Bay Area Fashionista

Spring 2011 fashion trends: Candy Colored Shoes

 in Color Trends / General Fashion / Shoes / Trends  tagged candy colors / spring 2011 / summer 2011 by

The resort collections are always a snapshot of what designers will be showing for spring. The current resort collections are filled with candy colors of bubble gum pink, bright purple, sunshine yellow, apple green, burnt orange and cherry red. At the conclusion of the New York, Paris and Milan runways, the color scheme was much broader than that of resort with the addition of black rocker chic, dreamy pastels, ocean blues, crisp whites and shades of beige. In addition to the color palettes on the clothing, designers opted for candy colored shoes in suede, satin and leather.

Nina Ricci showed cherry pie red and sunshine yellow sandals with floral embellishments. Christian Dior showed single colored and two tone, bright high heeled sandals with wrap up straps paired with nautical color palettes, crisp white, pastels and candy colored frocks. Gucci showed jewel tone, thin strap sandals with metallic gold ankle straps. Versace included bright turquoise sandals amid neutrals in her spring runway collection.

As resort rolls onto store shelves, designers such as Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent are showing brightly colored sandals and wedges. Many designers are mixing two or three, unexpected candy colors together such as yellow with pink or pink with orange.

Candy colored shoes is a great trend to follow if you enjoy adding a bit of pop to an outfit. A candy colored shoe can instantly update an outfit from last year or add a bit of sass to a neutral outfit or crisp white dress. Just in case the candy colored trend is one that is fleeting, investing in one pair of shoes is more cost effective than purchasing multiple items of clothing in candy colors that may not be in fashion come 2012. Hopefully candy colors have staying power past this spring. After several years of neutrals and minimalism, bright, happy colors are a breath of fresh of air. Happy shopping and stay fabulous. 

Acme Made for Tech-Savvy Fashionistas

 in General Fashion / Handbags  tagged acme made / laptop cases / tech gear by

One of the biggest challenges Fashionistas face is trying to find a fabulous carrying case for technical gear. Here in the Bay Area, home to tech heavy Silicon Valley, we face this challenge anytime a new technical gadget comes out. We try out all of the cases and totes in our closet until resigning ourselves to the fact that as technology advances, our devices shrink; therefore we need new cases! Although some designers have created fashionable cases for technical devices, many of the cases are pretty to look at, but do not properly protect sensitive technical gear such as iPad’s, laptops and cameras.

Another challenge Fashionistas face when choosing a technical device case, is finding one that is both fabulous and functional. Many times techie gear is fashionable, but does not properly protect our technical gear. Other times, the cases that protect our gear are. . .well. . .anything but fabulous. Thankfully a local company by the name of Acme Made, based in San Francisco, was founded in 2002 to create fashion-forward technical gear which is not only fabulous but actually protects laptops, cameras, video, iPad’s and other digital devices. They even create lunch boxes that look like trendy box handbags! Love it!

Acme Made laptop cases are made to look like totes and feature high-end touches normally only found on designer handbags and upscale brand bags such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Coach. Acme Made provides luxurious touches such as no-slip material under the shoulder straps and metal feet underneath the bag. The interior of Acme Made laptop cases includes pen holders, zipper pockets, roomy middle and a velcro flap closure for the laptop itself. Some of Acme Made’s laptop cases even come with a matching clutch such as “The Kate.” The matching clutch is perfect if the laptop tote is used for work since the clutch can be used during lunch hour and after work for going out on the town. Perfect for traveling too! Acme Made can be found at Fred Segal, Sony Style and acmemade.com.

To see a slideshow click here.

To see the entire line of Acme Made products, visit their website at acmemade.com.

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Clockwise: c/o ACME Made: Interior of The Kate; Laptop pocket features velcro flap closure; metal feet underneath the laptop case provide protection from dirt and help the case stand up while on the ground or on a table; no-slip fabric underneath the shoulder straps helps keep laptop case stay put on shoulders.

Photos: Cathy/Bay Area Fashionista 2010©

The Colors of Spring 2011

 in Color Trends / General Fashion / Trends  tagged spring 2011 / summer 2011 by

The color palettes from the spring 2011 runways were varied and offered many choices for Fashionistas who may be picky about the colors they wear. Designers in New York, Pairs, Milan, London and now China have shown, or are showing, collections in crisp white, warm beige neutrals, bold mixed colors, whimsical soft pastels and rocker chic black. With trends for spring ranging from ladylike (feminine) to hippie chic to rocker chic to vintage, it is no wonder that the color palettes are varied and provide such a large range.

Although is has been argued that white is not actually a color, for literary purposes, we are going to consider it a color here at Bay Area Fashionista. 

Dolce & Gabbana created an almost all-white color palette for spring with feminine and carefree, yet structured frocks that signaled a turn towards a more carefree form of dressing for 2011. Other designer such as Badgley Mischka showed whimsical, soft colors that mimicked a dream or took onlookers back to a calm, floral meadow lined with willow trees. Bright and bold colors were mixed together at runway shows such as Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs who placed bold color choices together in color blocking or by mixing solid colored pieces and adding colored accessories which introduced an additional color. Although, since Marc Jacobs heads up Louis Vuitton, this could be why there was a similar color story in the runways shows.

Since many resort collections such as Dior, featured candy colors and neutrals, this is a great time to find brighter colors that interest you before the spring collections hit store shelves. While shopping for colors, look for bright solids that can be mixed together unexpectedly such as purple with green or burnt orange. Neutrals, black and white play an important part for spring, so these are always good colors to find inside your closet before pulling out the charge card  Happy shopping and stay fabulous.