Blowfish Malibu To Have Sample Sale April 1

For L.A. area readers of fashiontrendguide.blogspot.com and footwear fans, here is something that might interest you...I recently got a tip that Blowfish Malibu (blowfishshoes.com) is having a sample sale on April 1st in Santa Monica. That's good news, because right now I have my eye on two gorgeous Blowfish styles: the Gimmik and the Garren. Both are affordable cork platform sandals that would work well with floral dresses, maxi skirts, leggings, or flared jeans. (Not sure if these styles will be available, but it can't hurt to hope they'll be.)

images via blowfishshoes.com

All Proceeds Will Be Donated To The EBMRF*

When: Friday, April 1st 11am-4pm

Where: 1728 Olympic Blvd Santa Monica, 90404

Free parking in lot

*Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation (EBMRF) raises money for EB, a group of diseases characterized by blister formation after minor trauma to the skin. To date, The EBMRF has raised over 5 million dollars for research and is unique in that the Foundation pays no salaries. Gotta love a sample sale with a cause! Now mark your calendars and do some shoe shopping!

Upcoming Los Angeles Blogger Conference - RetailCamp

As a fashion blogger who has recently been the victim of content scraping/stealing, I'm always learning the ins and outs of the interent, and I'm naturally interested in hearing about blogging conferences. I recently heard about RetailCamp, an interactive two-day conference, which hits Los Angeles April 9th &10th, 2011. Mark your calendars if you're a fashion/beauty/style blogger in the L.A. area!

Here is more information from the press release: RetailCamp brings together apparel and retail industry professionals, bloggers and designers and teaches them how to use technology as a marketing, business and brand development tool. RetailCamp invites all fashion industry professionals and experts to present and share their knowledge and successes. Industry professionals, members of the independent fashion community and of the vintage community, Los Angeles brands, technology start-ups, style bloggers, writers, and journalists, stylists, designers and brand professionals are all invited attend the casual, but informative, seminars. It’s going to be an amazing chance for the fashion forward to meet some of the technology industry’s leading experts. The event, sponsored by FashionablyMarketing.Me, WWDMAGIC and Woodbury University aims to teach attendees that fashion and technology aren’t two separate industries. Attendees will learn from industry experts how technology works hand in hand with the fashion and beauty industries that connection opens up doors that create amazing possibilities to build long lasting partnerships and innovative ideas that generate positive cash flow.

RetailCamp (retail-camp.com) will take place April 9th and 10th, 2011 at Woodbury University in Burbank, California. The event runs from 10AM – 5PM each day. The cost of attendance and event sponsorship information is available at http://www.retail-camp.com or http://retailcampla2011.eventbrite.com/. Or click the badge on the left sidebar of this blog (fashiontrendguide.blogspot.com) for more information about the schedule and how to register.

Bright Idea for Spring 2011

In light of recent issues with copyright infringement and theft of fashiontrendguide.blogspot.com content, I was wary of updating this blog because the thought of giving the splog (spam blog) thieves more content and ad revenue makes me sick. (Hence the obnoxious warnings at the beginning and end of this post.) Fortunately, my love for fashion and my loyalty to my readers far outweighs the negativity that a few jerks at textileglobal.com, eblogzone.uni.cc and azhotgirl.uni.cc can produce by stealing my hard work, bandwidth, and search engine results. Now on to the fun stuff, the things that make me happy...

Just in time for spring, bold colors are making their debut in store windows. Suddenly, I'm adding orange and hot pink sandals to my spring wish list and ditching neutrals in favor of more attention-grabbing optimistic hues. I probably have Christopher Kane's acid brights, Raf Simons' dramatic skirts, and Prada's symmetrical stripes to blame for this new love of bold colors. The idea of pairing cobalt blue with kelly green, royal purple with fuchsia, or lemon yellow with tangerine seems fitting in this season of color blocking and bold style statements. Below are four store windows with bright pieces that I shot last week. Can you tell that I never met a platform pump or wedge that I didn't like?

Shades Made for the Sun

In recent weeks I've discovered that the geometric print hooded poncho that I impulsively bought at Forever 21 in January has become an unexpected and highly valued wardrobe staple for yours truly at Fashion Trend Guide. I admit that upon purchasing it, I didn't give much thought to how and where I'd wear it. I was drawn to the fun print and easy silhouette. Fortunately, it's become one of those go-to pieces that I find easy to throw on and head out the door, especially when I'm running errands. Likewise, I'm predicting that my new polarized Ray-Ban Wayfarers courtesy of the kind folks at ShadesDaddy will become equally as indispensable, especially for running errands, taking the dog for walks, and for my frequent long distance bike rides. With all the inexpensive and disposable sunglasses that I've purchased over the years, I feel like I've been missing out on what a quality pair of sunglasses feels and looks like. Not only are the polarized Wayfarers sturdy and comfortable, but everything just looks more bright and beautiful with them on. After wearing them on a dog walk, I observed that through their tinted lenses, the sky looked more blue and the grass appeared greener. Now that spring is officially here, I can't wait for more sunny days so I can wear them.

Wearing faux fur cossack and poncho from Forever 21 and Ray-Ban Wayfarers from ShadesDaddy

Please note that the content above was originally published in its rightful place on Fashion Trend Guide. If you are reading it elsewhere, it has been stolen ILLEGALLY and reproduced without PERMISSION.

Strawberries and Samba

On Friday night I ventured into Hollywood to check out the Fashion Minga event at Boulevard3. Not knowing exactly what to expect in terms of the fashion, music, and entertainment aspects of the event, I was pleasantly surprised. Standout performances included an acrobatic/aerial hoop dancer, an electric violinist named Rachel Grace, a sexy samba dance group, and the ultra feminine Bipolar clothing line. One particular attendee caught my eye (seen in the third photo below), as her chic, ballet-inspired look stood out in a crowd of black body con mini dresses and stilettos. After working up an appetite exploring the endless stairways at the venue and securing an optimal viewing position in the balcony above the runway, the complimentary tacos and chocolate-covered strawberries that Boulevard 3 is known for provided a much needed source of energy replenishment. (It's such a great idea to provide snacks and food for the voracious club crowd.) All in all, I'd sum it up as an entertaining and diverse night of fashion, dance, music, and culture as part of L.A. Fashion Week.

**April 8, 2011 - Please note that this content was originally published on fashiontrendguide.blogspot.com and if you are reading it elsewhere, it has been reproduced ILLEGALLY and without PERMISSION.

Spring is in Session

In terms of trends, spring 2011 is all over the map. Minimalism, 1960s punk, disco glam, tribal prints, color blocking, Jil Sander-inspired sporty separates, bold Prada-esque stripes, crisp whites, bright neons, and animal prints are just a few of the myriad trends that I've seen gracing the pages of magazines and adorning the windows of my favorite shops. While shooting the windows below, I gravitated toward the "global nomad" trend, which encompasses details such as: neutral tones, printed scarves, classic white shirts, vibrant graphic and ethnic prints, and platform pumps. Think YSL's classic safari look with an updated twist. It's almost as though designers are struck with a sense of wanderlust when designing spring collections, and the clothing evokes a sense of relief that winter is almost over. We can venture out into the world and shed our cozy layers in favor of lighter, more vibrant pieces in accordance with spring's warmer temperatures.

**April 8, 2011 - Please note that this content was originally published on fashiontrendguide.blogspot.com. If you are reading it elsewhere, it has been STOLEN ILLEGALLY and reproduced without PERMISSION.

Video Highlights from Project Ethos

I've put together a short video with runway highlights from Project Ethos this past weekend. Featured in the video is the brief Black Swan-inspired ballet performance at the start of the Melissa Velia show, a beautiful ombré gown and half eye masks at Reneta J, animal print mini dresses at Ermelinda Manos, drapey jersey looks at Dominique Ansari, and sophisticated pieces in a red, black, and white palette by Seth Aaron Henderson. Enjoy!

Early Bird Gets the Dress - Shopping Target's Designer Collective

As much as I'd love to wear a Rodarte dress, a Rodarte for Target dress is much more realistic and attainable for me. It's also better suited to my budget and lifestyle, hence my unabashed love for Target's GO International program. Despite reading shoppers' online complaints about the poor fit or quality, I believe there are some gems to be found in some of these collections. Furthermore, if well cared for, some of these pieces can hold up over time. Case in point: my two Erin Fetherston for Target Peter Pan-collared dresses still look like new after over four years and lots of TLC.

Despite having shopped each and every collection in the past five years (except for Tara Jarmon), I viewed the rerelease of 34 GO International dresses from 17 designers this past Sunday with anticipation and mild excitement. No, they didn't release all of the dresses that I wanted them to, but several made my wish list: the Rodarte slip dress, the Erin Fetherston bunny print dress, and the Jovovich-Hawk floral dress. Somehow, I missed out on these the first time, or they simply didn't appeal to me in the past. Determined not to let them slip away again, I planned to visit Target sometime on Sunday morning.

When I awoke quite suddenly and unexpectedly early on Sunday morning at 7:49am (really 6:49am if you take into account the time change), I decided to throw on some jeans and try my luck right away in the newly remodeled Target nearby. Upon my arrival at 8:03am, not only was I the only shopper in the clothing department, but apparently, I was also the first shopper. (This is one of the few benefits I enjoy from living in a style-challenged suburban area.) Perfectly sized racks of dresses merchandised by color greeted me, and I noticed that this store carried all of the 34 dresses, with 2-3 of each size in most of them, except for the Rodarte slip dress.

For those that are wondering, the Anna Sui, Jean Paul Gaultier, McQ, and William Rast collections were part of the Designer Collaborations program, not the GO International program, so they weren't included in this release. I'm curious as to how successful this rerelease will be with consumers, and I'm silently hoping they'll do a rerelease with some of the jackets from past collections. I missed out on buying the Behnaz Sarafpour leopard print jacket, the red Zac Posen biker jacket, the Rodarte faux fur cropped jacket, and the versatile Tracy Feith moto jacket.

A Peek at Project Ethos

I spent a very enjoyable Saturday night with Sarah and our better halves (in addition to hundreds of well-heeled attendees) at Avalon in Hollywood for the Project Ethos Carpe Diem event, which featured musical performances, art, and eight runway shows as part of L.A. Fashion Week. After checking in, we combed the large venue and admired the stylish crowd before securing our optimal positions near the end of the runway. This is the part where Sarah and I both looked down at our less than practical 5" heels and scanned the nearby area for seats without much luck. The Robotanists (with their chic platinum blond Sharin Foo look-alike lead singer) started off the night with a few upbeat pop-rock tracks from their new album "Plans In Progress", and then the shows began. Highlights of the night for me included: a dance performance by a chic black-clad ballerina in the Melissa Velia show, half eye masks and lively bolts of crimson in the Reneta J show, a belted pink lace mini dress and side fishtail in the Ermelinda Manos show, and lust worthy bondage boot sandals and a Batman-eque corset in the red, black, and white-themed Seth Aaron Henderson (winner of Project Runway Season 7) finale show. Expect a video (and perhaps more photos) from Project Ethos to come soon...

1. Project Ethos stage

2. An interview on the red carpet

3. The Robotanists

4. Frederick's of Hollywood swimwear

5. Cardiwrap by Kymaro booth

6. Ballet performance at start of Melissa Velia show

7. Melissa Velia fall 2011

8. Reneta J fall 2011

9. Reneta J fall 2011

10. Age of Aquarius fall 2011

11. Dominique Ansari fall 2011

12. Ermelinda Manos fall 2011

13. Ermelinda Manos fall 2011

14. Seth Aaron Henderson fall 2011

15. Seth Aaron Henderson fall 2011

16. Seth Aaron Henderson fall 2011