Sailing the high seas

The nautical fashion trend can stay as long as it wants as far as I am concerned. I think it is the smartest trend yet. It is overwhelmingly comfortable, and let’s not forget, really cute! This is the kind of outfit you should wear when traveling, especially on a plane. I am guilty of boarding in my PJ’s because I want to be able to sleep and be comfy on the plane, but then I look like something the cat dragged in! One time, I swear, I thought their mothers were shielding children from me!

This theme became extremely popular in the 1920’s thanks to a little old designer you may have heard of… Chanel. She did not create a line with this theme; rather, she was having an affair with an extremely high profile man who loved to sail. Now if that isn’t the way to get something in fashion, I don’t know what is! It quickly caught on, and beautiful women like Audrey Hepburn adopted the style. I own several pieces of Nautical fashion, and you can bet that when I go on my honeymoon to Napa valley in July, I will be wearing big scoop-neck boating sweaters, linin pants, and striped shirts the whole time (especially on the plane!) I might even put on a little bit of make up this time... after all, I don’t want to scare my husband too badly yet!

Run, or rather, sail immediately towards this fashion, friends!

                                       

Etcetera etcetera

Fabulous fashion feels great, etcetera, etcetera. Yes, that’s right; I am talking about the tuperwear party of fashion, Etcetera. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I love to have clothes; however, I hate to shop for these clothes. The teen-age girls at the mall, the hot and heavy couple making out in the food court, I cannot take it sometimes! And don’t get me started on the holidays when everyone is there, and unfortunately, so are you. Etcetera is a line sold out of the home, and it is right on trend. There is something for all ages. My mom wears it, my sister wears it, and I wear it. In fact, these items are the ones I get the most complements on. My mom even loved it so much that she and her friend went into the business together, and they sell it (which, I have to admit, works out great for me because she does love to buy me the clothes… and I love wearing them!) Don’t just take my word for it, look at the collection yourself. There are four shows per year: Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall (one for every season) with Summer and Winter being the biggest. This season there is a combination of adorable cover-ups that could go over your swimsuit or be worn on their own. There are skinny jeans, and even suits that are appropriate for those special occasions… even if it is 190 degrees! I don’t know why anyone would want to ever go back to the teen-age infested mall again. Contact your local Etcetera dealer, and tell her you must have these clothes!

Don’t walk, run towards this line fashion friends!

http://www.etcetera.com/collections/summer2011 

Hold me closer tiny dancer

This weekend, the day before Easter, I ran the Crescent City Classic, a 10 Kilometer race in the heart of New Orleans. With a goal of making it in the top 500 out of more than 22,000 runners/ walkers, I failedL. I came in number 511… FAIL. Well, perhaps next year! However, a common theme in the race (and any event in the city in general) was to dress up, and I am not saying these people were in cocktail dresses and suits, they were playing dress-up; sort of like we did when we were five. I noticed a lot of people in Tutus, and I noticed that I liked it. Then I started thinking about how much I like this trend in the fashion world. Anyone who knows me, even just a little bit, knows that I am a “Sex and the City” -fanatic! I am ob-freaking-sessed with the tutu in the opening of the series. I think it is adorable. The tutu brings me back to my childhood days. It makes me feel playful and fashionable at the same time. I sort of want to have a dance recital, and then go out to dinner with my fiancé. The more I think about it, the more I notice the tutu in collections. I think it began as laziness. The designers didn’t have the energy in putting a piece of fabric over the crinoline, so they left it, then they realized it made the women feel fun, flirty, and young! I love it, I will be wearing it, I might even run in it next year. Run towards and in this one fashion friends!

                                                                      opening scene

                                                                   
                                                                     Final episode

Business in the front, Party in the back

Ugh, the skort. What can I say about this hideous piece of fashion? Maybe it’s not coming back full throttle, but I saw one the other day on a woman, and I feel it is my moral obligation to tell my fashion friends… DO NOT WEAR SKORTS!!!  What is the point of this garment? I mean, can’t you pick which one you want to wear. If you feel the need to have shorts on under your skirt, maybe you are not mature enough to be wearing a skirt! It is the fashion equivalent of a mullet: Business in the front Party in the back.  This fashion faux pa is tainting what it means to be a woman! Are we not lady-like enough to be able to keep our legs closed for a few hours while we are wearing a skirt? I mean, if a woman can do it all and be great at it all, I don’t see why we need a “safety blanket” under a beautiful piece  of fabric. Not only is it ugly, it is an embarrassment to our entire gender!

Run faaaar away from this “style” fashion friends! 

Fashion Flying

"Come fly with me, lets fly, lets fly away." The common theme I am seeing on the runway and red carpet is feathers; they are everywhere! I was IN LOVE with Hillary Swank's Gucci number she wore to the Oscars, I mean, feathers and sequins? You can't get much better than that! And though Sharon Stone is a little nutty, her stylist was spot on with her Christian Dior "black swan-esque gown she wore. (Not to mention that the color did wonders on her milky skin) This trend has hit the fashion world by storm. Every designer seems to be using these feathers. There is not much about this trend I dislike. (Ok, It was abused when Bijork wore that infamous Swan dress by Marjan Pejoski in 2001. I mean, what a disaster! But that was an extreme circumstance) This style has flown away with me. I search high and low for feathered cocktail dresses and skirts. If they didn't cost an arm and a leg, I would have more of these beautiful pieces. In my last collection, I created a simple white cocktail dress. Lets be honest, it was boring! but then I added a feathered detail and a belt and BOOM! magically, the dress came to life. This trend is, however, a lot like the ruffles I logged about a few days ago. it is not for everyone. This trend is very girly, and it sends a certain message to others... The kind of message that says, I look adorable, and I know what I'm doing, so preceded with caution :) Perhaps that's why I love this trend so much. It tells others about my personality without using words. I don't know about you fashion friends, but I'll be soaring toward this trend!

                                                                     Good Feathers

                                                                      Bad Feathers

Stud your life

How do we feel about heavy metal music? Well, personally I HATE it; however, I do LOVE heavy metal on garments! I cannot get enough of Christian Louboutin’s studded heels. I mean, he is doing them in every color and print. I think that I need the leopard studded heel ankle boots just so I can feel superior to everyone else! Be careful with this weapon, really, if you kick your ankle with this studded prize on, you will bleed! Many other designers have trotted toward this trend like the very awesome (and unfortunately late) Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Burberry, and so many more. We need more studs in our life I think. I little hardness, a little discipline to our significant others J, a little bit of hardness to our otherwise pushover and soft lives. I think that we need a little Louboutin in our life. We need a little bit of guts!

Dis-stressing over nothing

If you look through my house, you will find a common theme. I have blue distressed chairs, a distressed dining room table, a distressed bedside table; and look in my closet, and you will find at least one pair of distressed jeans. At the risk of sounding like my grandparents, why is that we will pay for something to look old? I like the way this old look warms a house, and I think it makes a person more approachable. If something looks too new, it can make you look almost too put together (us women are going for the effortless look here J ) However, just like with most trends, we should not get too carried away. The jean with a few discolorations and wearings are fine, but lets not try and look like an immigrant that hopped the border and got stuck on the barbed wire! When I see people walking down the street in jeans with giant holes in the knee (and God forbid, the butt!) I want to take them to the store and buy them a new pair of jeans because I think they cannot afford new ones! There is no reason for all those holes, I mean, what is the point of the jeans if there are that many holes in them? You just as soon wear shorts. “You must be so cold with all those holes in your pants” I think. Now maybe I am an “old fogy” for thinking this way, but I just think distressed is one thing, and holes are another.

Trot slowly towards this trend fashion friends.

                                                                Good

Bad!

Yikes!

He Loves me, he loves me not

The boyfriend jacket, the boyfriend jeans, the boyfriend tee-shirt; one can wear her boyfriend’s clothes without actually having a boyfriend. These pieces are so tailored yet so comfortable. The boyfriend blazer is the ideal piece you can have in your closet. Throw it over a V-neck casual tee-shirt and skinny jeans, and create the perfect outfit. Contrary to the sound of the name of these pieces, the boyfriend garments are not too “manly” for us girls to pull off; in fact, I think that they can feminize us (or at least empower us!) I cannot tell you how many celebrities have been praised for wearing a suit to a premier down the red carpet. Let’s all grow a little balls, and try this trend on for size!

I’ll be running toward this trend fashion friends!

Rrrrufles Have Ridges!

What about ruffles? I would like to know what the public’s opinion is about ruffles. Some people think that ruffles are created to hide flaws (but hey, aren’t clothes designed to hide flaws?) Do you think they are there to cover up a problem area? Personally, I am a fan. I think that ruffles add that certain “gen es se qua” to the outfit. It doesn’t even have to hide a problem area; it just needs to add something to the garment that it was lacking. In my current collection, I had a bright blue cocktail dress. It was cute enough, but pain; it was missing something. The dress needed a tweak, so I added a leopard print ruffle to it. ADORABLE! I cannot get enough of this dress. I took it off my model, put it in my car, and swore that I would wear it again. What did I do? Wear it two times in one weekend. (shhh! Don’t tell anyone that I am an outfit repeater, there were two separate groups of people!) All I’m saying is that this is a trend I will not be running from.  I know that ruffles are not for everyone. It is a very girly look. It sort of screams “Hey I’m an outfit!” and not everyone is into that. Ruffles can be abused. This is definitely a trend that needs to be used in moderation.

Tread lightly toward this trend fashion friends… if it suits you!

Flower Power comeback

Why would someone take the worst fashions in history consisting of bell bottoms, denim suits, and even… muumuus, and make a comeback with it? I guess you can already tell my disgust over this new trend that is steadily and rapidly approaching… the 70’s comeback.

Yuck! It leaves a bad taste in my mouth just saying it! The awful colors that don’t go together, the chaotic patterns, I mean, wasn’t the height of this trend when everyone was experimenting with weed and LSD? Hmmm, wander what’s going on with the master minds… I was relieved when the denim jacket quietly faded out into the abyss, but now it has made its wrathful comeback by transforming itself into a suit!? And the bell bottoms… I am a HUGE fan of the skinny jean, and I like wide leg trousers, but a combination of the two is a bit like ketchup and chocolate; I love them both but would never put them together. Who thought that the crochet maxi dress was coming back? I would NOT have called that one, even over a swim suit. I think the one thing about this 70’s trend that I can embrace is the jewelry. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love my costume jewelry: big, gold, chunky necklaces and bracelets; brightly colored rings; I will be all over the accessories! Maybe they can make my old outfits look new, because I don’t think I will be shopping in the 70’s. Hopefully this trend burns out quickly, because this trend is one that, I must sadly say, I will NOT be exercising.

Run far away from this one fashion friends!

                                        

                                                              No, No, No

  

                         

                                                                       Yes, Yes, Yes