Oscar Mom Fashion – 5 Best & 5 Blah

Last night was the biggest night in Hollywood! And nearly as important as who won the awards, was who everyone was wearing! Check out Montreal Fashion Moms 5 best and 5 blah looks from moms rocking the red carpet last night.

5 Best – Red-Carpet Stunners!

We are huge Michelle Williams fans and are always looking forward to see what this mom is wearing on the red carpet, and of course she did not disappoint in this coral Louis Vuitton dress with a ruched bustline and peplum skirt.

Hot mama Jennifer Lopez looked stunning in her sexy Zuhair Murad gown. Though she looks like she may have a wardrobe malfunction at any minute (and almost did on stage), sometimes fashion trumps functionality, and all you gotta do is hope that the double stick tape will hold those puppies in!

Looking like a million bucks, model mom, Milla Jovovich brought old school Hollywood glamour back to the red carpet in her white, embellished one shoulder gown by Elie Saab Couture.

Simplicity done right! Gwyneth Paltrow wowed in a white caped column dress from Tom Ford. "This is my Jackie O moment" she said of the dress.

Tina Fey looked glamorous in her custom Carolina Herrera, who chose only to dress the star. Talk about an exclusive fashion experience!

TREND ALERT – White hot dresses and Peplum Skirts!

5 Blah – Not necessarily the worst, but far from the best!

We love Sherri Shepherd, but this cobalt blue, Grecian-style cut-out dress was a big no-no! Exposed bra is never a good look – especially on the red carpet!

Sandra Bullock usually looks amazing on the red carpet, but simply missed the mark this time with her ill-fitting Marchesa gown.

Penelope Cruz always looks pretty, but the style of her Armani Privé dress seemed a bit prom-ish and out-dated. Been there, done that!

Natalie Portman’s Vintage polka dot Dior gown just didn’t do it for us. It was very simple, slightly juvenile, and didn’t stand out on the Oscar red-carpet.

Penelope Ann Miller who wore an nude, embellished Badgley Mischka gown said “I really wanted something that was 30s-inspired", but the look just seemed out-dated. Guess her fashion sense just isn't quite as strong as her acting skills.

Did you watch the Oscars? Who was on your best and worst dressed list?

Strut - The Fashionable Mom Show

As we previously mentioned, the Strut Mom Fashion Show was held at Lincoln Centre last week during New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. It was the first of its kind, and really coincided with our goal here at Montreal Fashion Moms, by bringing Fashion and Motherhood together, because being a mom shouldn’t mean sacrificing your style and love of fashion.

Real moms walked the runway with strollers and pregnant bellies, looking chic for every occasion from school drop-off to date night. The event was even hosted by non-other than the beautiful model mom of 2, Iman, and while she didn’t walk the runway, leaving the spotlight to the mom blogger models, she did take her place in the front row in a purple lace top and short, pleated skirt by Prabal Gurung to support the cause.

“I'm with my people! People think fashion and moms are at odds, which I don't think they are," the supermodel and mogul said backstage. "It's just our lifestyle is different, yet we hold the purse strings at home and make all the decisions on purchases." We couldn’t have said it better!

The Strut Mom Fashion Show showcased styles in various price ranges from a variety of designers and retailers like Tory Burch, Rachel Roy, Michael Kors, maternity wear from Hatch and A Pea in the Pod as well as accessories from the Gap, and Iman’s handbag line on HSN.com. They made sure that all the pieces shown were completely accessible to moms and available in stores now (not in 6 months from now), from stores ranging from Bloomingdales to T.J. Maxx.

This is a huge step forward for us fashion lovin’ moms! To be walking the runway at Lincoln Center during fashion week is any fashionista’s dream come true. Just because you’re a mom, doesn’t mean you lose your sense of style or your love of fashion. We can be fabulous and functional too! And like Iman said, nobody has buying power like we do! We are so thrilled for all of the moms and mom bloggers who organized and participated in this successful, one-of-a-kind event. Congrats to everyone involved!

That’s one small step down the runway; one giant leap for fashion moms everywhere! Check out the whole fashion show in the video below.

Design Your Own Dress at UnitedStyles

Have you ever found yourself looking for the perfect dress, but just can’t find exactly what you’re looking for in store? Wishing you had the power and sewing skills to create your own designs, but simply do not have the talent or time to do it? Well, we’ve found a solution for that, and it’s called UnitedStyles!

This amazing new site is every fashionista’s dream! It allows you to create and purchase your very own designs! And you don’t need a degree in design either because UnitedStyles offers a bunch of pre-made templates with an array of different necklines, sleeves, trims, prints and colors that you can mix and match to create an ensemble  just for you. The design process is simple; all you need is a little time and your fabulous ideas! Just be warned, the design process is so fun and easy that it may become addictive. Personally, I had a tough time deciding which design I wanted to order after creating so many!

The best part about UnitedStyles is that these fabulous one of a kind designs come to you at a completely affordable price! (Something we moms always appreciate). Pieces range from $49.95 to $129.95 with flat rate international shipping fees to ANYWHERE in the world! Plus if you purchase more than one item, shipping is free!

I decided to design a top that I could wear for spring. I looked to spring color trends and this Spring 2012 Salvatore Ferragamo look for inspiration. I just love the off the shoulder neckline and the mix of purple and  coral colors on my design.

I’ll be looking forward to the next time someone asks where I got my top from so I can smile and say, “I designed it!” What do you think?

Like UnitedStyles on Facebook, upload your designs and tell us about it! We’ll send you a coupon code exclusively for Montreal Fashion Moms readers!

The First Mom Fashion Show at NY Fashion Week

All of us fashion loving moms know that it’s fashion week season; from Paris to Milan and from Montreal to New York, now is the time to see what’s trending for Fall 2012. We are of course looking forward to see what all the top designers have in store for us, but one of the shows we are most looking forward to seeing is Strut – The Fashionable Mom Show. This new fashion show specifically for moms is the first of its kind and is coming up on closing day of New York’s  Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on  Thursday, February 16th at Lincoln Center.

 

Audrey McClelland and Vera Sweeney of Getting Gorgeous, Denise Albert and Melissa Gerstein of The Moms and Holly Pavlika, the managing director of  Big Fuel, a New York full-service marketing and communications company, and founder of Momentum have all come together to create this fabulous new fashion show for moms that will have real and celebrity moms strutting  their stuff down the runway in attainable and affordable styles while the show streams live on the Net.

“Vera and I started Getting Gorgeous two years ago because we really wanted to bring attainable fashion tips to moms,” said McClelland. “For us, this was the next logical evolution and what’s remarkable about this is we can bring fashion to every mom through the live stream, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.”

The buzz about Strut – The Fashionable Mom Show is building fast and we cannot wait to see this show! To show at Mercedes-Benz fashion week is every fashion mom’s dream! We wish we could somehow be a part of this show and attend in person, but fortunately they’ll be streaming live online, and we’ll be glued to our screens.

Watch the preview video below and visit www.thefashionablemomshow.com for more information.

Fashionable Moms from Big Fuel on Vimeo.

Macy's International Online Shopping

Amaaaazing!!

Macy’s, one of our fave US department stores, has just launched international online shopping to over 91 countries and that of course, includes Canada!! Other places Macys.com will ship to include the United Kingdom, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America.

 

Macys.com customers will not only be able to see all the prices in their local currency,   but they also have a fabulous feature that will immediately calculate an exact quote of all the customs duties and tariffs that also must be paid upon shipping. That means, no hidden fees or surprise import charges. You will know exactly how much you will have to pay before you checkout. Don’t you wish all websites that ship internationally had that function?

This is a pretty exciting announcement, especially when it’s sometimes hard to find a lot of great online stores that price and ship to Canada. Macy’s is a great place to get fashion for the whole family, and now right at your doorstep! Can’t wait to get my online shop on! ;)

Versace for H&M

Hey fashion moms!

Ever wish you could own a fabulous designer dress, but they are just wayyyy beyond your budget? Well, H&M has just announced their latest designer collaboration with none other than the house of Versace.

The Fall 2011 collection for men, women and home is being designed by Donatella Versace herself and will be available in selected stores and online on November 17th.

While most of the collection is set to be a surprise, Donatella was so excited about it, that she decided to debut one of the dresses on the runway of the Versace men’s fashion show in Milan, and we have to say, it's lookin' fierce!

"Versace is one of the most important brands of recent times, and their collection for H&M will be glamorous and flamboyant - everything Versace stands for. Donatella Versace is sharing with us iconic designs from the archives. This is such a celebratory collaboration and it is perfect for the party season, " Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor at H&M said in a statement. 

Check out this video to see what Donatella and H&M creative advisor Margareta van den Bosch have to say about this much anticipated collaboration.

We love when top fashion designers like Donatella Versace, collaborate with large chain stores like H&M so that their fabulous, coveted designs can become a little more attainable for us ‘regular’ folk, who want to be just as glamorous for a more reasonable price. We can’t wait to see what Donatella Versace has in store for us with this collection.