Necklines and Hemlines Are Key
One of the big mistakes women make in trying to stay young is wearing necklines and hemlines that are too revealing. Dressing past 40 should be about flattering your figure. Choose balance. If you are wearing a skinny jean with a boot, don’t wear a tight fitting top too. Choose instead to “balance” the figure revealing jean with a top that has a bit more volume. If you are wearing leggings, make sure your “uh hums” are covered by more than just an inch of fabric. Tunics should come to the middle of your thigh in the front and the back. If you have great legs, show them off with a skirt that comes to the top of your knee, not the middle of your thigh. The point is, you can still show off your figure, just not all at once.
Category Archives: Fashion
Better Together – Jewelry and Friends
I’m loving the layering trend with jewelry right now. We have just picked up two new jewelry lines for Fashion Crossroads that have made this an art form.
Zacasha necklaces combine delicate crystals and beads with colorful tassels and charms. I was blessed to get to meet the designer of Zacasha at market just a few months ago. Indeed, this is one of my favorite things about attending market in Las Vegas at the Magic Apparel Show. It is not uncommon to have the designer help you buy the line. In her decidedly French way, and using lots of hand gestures, Jennifer Belcourt recalled the story of how she came up with the line and how it has grown over the years. After having traveled throughout Asia, she settled in Bali. She used the traditional Balinese tassel necklace as her inspiration and began to mix techniques and materials from the various islands she had visited. and example of this is described on her website: “The island of Madura’s specialty, is necklaces with tiny knotting between each bead. Using this technique Jennifer designed necklaces made of crystals, Mala beads, fresh water pearls from the island of Lombok and lava stone beads from the volcanoes of Mt Batur in Bali and Mt Semeru in Java”(http://www.zacasha.com/#!our-story/cast). Her necklaces symbolize good luck, peace and respect for the planet.
I am always amazed with someone who can take an idea and turn it into a company. I am always heartened, when that person is a woman! As a buyer, I am always attracted to companies that support impoverished areas in the manufacture of their product. Jennifer’s necklaces are not made in factories but by Indonesian artisans who traditionally work from their home and in this way provide for their families.
Zacasha is a tassel necklace line designed to be layered. Indeed, the more you add together, the better they look. They are perfectly designed to wear with today’s tunic style tops and blouses and a whole lot of fun. Be careful, however, you just might catch yourself playing with the tassels in an absent minded moment. They are quite soft!
Another new line that is also designed to be layered is Bourbon and Boweties. These beautiful bracelets use semi precious stones as well as agates, lava stones, polished coral, and many others. The stones are wrapped in gold plated wire for a artistic and unique look. Each bracelet is as distinctive as the stones in the design. Like Zacasha necklaces, these bracelets look better together. Bourbon and Bowetie bracelets are hand made by proud southern ladies!
And you know, that makes me think….we women are better together too. So, when you embrace this jewelry trend this season, let it remind you to appreciate your girl friends and how each of you is unique and yet even more beautiful together.
Key Color for Fall- Oxblood
I don’t know what it is this season, but I just can’t seem to buy enough new pieces in oxblood. It is a wonderful, rich, deep blood red color that sounds just like it looks. I couldn’t resist these great riding boots from Yellowbox when I saw them at market. I could just imagine them with black or chocolate brown leggings paired with a great top or accessory in the same color. They were one of the first purchases I made this season. Then we received oxblood fleece leggings from Foot Traffic and this beautiful sweater jacket from Elan. You could pair all three and have a distinctive look.
Yellowbox Oxblood Boots
Maybe I like it so much because Oxblood pairs beautifully with cream and dark brown as well as black. But for the more adventurous, it also looks great with grey, pink and turquoise. Yes, I said turquoise. If you doubt me, check out the great necklace that came in from Ethyl and Myrtle this week. You have to admit that the two colors look pretty good together!
Ethyl and Myrtle native inspired necklace
Another aspect of oxblood that appeals to me is that it has the energy of red without being flashy and the depth of a jewel tone without all the punch. You can wear it as a lip color, for example, without feeling too garish. It also looks great on toes and nails. Indeed, it is as good as a stand alone as it is an accent. Use the color in a scarf, purse or shoe to liven up any outfit and instantly make it hip and in sync with this season’s trends.
My advise to you is start keeping an eye out for oxblood in all sorts of fashion finds this season and invest in a piece or two. You just might find, as I have, it is your new favorite color!
Elan Sweater Jacket
Want more trend info? Check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FashionCrossroads or our Twitter page at https://twitter.com/FashCrossroads. As always, you can find more about our stores on our website at www.fashioncrossroadsinc.com
Wyoming Wearable Fall Fashion Trends
As always, fall beckons us with cooler nights and mornings and the occasional snow storm. If you haven’t geared up for it yet, rest assured, that cold weather is coming. The tunic and legging combo or skinny jean and long sweater are still key trends for this season. Wear them with boots, and you’ll be ready for the snow to fly. Dresses and mini skirts can be worn with tights for a warmer option this year, keeping the look on trend. But in case you wanted to add a few new trends to your wardrobe, here is brief overview.
Heavy Knits
I am probably the most excited about the return of heavier knits this season. We saw some push back against chunky, heavy sweaters last season so all of the sweaters we had in the store were light weight. They were great for layering but not so good for warmth. This year, chunky is back. And, let’s face it, if we have another winter like last year….we will be glad. You can make chunkier knits work by pairing them with smooth fabrics. A thick turtle neck, for example, looks great with a smooth pencil skirt and tights.
Tribal Sportswear
Fur Embellishments
Fur will again be playing a big role as an accent on vests, coats and sweaters. This is good for us because faux fur has been very popular for several seasons, especially in vests. The good news is your faux fur is still in style and you’ll be seeing more.
50’s and 60’s Glam and Mod
If like me, your fashion icons are Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, then you will love the feminine, tailored silouettes this year. You don’t need to don your gloves and cinch your waist, but you can definitely relish in the shift dress and boots as well as the coat dress with the defined waist. Juxtaposed to this are the highly geometric prints that characterize the mod trend this season. Fancy a funky, bright print? This trend is for you.
Tribal Sportswear
90’s Rocker
With all the moto jackets and shoe boots with buckles out there this season, it is not surprise that the rockers from the 80’s and 90’s are feeling right at home this season. Use these pieces as accents and sparingly, or you might just look like a throw back. Still, its fun to channel our inner rocker every now and then, right?
Soft Pastels
Winter white, ice blue, petal pink….are winter colors this year. Whether its a petal pink belted wool coat or a wool suit, these colors are a surprising twist in our palate this season.
Animal
The fashion gurus keep touting “Animal is back.” I’m wondering when it left? I’ve seen animal prints take a strong role in fall fashion for several seasons. But, just in case you need to hear it…animal is back.
Tribal Sportswear
Need some more inspiration, come in a browse through our beautiful new fall collections! You’ll love what you see.
Wear a Fedora this summer!
Needing a fun new trend to try out this summer? The Fedora is a simple and inexpensive idea (this one is only $12.60 at FC Outlet). To get the look, just pair a slim legged pant with a boot or ballerina flat and add a blousy top like this 80's style wide neck, bat wing version I'm wearing in the picture. Last, put your fedora on and wear it low – just over your eye brows. Don't push it back on your head! Hey, who says we can't have all the fashion and fun in Wyoming? Just because its windy, doesn't mean the only hat we can wear is a tuke!
And, speaking of the 80's, don't be surprised to see neon green and pink this summer along with printed capris and floral jean jackets. What a blast from the past…my past…I was in high school in the 80's! Does it mean I'm getting old that I can remember wearing something that is BACK in fashion? Probably. Ces La Vie, but fashion is fun, and I intend to have some fun with these new styles this summer…including a few new Fedoras!
Thinspo and Fitspo
So maybe I am totally out of it, but this is the first I have heard of ‘thinspo” and “fitspo” which to define the most simply are images and quotes that women post to encourage themselves to be thin and fit. So, curious, I googled the words and came across whole websites devoted to the topic. Many of the postings were phone pics taken by real women in seductive poses showing off their, admittedly, quite thin and often very fit bodies. I learned from Glamour magazine that Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram have banned “scary pro-anorexia images known as thinspiration” (August, 97). Not being much of a pinner and still new to Tumblr and Instagram, I was amazed at the seductive photos I saw on these websites. I’m not sure if the motivation is to get attention, a date or to just show off their bodies, but many of the women were dangerously thin. It used to be that we worried how women’s magazines gave an unrealistic body image to girls, all the while knowing that these bodies were air brushed to hide flaws. But the pictures I saw were not airbrushed. They were real, true hard bodies.
So we’re back to it again, aren’t we? Where is the line between fit and anorexia? What is the message these kinds of photos are sending to our kids? Can the average woman really look like that without starving herself or spending two hours at the gym every day? Is this the definition of modern beautiful? I am 40 years old and all for fitness. I work out three times a week and count my calories. At 5″3, it takes a lot of effort to stay at 120 lbs or less. I can’t imagine the kind of effort it would take me to look anywhere near as fit as many of these women looked. I know its possible, but at what cost? Here’s the deal – the definition of beautiful is a moving target and has been since the beginning of time. Whether is was cor-setts designed to make women’s waists look impossibly small or Renaissance painters immortalizing the delightfully plump woman of ease, what we find beautiful is always changing. And that’s okay. But when the definition of beautiful inspires women to unhealthy places, something needs to change.
Beauty Secret #17 Have fun with scarves!
I just love that over the last several seasons, scarves have been a big accessory. I especially like the fabrics being used right now, and the fact we have departed from the polyester scarves, at least for a while. I learned a great new way to tie a scarf the other day from a customer. First you start by putting the scarf around your neck with the ends hanging down your back. Next, bring the two ends forward, wrapping the scarf around your neck and letting the ends hang at the front of your body. Next, pull the loop around your next out so it is hanging loosly and the ends are just slightly longer than the loop. Then, take one loose end and, starting on the inside closest to your neck, wrap the loose end around the loop until you run out of scarf. Let the end hang. Repeat this process with the other side and you have a fashionable scarf wrap that takes 30 seconds to accomplish! It’s amazing how much a scarf can add to an outfit, but scarves look best when they are paired correctly. Choose a printed scarf to go with a solid top or jacket and a solid scarf to go with a printed top or jacket. When you’ve mastered the scarf tie that you like, you can then add a pin for some extra embellishment. One of the trends this summer are critter pins. You can add a pretty butterfly pin to a solid scarf for some color and fun. My best advice is don’t be intimidated by how to tie a scarf. The simple style I described in this blog post or even the euro wrap (fold the scarf in half, wrap the halved scarf around your neck bringing the looped end and loose ends forward, put the loose ends through the looped end) are really all you need. Both of these styles will stay in place all day and can totally change the look of an outfit. The trick is to have fun with your scarf. After all, fashion is just another form of creative expression, so be creative!