I spent a lot of time during February watching the shows in New York, London, Paris and Milan from the comfort of my office. As always, it was exciting and inspiring, and it became the featured area for our February recap. If you are subscribed to the monthly newsletter, then it’s already in your inbox. If not, please consider signing up. 

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A stationery line by Garance Doré, Giorgio Armani’s charity collaboration with Unicef, Nordstrom’s expansion plans, and other fashion news that came out this week.

• Fans of a little French je-ne-sais-quoi: Inès de la Fressange has teamed up with Uniqlo for their LifeWear line.
• And more Uniqlo news. The Japanese brand intends to offer more generous sizes to fit the US market, and lower-priced lines in smaller Asian cities.
• Nordstrom is planning to further grow its online business. The retail chain will also open 27 new Nordstrom Rack stores in 2014 and intends to expand its in-store Topshop stands from 14 to 41 locations.
• Gwen Stefani’s latest collaboration involves… lingerie. She is teaming up with Hanky Panky, giving their best-selling styles a rock ‘n’ roll edge.
• Speaking of starting young: 12-year old Isabella Rose Taylor is launching her own juniors collection at Nordstrom.
• For all the stationery fans out there: Garance Doré is launching her own back to paper line.
• Amazon is supposedly in talks with J.Crew, Ralph Lauren and other retailers to list their products on the website.
• Now this is a somewhat unexpected selfie side effect: an increase in head lice among teenagers.
• 68-year old actor Charlotte Rampling has just been named as the new face of Nars Cosmetics.
• Film director David Lynch will be responsible for the set design and soundtrack for Kenzo’s Fall 2014 show. 
• For the fifth year in a row Giorgio Armani is sponsoring Unicef’s Tap Project. Want to help? Just ignore your phone for 10 minutes.

Fun Fashion Fact

Did you know that it was Napoleon Bonaparte who introduced the idea of buttons on jacket sleeves? He ordered his tailors to sew buttons to soldiers’ uniform sleeves to prevent the men from wiping their runny noses on them.

This ensemble was inspired by a new addition to my wardrobe: Halogen’s pleat midi skirt in a bold black and cream stripe. I have a soft spot for dramatic fit-and-flare midi skirts because they remind me of my late Mum. With the memories of my Mum fading a little, it’s special to be reminded of her when I see this skirt in my closet. 

Fit-and-flare midi skirts, although a fringe trend at the moment, are Retro Classics with a high longevity factor. To my eye this style of skirt looks best when you incorporate a bit of Modern back into the ensemble. 

Instead of using the exact same striped Halogen pleat midi, I’ve substituted it with another flared skirt in a black and white pattern. Here are the components of the formula: 

Skirt: You’ll need a fit-and-flared midi skirt, in either a solid or pattern, that’s knee-covering but no longer than half way down the calf. 

Top: This is where you can add a Modern aspect to the outfit, so think further than a tucked soft silk blouse, regular button-down shirt, fitted wrap top, or cardigan. Create a bit of casual edge with a tucked denim or chambray shirt. Create interesting proportions with a fluid and luxurious fine gauge pullover that is welted for structure, and scrunch the sleeves. A roomy high-low crop top baring a slither of midriff is another option. Or match the skirt with a fun upscale sweatshirt. 

Topper: A denim jacket or moto get my vote for Modern on trend toppers. Or leave off the topper. 

Footwear: Keep it dainty, Retro and feminine with pointy toe pumps. Add in a trendy aspect with ankle strap pumps. Wear pointy toe flats that are low contrast to your skin tone if heels aren’t your thing. Or wear tailored heeled booties for a harder edge. 

Accessories: An angular and sporty clutch is a fun contrast against the twee integrity of the skirt — another Modern outfit injection. A small satchel or tote with short handles are other options. Add jewellery, eyewear, hose and watch as desired.

Of course, you can also change the colour palette to one that fits your style. Here are some street style renditions of this outfit formula: 

• Pretty hard edge
• Modern elegance
• Trendy chic
• Textured neutrals

All that’s left to do is speak to the weather angels for warmer weather.

StyleCaster recently did an article on Lean In, a nonprofit organization that is partnering with Getty Images “to offer a series of photos that showcase women and families in more empowering ways”. For a better idea of the type of stock photos we can expect, head on over to A Cup Of Jo.

This week actor Charlotte Rampling (68) was announced as the new face of NARS Cosmetics, and we heard that Jessica Lange (64) will star in the next Marc Jacobs Beauty campaign. “Are older models here to stay?” asks journalist Anne Karpf, who wrote an interesting analysis on the current state of affairs.

The Guardian also reports that body adornments like piercings are more regularly seen in mainstream fashion magazines these days. One example is model Daria Werbowy sporting a nose ring on the cover of British Vogue’s March issue, a first for the influential fashion mag.

Fab Links from Our Members

April is sharing tons of shoe candy with us: 21 loafers with an edge, and a slide show with more than 400 catwalk footwear looks from the various international Fashion Weeks.

For the seamstresses among us, Caro found some modern minimalist style patterns on BurdaStyle.

Laurinda reports that Lululemon angered their customer base by banning customers who try to resell their clothing online. They relented following negative publicity from the Business Insider article.

Columbine likes the idea of a modest fashion show, and enjoyed BuzzFeed’s report about Christian Fashion Week, that among other creations, featured jewellery made by women rescued from sex trafficking.

On the forum we’ve been talking about matching design elements and colours to our own natural appearance. In that vein, Vildy thought that Janice’s post on working with art as outfit inspiration was lots of fun.

Adorkable loves this little girl and her paper dresses.

Marlene is thrilled about the “Back to Basics” direction Gap is taking this season. She also found this Desperately Seeking Simple post interesting, because she wants to simplify her closet but finds the journey harder than expected.

Deb and Angie would both like to share Sally’s post that helps you hone your scarf style. Angie also points us to another of Sally’s posts that discusses how to pick your cold weather dressing battles.

Ornella enjoyed this BBC article about the little black dress, as “it’s always interesting to wear and read about”.

In this TED talk Australian journalist Tracey Spicer addresses the issue of how much time women put into their grooming and why. Deborah found her comments about the expectations of women in the media — and the workplace — very interesting.

Wise words in this video from 85-year old Betty Halbreich, Bergdorf Goodman’s first personal shopper. Her humility and openness to all people has always moved Isabel.