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In The Showroom: Pretty Young Thing Spring 2009
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In The Showroom: Pretty Young Thing Spring 2009

Arlene Guerra was inspired by childlike costumery for her Spring 2009 Pretty Young Thing jewelry collection.
by coutorture

Arlene Guerra was inspired by childlike costumery for her Spring 2009 Pretty Young Thing jewelry collection. The pieces, as you might expect, are an aesthetic mix of young vibrance and mature confidence. Our favorite pieces in the collection were the beaded art deco-like appliques that were made unique with hand-sewn gems and vintage chain. This Fall 08, Guerra created a mini-collection called Girl Show which also has us drooling (above). Check out our pictures of her Spring 2009 collection right here.

In The Showroom: Rodebjer Spring 2009
Sweden

In The Showroom: Rodebjer Spring 2009

This season Rodebjer's smoking jacket-as-dress has us pretty enchanted, and come Spring 09 not much will change.
by coutorture

This season Rodebjer's smoking jacket-as-dress has us pretty enchanted, and come Spring 09 not much will change. Always balancing the masculine and feminine in design, this Spring 09 Rodebjar offered up boxy blouses, lean silk blazers, cropped play pants, and some smart accessories. We agreed with the showroom representative who told us that if she had the entire collection in her wardrobe, she would be 100% pleased (she was, after all, wearing the aforementioned smoking jacket). Carin Rodebjer studied at FIT and has since relocated to her native country of Sweden where, we imagine, everyone loves her. Thank heavens she started her career here in New York's Lower East Side, otherwise we'd worry that she'd be an unknown designer to us for far too long. To see the Rodebjer Spring 2009 look book, click here. To see our snapshots from the showroom, click the gallery link below. 

In The Showroom: Margarita Saplala Spring 2009
feature

In The Showroom: Margarita Saplala Spring 2009

Bright printed silk frocks with racer backs and criss-crosses, cropped slik tanks with cowl necks, and easy to wear short skirts, were all we needed to see to realize that this line is a department store friendly, no-brainer.
by coutorture

Bright printed silk frocks with racer backs and criss-crosses, cropped slik tanks with cowl necks, and easy to wear short skirts, were all we needed to see to realize that this line is a department store friendly, no-brainer. There will never not be a place for such things in a young woman's wardrobe and we can't help but think of all of our mad crusades to find a dress for this or a skirt for that and how lines like Margarita Saplala are always our first destination. In this collection the color palette; blazing fuchsia, vibrant cobalt, and deep eggplant, added an element of youth while the silhouettes; short but not too short and body-skimming but not tight, balanced it out with sophistication. Saplala started her line with cotton t-shirts and gradually moved into a full ready-to-wear collection. It's no surprise that she ended up here--to a fashionista, a cocktail dress is as needed as a comfortable Sunday t-shirt. 

In The Showroom: Dagmar Spring 2009
Chloë Sevigny

In The Showroom: Dagmar Spring 2009

We're big time proponents of lady-like dressing because, as much as we like the tough-girl look that's sweeping the fashion scene, deep-down we don't love leaving the house feeling like we're dressed up as a man/vampire.
by coutorture

We're big time proponents of lady-like dressing because, as much as we like the tough-girl look that's sweeping the fashion scene, deep-down we don't love leaving the house feeling like we're dressed up as a man/vampire. After reading about Chloe Sevigny's men's line in girl sizes on Fashionologie, and checking out the Spring 09 Lover collection on Refinery 29, we feel like the more feminine side of our current fashion climate is peaking out from the behind the curtain...there couldn't be a better time to write about Dagmar Spring 2009. Ladylike, fashion forward, casual, and cool this collection has us at hello in the W29 showroom. This Spring 09 season featured knits and nudes fit for a ballerina and some more structured pieces to keep things tidy. We don't need garlands in our hair and slips under our skirts but we don't always want to dress like it's the apocalypse--after all, we have a new president now. Check out the Spring 09 look book, right here, and below, our photos from the showroom.