New Trends + On the Hunt

Observation and speculation! This is my run-down of the summer gal trends.

Early Summer:

• Light blue denim -This is super popular for early summer. I am in love with a jacket from DraSTic (AULA AILA). I was happy to see it featured in the 2009 May ViVi denim section (page 89).


• Bright pink pumps - everywhere. Last year, it was the two-color heels, with one color on top and a contrasting one on the heel and bottom of the shoe. This summer it's just pink, pink, pink.


• Colorful basketball shoes - these are an around-the-world hit item right now. You can find them anywhere and everywhere. Not my style, though.


• Printed bikini-style swimsuits - any print is okay, as long as it's printed and colorful! Bandinis, skirt bottoms and one-pieces are all but forgotten about.


• Strappy sandals - sandals that wrap around the ankle are back and thicker than ever - thick heels, thick straps, thick everything. These look great with loose shorts or boyfriend pants.


• Bold, large flower prints - this is hands-down a must-have item for this summer. My top pick is a strapless dress from Rose Bud with Warhol-style roses from the waist-down.

Late Summer:

• Front zippers - shirts, dresses, anything that zips down the front. I think these will get more and more popular as the summer goes on.


• Nude color palettes - beige, white, peach, tan, etc. The bold color trend will have a rest for awhile in late summer.


• Big-button rain coats - bright colored vinyl with big buttons for the start of the rainy season.


• Off-the-shoulder shirts - we're already starting to see these a lot in stores, but I don't think they will peak until late summer.


• Denim cowgirl - I think around late summer, the denim trend will turn into a typical summer cowgirl fad.

I'm open to refute on these. As stated above, some of it is speculation.

Anyways, I have been on the hunt for my own pieces. The other day I picked up a new layered tank top and some Govil cuffs from SLY. To go with it, I got some shocking pink heels from Esperanza. I went through a million pink heels. There were some really cute ones at R&E, but alas, they were extremely uncomfortable. At Esperanza, a pair of light pink pumps with a crystal-looking semi-wedge (it's hard to describe, I have to sneak a picture or something to really explain them, but they are definitely unique) caught my eye, but due to comfort issues, they lost to a pair of hot pink patent pumps with black stripes around the stilettos. I'm really happy with that purchase. I looooove shoes.

Pictures of the shoes and cuffs will arrive soon. In the meantime, here are the pictures of the shirt (no, this is not me, my body looks MUCH better in this shirt than this model's does):






They also had it in purple, which totally looks better in this picture, but I picked the white because in person, the purple wasn't as bright as this, and I love to have at least one fancy white top or dress for every spring. Last Spring I went with a Jill Stuart dress that I bought straight from the mannequin (along with the necklace and vest that were with it)! But this Spring it's SLY for the win.



But if I picked my second choice, it would definitely be the purple. There's a black, but I am totally not into black as a Spring color (is it a color? This is debatable).

Anyways, I am totally crushing on this pair of rings:



I want to get them with the matching earrings, but I can't find them anywhere. SOLD OUT! I am still hunting, though. I am determined to get my hands on a set. 

Current love: Govil

I love flashy accessories.

I was poking around on Drop Snap to see if there were any inspiring pictures here and there, and I found an interview with Mademoiselle Yulia, a female DJ on EMI Records. She released her own jewelry line called Giza (inspired by the city in Egypt), and it's amazingly gold and flashy:  

I hope I can achieve something like this in the future. In the interview, she explained that because there aren't many designers who make bulky jewelry in Japan, she just thought "I might as well make some myself" and then went and did it. She told that she just made what she would have wanted to have for herself, something that has impact and is easy to understand. 

I'm totally inspired after reading about people like her. She is only 21, and her jewelry is sold in boutiques around the country. Some of it can be found on Zozo, one of the coolest online shopping sites from Japan for young people. I would link directly to the stuff, but my Internet is being really slow right now, so I can't load the page properly!! I will get back with that later. 

beru