Hat Tricks

Yes, you look amazing in that ultra-furry trapper hat — until you arrive at your destination or your ears get overheated and you have no choice but to stuff that small animal into your bag. Thankfully, there are equally trendy and much more compact ways to keep your head warm. Enter Free People’s chic leopard-print beret. It’s just as animalistic, but slightly more realistic outside of the Tundra than your oversized, tassel-tied topper. The angora will keep you extra warm, not to mention this pattern goes perfectly with everything (according to Diane Von Furstenberg, leopard’s a neutral).

Another fabulous option to ride out the winter? Evoke your inner frigid-weather flapper in a knit turban. (Urban turban? J. Peterman would be proud.) The chic, knotted design adds a new twist to your basic beanie, but the best part is that its snug-fit over your ears and head. Keep with the fur theme in this Elizabeth and James rabbit-trimmed version, or nab it in knit with this Top Shop turban, available in black and black-and-white stripes. Go ahead, bring on those winter winds — you’ll be well protected and pretty.

Text Kara Solarz
Image Nordstrom

Electric Company

No need to fade to black now that winter’s here. If Pantone Color Institute’s pick for color of the year, the bold hue Tangerine Tango, is any indication, fashion houses are looking on the bright side in 2012. And now you can take your pick of neon shades without venturing out into the cold. Go-to online retailer ShopBop just launched an exclusive online capsule with TEXTILE Elizabeth and James (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s ultra-casual line), and each piece is packed with color. From shockingly pink skinny jeans to a highlighter yellow cropped denim jacket, it’s clear that the Olsen’s bright palette is Pantone inspired.

And if you don’t want to don neon from head to toe (or even waist to toe, in colored denim), you can always opt for electric-toned accessories to add a spark to your wardrobe. Try a pair of punched-up pumps or let your colors show with a neon bow.

Text Kara Solarz
Image Racked.com

Winter Blooms

Holly and mistletoe aren’t the only flora that will make this season bright. Designers have reinvented spring’s signature print with bold, graphic florals flourishing in this year’s fall and winter collections. One of the most notable among the crop is Givenchy’s resort 2012 collection, which primarily features digitalized floral prints, often manipulated in kaleidoscope-esque designs that bloom on pencil skirts, shirt dresses, and boxy tees. In fact, creative director Riccardo Tisci was so smitten with his prints that he later returned to his favorite florals to create another series of cropped sweatshirts, button-downs, and skirts after the line’s debut. Designers such as Dolce and Gabbana, Jil Sander, and Fendi fell into the same flower-patterned suit, presenting rich, large-scale blooms on silk dresses, coats, and clutches.

Luckily for your wallet, high-street stores have taken up the trend, too. Floral prints sprung up in Top Shop, whose girly Intense Floral Print Dress is just right for winter when paired with wooly tights and high boots, and in The Gap, whose floral-print cardigan can add a pop of color to the sea of black and grey garments in your winter wardrobe. Cold weather aside, you can still have some spring in your step — or at least in your closet.

Text Kara Solarz
Image Style.com