Monday’s shows began with FineSmith with their trademark avant garde jewelry. The Noir collection is an intriguing combination futurism and the baroque. The actual metal pieces are highly stylized, clean-lined and futuristic, but they are coupled with lace collars that have a baroque sensibility in their lavish ornamentation.

The second collection of the day was from MEB – and it was a lovely reminder that fun and flirtation should be a part of fashion. MariaElena Barbosa, the MEB designer, organized her collection around boleros from the casual day jacket to the linen and lace boleros with cocktail dresses.

The collection from Jador features a lot of rich textiles and warm winter woolens. Sweaters adn woold and jackets make this a true fall collection. Then there’s the evening wear which is simply elegant. I see a green cocktail dress with my name on it.

I missed far too much of the Orage Creations runway show with a series of crashes one after another that left me back on the side of the runway watching puffs of white smoke. This is sad considering the four pieces I did see are simply amazing.

Nardcotix stole the show for me. I love a beautiful hat and while there’s plenty of wool caps and other casual caps there is a dearth of high fashion hats that are finely made and feminine. Since Elegance Hats closed awhile back, I have been pining for beautiful and frivolous hats. I don’t want hats to keep the sun out of my eyes, I want hats to strike a pose, set a mood, to just be for the sake of their beauty.

And what wondrous hats are these. Nardya Rousselt took the forms from the day when fascinators and cloches and wide-brimmed hats were in many women’s wardrobes and gave them a modern twist, exagerrating proportions, updating materials, adding an edge that was not there in the early 20th century fashions.

The final collection of the day was from Indyra’s Originals. This is the collection for the romantic at heart. Lovely cinched waist belted corsets over ruffled blouses, A dramatic ruffled jacket festooned with roses, an edwardian full-length coat over futuristic leggings. It was a stunning collection to cap a day of exciting fashions.