Bay Area Fashionista

Spring has Sprung with the Flower Thong!

 in Bay Area Fashion / Shoes / Trends  tagged flip flops / florals / spring 2010 by

The San Francisco Bay Area has been inundated by storm after storm since Fall 2009 to the present. It appears that the rainy season is not letting up anytime soon as we move into the Spring months with more rain showers on the horizon. Since fashionistas in the bay area have been donning rain gear more than fabulous 4″ heels over the past few months, it is no wonder that everyone is itching to slip their fashion hungry feet into the hot new “IT” sandal for Spring and Summer. Although the clog and wedge have been raved about in just about every fashion magazine on the planet, another Spring trend looks to take over the feet of fashionistas here in the Bay Area. The fabulous Flower Flip Flop, or Floral Thong.

The wonderful thing about the floral thong is that it is relatively flat. Some designers such as Valentino have shown the style with a slight wedge, but most designers such as Chanel, Prada and Manolo Blahnik have shown the floral flip flop as flat. The flower has also popped up on Spring 2010 styles such as evening pumps, wedges and tweed clogs. Of course here in the bay area, where the weather will be mild to warm for most of the Spring and Summer months, fashionistas will be turning to the more wearable flat version of this trend.

Thankfully fashionistas will not have to spend a fortune in order to sport this season’s floral shoe trend. Fabulous shoe makers and designers such as Nanette Lepore, Ellie Tahari, Kate Spade, Taryn Rose, Born, Enzo Angiolini and Miss Sixty have also introduced Spring/Summer styles with flowers by the toes. The beautiful part of this trend is that it brightens up this dreary weather we have been having and brings a bit of Spring to our toes; even if the sun refuses to shine!

These pretty flip flops and even the chunkier clog and wedge versions are a cheery contrast to the neutral palette we have been seeing in clothing for Spring. Imagine how cheerful an outfit can become with bright blue floral thongs! Unfortunately these fabulous flip flops are flying off store shelves, so if you have not found your perfect pair yet, start shopping!

HOT Local Jewelry Designer!

 in General Fashion / Jewelry / Local Designers  tagged bay area designers / kathy kamei by

The runways in Milan, New York and of course Paris were filled with the hot new jewelry designs for Spring 2010. Of course large and chunky jewelry, a throwback to 2009, still dominated the models on the catwalk, but one trend that really stuck out and looks to be a favorite of fashionistas is the gold cuff.

The gold cuff was on the arms of models in almost every fashion show. There were different styles of gold cuffs from the simple, Tiffany style of polished and sculpted gold to the outlandish such as Louis Vuitton. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are a more understated bunch. Although we pride ourselves on being anything but conservative, bay area fashionistas like to keep the flash to a minimum; it’s just how we roll. In order for fashionistas here in the bay to follow this trend we need to look further than our own backyard. Local jewelry designer Kathy Kamei designs jewelry not for the sake of fashion but for the health of the soul. As Kathy explains on her website, she wishes to empower women and have them give meanings to their passions. Inspired by her time in Bali, Kathy Kamei designs her jewelry to open the hearts of the wearer, remind them to be mindful and also reach spiritual fulfillment.

Kathy Kamei’s designs can be found in earrings, necklaces, bracelets and of course the most important piece of jewelry of the season; the gold cuff. Her “Large Life Circle Cuff” for $365, is a stunning piece in gold with silver trim along the sides. This handmade work of art features many small circles in varying sizes pieced together to form a fabulous cuff that is unique yet understated. Not only is this cuff extremely of the moment, it is a fabulous jewelry piece that can be worn season after season. Cuff’s come in and out of the forefront of fashion, so this cuff is the perfect fashion investment. Every fashionista in the Bay Area should own at least one piece of Kathy Kamei designs. Not only are her designs timeless works of art, they represent everything bay area residents encompass from an internal point of view.

Perfect Handbag for Spring 2010!

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Handbags  tagged balenciaga / satchels / spring 2010 / totes by

In the San Francisco Bay Area, particularly in Silicon Valley, California Casual has been the definition of fashion in this tech-heavy area of the world. The individual style of Silicon Valley residents is influenced by the workaholic culture surrounding the start-up company and high-tech industries. Bay Area residents who work in Silicon Valley are no stranger to long hours. They have always gravitated towards more casual dress for professional settings as well as on personal time. The professional culture of the valley combined with the fabulous weather has created the perfect environment for California Casual to be born decades ago and continue to develop over time. This is why it comes as no surprise that fashionistas in the Bay Area are drawn to Balenciaga Handbags, also lovingly known as “Bbags.”

We are unique style setters in the Bay Area. Our politics, our culture and our diversity have created the perfect style vacuum for individuality. This is why Balenciaga handbags are so perfect for fashionistas here in the Valley. Balenciaga handbags became popular when the “motorcycle” handbag became an “IT” bag a decade ago. Worn on the arm of many celebrities, Balenciaga’s motorcycle handbags became a must-have for any style savvy and edgy fashionista. The fabulous part about Balenciaga’s handbags is that they never tire season after season. The Italian fashion house delivers bright and fabulous colors season after season to keep enthusiasts continually wanting more.

Balenciaga delivers their motorcycle style handbags in many shapes and sizes. The popular small version is known as the “First,” followed by larger styles called “City Tote” and “Part-Time Tote.” These are just a few of the many sizes that Balenciaga offers as a choice. In addition to various sizes and shapes, Bbags come with different types of hardware: Regular Hardware, which are small, dark rivets and Giant Hardware which has a more glam look to it and can be found in silver, gold and rose gold. You can also find Giant hardware in “Covered Hardware” which is hardware covered by leather to match the handbag. The regular hardware handbags come with edgy tassles that not only look really cool but function as zipper pulls. The Giant hardware styles do not have the tassles, they have more traditional, leather zipper pulls.

Bbags are known for their amazing colors and soft, squishy distressed lambskin. The color saturation on the handbags are not found on other designer’s handbags. This is something that is unique to Balenciaga and keeps Bbag lovers coming back for more season after season. It is very easy to collect handbags from the same color group just by varying the size and hardware choices. No two handbags in your collection will look the same, even when they are all shades of purple! In Fall of 2009 Balenciaga had a color choice called “Tempete” or “Storm.” This was a fabulous chambray blue which is straight off the runway for Spring 2010. Any girl who was able to snag this color is very lucky since it is next to impossible to find unless you look in the secondary market. But, if you were not able to snag the “it” color of the season, last season, never fear! Spring 2010 brings more fabulous colors to Balenciaga’s handbag line in addition to traditional colors, such as black, anthracite, Sahara (beige) and brown. The hot colors for Bbags this Spring are Cyclade (turquoise), Outremer (bright blue), Papeete (rich, dark seafoam), Sang (cool red), Tomate (cool orange) and Sorbet (bright bubble gum pink).

So, pretty soon all Bay Area Fashionistas will have their very own Bbag. The popularity continues to grow, and since the Valley doesn’t seem to be moving away from California Casual any time soon, the time to grab one of these fabulous handbags is now! After all, they encompass everything we are about; forward thinking, edgy, casual yet glamorous and individual! Who could ask for anything more?

bal