New York fashion week wrap up – Get the hottest trends + tips on making the runway looks your own

Rue de Chic

The good news for everyone is that trends for this year's spring season will be carrying over to the fall 2011 season - which means it all boils down to how you put your looks together. Even better news is that this upcoming fall season is guaranteed to be anything but boring. Judging from the richness of color, texture and print on the runways, it's going to be an exciting season. Here's a breakdown of the biggest trends from New York fashion week:

1. Leather - The leather movement is going strong and from what we saw during New York Fashion Week, it has no intention of slowing down. From 3.1 Phillip Lim to Alexander Wang, Derek Lam, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, leather made a huge splash. It came in pants, shift dresses, pastel colors, rich dark colors and it was fabulous.




Style Tip: This is such an easy trend to incorporate into your wardrobe. You can pair some leather leggings with an oversized sweater and pumps, go for a rocker chic look with a motorcycle jacket which can be worn with skinny jeans, leggings or a dress to add a feminine touch.

2. Color - The runways were rich with color for fall, two colors in particular made their mark - Cobalt Blue and Emerald Green. Everyone from Oscar de la Renta to Carolina Herrera, Derek Lam, Ralph Lauren and 3.1 Phillip Lim showed their love for these colors. Other interesting colors to look out for fall are Marigold and burnt Orange. Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler and Victoria Beckham all featured these gorgeous colors.









Style Tip: Color is the best and easiest way to stand out with your fall wardrobe. Go for structured jackets in shocking colors to incorporate this runway trend into your wardrobe. Try a cobalt blue swing jacket or an emerald green trench coat. You'll keep warm and stay stylish.

3. Print - If color played a starring role in the collections, print played a co-starring role. Oscar de la Renta's runway was rich with exotic prints which is an extension of what we'll be seeing this spring. Marc Jacobs made us fall in love with polka dots, big and small and Proenza Schouler incorporated his mélange of prints into everything from structured jackets to pants, skirts and shift dresses.





Style Tip: Always balance out your prints with an item in a solid color. Pair a tribal print shift dress with a structured black blazer or print pants with a simple pastel colored silk top.

4. The new "Pants" - The runways featured sleek, elegant trousers for fall so once spring and summer are over, don't pack up those 70s inspired pants just yet. Sticking to the theme of elegant simplicity, the "it" pants of the season are definitely the ankle pants. Everyone from Calvin Klein to 3.1 Phillip Lim and Jason Wu showed us the perfect city chic look with these pants.


Style Tip: These pants are equally chic with a pair of oxfords or sky high pumps.

5. Lace - Looks like lace is here to stay. Both Carolina Herrera and Monique Lhuillier showed very feminine and elegant looks incorporating lace and lace print. Prabal Gurung and Marc Jacobs also utilized this trend.




Style Tip: The key to keeping the elegance of this trend is to find something that doesn't show too much skin or combines the use of other materials like black silk or leather.

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Wemi Opakunle is a Designer, Stylist and Wardrobe Consultant. She also hosts an independent Fashion/Style Blog at www.ruedechic.com/blog. As a former freelance Couture Model in France, she got fascinated by the "chic" of French and European fashion which seemed completely different from the American experience. She has translated this experience into promoting polished and easily put-together looks for women of all ages. Her fashion tips and advice have been featured on SheKnows.com, HerCampus.com, DemoDirt.com, Examiner.com and several other sites.