Pattern Picks: Sequins

Sequins are all the rage these days, and with new years eve almost here and sales raging, it's the perfect time to stock up on festive sparkles and jewels. Here are some of our favorite retail picks.

1. TopShop Knitted Sequin Jumper, $85, topshop.com

2. West Elm Sequin Animals, now $9.97 at West Elm ($5 of sale goes to St. Jude Children's Research Hopital)

3. Parker Sequin Dress, $297, at shopbop.com

4. Ashish Sequin Silk Pants, $550, at net-a-porter.com

5. Sequin Oversize top, 11 pounds at newlook.com

(special thanks to dirk schuster for gifting us the beautiful font used on the numbers.)

Retail & Street: Leopard!

from StreetPeeper.com- NYC, From Facehunter.com-SF

from FaceHunter.com-NYC, from StyleClicker.com-Stockholm

clockwise: Stella McCartney Silk Top at net-a-porter.com , Rare Satin Tunic at rarefashion.co.uk, Jeffrey Campbell Shoes, Antipodium Dress at Liberty.co.uk, Azzedine Alaia Skirt at BrownsFashion.com, Forever21 Clutch at forever21.com

Leopard print is having a huge moment on the streets, runways and stores, in its' natural brown and black colors or in the neutrals and flesh tones that are a huge color trend right now.

Retail: Opening Ceremony

Peter Jensen, Cacharel, Emma Cook, Christopher Kane

This month's issue of Elle features a very insightful story about Opening Ceremony, and its founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim. The duo have helped launch the careers of American designers like Rodarte and Alexander Wang, while exposing overseas brands like Havianas, TopShop and Tsimori Chisato to the U.S. They also pioneered the re-vitalizing of American heritage brands like Pendleton and Timberland, and bringing them into the fashion world. Today, they boast stores in New York, LA, Tokyo, and Paris.

Above are a few of our favorite picks from their online store offerings.

Retail | Lace

Style.com's front page features a new trend story about lace in the world of high fashion. We thought we'd show you some affordable and then downright cheap lacies that you can add to your wardrobe right now. Get sexy, ladies!

The affordable:
1. Alexander McQueen tee, $240 at Brown's Fashion
2. Karl Lagerfeld tee, $190 at Frockaholics
3. Marc by Marc Jacobs dress, $220 at Liberty
4. Gladys Leggings by Lindsey Lohan, $88 at FarFetch
5. Lace sole shoes by Cesar Pacciote, for Spring 11 (not yet available.)
6. Dolce & Gabbana, Get Scintimate Lace makeup, $59

The dirt cheap:
7. American Apparel top, $38 (they have an entire lace section online)
8. Urban Outfitters top, $28
9. Urban Outfitters leotard, $28
10. TopShop Clutch, 38 pounds
11. TopShop Shorts, 65 pounds

TREND | Swirling Universe

Helmut Lang, Rick Owens, Top Shop, Thakoon. background: Pattern People

We've been seeing these swirly, smokey, cosmological prints on runways and retail for a few seasons now, but they still feel very edgy and new. The mysterious nature of these prints lends a cool sophisticated edge to everything it touches, and so far its been mostly in the realm of the edgiest labels: Helmut Lang, Christopher Kane, Jean-Pierre Braganza, Threeasfour. In other words, if you're starting to think of Fall/Winter 2011, there's still lots of room to explore this direction.

Trend Alert! Frisky Felines

Your Eyes Lie for Top Shop, Glamour Kills, See by Chloe, Miu Miu


Peter X Mick Rock, Jaguar Shoes for FarFetch.com
These days, it's cool to be a cat lady (or gentleman,) and wear it proudly on your sleeve, chest, foot, or anywhere else you can think of. Also in vogue are cats playing keyboards, as seen here on this cat shirt I got recently at Threadless.com.

And on this video that I can't get enough of: Youtube.com

--Claudia

Snake Charm

Alexander McQueen, To-orist, Acne. Background: Matthew Williamson
We've been noticing some interesting snake prints in stores lately. Above are some favorites.

RETAIL: More Florals

Blooming Flowers by claudiabrown

Items in this set:
Floral-print silk-blend dress, $1,290
Floral-print chiffon dress, $515
Monsoon Accessorize - Evening Dresses, 95 GBP
Petite Floral Knot Back Dress, $70
Chambray Rose Print 2 in 1 Dress at A|wear

RETAIL: Feeling Nautical

I just signed on Polyvore, a site that allows you to create layouts from items they feature on the sites, and there are tons of good ones! You can post your layouts on your Polyvore profile page, on your blog or facebook page. Here's a set I created based on a nautical theme.

Feeling Nautical by claudiabrown

Items in this set:

Dresses - Day - Button Nautical Dress - AX Paris - Fashion Dresses |..., 30 GBP
J.Crew Unisex Saint James® Meridien II nautical tee, $85
Nautical Striped Sweater Top, $16
Nautical Stripe Drawstring Tube - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic..., $44
Nautical Wrapped Skirt by See by Chloe, 140 GBP