runway

Santana Row Poolside Soirée raised money for charity and showed fabulous fashions

 in Bay Area Fashion / Events / General Fashion / Men's Fashion / Shopping  tagged fashion shows / runway / santana row / spring 2011 / summer 2011 by

Santana Row held their Poolside Soiree on Saturday May 14, 2011 and it featured an inspirational speech from Taylor Armstrong, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as well as amazing looks from Santana Row retailers. Before the fashion show, Santana Row did not hold back and treated guests to an enticing “Style Boutique” and appetizers from many of the appetizing restaurants on “The Row.”

Santana Row retailers showed hot and on-trend ensembles from BCBG, Franco Uomo, Pink Stripes Boutique, Brooks Brothers, Cole Haan, Ted Baker, Oakley, Penelope Boutique, Beau Bijou, Blues Jean Bar, Donald J. Pliner, Jest Jewels, Free People, Big Buddha, Tommy Bahama, San Francisco Shirt Company, Furla, Boutique Harajuku, Anne Fontaine, Eli Thomas for Men and Priscilla of Boston.

Taylor Armstrong was on hand to help raise money for the Family Violence Protection Fund. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star gave a heartfelt speech to kick off the event and then posed for pictures with fans during the after-party.

The show was filled with some of the summer’s hottest trends including bright colors of blue, lace, sheer fabrics, wide leg pants, florals and fabulous  handbags.

To view a slideshow of the event, please visit our Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/BayAreaFashionista. You do not need a Facebook account to view the photos.

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To view more photos from the Santana Row Poolside Soiree, please visit our Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/BayAreaFashionista
All photos ©2011 Bay Area Fashionista

Fall 2010 Fashion: Channeling the Stepford Skirt

 in General Fashion / Trends  tagged fall 2010 / runway / runway trends / skirts / vintage styles / winter 2011 by

The Fall 2010 runways in Paris, Milan and New York were a mix of 1990s minimalism, 1950s Stepford Wife apparel, military nods and rock and roll flair. The skirt and dress silhouette that stood out on the runways was the 1950s, Stepford Wife full skirt. The full skirt is meeting the leg half-way between the knee and the ankle giving the skirt a more modest place in fashion for Fall 2010.

Louis Vuitton showed a fabulous, full skirt in a light tan leather topped off with a 1950s style short sleeve sweater in baby yellow. The colors were a nod to Spring 2010 giving the look a soft transfer from Spring into Fall. Prada and Dries Van Noten both showed quiet colors on full skirted dresses and ballet flats. Ralph Lauren gave the full skirt a 1990s minimalism color palette and a 1980s fabric twist. Lauren’s take on the Stepford Wife suit is black taffeta. This suit is calling for a red handbag! By the way, red handbags will be all the rage in Fall, but we can discuss this in another post.

Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area may shy away from wearing the full skirt on an everyday basis. The formal look of the silhouette lends itself well to special events such as weddings, showers, charity lunches and daytime holiday parties. The full skirt is not practical for running errands, strolling at the mall or sitting behind a  computer all day at work. The trend is definitely a breath of fresh air for fashionistas everywhere who are tired of the poor taste in skirts that many women have chosen to wear over the past few years.

Recession Tip: Interested in wearing the Stepford Wife silhouette this Fall? Look inside your closet. When the movie came out earlier in the decade there were full skirts on the market as well as full skirts with an asymmetrical hemline. You can pair your full skirt from a past season with a short sleeve sweater from this season or a wrap around sweater from one of the past two seasons. Tres chic! If you found a full skirt with an asymmetrical hemline, you can even out the hemline and re-hem it! If you do not have a sewing machine at home, your local tailor can do the job for you. Fabulous!

Whether you purchase a full skirt or dress, or you got lucky and found one in the back of your closet, this is definitely a trend to follow. Happy shopping and stay fabulous.

Chanel Fall 2010 RTW Collection

 in General Fashion / Handbags  tagged 1990s / chanel / fall 2010 / minimalism / paris fashion week / runway / vintage styles by

Chanel has long been considered the benchmark of fashion for haute couture and ready to wear. Designers and clothing companies around the globe are inspired by the collections that Chanel puts on the runway every season. It may be no surprise that the upcoming fall season will be a reflection of what Chanel showed on the runway. As we know, 90’s minimalism was all over the runways in Paris, Milan and New York. This theme has been reflected in the ready to wear collections hitting the stores for Fall 2010.

The Chanel ready-to-wear collection for Fall 2010 will give any fashionista in the bay area a sense of deja-vu. Chanel’s collection is a sharp nod to the minimalism of the 1990’s. Black was the dominant color for suits, jackets and dresses. Asides from black, there was a large amount of charcoal and grey with a splash of red thrown into the mix. Chanel’s shoe line is almost completely black with one small hint of white trim. The signature camellia garnishes the toe box of Chanel’s flats for Fall. The handbag collection is clearly classic with a full line of 2.55 handbags and classic flap’s in mini, small, medium and jumbo. The classic collection is arriving in black, white, plum and a darker red. The red is actually quite stunning. It has more of a blue undertone as opposed to the brighter reds we have seen in the past few seasons. The contemporary handbags are classic in theme with clean lines and basic colors such as black, white and grey. Chanel is showing varying sizes of totes and shoulder bags that are variations of the classic collection. Anyone interested in a Chanel bag that is considered contemporary cannot go wrong this season. The handbags in this collection will not go out of style. They are true investment pieces. There is also a good mix of lambskin, caviar leather and sparkling patent leather. The patent plum is to die for!

The wonderful part about this upcoming Fall’s collections will be the classic lines and colors that allow bay area fashionistas to buy key wardrobe pieces that will never go out of style. Every fashionista can use a classic black Chanel tweed suit paired with a fabulous red patent leather classic flap handbag. This is the ultimate go-to outfit for any event; especially when the event is short notice! Happy shopping and stay fabulous!!