It’s fun to look back at my own trend predictions for Spring 2012 and compare them with what’s in retail stores so far. This type of comparison reminds me of my fashion buying days, and I very much enjoy the analytical process. 

The Big Five

• Midi Skirts and Dresses: There has finally been a length break through. I’d like to see even more midis on shop floors, but I’m not complaining. Still lots of minis and knee-lengths around for those who prefer shorter hemlines. 
• Patterns: There are patterns everywhere, especially striped and plaid designs. Love it! 
• Soft Dressing: I see loads of soft woven tops and soft slouchy knitwear. Soft trousers are slowly making their mark. Not much in the way of soft skirts just yet. Rigid and tight pencil skirts still reign supreme. 
• Refined Footwear: This trend is not making a statement at all. Chunky high heeled footwear with mega platforms are still the fashion statement. My fingers are staying crossed for a bit of variation as we head further into the season. 
• Orange: It’s out in full force.  

General Trends

• Brights: Absolutely! It’s been a pleasure seeing a sea of brights alongside the neutrals. Emerald is huge, with red, cobalt, citron, yellow and pink making their mark. 
• Midtones: I’ve seen a few, but brights are surprisingly dominant at the moment. 
• Neutrals: Beige, nude and blush were supposed to take a back seat, but I still see lots of beige and blush.  
• Tribal prints and urban jungle: We saw this come through in Winter and I’m not seeing the Spring interpretations just yet. 
• Asymmetry: In tops for sure, and in the odd asymmetrical skirt as well. 
• Pattern Mixing: HUGE. Most retailers are pattern mixing big time. 
• Colour blocked garments: Last season we blocked with individual outfit pieces. This season we are seeing colour blocked items. I have a hunch this trend will go very mainstream.
• Soft, slouchy tapered trousers: As I mentioned above, they are definitely coming through in neutrals and colours. 
• Daytime Sparkle: I’m seeing the odd bit of daytime sparkle. I expect that we are still recovering from large volumes of holiday sparkle, so things will probably glitz up more mid season. 
• Black & white and blue & brown: We will always find black and white combinations in stores, but I don’t see many blue and brown combinations. 
• Flat loafers and oxfords: I had expected to see an abundance of loafers and slipper flats. They are making a small Spring statement at best. I hope this changes because we need a closed shoe option that’s different to ballet flats, pumps, booties and oxfords.  
• Hard edge: There are still plenty of store items in rigid fabrications. Coloured jeans, denim shirts and stiff pencil skirts are a plenty, as are leather jackets and structured blazers. As much as I like the soft dressing trend, I love to mix up soft pieces with rigid pieces most of the time. To my eye, the juxtaposition of these contrasting vibes is a great look. 

Remember that we are at the very start of the Spring season and have at least another 5 months left to go. We’ll see some trends make a stronger statement while others stay fringe. What I find even more interesting is how new trends are received by my clients, our forum members, the blogosphere and consumers in general. It’s fun to see which ones go mainstream and how long it takes for them to mainstream. 

Personally, I am particularly excited about this Spring season and attribute that directly to the vibrant colours, longer dress and skirt lengths, cheerful patterns, flat loafers and beautiful soft boxy blouses. I guess it’s just more fun to shop for a season that is aligned with your style persona. Goodness knows we have all had our fair share of disliking fashion trends, which makes the whole process of refreshing our style a little less enjoyable. 

As we head into six months of Spring and Summer retail fashion, I’m also very focused on Fall 2012. We are off to New York Fashion Week next month where the interpretation and analysis will start all over again.

I use a drugstore bought cleanser for dry skin called “CeraVe” to clean my face and neck morning and night. It was recommended by my dermatologist after Impruv, which I used before, was discontinued. It’s a great facial cleanser and I am really happy with the product. 

However, my facial cleanser does not adequately remove eye makeup. That I leave to Ponds cold cream, which I have been using since I was a teen. My Mum recommended Ponds to me in 1984 and I never looked back. I don’t know whether Ponds removes eyeshadow and eye liner as effectively because I don’t wear eye makeup other than mascara. But in my experience, nothing removes mascara as well as Ponds cold cream. It’s cheap as chips and lasts a long time.

What’s your favourite eye makeup remover?

I call this colour emerald, but here in the US it’s also referred to as “Kelly green”. Orange is the colour of the season, but emerald is not far behind. 

I prefer emerald with shades of blue, like ink blue, French blue, denim blue and cobalt. I also love it with white. Emerald is so very fresh, and matching it with blues and white make it look and feel even fresher to my eye. Emerald is also amazing matched with purple and a bright happy yellow. 

I love emerald green and will wear it in any wardrobe item. I currently have three emerald green goodies in my wardrobe: a retro jacket, a vintage handbag, and a clutch. And I have my late Mother’s vintage emerald jewelry. While it’s on trend, it is a great time to add more emerald to my style. 

Over to you. Do you wear this shade of green? How do you combine emerald with other colours? Will you sport emerald as an accessory? Or is it just not for you. 

Just before the holidays I mentioned that Nostalgia in Vogue might make a fun present. This anthology, compiled by Features Director Eve MacSweeney, celebrates the 10th birthday of the famous “Nostalgia” columns. Essays based on stunning fashion photographs, paired with coming-of-age stories and artists’ personal musings on life’s big themes.

In The One Hundred – A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own, Nina Garcia shares the one hundred pieces that have become her wardrobe essentials. A style guide intended as a source of inspiration, rather than the ultimate must-haves list, to help you develop your trademark style.

While preparing the YLF entry for Mrs. Garcia’s book, I kept going back and forth between the two cover options. The hardcover with simple light grey background and black and pink lettering, and the colourful shoes and bags of the paperback version. In the end, the paperback won. Ruben Toledo’s illustration gives a fun taste of the playful drawings inside, and perfectly reflects this style guide’s tone and message.

It got me thinking though. Do looks matter with books? After all, this is one area where content trumps appearance, right. Yet, I admit to poring over web archives with beautifully designed covers. I have spent time tracking down the original version of a book just because the reprint cover wasn’t wowing me. No movie tie-in editions in my shopping cart if I can avoid it. And am I the only one who’s not amused when a publisher suddenly changes design themes bang in the middle of a favourite series?

Seems I’ve developed very specific style criteria for my bookshelves too. I like my covers strong and bold, with clean simple lines and an element of surprise thrown into the mix. I definitely smell a whiff of Modern Classic with minimalist tendencies here… Come to think of it, all this might match my overall style persona more than I realized.

How do your style preferences affect your book purchases? Or is there really no connection at all? And just for fun, tell us which Nina cover you would have picked.