Le Look Du Jour: Actress Adepero Oduye in MARCHESA

Actress Adepero Oduye attended the MARCHESA 2012 F/W RTW Show during the recently held NYFW and wearing this Marchesa embellished and belted dress.

Front-row beauty along with Jenna Dewan Tatum.

Who can resist the lovely confections that Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig dream up every season.

Top Model Jasmine Tookes looks lovely in MARCHESA but these boots are the star of the show!

I'm only serving up two looks from their 2012 F/W R-T-W show and these boots of giving me serious withdrawal symptoms! Dayum, they're gorgeous!

OH, OSCAR!

Anais Mali for Oscar de la Renta F/W 2012 RTW.

Oscar de la Renta is one of this nations national treasures and one of the world's best fashion designers. I've had my ups and downs with Oscar after he reportedly tried to bash our First Lady but I can't deny that he is one of the greatest fashion designers still living.

For his F/W 2012 RTW, Oscar de la Renta presented another beautiful collection and what caught my own were the pretty headbands the models wore that could easily be created using faux or real diamonds or colorful jewel encrusted brooches and satin ribbon or pliable velvet ribbon. The wider the ribbon the better.

I used ribbon that was 1 1/2 inches wide, but two or more inches of satin ribbon will do just fine. I used brooches from my own collection. Be sure to measure the ribbon to fit your head and hair length. It doesn't cost a fortune to be creative and this same technique can also be used to create a stunning belt using a thicker satin or velvet ribbon.

An Afro this huge or a smaller cropped Afro would be perfect to wear this headband with during an evening affair.

SHALA STYLE: EIGHT LOOKS

"She didn't make several international best dressed list for nothing. Love her or hate her, the woman is living out her dreams and I don't see anything wrong with that. Real style Rules!"

For me, it's all about real style or nothing else. If you see a celebrity highlighted here it's because he or she isn't receiving the same kind of shine or recognition as their peers. Now that I know that many celebrities wear borrowed clothing and jewels to many events, I can't get all excited about "faux glamour." *Diva Shrug* :)

FOUR LOOKS: TRACY REESE FALL 2011 RTW

I'm loving Tracy Reese's latest collection of dresses that are "fit to print" in bold graphic prints, dotted Swiss in pastel colors and the ever present staple color black. Faux fur neck scarves and jackets give the collection just the right touch of big appeal. I'd say this collection is one of her best ever.

Photos: Alessandro Garofalo

I Am Legend: Fashion Maven Audrey Smaltz

"It's all about hustle, and those who relax are destined to be replaced." ~ Audrey Smaltz, CEO of The Ground Crew


There are only a few people in the fashion industry that I want to meet today who are on my "to do list" before I leave this earth and I most definitely want to meet Audrey Smaltz because this woman, along with Andre Leon Talley are walking encyclopedias of the fashion industry.
 
For years the glamorous Audrey Smaltz, was a commentator for the EBONY FASHION FAIR traveling fashion show. There she sat high on her stool on that stage and began and ended the show with a flourish. You'd have to be there to listen to her commentary to witness it. I had my first experience listening to her diction as she discribe the couture worn during my first show while living in Texas and left there feeling that I had left an YSL showing or some other exclusive fashion showing. I was hooked and tried to attend as many FF Shows regardless of where I was living.
 
Historically, Mrs. Johnson brought couture to us in a way like no other. Now in the age of technology we can view live shows on our computers, yet Mrs. Johnson had already done that and all we had to do was buy a ticket. Audrey and Mrs. Johnson were also part of the front-row fixtures at many couture showings as Mrs. Johnson picked out the best designs to bring to us the best from Paris, Milan, New York and London.
 
Audrey worked as a model in her earlier years and was the first black woman allowed to participate in the Miss New York contest, that eventually became the Miss America pageant. Audrey was Mrs. Johnson's right-hand when it came to reviewing collections because of her discerning eye for style. Audrey has shown that there is life after the runway because she now helms The Ground Crew, which is a NYC based company that provides behind-the-scenes support services to fashion shows, ranging from seamstresses, to assistants who unpack and steam clothing, to dressers who change the models during fashion shows.


I Salute you Audrey Smaltz for Being an inspiration.

Au Naturel: Julia Sarr-Jamois

This is another one of my favorites from fashion photo-blogger, Tommy Ton of JakandJil fame. Over the months Tommy has captured some of the most stylish women on the planet. Check out this beautiful Afrolista below as she braces against the cold while those beautiful coils dance in the wind. Beautiful!

"Gotta Love The Afro In All of It's Magnificent Glory"

*Update: Thanks to one of my favorite "fashion renegades" writer Lynn  Yaeger

 at VOGUE, the beautiful lady in the photo is Julia Sarr-Jamois who is the the fashion editor of Wonderland magazine. Check out the post about her on VOGUE

Spotted: My Favorite Afrolista "It Girl" Shala Monroque

Shala Monroque leaving Bryant Park

I love how one of favorite "Afrolistas" changes up her look and never repeats the same look twice. Tamu McPherson of All the Pretty Birds chronicled the sharp-dressed ladies of Fashion Week and snapped this photo of Shala Monroque which appeared on Harper's Bazaar's website.


Here's Shala below as she appeared again as one of Vogues Ten Best Dressed for the week.

Here is Shala in a beautiful ensemble at the opening for German artist Andreas Gursky which has held by her better half, Larry Gagosian. Andreas Gursky is a German visual artist best known for his large scale landscape and industrial photographs - showcased his new work Ocean. For this new work Gursky has turned to a new media of using the photos themselves as a raw material to create a sculptural mappe del mondo.  Now that's what I call a true "Style Chameleon."

Photos: Tamu McPherson/Patrick McMullan