“Duchess Goes Digital”, for all the Kate Middleton fans out there former actress Helen Barclay has developed Kate’s Style List, an iPhone app that tracks and locates Kate’s clothing choices, from her high street pieces to designer gowns.

Japanese designer Kenji Ikeda, known for his luxurious quilted leather handbags, has teamed up with electronics company Amadana to produce a collection of bags that can charge smartphones, portable music players and other small gadgets. The first four bags come in black, brown and navy and have a unisex look. These styles aren’t my cup of tea, but I’d be all over a fab patterned, colour-blocked or bright-coloured satchel with this tech feature.

Would you use the hi-Call glove from hi-Fun? The hi-Call is a Bluetooth enabled glove with built-in speaker and mouthpiece. It pairs with your mobile device and allows you to chat on the phone by holding your hand up to your face using the traditional miming signal for a telephone. Your hands won’t be cold, but you might be getting a few funny looks this Winter.

Fab Links from Our Members

Lady Gaga opened milliner Philip Treacy’s hat show at London Fashion Week. You definitely won’t see Transcona Shannon wearing any of these, but she admires the creativity, artistry and pure fun in them all.

Angie enjoyed browsing this rundown of NYFW’s most awesome street style kicks by Refinery29. We even spotted some sneakers!

This October Banana Republic is bringing out a clothing line inspired by the upcoming Anna Karenina movie starring Keira Knightley. As Suz recently wrote an essay about rereading this Russian classic, she was extra interested in hearing the thoughts of costume designer Jacqueline Durran.

Scarlet found this NYT article an interesting read. It explains how the fashion industry is trying to get their wares featured in fashion blogs.

Deborah thought that this Office Chic Work Outfit grid from Catherine over at Not Dressed As Lamb was a clever idea.

“More Models of Color Are Working”, Annagybe points us to Jezebel, who did the numbers and calculated that this fashion season proved to be the most racially diverse ever.

MNSara recommends this cute blog post about One Uuugly Dress, because it might help spark our own imagination and help us to come up with new ways to wear an item that would otherwise be tossed without a second thought during our next closet purge.

Charmian has been dreaming of “wardrobe nirvana” for so long that she was both terrified and entertained by this humorous post describing what happened at the end of one woman’s shopping list.

In 1997 Clark Whittington came up with the idea to convert old cigarette machines into art dispensaries. MaryK loves the surprise element and thinks it’s super cool that the Art-o-Mat also contains jewellery made by independent artists.

There is such variety in fashion and silhouettes these days that we can no longer think in terms of one type of correct fit. Instead, we need to think about fit differently depending on what was intended for the look. I like to think about fit in terms of three different categories: Tailored fit, which is what we previously thought of as perfect fit, body con fit, which aims to really show off the wearer’s curves, and oversized fit, where items are larger and intentionally more loose. 

1. Tailored Fit: Here items skim the contour of the body and are structured in all the right places, achieving a perfect balance between snug and roomy. Blazers and most jackets, classic bootcut trousers and jeans, shaped button down shirts and blouses, flared skirts, most sheath dresses, most coats, basic cardigans and pullovers, leather jackets and t-shirts fit in a conventionally flattering way when they adhere to a tailored fit. 
2. Body Con Fit: Here we are looking for an intentionally form fitting effect. Items fit more closely to the body than they do for a tailored fit. Items designed for a body con fit include jegging jeans, most skinny jeans, bandage dresses, tank tops, frocks like the Bailey 44 striped dress I posted last year, some pencil skirts, turtlenecks and sheath dresses, and leggings.
3. Oversized Fit: Here the fit is much roomier than the tailored fit and therefore less conventionally flattering. There is lots of slouch, lots of volume and far less structure. So-called perfect fit goes out the window here because shoulder seams droop, waists are too wide, armholes and trouser crotch points hang too low, and sleeve lengths are too long. The lack of waist definition and tailoring is not everyone’s cup of tea. It looks like you should size down at least a couple of sizes in these items, yet they are supposed to look boxy and baggy. 

The oversized fit is the most fashion forward and edgy fit of the three. In some respects this fit is already quite trendy through items like oversized knitwear, oversized vests, big tees, boyfriend jeans and shirts, billowing blouses, baggy short shorts and harem pants. 

If you assess a garment according to the wrong fit, you might end up wearing an ill-fitting garment. A body conscious item will be too loose if you assess it according to tailored fit. And an oversized garment will not be loose enough if you assess it according to tailored fit.  

Here’s an extra detail to consider. Sometimes you can manipulate fit to achieve a specific look, either by sizing up or down in an item, or just by default because that’s how the item fits your body. For example, the charcoal wool trousers that I’m wearing in this outfit were supposed to be tailored. Yet when I tried them on in my size, they looked more slouchy and oversized. I liked the baggier fit and decided to embrace the fact that the trousers didn’t look anything like the fit that was represented on the model. 

Tricky stuff! Are you more confused than ever about correct fit, or does it all make perfect sense?

We’ve been enjoying blissful September Seattle weather. Mild and sunny during the day, crisp and cool in the mornings and evenings. That’s why downtown Seattle evening life has been bustling as locals make the most of it before the rain sets in. 

Greg snapped these photos just before we met friends for supper at the Umi Sake House in Belltown. I needed a cheerful outfit to match the great weather and my happy Japanese-food-eating mood. This skirt makes me happy for a myriad of reasons, so that was a no-brainer. It was also nice to wear it one more time before it hibernates for Autumn and Winter. I LOVE the way soft full skirts swish, float and move as you stride. It feels romantic, ladylike and carefree, all of which adds to my good mood. 

I usually wear my skirts with one of my wardrobe essentials: A tucked button down shirt, a camisole with half buttoned up denim jacket, or a turtleneck either tucked or untucked. Of course, I also pair my skirts with blouses, statement shirts,  knitwear, and jackets, but generally prefer a wardrobe essential because the combination is easy, minimal and simple. In this way I never have an orphaned skirt.

I’ve had this lightweight, gauzy, neon pink silk turtleneck for years and, quite coincidentally, it matches the skirt. Now and in Spring is the perfect time to wear it because it isn’t that warm. The rolled collar and hem give it a casual vibe and appropriately dress down the skirt. Scrunching the sleeves relaxes the look even further.

I finished off the outfit with low heeled orange animal print pumps to pick up the orange in the skirt and to throw in some pattern mixing. And my neon and cognac clutch just because I’ve fallen in love with neon yellow matched with neon pink all over again. For me, those are fun early ’80s flashbacks. No jewelry apart from wedding ring, watch and specs. 

This is a very, very bright outfit. Too bright for some, and my apologies for hurting your eyeballs. But I do love my brights and feel as comfortable wearing them from head to toe as I do wearing a more subtle, neutral outfit. As long as the outfits in both colour spectrums are simple, minimal, modern and crisp, they both feel at home in my style persona.

Spring colours are on my mind after seeing the 2013 collections at New York Fashion Week. I’m in the midst of watching the shows at London Fashion Week, and thereafter it’s Paris and Milan. The colour direction is becoming clear and I’m excited about it. There will be lots of variety, just like there is this year. That’s always a good thing because there will be something for everyone. 

Here’s how I see the colours for Spring and Summer 2013 shaping up: 

• Blue is going to be big, from pastel shades and mid tones, to cobalt, French navy and ink blue. 
• If blue is the colour of next season, white is the runner up. All shades of white are matched with every colour and neutral, or worn on its own from head to toe. 
• Pale shades of yellow are mixed with the blue and white. 
• Black and white is strong like it is almost every season. 
• Shades of blush, linen and taupe are mixed with white, black, pastels and brights. 
• Light earth tones make a lovely debut. Think rich, spicy, earth tones diluted with white. 
• Brights like poppy red, fuchsia, citron, lime green, emerald and violet make another great return. 
• Pastel pink, peach, mint and lilac are there, but in smaller doses. 

Check out Pantone’s colour report for Spring 2013 for more on next season’s colours. Pantone has selected ten colours that they think are most important for the season. Of course, they expect there to be many variations on each colour, along with neutrals like white, grey, black and metallics.

How do these colours and their combinations grab you?