SS07 (Non-)Trend: The See-Through Bags

The one runway-shown trendy thing to not touch (or even think about) this season is the see-through bags. Honestly, this is such a weird, uncommercial thing for the designers to come up with. I imagine even the most attention-seeking lala-landers will not adopt this bag (although you never know.) And how did the designers all come up with them together? Were see-through bags a thing of the 80's that I'm not aware of?

Dolce & Gabbana has always tip-toed on the very thin line of high-class sexy and tacky (or perhaps it's just both), so I suppose see-through bags showing up a lot on their SS07 runway wasn't too weird.
It actually looks nice to have things outside the bag. Strange.
What is odd is that even Karl put these PVC bags in Chanel. Don't buy this bag unless you're a rich, spoilt, Chanel and Juicy sort of tween.
OK, so I suppose this Fendi bag looks decent enough in this picture and it's not as transparent. But don't let the pretty design fool you because it is still see-through!

Fortunately, most high-street stores have stayed away from producing 'inspired' versions. Unfortunately, a few high-street stores did.
Top Shop has these colourful PVC bags. I can't decide if being coloured makes them more playful and fun or tacky.
Nine West has a more proper-looking handbag version of a see-through bag.

My point is I just don't get these bags.

Photos: www.style.com, www.topshop.com, www.ninewest.com

Recycling Bags

If you are looking to get into recycling bags, here are a two to consider:

The Anya Hindmarch environmental bag. I love the simple yet cute design of the bag. It almost does not look like an environmental bag! For $10, I really want one, it definitely looks better than a bunch of plastic bags for one thing. But alas, it is currently sold out. Hopefully they will restock soon!
The FEED bag, designed by Lauren Bush. For $59.95, you can achieve the two looks (its reversible!) AND help the UN World Food Programme feed a child for one full school year. A very worthwhile bargain buy.

Ps. If you have time, check out our latest interview with One Blog a Day here.

Long Skirt Sightings

With this season's craze of the mini skirts and dresses, it's weird and refreshing to see bottom pieces that are not skinny jeans nor leggings, but long skirts.

Kate Moss was seen last week with her daughter in a beachy place in a boring grey shirt and a long, black skirt. The skirt is the type that is tight around the legs and flares out a bit at the bottom, (thus the 'flying' bottom bit when the wind blew in the picture.)

Another picture of Kate, but this time in a grey long skirt. It looks a bit like a sarong in a cool, grunge way, thanks to the black sneakers (or boots?) and belt. Even though both of Kate's skirts look super casual, (which they are,) they are actually hard to wear if you think about it because they are quite body-hugging.

I love this outfit by Ashley Olsen. It's got that grunge, rock chick thing going. The leather jacket, boots and let's not forget, that gigantic cup of coffee makes her outfit much more citygirl-cool. As a tip for all you short/ petite people (including myself), an A-line or flared out skirt like Ashley's is the way to go, if you decide to try this style out.

6 Ways to Wear the White Blouse SS07

This season, take the white blouse out from under the suit/sweater/vest and try something new. You can always simply pair them with jeans, but here are a few other cool suggestions:

1. Roll up the sleeves and wear them loose over bermuda shorts for a casual look. This look works especially well with white blouses with a longer and looser fit and a bit a detail (left: Alice + Olivia) or even a baby doll cut (right: Burberry Prorsum).
2. Have you ever wondered how to wear those very pretty skirts with details at the waist? Pair them tucked in with a plain clean cut white blouse of course! It shows off the details at the waist and goes well with the style of the skirt without taking the attention away form it. Wearing a plain t shirt would've been too casual, but anything fancier would be too much. I've thought about this a lot because I have something similar to the gold skirt above (left: Paul and Joe, right: See by Chloe).
3. For something more formal and business casual, go for the power woman look by contrasting your white blouse with high-waisted black skirts and black pumps. Details can be added to either the white blouse or the black skirt, to add just a touch of style and femininity to the strong look. i.e. a balloon sleeved blouse with a plain high waisted black skirt (left: Moschino) and a plain white blouse with a black belt (which creates a high-waisted effect) and frilly hemmed skirt (right: Fendi). Note the high-waisted look in both cases that makes this look work.
4. For business casual there is of course the white blouse with dress pants (and yes I do know that these blouse are not white). This is the easiest look because it works with all styles of blouses from crisp simple ones to fancy frilly ones (above: both from Paul and Joe). Pull the look together and accent your waist with a belt.
5. Then you can also tuck it into tailored bermuda shorts instead of leaving it out for a more ladylike look. I am just LOVING the white blouse left and the whole look. This was actually the white blouse that inspired this whole post! The details are just so pretty and fun. The white blouse on the right, can also be worn this way, although of course, such short shorts are not quite office appropriate. (left: See by Chloe, right: Michael Kors)
6. Lastly, wear them underneath dresses! It totally gives your dress a whole new look. I especially love how they paired the bubble sleeves blouse with the shiny black strapless dress, its so different and yet it works so well! Obviously this look works best with simple clean cut blouse with perhaps details on the sleeves and collar (but definitely not on the front, that would just add bulk and you won't even be able to see it underneath!) (left: See by Chloe, right: Paul and Joe).

Photo Source: www.chloe.com, www.paulandjoe.com, www.net-a-porter.com, www.shopbop.com

Karl Lagerfeld's SS07 Minimalistic Ads

You know, Karl Lagerfeld is seriously amazing. I mean, he is almost /past 70 years old (no one knows precisely what his year of birth is,) yet he seems more active and busy than any of us. How does he find the time to design all those collections for Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld, and be a photographer at the same time? I know he's got design teams and all, but still. Anyways, so I really liked his ads this season -the images are so sharp and stunning.

First there's Chanel . The ads were quite minimalistic, (but not the most extreme type of minimalism). Some people even felt the ads were boring but I liked them more than Daria's previous ads. The casting director and Karl definitely picked the right model: Freja Beha Erichsen. She is so perfect for this ad -she's got the perfect legs to complement the super short clothes. And even though I'm not a fan of Chanel's bikini bottom-looking shorts, everything looks so perfectly put together and sophisticated. Loves it!

Then there's Fendi. Another quite but not extremely minimalistic ad (at least the model is standing on a mirrored surface and the background is the sea and sky). Some of the shots very much resemble the Chanel ones, but I think Raquel Zimmermann sends out a 'strong woman' sort of vibe. She really makes the clothes give a powerful feeling out. I didn't like her much but this ad has changed by mind.

And lastly, there's Karl's own line, Karl Lagerfeld. Oddly, it's the only campaign which isn't minimalistic, but I love him for shooting Gemma Ward. However, biased as I am as a Gemma fan, this campaign is my least favourite one out of the three. Not that these ads aren't good -because they are, especially this image (above), but there's just something I don't completely like about the ads. Maybe because I can't see the whole outfit? I don't know.

Anyhow, the Chanel ones are my favourite. What did you think of Karl's SS07 ads?

Keds

Ok, maybe I'm a bit of a poser, but after seeing Keds all over the magazines for so long I suddenly have this urge to go out and get a pair of Keds too (their marketing money is obviously well spent). I think it'll be a great replacement for my poor run down sneakers. They are comfortable, casual, affordable and cute. I can totally picture myself walking around campus in them.
Looking through their latest collections, I am thinking of these two. Black and white is obviously the most versatile color. And they look simple, pretty and cool. I especially like the Nanette Lepore designed script skimmers on the left.

Of course, being Keds, I am also tempted to try something different and fun, like these Panda (left) and Duck (right) print skimmers from the Eleanor Grosch collection. I quite like the green ones on its own actually, but I'm not sure how it'll look for the overall picture.
Then of course there are more wild prints from the Nanette Lepore Collection to consider. Note here that I'm only talking about the print, I am not so far gone under the Keds spell that I think the slip on style (right) is cool yet.

In fact, besides the classic skimmer style which I think is girly and pretty, I don't particularly like their other styles, like these peep toes and ankle strap. Peep toes more because I'm not sure HOW peep they are, if done with moderation, peep toes can be nice. And the ankle strap, because its just too much.
And these. . . well they're simply hideous. ugh.

But anyways, back to the point. I am considering getting Keds skimmers, but I haven't found any on the Mag Mile yet (they say Nordstrom carries them, but on first glance I did not see them. . . . ). Any comments on the fit and comfort level?

A Loud Necklace With a Quiet Top

Barneys Girl and I are usually pretty traditional with our jewellery. We usually stick with classic silver pieces. Recently we decided we were only young once and wanted to branch out and try out those large, chunky necklaces that we see on online shops all the time. But knowing ourselves, we knew that if we were to buy such necklaces, we would probably fall out of love with them after a year so we weren't willing to pay too much. Thankfully, BG learned of a funky Japanese and Korean import jewellery store that was on 70% off from a friend. (We got very excited after hearing about the huge discount!)

There were so many styles that we spent an hour there trying things on and experimenting. Finally, I ended up with this very chunky and cute necklace, which I paid around USD10 for it. I'm not sure if you can see in the picture: the balls are wrapped in lace, and black white grey velvet. The white and black banana-shaped things are shells. And yes, I have a thing for black jewellery.

BG ended up with two necklaces. One was the one above -The beads, both the black and gold ones are actually quite shiny. And we discovered it was much girlier to wear the butterfly on the side rather than in the middle. The second one was a gold chain with long purple beads, (but she had to take it back to repair so there is no photo to show you guys.)

OK, so another big reason for our sudden interest in big, non-bohemian style, chunky necklaces is because of all the plain, simple tops around. Here are some cool examples from shopbop:

These two necklaces are by Erickson Beamon for Shopbop. I love these two. The one on the left is so simple and versatile, but still so eye-catching. The one on the right is so pretty and detailed.

These two necklaces are by Twinkle. Personally I think these necklaces would look nicer if the model just wore plain tops (like in the Erickson Beamon photos), but just check out the necklaces -quite funky huh? I can totally imagine wearing a plain dress with the necklace that has the red bird and purple beads.

Another one by Twinkle from standardstyle.com. It's so cute! Ya, I definitely have a thing for black. (For those who are interested, it's from last season so it's on sale now!)

Since we're on the topic of chunky necklaces, we should really check out Marni. Afterall, Marni was really one of the forces that started off the chunky necklace trend.

A very signature (at least for the past few years) Marni necklace. There's a touch of that bohemina vibe in it, but it still feels very modern, especially if you compare it to the styles a few years back.

I'm ending this post with another black and white necklace (by Marni). Since I sadly can't afford this, I'll stick to my cheap but cute one.

Obviously, this chunky necklace thing isn't for everyone. I mean, even though I think it's fun, I would wear it everyday. Oh, and here's a sensible advice: don't wear it when you're going clothes shopping!

Photos: Shopbop, Standardstyle, Marni