Paris is Burning

We are in the midst of Paris Fashion Week for the Men and Couture Shows, and these summer shows couldn't get any hotter! Paris is the creme de la creme for fashion and the only thing hotter then the fashion on the catwalk is the fashion off the catwalk. The Parisian street style that covers the cobble stone streets of the fashion holy land is out of this world. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be in the City of Lights to witness all the wonder that occurs in this fashion capital and although I have been to the Parisian Paradise a couple times, I have yet to be there during Fashion Week. That being said, it does not stop me from getting a glimpse of not only the world's greatest designs by the world's greatest designers, I also make an extra effort to view the swag the style experts model as they meander through the crowds of fashion editors, buyers, celebrities and bloggers making their way to all the fashion shows around Paris. My favorite go to spot for the most up to date photos of all the fashion action is Tommy World, a section in Style.com devoted to all the fashion looks off the runway. This is one of the main places I get inspired in my own fashion and hope you can find some inspiration as Tommy Ton makes an effort to show the world, the beauty of style. 

Sizzling Summer Trends

It's summer time and with a new season comes a new trend. This summer be sure to watch out for the lean, sexy stomachs of girls all over town. Crop tops are the new tank tops and is this summer's must have item of the season. Audrey starts the season off right in this lime green crop top which fits her magnificently and the little skin that shows makes her even more desirable among those who fancy themselves a pretty girl, if that's even possible. Nicolas Ghesquière, designer for Balenciaga practically dedicated nearly his entire S/S 2013 collection to the midriff teaser as models strutted down the catwalk bearing their toned glamazon bellies for all to see. Skin is in and if you want to look hot while staying cool this season crop tops are the way to go. Heck, I'm down for anything that shows off skin, just check out these girls' leg revealing skirts.

You can check out all the skin showing fashions from the Balenciaga S/S 2013 fashion show here: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2013RTW-BALENCIA

Asian Innovation

I am back from a magnificent, memorable trip to Asia where I visited Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and surrounding water towns. While I was there I could not help but be excited to see what style trends were overtaking the far east side of the world.

Overall I have concluded that the Chinese people love to buy really expensive things, those of them who have money, and clothing is no exception. Shopping bags with designer logos swing down the streets of Central in Hong Kong. The ultra-luxurious storefronts along The Bund in Shanghai are filled with swanky shoppers fulfilling their shopping itch at stores such as Goyard and Rolex.

Although not all fashion lovers could afford the wallet breaking prices at the high-end stores around Asia, I did notice that they all could keep up with a trend that not only was fashionable but seemed to work to their physical advantage.

Platforms. Nearly everyone in both Hong Kong and Shanghai, or at least the fashion conscious ones,  were making themselves fashionably taller with platforms. It sure was something to see the boys and girls sauntering down the congested streets two inches taller than normal, a benefit from this trend that the shorter asian people enjoyed, I'm sure.

Their innovation to make themselves a pinch taller is brilliant. It is ubiquitous in Asia but quite uncommon here in the  United States, unless of course you are or were part of the goth seen in high school.

Fiction. Fashion. Icon.

Real life fashion inspirations are a dime a dozen, but its very rare to find a fictional character who eats, sleeps and breathes fashion, or at least has a good sense of fashion that they constantly express. This is a list of my fiction fashion icons who vary from a front desk bully we hate to love to prostitutes, boy billionaires and beyond.

Fran Fine had one spicy sense of fashion and I adore her. Her voice, her hair, her quintessential 90's mode look is all on point and she has been an icon of mine since I was a little boy. She was not the one to conform to the yuppy preppy trends of the Upper East Side. Proudly displaying her Queens influence in fashion one can be sure to say that, she had style, she had flair...That's how she became the Nanny.

This trio all definitely had their own unique sense of style, but my favorite out of the bunch was Amanda Taner from ABC's hit show Ugly Betty. She was a sassy dresser and had the attitude to go with it as she bullied Betty Suarez around the offices of Mode Magazine. Sometimes I think if I were a girl, my daily wardrobe would be very similar to Amanda's. After all I do own the gloves that she is wearing in this photo and didn't even know the fashion diva had a pair until this episode aired. I was in shock that she was wearing the gloves I owned, but hey, great fashion minds think alike I guess. 

This man does it best when it comes to badasses who have an eye for taste. Suave attitudes and good looks are always a given in any James Bond character but this one takes the cake. Daniel Craig's Bond is dashing and sophisticated and makes every girl (and some boys) want to be the ultimate Bond Girl. Bond's impeccable taste for fitted tuxes and fast cars makes me swoon and makes me want to have such high style and high class when I'm that age.

Spotted: Charles Bass, better known as Chuck Bass from the CW's knockout Gossip Girl the boy with the billion dollar style. He was a debonair and dressed the part at all expenses. New York's boy billionaire did not let a fashion moment slip by and no matter the occasion was always dressed to the nines. 

From one New Yorker to the next this list just keeps getting more fabulous by the scroll. The ultimate fiction fashion icon for many fashionistas around the world is Holly Golightly of Breakfast At Tiffany's. She has revolutionized the little black dress and has made it an essential for nearly every girl's wardrobe. Although she is mostly known for her little black dress and dripping pearls in the film, an interpretation of Truman Capote's paperback, I find her most glamorous outfit, perhaps, the most simplest. After a night out competing with Manhattan's endless supply of professional hustlers she wakes up to a buzz at her door in the best outfit of them all. Her sleep mask and tassel ear plugs with a white cotton pressed night top to me is bedtime opulence, and I'd love to think that I look just as extravagant when I wake up in the morning every day. 

This dynamic fashion duo are label whores at the utmost dahling sweetie, sweetie dahling. Edina and Patsy from AbFab will never grow out of their comedic petulant behavior or alcohol driven carelessness. They are fine, fresh and fierce whether in boho chic attire or designer labeled athletic wear. They have a groovy sense of style that goes with their groovy lifestyle of jet-setting, fashion shows and everything in between. Their outlandish attitude and lavish lifestyles makes these two Absolutely Fabulous.      

Scarlet Red

Wondering if your red lip goes with the rest of your look? Wearing the vampy look that Marilyn Monroe religiously sported is not an easy task to do. Some girls try the hot trend and tremendously fail to pull it off. This is a simple yet chic way to model the provocative style without looking like a Friday night call girl, or just a hot mess. Erica, my roommate and the girl in the photo below has mastered the look with her effortless yet sexy fashion. Her secret to perfecting a lustrous red appearance is Sephora Lip Stain #3. Wearing black and white colors, a ponytail, minimal accessories and, school teacher glasses, she has given the school boy fantasy a new twist with her stylish swag and sultry red lips.

"Minimal eye makeup is the key. You can't wear a lot of eye makeup and have red lips." -Erica Rosen

The Great Gatsby

Walking into Regal Cinemas in Union Square, Manhattan I was super stoked to witness the hyped up rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic wonder, The Great Gatsby with superstar Leonardo DiCaprio playing the enigmatic Mr. J. Gatsby in the flesh.  The fashion in this movie is all the rage in big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London and Tokyo, and can be spotted at the Prada store in New York's trendy SoHo where the garments from the motion picture are on display. The fabulous work of archives from Miuccia Prada and Mui Mui could have been seen up until a couple of days ago when the exhibit closed on May 12th. Although the costume design for the film was impressive as it  incorporated looks from Prada, Mui Mui and The Brooks Brothers for the leading men, I think this months edition of Vogue did a finer job at styling their current cover girl, Carey Mulligan, than the movie had done. Pick up May's edition of Vogue and witness all the divine clothes this magnificent spread, styled by Grace Coddington and shot by Mario Testino, has to offer. You won't regret it.

Carey Mulligan: Alexander McQueen ostrich feather dress with chiffon covered pearls

Tiffany & Co. earrings

Mui Mui jeweled heels

Like a Virgin, Mary

Madonna went back to her roots....Literally. The Italian pop queen showed up on Monday at the Costume Institute Gala at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art showcasing her original brunette hair color that she abandoned long ago. Taking in this year's theme of Punk, in honor of the exhibition, Punk: Chaos to Couture, Madge owned the red carpet Monday night as she marched around making us think she pulled that outfit right out from her Like A Virgin wardrobe archives and modeled it at the Met Gala. She takes the crown when compared to any other celebrity that night who tried to "punk" up their style. Madonna owned the punk trend in the 80's, and has once again showed the world that she has not lost her spunk.