spring 2010

The Nude Wedge: Perfect for every Occasion!

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Shoes / Trends  tagged casual fashion / classic style / spring 2010 / wedges by

Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area are no stranger to the fabulous effect nude high heels have on their legs and overall appearance. The nude, neutral or beige shoe gives the leg a long and slender appearance making it’s wearer appear taller, thinner and fabulous! Nude high heels have been a mainstay in the bay area fashionistas wardrobe over the years for many reasons. When a shoe is neutral, it can be worn with multiple outfits and works with most seasonal styles from Spring through Fall. The nude colored shoe can also be worn selectively during the winter months. This is why Spring and Summer 2010 is so exciting for the style-savvy in the bay area!

The Nude colored wedge is one of the hottest shoe styles off the Paris, Milan and New York runways.  Not only does this fabulous style give its’ wearer height, it is also a great neutral shoe that will match almost every outfit in a fashionistas closet! Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Fendi and many more have introduced their own version of the nude wedge for Spring and Summer 2010. The wonderful part of this trend is that designers have given fashionistas a large choice of fabrications and styles in order to ensure there is a shoe for everyone out there. Chanel showed fabrics such as twill and tweed while Gucci and Valentino used soft leather. In addition to wedges, fashionistas have the option of wearing the nude shoe trend in the form of platform shoes or traditional high heels.

Silicon Valley is the birthplace of business casual, giving fashionistas in the bay area the option to create a fabulous outfit for work with the foundation of the nude wedge. Style-savvy women in other parts of the country are not as fortunate as we are here by the bay. Although “California Casual” has caught on for “Casual Fridays” in the workplace across the country, we here in the bay area wear casual friday attire all week long. This gives us even more reason to invest in the nude wedge this season. The nude wedge gives fashionistas the option of wearing a fabulous pair of shoes to work and then continue wearing them for dinner and a night out on the town. This is the perfect time to invest in a pair of nude wedges. They come and go every few years in fashion which makes them a great pair of shoes to have in the closet plus the nude wedge will update any look in a fashionistas closet this Spring and Summer whether for work or play. Budget-conscious style lovers may want to wait until May when some of the Spring Sales starts. This will be a great time to pick up a fabulous pair of nude wedges at an amazing price. Happy shopping and stay fabulous!

 

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?