The Carnivale de Couture: Highs & Lows from New York's Fall 2006 Fashionweek. FASHIONTRIBES FASHION BLOG

This week's Carnivale de Couture - with "de" replacing "the" in honor of the faaaabulous Manolo the Shoeblogger who loves the shoes - is being hosted by Kim of I Am Pretty NYC. The topic: highs and lows from New York's recent Fall 2006 Fashionweek.

After braving the weeklong marathon of New York's Fashionweek, here are some thoughts:

• FAVORITE TREND the bubble/tulip skirt. I know it's a tricky silhouette to rock, but done right, it's ladylike & somewhat edgy at the same time. Whether it's a skirt, a dress, shorts & or even a jacket or overcoat, the secret is to get the length right....which means that if you're under 5'8", buy a mini-skirted version & wear it low on your hips (which may require going up a dress size).
• LEAST FAVORITE TREND the somber color palette. From the sheer amount of black and grey - with hints of eggplant, muted teal, and winter white - Fall 2006 looks like a murkily colorized dageurrotype...tres depressing.
• FAVORITE CELEB SIGHTING La Wintour at the Doo.Ri show. I've loved former Geoffrey Beene protoge Doo.Ri for several seasons now, and when the Vogue editrix shows up at a show, it signals that a designer is climbing the fashion foodchain.  And Doo.Ri - with her fresh take on modern, elegant dressing - deserves everything that comes her way.
• LEAST FAVE CELEB SIGHTING Will & Grace star Debra Messing as a judge on Project Runway. Why is a sitcom actor adjudicating fashion talent? Fashion insiders Michael Kors & Elle's Nina Garcia, people who are, I don't know, fashion professionals were understandable choices, but having a sitcom actor "judge" matters made me wonder if we were actually at the circus. (On a bitchy note, rumor had it that Sarah Jessica Parker turned down Project R, so they went with Messing instead.)

- Lesley Scott

Fashiontribes State of the Fashion Union Fall 2006 Fashionweek Trends Fashion Fashion Expert