Monthly Archives: March 2010

HOT Jacket Trend for Spring and Summer 2010!

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Trends  tagged classic style / green / jackets / outerwear / spring 2010 by

Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area are constantly challenged by micro-climates. We can be enjoying 70 degree sunshine in Marin County for brunch, freezing under the fog in the early afternoon while passing through San Francisco and then seeking out air conditioning while having dinner in the South Bay. The challenge we face when getting dressed in the morning is how to dress in layers yet still be comfortable and fashionable! The last thing any bay area fashionista wants to do is tie a sweatshirt around her waist when the fogs burns off. Thankfully, the runways in Paris, New York and Milan had us in mind when they dressed the models in the Safari Jacket for Spring and Summer 2010.

Yes, it is a bit provincial to think designers from all over the world brought back the safari jacket just for fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area, but, we can pretend it was just for us and benefit from this fabulous trend. The safari jacket is a great investment for the bay area fashionista since it is normally made from a comfortable cotton twill fabric. This cotton twill fabric can actually be worn all year long in the bay area. The safari jacket has a great look in the Spring and Summer months when paired with a dress or khaki shorts. It also looks fabulous with denim shorts and skirts! For Fall 2010, the safari jacket will take on a more tailored look when paired with casual, slim trousers, jeans and leather skirts. Since khaki and army green are the most popular colors in 2010 for the safari jacket, this amazing jacket will carry any fashionista from season to season.

There are several variations of the safari jacket, some of which are not of the “safari style” at all! In addition to the traditional, belted version, this popular jacket can also be found in blazer styles and shorter, unbelted variations. Designers also expanded the style this year by experimenting with fabrics. The Safari Jacket can also be found in soft leather, thicker silks and of course the fabric of the season-denim!

Classic Designers such as Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors offered the style savvy shopper a more traditional version of the safari jacket. The runways of more daring designers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Chloe, Prada and Gucci showed more revealing versions of the jacket as well as less traditional variations that were cropped, beltless, leather and even knee-length. Since the Safari Jacket is nothing new to fashion, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana have shown versions of the Safari Jacket on their runways frequently in previous years. Go-to shops such as the Gap and Banana Republic also carry this popular and practical style year after year. The Gap even has one on sale as we speak!

Since the Safari style comes in and out of fashion periodically every two to three years, it is a great investment for any fashionista in the Bay Area. Not only will you have a fabulous jacket that takes the chill out of the fog and is lightweight enough to carry when the fog burns off, you will have a great investment piece to enjoy for years to come.

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Torn Denim Trend: Fabulous or Faux-Pas?

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Trends  tagged 1980s / 1990s / denim / historical fashion / spring 2010 / vintage styles by

It is hard to believe that roughly twenty years ago torn denim  was a mainstay in San Francisco Bay Area fashion. Everyone had holes, rips and cuts in at least one spot of their jeans. From elementary age children through to adults torn jeans were the only casual pants of choice. If anyone dared to leave the house without so much as a string hanging from his/her jeans, that person was destined for embarrassment. Many fashionistas in the bay area would buy a great pair of Levi’s, Guess jeans or even Bongo jeans and take a large pair of scissors to the knees and the bottom of the derrière. To buy the jeans already torn was considered, well, unfashionable!

Fashionistas in the late 1980s and early 1990s began to get very creative with their torn jeans. Many people wanted to have the most severe rips possible, and in order to achieve this the pants no longer kept certain parts covered. In order to wear these severe cuts, many creative fashionistas went down to the fabric store and found interesting remnants that could be used to cover the holes of the jeans around the parts that needed covering; the derrière! Patches were sewn inside the jeans in order to ensure that all of the strings from the cuts could still be seen from the outside. Women opted for small florals and medium sized paisley’s while men preferred solid colors or handkerchiefs. As the early-nineties approached, jeans barely looked like pants anymore, and as a result, there was a backlash. Denim pants, once again, enjoyed the rest of the decade in one piece; free of cuts.

Denim has been whole ever since the torn trend ceased, but, Spring 2010 and Fall 2010 have challenged denim fabric once again. The runways for Spring 2010 showed cuts, rips and tears with hanging string around the knees on denim pants. Fall 2010 runways displayed a full-blown torn denim trend; a clear throwback to the late 1980s and early 1990s. This time around, it seems that torn denim is already on store bought jeans. Will we see a revival of hand-made cuts? Much like the tie-dye trend, the torn denim trend is one that can be done at home. All a fashionista on a budget needs is a pair of jeans and a pair of scissors. After the cuts have strategically been made, wash the jeans. Voilà! Denim that is right on trend.

Although torn denim is appearing all over the runways and has made it onto store shelves at The Gap, Diesel and major departments stores, does this mean it is catching on? Will the next decade be filled with ripped jeans? If you wore torn jeans as a teen, will you wear them again? The big question still remains; Are torn or ripped jeans fashion fabulous or fashion train wreck?

The Seasonless “IT” Bag

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Handbags  tagged chanel / classic style / investment dressing / shoulder bags by

The San Francisco Bay Area is proud to be a region that classifies its style as “classic.” Here in the Bay Area, as well as most of the country, women’s handbags are as much of a status symbol as a man’s car.  Since the region is flush with millionaires and wannabe millionaires, it comes as no surprise that one of the most popular purses on the shoulders of the well-dressed is the classic Chanel 2.55 or flap handbag.

This fabulous purse was invented by Coco Chanel, who wanted a handbag that would free up her hands. She designed a handbag with a strap and introduced it in 1929. In 1955 she was enjoying a resurgence in popularity so she decided to update her handbag design and in February 1955 she introduced the 2.55 handbag. This beautiful black handbag had a burgundy interior and secret zipper pocket which Coco used to store love letters. As the decades have moved forward to present day, the remake of this handbag is known as the “reissue 2.55” and it comes in a variety of colors on vintage-treated lambskin.

Chanel also has a classic take on this handbag which was introduced by Karl Lagerfeld. This is a similar style to the reissue 2.55 but instead of a traditional clasp, there is an interlocking “CC” symbol on the clasp. The chain strap also has the same fabric as the handbag weaved through it. One chain strap takes an artisan roughly 17 hours to complete. This variation of the classic Chanel handbag is called the “Classic Flap” handbag. The classic flap comes in a variety of fabrications such as lambskin, caviar leather, jersey, tweed, patent leather, patent vinyl and other seasonal fabrics.

Every Fall, Winter and Spring the San Francisco Bay Area is host to many fabulous semi-formal events such as the Junior League of San Jose Fashion Show Luncheon. If a fashionista takes a moment to look at the handbags on the shoulders of many women in attendance at these events, she will notice a pattern. On average, one in five women is wearing the Chanel Classic Flap or 2.55. The majority of them are in black! Some women wear theirs with silver hardware while others gold. The size of choice varies as well. There are small, east/west flaps, medium flaps, jumbo flaps, maxi flaps and the 2.55 in sizes 226 and 227. It is amazing how many fashionable ladies in the Bay Area carry the same handbag for these special events!

It is very interesting to think about what attracts women to the same handbag. Critics may say it is because the handbag is made by Chanel and women are buying into a brand. Other critics may say it is because women like to keep up with the Jones. Who are the Jones anyway? The reason so many women in the San Francisco Bay Area flock to Chanel for their classic handbags is because the handbag is just that, “Classic.” Not only does Chanel give you a lifetime warranty on the construction of the bag, it is made to withstand the test of time. Chanel has the top resale value out of any handbag designer. Vintage Chanel handbags hold their value, as the prices for new Chanel flaps and 2.55’s increase, so does the resale value of the vintage purses. Therefore, if one were to purchase a Chanel bag in 1985 and sell it in 2015, she may very well make a $2000 profit! This is one reason investment dressing is so popular in the Bay Area. With one of the highest concentrations of graduate degrees in the country, the San Francisco Bay Area is home to women who know the value of the dollar and a hot commodity when they see it.