Confession #2

Romanticized Ruffle Blazers, Hard Metal Accessories, Heather Grays, Cozy Knits, Clash of Color Dynamics, and Floppy Fedoras... 

Never Forget the Femme in Femininity

With the escalating number of fierce, career-driven women, the inspiring attitude has revolutionized womens-wear (if menswear is accepted as a word in itself, I think it's time womenswear becomes its own word too). This generation of fashionistas has made menswear all their own without losing their feminine roots.. The difference between power-fueled men and power women? We cut you in a blink of an eye.. in style of course.

Olivia Palermo's best accessory (okay, aside from her elegantly orchestrated outfit) a good laugh with an equally stylish other half. A blazer and paired with an above-the-knee skirt does not have to be strictly business. Her vanille-creme off-white ruffled blazer brings sophistication to the look... while her sheer lingere-esque lace skirt adds a soft and sexy touch -- keeping it classy. She adds some edge to the look with a pair of black lace-up heels and heavily accessorizes her wrists with chunky gold jewelry. Pairing a black pair of pumps with a neutral color scheme helps to break the uniformity of the look... if you haven't already, it's time to fall in love with pairing nudes with black..

Now onto her friend: I taste a bit of the UK in this look... and absolutely love it. Rather than wearing the femininity in her outerwear, she chose to reverse it. Her coat is a mix of our favorite boyfriend blazer and a British peacoat with an dramatic collar. She keeps her look effortlessly chic with her tiered skirt, embellished flats, and disheveled hair -- transitioning her serious-business-blazer into a playful and youthful addition.

Tidbit: If you're more on the top-heavy side, leave the ruffled blazer to the rest. With so much commotion going on in the blazer, be warned: the side view will make you look like you're in your 3rd trimester with Junior rolling in the womb. Searching for the perfect ruffled blazer is a mission requiring much calculation. When wearing such a statement jacket, do not wear a blouse inside that will crowd the spotlight. A simple silk tank or basic blouse would be best.

Strategy: Find the Perfect Ruffled Blazer

For a neck elongating effect, make sure the ruffles along the back of the neck and above your collarbone flower upward -- much like a flower. this brings down your shoulders without broadening it while lengthening the front view of your neck. Now here's the tricky, crucial part: the ruffles from your chest down should be able to drape downward on its own. The downward and subdued ruffles along the chest and waistline of the coat would de-fluff your look, avoiding the "Congratulations! When are you due?" comments / accidental insults.

Accessorizing Strategy: The Rule -- Never Leave the House Without One Piece of Jewelry Still Stands

When wearing an attention worthy statement piece, keep accessories away from the business of the outfit (the neck area in this case). Chunky bracelets or gold vintage rings play a key role here. These accessories give your look a luxurious touch. Personally, I would rather choose to opt out on the bracelets (I hate when they start crawling into my sleeve) and instead, add spike-stud earrings to the mix with my rings. There's something very ladylike about earrings and it helps leave the busywork to the ruffles.

My Favorite Go-To Pair of Earrings: 

I am obsessed with Noir's jewelry... OBSESSED... it's beginning to take over my accessories tray...

Noir's Crystal Stud Earrings: 

Case: Nude + Black = Car Crash Disaster

Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto literally looks like a work of art.. both camel-tone blouse and skirt by Christian Dior perfectly compliments her skin tone. I love her daring attempt to pair black and nude together, but this is just awful. Not only are they point toe heels but a geometric t-strap? Roger Vivier heels or not, disasterly!

Kate Bosworth: Always effortlessly beautiful.. Kate is very familiar with color tones that fit her best. Love the sheer texture of the disheveled and unpredictable ruffled tiers on her No. 21 dress. Beachy waves in the hair and Nicholas Kirkwood pumps on the toes.. simple and done right...

 Hard Metal Accessories

All the Rage: Mawi's Sunray Tube & Boxchain Necklace 

Heather Grays and Knitwear

Hilary Duff: Pair your heather gray knits with matte liquid leggings for a toughened up look. The knitted sweater adds a softened look along with the contrasting nude pumps. I love her choice of accessories!

Tidbit: To defluff your look when you're wearing a chunky knit sweater, putting your hair up in a clean chignon would clean up the look. Adding some volume to the roots of your hair would add a kick of edge..

Rihanna: Recipe for Instantly Chic: dressing head-to-toe in one color shade.

Victoria Beckham: Nobody does it as cool as you Mrs. Beckham... pairing her black and nude striped Isabel Marant knit sweater with denim cut-off shorts and black peep-toe leather booties... O.M.G...

Dare to Be Bold: Color Clash Dynamics

It's a lot easier to be "matchy-matchy". We've naturally trained our minds to know how to play things safe and what colors don't "blend" well with the rest of our outfit. You would think breaking this good-and-bad habit would be easy.. But only the bold and daring could break out of this shell and dare to be different. You thought matching took a lot of work? Mixing different colors in one look to make it all your own takes more heavy calculation than you think. Feast your eyes on these style vixen Picassos!

Jessica Alba: Be aware of all the colors you've involved into your look. Strike a balance of proportions with the frequency of each color in your outfit. For instance, if black appears twice in your look, then all the other colors should appear twice or more (never less than twice -- unless you want one color to pop from the rest. That one piece should be the brightest color and only appear once).

 Olivia Palermo

 

Nicole Richie

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley: Boho-chic with a play on colors and texture of material from knitwear, leather, to her buttery-velvet floppy hat.. she's done her math well and prevented this from being a "Did you dress in the dark?" moment.. She's becoming one of my favorites for a bohemian-mixed with city street style...

Side Note: With the Fall Season here... Floppy fedoras are the new Bohemian beanies of 2010.. move over Jenny Humphrey sloppy beanies, we're bringing this back...

Hilary Duff channels her inner Bridgette Bardot.. absolutely love..

Vanessa Hudgens

Lauren Conrad

Nicole Richie

xo QBee

Jusjared, StarStyle, Stockholm

Confession #1

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned...

It has been what seems to be days, weeks, perhaps... even months since my last visit... Where should I begin?

Remember how we say, ""As winter approaches, we pile on the layers" ? Well... not only are we talking about the number of articles of clothing we wear to avoid catching a cold, we're talking about various trendy pieces... 

Little Black Dresses, Matte Leather, Luxurious Faux Furs, Romanticized Ruffle Blazers, Hard Metal Accessories, Heather Grays, Cozy Knits, and a Clash of Color Dynamics... 

Little Black Dresses: Never Old, Always New

Photos: JustJared, Starstyle

Nina Dobrev opted for a slinky, black number for the Scream Awards. It's all about the accessories! With simple, black dresses... accessories and hair are key to making the basic look pop. Add edge to the look by adding heavy duty chain embellished accessories. Note that Dobrev still kept the look clean by limiting her accessories, making the focal point of her outfit her statement heels and chain draped clutch. She softens her look by keeping her hair in in soft curls, looking sexy rather than rough-tough.

Head-to-toe black is never outdated, rather a staple for the sophisticated. Dash up the look with a sudden dash of color as Olivia Palermo demonstrates with her Hermes orange-tan croc Jige clutch paired with gold chunky accessories.

Tidbit: What I love most about this look? The padded shoulders on her winter-worthy dress. Contrary to popular belief, shoulder pads aren't just for business types or blazers... believe it or not they actually serve a purpose! The plus side of padding the shoulders? It actually adds structure to your shoulders giving a slimming and lengthening effect-- making your neck look slimmer and longer. Try it, you will see what is all the rage...

Victoria Beckham keeps it simple with one staple focus: her perfectly tailored-to-fit black dress. Cinching the waist with a medium width belt in a matching color helps accentuate and slim her waistline.

Matte Leather: Take Out the Shine

Rachel Bilson: Break out those leather shorts again (please, matte it. Any shine would be borderline Julia Roberts a la Pretty Woman hookerish). Break the tough chic look with a flowy blouse, preferably with a feminine accent like subdued ruffles or subtle floral prints. Pairing the shorts with black booties keeps the tough in the look, while the wavy hair and feminine top keeps the look fresh, youthful, and downright girly...

Olivia Palermo: Again, add a touch of sophistication and youth to the look with playful colors. I love the balance of masculinity and femininity in this look. She has the tough exterior of the matte leather dress and bullet-inspired chunky necklace while keeping the balance of sophistication with her suede canary-yellow, broached pumps and orange-brown croc print clutch.

 Luxurious Fall Furs

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley: This Victoria's Secret model turned Transformers hottie's fashion sense has caught my eye for the past few months. With layering techniques meant for professionals, she dares to be different and is always mixing different textures and colors to make a look all her own. 

Tidbit: Add a faux fur piece to your day look.. whether a vest, fur-trimmed coat, or scarf... it'll instantly add a luxurious vibe to the look.
  
to be continued...

xo Qbee

This Week I Covet...

A Mix of Patterns & Textures..

Olivia Palermo: sticks with the same striped pattern, but has enough of a contrast in her stripes to funk up the outfit. Giving her a youthful, nautical meets city chic look. Now, why didn't I think of that?

Olivia Palermo looks ever the young lady on a quick stop to the bank in New York. I love the flirty cut of the dress with it's "ribbed" lined texture contrasting with her studded belt she has retired into her closet for a while. Paired with a pair of.. of course, French Sole flats.

Selena Gomez upped the glam in Paris while filming her movie, Monte Carlo. I love the youthful way a variation of patterns and textures are put together for this look. From the knitted jacket with gold stud detailing, to the oatmeal texture of the gown, and all the way to her slouchy fold-over snakeskin patterned clutch. Sure it's a more mature look on her, but sophistication is always preferred over the young Hollywood trailer trash youth's look. This is how a young woman tastefully dresses..

 This is an old look I found of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, regardless of when this photo was taken, I love the whimsical, sheen of her metallic teal frock contrasted to her black-and-black silk blazer and cut-out pumps. I love the tribute to London fashion and I must say, I immediately thought of the Kate Moss and Sienna Miller influence to the look..

The woven wedges have been repeatedly spotted on Jennifer Aniston, but the new generation America's Sweetheart, Rachel McAdams won me over with this fresh and youthful look. I love the daring way she incorporates different colors to different articles she wears. Yes, she probably frantically just threw on anything she had in her suitcase, but I find this to actually work quite well. The pattern skirt, with the woven taupe wedges, alongside her woven powder blue purse is as texture-challenging as it can get. Yet it all seems to work together quite well. If I were to wear that look, I would probably end up substituting the black shirt for a black tank that would give it more of a laid-back look. I love the woven handbag, wonder if it comes in a taupe...

Of course, I could never get enough of Sienna Miller's taste. I'm loving the 80's cropped top paired with the Topshop beige tailored shorts and Topshop buckled booties. I'm all about textures so the silky fabric of the top definitely gives the look a luxurious touch along with the shorts. Yet, the buckles on the wedges gives the look a bit of spunk.

Speaking of mixed textures and patterns, Shopbop's new look book caught my eye with it's "Summer in St. Tropez" theme. Belted denim motorcycle jacket mixed with a pattern-collage mini and a polka dot scarf on top actually comes together quite well and better than I'd ever expect.. can I pull it off? hm...

The lavender almost Grecian maxi dress with embellishment on the chest looks beyond luxurious and glamorous.. belt it and drape a loose sand-taupe cardi on the arms and it doesn't get more romantic than that on a boat in St. Tropez. I adore the fact that the stylist chose a wild cherry burgundy handbag to break up the color palette of the look. Loving the rich colors...

From a Designer Look: Isabel Marant's SS '10

Talk about a contrast in textures and patterns.. I love the youthful mix, with the bohemian glam vibe...

Who woulda thought? Tweed blazer, striped belt, flouncy metallic "foil" textured mini, with fringe rock-n-roll cuff boots? This look in itself.. is simply revolutionary. Mixing all sorts of globally popularized vibes and looks into one single outfit... AMAZING.

Sneak Peek Look: In other Isabel Marant news, loving Kate Moss as the new face of Isabel Marant's Winter 2010 line. What do you think?

_____________________________________________

Today I'm feeling... Edgy

xo Qbee



Images: JustJared, StarStyle, Shopbop

2010: a New Kind of Summer Maxi

The sun is at it's yearly high, and you know what that means! Beach, bikinis, mimosas, SPF+, and... the summer maxi.

Once summer has hit, this means that last year's out-pour of multiple renditions of the summer rompers and maxi dresses are freed from closets all around the world..

But Summer 2010's budding maxi trend moves beyond the peasantry, and brings a fresh, new take to an old favorite. Of course, the bohemian take is always reoccuring, but this year, I am spotting a classic, L.A. laid back take to the T-shirt dress.. but on steroids. Designers such as Alexander Wang, are releasing casual, chic maxi dresses for the love of comfort minus the frump.

T-Shirt Maxis have been spotted...

New Transformers addition, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley sporting a dress that looks too comfortable to be that cool. And the same could be said for her Transporter hubby, Jason Statham... good lord.

Emily Blunt's take on the casual maxi in a deep shade of olive. I have been secretly obsessed with this color, it's a great alternative to the gray or black, and I find the olive shade to compliment practically any skin tone. Trust me, try a bit of the olive, and you'll never look back to the gray.

Halle Berry 

And of course, what's a summer season without the originating boho vibe? Victoria's Secret model mama,  Alessandra Ambrosio out with her husband and daughter at a park. I love the one-shoulder cross ruffle compared to the common thing spaghetti strap maxi. So much more femininity and a very complimenting neckline.

Tidbit: A great way to show off the collarbone and slim down your shoulders (especially if you have broader shoulders) is to aim for one shoulder pieces. The diagonal line across the neckline draws the attention upwards, easily deceives the naked eye to pay more attention to the height and length of your neck rather than the width of your shoulders.

xo Qbee