winter 2010


Military Trend Continues into Fall 2010

The military trend from Spring 2010 is continuing into Fall with army green, double breasted jackets, cargo pants, army fatigues and Camouflage. Military style clothing is perfect for Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area since the thick cotton twill that the majority of the garments are made with allows bay area Fashionistas the ability to wear the styles throughout the year. Military style jackets , blazers, pea coats and fatigues can carry us from cool summer nights when the fog rolls in to breezy Fall afternoons and cool Winter days.

Camouflage is popping up on Prada and Dior handbags, shoes and accessories. Prada is showing a platform camouflage pump along with a darling clutch and bowler style handbag. Christian Dior has altered the fashion house’s famous Lady Dior handbag by adding a long, camouflage strap and wrapping the top handles in camouflage leather. The body of the Lady Dior handbag is a solid, army green. Dior also introduced a 1970s style handbag  with a long, thick strap and lattice design on the front. This beautiful handbag is a nod to the 1970s trend  that trickled onto Fall runways. Burberry is showing a to-die-for trench coat in a dark army green as well as a satiny shirt dress in light army green. Stores such as Banana Republic and JCrew are showing more affordable versions of the military trend with fabulous jackets and pants.

The military trend comes in and out of fashion every few years. This is definitely a trend worth investing in, if not for the total look, at least one military style jacket . This is also a key time to shop your closet  for military style items you have stored in previous seasons. Although there are many high end designers and labels showing the military trend, there is no need to go broke trying to buy everything you would like from this trend. Carefully choose which items you are interested in purchasing for the upcoming season and look for items which are timeless. There are plenty of stores featuring the military trend at more affordable prices such as Banana Republic, JCrew and even Target. Happy shopping and stay fabulous.

dg1


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!

denimchambray


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.

Spring0110nailpolish

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.