The fashion industry is feeling the sting of the nervous economy, but there are at least two selling bright spots:  colored trenches and print dresses.  According to WWD.com, these spring favorites are flying out of stores, as are separates and accessories.

It makes sense.

Not only does a little color add a splash to any wardrobe, a few separates and accessories can add versatility to exisiting wardrobes and make old pieces look new and different.

If you’re looking for ways to stretch your clothing budget this season, re-visit your closet with a copy of Wardrobe Magic in hand to discover how you can make a little do a lot.

Good luck!

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It all started when Isaac Mizrahi designed a line of affordable designer clothes for Target.  It sold so well that he was quickly joined by Todd Oldham (furniture), Liz Lange (maternity), and Sonia Kashuk (makeup).  Now, British Discount Retail BHS (British Home Store) has done the same by adding one of England’s most popular designers to their collection:  Elizabeth Emanuel.

If that name sounds familiar, it should:  she and ex-husband David Emanuel designed the wedding gown that Lady Diana Spencer wore for her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981.  While Elizabeth and David split in the late 80’s, Elizabeth continues to design frothy wedding gowns for the European elite.  You can see those fairy tale-like confections at her website.

But if your budget runs more to commoner than princess, check out her “Art of Elegance” line at BHS.  Nothing costs more than £495 (around US $990), and the gowns are lovely.  Designer gown on a budget?  Awesome!

Popularity: 9% [?]

Fashion designer Kate Spade and husband Andy Spade announced last week that they will step down from their positions as head designer and chief executive officer, respectively, of the company they founded in 1993, Kate Spade.  The Spades sold the company to Liz Claiborne, Inc., in November 2006 for $124 million and agreed to stay on during the transition period.  They will exit their posts this week, but will remain on the company’s board of directors.

Kate Brosnahan grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended the University of Arizona where she met Andy Spade, brother of comedian David Spade.  After graduating in 1986, Kate ended up in New York City where she landed a temp job at Mademoiselle magazine.  The “temp” job lasted for six years, during which time she began to see a need for classic, simple handbags.  Working nights and weekends, she launched her company in January 1993, combining her first name and boyfriend Andy’s last name, Kate Spade.  They later married.

The Kate Spade company evolved to include shoes, apparel, luggage, baby items, paper, and home accessories, and Kate picked up several “Designer of the Year” awards along the way.  Seeing a need for stylish men’s accessories as well, the duo launched the Jack Spade brand in 1997.

So what’s next for this creative team?  Travel and time with their two year-old-daughter.  They also plan to explore some “other areas of interest.”

So what does that mean?

It means that we probably haven’t heard the last from them…

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Where can you go to learn about the latest trends?  The history of fashion?  Clothing care and maintenance?

Online, of course!  There are lots of great sites out there that you can get lost in, reading about everything from celebrity fashion to haute couture. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Style.com
http://www.style.com

The home of W and Vogue on the web, Style.com has made many of my fashion magazines subscriptions obsolete.  You can learn about trends, runway reports, fashion icons, fashion designers and more just by perusing this site.  Take a look.

First View
http://www.firstview.com

Wish you could have a front row seat to all the best fashion shows in the world?  Well, here’s the next best thing.  Look at the current and past collections from famous designers from all over the world, and see the “who, what, where, when” of upcoming fashion shows.

Mode à Paris
http://www.modeaparis.com

Want to “dive right in” to the world of French fashion to learn about fashion history, designers, and upcoming shows?  Then this site is for you!  Find out which fashion houses meet the rigorous standards of the Chambre Syndical de la Haute Couture, and learn where you can study for a career in French fashion.

The Sartorialist
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

Scott Schuman is a former fashion marketer and retail store owner who combined his love of great tailoring with fashion photography to create “The Sartorialist” blog.  Sartorial, which is a term used to describe tailoring and the tailoring trade, is the main focus of Scott’s quest as he seeks to photograph well-dressed people on the street.  What began as a fun way to share his photos just two years ago has turned into a fast-paced fashion career that sends him all over the globe as a reporter for Style.com and as a speaker to fashion and tailoring groups.

MSN Beauty and Fashion
http://lifestyle.msn.com/BeautyandFashion

MSN has lots of in-depth channels, like finance, food, gardening, and health.  Their fashion channel is excellent, offering behind-the-scenes videos, interviews, and articles that you don’t see anywhere else.

If you like snarky celebrity fashion reviews, then MSN entertainment writer/fashion critic Kat Giantis will have you laughing out loud.  Her reports are not kind, but they do show how celebrities can still stumble fashion-wise even when they have an army of stylists at their disposal.  Check out her “Undressed” reports here:

http://entertainment.msn.com/

Instyle
http://www.instyle.com

INSTYLE Magazine’s website has come a long way from the days when you could just go there to subscribe to their magazine.  You can still do that, but you can also look at trends, get ideas for entertaining, vote on you favorite celebrity looks, and even learn where to copy those looks for less.  It’s a fun site, especially if you’re into celebrity fashion.

Ralph Lauren
http://www.ralphlauren.com

One of the things I like about the Ralph Lauren site is that it understands what people are looking for online.  While many other designer sites take a long to time to load, are bloated with graphics, and don’t sell directly from their site, RalphLauren.com loads relatively quickly and is easy to navigate.  You can buy clothes, subscribe to the ezine, and get TONS of styling ideas from the gorgeous pictures.  They also have a style section to show you how to put things together.  Awesome!  Would that other designers would take some notes from Ralph . . .

Fashion Era
http://www.fashion-era.com

Love fashion history?  Want to see which trend-setters have influenced fashion over the centuries?  Need to do research on what people wore in 1800?  1900?  2000?  Then this is THE place to find out.  This comprehensive site is one of the most popular on the web, with good reason:  it has TONS of information!

Fabric Link
http://www.fabriclink.com

Want to learn more about different types of fabrics?  Need to know how to maintain the fabrics you have?  Fabric Link can help.  Take a good look around their “Fabric University,” and you’ll learn everything you need to know about taking care of most fabrics.

Biz Rate
http://www.bizrate.com

Looking for something in particular, like a black cocktail dress or sweet deals on Christian Louboutin shoes?  Just go to Bizrate.com, type in your item, and it will find places on the web that are selling what you seek.  It also lists price and costumer reviews.  What a time saver!

So there you have it.  Take some time to click around to these sites when you have some time, and either bookmark them or keep this list handy for future reference.  You never know when these sites will come in handy.

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Ever wish you could jet off to the South of France for a little R&R with all the pretty people?  Well let me offer a pathetically pale substitute: pictures from the Cannes Film Festival.  Some of these clothes are truly stunning:

Red Carpet Fashion
http://movies.msn.com/movies/cannes07/photos/redcarpet/

The Official Cannes Website
http://www.festival-cannes.fr/index.php/en

For all of you who enjoy celebrity fashion (and you know who you are), the sight of Brad Pitt in a tux with slicked back hair will make you smile. He reminds me a bit of Robert Redford in “The Great Gatsby.”  Go see for yourself.

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Do you like fashion history and celebrity fashion? Then here’s a fun one for you:

Paul Poiret [pwah-rey] was a French designer of the early 1900’s who was instrumental in changing women’s fashions from the strict corsets of the 19^th Century to more comfortable, free-flowing styles.  Women around the world adored him.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has decided to remember Monsieur Poiret with a lavish exhibit that runs now through August 5^th.  They opened the exhibit with the Annual Costume Institute gala this past Monday, which was attended by tons of celebrities and fashion insiders.

You can read all about the party on Style.com, and if you’re planning a trip to the Big Apple this summer, you can learn more about the exhibit here. 

Make sure you have a few minutes to spend before heading over to either site — there’s A LOT there, and you may wind up spending more time there than you intend.  I know I did.

–Diana