A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE RECORD-REVIEW MARCH 9, 2012
Beauty BOLD
By TRACI DUTTON LUDWIG
Color and femininity define fashion’s new look ave a fling with fashion this spring. Fun and optimistic, the mood of the season is defined by amplified color, bold pattern, athletic inspiration and refined silhouettes. With this new wardrobe, it is time to redefine modern femininity through confidence and individuality. Designers’ collections are resplendent with beautiful options, so it’s up to you to make the look your own. Here are the season’s top styles to infuse your wardrobe with wonder… Creative color blocking A favorite trend of the past few seasons, color blocking has outgrown its strict geometry to embrace a new creative flair. This season, look for energized diagonal wedges and asymmetrical juxtapositions of complementary colors. Finished as collage prints or patchwork constructions, even simple basics like skirts, cardigans and sheaths become bold standouts. Accessorize with bright, chunky jewelry and strongly geometric shoes, and you’ll rock the dynamics. Bold prints Turn up the volume; spring’s prints are louder, brighter and bolder than ever before. Vibrant, colorful patterns range from psychedelic florals and geometric graphics to elegant, repeating motifs of birds or arabesques. Let playful confidence dominate the look, so it will be about your attitude — and not about the 6-inch chrysanthemums sprayed across your chest. Photoshop Technology defines our modern world — and, sometimes, fashion too. Silk-screened digitized prints now appear on everything from postcards to
billboards to… dresses. Out of context, out of proportion, altered and distorted, familiar images become anything but ordinary. Instead, these photographs of landscapes, architectural monuments and digitally manipulated objects read as abstract colors, shadows and lines before their iconography becomes apparent. A perfect blend of art and technology. Shine on Space age or disco retro, metallic basics are defining a new attitude in daywear. What used to be reserved for eveningwear and sequin splendor, is now finding a place in everyday fashions — for work or play. Going for a look that is more burnished than shiny, the current fabric of choice is matte satin. Look for beautiful examples in pewter, bronze, copper and metallic snakeskin hues like blues and greens. Skirts, jackets, vests and accessories such as belts, shoes and handbags are fabulous mediums for this new kind of cool. Curves ahead Feminine silhouettes are back in a big way. Emphasis is on the hourglass shape of a defined waist and curvy hips. Approximating this body type, the tailored shape of the peplum is resplendent in spring collections. Look for cinched waists, low closing buttons and flared hip panels in peplum jackets and shirts. In peplum skirts, a perfect silhouette combines a body-hugging fit, from the derriere through the thighs, with a playful angular ruffle near the knees. Ranging from ladylike to edgy, peplum suits satisfy every taste this season. Peplum jackets are versatile separates; just keep overall proportions in balance by pairing them with pencil skirts or slim pants. Military wives Aye, aye, Sergeant Runway! With this season’s new Army- and Navy-inspired prints and military jackets, it’s easy to fall
into perfect fashion formation. Current order favors an overt reference to camouflage prints, excited by added color. Traditional grays, browns and muddy greens have been replaced by brighter pinks and oranges, lighter blues and grassy greens. Unexpected fabrics and constructions range from tailored canvas jackets to fluid silk dresses, as “camo” signals its distinctly feminine side. Wear it as a flirty print with girly accessories; or create edgy contrast by pairing the slinkiest, most colorful fatigues with heavily buckled military boots. Tropical heat Warm shades of orange, pink and yellow add heat and drama to the spring palette. Used in moderation — as a daring accent or as cheerful trim — these spicy hues give seasonal basics and simple silhouettes a cheeky blush. But when absorbed in full saturation — especially in unexpected places like shorts suits, jumpers and evening dresses — these high-intensity colors no longer pop… they explode! To amplify the Samba beat, drum up accessories in contrasting colors — blue with orange, lime with pink, purple with yellow — or extend the rhythm through basic black or white. Many designers are now pairing black and yellow, which can be supremely elegant and not at all “bumble bee.” To avoid associations with the buzzing insect, just stay away from stripes — and find your honey elsewhere. Times Square Get ready to light up the night. Electrified colors have jumped from the boardwalk to the catwalk to the main street. Look for neon flashes everywhere — throwing out sparks from jacket linings and underpinnings, to manifesting full fireworks displays as jeans and cocktail dresses. Inspired by ’80s punk Continued on page 2A
Eye of the Beholder Breining combines beauty and brains By EVE MARX
inside Step in Style: Spring shoes follow seasonal fashions ...............................3A Designing Woman: Jane Bell’s journey from dancer to decorator .........................4A Behind the scenes: McDonald the driving force of Clocktower Players ..........5A A wrinkle in time: imagine if image didn’t matter .............6A Women’s Health: Your heart, your health ..........................6A Frank Lyman is celebrating 10 years of his own brand of bold, colorful designs for women who are ‘excited about life.’ Available at En Vogue in Scarsdale.
E
rica Ficaro Breining, originally from Grosse Pointe, Mich., is 33 years old, married and has two daughters, ages 2 and 4. She is also the founder and owner of Bellava MedAesthetics & Spa in Bedford Hills, a medically based beauty emporium she opened in September 2011. She is certainly a woman of today, for those reasons and more. Although beauty is now her business, Breining’s background is engineering. As a young University of Michigan undergrad majoring in engineering, she accepted an internship the summer between her junior and senior years at IBM in Fishkill. While her mom was unhappy she was going to be so far from home for the summer, the company was so impressed that they offered her a full-time position when she graduated. During her seven years at IBM, Breining took online courses and completed an M.S. in operations research from Columbia University. The specialized degree is designed to enable students to concentrate their studies in methodological areas such as mathematical programming, stochastic models and simulation. Through the Columbia program Breining studied logistics, supply chain management, revenue management, financial engineering, risk management, entrepreneurship and general management. It was, she said, a very
JIM MACLEAN PHOTO
Erica Ficaro Breining didn’t have to leave behind her engineering background. She instead incorporated it into Bellava MedAesthetics & Spa in Bedford Hills.
solid background to have going into the med spa business. So how did an engineer come to be an ambassador and purveyor of the tools of technological beauty? “I always believe that you should work at what you enjoy,” Breining said from behind her desk at Bellava, where she spends much of her day. After the birth of her first child, Breining knew she wanted to leave the corporate world behind to make more time for her family. She left IBM to start up a handbag business, HGBagsonline.com to sell rare, authentic designer handbags sought after by fashionistas all over the world. The company sells brand names including Balenciaga, YSL, Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton. “It’s an online business,” Breining said. “Import, export. We sell them all over the world.” The “we” being Breining and her
husband, who helps her with that work. “Thirty to 40 percent of our business is in Asia,” she noted. But bags, even the most sought after, high-end bags, were not enough to keep Breining busy. “My main flaw is that I’m always working,” she said, smiling apologetically. Breining became interested in the beauty business, she said, in part because of the numbers, but also because of her tech background in engineering. “It’s the ultimate combination of beauty and technology,” she said. “There’s the medical aspect and the technological. What’s happening because of the latest advances in the technology is that we’re able to offer beauty treatments that are actually medical procedures to achieve results that were never possible in the past.” Continued on page 4A