lia sophia took Fashion Week by storm with its 3-day Social Fashion™ lounge at the Empire Hotel hosting celebrities, editors, stylists and industry notables to check out top picks from the Spring/Summer catalog and preview Zingara, the new Red Carpet Collection™.

Monday morning, lia sophia founder Elena Kiam hosted a breakfast alongside Jeannie Mai, global fashion expert and host of How Do I Look? on the Style Network, and Dani Stahl, head designer of lia sophia’s Red Carpet Collection, a style consultant on E!’s Scouted and editor-at-large for Nylon magazine, for an intimate group of fashion and style bloggers. It was a fabulous opportunity to get to know the lia sophia brand better and learn the latest fashion jewelry trends.

Elena is a huge inspiration to me.  We share a very similar professional background and commiserated over long hours and sacrifice but agree working hard and acquiring a skill set for women in their twenties is invaluable.  One of my favorite sound bytes from the breakfast was Elena explaining, “A true measure of success isn’t just monetary. It’s when you’re in a position to help other women,” which lia sophia does inherently through its direct sales model and ongoing support of Dress for Success.  You can see highlights from the event here (and catch me grinning ear to ear around 2:49).

Some tips from the experts:
- According to Dani Stahl, you shouldn’t fear mixing metals, something I personally struggle with. “There’s no rule book about gold and silver.”
- Jeannie Mae suggests treating statement jewelry like a centerpiece on a table and working hair and make-up around it.
- Embrace color!
- And what five pieces should be in every Glamamom’s jewelry box?  I asked the ladies and they all agreed: a pair of hoop earrings, studs, a cocktail ring, a cuff, and an everyday necklace.

The average price of a piece of lia sophia jewelry is about $50 but each year the company designs higher-priced Red Carpet Collections™ geared towards celebs, taste-makers, and editorial features.  Here are some of my favorite pieces from Zingara.  Meaning “female gypsy” in Italian, the collection is filled with ornate statement pieces with a worldly, bohemian chic vibe:

For more about lia sophia, including the new Spring/Summer collection and how to become an advisor, visit liasophia.com or follow on Facebook and Twitter.

{I was not compensated for this post but I did get to choose a piece of jewelry from the new collections and chose the fab Nouvelle bracelet. Photos via lia sophia.}

alice + olivia by Stacey Bendet’s Fall 2012 collection is a sexy and playful mix of vintage-inspired patterns and materials with a focus on outerwear and knit dressing:

2012 is the year of the glamorous  dinner party for designer Stacey Bendet and the “Lolita-inspired” collection spotlights intricate textures of rich boucle, edgy leather, jacquard embroidery, brocades, tapestries, and lush furs laid on custom prints. The fashion week presentation was held at one of my favorite lofts in Chelsea, illuminated by tables of candlelight and a modern mix of clothing in bold jewel tones including: emerald green, ruby red, midnight blue, plum, metallics, and Bendet’s signature black and white color-blocking.

Ms. Bendet launched alice + olivia in 2002, 3 years after graduating my class at Penn. What started as her personal quest to create flattering pants has since grown into the uber-glamorous, full line women’s ready-to-wear collection it is today. Not to mention, she’s a Glamamom to 2 small daughters, Eloise and Scarlet. I’ve been a huge fan of the brand for years and conveniently used to work a few blocks from the Bryant Park store, which was oh-so-convenient. The clothes are always so current and youthful, perfect for any fabulous occasion.

{I was not compensated for this post. I received a gift bag for attending the presentation.}