Fashion Trend Guide: July 2008

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

What To Wear - A Summer Celebration

With summer in full swing, it's time to get out and enjoy outdoor events such as summer festivals, flea markets, concerts, and fairs. Whether you're rocking out to your favorite band, celebrating the sunshine, or enjoying your region's local festivals, there are plenty of ways to stay cool and stylish at the same time. Channel a cool, beach-girl vibe by wearing your swimsuit as a top and then layer a lightweight cardigan over it for more coverage when temperatures drop. Or pair a whimsical pin and embellished sandals with your worn-in cutoffs for an Alexander Wang-inspired laid-back look. Just remember to wear plenty of sunblock and capture your memories with a fantastic digital camera like the one pictured below.

Pictured above: 1. H81 buttonless cardigan, Forever 21, $19.90, 2. Polka dot cinched one-piece, Delias, $14.99, 3. Small aviators, Wet Seal, $7.50, 4. Electric guitar pin, Fred Flare, $9, 5. Revolt destroyed cut-off shorts, Alloy, $24.50, 6. Gem T-strap sandals, GoJane, $12.99, 7. Leica mini digital camera, Urban Outfitters, $225

Photo credit: forever21.com, delias.com, wetseal.com, fredflare.com, alloy.com, gojane.com, urbanoutfitters.com

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Fresh Picks For Fall

My fall catalogs have arrived and I'm feeling the influence of the 90's this season. Refined grunge, plaid prints, motorcycle jackets, sturdy boots, and boyfriend-fit jeans are just a few of my favorite trends to try out this fall. I'm also being slowly drawn to the prep school/geek trend, with its shrunken blazers, boyfriend cardigans, sweater vests, glasses, jumper dresses, printed headbands, and camera-style bags with long straps. Also of note is the superhero influence in fashion, and with the movie The Dark Knight coming out soon, this trend will probably pick up speed in the States. For those of you heading back to school, here's to high marks for style. Below are my ten favorite picks for fall.

Pictured above: 1. Holly readers, Urban Outfitters, $14, 2. Leopard scarf, Alloy, $16.50, 3. Plaid dress, Wet Seal, $24.50, 4. Batgirl tee, Delia*s, $26.50, 5. Boyfriend cardigan, Old Navy, $29.50, 6. Revolt boyfriend jeans, Alloy, $34.50, 7. Motorcycle jacket, Leatherup.com, $119.95, 8. Prep blazer, Victoria's Secret, $58, 9. Folio briefcase bag, Urban Outfitters, $58, 10. Dr. Martens, Delia*s, $110.50.

Images from: alloy.com, wetseal.com, delias.com, oldnavy.com, leatherup.com, victoriassecret.com, and urbanoutfitters.com.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Just My Cup Of Chai

After having a browse through the image album of Richard Chai's upcoming collection for Target's GO International line, I've decided that the pieces I'm anticipating the most are the long grandpa cardigans, the graffiti rose print garments, and the skinny jeans. If this collection stays true to Target's form, then there will be more pieces and colorways in the collection than the image album shows. When I first see the images, I can't help but wonder what some interesting accessories and some edgier mixing, matching, and layering would result in. (Perhaps Target is looking for a new stylist? If so, I'd love to do it!) Below is a compilation of my favorite looks, and in early August, you'll see a session (or perhaps two) of me playing dress-up in the fitting rooms as soon as I can get my hands on the goods. Click the image to enlarge.

Richard Chai for Target, available August 3 - 30

Image credit: target.com

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Santa Barbara Shopping - End Of Summer Trends

As many shopaholics and fashion-lovers know, this time of the summer typically consists of sales and it's generally a slow time for shopping in terms of finding fresh trends. With a new crop of fall fashions just around the corner, it's no surprise that my time spent browsing the stores in Santa Barbara left me uninspired and anxiously awaiting the arrival of fall staples such as plaid jackets, knit beanies, slouchy trousers, and soft sweaters.

Based upon my browsing, there are some key trends that are important for this transitional time of year. At Urban Outfitters, small leather camera bags made the stale summer merchandise look fresh, while vintage cowboy boots and boyish bowler hats stood out amongst the typical tunics and skinny jeans.

At LF, I eyed colored and acid-washed skinny denim at higher price points, as well as dainty floral dresses, metallic gladiators, flat scrunchy boots, and super short shorts.

Forever 21 stocked an abundance of ethnic prints, safari jackets, jewel-toned jersey tunics, dark skinny jeans, and straw fedoras and floppy hats.

Prada-esque floral skirts and strapless dresses crowded the clearance racks at Express, while leopard and zebra prints took center stage on the sales floor. Also of interest were silk halter tops, sequin skirts and sweatshirts, and stretchy camisoles great for layering.

At Wet Seal, neon colors adorned everything from jeans and leggings to graphic tees and printed tanks. (I haven't seen this much neon since I went to London last year.) As far as accessories, wide belts, star & skull printed scarves, hippie-inspired necklaces, pointy patent pumps, and neon gladiator sandals rounded out the end-of-summer selection. Also of interest were sleeveless hoodies, ruffled tops, dark floral prints, acid-washed denim, and suspender shorts.

© 2008 Fashion Trend Guide

Monday, July 7, 2008

Fashion Trend Guide and French Shopping In 805 Living

Bonjour! I am excited to announce that I've been mentioned in the July 2008 issue of 805 Living. If you have trouble getting your hands on a copy, I've scanned in a page so you can have a read. They did a great feature called "805 French Connection" which covers local French-inspired cuisine, winemakers, conversation groups, and shopping. Many thanks to Kathleen Guthrie! The article has inspired me to don my new wool beret, spritz on some of my Mistral Wild Blackberry perfume, and indulge in a fruit tartlet. Click on the image to enlarge.

That reminds me...the annual French Festival is taking place on July 12 & 13 (from 11am to 7pm) at Oak Park in Santa Barbara. If you can't make it to France this summer, you can still enjoy the culture by celebrating all things French - Santa Barbara style.

© 2008 Fashion Trend Guide. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Pretty In Paris

French women are often admired by fashionistas all over the world for their simple, polished sense of style. For me, the quintessential French-girl outfit conjures up an image of a gorgeous gamine wearing a nautical striped top, dark trousers, ballet flats, and an effortless chignon. If you can't get away to Paris this summer to be inspired by French style, channel the elegance of the City of Light with some simple pieces from Forever 21. An artsy beret, a frilly blouse, sailor jeans, a printed tote, and some Chloé-inspired architectural heels will have you saying manifique!

Pictured above: 1. Artisan wool beret, $12.80, 2. Contrast trim blouse, $22.80, 3. Paris tote, $5.50, 4. Double button denim trouser, $32.80, 5. CZ-3 patent peep-toes, $27.80.

Images from forever21.com

Floral Footwear At Target

During my recent trips to various Target stores to inpect the latest GO International goods, I spotted these playful Betsey Johnson-esque peep-toe pumps by Xhilaration. The fabric bows and floral print are the perfect antidote to all those gladiator sandals and flip flops you'll be seeing this summer. Pair them with skinny cropped denim for a 50's-inspired look or go ultra girly with a LBD. Either way, you'll be smiling because these babies will only cost you $22.99. Too bad they didn't have my size...

FTC Disclosure

This site is a personal blog and I accept forms of advertising, sponsorship, or other forms of compensation. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. If I share a link to a product or service, I may get paid a commission if you purchase the product or service. This also means that if you purchase something and then return it, I lose that commission. Therefore it’s always in my best interest as well as yours that I promote only the highest quality products and services on this site. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely mine. If I claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, I will only endorse products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Copyright Info

All photos and written content on Fashion Trend Guide are the intellectual property and original work of Fashion Trend Guide unless stated otherwise. All of the material on Fashion Trend Guide is copyrighted and protected by law, and shall not be rewritten, republished, or reproduced in any medium without written permission. Please contact Fashion Trend Guide via e-mail for permission if you are interested in using photos or written content. In other words, do not steal or scrape content from this site. You will be caught and any copyright infringement will result in immediate legal action. © 2007-2024 fashiontrendguide.blogspot.com

Privacy Policy

We allow third party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our Web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g. click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to your website. Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and/or other sites on the Internet.

Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the advertising opt-out page. (Alternatively, you can direct users to opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.) Cookies are small pieces of data that save information when you visit websites so you don’t have to re-enter it every time you return. For example, cookies help search engines remember that you want your search results in English and help online stores remember the items saved in your virtual shopping cart. Advertisers can also use cookies to deliver ads that are more relevant to you. You can always decide which cookies to accept – or whether to accept cookies at all – by going into your browser’s privacy settings. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice visit the NAI at http://www.networkadvertising.org. To opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices.