer skirt, Thakoon dished out glamour.

Tommy Hilfiger

Optimism was the order of the day at Tommy Hilfiger, who riffed on stripes and a pop-art feel for his colourful story. Colour-block caftans offered options for relaxed weekend dressing, but he got down to business with burgundy leather suits. A bright-yellow silk evening jumpsuit popped on the catwalk. Post-show, Tommy introduced me to his daughter Ally, 26, who is making waves with her new label, NAHM. “What the most important thing that your dad taught you about fashion?” I asked her. “That it's only fashion,” she said.

Zac Posen

“It's all about a return to elegance!” proclaimed Zac Posen, dashing through a corridor at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. After braving the divine but daunting Paris Fashion Weeks for two seasons, Zac's come home to New York. “Paris showed me who I could be in New York,” he said. The dresses were confections of sensuality, masterful construction and impressive detailing. There was an old, screen-siren feel to the looks, many which revere and celebrate the female form.

Marchesa

The haute mode was in evidence at Marchesa, where designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig riffed on an underwater fantasy, inspired by a deep-sea painting by Ilya Repin called “Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom.” An ethereal mood permeated the red carpet collection, which featured chiffon and translucent-coloured mesh with eye-popping embroideries, some that looked like fish scales and tentacles. Cascading fringes were used to magical effect, and gave the illusion of moving waters. Teal flowed into lilac, and the soft sea greens looked almost misty and the lilac, hand-pleated, silk-organza dress Karen Elson wore left us all breathless.

Oscar de la Renta

Oscar de la Renta attracted a diverse front row to his show, from Justin Timberlake to Barbara Walters and Valentino, and proved why this master of American fashion is one of the last great couturiers. Silk taffeta gowns opened the show, each with huge skirts — there was marigold, emerald, tomato red. It was a bold beginning of a collection filled with some of the most romantic and colourful confections of the week. There were poppy prints, a dress covered in blossom appliqués and old-fashioned white battenburg lace in the mix, with a variety of silhouettes that all looked easy to wear.

Anna Sui

As far as we've come with modern and even futuristic inspirations, there's always room for nostalgia. Anna Sui went back to the 1940s — via the 1970s, the era when she fell in love with vintage. Citing illustrator Antonio Lopez as inspiration — he came to prominence in '70s Paris — Sui's looks were topped off with delightful headwear. Whimsical prints, oodles of accessories and ankle socks worn with wedge sandals added to the playful tone of this cheery collection. Toronto's Alice Practice of the band Crystal Castles approved of the vintage vibe. “After all, we've got the best vintage shopping right at home, in Toronto!” she said.

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren brought back The Great Gatsby with his 1920s nod to romance and the luxe life. From his pinstripe tailored cream suits and straw cloche hats to the pale pastel slinky satin evening gowns — many teamed with matching marabou boas — Lauren's airy take on the season seemed like a familiar, gentle relief after the week's storm of mixed messages. Judging from Lauren's show — a style harbinger of the trends bound to arise when Baz Luhrmann's 3-D remake of The Great Gatsby premieres next year — it also connects with great commercial potential.

That, for better or worse, is at the crux of fashion's quandary. With an uncertain economy and more labels than ever vying for customer attention, just which designer dreams will resonate with us next spring is anybody's guess. One thing's for certain, though: There won't be a lack of options. Hopefully, the cacophony of choices will not only encourage women to become better editors, but inspire designers to stick to their guns, and stay true to their mantras in an increasingly noisy arena.

How to design a succession planning strategy

Do you need succession planning?

When the next new intake of graduates, trainees or apprentices walks through the doors of your business each year, it might be difficult to imagine looking at them that any will one day hold management positions, or even become CEO. However, such short and long-term succession planning is a key part of ensuring your organisation’s continuing success.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that relatively few businesses overall have a formal succession plan in place. However, with a renewed focus on employee relations as the economy comes out of recession, not to mention the desire to make your remaining employees feel valued and to get the most out of them without necessarily paying them more, now might be as good a time as any to consider whether your business would benefit from a succession scheme of some sort.

Do you develop talent internally?

Most of us begin our careers on the bottom rung of the career ladder. Our professional development and progression through the ranks comes as a result of exposure to different situations, key clients and involvement in different areas of the business.

An individual’s ability to move onto the next level relies on his having had at least some of this experience. Where there is a slow, natural progression, most of this will come naturally. When a key employee leaves your organisation suddenly, however, there is rarely time to train someone to fill their role without interruption.

The ability to call on an internal candidate to take over the position at short notice has obvious financial advantages when compared to recruiting externally, and the attraction that an internal candidate may help to foster the continuity and culture of the company.

A company might also feel that its business strategy will be better served by promoting an individual who already knows the relevant markets, as well as the clients but that can only be the case if he or she is fit to be promoted.

Promotions may also be an opportunity to introduce clients to different employees, perhaps because you feel that there is growth potential in the relationship or because there have been problems with the previous set up. A departing account executive can leave the client at risk unless there is someone ready and able to step into their shoes.

Looking to external candidates

Succession planning need not be an entirely internal process, although it often is. Knowing when to go to the market to recruit talent from outside is an important skill. This might also be the easiest way to ‘freshen up’ your organisation.

Equally, while the culture of the organisation will be important, and employers will want to maximise their investment in home-grown talent, the greater range of experiences or different perspectives that external recruits will provide could also help the organisation reach the next level.

In certain sectors, recruiting external candidates might give you access to a new set of clients that can generate additional profit. In each case, you need to have a considered view on what you will need from the role as and when the current incumbent moves on, and then work backwards from there.

Ensure you have the right policies in place

The most obvious issue when it comes to succession planning is age discrimination. If your succession plan is simply designed to replace the long serving employee of 60-odd with a younger individual (even if you refer to it as being an opportunity to ‘freshen-up’ the team, introduce a new ‘vibrant approach’ and so on and so forth), the chances are that you might be faced with a Tribunal claim.

In reality, whether or not the chosen successor is of a different age, gender, religion, etc. it's all too easy for the incumbent to see your grooming the successor as the thin end of a wedge which will lead ultimately to their actual or constructive dismissal. In most circumstances it therefore makes sense to be open about this planning process and even to solicit the incumbent’s assistance in it by way of his or her own mentoring responsibilities.

The recent removal of the default retirement age has removed what some people saw as a useful tool for removing older employees, although this should encourage more objective thinking when it comes to succession planning. There's no reason to be afraid of the post-default retirement era as sound objective reasons and processes will still work for employers seeking to dismiss staff aged 65-plus. 

It is, therefore, important to ensure that any succession planning documents clearly state the rationale behind any scheme and accentuate the positive benefits for the business.

Ensure you can justify your decisions

If you review client relationships and decide that a particular team would be better served by having a different individual in charge, or if you have identify good personality fits between your employees and your clients, it's vital that care is taken in the manner in which this process is effected.

Make sure that you have objective reasons for changing things round, removing responsibilities or creating a new position within the team. Trying to take away too much responsibility might lead an employee to claim that you are demoting them without good reason, or worse, that he or she has been constructively dismissed.

If any of the protected discrimination characteristics come into play, you might also find that there's a discrimination claim added in for good measure, so you will wish to be able to identify why your planning appears to favour X over Y as the likely successor.

How to wear flared jeans

1.The hem must skim the ground
The biggest (and most common) mistake with this look is wearing jeans that are too short. The hem should skim the ground, so make sure when you go shopping you take a pair of shoes with you. This way you can work out exactly the right length for your height.
2. High heels are essential
Bell-bottoms and kick-flares need to be worn with high heels. They just do. The silhouette looks best with height and it allows them to hang correctly. Platform and wedge styles work best with this look. Stilettos…not so much and please, no sneakers. Ever.
3. Choose your look
Remember this is not a dress-up party and it's important to keep the look modern. There's nothing wrong with a nod to the '70s but make it contemporary with your styling.
Try teaming your jeans with tops that are tucked into the waist – a simple T-shirt, a silk blouse, a v-neck sweater - then layer it up with a blazer that cuts just on the top of the hip bone. Or try a longer line blouse or tunic top that falls to mid-thigh and then team with a knee-length coat or short, cropped jacket.
4. Body shape matters
Unless you have super long, lean legs steer clear of proper, all-out bell-bottom styles. Instead try jeans that are skinny through the thigh with a flare that starts just at the top of the calf. Most cuts have a high waist but if you have curvy hips opt for a style that sits below the belly button, this will help balance the leg out.

Audi Urban Concept Sportback ready for wireless charging in the city

Not as easily spotted as its Spyder relative, the Audi Urban Concept Sportback more closely matches the renderings we saw before the start of the Frankfurt Motor Show. That's not to say we were totally prepared for the quirkiness of either version, but at least the Sportback's carbon fiber reinforced plastic body was somewhat known to us.

Under the CFRP, the Sportback and Spyder share the same all-electric powertrain. That means two electric motors with a combined output of 15 kW (20 PS) of continuous power and 47 Nm (34.67 lb-ft) of torque as well as a li-ion battery that has 7.1 kWh of usable energy (total size unknown) and offers a range of 45 miles. Getting from zero to 62 mph (the concept's top speed) takes a gentle 16.9 seconds, which would be fine if Audi ever releases this vehicle for sale in its intended environment: the city.

Perhaps even more appropriate for a city getabout, the battery pack can recharge in just an hour from a standard (in Europe) 230-volt household current. If you have access to a 400-volt, three-phase current fast charger, that drops to approximately 20 minutes. Both concept vehicles are also ready with Audi Wireless Charging (AWC) technology, which uses contactless induction from a 3.6kW primary coil installed into a parking spot, say, to automatically start refilling the battery pack when you pull the car into place. Audi didn't say how long this wireless charging takes, just that it "is comparable to that of other charging technologies."

Get more details on Audi's new 1+1 seater in the press release after the jump and check out detailed pictures in the gallery above.

Pumps are one of fall's biggest shoe trends

High-heeled shoes are a lot like mango ice cream.

How, you ask? Has the writer taken too many dips into the frozen-food case?

Think about it. You either love or you hate mango ice cream. Most women, some with more zeal than others, either love or hate wearing high heels. But since the court of Louis XIV -- maybe even dating to Neanderthal women trying to gain dominance over their chest-thumping mates -- heels are here to stay.

As with any other fashion element, the size, shape and height of heels change, sometimes dramatically, from year to year. What should women expect in heel trends for this fall?

"Fall 2011 sees the return of the PUMP!" says Ken Downing, senior vice president and national fashion director for Neiman Marcus stores. His emphasis is clear due to the capped lettered words in his email. "Sexy stilettos, kitten heels, chunky heels with a '70s influence, peep toes, closed toes, on a platform, or a single sole, the PUMP is the shoe of the moment and addresses the 'lady chic' message that many designers embraced."

Style, personal taste and need all help in the buying decision, he says, but elegance is a timeless trend. "Classic elegance defines the return to a single-sole pump, often with a mid or kitten heel," says Downing.

"I think that heel shapes and heights are really all over the place right now," says Amy Puchowicz, owner of the popular and stylish Amy's Shoes in the Old River shopping district in Rocky River and Eton Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere. "There is not one dominant style. Kitten heels have definitely made a comeback this spring, especially in a sling back. I saw a little bit of the kitten heel again for this fall, but I just got back from my buying trip for spring/summer 2012, and I only saw a few."

French heels are popular because "a midheel is sometimes hard to find in a fashion-forward shoe," said Puchowicz. "The curved-in heel gives interesting detail."

Sometimes, the deciding factor in the size and shape of heels comes down to a very basic personal decision. "I have discovered that everyone is different," said Puchowicz. "Give me 20 ladies, all the same size, and let them try on the same shoe, and they all will have different feedback."

When it comes to heel styles, French heels may have a higher comfort level for some women. "I would say that many people find a heel with more substance more comfortable because they feel more stable," says Puchowicz. "Also, a midheel can definitely be considered more comfortable because there is less pitch. A curved heel can also position you (and your back) a little differently, which might feel better for some because the heel is sitting a little underneath."

In addition to comfort, kitten-style heels work well with many of today's fashions. "Kitten heels can be worn especially well with pencil skirts, skinny pants and jeans," says Sherri Knuth Bryan, co-owner of Knuth's shoes, fashion and accessories stores in Pepper Pike and Westlake. "They offer a sexy silhouette, but a manageable heel height. All ages can wear them. They are classy and classic."

That said, "They are not always best for general fall wearing because they are trim and delicate," says Bryan. "I do not see French/Louis heels as a strong trend. Fall is full of heels of all shapes and sizes. The biggest trend I see is the wedge heel, which can be low, mid or high, and also prevalent on a platform."

The wedge heel, says Bryan, is "comfortable because of the support of the wedge and can look trendy and contemporary."

"The wedge continues to be an important fashion heel," agrees Downing of Neiman Marcus. "On shoes and boots, the wedge is chic and very of the moment."

Color-wise, the trendiest colors in shoes will be black, white, stone, metallic, beige, burgundy, dark blue, chocolate, deep violet, khaki and red, according to FashionTrend.me. Top materials are leather, patent, faux reptile, suede and satin.

"Today's footwear designers consider comfort as well as design," says Downing. "Beauty and comfort can co-exist in today's fashion footwear."

So what should be the overriding "Buy it!" factor for fall shoe shoppers?

"An individual's style, personal height, need and desire all dictate the style of shoe she embraces," says Downing. Pick the height and style of heel, he says, in which you feel most comfortable and beautiful.

Now that is fashion forward.

Tories turn down heat on immigrant tax credit language, but still fan flames

Ontario's Progressive Conservatives persisted Monday in their attempts to fan the flames of an immigrant tax credit controversy, though somewhat turning down the heat on a minor jobs initiative that has been propelled to the fore of the election battleground.
A Liberal proposal to give a tax credit to businesses that hire certain new Canadians has received a staggering amount of attention in the first week of the campaign, and the second week began no differently.
The $12-million plan aimed at people in professions such as architecture and engineering equals roughly .01 per cent of the overall Ontario budget, which was just under $114 billion for 2011-12.
And it would affect about 1,200 people, just a fraction of the province's 13 million residents.
But since it was announced in the Liberal platform a week ago, the campaign has seen unrelenting bluster from the Progressive Conservatives in the form of radio ads and press releases and from Leader Tim Hudak himself.
He initially slammed the plan as an "affirmative action program to hire foreign workers," which the Liberals immediately decried as xenophobic.
To spend so much time attacking a two-term premier over such a small platform plank is curious, said Cameron Anderson, a political science professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.
"It is seemingly a minor issue in the broad scheme of things and it seems like it's kind of an odd issue for the Conservatives to build at least the first week of the campaign (on)," he said. "It's a surprising decision."
Before the Liberals' platform release, the Conservative approach seemed to be to brand McGuinty as the "Tax Man," and to suggest that he couldn't be trusted not to raise taxes again. But since they honed in on the immigrant employment issue, taxes haven't received as much attention.
York University political science professor Robert Drummond said he would have expected to hear a lot from the opposition parties about the spending controversy over eHealth, the agency that is creating electronic health records, and squandered more than $1 billion without much to show for it.
At the heart of what the Conservatives seem to be saying is that unemployed people who couldn't take advantage of the tax credit are being neglected by the Liberals, Drummond said, though the choice of language may have distorted the message.
"The way in which the Conservatives have phrased their opposition...that's enabled the (Liberals) to take the moral high ground," he said.
"I think if I were in the (Liberals') shoes at this point, I'd be trying to find some way to say, 'I'm doing something about general unemployment and jobs in general.'"
A speech by Hudak in Mississauga on Monday showed a move away from the language of "foreign workers" to "special favourite" or "a select few," though there were still a couple of mentions of the offending term.
"I think Dalton McGuinty was wrong to bring in an affirmative action program to pay companies $10,000 to hire foreign workers, and I think that's why Dalton McGuinty backpedalled," Hudak said.
The party also released a new radio ad Monday, slamming the tax credit as unfair to hundreds of thousands of unemployed people in Ontario. But while the "affirmative action" phrase was thrown in, there was no reference to "foreigners."
The "infinitesimally" small program, in the context of overall government spending, may have attracted the Tories' attention because it was poorly communicated at first, but the language in the attacks has been "unproductive," said Myer Siemiatycki, a political science professor at Ryerson.
"At one level it is only about 1,200 people, but I think Mr. Hudak has blown it inappropriately out of proportion and has used this as kind of a wedge to try to portray the policy and the (Liberals) as somehow favouring foreigners," he said.
"I think the messaging needed to be a lot better."
McGuinty called on Hudak over the weekend to apologize for his use of the term "foreign workers," but Hudak has indicated he will not.
"I think he's crossed a line," McGuinty said Monday. "I believe he needs to admit to that and I think what he needs to do is to apologize to those Ontarians, those Canadian citizens that he attacked."
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has tried to keep above the fray, saying people in Ontario are disappointed in the tenor of the conversation.
"While they're hurling insults at each other, the real problems that people are facing day in and day out are not being addressed," she said Monday.
Staying out of it will likely play to Horwath's advantage, said Siemiatycki.
"There are criticisms to be made of both the Liberals and the Conservatives on how they've handled this and I think what Ms. Horwath has effectively done is to walk a middle ground that acknowledges that there's something problematic with the way both sides are proceeding," he said.

Airport travel changed forever by terrorists

Perhaps nowhere in Metro Detroit reflects the 9/11 attacks' long-lasting effects better than Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Though they're greeted by two of the nation's most modern air terminals, passengers aren't flying in the same frame of mind they were a decade ago.
It's not just Sept. 11 that hurt airlines, which were hit hard by spikes in oil prices and a drop in travel during the recession. But after the terror attacks, getting passengers to fly again was a challenge. In the first year, traffic fell nearly 8 percent. It took three years to return to normal levels.
"People were just scared to fly," said F. Robert van der Linden, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum.
When passengers did take to the skies again, they didn't find them so friendly.
Don't count on being sent off or greeted by loved ones at the gate, for example. With few exceptions, only those who are flying can get past the security checkpoints with their snaking lines. Gone also are the days of arriving just minutes before a flight. Fliers must to get through those security checkpoints, which aren't so easy to navigate.
In addition, proving fitness to fly is a lot more complicated these days; it's no longer a stroll through the metal detector followed by a possible wave of the magnetometer wand. Tiny toiletries only for carry-on bags, and don't forget to take off those shoes. In 2006, a would-be attempt to blow up a plane with a shoe bomb led to the rise of socks and bare feet in the terminal.
"Anytime I walk into an airport, I feel like a victim," said Lexa Shafer, a flier from Norman, Okla.
Despite the aggravations, America's skies are busier than ever. Airlines carried 720 million passengers last year, up from 666 million the year before the attacks. But in the immediate post-9/11 era, the nation's airlines were sent into a financial tailspin that ended up bankrupting many carriers.
Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp., for example, entered and exited bankruptcy on the same days. Struggling in the face of higher oil prices that followed the 9/11 attacks — as investors became increasingly wary of unrest in many petro-producing nations — the two carriers chose to merge in 2008 to better handle the market.
Other rivals followed suit, and the result is a smaller supply of seats for a larger demand from customers, leaving more bodies packed into planes.
A decade ago, an average of 72 percent of seats per flight were occupied. Today, 82 percent are. Airlines have added rows, meaning less leg room. Smaller, regional planes now carry a quarter of all passengers, twice that of a decade ago.
Even before passengers are able to wedge themselves into ultra-packed aircraft, they're paying more for what used to be free: luggage, changing tickets, food and in some cases, even a water or soft drink on board.
At Metro Airport, the McNamara Terminal — the $1 billion-plus pet project of Northwest Airlines — is one of the nation's most pertinent examples of how much things have changed for U.S. airports in 10 years.
Opened in 2002, airport officials — and Northwest — originally intended for the terminal to serve as a suburban mall of sorts, attracting nearby shoppers and diners to a modern facility that also happened to process millions of airline passengers per year. The attacks put the kibosh on those plans, as security checkpoints were moved to encase most of the terminal in the "sterile zone."
The security changes also resulted in one of the biggest passenger annoyances at the terminal: bathrooms are scant before security (hint: check the Westin hotel). When the North Terminal opened in 2008, it was built for the new era of security.
"Safety is obviously the No. 1 concern for everybody at the airport, and that means a lot more attention to every little thing," said Scott Wintner, an airport spokesman.

Rapid prototype shoe for women is perfect for squares

I bet there are a bunch of geeky gals out there that read SlashGear; this one is just for you. Objet Ltd is showing off a new item that it has made using 3D printing for rapid prototyping. The new product is high-heeled shoe that is made with interchangeable parts that can be replaced when needed. The shoe is very square and seems ugly to me. I don’t see my wife wearing these.

The shoe is dubbed the “Rapidprototypedshoe” and was made using the Objet multi-material 3D printing technique. The shoe designer was Marloes ten Bhomer. The shoe was printed in one build and has a hard heel and a flexible upper. The printing tech that Objet 3D uses can combine materials like rubber and rigid material into a single prototype that is used extensively in the footwear industry.

The wild looking shoe will be on display at an exhibition called Power of Making that starts today at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The part of this design that I find most intruding is the modular nature. I think a modular shoe with different heels and parts that can be changed would be a great way to get some of my wife’s shoes out of the closet and give me more than a tiny square for my stuff.

Inside Dylan Lauren's Closet

She may be the daughter of a fashion legend, but when it comes to Dylan Lauren's shoe wardrobe, comfort rules.

“I live in my sneakers,” said Lauren, who is on her feet 10 hours a day as the founder and CEO of Dylan's Candy Bar, a string of mega sweet shops. “I have a neuroma, so most heels are uncomfortable after 30 minutes.”

The busy entrepreneur often can be spotted running around New York in her favorite sneakers — a pair of black Skechers — but she hasn't ruled out dressier looks completely. “I like cowboy boots on heels that are tight-fitting on the calf,” said Lauren. And when the occasion calls for something more elegant, she opts for a shoe by her father, Ralph Lauren. Among her go-to looks is a gold strappy sandal. “They look like jewelry.”

So it's not surprising that Lauren went to dad to design the gown and shoes for her recent nuptials. She wore a white, high-platform wedge sandal that allowed her to stay balanced on the grassy terrain, while the bridesmaids echoed the look in gold. Though Lauren prefers to leave designing to her father, she does offer a selection of novelty rainboots at her store, featuring a colorful candy pattern, available for both kids and women.

And Lauren has found yet another way to marry shoes with sweets. Through a joint initiative with Rockport, 17 Rhode Island School of Design students created candy versions of Rockport's fall '11 Janae pump for women and Day 2 Night wingtip for men. The winner, to be chosen on Sept. 8 at Dylan's Candy Bar during Fashion's Night Out, will receive a $5,000 stipend courtesy of Rockport, as well as a year's supply of shoes and a one-year membership to the Candy of the Month Club. That night, the real shoes, complete with a candy-inspired sock lining, will be available for purchase.

New Balance 915 –$125

Fit / Consensus across the board was that this shoe ran big. Ample forefoot room and a generous midfoot fit led one tester to comment that, “these shoes felt huge, especially in the toe box.” Heel slippage was also an issue. Our testers recommend sizing down half a size to avoid the feeling that your foot was swimming in the shoe.
Feel / The 915 features a wedge on the medial side of the shoe that adds stability but lends to a very stiff feel underneath the foot. For weak-footed runners looking to tear down a technical trail, this might not be such a bad thing. In regard to perceived weight, one tester said, “The shoe feels a bit heavy when holding it in your hands, but feels reasonably light on the foot.”
Ride / Runners looking for a shoe to soften the blow will not enjoy the firm ride the 915 has to offer, but experienced trail blazers will love the forefoot protection plate and added traction the aggressive outsole brings to an off-road environment.

Chic Shoegasms: Yves Saint Laurent Maggy 105 wedges

Now, if you're after something a little bit different, take a peek at these sensationally inventive Yves Saint Laurent Maggy 105 Wedges.

With their innovative cut out detail, delectable metallic gold insoles and almond cap with peep toe finishes, these are a pair of wedges you're not going to forget in a hurry.

Not only has YSL pulled it out of the bag again with its delicious black suede tops, its fashion-forward wedge and cut-out detail effortlessly manages to make the best of your pins whatever their length.

And, with their quirky pull-on detail, they'll bound to be your get-up and go shoes, however many minutes you're behind.

At ￡719, you're going to have to see these shoes as a fashion investment, but, when you break it down, they're timelessly black, gold and glamorous – and will last you a life time.

It seems nothing is going to change my mind, and if you want to make a statement, I suggest these are the shoes for you.

Yves Saint Laurent Maggy 105 Wedges, ￡719, available at My Theresa.

Key pieces open the door to spring

IT’S time to ditch the winter wardrobe. Spring has arrived and the latest season’s fashions are waiting to be discovered in stores across the country.
This season it’s all about making a statement in bright bold colours.
Award-winning fashion and beauty blogger Nikki Parkinson said colour blocking, which involved wearing a combination of bold colours, was “the biggest trend” of the season.
In contrast, Ms Parkinson said dressing in all white was also considered chic.
She said across both of these trends there was also a strong ’70s influence with maxi dresses, skirts platform wedges and shoes all making a comeback.
The style expert said must-have spring fashion items included at least one accessory in a bold colour, a pair of platform or wedge shoes, a white blazer and a maxi skirt or dress.
“The maxi has been around for a few seasons but it is still a very strong trend. It’s fabulous, it suits a lot of people and all different shapes,” Ms Parkinson said.
A fan of Country Road, Ms Parkinson said walking in-store and noticing a lot more colour was an “exciting way to start the season”.
Ms Parkinson said those seeking the latest fashions would also be pleasantly surprised by Big W’s latest fashion line, Emerson.
She said the new range was a winner with its on-trend designs and affordable prices.
For those seeking to update their wardrobes, Ms Parkinson said it was important for shoppers to schedule in time to shop for the latest season trends.
She said it was important to “make an appointment with yourself” to go shopping strictly for clothes. “Don’t get distracted by other things ... take your time and sift through everything,” Ms Parkinson said.
“Go through all of the racks and try on things you normally wouldn’t ... surprise yourself. ”
Before you even go shopping, sort through your wardrobe, she said. Keeping up with the latest fashions didn’t have to mean spending a fortune on a whole lot of new things. Ms Parkinson said find key pieces, which may be items your already own, and bring them up to date.