Flapper

Ralph Lauren's Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week collection was devoted to the 1920s, a la The Great Gatsby. There was that louche sportiness via a double-breasted suit and drop-waist dresses, lots of beading and feathers, and the slim, sexy silhouettes favoured by the Daisy Buchanans of the world. The colour palette was an essay in pastel-on-pastel dressing, and the feather-light chiffon gowns, silk bias cut dresses and palazzo pants added to the fluidity of Ralph's vision. Impossibly pretty, sophisticated and classic in that all American way, this was a collection that stayed true to the Ralph Lauren red carpet aesthetic.

• Trends: 1920s, asymmetrical hemlines, drop-waist dresses, strapless styles, pastels.
  
• Colours: Peppermint, pastel pinks and blues, white.
  
• Key Look: Wide leg palazzo pants worn with loose knits, long bias cut silk slip dresses.
• Accessories: Turbans, cloche hats, feathered stoles, long layered beads.
• Who Would Wear It: Starlets wanting classic red carpet looks like Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon and Anne Hathaway.

Take your front row seat at Ralph Lauren . . .

Tory Burch took us to the French seaside circa 1920 for a Spring 2012 collection that seemed to channel a young Coco Chanel. Per usual, her knack for colour and print shone through in lovely mixes of raspberry and ivory, deep red and pale pink, and fig and navy. For day, there were tweed jackets with fringe detail, drop-waist pleated dresses, a silk sweatshirt with mesh detail, and ribbed linen shorts. For evening there were gorgeous embellished dresses paired with sparkly pendant earrings, and the finale dresses were an exercise in softness and colour: three silk chiffon gowns in seafoam, blush, and coral.The collection comes on the heels of Burch's latest store opening, a five floor townhouse on Madison Ave in New York that feels like someone's luxurious home, albeit one filled with totally attainable clothes, bags, and shoes all stamped with the increasingly powerful Tory Burch brand. It makes us wonder: is Tory Burch the Marc Jacobs for the uptown set?

See the full runway line up from Tory Burch . . .

Kim Kardashian loves to play dress up — be it Bo Derek, Little Red Riding Hood or Elizabeth Taylor. And she was at it again over the weekend, looking to the roaring '20s for inspiration for Eva Longoria's birthday party! Posting pictures on Twitter of herself in a silver flapper dress, complete with a sultry smoky eye and rich red lips, Kim said she was: "All glammed up for a fun 1920s themed party!" We think Kim really suits the Bonnie and Clyde era, don't you?

The Louis Vuitton Spring '11 show lasted just eight minutes. EIGHT. Which seems such a shame given the effort that would've gone into creating the retro 1930s-meets-1970s inspired beauty look. The deep berry lip is fast emerging as the hot colour for Spring if the Parisian shows have anything to do with it, having been seen at Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and now Louis Vuitton. This rich, glossy berry is a signature hue of the '30s. As are the brows — see how the natural hair has been hidden to make way for a faux, thin line? It's a hangover from the Clara Bow brow days of the '20s. But the aubergine and gold eye has a more '70s feel to it. Donna Summer is back, baby! The hair again is very 1920s-1930s. It's flapper-esque with a deep part covering the models' eyes, which works its way into one of two inverted French twists. Extremely elegant. Ooh, and what do you think about Carmen Kass' second new look?

Psst. Kristen McMenamy's zebra-print top isn't actually a top. It's body paint. True story.