Earlybird Spring Dresses Shopping Guide

It's a bit too early to be wearing spring clothes, but it's never too early to shop for them.  I can't ever seem to find my size when I wait til the peak of the season to make the purchase. Also, when it comes to super trendy designer clothes, they're sold out while you're still shopping!  So, if you are a fan of  Prabal Gurung, Mary Katrantzou, or Christopher Kane, now is the time to get your coveted items or pre-order them. These are some of my favorite pieces from their respective RTW collections from 2013 & 2014. I just love how artsy, cool, and vibrant these spring dresses are.

1. Prabal Gurung

Prabal Gurung Spring 2014 RTW &  Resort 2014

Love & beauty actually...are all around you

Zuhair Murad S14 Couture gown // Love Actually Film // Camellias in bloom

 Zuhair Murad's Spring 2014 couture collection was definitely love at first sight. The leaf-motif gold belts, the beautiful pastel spring colors, classic silhouettes, guipure lace, embroidery, embellishments, and floral appliques made me long for spring!

2014 Grammy's Fashion Sharps ##

 Sara Bareilles in Blumarine 'fringed flowers tulle hi how dress' (buy)

Music's biggest night was filled with lots of highs and lows, which is precisely what I'll say about my new favorite style: the hi/lo dresses. I think these dresses really take away the formality of a gown, but for a night full of music and dancing-- it's a fantastic choice.  If you wanna show some gorgeous legs and can't wait until spring, hi/lo dresses are the way to go! My other fashion smashers of the night wore gold, which is the color I'm obsessed with right now, and neutral feminine gowns.  I also like  lots of tulle, embroidery, metallics, and rich texture.  The night's hi/low is quite appropriate with my selection of angelic light/soft tulle gowns to contrast the heavy-textured gold metallics to keep you grounded.

Get The Look: Sandra Bullock's 2014 SAG Awards

Sandra Bullock // Lanvin dress // Jimmy Choo shoes

All dresses by Lanvin

Clutches by various designers

(click image to view/buy)

Refreshing Fashion at 71st Golden Globe Awards

Not a lot of people get excited about award shows, but I do. The best part of it is of course the red-carpet pre-show fashion.  Watching how celebs wear their dress on TV gives me a better idea which ones I really like verses just seeing them in 2-D photos. So, that being said, I have watched the show in its entirety on Sunday night and here's what I've got to say....

The best looks at the golden awards belong to ladies who took fashion risks (Emma Watson who wore Christian Dior tunic with pants), reflected their personality-- the retro girl  (Zooey Deschanel), and a few who sizzled on the red carpet by avoiding conventional styles like  fishtail, mermaid, and revealing plunging-neckline and side-boobish gowns.

Vibrant hues like red and bright orange were among the most popular colors--worn by several stars, but I loved Lupita Nyong'o's Ralph Lauren get-up the best. She looked fabulous in that red hot cape dress even with minimal jewelry and make-up. I'm actually pleased to see Taylor Swift traded in her usual red carpet colors of white and gold for a surprisingly beautiful pomegranate and black Carolina Herrera gown. I could not believe Sandra Bullock's age because she absolutely lost years in Prabal Gurung's fantastic age-modifying simple and youthful gown.

With the beautiful California weather of 70 degrees in the winter, these ladies are making Spring seem closer than it is for the rest us who are still ugging around in our winter boots.

Lupita Nyong'o // Ralph Lauren

Previously, in 2012 Gwyneth Paltrow caused quite a stir at the Oscars wearing her all white Tom Ford cape dress creation.  At the MET ball last year, Stella McCartney's cape-style donned by Cameron Diaz was nothing short of amazing. Although capes are cool and theatrical, they have been featured on both best and worst-dressed list. I think Katy Perry's  Naeem Khan's cape dress looked great on her at the 2013 UNICEF snowflake ball, especially with the long straight black hair giving a more sultry and sexy vixen vibe.

Cameron Diaz (Stella McCartney)//Gwyneth Paltrow (Tom Ford)// Katy Perry (Naeem Khan)

Shop:

 Naeem Khan's Deep-V-neck Beaded-Bodice Gown

Stella McCartney "Embroidered Cape"

2014 Style Resolution: No more black tights

Miu Miu S14

 It's a new year! It's still January! It's still frigid cold outside! Are you tired of seeing dark colors?  For bloggers and fashion lovers, a style resolution is a MUST!!! This year I really wanted to un-bore myself and melt the cold with some colors. Well, it's winter and EVERYONE I see wears black tights, and it just doesn't bring me much excitement blending in the crowd.  With so much layering and knee high boots, where's the show ?

My 2013 Favorite trend: Tie-dye

HAPPY NEW YEAR! to all from around the world. I'm doing the count-down (less than 1 hour left until we kiss good-bye to 2013 forever).  I hope  your 214 will be filled with success and happiness.  I look forward to a great year ahead in terms of fashion, blogging, and everything that I will be sharing with you. Thank you for such a  great year here at TSB. I hope you'll continue to join me for more style, fashion, and other unpredictable things that will be happening here at my blog. Best wishes and cheers!!

11 ways to wear festive fashionable bows

With the holidays just around the corner, it's hard to not do a  post about holiday fashion that incorporates one of the most used gifting ornaments: the bow ! I was browsing the internet for ideas on how to DIY gift-wrapping without buying wrapping paper and bows to kinda break the tradition for a change.  I found lots of cool ideas but I also wanted to share with you what I thought would be so nice to add to your holiday outfits.  I am a fan of bows, from bow hair accessories to shoes and everything in between. I think they're so feminine and fashionable no matter your age.  So, here are some of my picks for how to incorporate the bow into your holiday outfits for a festive look.
[You can also check out my post on hair embellishments with bows: click here]

 1. A statement tulle bow tied around the collar with contrast blazer. Keep make-up neutral and hair tidy & sleek for a balance look.

Chanel

Chanel Vintage Embroidered secretary blouse

Chanel Vintage double collar bouclé jacket

Isabel Marant for H&M: a shopping guide

If you have ever wanted one or a few of Isabel Marant's runway looks, you can now get them at H&M in stores starting yesterday (11/14/2013).  Everything is out of stock online at H&M.com! These items fly off the shelf faster than I can put together this shopping guide.

What I love about her H&M collection is that it is comprised of key runway looks from 2010 - 2013 that are very stylish and easy-to-wear.  Her collection is also available for men and kids. So this is definitely your chance to grab something you still love from a  couple of years ago.  Everything in this collection is relevant now in 2013, especially for the winter and holiday season: sequins pants, wool blend coat, embroidered jackets, leather pants, pilot jackets, metallics, and signature fringe suede boots. Be sure to get'em early in your local H&M store.

LET'S GET PARISIAN CHIC!!

Brooklyn Decker and Molly Sims shopped Isabel Marant for H&M

Jenny Packham Holiday-ish Vibe Dresses

Rouge is definitely on  my mind when the holidays roll around every year. You can also do no wrong with a rouge dress during other times of the year like Valentine's Day and July 4th.  It is definitely my numero #1 color for Thanksgiving and X-mas. It's not too early to start looking for "the dress"! Honestly, I've never really checked out Jenny Packham's collections until recently because she gets a lot of royal attention from dressing Kate Middleton on multiple occasions.  I do love her sophisticated touch and very classic silhouettes. Even though my choices were taken from her spring 2014 collection, I think they are perfect for the holidays as well. The embellished gowns are so glamorous and wearable, except not really wearable because of the price tags. The up side is I have found steals for dresses that echo the essence of Jenny Packham's holiday-ish vibes at prices that you and I can afford without doing serious damage.

The Key to InVest Fall Success

Hello November!  Fall just keeps getting more exciting, don't you think? With a number of Holidays coming up we expect to dress for them and the weather with even more pizzazz.  Fall has infinite possibilities when it comes to choosing what to wear! But infinite possibilities can leave us in disarray--unable to laser focus on something that could be a key player. Let's start this month with how to dress successfully and fabulously with the help of a vest. While we often spend chunks of money on outerwear: coats, blazers, jackets, sweaters, we might overlook vests.  What's great about a vest is that it can be worn under, over, or in place of another garment for your desired purpose:

1. Contrast waist-pinching vests - to accentuate your waistline, especially when layering

Paul Smith//Gucci/Paul Smith

Halloween For Fashionistas

 Halloween is in 2 weeks! Have you decided on what you want to wear or be ? I loved Halloween as a kid and still love it now as an adult. I am sure there are plenty of Halloween costume ideas floating in cyberspace, but it gets difficult when there is too much to choose from, right?  I  have never painted any parts of my fanny for Halloween, but it's still a bad idea!  Have you thought about  being a fashionista for Halloween?  In fact, I am very tempted to try one of those crazy runway looks that you definitely cannot wear anywhere any other time of the year except on Halloween.  Know what I'm talking about ? See next image and it should be crystal....

IFB Project #117: Halloween Hauteness

FURocious Fashion Face-off

FENDI FALL'13 RTW

The fur monster (charm for handbag) with super powers is watching your FENDI bag while you focus on real business is probably what one hopes with a price tag of $700. He's furrier looking than any charm and costs more than the money I carry in my wallet. Suffice to say, FENDI's faux fur and feathers  made for fall weather couldn't be better. Added bright electric colors to stand out from fall colors that are more gold and brown is refreshing.  There you have it -- style, comfort, with a tad of strangeness that we all can handle, right? I personally find it difficult to style fur for everyday wear.  What I needed was some inspiration and I think Fendi really inspired me to try fur with a GRRR this year.

Every woman's must have fall coat

For many of us living in 3-4 season climate regions of the world, where cold weather spans 1/4 of the year, we love to shop for coats.  Since October weather is the best, in my opinion, a light coat is suffice to keep  the chills at bay. Wether you are from the 1960s or 2013, the one single style that is everlasting is a trench coat!  If you are going to invest in anything that will never go out of style and goes with any occasion, I urge you opt for a figure flattering, well tailored and well made trench coat because it is going to be your go-to coat every fall!

IFB PROJECT #116: COAT OF MANY COLORS

How to ACE Pajama Style

image: style.com

I admit that I don't have the confidence to dress in my pajamas anywhere but at home. When I first learned about this new trend, I was terrified or even petrified at the thought of me trying it out, like why would I want to look like a wet duck quacking on the streets? But that was before I wrote this post of course.  If you are up to the challenge and feeling adventurous there's no better time to wear pajamas everywhere like the street is our bedroom. But before we work up the courage to do the unthinkable, let's go over how to ace the pajamas trend. With some help from Mr. Marc Jacobs' Louis Vuitton Fall 2013 RTW collection and a couple of others like Lanvin and Rochas, I hope my interpretations will take us all to the top of the class!!

1) ASK YOURSELF: 

     Do I like a lot of attention? 

2013 Emmy's Finest Fashion

I don't watch the Emmy's religiously every year, but I have watched many over the years. I have got to say that this year's Emmy fashion is one of the very best. It had such a great mix of colors,details, and silhouettes. Imagine a party where your guests are made up of brides, fairytale princesses, walking mermaids, Cinderellas, and then there's everybody else.  Sounds like a great mix of people, right? Well, at least their gowns were the light of the party! Will the lady in pink stand up please??

Zac Posen //Calvin Klein//J Mendel//?//Donna Karan
click image to enlarge

The Pretty Kind of Orange

The pretty kind of orange is not the kind one can get from eating too much carrots, tanning-beds,  having bronze skin from diabetes, or iron overload (hemochromatosis).  A pretty orange is like a radiant natural healthy sun-kiss glow

Earphone Fashion Statements

I couldn't have blogged about  earphones hadn't my cheap $5 earphones stopped working. It's serendipity!  I couldn't just throw them in the trash and move on with my life. Google is just so wonderful--it led me to discover a whole new world that exists just for earphones. I learned something new. Then something even crazier happened like lightning stroked twice--I came up with a  new DIY this week.
Just wanted to share some very stylish earphones on the market and I'd love to have the zipper earphones. They're so so brilliantly designed in style and function. Which one is your favorite?

The Fashionista (My Personal Favorites)

GATSBY SUMMER GLAMOUR

GATSBY GLAMOUR INSPIRED PIECES FOR A SPARKLY SUMMER LOOK

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

1.METALLIC PENCIL SKIRT
2.SEQUINS SKIRT
3. SEQUIN SKIRT PARTY DRESS
4. ROXY DRESS
5.METALLIC BROCADE TRENCH COAT
6. SEQUIN BODICE TIERED DRESS

Where to find all 6? JCPenney.com (on clearance right now).

 Happy Shopping!

*Disclaimer: this post is not a sponsored post. These are simply pieces that I like and JCP happens to carry them at prices that anyone can afford.

More Brunello Cucinelli...

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Romancing Monochrome

After the color-blocking and prints-on prints explosion over the past year, it's definitely nice to see more neutrals and monochromatic colors on the Fall runway.  Not that I will ever get tired of colors, bright ones especially. Sometimes we want a more subtle fashion statement, and monochromes are a great choice, along with pastels. I'm sharing with you my most favorite runway styles for Fall from J.Mendel. I think he did a brilliant job with monochromes. Some other selections from Ellery, Donna Karen, and Cerruti  from 2011 are also worth showing.

J. Mendel Fall'12