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Spring fashion trends:
Fashion
advice to look eternally chic on a budget |
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All I want for Spring, are a few good looks…
Update your wardrobe with key fashion
trends on a budget
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How to get the latest look of
spring's fashion trends without redoing your entire wardrobe!
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Update your wardrobe with key fashion trends
on a budget
TOP TRENDS SHOPPING GUIDE
Dear Sharon:
My wardrobe isn't very in. Last year, I had a major
job change and to celebrate I got
hooked on looking trendy.
Now, my once trendy wardrobe from last season comes across as very dated and out
of fashion. My budget won't let me continue to shop around for new fashion
trends each year either. Can you give me a few good ideas that will make my
existing wardrobe stylishly transition into this spring? Thanks in advance!
--Spring Ahead, (Ft. Leonard Wood, MO)
Dear
Spring Ahead: There’s a huge difference
in dressing trendy and stylishly on trend. To paraphrase the legendary fashion
diva, Diana Vreeland, “fashion comes and goes, but style endures.”
Super trendy fashion charges in and out of vogue at the blink of an eye. There’s
nothing wrong with being trendy, but you can’t realistically build an entire
wardrobe around rapid fire fads. Adding a quick dose of the hottest trend of the
moment is fabulously fun—without a
dash of something fresh,
fashion would be terribly, terribly boring. But always remember that super
trendy styles have a very distinct expiration date and once they’re over, they
are over! Hence, your suddenly out-of-date, but once super trendy, wardrobe from
last year.
It can be difficult to discern what’s hot only for this fashion second and what
new styles represent the ebb and flow of how fashion evolves and will ultimately
have some
staying power.
One of the easiest ways to predict what is destined to
be a blip of a fashion fad is to notice how suddenly a particular look is
everywhere, everywither. If it appears that suddenly a kabillion fashionistas
woke up wearing a fluorescent rainbow brassiere over their trench coats (this
example is fashion fiction only), you can safely assume that a fluorescent
rainbow brassiere is a wacky and super trendy gimmick that will be “in” for a
brief fashion moment before it hits its (over)saturation point. If you want to
ride this trendy bandwagon, go ahead-- but buy a cheapie, disposable version at
one of the
great fast fashion
retailers like H&M, Forever 21, or
Target. Wear the
quirky item a couple of times, have fun with the fad, and guiltlessly toss then
it out since you only paid a few bucks for it—that’s what being
trendy on a
budget
is all about.
Being
stylishly on trend
means you have the smarts to continually update your
core wardrobe with a select group of key styles to keep you looking modern. You
understand how to tweak your wardrobe and rethink the way you wear certain
pieces so that you always look fresh and never stale or dowdy. You avoid fashion
ruts (shout out to the ladies still wearing twin sweater sets), dismiss stagnant
style (khaki pleated trousers anyone?), and embrace modernity with an open eye
as to what best suits your figure and lifestyle.
You know how to spot a trend, like those enormous bug-eyed glasses that all the
celebutants have been wearing, and modify it to a more timeless style, like
flattering large frame glasses. And, you recognize when to ignore a faulty
fashion fancy, like the never-fetching, Norma Desmond fortune teller turban
trend. Down the road, you’ll look at a photo of yourself in that twist of
fashion fate and swear you were suffering from a bad case of Turbantightus.
Just
say no to fashion victim inclinations!
Adding key fashion items to your Spring wardrobe will keep you looking modern
and
chic on a realistic budget.
One of the smartest ways of having style that
endures is dressing in a classic way with a unique design twist— like the
French
chic style différence which makes you look stylish, distinct, and a cut above
the rest.
You’ll want these Spring Trends:
Wide leg trousers + white denim = 2
trends in 1-- You already own a pair of straight or
skinny leg jeans, so you
don’t really “need” another pair. What you do need is a pair of white jeans to
wear with a bright color top. Wide leg trousers are really happening, so make it
a pair of full leg white jeans to double the style factor. Wanna new pair of
skinny jeans? Opt for new cool color denim like royal blue, red, or purple.
A dress that shows off your waist--
Those mini trapeze dresses are modern, but
unless you are lean to begin with, you’ll end up looking like you’ve packed on a
few too many during the winter. Go wild over shapely dresses that spotlight the
new erogenous zone, your waist. In crisp cotton, well-draped jersey, or slippery
silk, get at least one great dress from a knee length shirtdress, Grecian wrap,
or obi style plunge that keeps you looking polished and curvy all at once.
Prints were spotted all over the runways, but solids have more staying power and
are far easier to mix and match. When you crave print, make it a graphic
t-shirt.
Mini dress that doubles as a tunic-- Super short mini dresses are fab on young,
tone things, who know how to keep their thighs together when exiting a car. For
the rest of us, get the look of a mini and the decorum of a lady by pairing
micro tunics over leggings or skinny pants. Think volume of lean and you’ll
continue to have the right proportions.
Something electric blue— Vivid color abounds this season. Add a splash of
fuchsia, purple, acid yellow, Kelly green, or peacock to add punch to neutrals
like black or tan. But the color that makes the strongest impact is electric
blue—we haven’t seen royal blue look so regal since the eighties and the time is
more than right for its color comeback.
The new neutrals—
White takes over where black left off, especially when it has
a pretty texture like eyelet or lace, but don’t discount black—it’s a suburb
backdrop for those vivid color. Safari chic has opens way to the new neutrals-
think of café au lait brown, stone, putty, and mushroom, dusty beige, and the
return of taupe. What makes these tan family colors modern is the undercast of
grey which creates a smoky and not paper bag beige. Short shorts are hot only
if
you can wear a micro mini with pizzazz. Get one pair of lean, fitted at the knee
city shorts in a new neutral—wear them with souped up
wedges, gilt
platforms, or
bold hue ballerina flats.
Fashion 911: Toss any remnant of baggy leg, khaki
short shorts that are an abbreviated version of
mom jeans....nasty.
Envelope clutch bag-- We love our oversized hobos, slouch and, shoulderbags, but
isn’t time to look a little more refined and less like a shellepping bag lady?
Try a simple envelope or clutch bag for day or night. Almost every celebrity at
recent red carpet events was seen with a diminutive clutch bag that put the
exposure stamp on this fashion trend. For day, keep all your necessities in a fab envelope bag and then, tote that oversized bag if you really need to lug
more.
Add something metallic, but not glitzy— Metallics are huge for spring, but never
overtly glitzy or garish. Softer metals with less bling and more sheen are it.
Opt for either silver or gold weathered patinas that spotlight a beautiful faux
tan rather than overpowering and glaring metals of yesteryear. Too timid for
metallic? Try a large goldtone pendant necklace that dangles past your
cleavage.
Discover your natural waist with a wide belt – Enough with the hip belts… you
have plenty to wear with your low rise old jeans. Get a smart, wider belt that
sculpts your waist. It will add life to last season’s babydoll tops, and create
a beautiful hourglass silhouette when cinching in a simple shirt dress. If you
buy only one wide belt, make it patent leather! Plus,
you’ll lovea wide belt with next fall’s higher waist trousers.
TOP TRENDS SHOPPING GUIDE
--March 28, 2007
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