Wrapped in blue

The infectiously charming Hanneli Mustaparta wearing Proenza Schouler platform ankle boots.

No nonsense heart of gold

I have a friend from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her name is Anna. I met her while I was completing a self-imposed fashion purgatory over at Fordham Business School. She is one of the most impressive people I have ever met in my life. She is brilliant, beautiful, generous and sweet, but she is also one tough cookie. She is a no nonsense kind of woman with a heart of gold- a combination of qualities that I find enormously endearing.

Anna was my first adult, Russian, female friend. And over the years, I have been fortunate to meet other Russian women who share the same qualities that define her. Vika Gazinskaya is one of them.

Vika is an emerging Russian fashion designer of impeccable style. She is often photographed in pieces from her eponymous line or in incredibly researched vintage pieces. She has a serious penchant for Roger Vivier pumps. And as seen here in a traditional Russian foulard and trench style coat during New York Fashion Week, her look is sleek, sophisticated and flavored with the right hint of stylistic spice.

A woman with a passion for the theater, Vika opts out of the traditional runway show format and stages theatrical presentations back home in Moscow. Pictured below, she adds a little drama to Paris Fashion Week in a dress from her Spring/Summer 2009 collection.

The pieces from her collections are superbly cut and often cast architectural shadows. Here she towers in a look from her Spring/Summer 2010 collection.

Detail oriented, her make-up is always perfect down to the last eyelash.

Seen here with best friend Miroslava, another painfully stylish creature, she wears a hat, top and skirt from her Fall/Winter 2011 collection.

Double Denim

I'm totally inspired by Refinery 29's Connie Wangs' double denim from this past New York fashion week. Thanks to visits to the Gap and Madewell (someone actually mistook my Madewell overalls for the Ralph Lauren version), I've been living the look for the past month. I even pulled out a pair of flair jeans that I scored at the Gap two years ago to channel the seventies child in me. I'm a 1976 baby after all, so I think I can pull off the 2010-hippie look. Another reason to snap up those Celine flat sandals that I saw at Corso Como 10. (Wink) Did you know that I love to wink? Wierd? Been doing it ever since I learned how. And I'm also chronically tangential. Back to my point: Viva double denim!!!!

Taupe grey tiger

Kate Lanphear in a Miu Miu coat, Burberry fur shawl and Balenciaga shoes.

Lineup

The undeniably stylish Sarah Rutson takes sporty-chic to the next level as she makes her way across Sixth Avenue. She is wearing the amazing Sacai parka that was a favorite among editors this past fashion month.

Pastels and Fluo

So my family and I are on Paradise Island, Bahamas for our annual family vacation. And during lunch I noticed that we were all wearing emerald green tops- my two boys were wearing polos and I am wearing a Phillip Lim reinterpreted caftan blouse. When we are traveling, I often change my son's top before meals to avoid spills. This was a hard-learned lesson. When he was one-year-old we went to Sardegna for our summer trip. He had just discovered watermelon and consumed one pounders after every meal. Well you can probably imagine the staining that occurred. So now that I am a seasoned mother (LOL), I pack some of his worn-out clothing from the previous year to get us through meal time. Plus, he is so over bibs.

After observing our vacation uniform (my husband told me that someone greeted us as the Green family earlier today), I immediately thought how much I like the contrasting pastel and fluo palette on my son's 2010 SS wardrobe. I was a super-mom this year, mixing Bonpoint, Petit Bateau and Zara to get the perfect blend of khaki's and fluo pink, lime green and slate gray, cobalt and shocking orange. And they say dressing girls is more fun! Ha you haven't met me yet! LOL!

And now as I sit at my computer thinking about what to post, these two images immediately come to mind.

Designer Victor Glemaud


Teen Vogue Fashion Director Gloria Baume

NYFW Favorites • Cerise Zelenetz

Here's another of my favorite images from my Harper's Bazaar Fashion Month street style coverage. From the bows decorating the back of her Rodarte for Target dress, her herringbone tights, to the gold architectural heel of her wedges, the details of Cerise's look are perfection.

Brothers

How cute are Gus and Oliver in their matching Stella McCartney for the Gap band jackets? Love!!!!

A little Shala for your weekend

Style frontier

The details of Marina's look are impeccable. Her pairing of a torn hat with a frayed sweatshirt is stylistic perfection! The color, print, and soft edges of her foulard add just the right touch to the mixture. Her string belt tied in a bow? So cute! Her oxfords-divine! And how gorgeous is her striped button-down with french collar? What a great twist to this otherwise field or stable-friendly look.

Shaggy

I love how this lovely NY PYT pairs this amazing cropped, shaggy fur jacket with a black mini and derby boots for instant laid-back cool. I also love the YSL ring that her boyfriend gave her as a gift. (Please forgive me for not including her name. I've lost a chunk of my NYFW style info. BlackBerry troubles. :-()

Update: It's such a small world. This lovely girl is called Molly. Her boyfriend is none other than the brother of my amazing friend Maya of Turned Out. Thanks Maya! It was killing me that I couldn't recall her name. Happiness.