Here's this week's roundup of style blog stars, including Altamira's shot of the ever-luminous Karolina Kurkova, dressed down in a big scarf, crisp tunic, and sturdy leather boots on a Paris sidewalk. Other highlights include Gabriel's amazing sculpted coat, captured in New York by Pop Bop and Snap, and Salomee's oversized green hat, snapped in Paris by Easy Fashion. Enjoy, and have a lovely weekend!

Ms. Okorodudu's own fashion label, House of Jola, has participated in numerous fashion events including South Africa Fashion Week, Nigeria Fashion Week and Washington D.C. Fashion Week as well as Couture Fashion Week in New York. House of Jola is just one of the enterprises overseen by this dynamic entrepreneur. Ms. Okorodudu has become an African fashion icon and has been interviewed by top international media such as Reuters, Associated Press and Der Spiegel, one of Europe's largest publications. She is the founder of Lagos Ageless Clinique as well as the popular TV show Nigeria's Next Supermodel which has launched the careers of many successful models. Models from Ms. Okorodudu's highly successful Isis Modeling Agency (Lagos/Johannesburg) have graced top runways from Johannesburg to Paris, from Sanlam to New York. Ms. Okorodudu is also the CEO of International Business Consortium Nigeria Ltd.

House of Farrah is a luxury fashion and lifestyle company specializing in the production of ready-to-wear clothing, accessories and bespoke tailoring. All pieces are handcrafted using the finest fabrics and materials sourced from all over the world. With a spirit of innovation and creativity, the label utilizes the best international practices in garment making, producing limited quantities of an eclectic range of garments appealing to a broad range of tastes. House of Farrah opened its flagship boutique in the Silverbird Entertainment Centre in Abuja in 2009. CEO and Creative Director Fatima Aliyu Garba brings inspiration from her extensive international travels and her decade’s sojourn abroad into her design process. She experiments with fabrics from around the world and creates exclusive, luxurious and inimitable designs that complement the lifestyles of the company's many clients. A former lawyer and IT consultant, Ms. Garba now pursues her lifelong dream and passion for fashion. A law graduate of Brunel University, Ms. Garba is a member of the Nigerian Bar and also holds a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems.

Reedas is a fashion and lifestyle brand that takes pride in designing stylish, timeless, classy and sophisticated outfits that are both functional and comfortable. Great care is taken to ensure that all garments are made to perfection with a focus on quality, style and client satisfaction. Limited edition pieces are created to suit a diverse fashion-conscious clientele who enjoy re-inventing and re-interpreting trends that speak to them while having fun with their personal style. Rukkayah Suleiman-Mohammed, the creative force behind the Reedas label, worked for almost a decade in the banking industry before following her dream of being a fashion designer. One of Nigeria's brightest up-and-coming designers, Ms. Suleiman-Mohammed is the daughter of a prominent diplomat. Her childhood experiences attending state dinners and gala balls with an international array of guests helped develop her taste for fine fashion and luxury. The hallmarks of the Reedas label are rich fabrics and mastery of the tapestry.

Launched in 2007, Berrys Couture is headed by Hadiza Yakubu, a hardworking and focused entrepreneur with a love of fashion. The label's focus is on practically casual, glamorous and dressy clothing with a touch of the exotic and great attention to detail. The distinctive designs appeal to a wide spectrum of men and women.

Couture Fashion Week is a multi-day event showcasing couture and luxury fashion. It also includes exhibits of luxury brands and fine art as well as world-class entertainment and receptions. The event is held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City and occasionally in other selected cities and is attended by upscale consumers, invited VIPs, the press and high-end store buyers. Couture Fashion Week offers unique branding opportunities for luxury products and services.

Visit the event website for more information: www.CoutureFashionWeek.com

Cathy Horyn makes a number of compelling points on her Times blog about the controversy surrounding Michelle Obama's (now practically infamous) red Alexander McQueen state dinner dress. That the dress was not of American origin doesn't bother Horyn, who takes issue with the CFDA expressing disappointment in Michelle's choice.



The truth is many of its members, including its president, Diane Von Furstenberg, manufacture a significant portion of their clothes outside the United States, mainly in Asia. Why wasn’t that mentioned in the WWD articles? The only explanation I have is that the C.F.D.A. has nothing to gain from being straightforward. But, apparently, it has everything to gain by goading the first lady into wearing American labels.


Horyn continues:


Here’s my problem with Mrs. Obama: I want her to be known for something other than her fashion. I want her to be a great first lady who truly cares about the lives of Americans at the time when many need help. I want her to be far more than “prime placement” for a dress label — whatever the country of origin. She supports a number of causes, notably healthful eating habits, but these deeds are being overshadowed by what she wears. Only she can change that perception. In March 2009, The Economist ran an excellent article about our new first lady that expressed the concern that she might become better known for her fashion rather than for her opinions. Unfortunately, that seems to be happening.

And Michelle is a very smart woman, whose aides, the Times reported in April of 2009, "are often immersed in policy discussions in the West Wing that are not publicized by the White House." The first lady carefully crafted her image — so much so that she wears her own clothes for all the lady mags she appears in. In those stories she talks about what she wears, raising her children, gardening, exercise, and living healthfully, much more than her political opinions.

Citigroup issued a trend report for spring 2011, and according to their financial expertise, everything's coming up True Grit. Roseanne Morrison, Citi's consultant from the Doneger Group, explains why we'll be wearing worn-in denim, fringe, and gingham prints.

"It's an ode to the western, and, of course, "True Grit" is our cultural reference here, one of the most-watched movies ... The whole western, open-range denim story has legs. I think it's going to be impactful to the consumer, because they're still into a very strong casual lifestyle business. And however it plays out, whether it's with gingham or denim, I think it resonates with the consumer."


Gingham or denim? No long braids, bulky overcoats, and lopped-off fingers? We're gonna go out and buy an eye patch just to be sure.

You know what I like about Chioma? Besides the fact that she’s a girl in a hat, and you know how I feel about hats… But then on top of that, she has mastered something that I totally gave up on at the beginning of winter, and I call it the impossible skirt length :

Shop the collection online and in the meatpacking district store. Get everything you need, from white rayon pants ($130) that are a great spring basic (if wildly impractical aside from the fact that they're dry-clean only) to the Jago Jacket ($595), pictured here, to the blue velvet wedges ($465). Damn winter and its slush puddles. [Fashionista]

First: there are entire sites dedicated to street style and catwalk photography that analyse the sartorial fineries of looks which repel men.

Second: what I'd always considered to be nerd-chic glasses are known to others as birth control glasses.

Both things confuse me no end, particular the latter when you consider just how good such specs can look:

Ikea just released a cookbook in Sweden titled Hembakat är Bäst, meaning Homemade is Best, in which the recipes are two images: one of the ingredients and one of the finished item.

Here are some words from agency Forsman & Bodenfors:

As part of IKEAs kitchen appliance campaign we made a book about baking. It was the perfect way to ensure a connection between IKEAS kitchen appliances and one of the best things you can do in a kitchen: baking. Biscuits, buns and cakes from great traditional swedish recipes. The fact that we let ourselves be inspired by high fashion and japanese minimalism rather than ordinary baking photos with a chequered table cloth in the background just made the project more fun.

All the images of the book have been styled by Evelina Bratell and photographed by Carl Kleiner.