Chiffon is an absolute essential to your closet this year.  This sheer fabric comes in unlimited amount of colors and patterns and can be worn in almost limitless ways. Traditionally, chiffon is thought of as predominately a fabric for evening wear, feminine blouses, and sleepwear. But this year designers are modernizing it and expanding it outside its conventional wear. Roberto Cavalli has featured a tremendous amount of brightly patterned chiffon pieces this season, from an edgy chiffon maxi dress with asymmetrical lines to a vibrant pink and red belted caftan.  Dolce&Gabanna followed in line with a puff-sleeve, gathered neckline patterned feminine floral dress. Alexander McQueen on the other hand, put brightly colored chiffon scarves in his collection. Additionally, designers are showing their chiffon collections on runways this month for items that will be available in their stores in the warmer seasons of next year. Luckily for Rwanda, our weather stays warm year round, so we can start grabbing this trend now! Some celebrities already have picked it up: Blake Lively, on a recent episode of Gossip Girl wore a navy, strapless, edgy chiffon dress with thick bracelets and minimal other accessories. Niki Hilton was recently spotted wearing a pale green chiffon bohemian top. Olivia Munn, the lead actress on one of America’s newest TV shows Newsroom, wore a cream cowl-neck chiffon top with a leather skirt at a recent gala. It is easy for chiffon to look out of date, so there are several tips to keep in mind. If you are a feminine dresser, try to stay away from cuts that over-do the femininity. That means staying away from items that have floral patterns, big bows, and a lot of ruffles. However, chiffon is really the best this season for the more minimalist dressers out there. If you want to wear a dress, make it a solid color. If you want to wear a chiffon top, choose a trapeze style with no sleeves. If you want to wear a scarf, choose less intricate patterns or even solid. If wearing a scarf or top, it’s best to pair it with jeans and flats. That’s the fashion scoop for this week. Got a thought? Trend? Style you hate? Send it my way.