The Fashion Week [...]]]> Trend no longer, hats have hit their stride as a major necessity in our wardrobes. At Fashion Week, there was not the proclivity to slap anything on the model’s heads, but throughout a panoply of shows, stand-outs took the limelight. Hats have it in the accessory field, now and forever.

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The Fashion Week Fall 2011 filled Lincoln Center, and the rest of New York City with sidewalks full of attention seeking, and getting, outfits. It’s the time to bring out those studded boots you’ve not worn in public. Or the purple coat. Or those platforms that you can’t walk in. Ah, New York.

For the shopper, the stores are filled with current winter goods, and soon-to-be gone Spring. We had a minute and a half of Spring in the air this week, and now, once again, it’s fur season.

The good thing about Fashion Week is that it comes at a time when the seasons collide. Stores usually have the current weather appropriate looks, but have snuck in some of their not too distant future goods. Shopping, and energy, is at an all time high during Fashion Week, since the wannabees can bump into their idols in salons all over town. How many celebrities did you cite this week? If you stayed downtown, in Soho, you might have seen Fergie and Josh. Michael Kors show was teeming with well-knowns for his 30th anniversary collection. The tents were full, but so was The Metropolitan Pavilion, where Malan Breton had his Kyoto heaven show.

Cognac was seen all over town, video team in tow, interviewing designers as fast as she could point a microphone. There was a crew in the tents at Lincoln Center using the attendees as stars with “postcard” vignettes aimed at on-the-spot fashion reporting. Richard Renda, and his sidekick this year, Sandy Ramirez, kept the visual going and filmed every show at the tents and the Metropolitan Pavilion for fashion posterity.

If you’re a fashion-minded individual, Fashion Week is the time to come to the Apple. Cab drivers are actually happy all week because of the business. Since the tents moved to Lincoln Center, it’s easy access for them and the public as well. Didn’t see many pedi-cabs this year, though. Now, that’s a sweet ride. Grab a friend and cruise down Fifth Avenue in a pedi-cab. It’s a must. Like the buggy rides in Central Park. No visit to NYC is complete without the horses.

Find a wonderful corner to hash out your fashion finds of the week, and sort through all those goody bags. Do it over brunch at La Ripaille, on Hudson in The West Village, for civilized, French comfort food. Do it at Eatily, in the Flatiron district, over pasta. Do it over a great pizza, and a glass of sangria at Gustorganics, at 6th and 14th. Enjoy the afterglow of Fashion Week.

So there’s a recap of the hat looks on the runways this week. Be sure and keep an eye out in stores all over town for pieces that will update your closets, and keep you in style in the hat department.

Recent buzz around Ellen Christine’s hand-crafted headpieces has landed her on the cover of Italian Vogue (January 2011) and she is bringing her latest Met-Inspired collection for an exclusive preview and [...]]]> THE MET OPERA SHOP PRESENTS THE ‘DIVA COLLECTION’
DESIGNED BY ELLEN CHRISTINE MILLINERY

Exclusive Preview and Moët & Chandon Champagne Reception on Valentine’s Day

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Recent buzz around Ellen Christine’s hand-crafted headpieces has landed her on the cover of Italian Vogue (January 2011) and she is bringing her latest Met-Inspired collection for an exclusive preview and champagne reception to the heart of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2011 – the Met Opera Shop in Lincoln Center – on St. Valentine’s Day, Monday, February 14 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Visitors will sip Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial Champagne and shop these brilliant collections of cocktail hats veiled in silk, custom-dyed feathers, organza streamers, felt and Swarovski crystals, specifically inspired by the Met’s productions of Carmen and Armida. The Carmen collection stems from Ellen Christine’s Spanish heritage, and from the drama that happens onstage because of “La fleur que tu m’avais jetee.” Red, for the heartbeat of the production, and black, mimicking the final gown onstage with Carmen and Don Jose, are the two atelier-made flower and feather headpieces. From the Armida collection, Christine introduces a flurry of pinks and reds, for the splendor of the enchantress, on a bandeau: simple, elegant, and evocative. Other pieces in the collection are inspired by the many prima donnas who have graced the Met stage…

Date: Monday, February 14th, 2011

Time: 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Place: The Met Opera Shop at the Metropolitan Opera Lincoln Center, 65th and Broadway