LillaP T-Shirt

It’s been a long and rugged winter for most of us…cold, snowy, rainy ( even in “sunny” California where I live! Add a bit of an economic pinch.  But it’s a New Year…a new decade…a new Spring. So get ready to revivify, revitalize, start anew and celebrate a refreshed YOU…treat yourself to some of the great and totally flattering spring 2010 fashion looks that,  like the budding spring flowers, await your picking!

Nallie & Millie Asian Print Shirt

Get ready for a brand new fashion lingo…where words like utilitarian, practical, user-friendly, functional, clean, and sturdy have become the new CHIC!  We American women have asserted our fashion independence before. We chose what truly worked for our bodies and our lives.

Khaki Top & Skirt

The options for Spring 2010 are super and abundant!  Many are truly born in the U.S.A….the birthplace of the kind of sportswear and snappy separates we live in…workman-like stuff!

Start with that fashion invasion of MILITARY  looks… the color KHAKI (and a bit of olive drab)…jackets and dresses…trench-y jackets and trench dresses…cargo pants…clothes that are cross-influenced by all the SAFARI LOOKS.

Tribal Jacket & Capri Pants

Speaking of….JACKETS…don’t face Spring without one! There is an infinite variety…from the military/safari…to aviator…to anoraks…to tailored blazers. There are closer-to-the-body & belted numbers…fitted jackets with a hint of peplum…collarless cardigans (think Coco). All can be worn with matching skirts…contrasting skirts…with jeans…and newly…topping the fluffiest dressy evening outfits. You’ve heard the fashion motto “TOUGH & TENDER” before…never has it been more IN.  Gutsy combinations of a floaty chiffon top with jeans, a tulle  and lace evening number in palest pink topped with a tough khaki military jacket. Takes courage? You bet but…worth a shot!

Komarov Top & Jeans

No, the world of COLOR is not all khaki (which you can soften with white or any of the sorbet pastels from pink to lavender). Spring is also WHITE and more WHITE…pure or combined with black. Like grass sprouting in the spring…so does clean white!

Luna Luz Dress

For hot looks…there is RED  from  cerise to pimento. And last but not least….we’re singing the BLUES, fashion-wise only. All the BLUES, from palest to sky… to washed denim blue…to vibrant royal. And we also know you will never give up  having  a new LBD  in your wardrobe.

Flowers bloom in spring and summer…and so do PRINTS… a myriad of prints whether they stem from the florist or the zoo …from far-flung tribes or graphic artists. True florals , blurred florals….every species of spotted  cat, often slightly abstracted…African-inspired tribal and Ikat prints, looking almost tie-dyed. Graphics like stripes, checks, dots and inkblots. What’s really NEW is to combine unmatched prints in  one dress…in one outfit…combos of

Beluva Jacket

stripes & dots…two different floral motifs, or florals and stripes.  Imagine combining a striped jacket with a cat spotted skirt…a flower print blouse with a graphic print skirt…trendy ideas not meant for the fashion timid!

Apropos SKIRTS…the pencil is the established stable…in any variety of fabrics…prints…summer leather…straight and simple or slim and wrapped.

A spring must is the SHIRT… in refreshing white…in prints. Pure or embellished with softening details.

Planet Top & Pants

Beluva Pleated Shirt Jacket

There’s a word of MICRO-PLEATED fashions…blouses, tops, jackets…some draped, twisted, tied…all so chic and at the same time kind to all figures and so flatteringly feminine!  There is new respect for craftsmanship and this pleating. draping, whirling and “whoosing” is part of it!

Can-t live without a DRESS?  The BEST is yet to come. The new chemises /shifts are a bit looser, have more volume, are less clutching! Great shirt dresses sporting those military details….dresses softened with draping…often asymetric …or  with wrapping… and embellished with details like fluting  or soft ruffles … even apliquéd flowers ,braids  and embroideries.

Kamorov Dress

Live in PANTS?  The new trousers are a bit roomier and have pleat-fronts. New for Spring 2010…the SOFT PANT…fluid, easy, flattering…many with drawstring waistbands!  The kind of pant that’s perfect for late day as well! And then there are URBAN SHORTS…well-tailored and knee-length (YOU decide whether you are the right age…have the right body and courage to wear those in town).  The short short belongs to country weekend.

CJ Jeans by Cookie Johnson

Denim, of course, for the best-fitting jeans ever. Wear them with a striped chambray shirt (some of us are old enough to remember that fabric), or a gingham one for a clean, new look.

If you’re ready for some new T’s…the best are striped ones…as worn by gondoliers in Venice…be sailors everywhere..the “bateau” T that Coco Chanel first flaunted on the boardwalk of Deauville.

Late day…EVENING…big night out…lots  of the best looks are not floor sweepers, but are short, at-the-knee…or mid-calf…tea-length.  Yes, the one-shoulder is still COLD…lots of asymmetric necklines and one-shoulder draping…discreet cut-outs here and there, nothing overtly sexy.  Mostly evening/cocktail dresses are flowing in silks, charmeuses, chiffons, laces.  We don’t advocate transparency a la LADY GAGA…but rather transparent layers of chiffon, tulle, lace…lined or worn over camisoles or slips. And yes, we sparkle at night…with a dusting of sequins…or all-out glitzy glamour.

Carmen Marc Valvo

What’s up with accessories?  BELTS are back…waist-cinchers…and double-wrap belts in leather or canvass. BAGS dangle from long shoulder straps.  Or great pouch bags in leather, fabrics, prints. And bright clutches to liven up whites or neutrals.

Go BOLD with JEWELRY!  Go for the gold…or silver…rougher the better…mixed with chunky stones or pearls. Piled at the neckline…or over-sized arm candy…a stack of cuffs…mixed metals and mixed stones.

DodiRocks Necklace

Be BOLD this Spring!  It’s the start of a NEW DECADE!  Be HOPEFUL!  Have fun with fashion. Make yourself happy. You deserve it! Enjoy!

Edie Locke is the former Editor in Chief of Mademoiselle Magazine and current Chair of Fashion Group International Los Angeles Foundation. She lives in Los Angeles.

By Edie Locke

The leaves have turned  and burst into those vibrant fall colors…so it’s time to kick the flip-flops into the back of the closet and….KICK-START FALL & WINTER!

And the clothes have never been more tempting…more exciting…flattering and at the same time more wearable. No fashion dictatorship …just great choices for every figure, every age, every attitude, every lifestyle..  T’is a season when drama meets preppy….luxury meets utility…sex meets demure….”girlish” grows up into “cool lady” and high wattage color meets low-key neutrals. So…..

KICK-START FALL & WINTER by adding COLOR to your wardrobe.  Yes, BLACK rules and is always IT…but mix it with one of the NEONS this season…the boldest turquoise, the richest purple, sizzle pint, or vibrant yellow!  For the world of great neutrals, think Starbucks: from cappucino foam white to latte, to rich espresso.

KICK START FALL & WINTER by adding PATTERNS to your closet: winter florals , exotic paisleys, abstract graphics, plaids and something “spotted” from that zoo-full of catty creatures. And play with mixing textures: tweeds with velvet or gutsy knits with satin.  And here and there….add a metallic shine…the glint of studs, paillettes or sequins.

KICK START FALL & WINTER….with the ALL IMPORTANT  JACKET… we keep robbing his closet for that “menswear moment”!  That jacket can be roomy and comfy as the oversized boyfriend jacket, or the bespoke tailored one of an impeccable gent. All jackets now have strong  , definitive shoulders….powerful yes, but not  “Dynasty” overkill!

And the must-have jacket also leads to the return of the monochromatic suit….with pencil skirt or trousers it’s back at work and back in town.

For less urban moments: chic utility jackets like a long belted parka or a pea-coat in non traditional colors!

KICK START FALL & WINTER… by adding more of  the one item no wardrobe can be without : a NEW WHITE SHIRT ( as Carolina Herrera said: You can never have enough white shirts!) That shirt may be the tailored classic, or a silk blouse with a  soft collar and poet sleeves. Actually… both the mannish  and the feminine  are perennial  MUSTS in your closet!  Wear it with a  slim skirt, straight trousers or ankle-skimming  narrow ones…or a flowing long skirt for evening. White shirts work 24/7 !

KICK-START  FALL & WINTER…with the wonderful world of UNSTRUCTURED clothes…the chicest clothes that are body-conscious without being body-clutching  (perfect and flattering for all figures/sizes).

Pleats from neck to hem…short sheath dresses, long tunics, cropped tops, rippling skirts and pants…loose cardigans and tie-front jackets…PLEATS rule!  And add to that the whole gamut of gutsy or cozy knits…fashion-savvy layers to top with the longest cardigans.

KICK-START FALL & WINTER…and your EVENINGS with that irreplaceable LBD ( little black dress)…but for fall-winter 09  think of adding  one with the added touch  of hardware…a bit of  restrained tough chic like studs, grommets, metallics.

And one shoulder is still fashionably cold….endless variations of one-bare-shoulder evening numbers…or one-sleeved!  Lots of late-day or big-night choices that stop short just below the knee….or above (depending on body-tone and age)….before you opt for the all-out ballgown.

KICK-START FALL & WINTER…with drop dead fabulous accessories :  STATEMENT JEWELRY…load on bold necklaces , layers of chains & beads… cuff bracelets from  wrist to elbow…more is more here.

Wrap up in a super shawl … a super-long muffler.

Carry a structured bag ( leave the totes tote your big stuff in) and maybe one that’s gleaming with metallic studs. With a short skirt….sheath your legs in black…in color…in a wild pattern if you dare….or  lace, fishnet, point d’esprit.

REMEMBER STYLE IS NOT DICTATORIAL…it’s a PERSONAL expression…an affirmation of who you are…what suits you and your lifestyle.

SO…KICK-START FAL AND WINTER… by enjoying shopping just for yourself once more!

No shopping experience seems to create more stress than shopping for the gown you’ll wear to your daughter’s or son’s wedding. Regardless of how laid back you or the bride-to-be might be, everyone wants everything surrounding this wonderful event to be just right – and that includes you!

No one knows this better than the ladies here at Merrick’s. We’ve not only been M.O.B’s and M.O.G’s ourselves, we’ve been dressing you all for more than 23 years! There’s little we haven’t done – whether a formal ceremony in a candle-lit castle, a Hollywood wedding on the beach, or a fun-filled event in front of the monkey cages at the Bronx Zoo. But while wedding styles and venues come and go, what doesn’t change is how to put it all together and how to make sure that you look and feel your most relaxed and beautiful.

With that in mind, we’ve put together a few tips on how to approach the whole blessed event without ever losing your cool.

Read the rest of this entry »

‘Tis a week before Christmas and all through our house, every creature is stirring, including our mouse.

Our staff is all bustling with ribbons of red, and ideas for great gifts taking shape in their heads.

There are sweaters of cashmere and gloves lined with wool, and dresses that shimmer with sequins and tulle.

There are cozy fleece cardies for grandmas and moms, and for babies wee caps with colored pompoms.

For teachers and aunties there are lovely note cards, with tulips and seashells and botanical visage.

For Sis, who is chic, there are narrow leg jeans, and handbags from Paris and numerous things.

And even for Dad who is last but not least, there are stuffers for stockings and things made of fleece.

There are games that will challenge his thinking and skill, and tabletop pinball to give him a thrill.

There are chocolates and candles and sea glass and things, and a board game for ladies with a naughty girl’s theme.

So head to our house where it’s cozy and bright, we’re open from 10 until 6 every night.

Except Thursdays of course when we’re open ’til 9, for late shoppers who still have great gifts they must find.

On Sundays we’re here from noon until 5, in case that’s the day you choose to arrive.

But whether it’s morning, or noon time, or night, we’re here to assist you with gifts that are right

For those whom you love and hold close to your heart,

It’s at Merrick’s your holiday shopping should start.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Merrick’s!