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

Perforated Pumps Fresh Spring Air in Winter

click image to buy
 Jimmy Choo // Abel Perforated Patent Leather Pumps

Sexy doesn't have to be flesh-baring, at least not when the weather hasn't been very kind lately.  I actually like the subtle sexiness that comes with flesh-peekaboo, aka perforations.  If air is to NIKE, perforations are to fashion! They just make it that much better!  Cut-outs and perforations are making a comeback this spring, and they are definitely one of my favorite trends, as seen on the runway at Spring 2014 Rebecca Taylor, The Row, and Reed Krakoff. Let your skin soak-up some air in the spring time when the sun is out to play! I'll let my imagination do that for now, while I'm piled under layers.

Rebecca Taylor S14

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

The Falling Sleeves: time to make your sleeves count

One of the things that I really want for x-mas this year is a sewing machine! I'm dying to give some of my shirts a make-over.  If you have one and are a good at sewing, I think you'll like this post. It's about time our sleeves deserve some attention. Afterall, we got two of them! There's a lot of potential for sleeve - DIY projects if you have time and creative juices.  It's a great way to spice up that shirt that you kinda don't really like because it's just....so....plain? I'm really loving the two-tone sleeves right now because they remind me of arm warmers! How do you plan to reinvent your style this fall?

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? 

28 Shades of Plaid: Plenty Ways to Look Posh & Plaid-ful

Photo source

I always enjoy seeing how some people wear a trend and own it! Plaid is so versatile, for menswear as well as womenswear. Just a touch of plaid can make you look like you're from the countryside, a small town, or the city from how you style it. So, wherever you may be, let your plaid style speak your language and origin. I hope you find inspiration from this post to make plaid wearable for anyplace, anytime.

IFB PROJECT #115: ATTITUDE OF PLAIDITUDE

Camouflage & Poetry in Winter Wonderland

 This post is a response to IFB project: Soldier Chic, which is about styling the sizzling trend: camouflage. I know I cheated a little bit because these photos I'm using here are from January 2013. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the little story (& poem) and the photos.

IFB Project #114: Soldier Chic

Tips for picking tops that are trend-proof

I know I love trends because they're fun and exciting but how do I survive the temptations of buying what's trending every season? I love the concept of minimalism, but it is darn difficult to achieve especially when it comes to clothes, shoes, purses, etc.

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

Cool Cats Wear Caps so Cat You!

NYFW'13 Style.com

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...

ShopStyle search:

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

Must have little Leather Jackets

Leather was never my thing--I disliked to see it, feel it, or wear it all of my life....until 2 years ago.  I was "influenced" and little by little I acquired a taste for it.  Leather has been getting a lot of attention lately, and it has gone under my radar--I want to own one or 2 or 3. They look so good in colors or black and white.

Red Hot Shoes

The hottest shoes that celebs are sporting these days, whether casual flats or pumps, are red.  Are you brave enough to sport bright red shoes? I have never tried, but I would in a heart beat  if I had a killer pair. I selected these from hundreds of Fall'12 shoes from various high-end designers. I personal would want my shoe closet filled with these 20 pairs! Oh--and the color red...it has so many meanings. When I see a pair of red shoes I think of energy, intensity, and excitement! According to .....

 Bill Blass-- "When in doubt wear red." 

 Bill Blass--"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness."


Yes, yes, these shoes would definitely cure the fleating sadness in shoe-lovers around the world. Do you concur?

Chelsea Paris

Black & White Street Styles

As opposed to wearing all white, wearing black&white just seems to require much less effort. Since black is a  flattering & slimming color, we can definitely use that to our advantage in styling. We can simply wear black at target areas, right?? What's interesting about these street styles is that they make black&white informal. It's not just for the businessmen or women/professionals.

How to wear white like a pro

As much as I love white, it's definitely difficult to wear all white without looking plain-Jane/beachy/bridal.  There's an array of textures, symmetry, and silhouettes  to pay attention to.  You can mix and match them to minimize the flatness due to uniformity.  Also, your favorite accessories: shoes, bags, hats, sunnies, belts will get the attention they deserve with a white outfit. The most important thing tho--don't stain your whites! I'd carry a bleach pen in my purse just in case ;) By the way, have you seen what Taylor Swift wore to the CMA? She made a great choice--a perfect ethereal white gown with gold details. I heart it. See it at bottom of post.

Put it all together in a mix: Do you print-on-print?

This Spring is all about dressing like you're having fun and being creative with colors and patterns.  The endless possibilities that pattern mixing offers makes it one of my favorite trends.  Have you experiment with it yet? I did a pattern-on pattern outfit post last week, and you could check that out at urbanite, my personal style blog. I liked what I wore, but now looking back, I think I would have worn prints from head-to-toe.  There's a bit a thrill in trying out a trend and see if it works for me or not. 

Grown-ups Have Fun With Colors

You'd think fashion trends are seasonal...until color-blocking came along!! I remember when I first started blogging about a year ago from today, color-blocking was brand new to me. I was expecting the trend to fade quickly, but I was wrong. It really picked up momentum and is still sailing this year as you'll see from street styles at fashion week in Milan, Paris, London, and NYC.  I will be experimenting with color-blocking soon...be sure to check out my personal style blog at Urbanite to see what I will be wearing =) For now, see how color-blocking is rocking solid.

Tasseled-rope Belts for Spring

                                                                   {Macy's online}