Seventeen Spring Trend Report

Last month’s issue of Seventeen Magazine featured a spring trend report in their monthly fashion section. They looked at this seasons trendiest looks and showed how it is being worn by celebrities, on the runway, and their own “17 Way”. The spread also featured different clothing and accessories that fit into each look. The trends they included were boyish preppy, new nautical, bright florals, pretty pales, tribal prints, and bold patterns. This wide variety covered the entire spectrum of styles fitting the preference of all of their readers. The tip for pulling of a “boyish preppy” style is mixing classic and more feminine pieces to prevent a boxy silhouette. The magazine suggests wearing a brightly colored mini skirt and a pair of tights to balance a blazer and button down dress shirt. Kate Bosworth and the runway models at Lacoste this season have been seen wearing sea worthy nautical stripes. The key to pulling off this look is not going too far over board. It is best worn when done in moderation, and when worn in more modern shapes, for example a trapeze shaped top paired with a pair of shorter shorts. Bright floral prints can be worn on shoes, bags, bathing suits, and all a types of clothing. When trying this eye popping look on a dress for example it is important to wear a solid colored article of clothing as well to avoid looking like wallpaper. Also to avoid over kill start by trying this trend just on a bottom like in a skirt of pair of shorts. The “pretty pales” look is exactly what it sounds like to pull this off try white jeans, ribbon belts, and girly tops. Incorporating tribal prints can give any outfit a bohemian feel. To put together a look with tribal prints accessories can be the key, don’t hesitate to pile on tons of wooden jewelry an inexpensive way to pull this off. Gladiator style sandals are also great for spring and scream tribal, when wearing these it is best to wear a simpler outfit like basic jeans and a tee shirt. The last look featured was taken from the runway of Tracy Reese. Her bold printed clothing is now available from many different designers and at every budget. The multiple patterns can be worn at one time as long as they have a common color.

“The Most Beautiful a woman can be is confident as herself” – Ken Paves

It seems that Ken Paves and Jessica Simpson have found the solution to bad hair days. Their collection of affordable clip in extensions has been the answer for women who want to change or spruce up their look. These extensions range from just under one hundred dollars to five hundred dollars and are made out of either synthetic or actual human hair. They come in all different lengths and styles and each one is available in twelve different shades from jet black to platinum blonde. Ken Paves has been Jessica Simpson’s hair stylist for years and they collaborated on this project. These extensions can be used to add length and or volume and shape to anyone’s hair. They only take minutes to attach and remove, and each come with a detailed illustrated guide that when followed leads to a perfect attachment each and every time. Unlike some other clip in extensions these look convincing, and as though you spent the day in the salon. To insure this luxury could be brought to everyday women, Jessica Simpson was very involved. The designs were originally created by Paves for Jessica to wear for roles in films, or on the red carpet. She became so fond of them that she took an active role in the product, designing and testing the different styles, and helping to market the extensions. While I think that these extensions are a great idea that can be a quick fix for a special evening, some users have reported that while the human hair is a great feature that it can have spilt ends and become tangled just like the consumers real hair.

Roses are Red Violets are Blue

Valentines Day always seems to sneak up and catch people off guard too often resulting in a gift picked up from the local CVS or Walgreens. While it may be too little, too late for this year, I thought that I would take advantage of this Hallmark holiday to look at some gift possibilities for future reference. I was pleased to see that in the new shopping section of instyle.com there was a special area dedicated to what to buy him, her, and even the kids for Valentines Day. In my opinion, girls are the easiest to shop for especially for Valentine’s, where chocolate, flowers, or that special piece of jewelry would be perfect. Guys on the other hand can be particularly challenging this time of year. Some of the suggestions for her, included romantic or floral fragrances, a pair of unique heart shaped earrings or a multiple heart necklace, an Italian leather journal, a make up kit for a special date night, a bouquet of exotic flowers, Swarovski crystal stud earrings, or a pair of leather glove. For a more difficult boyfriend or husband, some options are a red cashmere sweater, a wine gift set, or a high tech wine opener, or a “sleek pen”. Chocolates are always a sweet idea, but my personal favorite is a digital photo frame that can be proudly displayed in any office or home. Seeing as kids get more than enough candy and cards from school parties some alternative ideas are cute “love” themed shirts, a dress coat, belt, or a pair of flats, for the more fashion forward kid. A pair of pajamas or some dress-ups is also a nice idea. But for the majority of kids, a new Webkinz or a favorite candy would be your best bet.

The Look for Less

On the one hand I have always loved a good bargain, but at the same time I would love to be able to shop and dress like a celebrity. In the past shows like “The Look for Less” on the Style Network would set up a person with a stylist and a picture of a runway look. They would then be given one hundred dollars, and just one hour to shop in order to recreate a high end runway look. This approach to shopping, buying simple pieces at lower prices to create a specific look, is challenging, fun, and can be very rewarding. While you definitely do not need to be on a TV show to get the looks of your favorite designers or stars, many websites and magazines are now doing most of the hard work for people and making it easier than ever to find these bargains. For example you could take Heidi Klum’s evening look shown above and get all the pieces including the accessories for less than eighty dollars. In Style magazine online recreated the look getting a similar black blazer from Old Navy for only $9.50. The sequined top was a bargain from Forever 21 costing $25, the scarf from Wet Seal was only $3 and black pumps a steal at $10. The trendy dark jeans in the look were replaced by a pair of $30 Levi’s. This is just one example of how if you know what to look for it is possible to recreate a look on any budget. The website shows other celebrity outfits and their thrifty counter parts including stars like Katie Holmes, Jessica Alba, Rachael Bilson, and several more.

In the past couple of years it seemed there was no limit as to how low-cut a pair of jeans could go. More and more women have bought into the skinny jeans trend squeezing their legs into pants that are shaped like matches. To the relief of most women who are not a stick thin model, high-wasted and wider legged pants are making a bold entrance back into style. Magazines from Seventeen to Cosmopolitan are featuring this more classic look in their fashion trend sections this month. The high-waist jean was number one on Seventeen Magazine’s “It List” of top ten spring trends. They paired the look with a simple graphic tank top tucked in with a bold belt and bangle bracelets. While this is a look that is extremely trendy and hip right now it can be a challenge to confidently put together and pull off. Cosmopolitan was kind enough to provide readers with some easy to follow tips to make this look work on any body type. For example, they suggested balancing out the wide leg of the bottoms by wearing either an embellished or brightly colored top. This look can be difficult for more petite women to pull off without looking like they are swimming in their pants, to avoid this try pairing wider jeans with a tailored v or scoop neck top. When you elongate your neck, it lengthens the entire torso, making the rise of the jeans not so extreme. For anyone who is slightly curvier it is helpful to cinch in the waist to prevent from looking too wide. Some ways to make this a leaner look would be to wear a blazer or jacket with seaming and one button, or a thin patent leather belt for a pop of color. If you are still not convinced that there is no way to avoid these jeans making you look wide just keep away from any type of flat shoes and instead try a stacked heel, perfect for spring.

Alexander Wang

Alexander Wang an up and coming designer has had his innovative and beautifully designed clothing have been seen everywhere lately from Hollywood’s leading ladies to fashion week. The appeal of this twenty four year old designer’s line is its versatility. Pieces such as the “Goddess dress” can be effortlessly be dressed up for evening events or red carpet appearances. While more casual cardigans and shift dresses can be worn daily as just “cool and chic clothing”. He has been known to say that in each of his lines that his muse is always his costumer, who he fondly describes as the girl who looks like she is a model off-duty. The line is not only limited to dresses for day or night but also included stunning skirts and cashmere sweaters, favored by stars like Keira Knightley. Alexander Wang has been linked to international supermodel Erin Wasson, and has become a huge hit with all of young Hollywood. February 11, 2008, issue of In Touch magazine featured a short article on the designer, in The Buzz, by Bobbie Thomas section, which showed pictures of Molly Sims, Lindsay Lohan, Kate Hudson, Hillary Swank, and Gossip Girls star Blake Lively wearing his latest line of clothing. While his designs can be purchased on at shopbop.com they are definitely not inexpensive with even simple tank tops started at a steep $207.

Alexander Wang Spring/Summer 2008