Bay Area Fashion History strikes again!

Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area are no stranger to the history of blue jeans. The gold rush brought immigrants and Americans from the East Coast to California which in turn found a new population in San Francisco and the city’s outlying areas. Blue jeans were invented by Levi Strauss due to the dire need for strong pants that would not fall apart in the gold rush country. The actual fabric originally came from France and was known as “serge de Nimes” which was a strong blend that included wool and silk. Levi Strauss imported the fabric and used it to make blue jeans. In 1873 Levi’s invented the stitched pocket and added rivets to the pants in order to make the seams strong. The denim fabric has been traced back to the east coast where a cotton version of the fabric was produced as early as the 1700’s and was used in Northern Italy for clothing. Levi Strauss brought denim jeans to the world as the fashion industry and world population knows the popular pants today.

The history behind denim and jeans in general is what makes this Spring 2010 fashion season so exciting for fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not only is part of our local history a mainstay in fashion, but this season it is bigger than ever. Soon, fashion savvy locals will be wearing fabulous denim dresses, shorts, jackets, handbags, shoes and tops. This is in addition to all of the fabulous traditional jeans fashionistas everywhere will be wearing. The Paris, Milan and New York runways showed denim in all of it’s glory and in various shades of beautiful blue. A lighter version of denim known as Chambray also dominated the runways. Denim dressing is not only comfortable but practical as well due to the durability of the fabric.

When the fabric of denim is popular, so is the indigo color that is a defined by denim and it’s lighter sibling Chambray. This fabulous and very wearable color is also called Chambray. It is a pretty and soft medium blue that blends well with most colors and fabrics. The color is so wearable that it tends to hit the runways more often than other colors with the exception of black and white. Fashionistas everywhere can expect to see leather handbags, shoes, belts and other fabrics sporting this amazing blue color.

Since denim and chambray have traditionally been mainstays in the American wardrobe, this is a great trend for fashionistas to stock up on. Do not be afraid to buy every denim piece you love and can get your hands on. Denim is always a wise investment and always in style. Be fabulous, Be Bay Area and buy denim!

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Fresh New Nail Polish Colors for Spring!

Good news for Bay Area Fashionistas! We no longer feel forced to be fashion victims by wearing dark, dreary, vampy colors on our nails. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing chips on your freshly polished nails 24 hours after you spend time, and maybe even money, painting them. Fashion has taken a turn towards fresh, lighter colors for the Spring season which in turn proves to be more practical. Light colors do not show chips as well!

Every season, fashion savvy women, and some men, look to Chanel for the new color of the moment. Cruise/Resort showed fashionistas everywhere that Chanel was taking a turn away from dark colors and towards more beige and gray nail polish. As style savvy shoppers began to part with  “Vendetta,” a dark purple throwback to Fall 2009, “Trapeze” rolled into stores for Resort 2010. Chanel’s first foray into the new nail polish trend, “Trapeze,” is a fabulous blend of metallic beige and light rose gold. This beautiful color looks great when worn with yellow gold, white gold/silver and of course the gold of the season, Rose Gold! Another side benefit of “Trapeze” is that when it does chip, roughly four days after application, one can hardly notice the chip because the color is so subtle.

Now that Spring 2010 is appearing, and disappearing from store shelves, one can only wonder if every Bay Area Fashionista will be able to get his or her hands on the hot new color of the season by Chanel, “Particuliere.” There is already a wait list for this darker version of “Trapeze” that has slightly less of a metallic sheen to it. “Particuliere” is the ultimate beige nail polish as it offers a cool tone that can easily appear to have a gray undertone when looked at in certain light and against gray-tone clothing. This is definitely the “it” nail polish color for Spring. Every Fashionista will be able to “work it” in either “Trapeze” or “Particuliere” depending on personal preference.

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Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour; Vendetta, Trapeze

*Why we love Chanel nail polish: Chanel nail polish has preformed better than other nail polish brands in rigorous daily tests such as washing pots and pans, swimming, scrubbing the floor, changing diapers and much more! Here at Bay Area Fashionista we have tested many nail polish brands over the past fifteen years and it is our firm opinion that Chanel not only handles daily life, but offers the most fashion-savvy colors.

There is a STORM Outside!

Hey there fashionistas! This stormy weather has put quite a damper on fashion this week in the bay area. What shall we wear? Normally our caviar leather Chanel bags and Jimmy Choos can handle a little bit of drizzle here and there. But not this week, this storm is way too strong to risk wearing our fashionista best outside! Please, do not panic. There is a fashion savvy solution to keeping up our fashionable appearance while staying dry!

Every Bay Area Fashionista should have a staple storm wardrobe on hand just in case it rains cats and dogs; like today! Since storms do not occur very often, there is no reason to invest in trendy items that will only last for one or two years. This is the time to spend your fashion dollars wisely and go with the classics. These classic items can give you decades of fashion on even the wettest of days in the Bay!

1) Classic Trench; we prefer Burberry (high-end) or Banana Republic (middle). Please do not go cheap on your trench. Do you really want it to fall apart when you are outside and it is pouring rain? Quality people. Quality.

2) Nylon Handbag; Prada (high-end) or Kate Spade (middle) make fabulous nylon handbags that you can also take with you to Tahoe, worry-free! What’s not to love?

3) Rubber Shoes; Nothing is more unfashionable than watching someone wear fabulous shoes in the rain. Can we say “ruined?!” Bay Area Fashionista loves the high heel black rubber boots by DKNY. Too bad they are always sold out! If you nab a pair, let us know!

4) Umbrella: The debate is on about an umbrella. Every Fashionista should keep one at home and one in the trunk of the car. Are they clumsy to use? Yes, BUT, they do keep our fabulous hair from getting wet. Who said fashion was easy? Go cheap on the umbrella purchase. They get broken and if you drop it on the ground. . .ew. Target always has a good stock on hand. Buy several!

5) Black Clothing: Please, are you really going to wear a fabulous silk print on a day like today? Um, no. Stick with colors and patterns that do no run if they get wet. Black always looks fabulous on wet days. Why you ask? When black gets wet, no-one can tell! Do you want to walk into a job interview with a half-wet shirt on? Um, no. Wear black. There is no new black. Black is black and it is always in fashion.

Did it sound like I stated the obvious in this entry? Kudos to you! You are a storm friendly Fashionista. As for the rest of you, go shopping! It’s wet outside!!!