I was REALLY looking forward to this show for two reasons. One, Tadashi Shoji is a legend in the business, and two, my clients frequently choose Tadashi items for formal events. He makes a great product that’s relatively covered, comfortable, and alluring. 

Last year Tadashi showed blush, nude and cream with hints of extremely soft pastels. This year, he brightened up his range by using stronger mid tones along with his signature neutrals. I loved that. 

The show opened with a delightful, shocking pink ombre bubble dress that resembled a tulip. His collection was in many ways floral inspired, which works well with the romantic integrity of his label. After the pink, we saw citron and lemon yellow, with coral, purple and touches of peach and lavender. These brighter hues were strongly underpinned with shades of beige, blush and off-white.

At one point, a horizontally striped series of frocks came gliding down the runway, and I did not like those at all. But it wasn’t long before we saw the type of looks that signify the Tadashi Shoji label: romantic ruffles, lace and mesh overlays, satin ribbon and bows, ruching, rosettes, and pleating. That was more like it.

My favourite gown was a ’40s inspired, off the shoulder sliver beaded number with a dropped waistline. Strong, simple and texture-rich. I know what you’re thinking — “dropped waistlines are hard to wear”. That’s true, but when the drape and cut of the fabric is right, it’s a flattering look that is forgiving around the midriff.

I liked that all dress lengths were represented in the collection, from mini to midi to maxi. I enjoyed how dresses were both sleeved and sleeveless. Necklines were high and low. Shapes were fitted and voluminous. Thanks Tadashi for giving us a choice of silhouette. I once again look forward to popping my clients into your romantic designs.

I knew that I was going to be very tired on our first day of Fashion Week because we flew in on the redeye and still had a LONG day to go. So I deliberately planned a very bright and simple outfit to keep up my energy levels. 

I continue to enjoy bright colour blocking. Soon I’ll be clad in heavyweight neutrals as we head into Winter, so I’m making the most of my lighter weight, bright clothes in the mild Autumn weather. I matched a citron blouse with an orangey-red knee length pencil skirt. I finished off the look with gold accessories, bag and gold tipped low heeled pumps. No jacket required. 

The silhouettes are very simple, allowing the colour to do the talking. I’m still having fun sporting the sharp shoulder trend because it brings back sweet ’80s memories. So there you have it — this blouse has shoulder pads. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it makes me smile.

On the way to supper after our final meeting we met a little doggie called Ninja. He was a sweetheart and climbed straight onto my lap when I showered him with attention. That was my favourite part of the day.

The concept is nothing new. We saw flatforms in the ’70s and ’90s and they’ve been back for a season or two, this time with more variety and refined styling. As the name implies, the flatform is a flat platformed shoe. They achieve the height of a heel without arching the foot. 

Some of my clients who have foot challenges enjoy flatforms because normal high heels cause painful pressure on the balls of the feet or cramping of the toes. My feet also don’t like to arch in heels, but I have a different problem with flatforms. The soles are usually inflexible and I find that I can’t walk my usual fast pace in them. Flatforms with spongy rubber soles, a very ’90s look, have better flexibility, but I still prefer walking in either true flats or very low heels. 

All in all, I am thankful that flatforms made a comeback because they have the capacity to reduce foot pain in a fashionable and on-trend way. Here’s to happy feet.

With press credentials in hand, it’s almost time to head off to New York Fashion Week. Spring 2012 collections will be on the runways and we’re excited to bring you the coverage. We will blog about the shows, my outfits and whatever else catches our attention. I’ll also tweet, while Greg posts photos on our tumblr page, so sit back, relax, and enjoy YLF’s interpretation of this colourful fashion and style extravaganza. Blog posting will be sporadic so don’t be alarmed when they pop up at unusual times of the day and over the weekend.

We are packed and ready to go. This time I’m armed with bodyglide and blister defense just in case my heels misbehave like they did last year. We walk A LOT in NYC and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I also plan to swap out my footwear, changing into heels just before we approach Lincoln Centre, home of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. 

As if fashion week itself wasn’t excitement enough, there will also be a YLF gathering on Saturday 10 September. It might end up being the largest gathering to date.

Goodbye Seattle. Hello Manhattan!