No Sparkly Jackets Allowed

New York Fashion Week is wrapped up and editors, bloggers and stylists will now review all the pictures, notes and video and analyze what the top trends for Fall 2014 will be. Including this photographer and reporter!

While there were a few strong contenders for some trends that I witnessed at the end of the runway, truly my favorite to shoot and report on are the red carpet and cocktail dresses. Guess I’ll always be a sucker for a good dress up with a photo op.

And what’s not to love, the amazing gowns float down under perfect runway lighting with picture perfect models wearing the frocks. The hard part sometimes can be to figure out if an over 50 gal can wear these looks. What goes on in my mind is just ask yourself one question, does it look like the dress should be worn by the model’s mother? In many cases, the answer is yes, so there is a big opportunity for us to choose from the latest fashions straight from the runway.

Ladies, this is the time to look at the pictures for an up-to-date gown you will need for that mother of the bride, after five or dress up affair and ditch the little sparkly jacket that matches the dress. Pleezzzz.

Two collections stood out for me in this category. Lela Rose, a 40+ age Texas designer put an elegant twist and added so much color in her Fall collection. (At that point in the show lineup, I had seen a sea of black and gray and it was a refreshing change). Rose, know for adding color to nearly all of her collections, out did herself and this collection was really special. She sent dresses and looks that offered clean lines, beautiful textured fabrics in skirt lengths that will flatter any figure. The vivid Radiant Orchid (color of the year for 2014) cocktail dress and the strapless gown were runway showstoppers for sure. I am not sure how I am going to snatch the cocktail dress for the upcoming Austin Fashion Week, but I’m going to try.

Design by Lela Rose | Photo by Cheryl Bemis

Design by Lela Rose | Photo by Cheryl Bemis

Over at the Carolina Herrera show, a crowd full of over 40+ and 50’s gals packed the Lincoln Center Theatre dressed in classic Carolina Herrera daytime dresses. You know the important people going into a show because they don’t have a coat and are total “camera ready” for the perfect street style photographers.

The first model walked out onto the runway in an impeccable black suit topped off with a felt hat similar to the Shriners fez hat minus the tassel. Interesting, good for the runway, but don’t see it being a must have in anyone’s closet. The collection moved into the beautiful boat neckline dresses in textured burned out velvet, into elegant, but simple evening gowns in Aurora Red embellished in a sparkled and jeweled Mediterranean inspired sequined pattern. Gorgeous!