Allison Parris prides herself on being a socially responsible designer. As far as possible she sources domestic organic fabric and trims for her creations. She also has her collection made in American factories that pay a fair wage. Of particular interest is that the satin lining of her garments is made from recycled plastic bottles. How is that even possible! Since the designs were showcased in the form of a presentation I was able to touch and feel this very unique lining. It was soft and felt like satin. Amazing!

I was able to speak to Allison directly, which makes the information for this post first hand. Another delight. The palette of the collection is neutral because Allison prefers soft muted tones for her own wardrobe. She also bases her designs on silhouettes that she would like to wear. She showed both long and short dresses and skirts, mostly with form fitting torsos. I loved the tulle underneath the skirts and the use of ink blue instead of black. I also liked the ever so slight vintage inspiration mixed in with a the very organic mood of the collection.

Of particular note was the regular height of the models. They were wearing 5 inch heels in the presentation but walked around barefoot before they stood in place. Walking through the audience without their shoes, they were my height.

For me, the show stopper of the collection was the little young model sitting center stage. How can a beautiful little five year old with a perfect blond bob and black tulle skirt not steal the show.

The tomato red that we’ve been seeing in designer collections this week inspired me to wear my own bright tomato red dress, which I happened to bring along. Tomato red might be big for Spring 2011, but it’s a timeless colour for my personal style.

This vintage dress is soft and romantic and I wear it on it’s own with higher heels for more formal occasions. But I like it best dressed down with a faded denim jacket and more casual shoes because this creates an unexpected edge. Dressing the dress down also allows me to wear it more often. Love that! I added layered vintage pearls, retro specs and structured polka dot bag. I wore low heeled nude mary janes so my feet were happy too.

Our first show that day was off site in NYC’s Garment District. When we saw the bronze sculpture of the garment worker we had to make it the backdrop for this outfit picture. How fitting!

I’ll also add that I bought this frock about seven years ago when we were living in Paris. The quality is superb and it still looks new. It’s amongst my favorite frocks and comes out to play each year. The vintage feel of the dress is timeless and swapping out the accessories and shoes refreshes its mood.

Greg’s comment on this outfit was short and meaningful: “You look beautiful, Angie. I love that red dress best with the denim jacket”. Seems that hubby likes me in brights after all.

I was excited to see Monique Lhuillier’s show because her gowns often grace Hollywood red carpet events. She is known for her super soft feminine designs and pretty pastel palette, and this was more or less what we saw walk down the runway.

Monique Lhuillier’s collection was very flowing and romantic. It wasn’t quite as ruffled as I thought it would be. The palette was made up of different shades of white, taupe, camel, gold, baby pink and mint. There was also a hint of bright tomato red, fuchsia, turquoise and emerald green. At this stage I think we can safely assume that tomato red will be big for Spring since it’s been represented in almost all the shows we’ve attended (yes!).

The dresses and long gowns were both form fitting and voluminous, and both short and long (another strong trend coming through from designers). Lots of one shouldered and strapless silhouettes, skirt bustles, cascading shoulder ruffles, lace insets, and skinny waist belts. She also showed a few wide legged trouser styles.

This designer is known for her floral rosette and satin waist belt design detailing which makes the light brown gown above a typical “Lhuillier look”. I on the other hand much preferred the sleeker, less romantic designs in this collection. I fell in love with the simple red sheath and white skirt suit. More atypical to her style, yet my favorites amongst the outfits. They can go straight into my wardrobe.

I have to say that I LOVED the hair. The models’ crisp, strict, sculptured Sumo wrestler bun-type dos were the best part of the show! I can appreciate a messy hairstyle on an edgy and more casual ensemble but when it comes to formal attire, a neat elegant do can’t be beat. I hope that the Chakra show’s hair team is listening!

The deep rich purple portrayed in many of Fashion Week’s Spring 2011 collections inspired me to wear my bright purple Ted Baker dress, corseted boning with tulle petticoat and all.

Some fashion week days are particularly hard on your feet because of all the standing in queues waiting for show venue access, plus all the commuting on foot in NYC. Still battling with sore feet, I needed another day of extra comfortable shoes in order to keep up with the scrambling. I couldn’t wear the stacked heeled pumps which I had originally planned to go with this outfit so it was on to Plan B. And a more theatrical and arty outfit was born when I replaced the pumps with flat oxfords. I added micro fishnets, cropped tuxedo jacket and brightly patterned L.A.M.B bag. I also mixed in extra large pearl baubles seeing as the look was already on the dramatic side.

It’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea to add flat oxfords to a pretty 50’s frock when pumps would definitely have looked more sophisticated and chic. But wearing flat oxfords with dresses is a fashion forward look and out of practical necessity I took complete advantage of the trend – and I happen to like the look too. Fashion does not need to mean pain. In this case it meant complete comfort.

Greg really liked this outfit mainly because of the tuxedo jacket. I can wear my cropped tuxedo jacket over just about anything and it will get a thumbs up from hubby. He also enjoyed the spunky theatrical touch of the flat two toned oxfords. But the commentary didn’t stop there. Greg also said that I looked like a modern day Mary Poppins. How true! A foot full of flat oxfords and the medicine did go down.