A tiny sneak peek at the Alexander Wang for H&M collection, Gwen Stefani returns to New York Fashion Week, Yoox branches out into activewear and more news from the style trenches this week.

• This Fall, London’s Design Museum will stage an exhibit that explores the relationship between powerful women and their wardrobes.
• Here’s a teeny tiny sneak peek of the much anticipated Alexander Wang for H&M collection.
• I’m looking forward to Gwen Stefani’s return to New York Fashion Week, where she’ll be showing the L.A.M.B. Spring/Summer 2015 collection.
• This week Amazon launched a shopping section that focusses entirely on wearable technology.
• Eileen Ford, co-founder of famous modelling agency Ford Models that launched the career of Lauren Hutton and many others, has died at age 92.
• After Net-a-Sporter, Yoox is next in line to jump on the activewear bandwagon.
• Rag & Bone presents its Men’s Spring 2015 collection through a portrait series that features Jerry Seinfeld.

Fun Fashion Fact

Did you know that this year alone 6.9 million sunglasses were sold on eBay, with Calvin Klein being the most popular brand purchased by US shoppers (nearly 1 million pairs), and Ray-Ban the second most popular brand (over 200,000 pairs).

Casual Summer dresses are a joy to wear in the heat because they’re breezy, feminine, and an easy pull-on-and-go option. Add a bag, pair of shoes, and off you go. No topper required. 

An effective way of refreshing last year’s Summer dress is by wearing it with trendier footwear options. Casual high-heeled strappy wedge sandals and espadrilles are classic, and by no means dated. But flat and lower-heeled shoe options, in closed and open styles, seem more current at the moment. 

Choose neutrals or colours across patterns and solids. Here are the components of the ensemble: 

Dress: Think simple Summer dresses in tailored, flared or sack silhouettes. Silk, linen and cotton fabrications are extra ventilating, but blends work well too. I’ve shown a jersey fit-and-flare, a sleeveless watermelon shift, a waistless shirtdress, a fitted V-neck Grecian style, and a high-low T-shirt dress. High-low maxi dresses and strappy sundresses are other options. Remember to maintain structure by wearing voluminous dresses that do not taper back at the hem above the knee. 

Footwear: This is the crucial part. Think on trend Summer footwear like sneakers, Birkenstocks, pointy toe flats, slipper flats, loafers, ankle strap wedges, dainty thong sandals or gladiators. Sandal booties, ankle strap flats, d’Orsay flats, laceless flat oxfords, and cut-out booties are further options. Choose a colour that works with the dress. 

Accessories: Finish off the outfit with a casual tote, satchel, crossbody or upscale backpack. I chose a cognac tote because it’s extra casual, a nice break from metallic, and quite rich with just about any Summer dress. Add jewellery, watch, eyewear and hat as desired. 

I wore this outfit formula last weekend in gorgeous warm weather and loved it. I combined a boxy dark denim shirtdress sans belt with sporty white loafers and fashionable backpack. I scrunched the sleeves and added sunnies, silver watch and wedding ring. Next time I’ll wear the same look with white sneakers.

All of a sudden my feed reader and email inbox are filled with articles and tips about lipstick, so I thought I’d share the most interesting ones with you today:

• Refinery29’s Amber Katz shares her experiences with getting a permanent lip tint.
• J.Crew is teaming up with Bite Beauty for a trio of matte lip colours.
• Popsugar rounds up 10 matte lip glosses with great staying power.
• Here’s a how-to video on how to create your own custom lip colour.
• Feel like matching your lipstick to your sunnies? Here are some fun examples.
• Fashionista picked their 10 best lip products of the Summer.
• Trying Michelle Phan’s ombré lip tutorial.
• Happy, and some unusual, Summer colours with Nyx Cosmetics Macaron lippies.

Fab Links from Our Members

Ummlila loved this interview with Kim France, founding editor of Lucky magazine, in which she discusses her ongoing interest in fashion for women in their forties and what it takes to succeed in the industry. 

MsMary recommends this profile of Nina McLemore — the most powerful designer you’ve never heard of: she dresses Hillary Clinton and other leaders. MsMary thinks the clothes are a little grandmotherly, but found the article fascinating.

Laurinda applauds Free The Girls, a non-profit initiative that helps women rescued from sex trafficking to earn income from selling donated bras.

“With a rucksack you’ve never arrived, and at any moment might decide to leave.” Vildy tremendously enjoyed this Guardian article about the reinvention of the backpack.

Angie had fun checking out the 7 dresses that have defined the last century, and enjoyed browsing these street style pics taken during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

Angie also directs us to Sally’s post on closet organization for a large and varied wardrobe, which is helpful and spot on.

Geargirl found this video about how to use Google Image Search to match unmatchable clothing very helpful.

Neel thought that “10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Something Expensive” might come in handy for the many forum members trying to minimize their purchases to keep their wardrobes from overflowing.

In light of recent forum discussions about wardrobe building and investment pieces, Joy thought Une femme d’un certain âge’s post about Mastering the Basics might be interesting.

Annagybe had fun reading this analysis of couture shoes, and thinks Angie and many others will love the pointy toe white go-go boots.

Thanks to the sporty luxe trend sneakers are making a bigger fashion statement than ever. Both non-athletic and athletic sneakers are being worn with just about any outfit — with skirts and dresses too — and the fashionably intentional combination is au courant and very 2014. 

This is great news for those of us who have fussy feet because sneakers are normally very comfortable. For my Mum-on-the-go clients, this was especially great news because fashionable slip-on sneakers, retro styles and refined athletic sneakers are easy to fit, affordable and brilliantly comfy. Others have embraced the wedge sneaker and high-top as a way to dress down outfits and aren’t looking back.

But for me, finding comfortable sneakers has been more difficult than I thought it would be.

The saddest part of the sneaker trend for my own style has been saying goodbye to Chuck Taylor Converse. I adore the retro and timeless vibe of Chucks and used to wear them very regularly. Unfortunately my feet have grown fussier and Chucks don’t work for me anymore. Next. 

I thought I’d give those fabulous slip-on sneakers a bash, because sporty flat oxfords are just up my alley. I tried many styles across an assortment of price points — from Vans to Givenchy — and no luck. The style was too wide, the footbed too stiff, the fabrication too hard, or all three. Wearing my own low-heeled leather booties with socks and buttery soft loafers sans socks was much more comfortable than the slip-on sneaker. 

Then I tried athletic sneakers, both refined and chunky, from Nike and New Balance. I didn’t find the Nikes all that cushioning to start off with, and the chunkier styles really hurt my arches. The New Balance sneakers killed my feet when I took them on a long walk because my arches do not like arch support. Luckily, Zappos allowed me to return the used New Balance sneaks for which I was very grateful. Also, I generally found athletic sneaker styles overly wide and heavy, and ironically not comfortable at all. 

I spoke to Greg and a few of my very athletic friends about my sneaker challenges. Running shoes are supposed to be very comfortable, so what was going on? They recommended I try ASICS and in a narrow size. So that’s what I did, and finally I had a shoe that fit well and felt more comfortable. My feet weren’t swimming around inside the shoe and the arch support was a lot less severe. I’ve road tested my ASICS GT-2000 on power walks many times over and I’m pleased to report happy feet. 

I was also on the lookout for white athletic sneakers with a retro touch that I could wear instead of Converse. Again, I tried style after style across all price points and no luck until I looked for narrow sizes and found Propet’s Washable Walker. The shoe fits like a dream, is super cushioning, lacks excessive arch support and is as light as a feather.

At last, I am sneaker sorted. My fussy feet really keep me on my toes. 

My lesson here was that you can’t assume that sneakers are a slam-dunk comfortable walking shoe option. At least, not for someone with fussy feet like mine. I had to put in a lot of effort to find styles that suit my feet and go the distance. Also, you need to find the brand that suits your feet. Yes, each brand has a variety of styles, but they definitely each start out with a different set of priorities. ASICS sneakers seem to work well for me, but Nike or New Balance might be best on your feet. 

How about you? Was it easy to find a comfortable pair of walking or running sneakers? Which brands work for you, and why?