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Fashion Don’ts for Summer 2011

The fashion industry is filled with a laundry list of do’s and don’ts, and for the summer of 2011 is no exception. If you don’t want to find yourself committing a fashion crime by wearing something that is out of date or doesn’t go with an outfit, then you should follow some of these tips for the summer of 2011.

Don’t Wear Boots With Shorts

Women thing that wearing Ugg boots with their short shorts looks cool but it isn’t. The mixture of winter attire with summer attire looks a little off and is considered a major fashion don’t for the year 2011.

Don’t Wear Flip Flops Everywhere

When the heat rises people tend to think that they can wear flip flops everywhere. The problem is flip flops are an extremely casual pair of shoes that should only be reserved for quick trips, the pool and the beach. If you must wear something comfortable invest in a sturdy pair of sandals.

Don’t Wear the Casual Summer Dress to Work

If you work in a formal setting where business attire is the norm, don’t wear the casual summer dress to work. Not only does this make you stick out like a sore thumb, but it is way too casual for the workplace. Instead, try to wear an airy business casual outfit in cool colors like whites, beiges and yellows. This will give you the chance to cool down and still look good while doing it.

Committing these fashion don’ts to memory will make sure that you have a very fashionable 2011.

Filed Under: Fashion, Latest Patterns Tagged With: Clothing, Fashion, Shorts

4 Popular Car Accessories for Your Car

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A car can say a lot about a person. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it is not. One of the best ways to make sure that your car gives a good impression is not to spend a fortune on a new car, but to upgrade the ride you have now.

Since cars are a large part of many of our lives, from simply transporting you to and from work, to helping us get some extra money with a car refinance loan, it only makes sense to customize your car to make it more “you.” One popular car accessory is seat covers. These can be found in many styles and colors to match your car and show your unique style.
You certainly want to protect your car. Another accessory you might consider is front bumper guards. These simple guards can be the difference between an accident ruining your car and simply inconveniencing you. A car is an investment that is much easier to protect than to fix.
If you like to exercise, or simply want to save gas by riding your bicycle, a bike rack can also be a good investment. This simple rack allows you to transport your bicycle anywhere your car can go.
Most people have experienced the embarrassment of losing a car in a parking lot. Luckily, now you can get an auto finder, which attaches to your key chain and points you to your car.

A car is a big investment. Taking care of your vehicle is a worthwhile thing to do to avoid future problems.

Filed Under: General, Latest Patterns Tagged With: Automobile, Shopping, Vehicle

What Colors Best Define You?

There are colors and there are colors. Not every color is suited for every person. This is why an individual must find their best color that best defines them in appearance. What colors best define you? Once you have determined the answer for yourself. You can wear your colors proudly for all to witness. You can also let these colors color your world in addition.

Having the right colors in your life. Where your clothes, makeup, and so forth is concerned. Can bring lots of good benefits from personal flattery to a whole new look and feel about yourself in general. These rewards will generate nothing but sheer happiness on all fronts.

Any of the colors that you incorporate regularly into your life should be the right one for every part of your from your hair to your eyes to your skin. All unique colors chosen should be picked in only a correct manner. This is because they are both meant to highlight and excite upon view. Colors that are not right are faded and washed out on a person. They do not flatter and do not enhance physical beauty in any way. This is why only the best colors will do for a person. Anything less would just not work.

You are a one of a kind someone based on your natural eye color, hair color and skin color. These colors all come together and are the very thing to determine what your defining colors will be in the end. Getting a color analysis is highly advised to determine what your defining colors are.

Filed Under: Latest Patterns Tagged With: Eye color, Human hair color, Human skin color

How To Deal With Clashing Colors

It is inevitable when you are getting dressed in the dark. You grab two colors that look similar but in the light reveal, a clash. Short of a complete wardrobe change, there are some ways to fix the little problem of clashing colors. Throw in a confident attitude and there is a very good chance you can pull the outfit off. Even if things don’t work out exactly as planned, you can always laugh it off as a bad fashion day. Just make sure to confiscate all the pictures taken that day.

Accessories are part of the solution. Choose one a scarf, belt or sash that contains both clashing colors. Accessories can cover up a multitude of bad choices. The trick is to show a valid relationship between the two colors. It helps if the other colors are as bright and offer up a welcome distraction. The accessories should be placed in a strategic location. Mainly where the two colors connect. The idea is to provide a logical reason why both colors have a place in your outfit. You might want to think of using the sash as a belt.

The second is to use a very neutral color such as black, white, deep blues or greens to separate the colors. You want to avoid colors that are similar in nature such as using a beige with a bright yellow and green combination. The main reason is that beige emphasizes the colors instead of muting them as a deeper color would. White is one of those colors that makes sense with neon.

The whole idea surrounding the fix to a clashing color scheme is to create a break between the two colors. This is so that the eyes don’t create an obvious comparison between the two different colors. By using accessories that have both colors or using a very neutral color, you can create that break without resorting to an entire wardrobe change.

Filed Under: Fashion, Latest Patterns Tagged With: Color, Color scheme, Graphics, Grey

Brides No Longer Restricted To White

White has been the typical wedding dress color for a very long time. While tradition has directed the color white to be used, it is no longer a stigma to buck the white tradition. The field of wedding dress colors is expanding. Soon brides will be able to dictate the color of their dresses. While white might still be the favored color, the industry has found that there is a market for brides who want something vastly different than tradition dictates.

One of the favored colors is red. Red has always been the traditional color for Indian brides. This highly celebrated event has other brides looking to emulate some of the designs. One of them is applying the color red to the traditional wedding dress. Red also makes a very clear statement by the bride. However, red is probably not a color most mothers will agree to.

Black is definitely making a presence in the wedding dress. From the completely black formal wedding dresses to the black lace accents, black has added an additional depth. Once sneered for its perception of bad luck, black has finally shifted back into elegance. Even brides who shun the all black look might find the black accents bring a touch of sophistication and individuality. Even some mothers critical of the color will take a second look.

The color palette for the wedding dress is really only limited by the bride. White no longer has to be the color of choice. As the taste of brides change, so does the wedding industry who has come to accept that white is not the only option.

Filed Under: Fashion, Latest Patterns Tagged With: Red, Wedding, Wedding dress

Think Twice About Buying Polka Dots

Rarely does a material inspire such a fashion don’t as the polka dot. The material is best left to babies, and female toddlers. The cuteness of babies and toddlers only can counter the effect of this material. Around the ages of five or six, the polka dot has outlived its usefulness. The concept of brightly colored dots on a material is best left on the store racks. No adult can possibly pull off this major fashion faux pa.

The first problem with polka dots is the colorful dots. Randomly speckled across the outfit, their placement is often inconvenient at best. They tend to fall in areas that are best left unnoticed such as right on the flabbiest part of the belly. The color alone often draws eyes to those areas on the body that you are trying to ignore. Even if the dots are on the pants or skirt, the eye is drawn downward and away from the face.

Another problem is they automatically date an outfit. Friends and family members will probably remember exactly when you picked up that shirt ten years ago. Unfortunately, the polka dot hasn’t changed much. So even if you have purchased something brand new, it still looks very old and out of date. No one will even think that it is new.

Finally, polka dots have this pathetic air around them. It has an air of adults trying to be kids again. This air gives off a sense of pathetic desperation. In other words, it is not something that you would want to be associated with. This alone is perhaps the biggest reason why you should just put the polka dot shirt back. It will never really compliment an adult.

Filed Under: Latest Patterns, Shopping Tagged With: Dress, Polka dot

The Borderline Material Of Plaid

Plaid is one of those materials that utterly hits or totally misses in fashion. Usually, it is associated with the outdoors and toughness. In fact, plaid and flannel usually go hand in hand. While this is the normal application, it is not the only type. Plaid is also a material associated with Catholic schools and strictness. Its reputation as a tough material and is probably one of the most difficult materials to apply to other patterns.

The first question of whether the plaid material will succeed is to ask if the fabric pattern can support the material. It isn’t easy picking a pattern that will showcase the plaid instead of fighting with it. While plaid can work with bold designs, it is usually how the pattern is applied that leads many designers into a fabrication disaster. The plaid must be used in ways to compliment the design.

The choice of the plaid is also important when thinking about if it will work for an individual design. Plaids come in many different colors, line patterns, and widths. With plaid, it is as much about choosing the right line patterns combined with the right contrasting colors to differentiate between a good design and a bad one.

Plaid is one of those materials when done right can be stunning. But when done wrong, quickly turns into a fashion disaster. It all starts with good choices made by the designer. Picking the right design with the right type of plaid is crucial. It may mean using a crystal ball or creating several bad samples to find a good one. But plaid is one of those unique fabrics that can make a designer stand out of the crowd.

Filed Under: Latest Patterns Tagged With: Pattern, Plaid Cymru, Tartan, Wales

The Illusion Of Stripes

Stripes are all about the creation of an illusion. In other words, the eye naturally follows the line that the stripes create. By doing this, they create a type of illusion about the body. It does not really matter what color the stripes are. They all tend to lead the eye in the same direction. There are two types of illusions that the mind can draw from stripes.

The first is the horizontal strip which draws lines around the waist and chest. The main illusion that is presented is that the body appears wider than it actually is. It can also make the waist appear rounder due to the way the stripes line around the body. The sheer number of stripes and the width of the stripes can also add to this particular illusion. While it may be flattering to some body types, those with larger waist sizes will not appreciate this illusion.

The vertical strip is the choice of many. This is due to the stripes drawing the eye down the body instead of across from it. This tends to make the body look slimmer because the eye is not looking at width but instead it is looking at the height. For those with bigger waist sizes, the vertical strip is the most complimentary since it draws the eye from the waist and downward toward the legs.

Stripes should be a carefully considered fabric choice. For stripes it is all about the illusion they present on the body. A good strip can detract from the problem areas.

Filed Under: Latest Patterns Tagged With: Military, Specialized, stripes, Waist

Making A Mark On The Red Carpet By Being The Worst Dressed

The one thing you can absolutely say about Helen Carter is that she is an individual. When it comes to the red carpet, she makes the list almost every time. This says more about her individual style than about being the worst dressed. Of course, she does garner a lot of attention for these costume pieces but one thing that can absolutely be said is that she has her own sense of style that is completely different from the mainstream acceptance.

Helen Carter is becoming known for her signature style which even has the critics rethinking their positions. Although, she will still probably make all of the lists just do to the fact that her outfits are attention-grabbing. One of her signatures styles is her hair. Unlike the classy, pulled back, short look of perfectly styled hair, she opts for a more Jersey fluffed out style with lots of volume and tons of curls.

She is no stranger to using multiple bright colors instead of the more classically picked colors of the fashion do’s. In a way, this makes her stand out from the rest of the crowd. Even though the colors may show some conflict in their shades, it is mainly her confidence that helps her pull out these fashion don’ts. Her confidence and quirkiness extend to her accessories as well.

In the recent case of the Golden Globes, she arrived in two different color shoes. Both shoes matched the color palette of her dress. But in a way, the mismatched shoes make sense. Instead of deciding what color worked best, she choose two colors that both worked. It may seem odd but this is an additional outlet of her individuality.

She has embraced being a part of the worst dressed list as a confirmation of her style and individual statement. While most of us would not be caught dead in these outfits, she stands out alone in the fashion world.

Filed Under: Fashion, Latest Patterns Tagged With: Golden Globe Award, Helen Carter, Red carpet

Mixing Unmatching Accessories

Accessories are the finishing touches among any outfit you put on. However, you no longer need to search through your jewelry drawer for matching pieces. The trend is now to mix and match different pieces to create a measure of interest. This trend is most often seen on the red carpet where celebrities pair earrings with bracelets or a necklace with a big ring. They might fit within the same style but those accessories are not taken out of the same.

Jewelry does not have to match to be a beautiful accent. The key is finding pieces that work together in harmony rather than clash against each other. It does help if they have some underlying theme such as having a gold or silver background. The stones themselves do not necessarily have to match in color as long as they relate in some way to the outfit.

Of course, the choice of jewelry accessories is going to depend on what you feel like wearing at the time. Some of the pieces are for obvious reasons more comfortable than others. But part of it is related on what event you are wearing the jewelry to and whether or not it will be showcased in glittering lights or catch the occasional candle flicker in a more subdued setting. Whatever, you decide, it is very important that you feel comfortable in your accessories, especially your jewelry.

Jewelry does not have to match to make a statement. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The right specially picked pieces can create a stunning effect on an outfit. With accessories, it is not about matching but about keeping things interesting enough for second or third looks. So, that not quite matching necklace will work quite well with those earrings despite the fact they don’t match.

Filed Under: Apparel, Latest Patterns Tagged With: Earring, Jewellery, Necklace