In an effort to rebrand itself, Lily's of Beverly Hills (LBH) is debuting a new logo, as well as a revamped collection, at this week's 2008 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.  I met with James Sowins, LBH's VP and Creative Director, at their new press office in Venice, Calif. last week to learn more about the recent changes at this 35-year-old company.

I discovered that LBH has a lot in common with Venice. Venice has a number of hip galleries, trendy boutiques and of-the-moment cafes but retains its Bohemian character (it was once  home to Beat poets and artists). Venice manages to be fashionable without being pretentious. Sowins hopes to accomplish the same at LBH, trying to infuse its lines with fashionable style without losing its loyal audience or golf integrity. "It's bringing a new feminine, modern edge to the brand, " he said. "Women's golf apparel has always been an afterthought to men's, so our goal was to service the market with fashionable clothes that fit the lifestyle and taste level of today's woman."

From what I've seen so far, LBH is succeeding,  offering better fabrics and fit with trendy designs. Here are a few catalog images from the Summer/Fall '08 line.

Sowins' other innovation includes collaborating with Neil Kirk, an extremely talented fashion and celebrity photographer, on the company's new catalog and ad campaign. The changes have brought about a whole new feel to the company, and customers are sure to take notice. This is a brand I aim to keep my eye on at the show this week.

There's a picture of my mother standing proudly in front of some official government building with an endless staircase. She's holding my hand. I think I'm standing upright but I'm barely visible, since I'm about 2 feet tall and completely lost behind her voluminous patch-work bell-bottoms. I'm pretty sure, even if my outfit is not visible, that in that picture I am also sporting some mini version of that infamous trend.

As a teenager in the 1980's, I would often use the picture as evidence against my mother if she commented on my ripped jeans or cut-off t-shirts. I would make some snide remark about not needing fashion advice from a woman who deemed it fashionable to wear bell bottoms.

Last year, in an attempt to free myself from the pervasive and not particularly flattering skinny-jean-trend, I picked up a pair of wide-leg jeans. Sporting my cool and somewhat subversive jeans I met my mother for brunch. Her look of disbelief and disgust spoke volumes, and if there was any doubt she asked, "Are those awful things back in style?"

Oh how the tables turn! My wide-leg jeans were just bell-bottoms in disguise. She was right. I didn't run away in horror, I liked the idea.

There's something off-putting and yet nostalgic about the re-emergence of a trend if you were an active participant the first time around. There's a sense that you know better, why make the same mistake twice? But was it ever really a mistake?

Last week in Milan, the bell-bottom trouser looked fresh and modern in silk chiffon coming down the Prada Spring '08 runway (see pics above). Paired with a long button-down vest ,it instantly made me think of golf and particularly Judy Rankin circa 1978 (left).

I know I'm in the minority, but I LOVE the way the professional golfers of the 70's looked. Back then, they were just sporting the latest trends, not taking big fashion risks. But there's something refreshing about the fit of their clothes, the fun colors and patterns and the funny-cool shape of their pants.  It's refreshing to look back and not be blinded by the excess use of logos. The players back then didn't look like walking billboards.

I have no false hope -- I don't expect that Tiger will rock the checkered bell-bottoms that Johnny Miller made famous. I know that it's not very likely that any guy will ever wear a pair of bell-bottoms, I'm just hoping that maybe in a year some intrepid female golfer might. Someone young and bold with a taste for fun-fashion like Mollie Fankhauser.

Last week I passed by Bryant Park and felt as if I had stumbled upon a chalk outline of a "Law & Order" crime scene. The lawn that just seven days ago had housed the New York Fashion Week tents and all their high drama appeared listless and deflated.  Gone was that week-long pinch-me feeling. Imagine playing in a pro-am with Tiger Woods. You're nervous, hopeful, excited, trying to hold onto every minute so that you can process it and try to make some sense of it. And then it's over. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic. But drama is what fashion is all about.

It's difficult to forecast the trends that will have the most resonance without taking in the shows in London, Paris and Milan. New York offers a taste of what you'll find come Spring time. We can say good-bye to the voluminous and not particularly flattering silhouettes of the last two seasons. Spring 2008 offers a more tapered, more flattering, adult silhouette. Hats are huge (nice to see the fashion world catch up to that fun golf staple: head-wear). I loved the visors at Michael Kors and the fedoras and head-scarves at Diane von Furstenberg. Style.com is perfect for checking out each designers complete collection. Be sure to check out the The Sartorialist on the style.com to see what people were wearing outside the tents.

Many of the shows offered American sportswear that can easily be worn on the course. But it's hard to call out any one item with as much enthusiasm as I experienced when Linda Hipp of Lija came to see me back in August. She was in town and stopped in to give me a preview of the Spring 2008 Lija collection. Linda always has a tightly edited, very fashion forward collection. I'm sure you'll see many of the items from the collection featured on the pages of Golf for Women. Since it's always fun to get a sneak peek, check out the pictures of the Willow windshirt (left). It's lightweight, wind and water resistant and comes in lilac. You won't be able to buy it until Spring 2008, but I've already started to think about what i can wear the Willow with next April.

I have always been above average; my entire life I have vacillated between slightly above and grotesquely beyond the average weight for my height. I am convinced that I came out of the womb overweight (has anyone heard of the fat gene? I think I got two!) All kidding aside I probably spend as much time obsessing about  my weight as Sergio Garcia spends thinking about his putting. Obviously it’s not helping either one of us.  And if you're one of the countless American women who has scoured the racks of your local department store in search of that elusive size 16 trouser and come up dry, it won't surprise you to note that the plus size market is the biggest untapped market in the fashion industry. And if there's slim pickings at the mall, chances are they're even slimmer at your local pro shop.

Now, thanks to the ultimate equalizer, the world wide web, we can shop in the comfort our own homes. We can leave behind the awkward assistance of well-meaning (OR NOT SO WELL-MEANING) salespeople, sit back and just wait for the UPS truck to deliver our loot.

One of my favorite Web sites is lanebryant.com. They offer reasonably priced basics along with pieces that reflect the latest fashion trends. Once you've picked out a pair of tartan Bermuda shorts, you can also check out Lane Bryant's denim fit website, rightfit.com -- because even skinny minnies have a hard time finding the right jeans!

Another Web site I love is rebeccaanddrew.com. Rebecca & Drew Manufacturing specialize in button down shirts.They developed an exclusive pattern-making/sizing formula called TrioFit. Simply stated, TrioFit is a sizing system based on three basic measurements of a woman’s body: The chest circumference, bra cup size and torso height. Determining how these measurements SHOULD combine in shirt making gave them the ability to create a standardized sizing system that allows for the manufacture of properly fitting ready-to-wear shirts that suit women with different heights and bra sizes, ranging from 32A to 38DD. In other words, you can say good-bye to that awful pulling and gapping that happens when you put on a button-down.

If you're looking for cute golf clothes, check out Hana Studio; think Versace, but for the golf course, or Bette & Court, sporty and functional, both available at ladygolf.com. Lady Golf is a high end golf boutique that also offers the most eclectic and fashionable golf merchandise thanks to the keen eye of the owner, Karen Cantrell. Once you get on the site be sure to check out Karen's Corner and of course the tantalizing shoe section.

If your golf style is more classic and sophisticated lizgolf.com offers a good selection of timeless pieces. If country club chic is more your speed the offerings at polo.com should do the trick.

Some of my other favorite websites include gap.com, bananarepublic.com, nordstrom.com and jcrew.com because they offer a generous selection of plus size fashions.

So tell me: what's your favorite "plus size" website? What has your experience been trying to find a fun golf wardrobe? Do you have any horror stories or advice for making shopping the web more fun?

Have fun shopping and be sure to check out next week's golf course style make-overs!

I'm not sure what season I'm dressing for some mornings.  Sure, I can attribute this problem to global warming and erratic climate changes, but honestly, not knowing what season to dress for is just an occupational hazard. When it's Spring and Summer I find myself working on fashion stories for Fall and Winter and vice versa.

Take today, for instance. It's a typical New York City July day -- about 80 degrees and very humid. In my office, racks of cashmere sweaters, corduroy trousers and puffy wind vests surround me. With a little help from the climate control center of our office building, I can close my eyes and imagine a brisk fall day, perfect for nine holes, and slowly I start to put together outfits that will appear in the November/December issue of GFW.

This brings me back all the way to March and the first time I saw the J. Lindeberg golf collection for Fall 2007. Mixed in with the rack of slim cut polos and golf pants my eye fell immediately on the Magda dress (pictured; Polyester/Spandex, $252).  I would lovingly refer to it as the bubble dress, while some of my colleagues at Golf for Women called it the who-wears-this-dress or that-ugly-sack-thing-I-wouldn't-be-caught-dead-in. I can understand where those comments come from. My colleagues had not spent the entire month of February pouring over the Fall '07 fashion runways.  And it is also very likely that many of them have not paid much attention to the onslaught of voluminous dresses that dominated the said runways and streets of NYC. And like the Magda dress, I recognize that the NYC fashion world is securely tucked away in its own bubble.

I know that most of you will see the picture and sneer or shake your head. For me, it's not about the dress. It's about the future and what this dress represents. It manages to capture two trends from mainstream fashion and aptly adapt them for the golf course. The first trend is the ever-present dress trend and the second being volume and shape.

Fashion is always looking to the future and for a long time it felt that golf fashion, in addition to being an oxymoron, was just stuck in a time warp. In the past six years, I have seen the blooming of some beautiful golf designs, so when I see this dress I know that it can only exist on the fringe of the golf world (or in Europe) for now. What I like about this Magda dress is its potential. Can this dress inspire one of the younger hipper golf brands like Lija, Birdie or Verdina? In their hands could this dress be reworked or used as a starting point for something equally fashionable and golf course friendly?

Believe it or not, this dress has sold out from the showroom. I can't promise that you'll come across it at your local pro shop. Maybe most of the shops that picked it up are in Europe.

So tell me: Do you love it, hate it or just don't care? Have you noticed a change in the offerings for women at your local pro shops? Are you happy with the changes? What are your thoughts on women's golf fashion in general?

About a month ago I found myself on a whirlwind trip that started in Orlando, FL and concluded in Ballantyne, NC by way of Belford, SC. In a little under four days we managed to photograph Annika Sorenstam, Pia Nilsson, Lynn Marriott, Krista Dutton, Dana Radar and Karen Palacios Jansen for various instruction articles that will appear in upcoming issues of GFW.

During these "instruction" trips I have the distinct privilege of transforming whatever ladies' locker room we happen to be using into something akin to a specialty boutique replete with a hair and make-up station. Each outfit you see pictured in a Breaking 100|90|80 story is usually selected from two giant racks of clothes and anywhere from 10-20 pairs of golf shoes! Try to imagine what FIVE of these shoots back to back entail. It is my sole responsibility to procure all of these clothes, package them up and travel with them. (If you had the misfortune of meeting me during the weeks leading up to the shoots, the time when I was getting everything together, chances are you would meet my grumpy alter-ego!)

I would absolutely deny this (especially to Dave Allen, our instruction editor and the mastermind behind this grueling schedule), although it is the absolute truth: I look forward to every single moment of these trips and I quickly forget just how much work they can be.

For starters, it never gets old to have ANNIKA SORENSTAM know who I am (in the last year I've worked with her on six different photo shoots!) I am never not in awe just being in her presence. She doesn't even have to speak to me, there's something about her energy. Secondly, I get to bond with these incredible women of golf about...fashion! There I said it, the dreaded F-word of the golf trenches. I know these women are athletes but they are still women, and I get to see a different side of them-- a private side, the one that stands in front of a full length mirror with a tilted head and a scrunched nose evaluating a reflection. I get to talk with them about what they like to wear on the course, what golf brands they love, which ones they hate, how to minimize this or maximize that... I give tips on fit and  proportion, the right hem length, the right bra and the hottest golf shoes. In return I get to see a side of golf that's not available to the general public.

When I return to the office, it usually takes me a couple of days to get back into my usual sport of monitoring every aspect of the fashion world. It's like coming down from a high -- back to the reality of unrealistic trends, highly covetable and overpriced shoes...Soon enough I find my office groove again and before I know it I find myself wondering what Pia & Lynn would think of a particular sweater vest, or how Krista would look in a golf dress, would she even wear one if she had the chance? I see this as the convergence of my two worlds. There's the flighty, highly superficial but also very inspirational world of fashion and then there's the strong, practical world of golf clothes for women.

I have a confession to make: I love people with bad taste. The kind of person who breaks all the rules, mixing big obnoxious stripes with over-the-top floral patterns. Anyone who wears too much makeup, whose hair is too big and coiffed. These are the people who get my attention on and off the course. I love their attempts, even if they appear to fail.

For me, true failure rests with the countless number sporting a safe pair of pleated khakis and nondescript polos trying to hide, not get noticed, in the crowd. Or worse, the type of person who  tries to re-create Tiger or Annika's latest get-up in hopes of improving his or her game; that could make for a fun instruction story: Want to break 90? Wear a tight fitting flaming red mock neck top and billowing khakis...

I applaud the effort of anyone who makes a choice to stand out. To pick a hat that's inappropriate and wear it with a sense of ease and comfort. That's why I have a fondness for misfits. I loved Christina Kim pre-weight loss, when she flaunted her ample figure in flamboyant prints that would be deemed inappropriate for a girl of her stature. I loved that she never caved in to the criticism and had fun with her look. Isn't that what golf is all about, having fun?