Art in Fashion Extravaganza: "By Latinos, For Everyone"

The 2011 Latino Fashion Week marked the 5th anniversary of the Latino fashion expo. This year's showcase was the perfect mix of Latin American culture and modern style. With a number of sponsors and contributors, including Walgreen's, Macy's, Akira, Univision and the Chicago Sun-Times, this year's Latino Fashion Week upped the ante just to make sure we'd all be paying attention this go-round.

Chicago's Latino Fashion Week is the only fashion exhibition of Latino designs in the United States. Although the Latino market has grown rapidly, representations of and opportunities for Latinos and other designers of color have remained limited. It was good to see a diverse crowd come together to celebrate the emergence of Latino fashion and acknowledge a culture often marginalized in the fashion industry.

This year's theme, "By Latinos, For Everyone", was a reminder that although Latino fashion is created by Latino designers, it is fashioned with every shopper in mind. The week-long celebration of Latino fashion concluded with the "Art in Fashion Extravaganza", a finale runway show featuring the collections of national and international designers such as Claudia Arce from Argentina, Paco Mayorga from Mexico, Tamaris Rubio from the Dominican Republic and Jorge Perez de la Habana’s 2012 Bridal collection. Lourdes Duarte, celebrity WGN-TV anchor and reporter, hosted the finale event.

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Solange's Shoes by Moschino Cheap & Chic

I'm usually not the one to blog about celebrity fashion but when I saw the pics of Solange (along with her sister) from the recent Samantha Thavasa event in Japan this past weekend, I nearly fell out of my chair. It had nothing to do with Solange's new hair cut - which I happen to love by the way - but had EVERYTHING to do with the shoes she was rockin'. They are fabulous beyond words. Half sandal, half bootie?! Who does that?!

After hours of searching the net, I finally discovered that the shoes are part of Moschino Cheap & Chic's Fall 2009 collection.

They are currently available at Zappos.com for $819.

Of course, I had to visit the Moschino website to see what else is in store for the fall. Below are some of the items that triggered love at first sight. Peep the half suede, half leather ruffle handbag.

I'm off to go destroy the piggy bank now...