Style Yourself With The Old And The New
Nestled in between BevMo and a car dealership along the busy street of Van Ness lies the vintage store called American Rag. Who would have thought that such a nice store would be in this location? The ambiance consists of brown and gold chandeliers, animal heads on the walls, and zebra skin couches to lure the customers in. It is filled with metallic leggings, long knit dresses and sequin skirts. That is just the new clothing section!
Towards the middle of the store there are different shoe walls that range from slip on converse to fancy studded platforms. Further back the excitement keeps going! This time it is with vintage clothing and used pieces transformed into gorgeous timeless outfits.
When walking on the streets, you rarely see someone wearing everything designer from headband to shoes. Even celebrities and the finest fashion stylists mix and match the old and new and so can you. It is obvious how well this store is doing because passing by it it’s packed! Perusing through the chunky bright knit sweaters to the designer skinny jeans, they have something for everyone.
Consumer’s spending habits are all over the place these days, but with American Rag it is a sure buy.
Photo: Jargol.com.
Leggings: How tight is too tight?
Are leggings ever going to go away? In this lifetime? I don’t think so. I can remember being a little girl and dressed by my mom and even then I was wearing bright colored leggings with big shirts and Minnie Mouse sweaters. Granted, this was not too long ago but it was a good 20 years ago. Today, leggings are still being sported by celebrities, everyone in all different body shapes, and even on the runway.
Photo: boutiquetoyou.com.
Plain and simple, leggings do not flatter everyone. Yes, I agree celebrities and the women that pair the right top to go with the ultra tight stems do look great. This trend has gone way too far and has been overused.
We have all had our fair share of leggings but do we like seeing the wrong women in them? They are comfortable and maybe suitable for around the house but spandex with a top that barely covers their bottoms is not acceptable. No one likes to see muffin tops if they don’t have to, let alone permanent wedgies.
Photos: Marni Mens collection. Fashionwiredaily.com
Men in leggings? These pictures are from the 2007 collection of Marni but it is a good example of how far this trend is really going. You don’t want your boyfriend wearing these in public.
One strap, two strap, three strap, more?
Gladiators are everywhere, and I’m not talking about the professional fighters. They have been around for quite some time but when it comes to actually making the appearance in all stores, the time is now. From runway to celebrities and even on the streets, women are sporting this sandal everywhere.
Although these sandals might look a bit masculine, it takes a real fashionista to strut her stuff in this warrior alternative of a sandal. Gladiators send signals to everyone around when wearing them so you have to make sure you’re confident and ready to attract attention. As seen on the runway and on celebrities, they look good with jean shorts or shorter dresses and can be dressed up or just plain simple.
These sandals are not for everyone. Just by looking at the tight strappy style, you can tell that it can flatter the legs or do just the opposite.
Photos From Top: Givency from inoutstar.com, other two from omg.yahoo.com.
Life is better on the Green Side
The trend is going green. Recently, many jean companies decided to go green such as J Brand, Earnest Sewn, Guess, Genetic, and Ruby Denim. Over the last few months it is noticeable how accepted this concept is getting in the form of the consumers. Their attitudes have changed for instance when I was at Barneys and saw with my own eyes a customer picking the organic denim over a premium brand.
“Would you like to try these on, miss?” the sales associate asked the young lady as she had two different in her hand.
“No thank you, I know my size. But tell me, which one is better?”
“Well, the one in your left hand is J Brand’s organic cotton,” the sales associate explained.
She started telling the difference and before she even got to the different washes the lady interrupted and said, “I’ll take this one!” Her voice filled with excitement.
As you can guess, she picked the organic denim. Life is better on the green side..enough said.
Photo: J Brand Green Label Love story 22″ Low Rise Bell Bottom in Haight. Revolveclothing.com
Painting your face for Fashion
Would you go out of your house with no makeup?
To avoid taking attention off of the styles and new trends designers choose to have nude makeup such as the nude lip, flushed cheeks, and minimal eye makeup. By the look of the picture below, would you want to go out flushed out like that?
When the outfits are calm and collected, the designer tends to stick with the theme and the make up is nude and calm as well. Doesn’t that sound dull. Why have the makeup and outfit be all the same? But in fact it does make sense. In some cases you want a well put together look that is all on the same page. When looking from top to bottom at the model, you will peruse through the face down to the shoes without a problem.
Photo: Donna Karan. Style.com.
The eyes and lips are huge when painting the face of the models. Just glancing at a models dark cat eye or popping red lips says it all for the outfit. It tends to intensify the mood of the show and also make dramatic entrances when showing the collections. The girl below, from the Christian Dior Spring 08 collection looks fierce sporting the leopard dress with makeup as dark as night. For this night, she is the god of seduction.
It also makes consumers be more aware of what can be placed on the face and makes them more daring after looking at the collections.
Photo: Christian Dior. Style.com.
12 is the new 50
When did women today decide it was allowed for 50 year olds to dress like their twelve? To me, it’s rather disturbing.
Five inch heels, caked on make-up, tight tops that make their boobs look like their going to pop is not the style these women should be sporting. Just when I thought I escaped these looks for a while, it happened.
I was at Neiman Marcus trying on jeans when a women with an obvious long blonde wig came up to me. Do you think this looks good? At first I didn’t acknowlege her as I didn’t know she was talking to me. She asked again, this time I replied, “For your daughter that would be great. She’ll love it.” Her eyes began to roll as she said,”This is for me, I’m going out tonight.”
My jaw dropped. She was holding a pink, turqouise, and white Catherine Malandrino dress that would probably not even go past her mid thigh. What she was thinking, I had no idea. It was an extremely low cut mini dress that in a few moments was on her body before I even answered.
She began admiring herself in it and loved the fact that her new double d’s were popping out and that her rolls weren’t showing too much since I soon learned that she had sugery a few days before. To top it off, her daughter came from around the corner and was dressed more conservative than her mother! She was around age twelve and had a pair of citizens jeans and a nice and simple James Perse Tee.
Then it hit me. As for now, women at the age of fifty will never learn what is looking good on them if they don’t ask the right people. They are dressing like their kids and are totally unaware that it is hideous! I’ll leave you with one thought. Do you want your mom dressing like you, let alone maybe younger?
Photo: Catherine Malandrino. Neimanmarcus.com.
Flying Anytime soon? I think not.
Are you airline savvy? I’d like to say I am. Traveling a lot is a huge part of my monthly life being that I live in two places. Going to school in California and having my family and what I’m used to in Pennsylvania gets a little tricky to manage. Monthly, I travel back and forth across country to fulfill my needs of every day life. This time around, planning my summer tickets to go home is extremely expensive. Since Delta and Northwest airlines merged(NY Times), there have been loss of flights and prices went up.
Dan Schlossberg, from consumeraffairs.com says,”At the rate airline mergers and acquisitions are going, the consolidation of carriers is virtually certain to reduce competition and raise prices.” Flights are important to me as well as anyone else but especially people involved in the fashion industry.
Since traveling is a huge chunk of what they do for their jobs, many rely on certain airlines they feel they can depend on. With airlines merging, flights are restricted. There is less competition and are less available times to fly which means some have to find other ways of transportation. Consumers now have less leverage, prices are sky rocketing as we blink our eyes and booking flights is a disaster.
Is Cutting Back The Answer?
Have you ever thought about cutting back and not buying what you’re used to? Would your attitude change if you were buying different clothing brands and even generic brands when you are used to designer? People today are going through dilemmas each day trying to swap less expensive items out for others that will work in the same ways. For instance, buying food at the super market, not many double check the prices of their bread. This is just one example on how consumers are cutting back their purchases today.
Instead of going out to eat every night they are eating in. When their used to seeing movies every weekend in the theaters, they are watching what they might already have or have borrowed from a friend. With the economy not being at the ultimate high to say the least, retailers are upping their prices therefore leaving the consumers high and dry wondering what they can still afford to buy.
This is a whole new way of life. It really is showing how people are changing everything about what they do from where they go for dinner to what kind of groceries they buy and even to doing their own laundry instead of sending it out to a dry cleaner. Will cutting back be the answer forever? Consumers like myself wonder when this will end and how much longer until they can buy the brands they always have.
Belting Up and Standing Up Straight
The hemlines are getting longer and longer as we take a dive into the collections for Fall ‘08. People are trying to be more serious with their fashions by sporting more sophisticated outfits and showing the business side. Because of the recession, and the retailers having to raise their prices, the hemlines are getting longer. If we are trying to save money wouldn’t the skirts get shorter to use less fabric?
People today are dressing more serious in a way to act mature with everything going on around them. In my opinion, skirts and dresses should be getting shorter and less elaborate as time goes on in order to cut down on using money for fabric. On the other hand, is fashion ever taking the actual easy way out?
In the Fall 2008 Runway collections, what is happening is the opposite. Instead, the look is simple styles, back to basics, and knee length or longer. Say goodbye to the baby doll dresses or mini skirts and hello to the belt tightening, tailored garments look. “There is not a minidress to be found, not a platform shoe in sight. And ‘suit’ is not going to be a dirty word,” states Michael Kors about the collections for fall. I absolutely love this quote because it gives the actual perspective of a designer and what they are thinking. So many people can make conclusions from what they see on the runway but in print from Michael Kors makes it all the better!
We are going back to more serious sixties and seventies looks with more uptight and business outfits. Also in the collections are outfits with pops of color. Of course for fall the items are going to be darker and more neutral such as tans, blacks, and grays but this year we have a surprise pop of color that is finally coming out. This could be because with everything going on, everyone wants to be happy again and demonstrate it in his or her clothing. The colors consist of dark, rich eggplants, oranges, and blues in all different fabrics. I feel that this uptight look is astonishing and demonstrates that not baring too much can go a long way. These looks are also beginning to look like Jackie Kennedy and other fashion icons which is good to see come back. It is like reliving the fashion history!
Photos: Style.com. From Top: Peter Som,Ralph Lauren.
Dressing for Today
It used to be that consumers did not care what time of the year it was, they would buy anything. The targeted consumer was one that was very fashion forward and wanted items first. Today, this is not exactly the case. Saying the consumer does not want the newest items is false but saying it has slightly differed from the past is a little more on the right track. These days the consumer is more interested in the buy now, wear now aspect and they no longer want to put their clothes away to just sit in their closets. People want to buy clothing that is fit for the weather and seeing how it is so unpredictable these days with global warming, it is harder to figure out what items to keep and what to put away. Consumers are investing in more practical garments such as tailored clothing as an example of how they are reacting to the recession. They want what will last a long time and what they can wear through different seasons. A result of the weather being so unpredictable, season-less garments are in style. Luxurious sheers and lightweight fabrics are big this fall. Chiffon and transparent knits are popular because they can be carried over to the spring and throughout all seasons.
Photos: Style.com. From Top:Zac Posen, Posen, and Rodarte.
