More new trends!

As the snow continues to melt and rain washes away the last of the sandy, salty mess, I am reminded that spring is a time for revitalization, refreshment and new life. With that in mind, I think it is a perfect time to touch on a few additional trends for spring. These trends are both sophisticated and fun, making them perfect additions to a versatile spring wardrobe.

Metallics continue to be hot this year, especially in footwear. Metallics are great because they are so versatile. In a flat or wrap sandal, silver or gold are cool and casual. In a stiletto or peep-toe high heel, they are dressy and alluring. A top with a foil print or few metallic threads woven in can be casual with jeans or khaki walking shorts, while a draped top in a pale champagne gold dresses up a summer suit or pencil skirt. Colors like champagne gold, faded silver, and bronze are perfect compliments to the basic black and white that will also be hot.

Color plays a big role in spring fashion trends this year. Tie-dye and ombre fabrics are cheerful, bright, summery fabrics that liven up the season. Ombre, a dip-dye technique where color is graduated from dark to light, is a more subtle and almost elegant version of the bright colorful look, as compared to tie-dye. A very simple skirt or dress in an ombre fabric would be a great addition to any wardrobe! Or, if bold color is too much for you, try an ombre scarf or headband for just a touch.

Menswear is back in a big way this spring. Suits, trousers, blazers, and button-down tops are all hot, especially when feminized with nipped-in waists, lace trim, or ruffles. These looks are obviously perfect for the workday, with their tailored, professional looks, but they can be made more casual by use of linen or cotton fabrics or pale, pretty colors.

Greek-inspired dressing is a perfect look for evening this spring. Dresses are folded, twisted, pleated, and draped to hang gracefully on the body, skimming curves and adding shape. If you love the look, as I do, but don’t have anywhere to show off a fantastic dress, a wonderful draped blouse worn with loose black pants or even jeans would be a great compromise.

If you’re on the lookout for more great spring trends, stop by next week or check out a few of the links above. Until next week……

Welcome to the Jungle

The Safari look is one of my favorites for the season. Though it seems a little hard to interpret for everyday wear, this is actually one of the easiest looks to reinvent. Khaki, beige, cream, or olive drab pants fit this look, as do shirt dresses in the same colors. Or, belt a jacket or cardigan over bootcut pants and a white button-down top. The Clothes Gallery has two great jackets that would be perfect for this look.

First, try this Maestro silver glazed linen coat. The empire waist and double-breast are classy and flattering, adding a look of elegance to any outfit. The light silver fabric compliments an array of skin tones. Wear it with jeans for a dressed-up weekend look or black pants for a workday look.

Armand & Alba’s one-button cardigan in khaki is a great look for this trend. The lightweight knit and ¾ length sleeves are great for warm spring days, worn over a floral dress or with khaki capris and a white silk top. The swingy, cropped silhouette is fun and fresh for the season, and the khaki color compliments any outfit. Try it in yellow, too.

To update your winter wardrobe, pick a fitted cardigan or jacket and add a great belt. Even a ribbon tied around the waist could work, and would be a great fresh touch. Stop in The Clothes Gallery today to check out more great finds.

Six More Weeks

Puxatawney Phil saw his shadow a few days ago, which means six or more long weeks of winter. The forecast for the upcoming weeks echoes that with almost a foot of snow predicted, but I still think it’s a great time to touch on a few key spring trends. Maybe if we all start wishing hard enough for the warm weather, it will come early, despite the predictions!

The biggest trends for spring seem to juxtapose one another: frilly feminine and structured safari-type looks will both be hot. Though both are great on their own, they can be worn together for a look that’s sweet and sleek.

The feminine trend is one of the most prominent for spring 2008. Light, flowing fabrics; soft floral prints; muted neutrals; ruffles; and lace are the key notes for the trend. Transparent looks, pleats, and soft draping are also big. Try out this trend in a pretty floral-print slip dress with ruffled hem and dainty wrap sandals, or layer several lacy camisoles in complementary colors under a beige chiffon top so the colors are muted and soft. If you’re looking for a more elegant look, wear a one-shoulder draped dress in a gauzy fabric with metallic heels and some small sparkly earrings. The soft, flowing fabrics of this trend are great for camouflaging your less-than-perfect spots, and the muted colors look great on almost any skin tone.

If girly and pretty isn’t your thing, the safari trend might be more your style. This style takes its queues from the 70s in khaki pantsuits, curve-hugging overalls, and canvas shorts-and-jacket combos. Everything is belted to enhance the waist. The look is structured, sexy, and a bit rugged. Any of theses styles would look great with the other safari-inspired look: tribal prints. A complete opposition to the feminine trend, tribal prints are bold, bright, and fun. Liven up a pantsuit or khaki shorts with a tribal-print silk blouse or scarf, or cover a tribal-print dress with a belted canvas jacket. This trend is conservative enough for daytime wear, but still sexy enough for night

One final hot trend for this spring is the return of the high waist. Find it on everything from pencil skirts to trousers and from hot pants to jeans. Though I personally find this look a bit difficult to pull off (but I still have some baby fat on my tummy and hips), it can work if you are sure to get bottoms that fit perfectly and wear them with a fitted, tucked in top. Add a belt for some pizzaz, and you have a great look for work or play.

Finally, a note about color: bright, bold blocks of color are the way to go. Red, yellow, black, and white are the key colors for the season. Red looks fresh when worn in a flirty ruffled dress or silk blouse. Yellow is great in a satin top paired with clean white high-waist pants or, for a casual look, in a ribbed t-shirt with khaki cargo shorts and matching jacket. Black and white are especially hot when worn together in bold graphic designs or in sleek tailored separates.

The key for this spring is to make sure you love what you wear. There are so many different looks out there, you'll be sure to find one that fits your personality!

Happy shopping!~Kelly VanH

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

The new year is here, and I’ve decided that I'm not going to bore you with some cliché entry about it being the perfect time for a wardrobe change, or a great time to make it your goal to try a new look, or to change that one thing about yourself that you just don’t like. Instead, I’m going to give you a bit of my history and background so that you can decide for yourself if you would like me to usher you through the wonderful world of fashion for 2008 and beyond. If you like what you read, please stop back often (and you can visit my personal blog Life in General). If you don’t like it, no hard feelings and I wish you the best in your quest for fashion.

Where to begin? The beginning of my fashion awakening, I guess…..When I was in high school, I was the furthest thing from a fashion plate. I was chubby, shy, and pimply, with a bad haircut and no sense of style. A tomboy through and through, my favorite outfit was a pair of straitleg jeans and my fast-pitch softball sweatshirt with my hair in a frizzy permed-once-too-often mess. I claimed to not care about what the “cool” girls wore, though I’m still not sure if that was because I knew I couldn’t pull off their clothes with my less-than-perfect looks, or if it was just that I enjoyed being different. When I was a senior, I quit my job in the town’s main hardware store for a sales position at the only other place that was hiring: the accessories chain at the local mall. That was the beginning of the change.No longer could I schlep to work in my beloved jeans and an Ace Hardware t-shirt; the most casual I could go on my new dress code was khaki cargo pants and a button-down men’s shirt. Suddenly, I was required to-gasp-dress like a girl! I soon discovered that I had an inner fashion diva just waiting to get out. (Picture the change in Andy from The Devil Wears Prada. That was the transformation I went through.) Within the first month, my 30-minute daily lunch break became a 30 minute daily power-shopping trip. As soon as the mall opened, one of us girls would head out to scout which stores had the best sales and we’d all head over there as soon as we were able. After just a few months, the manager of the salon in the mall offered me a free hair-cut-and-color-package with one of her student stylists, and I emerged a sleeker, smoother, shinier version of myself. In my circle of friends, I became known as the one with the way-out-there sense of style, and I relished the attention that came with the title.After a year of art school during the day and accessory-selling by night, I realized that I really enjoyed- no, make that, adored- fashion. I decided that art school wasn’t for me, and instead enrolled in a program called Fashion Merchandising. Within four years, I found myself as a buyer at the accessory chain, with a brand-new dress code, a brand-new address, and a brand-new paycheck! My new job as a buyer required that I keep up with each and every trend. Aided by the company’s Trend Department in New York, I devoured copies of Women’s Wear Daily and InStyle, and I soaked up fashion knowledge like a well-dressed sponge. I began to learn the merits of name-brand versus knock-off, of leather versus pleather, of dupioni silk versus silk satin. As my knowledge grew, my wardrobe shrank. Instead of wasting $10 or $20 dollars on a pair of shoes or pants that would fall apart in a few weeks, I began to invest in top-of-the-line leather stilettos and 100% wool trousers. These were timeless pieces that would last a lifetime.
Then, six months ago, everything changed. As my daughter approached her 6-month birthday, I realized that I needed to be home with her more than I needed another little black dress. I made the decision to work part-time from home and quit the paycheck, the stressful corporate life, and the fashion. But, as it turned out, I couldn’t quit the fashion. Now, I’m smart enough to realize that my daughter doesn’t know whether I’m wearing Steve Maddens or Steve Madden knock-offs from the chain shoe place at the strip mall, but I also know that I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t keep tabs on Proenza, Vera, and Stella. As a compromise, I keep my actual shopping to a minimum and my window shopping to a maximum.That brings me to today, writing this blog for The Clothes Gallery. Sherree and I met last March when I was trying to get my home-based business off the ground. She said she loved the idea of a blog on the site, but just didn't have the time to keep it up herself. It sounded like the perfect way for me to share my fashion knowledge with others. I mean, really, what good is it knowing what the hottest looks are if you can't weigh in on them?

So, that about sums it up. I’ve been to almost every extreme on the fashion scale, from not-caring-Nellie to label-snob-Leslie. Today, I find myself comfortably in the middle, aware but not obsessed, ready to filter the best of the best and help you navigate the fashion jungle, aided, as always, by the fashion savvy girls at The Clothes Gallery.

Talk to you soon!
~Kelly VanHoveln