TRANSITIONING TO SPRING WITH CAPES : FASHION

We have had a few warm days in February, which got me in the mood to transition to Spring. Outfits which help you transition between seasons, always interest me. Capes or ponchos are a great transitional piece. I have  a few capes in my collection, which I reach out for at this time to the year or when we are transitioning to fall. They can be layered under a turtle neck, if you want more warmth. Or belted up to look more chic. This particular cape is from Target which I had picked up last year. As it is in Black and White, it makes it more versatile when it comes to pairings. I paired it over a powder blue chiffon sleeveless top from Express and some light Jeggings from American Eagle. Grey suede booties . Its an oft repeated Cape at this time of the year and I love it.

Outfit Details :
Black and White Cape from Target (sold out. Similar Here 
American Eagle Light Wash Jegging in Antique Waves
Grey Suede Ankle Booties from Off Broadway 
MAC Mehr Lipstick 
Rayban Classic Wayfarers 

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INTERVIEW WITH DESIGNER MICHAEL DRUMMOND : KANSAS CITY FASHION WEEK SS'16

Designer Michael Drummond is quite a crowd favorite of Kansas City Fashion Week. He is an alumnus of Project Runway's Season 8. Not to forget he closed the Thursday night shows at Union Station for Kansas City Fashion Week Spring -Summer'16. And he did it in style. This is the third time Michael Drummond has been showing at the Kansas City Fashion Week.

Like so many others in the audience I was completely floored by his collection. No doubt he was my top pick for the day.  He started his collection with just the perfect shade of lemon, which seemed to be the best precursor of the monochromes following next. I am not a fan of leggings, but when he paired a yellow top with leather leggings, I jumped on board. Love the clean lines on all his outfits.

I walked up to him, the next day, we did get chatty over fashion, vacation and inspiration .

Journospeak : What was your inspiration for this Spring -Summer Collection? Your designs had a recurrent print of two hands reaching out. Any special comments on that. 

Michael Drummond: Dreaming, Surrealism, love, longing and bonding were clearly the inspiration for this collection. When you desire something so hard, that your desire turns into madness, and you strive extra hard to achieve that. I guess thats evident in my current collection.

Selfie Fun with Designer Michael drumming and Designer Ngan Vuong

Journospeak : How do you think Kansas city has developed as Fashion destination? 
MD:  kansas City has come up in leaps and bounds in developing as a Fashion destination. Other than the usual big buyers, the general fashion conscious consumer is growing in the Midwest. Theres a lot of young blood in the Fashion scene of Kansas City . Lots of young designers, who bring in a fresh approach to the way fashion is perceived and received.

Journospeak : Your finale piece was just breathtaking in its red foils. What prompted you to craft that piece ? 

MD: I was reminded of camp fires and wanted to capture it. The essence, the flicker of the flames, the story of hope and the good times that you have around a camp fire, filter through my finale piece. Once again, a story of love, of longing , and of being together.

Journospeak : (Chuckling and smiling ) : Campfires? And I thought it was about channeling your inner animal or something. 

MD: (laughing) : You wild one !!! Fashion, you see, is like Poetry. It can be open to so many different interpretations and that's the beauty of art.

Lastly 
Journospeak : Writers, journalists or bloggers suffer from what can be described as a Writer's Block at times. Do designers face such a slump in their creativity ? If so what do you do, to get back your creative boots? 

MD: Oh Yes, we do face that. Big Time. When I need fresh inspiration, or I feel I am stuck, I go for a walk in the woods, to recharge my batteries. The various elements, the rusting leaves beneath my feet, the birds in the trees or the sunlight trickling in, inspire me to get going again. I shut off from social media absolutely. Society can be clawing at times, and I need to get away from everyone and everything, to come back again.

Journospeak: Interesting choice. The Woods and not the Sea ?

MD: The sea is my absolute vacation destination. I will always try and accommodate the ocean in my travel plans. Its so calming, it helps to calm me in so many ways. The sea always looks new and it always has something new to offer. But the Woods , work in inspiring me. So while the Sea calms me down , the Woods lead me on. I get the best of both worlds.

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KCFW SS'16 DAY 2: FAIR AND FASHIONABLE - HIGHLIGHTS

Kansas City Fashion Week is known for its signature shows at Union Station. So after a pool side  show in the Power and Light District downtown, the runway shifted venues. But it was a Fashion Show with a  difference. In a bid to raise awareness for Melanoma, KCFW collaborated with Fair & Fashionable, to raise awareness for Melanoma. According to the Mayo Clinic nearly 2,00,000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year. The guests were requested to wear Black to spread the word that your natural skin is always your best accessory. A movement to inspire people embrace their natural skin tines and change the belief that suntanned skin is healthy and instyle.

Editor: Katie Van Luchene

Emily Jungdren Walters: Founder - The Blog Guild

My top picks for the night were Michael Drummond, Brooke Cromley of Gyspy Blaque and Jewelry Designer Ngan Vuong of eNVe Designs. Can we please have a standing ovation for these three fabulously talented designers !!! 

Bling and Blogging

St Louis based designer Michael Drummond, is an alumnus of Project Runway's Season 8, and clearly an absolute darling of the KC Runway. We did manage to get chatty and put together a fun interview, which will be coming up in the next post. Coming back to his current collection. He was the finale designer of Thursday night, and boy oh boy, what a finale he put together. I love the lemons with which he started off his collection.How perfect was that for Spring Summer. So next when he brought in the monochromes, the crowd was clearly not complaining. The clean lines and classic silhouettes with a touch of surrealism were just beautiful. 

Michael Drummond

Michael Drummond 

The man himself : Michael Drummond

When the models walked out sporting exquisite handmade jewelry crafted by Designer Ngan Vuong of eNVe Designs, it was just breathtaking. There are statement necklaces and there are statement necklaces by ENVE Designs. Loved the play of colors and metals and textures . Every necklace not only had a unique front but had a different life altogether at the back. So you could take your pick from wearing them together or as individual pieces. And to think, that was just the tip of the ice berg, for there were earrings, cuffs and rings. Everyone in the audience was probably already making their Holiday list in mind, with surely an eNVe Design original featuring in it And this was designer Ngan Vyoung's debut show. I shouted myself hoarse cheering for her and shouting Bravo. Can't wait for next season. 

eNVe Designs

Designer Ngan Vuong of eNVe Designs

The third designer who absolutely wowed me that night had to be Brooke Cromley of Gypsy Blaque. Leather, lace, silk and black like never before. She ended the first half of runways of Thursday, with a loud bang. Every piece was so beautifully crafted that people literally sat up on their seats.Personally I felt it was very Boudoir inspired, but then Fashion, like any other form of Art can be open to so many different interpretations. 

Designer Brooke Cromley of Gypsy Blaque with her models at the red carpet 

Retro was a recurrent theme across the days ,with many designers being inspired by the good old days. Redeux Kids  clearly was one of them. Being a Mom, it was such a pleasure to see a Kidswear designer beginning the series of shows for the evening. I was clearly cheering for veery tiny models who graced the runway. 

Omaha based designer Buff Reynolds  wowed us with her intergalactic inspired collection. Loved the textured hair which paired so well with her outfits. Moody blues and greys along with gold foiled eyes and textured hair made a strong fashion statement. Images from NASA Goddard were printed on fabric, without infringing on copyright and then the fabric were crafted into the most dreamy of gowns. Evening wear with clearly an other worldly appeal. 

Selfie  fun with the founders of THE BLOG GUILD: Erin Barnes, Emily Walters and Lisa Murie 

Black and pink were my signature colors on Thursday, so when designer Alexis Cook 's Spring Summer line had an overload of the same colors on the same night, it was almost a twinning moment. Well, almost, I said, didn't I !! Some might call her collection loud, but fashion has never really never impressed everyone. 

Jacquelyn Lippert of 5 o'clock Fashionistas

If I wanted to get married again, and wanted a White Wedding, I would reach out for designer Jill Patton of  My Heirloom's finale piece. It was Blush and champagne and everything romantic. Her collection included beautiful bridal gowns and dresses for the bridal party. It was time travel yet again with her collection, this time it was 1940s Paris maybe. Classics never go out of style and she clearly proved that. 

KingDom Culture Limited presented a collection which had many different ethnic influences from South East Asia to Africa. Designer Isabel Muziha, originally hails from Zimbabwe and is a self taught designer. She had a mix of models of different ages to showcase her colorful collection. 

Last but not the least, Sargent, Nebraska based Designer Jessica Lynn 's collection was such a beautiful play of tulle, satin and lace and everything super girly. Loved the candy colors and whites. 

And it was a wrap of another day of packed runway shows and socializing with the fashion fraternity of KC. Not to mention yet another opportunity of catching up with my dear friends maybe over a cocktail or two. 

Blogger Samantha Globe - Of Life and Style 

Bloggers Jacquelyn Lippert of 5 o'clock Fashionistas, Samantha Globe of Of Life And Style and Mollie Marcolla of MollieBellezza 

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