Cheryl Marie Cordeiro in Karen Millen turtle neck and Marc Jacobs bag.

For Milan, it’s not just neutrals for winter, but for Spring 2011!
Photo © J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

I’ve always loved Milan fashion showings with its cutting edge technology in fabrics, colour, cuts and shapes! And while winter hasn’t even hit Europe, looking at various fashion magazines and style columns in the Swedish news, I think we’re all pretty much excited about the up and coming fashion trends for Spring 2011.

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag.

Part of what contributes to this excitement for Spring 2011 in Sweden is that Milan, known for their more flamboyant colours styles with the likes of Pucci, Just Cavalli and Gucci, have this time around come up with surprisingly neutral shades with minimalist shapes – a very Swedish, very Scandinavian take when it comes to design. A number of daringly solid black for spring outfits are also showcased in the collections of Bottega Veneta and No. 21.


Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier Q bag, Karen Millen turtle neck top.

Bottega Veneta is one of my favourite collections for Spring 2011. I’m not usually one for black in spring, not only because the high Scandinavian spring / summer light can be unforgiving on solid black of anything, catching and showing up even the slightest of dust specks, but also that in Sweden, black (and flats) seems rather the default colour and dress code, stricter and more binding than the norm, so that black in spring, vouched for by luxury Italian fashion houses just horrifies me as it catches on all too quickly in the Scandinavian world of mode. All year round, black.

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, Karen Millen turtle neck and L K Bennett patent leather belt.

Giorgio Armani on the other hand, was surprisingly sober for Spring 2011 with his collection ranging from navy to black. Glamour is always evident in Armani, with clean elegant lines both in the outfits and in the bags.

When it comes to footwear, the trend goes both ways – platforms and no platforms; skyscrapers and flats. Dolce & Gabbana have noticeably kept their wooden heeled platforms with sexy as trademark as did Marni though verged more towards the creative than sexy. Still, many other collections for Spring 2011 have also taken a step away from the platforms of recent years and have gone back to what I think are sensible shoes without platforms or too much skyscraper (Bottega Veneta, Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo).

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, Patrizia Pepe pants and Chloé patent wedge shoes.

Personally, I’m looking forward to a spring with neutral shades, not perhaps black but of camel, cream, variations of white and even mink / grey.
Back to what is current in Sweden and the upcoming winter. Outfit today is:

• Black and white turtleneck knit by Karen Millen
• Silvertone earclips in the shape of apples by Sarah Coventry
• Black pants by Patrizia Pepe
• Black patent wooden wedge heels by Chloé
Diamond and ametrine ring
• Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier Q hobo bag (grande) in slate grey

The Hillier Q hobo is one of my current favourites in terms of size and being the perfect gym bag, first to work, then to the gym, fitting everything! Well, almost.

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