Tibi was high on my list of shows that I really wanted to see. I’m always interested in seeing how designer Amy Smilovic uses fabrics, textures, and patterns. There is always something bold about how she mixes elements of design, either in the fabric she chooses or the cut and style of the garment. The collection Tibi presented for Spring ‘09 was clearly Asian inspired. The fabrics were silky, and had beautiful movement while still maintaining structure. The dresses I saw looked really wearable, and would easily work for any number of women.

As with any collection, while there were pieces that looked great on the runway, they will not work for the average woman. Tibi showed ballon-like riding pants that are probably not going to be as flattering on most of us as they are on the models. I will be surprised if they make their way into retail stores.. but who knows I could be completely wrong.

It’s time to accessorize those bright, bold items in your closet - this is your mix and match challenge! Now, don’t get overly excited and leave the house looking like you just played dress up with a trunk of grandma’s old clothes! Instead, walk out looking like you rose to the challenge of coordinating a well-rounded look. It’s not necessary to match exact colors and fabrics or textures, but rather try to think of an outfit as artwork - giving yourself the opportunity to create a piece, which emphasizes colors and textures that compliment each other. With this outfit, suede grey pumps and a red jersey dress happen to look fabulous together. Choose a clutch that is somewhere in the middle - like the detailed, grey one here with slight red undertones. Mix up jewelry, but stay within one ‘family’ - so if you are going to go with varied textures - romantic script on a cuff, a smooth, simple ring, bumpy bangles, and tiny, yet bold earrings, stay with all gold. Finally, top it off with some oversized shades that are in the same color family as the greys and browns and… Bam! You have just used clothing as your medium to create a well-rounded outfit full of complimenting texture and color!

mixed and matched items in this observation: