The Leather Trend

Leather is probably my most favorite trend to wear because it's so chique and trendy. At the moment I only own a pair of leather leggings and a black leather motercycle type jacket but my goal is to invest in a leather skirt and a leather dress if I can find a nice one. The leather trend was huge for the fall/winter 2010 season and it definately dominated the runways for this spring as well. It's not the old style leather statement pieces that were worn back in the day when our parents were in their 30's but it's a more up to date version that includes classy slim fitting leather jackets, leather tailored trousers, leather pleated skirts, leather blazers, versitile leather dresses, leather leggings as well as shearling leather jackets which more so fit in with the aviator trend for fall/winter 2010. Leather was found in most designers collections and was espeacially a main focus in collections such as Balmain, Acne, DSquared, Rag and Bone and many more.

I find it really intresting that for the next season coming up-fall/winter 2011, the designers were able to take the leather trend a step further by exploring with different colours and styles of clothing. It was amazing to see that the different colours of leather clothing really stood out on the runways because they were constructed in such a way that these paticular items are so wearable but yet classy because of the strong, shiny black material. The exploration of different colour statement pieces of leather clothing were most effectivily shown in the Acne collection for fall/winter collection (to see a picture of this collecton go to one of my older blog posts), only because they did such a great job pairing up the different leather pieces with pieces such as trousers, skirts and blazers and this made each outfit look even more elegant. They even explored with leather by making leather overalls which I thought was quite fascinating. There are thousands of ways to wear leather and I think that a must have staple every girl should own in their closet is a leather jacket because it can be worn with almost every item of clothing you have! Now a days there is no excuse to find a leather fitted jacket because they can be found at pratically any big clothing store such as H&M, Aritzia or even Zahra.

Burberry Prorsum Pre-Fall 2011 Collection

Every single detail and piece of clothing left me breathless when I first saw this collection. I needed to own it all!  When seeing it for the first time it was just so trendy and gorgeous. The outrageous and extravagent jackets were what stood out for me the most. I love how Burberry Prorsum incoparated the orignal tan brown trench coat and then they were able to play off of this idea by taking it a whole step further by adding fur to the back and sides and by changing the colour, material,they belted it with big leather belts and made the models wear thigh high black leather heeled boots. This collection really shows the overall theme of elegance when looking at all the different style of jackets,wide leg trousers, blazers and long dresses. It's weird to say, but I really love how there is no consistant style because in a way each individual outfit is very different than the other like for example, almost eight or more of the outfits shown consist of a trench style coat but they are shown very different individually because of all the small details which make each one unique. I think this is also because of the many colours used such as the olive greens, whites, blacks, blues and greys which effectivley show the entire mood for fall and the colours that should be worn for this fall. What I also love about this collection is that even though all the outfits are trendy and the jackets are so elegant, everything is still very wearable because these jackets can be worn both in the fall as well as the winter and can protect you from the cold and keep you warm yet you can still look put together and trendy. One jacket that paticullarly stood out for me in this collection is the shiny navy long down jacket because it was so unique and different than let's say the average trench coat or a wool jacket. I myself have a shiny black long down jacket from uniqlo and I practically wear it with almost everything I have in y closet because it goes with everything I wear and it's also a great substitute to the old black wool jacket that I used to own. For next fall I am definately going to invest a trench coat such as the ones shown in this amazing collection.

The most hideous boots out there- Uggs

If you want to look like an astronaut travelling into space then feel free to wear these ugly boots that convey no sense of style at all. From where I'm from it gets to about -30 to even -40 degrees Celsius but thats really no excuse why girls should wear uggs unless they really don't care what they look like with them on. Yes, they might be filled with white sheep fur and they keep your toes warm but I would rather look stylishly put together and look trendy then wearing boots like these which convey no sense of fashion and personal style. There's a reason why they are not shown on the runways and I think girls should have the common sense to acknowledge that when wearing them every single day. The suede material should only be used for blazers, blouses or even trousers but definitely not for boots. What bothers me the most is that they are sold in different colors such as pink, purple, blue, grey and black and these colors of ugg boots are even more tacky than the actual original tan colored boots. Although knit might be a major trend for the Fall/Winter 2011 collections this season it is only in the form of over sized sweater which are versatile yet chique and they should not  be made into the form of boots. The knit style ugg boots with the big buttons are the side are clearly an example of how not to wear the knit trend. But I think that the worst uggs ever made by Ugg Australia is definately the uggs that are filled with sequins such as the gold sequined ones, the silver sequined ones and the black sequined ones only because they make such a bad statement, portray no sense of the persons own individual style and clash with whatever the outfit the person chooses to wear these paticular uggs with. There are so many more alternatives to wearing ugg boots for all different body types. If you're tall why not substitute your uggs for black, leather over the knee boots and if your petite than the military style boots which can be found almost anywhere now, is the boot that will best suit you. There are many more different options out there that are much more stylish than the ugg boot!

Fendi Fall/Winter 2011 Collection

I absolutely fell in love with this collection when I first saw it on The Sartorialist  blog this morning. From the classic lady like open heels to the box like inspired menswear bags and the colorful knit tights in reds, oranges and yellows It was so chique! What I love most about this collection is the overall sense that the outfits shown are very refined and sophisticated because every piece of clothing shown in each of the outfits was very put together but yet it was still unique and trendy because of the materials used such as the wools and knits.These outfits were effectively able to show the level of versatility and small details such as those found on the jackets, blouses, skirts and bags. I also love how this collection really portrays that image of making a lady feel as if she is the center of attention if she was wearing an outfit such as one shown in this collection, because of the level of sophistication and the use of bright colors which really stand out in each ensemble. The box like bags worn by almost each of the models were what stood out the most for me, because it wasn't like the normal kind of slouchy type bag that everyone wheres to work, or going out or to school but Fendi was able to take it a step further and create a bag which stood out and really contributed to the overall collection as a whole. I like how this collection not only showed a particular type of skirt or jacket but it showed a wide range of these exact same items but in  totally different styles, different textures and materials. For example there were many jackets such as the navy blue wool jacket shown below that had the pockets on the very side, a button in the middle and the collars which stood out and there were also other jackets that were in a totally different material such as fur that were very structured and therefore this is what made each outfit in the entire collection very different from one another. This collection is a great inspiration when it comes to the ways in which one can dress when they would go to work or even out. It's colorful but still very trendy and put together.

Upper East Side Manhattan-Gossip Girl: Blake Livelys Iconic Style

I rarely watch a lot of shows on tv but one that I try my best not to skip every week is Gossip Girl. Yes, Im addicted to it just like every other girl out there is but every single episode that I watch Im always critically analyzing one thing and that is Blake Livelys brilliant style both on and off camera. As gorgeous as she already is with her sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes her ensembles are always to die for! I think one of my favorite episodes of Gossip Girl is the one where Blair and Serena escape to Paris for a summer getaway and this is because of the clothes these girls are wearing and the beautiful scenary around them. I love how they make the girls wear bright fashionable spring colours during the day such as reds, neon blues, greens, hot pinks and creams and then at night they dres them up in dark evening attire which is still chique such as  the blacks, metallic golds and silvers. Not just on camera but off camera as well Blake Lively was shown as one of Vogue's top lady's who has unbelivably amazing style. Her style not only shows her personality on camera as the character of Serena, a socialite who lives on the upper east side of Manhattan but also off camera as Blake Lively herself. I love how her style on and off camera is very unique and trendy such as the key statement pieces she wears which always seem to be the center of attention in that paticular outfit choice of the day, for example the bold coloured trousers and the one of a kind blazers always make her outfits stand out. I also love how whatever situation the girls are put in and the location they are in they always seem to reflect what exactly they are wearing such as the episode where the girls are in Paris. In this episode it seemed like because they were in a world renown city where fashion is always the main focus, Blair and Serena's style and what they wore became a little more refined to fit the overall scene of Paris. There are a lot of party scenes on Gossip Girl because both girls are socialites and they are always shown in the most elaborate party dresses that are so chique! On some shows the costume designers make the characters wear what they put together for them and they are just random clothes that reflect their characters personality, this is the same case on Gossip Girl but the costume designers take it a step further and buy actual designer clothes that you would see on the runways and these clothes are what you actually see on characters such as Blair and Serena. For more information about each characters style on Gossip Girl go to http://www.gossipgirlfashion.net/

Soldier On- The Military Trend



While putting on my army olive green military inspired cargo jacket paired with my plaid shirt from uniqlo, leggings and steve madden black lace up boots which I wear practically everyday I decided to do a blog post on the military trend which has expanded tremendously this year! Ever since designers such as Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Burberry Prorsum showed military inspired statement pieces on their runways in fall of 2010 this trend had been a major hit! Everywhere I go I see people wearing the classic black  and even brown military inspired lace up boots. Everytime I see them they always seem to remind me of Marc Jacobs fall 2010 collection because his entire collection was based off of this one paticular trend. I personally love the military trend and the steve madden boots I have always seem to complete any ensemble I wear. The statement pieces involved in this trend are so easy to wear because you can dress it up and dress it down which I find really fascinating. Not just the olive green colour is unique but also the way the buttons are positioned on the jackets, trench coats and blazers. I have been starting to see this unique pattern of the buttons everywhere such as blazers and I love the detail and overall smplisity that the criss crossed buttons add to the piece of clothing. I also love how this trend can be worn with other trends shown on the runways such as the leather trend or even chuncky knits. If your going out you can always pair your military olive green cargo jacket with leather leggings and If your going to school or work why not pair your military boots up with a knit sweather or even a leather motercycle inspired jacket. I noticed that this trend is still, continuing to evolve. This is not just evolving for the people who wear this trend but this trend is also evolving on the runways shown in the newest designers collections for the fall/winter 2011 season. They have taken this trend and have built upon it by expanding the many ways to wear it, what types of clothing to pair it up with as well as what types of new and different materials can be worn using the same military inspired style.  The possibilities are endless when exploring the many different ways to wear this trend!



Inspiration drawn from street style

It's amazing how inspirational street style can truly be when creating your own style. Yes different designers collections off the runway are inspirational but what every day people wear outside of their homes is also! Your individual style is what defines you and the personality you have affects what you wear on a regular basis. Sometimes we see that what people tend to wear on a normal basis are shown on the runways as the upcoming trends and sometimes people just take what they know from the runways and transform that look into what's best for them. I love going downtown and walking down white avenue and glancing at the clothes people wear because it's so unique to see their own individual style. For example, in can sometimes just be a mix of vintage or even clothes found at a thrift store but you wouldn't have even known that when you looking at that person's style as they walked down the street. I think that we have all in some way have been inspired by some random individuals style and we take that and try to copy it but still make it our own. There's so much you can learn from analyzing different peoples different style and what we learn from our friends, co workers or just random people is a style which we continue to build upon and it's what best defines us and who we are. Street style is also something that is unique and I love looking at the way different people wear a specific trend but it could be worn in a million different ways shown by a million different people. They were able to take that specific trend and make it their own by adding color or accessories or even different statement pieces that really tie together the entire ensemble. We take bits and pieces of the different styles of clothing we are exposed to and throw it in together to create our different outfits and therefore we have successfully drawn inspiration from what we see around us. We also expand upon the different street styles we see on different people. One of my favorite blogs to look at is called The Sartorialist and the creater of this blog is only drawn from inspiration of the street style around him therefore his blog is only filled with thousands of pictures of people that are on the streets of New York and Milan and their own individual street style. It's so unique yet inspirational to see the different people he took pictures of on the street and to see the clothes they are wearing. Whatever place you live in you are drawn to different people's style and this further develops your own individual style.

My favorite pictures taken from The Sartorialist :