Quvenzhané Wallis

nominated best actress

designer: Armani

trends: sparkling head piece, satiny navy blue shade, the puppy purse is hot with the Claire’s crowd.

comments: “It has been crazy,” the 9-year-old said, carrying a serious puppy purse, headband and sparkly navy Armani dress. We weren’t sure how a child was going to rock an Armani, but Wallis nailed it. Her sparkling headband upped the cute factor, and her look – right on down to those Shirley Temple curls – was age appropriate and adorable.

grade: A

** Courtesy of Philly.com

 ** I, for one, am absolutely thrilled that Quevenzhene has been nominated! She turned in a GREAT performance, and looks great in rags – or Armani! I mean, have you seen Beasts of the Southern Wild? If not, hop to… it’s a real treasure!  Congratulations, Quevenzhene!!

Who else wore a headpiece?? While typically not the event to see outstanding hair-wear, we give a nod to: Sandra Bullock for wearing an elegant jeweled clip with style! She looks absolutely gorgeous at the 85th Academy Awards in a silvered Elie Saab gown. And, in contrast to the Red Carpet Fashion Awards opinion, we think she looks fabulous with her hair down, carrying a bit of gleam against her lovely dark hair to echo the tasteful shade of her Elie Saab very well-fitted gown!

Beautiful Sandra Bullock looking gorgeous

Oscar Fashion 2012 was, in a word, beautiful! Full Hollywood glamour regalia was on show and inspiring to see – even if many of the styles were from the (as usual) best-designers-of-the-fashion-design-world.

Regardless, it is unquestionably a fantastic show of nearly untouchable elegance.

We’re sure to be happily entertained with more gorgeous visuals of stars in real fashion for Oscar Awards 2013.

In the meantime, here’s our thought on red carpet headwear: keep it elegant, simple or all-out stunning. Nothing in-between!

Silver Shine // ZCouture 2013 // detail

Silver Shine // ZCouture 2013 // detail

The exquisite luster of silver and platinum hues shines in raw-edged metallic fabric with a modern bow of French veiling holding dear two remarkable vintage floral pins of sterling silver filigree. Silver Shine distinctive style becomes an easy pleasure to wear accented with hand-placed Swarovski crystals providing you sparkle from head to eyes to smile!

Easy and distinctive,that’s the way it should be! 

With little time between shows, it’s a challenge trying to see it all – but lively and fun – no sleepers allowed here!

 Next Up to Watch: Milan Feb. 20 – 26 

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Milan

We’ve stayed busy trying to catch all the shows live –  a wonderful way to spend your time; I highly suggest it!

Zera has been inspired, creating new pieces nearly daily. When picturing ZC headpieces with current  fashions, I’m loving her fresh one-design-of-a-kind at the moment; especially the vintage pieces. Once they’re gone, they become part of your own personal history, ladies! Show your style – wear a headpiece!                                                                                                                                                                     

There’s been tons to take note of this past show. Here’s our quick highlight  (but can’t fit everyone in)… check out the fresh fashion and rebroadcast links sponsored by our friends @ FWO to see more coverage.  ZC’s Serenity (above) is an easy wear vintage beauty. Styled for special events, it pairs well with a sleek pant or skirt and designer top.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Serenity ZC style is definite glam with our London Week fave: 

Loving: Zoe Jordan : TRADEMARK PIECE: “Beautifully tailored coats with a Savile Row influence.” We think she’s sharp, easy to wear, modern, has great details, & the true test: Yeah, I’d wear her!

ZC standout London Fashion Week picks:

Tom Ford (enough said),

Peter Pilotto - Striking lines

Maria Grachvogel -  Simply beautiful!

    ZC’s Elegant Brilliance  is our pick to wear with the slick-backed hair of these catwalk models.

ZC Elegant Brilliance // free form band // ZERACouture 2013

Whether  hair is up or down, you will be noticed. Very bold quartz pendants pick up tons of available light to  get your glitter on!

More notable designers we’re giving a nod to:

Vivienne Westwood Red Label for sheer interest and some striking looks (not fans of the makeup!!!). For us, it’s her Red Carpet Collection that really rocks.

L’Wren Scott for metallic gleam, great styling, big hair and the occasional matching headpiece. 
Temperley London  is simply outstanding! Audrey Hepburn can easily be imagined wearing most of her AW13 collection; great hair btw!!

That’s all for now, next up: Milan, then Paris…With a stop at the Oscars in between!

Excitement continues and celebrations abound as Fashion Week continues, New York style.

We’ve found too many to count that we like, outright love, or those that simply take our breath away. Not all are hits, but we’ll leave those for others to comment on. In the meantime, we’re happy to offer pairings of ZC headpieces for the unadorned heads and fabulously clothed bodies we think could use them. . . .

One Lovely Day, band, ZERACouture 2013

-Pairs well with-    The classic uptown ponytail, worn low over the ears, modernized with some downtown texture, and popular with designers showing this week.

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The Tadashi Shoji Fall 2013 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Photo: Richard Drew

 Dark Ice, ZC free form band, ZERACouture 2013

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 The Tadashi Shoji Fall 2013 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Photo: Richard Drew

Champagne Drops, ZERACouture 2013, ZC free form band

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 The Tadashi Shoji Fall 2013 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Photo: Richard Drew

E Brilliance, ZERACouture 2013, ZC free form band

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 The Tadashi Shoji Fall 2013 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Photo: Richard Drew

Accent en Noir, ZERACouture 2013, band

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The Creatures of the Wind Fall 2013 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Photo: Creatures Of The Wind

A bit of fun and cachet with fashions and headpieces paired; more to come!

We love a good fashion show, and especially the ‘magic’ surrounding fashion shoots. Everyone here thoroughly enjoyed working with our lovely model Alora for one of the ZERACouture 2013 shoots while thoughts of Fashion Week 2013 were still a distance away… Now that it’s arrived, it seems the high-stakes fashion games have officially begun!

Our friends over at FASHIONWEEKONLINEblog keep us smiling – and guffawing – and snorting with laughter, sometimes derision, sometimes with “Wha—???” unbelievability… and really, they’re just having too much fun overall. They do keep us easily in the Fashion Week loop – which is convenient, since we’re in so many loopy loops we find it hard to focus on occasion…

Having said that, the question of  ”haute couture” and what is happening (or not, as in this case), keeps coming up. I often hear: “It’s weird,” or, “Who would ever wear that,” or, “Please, tell me, what is the *** point of that??!!”.  Well, here is the best explanation I’ve heard in a while, given by FWO in response to “scandalous” comments by the San Francisco Chronicle - which actually, are humorous, and — have a point. Their point: ‘Paris haute couture is not for regular people.’

*Disclaimer: Let it be known that “Paris Fashion Week” is understood to be shows given – in Paris – of:  Haute Couture Fashion during what has come to be known as, Fashion Week!                                                                                                                                                 If one does not understand this, you’ll miss the irony…

 FWO fashion enlightenment:          … “haute couture” (which cleverly translates to “high fashion,” those being the French words for “high” and “fashion,” respectively), is more of designers creating a bit of fun visual art, for the very bold few who really want to have fun with it. Think if it more as “designers talking to designers.” Or “designers talking to those who like fashion, and — you know, maybe think it could actually be fun.”              * Notice: nowhere was it stated this is “practical” fashion!      Show-worthy; yes. Boardroom-worthy; probably not….     Loving the memorable headpieces though!

SFChronicle example given:

If any young starlet should decide to wear this number and is planning to exit a limo, adding pants would probably be a good idea. 

A model presents a creation by Italian fashion designer Giambattista Valli during the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2013 collection shows. Photo: FRANCOIS GUILLOT, AFP/Getty Images

More SFChronicle fun:

Sometimes, the look seems ok from the neck up. 

A model presents a creation by Italian fashion designer Giambattista Valli during the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2013 collection shows on Jan. 21 in Paris. Photo: FRANCOIS GUILLOT, AFP/Getty Images

Then you see the rest of it, and it looks like a Sno Ball gone crazy. 

A model presents a creation by Italian fashion designer Giambattista Valli during the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2013 collection shows on Jan. 21 in Paris. Photo: FRANCOIS GUILLOT, AFP/Getty Images

These things look all cute and fuzzy until you realize they’re poisonous. 

A model presents a creation by Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen during the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2013 collection shows in Paris. Photo: PATRICK KOVARIK, AFP/Getty Images

Really, I’ve got to stop now…. I can’t stop laughing!  And, I can’t remember  the last time I’ve seen something this honest in print regarding fashion… all in all, Fashion Week is high fun!

Enjoy watching NY Fashion Week!

… And NO, it’s not because Valentine’s Day is coming…. Although, there is a surprise in the works having to do with it….More about that, later… Check back!!

 The BIG excitement really, is: Fashion Week begins tomorrow night!!

FASHION WEEK 2013 – “Big 4″ Dates:

NEW YORK: Watch Live + Schedule - February 7
LONDON: - February 15
MILAN:  - February 20
PARIS: - February 26

Tune in for Russian Fashion Week, March 29

Someone to watch now:  Mathieu Mirano

Born in New York, Mathieu Mirano attended the Huntington School of Fine Arts before studying at Parson’s School of Design in New York City. Mathieu launched his debut collection in 2011 through his inspired inventiveness and unique sense of fashion. He effectively utilized high levels of construction, craft and imagination.

Feast your eyes on our latest favorite to pair with ZERACouture’s Solara Flora…We think they’d be perfect together!

 What do you think?

FEBRUARY 11 – UNCONFIRMED LIVE STREAMING, 9:30 AM

More Love:

 We all do, sometimes! If you need to stand out in a crowd or at an event… Don’t take it for granted that you will, even if you are the star of the moment… Make sure of it!

How? Too many beautiful women forget just what it is that draws immediate attention and frames their lovely face… Hair!

Want to draw them in with your eyes? Good makeup skills definitely help, but, a shot of glimmer and shine never fails to draw everyone’s eyes immediately to the gorgeously put together woman!

 We think lovely Ms. Cotillard was upstaged a bit here. Marion could definitely have used some glimmer and gleam amidst the overwhelming color ambush!

Here, actress Marion Cotillard, of France, celebrated as the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year, is kissed by Harvard University theatrical students Renee Rober, left, and Ben Moss, right, as they ride in the back of a convertible during a parade through Harvard Square, in Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 31, 2013. Hasty Pudding Theatricals is a theatrical student society at Harvard University. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

The lesson: don’t take your looks for granted, and use all your assets – including a ZC casually worn crowning touch that gleams: you!

Cute, but difficult to dress up, we’re questioning Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early spring…

It feels anything but spring right now!

In the meantime, we’ll hope he’s right, but continue to dress for the weather – meaning, of course, we’ll be staying cozy in ZERACouture inimitable style!

Beautiful with my family-owned vintage shrug!

This kept me quite snug in negative windchills last night:  Midnight Mix ~ Whether you’re out till the wee hours or not, this cozy, chic band clearly sets you apart. From hand-set jet rhinestone frogs to dark, bold Swarovski accents in black, gunmetal and clear, this avant-garde piece is crafted of doubled tissue-thin Missoni wool. You won’t find another anywhere! Comfortably wear with clasp in front or back.

Hoping it’s warm wherever you are!

We’ve been in a hurry to finalize our welcome of the new year, bid winter adieu, and usher in spring…

A few things have managed to slow this down, though (go figure)! The real problem is simple: we can’t rush what can’t be rushed, much as we might like to make it so (and ofttimes to our dismay). The New Year is after all, still new; your Chinese-New-Year-celebrating friends will verify this for sure; and while winter flirts with warmer temps – and our spring-loving heartstrings; its capricious nature is oh-so-fickle and we’re in the deep freeze yet again (at least on the East Coast and MidWest — you WestCoasters aren’t far off Eastern US weather patterns this year, it seems).

February 1, 2013

So, what’s an “I’m done with all this already!” girl to do?  Wait. No matter, spring will arrive and we’ll be ready – in style – with open (and possibly bare) arms to greet it with. In the meantime, there’s lots to do: launch the new ZC website, intro fab new products (some really nice surprises you’re sure to love), explore your best ideas and declare a winner, walk the dogs, enjoy the great outdoors, and stay on track with the exercise plan… and do it all in style!

 This is my latest love for easy wear and great style – and it goes with EVERYTHING! Besides, I feel pretty tough wearing it; you will too!!

Accent en Noir // ZCouture 2013

The question is: Would you wear your LBD again – and again?

The answer: YES! Well, I would if I looked as good as Michelle Obama does in her recycled LBD!  Frankly, wearing a piece more than once – or twice, is what most of us do anyway; just not for those high-priority public events…. I say BRAVO to Michelle Obama for having good common sense and letting us all see how time hasn’t played down her great figure and looks. Wear it well – again and again!! Happy to have her as the First Lady of Fashion Sense…. Now, where did I put that little frock I looked not-too-shabby in….?

Another question: Would we advocate a change in hairstyle or headpiece wear for Michelle’s look?  Short answer: NO WAY!  However, Sasha and Malia would look great in a headband accenting their coats and dresses…Zera’s American Celebrity might be fun, but we especially like: Little Girl Blue  paired with Sasha’s purple Kate Spade coat and purple dress, it would give a nice pop of subtle glimmer, even with her white necklace!

Free Form Band

We could easily see Malia, wearing her J.Crew magenta coat and blue dress in either:

Blue Moon Magic,

Or, Silver Dove Peony:

Either with or without headwear, the girls looked great and are a strong representation of their generation of America’s youth.

Having said that, we can’t disagree more with Bonnie Fuller‘s statement:

Michelle Obama is a true fashion trendsetter and icon but her gray Thom Browne coat is too dully colored for this Inauguration Day.

 Really????

Yes, she is a fashion icon… So, our suggestion is that you think twice about off-the-cuff statements such as this, Bonnie.

Michelle Obama appeared classy, strong and confident in subdued multi-dimensional color of depth and style (much like our country). The striking, clean lines of her Thom Browne coat fit well the no-nonsense purpose of the day and spoke volumes of confidence for her position as well as that of  her husband, and this country! I welcome someone with style instead of trend, who looks forward with strength in simple, clean, strong, forward-thinking American style! Bravo! I’m glad Michelle Obama didn’t take Bonnie’s suggestion to heart – yellow would not have carried the weight of history this day.