Trick or Treat

Fun house scary

His makeup is a bit heavy!

Well by the looks of the date on my iphone, it's almost Halloween.  My, my how this holiday has changed through the years.  I remember as a child the leaves in my hometown would have already started to fall, the scent of bonfires could be smelled from blocks away, and carving jack-o-lanterns was something we did as a family which could possibly be turned into a pumpkin pie at dinner if your mother cooked.  Children kissed their parents goodbye and met up with other ghoulish friends and went for hours up and down residential neighborhood streets collecting Tootsie Pops and homemade popcorn balls all to run back home and spill all the goodies out on the floor to count how many treats had been collected.

Carving a pumpkin

Donut delight

Candy for this corny holiday

Today's version of Halloween for most isn't quite as wholesome as my past recount.  Marketing has become huge with this holiday, and friends in retail have told me they almost sell more decorative items for this scary night than they do for Christmas.  Unfortunately, you probably won't let your kids run loose in random parts of town gathering candy from strangers as malls have become the new playground for this activity.  I don't normally dress up for this day since my regular attire is costume enough; however, it was so fun to see all the crazy costumes that my colleagues came up with at work.  It appears to me that now every profession has a naughty version of Happy Halloween!

A dead bunny

Pin-up girl

Sexy hippy

I ask, "do blondes have more fun?"

Twisted up in a tornado

Fringe and shells

Below are a few snaps of me back in the day when I did dress up for the crazy festivities:

20 years ago

Train-wreck!

Rainbrow Brite and her posse

I made this costume (BTW this was years before David)

Did You Know?

R is for Ruffian - the hip New York label that's been around just a few years but well known in the industry and a must-have for any fashionista's closet.  They were given the Fashion Group International's Rising Star Award and in 2010 Assouline published Ruffian:  Inside Out to great success.  Brian Wolk and Claude Morais comprise the duo.  Wolk with a training in fashion design and costume design has worked in film, theatre, and opera and brings a well known historical reference to the collections.  Morais has traveled the world as a model and stylist and with studies in painting explores colors to the extreme.  For spring/summer 2012 with their collection entitled "Thoroughbred", there was no shortage of color or historical reference as their ladies walking the runway were both sporty and cocktail-ready in ethereal yet tailored pieces that were a smash hit.

Brian Wolk and Claude Morais - Ruffian

All clothing above from Ruffian spring/summer 2012 show

Global Fashion

It may have been New York fashion week, but the designers showing were from all over the world.  The Argentine Designers show featured six designers showcasing diverse backgrounds and inspirations from the Argentine fashion industry.  The looks were as varied as the personalities from bohemian chic with a slightly western fringed flair to modern minimalism in an all neutral palate to whimsical fun with large florals to abstract exotic loungewear with oversized headbands to pretty lady-like dresses.   It was a fun show full of differences brought together in one overall success.

All clothing pictured above from the Argentine Designers show featuring Cardon, Cora Groppo, Daniela Sartori, Desiderata, Mariana Dappiano, and Min Agostini

Traveling from around the globe, other designers had presentations as well.  Joy Cioci and Concept Korea both showed collections that were both beautiful yet completely different.  The Joy Cioci show was full of ruffles, lace, and just plain pretty dresses that were kept simple and elegant for daytime with a slightly dressed up feel.  The Concept Korea show was a display of various designers for both men and women who mixed it all up with leather, lazer-cut lace, and over-the-top wild prints in bold colors that gave it all a graffiti rock edge that left me wanting more.

Joy Cioci spring/summer 2012 show

Concept Korea spring/summer show featuring various designers