I've always loved this image of French actress Audrey Tautou for Chanel. It seems to capture subtle sultriness - the girl who is confident, but unaware of just how beautiful she is - perfectly.

Fall Fashion week has started me thinking about runways and shows and that feeling I get when I see the new looks coming down. I don't mean the excitement, the creativity and the ecstacy. I mean the disappointment. Yes, underneath all those revved up, heart-racing thrills, I always have a particular little spike of sorrow. It comes because, so often, I look at the runways and see unwearable pieces. They are amazing, jaw-dropping, artistic genius. But many are also fabulously impractical. I see it and think "how do I do that piece in real life?" Take Moschino's Chandelier dress. Aaaaaaaaamazing, right? But...grocery store? ("Veggies baked while you wait!") Pumping gas? (that "No Smoking" sign tho). Dog walking? (Collected: 17 branches, 25 cups of coffee, 3 garbage cans, 1 very unhappy jogger. Oops.). Ok, something it was designed for (?)...ballroom dancing (*raises hand* "And if I can't actually touch my partner?"). The only thing I think might work is if I dangled above a table like an actual chandelier (#HumanFurniture). So I see it. I love it. And sigh.  Until today. Today I had the revelation that it's not supposed to be practical and wearable. It's only supposed to communicate an idea, a vision, a direction, a suggestion, a siren call. From the runways, it needs to be translated into everyday life. And that's where we come in, as the wearers, the pragmatists, the curators behind the artists. In taking the idea from the runway, but metamorphosizing it into our own vision of what it means and how to create it in and for everyday life, we add our personal stamp to the trend. We filter it, co-opt it, choose it (or not), edit it via our own conception, understanding and perspective to make it something that pays homage to the idea that came down the runway, but is translated into something usable and applicable to real life. We take the art out of the gallery, out of the frame, deconstruct it and make it work a bit for it's living: beautiful, magnificent, but in a different way, a way unique to the style vision of each of us who chooses to step into the museum and be affected by the collection.

There are a number of theories floating about, based on New Age philosophies and quantum physics, that describe the Law of Attraction and the various synchronicities the occur in life...if you're looking for them ;). Fashion is not exempt from these magical moments, either! After receiving an invite to a wedding some years ago, I planned an outfit with a blue dress and bright green sandals. I had the dress already, bought on sale in anticipation of such an occasion. But the sandals? They presented a massive headache. I searched high, low and in between, on land, in the Cloud, you name it.  There simply were no bright green sandals with the necessary formality to be found ANYwhere. As the date of the wedding drew near, I had pretty much given up on finding them and begun to mentally try out other options. I was disappointed though; no other choice had quite the effect I was envisioning. I was with a group of friends out for a day of R & R when one of them unexpectedly announced that she was stopping at the local outlet mall.  As we pulled into the parking lot, I had this sudden feeling that I ought to go into Off 5th. You know how, in the The Half-Blood Prince, when Harry drinks the Felix Felicis and just *knows* it would be a good idea to go to Hagrid's that night? It was basically that moment. I told my friends "I'm going to Off 5th" and for some reason added "My shoes are going to be there". And... they were. After all my searching, there, in the second aisle I went down, was the most perfect pair of green satin sandals. They even had an ankle strap, for easy walking and dancing. And  - the coup de grace of the miracle - they were in my size! I learned some important life lessons from shoes that day. (To think, there are people who believe fashion is just superficial! ;)). PS Yes, I still have those magical shoes to remind me to always have a back-up plan, but never give up on what you really want and always stay aware of opportunities that arrive, no matter how out of the blue; they are how the Universe grants wishes.