Film adaptations of classic novels represent the intersection of very disparate art forms—beautifully composed words on a page must be translated into the visual language of the cinema. The characters conjured by our imaginations must be manifested in the flesh, complete with wardrobes that evoke another age. This is the challenge that faces director Joe Wright as he seeks to bring Anna Karenina to the big screen. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece, is a behemoth of a book, considered to be one of the best ever written. Anna herself is an iconic character, as tragic as she is elegant. Tolstoy describes her as a charming woman known for her black curls and natural grace. Anna eschews the girlish frocks favored by the young debutantes who flit around the ballrooms of St. Petersburg like so many pretty young butterflies for refined, dark-hued gowns that allow her own luminous beauty to shine. To say that Keira Knightley, who is playing Anna, and the filmmakers are under pressure to get Tolstoy's heroine right is an understatement. Stills from the movie, due to be released in November 2012, however, seem to indicate that they are on the right track.

The fashion involved in Anna Karenina extends beyond the actors’ wardrobes, though. Banana Republic is also releasing an Anna Karenina-inspired collection for the fall, conceptualized by the film’s costume designer, Jacqueline Durran. The dresses' dark colors and classic cuts channel the grandeur of the old Russian elite in a modern way, incorporating trendy materials like velvet, lace and faux fur.

Designed by Jacqueline Durran, Banana Republic, Fall/Winter 2012

The standouts of this collection are the hats, doubtless inspired by the ushanka, a Russian fur cap. A statement piece like this is daring and could make or break an outfit. Another notable feature of the line is the dark red hues, which were popular on the Fall/Winter 2012 runways. They provide a sophisticated way to channel holiday cheer without resorting to the distressingly ubiquitous ugly holiday sweater. The cranberry red dress echoes a ballgown Knightley wears in the movie, reinterpreted for the twenty first century.

Mixing and matching the Karenina-inspired articles with more contemporary pieces -- and throwing on some crystal costume jewelry, if not the ropes of diamonds and pearls Knightley wears in the movie -- may allow us to experience the spirit of the bygone world of Russian aristocracy that has haunted our cultural imagination ever since Tolstoy captured it on the page.

The summer of 2007, when I was fifteen, was one of the most formative of my life in terms of my personal style. That was the first time I visited Paris.

Courtesy: Inhabitat.com

If anyone ever cared to create a timeline tracking my interest in fashion, there would have to be a prominent marker separating the eras Before Paris and After Paris. Parisians clearly pay attention to detail while dressing. Their clothes fit them with the precision achieved by expert tailoring. Pieces are clearly not thrown together in the morning by people who hastily down a harried cup of coffee before sprinting out the door to drive to the office. No, the coats and scarves and clinging skirts of the citizens of Paris are chosen with care -- though not overmuch, for they are never gauche -- before an amble down the avenue to a café where they would linger over a drink as the morning unfolds. Certainly I romanticized the natives of Paris; I imagined that they probably owned fewer pieces of clothing than I, with my loads of worn-out jeans and T-shirts, did, but that their wardrobes were of infinitely higher quality and taste. My American eyes were dazzled as much by what I didn’t see, however: no rumpled jeans, no hooded sweatshirts and no worn-out shoes. In fact, the method I devised for telling a well-dressed tourist apart from a native Parisienne was looking at the woman’s shoes. If she wore sensible sandals or beat-up sneakers fit for tromping through the Latin Quarter or the halls of the Louvre, she was a tourist. If she was wearing heels, chances were good that she was from Paris. Despite all the walking a woman in Paris has to do -- Paris was designed to be a walking city -- she would be loath to settle for flats, let alone athletic shoes.

Since that summer, I've become more aware of the impact of clothing choices, but I haven’t been able to fully commit to the high heel. I’m not a Parisian woman expertly navigating the centuries-old cobbles with ease, but an American who needs to wear flats on an everyday basis to keep from breaking her neck while pounding the California pavement. Luckily, Fall 2012 offers us a bit of a compromise: wedges are going to feature prominently in the fashion scene this year. Alejandro Ingelmo's wedge boot is a case in point:

Alejandro Ingelmo Fall 2012

Lanvin's collection also combines fashion with the requirements of function for those of us who struggle with stilettos.

Lanvin Pre-Fall 2012

If it’s good enough for designers whose creations will grace the catwalks of Paris this year, it’s good enough for me. I can carry the reminder of the elegance of the city that never cuts corners in terms of style while yielding to the demands that irritating words like “reality” and “practicality” make on aspiring fashionistas.

The Ralph Lauren Spring 2012 collection featured a variety of looks, ranging from elegant dresses to classic suits to short, flowing frocks. These loose dresses looked like they came straight out of the 1920s, as the models appeared to be flapper look-alikes, with their cloche hats and long, chain necklaces. The flappers were women who exhibited a new confidence by cutting their hair short, parting until dawn, and doing whatever they liked. The flapper was bold and fun and enjoyed living her life.

Ralph Lauren Spring 2012 RTW
Courtesy: style.com

Ralph Lauren’s collection combines all the sass of the flappers along with a new elegance. His collection reminds women that in the 21st century, they can use fashion to make a statement about their independence by dressing as they please, with no need to adhere to anyone’s standards but their own. Lauren’s dresses and suits exert such a confidence that it makes me remember why I began loving fashion in the first place. Style is an opportunity for you to make a statement without saying any words at all, to convey an attitude to anyone who’s merely standing in a room with you.

Lauren’s collection also features short suits, complete with vests and ties and all. I love these suits so much, mostly because they scream, “I am in charge of my destiny.”

Ralph Lauren Spring 2012 RTW
Courtesy: style.com

Lastly, the Spring 2012 collection presents beautiful and flowing skirts and tops in the pastel colors we have all loved this season.

Ralph Lauren Spring 2012 RTW
Courtesy: style.com

You can find the rest of the collection on the Ralph Lauren website.

It's a strange experience, hearing about a runway show without actually seeing the collection. Kind of like taking an art history class in a room with a broken projector, a certain background and culture knowledge allows others words to take you only so far before a visual aid becomes necessary. I heard about Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2012 collection often. Always what was said was positive, and always reference was made to the 1920s influence. It seems last fall Marc dressed his models to attend Gatsby’s garden party, an aesthetic that enchanted the fashion world. My curiosity piqued, I took a look myself, and, a full-season late, now feel compelled to weigh in.

All the talk about allusions to the 1920s were present, but there was so much more happening within each look, so many different traces of eras past. I was amazed that most reviews had narrowed the collection down to a single historical reference point. True, the 1920s, drop-waist silhouette was the most overt of all Jacobs’ nods to the past, but it seems that flapper-esque fringe was in everyone’s eyes, preventing them from seeing, for example, the 1940s, embodied in those kitschy Rosie the Riveter bandanas and bobbysoxer inspired anklets.

Or the 1960s, which shone through in the boxy, Jackie O, tailored blazers, the turban and pillbox shaped headgear. Not to mention the feathered shift dress, skirts and shell tops, costumes that easily could have been lifted from a Doris Day movie.

The 1970s were also represented. They were present in the contrasting breast pockets on those square-cut jackets, which positively evoked the upper half of leisure suit. And there again in the western-style gingham button-ups that Jacobs paired with ladylike, knee-length skirts, but would have been at home over a pair of bell-bottoms.

The use of a shiny, bunched, almost plastic like fabric for many of the dresses evoked the avant-garde designers of the 1980s. A track jacket and a few cozy raglans were a wink in the direction of 80s sport couture (a retrospective reference that featured heavily in many designers’ work this season). Let’s not forget those adorable western style booties -- just add legwarmers.

The 90s were there as well, in a selection of sheer and semi-sheer slip dresses, stolen from the closet of the then 15-year-old Kate Moss.

All photos courtesy: style.com

By the last look, it seemed not a single decade in the past century missed its invitation to the party. The collection should be praised for its artful invocation of the 1920s, to be sure, but further credit is due to Jacobs for his masterful inclusion of such a diverse array of iconic styles from fashion’s rich archive. This was an achievement I felt the need to pay tribute to in an article that is now, appropriately, itself a reflection on the past.

I’ll admit it: I am a color fanatic. Although some people tend to shy away from experimenting with them, I just cannot get enough. And while I absolutely loved the bold jewel tones that dominated last Fall, I can barely handle my excitement for the light, delicate pastels that have already started to pop-up as we head into Spring. At last, we are taking a break from the tough staples of Fall 2011 and transitioning into the more ‘girly’ hues yet still structured silhouettes of Spring 2012. These colors are the epitome of soft femininity and the classic idea of ‘pretty’. Also, I swear they can convince even a cynic that spring is really on its way during these last few dreary days of March!

The best intro course to these new colors and shapes is Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2012 show by Marc Jacobs. Even though this collection premiered back in October 2011, it’s a perfect refresher on the hot color spectrum and textures of this spring season. In case you somehow missed it, the show was a complete fantasy. Full disclosure: I am completely obsessed with anything by Marc Jacobs; the man can do no wrong in my eyes. However, my personal bias aside, I still think this show will go down in history for its sheer grandeur and inspiration. Never one to shy away from making a dramatic statement, Jacobs’ models arrived on stage riding an opulent white carousel, immediately setting the whimsically ladylike yet strong tone of both the line as well as the season.

Louis Vuitton, Spring 2012
Courtesy: Getty Images

From the gorgeous pale pinks, blues, and yellows to the delicate lace daises that have come to be Jacobs’ signature, the whole line screams spring. The intricacy of the lace cutouts brings a slightly hardened edge to the otherwise fragile fabric. I am also obsessed with the frilly, feathered texture of his dresses and full skirts. Jacobs manages to weave all of the major hues and trends of this upcoming season into one single yet diverse collection. The models on the Carousel look like a high-fashion Easter egg hunt in a Parisian park, which only he can pull off.

Louis Vuitton, Spring 2012
Courtesy: Getty Images

These theatrics help to create the ultimate fashion fantasy that will definitely leave an impression on its viewers that lasts far beyond Spring 2012. So please, when you are shopping for your newest spring wardrobe staples, remember the advice of Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton and go for something light, girly, and, most importantly, pastel!