Nicholas K: Fashion Week SS13

The eccentric wind of a bedouin gypsy dressed for urban travel wafted through Nicholas K's collection at the kick off of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at the Lincoln Center Thursday morning.  Layers, drapes, scarf prints and a desert-hued palette of neutrals and Sedona reds flowed throughout the men's and women's wear that the designer sent down the runway. Chambray and indigo were a highlight (I call chambray as the newest trend of the season!). Cool details like a laptop backpack pocket on the back of guys' hoodies were reminiscent of early Daniel Poole and Marithe et Girbaud....

Rufus Apparel's April Singer Straten on FW's Fashion:5ive

I first met April Singer Straten a few years ago through one of my bff's at a Coterie show while the founder, designer and creative force behind Rufus was pregnant with either the first or second of her now three children. She was absolutely adorable and over the years I continued to have the opportunity to run into her as I was walking or working various trade shows. I finally got the chance to see her highly-detailed, wonderfully-executed woven shirt collection at MRket a few seasons ago and then again when she showed for the first time at ENK this past July. With Rufus, her apparel business that incorporates both men's and women's apparel, including a three part men's wear shirt collection, April gives guys top options.  

The native New Yorker majored in journalism before

Stylin' like a Celebrity ~ Nordstrom Guide to Men's Style by Tom Julian

Are you stylin'? International trend guru Tom Julian is.

Julian, of the Tom Julian Group, knows that clothes make the man and in his just-released book, Nordstrom Guide to Men's Style (Chronicle Books), he advises that "the right clothes can turn an interview into a job, a lunch meeting into a deal, maybe even a blind date into marriage."

But, guys, how do you know you've (or, ladies, your man's) got the right clothes? Julian's new tome helps make the choices simple, breaking it down by style category and showing what clothes to wear and -- here's the important part -- how to wear them.

First, take his super quick quiz at the front of the book to figure out your lifestyle style type. Questions are easy, like whose celebrity style you most admire and what do you enjoy doing on weekends. Since Julian's savvy fashion work over the years for Oscar.com has reported on Red Carpet style trends on stars like Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Daniel Craig, suffice it to say that it's a piece a cake for him to help you determine your style. Julian's four fashion stylin' types are:



LUXURY: According to Julian, the clothes you'll want "tradition, skill and craftmanship" in your wardrobe. Your personality is to "portray a quiet confidence."

CLASSIC: You "appreciate quality, value and function," but "take the basics and make them your own."

CONTEMPORARY: Julian says you have a "modern approach to fashion," with a desire "to be current but not flashy."

TREND: Julian notes this style type likes to "stay on top of things" and "make edgy fashion choices...translating the runway into real life."

Julian's debut Style guide is garnering stellar attention, what with GQ Magazine's recent swanky NYC book launch, Women's Wear Daily's reporting Nordstrom getting in on the book business and a style question-and-answer evening at the Princeton Club. Julian also ended up in The Dish Rag by Elizabeth Snead (latimes.com), dishing on how ladies can dress their men like George Clooney, Brad Pitt or any one of their favorite celebrity stud they'd like to see themselves dating.

Who's stylin' now?