Confessions of a Fashion Fanatic: Milan Madness

When it comes to RTW Fashion Weeks, I get equally excited about Paris and Milan -- my number one draft picks.

But, oh Milan, the fabulous labels that come out of your city! Missoni, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Alessandro Dell'acqua, Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Viktor & Rolf, Moschino and Moschino Cheap & Chic, DSquared, Blumarine, Martin Margiela, Marni, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Gianfranco Ferre, La Perla, Burberry Prorsum...

It's always rather tough choosing the top collections out of Milan, simply because all of them are strong, sultry and feminine. They're luxe and unapologetically sexy. I will, however, profess huge crushes on Missoni (the label's chic heiress Margherita Missoni is a style favorite of mine) and Moschino Cheap & Chic.

Missoni constantly stays true to its vast color palette. Keeping in theme with fall, the palette was naturally deeper and richer in tone -- purples, blues and browns with yellow to punch it up a little. The short skirts were consistently voluminous, while the long skirts and dresses hugged closer to the body. Waists were emphasized obi-like belts and wide ribbed hems that started below the bust and hit at the hip. This season, fur has been a major runway contender, as seen here at Missoni and many, many other labels apart from furrier to the socialite set Dennis Basso. PETA is sure going to have a hard time keeping up the picketing protests this year.

Moschino Cheap & Chic equals fun and good times. As the kid sister label to Moschino, the little girl in all of us is represented in an rainbow of colors and flirty cuts. Britain and its countryside were big references in this collection: houndstooth, gloves, perky hats and hound dog purses. Silhouettes were mainly puffy and big, but a few sleeker outfits made it down the runway. The white tights were very Alice In Wonderland, which makes me think Gwen Stefani would look fabulous in the collection, given her homage to the Lewis Carroll tale in her "Whatcha Waitin' For" music video. Constrasting prints made the cut, too: animal, plaid, houndstooth, flower, big paint splatter and stripes. Fur also reared its fuzzy head as the finishing touches to a few pieces, like on the collar of a tan flower petal-esque mid-length jacket. Colored tights also made a splash on two-tones outfits, while short puffer jackets were the new pashmina, thrown over dresses. Count on Moschino Cheap & Chic to keep you visually stimulated.

If I order a double shot of espresso, sat down, closed my eyes really tight and visualize exactly the way popular, New Age DVD "The Secret" tells us to, just maybe I'll look into the mirror and see one the above outfits on me.

Or not. Oh well.

I'm Lovin' it: Amazon offshoot website Endless. Here you'll find scores and scores of fabulous shoes for men, women and children from Bandolino to BCBG to Charles David to Isaac Mizrahi to Oscar de la Renta to Penny Loves Kenny to Steve Madden to Richard Tyler. Best part? Shipping is free and there's a 110% price guarantee. I'm not too sure how the mathematical logistics of the former work, but it sounds good to me.

I'm Over it: Red-carpet coverage by American Idol and KIIS FM host Ryan Seacrest. Is it me, or does award show interviewing on the carpet always seem awkward. My favorite moment this year had to be when Cate Blanchett responded to Seacrest's comment that he never seem to know who's who at these crowded events with "I'm Cate Blanchett." She barely cracked a smile with her delivery, which made it even funnier.

Artist of the Day: Lily Allen. This 21-year-old Brit warbler hit it big with her song "Smile" -- every track that follows is an equally frothy, musical confection of non-sensical lyrics and happy beats. She claims her lyrics come from day to day observations, coming out in an almost stream of consciousness-like manner. "LDN" (great old school horns intro) and "Knock Me Out" (funky jazzy piano and drum kicks intro and Lady Sovereign-ish rapping follow up) are note-worthy as well.