Driving around town today with the Easter Sunday spirit all around, the colorful dresses from everyone, reminded me of the fashion trends of Spring/Summer 2013: bright collections of clothing truly fit the summer mood.
According to the Pantone fashion color report spring 2013, one of the featured colors for this season is Lemon Zest! This color is so eye catching and yet easy on the eye. The color yellow is vibrant, upbeat, energetic, and happy just like the sunshine in the warm months. Lemon zest is definitely the perfect color to get for the approaching summer.
In searching for a piece of perfect Lemon Zest dress for my wardrobe, Moschino’s short dress comes into my eyes. This is it!
If you haven’t heard of the Italian fashion brand Moschino (if you did you can skip this paragraph for now ), Moschino is creative, elegant, has a sense of humor and is definitely original. In addition to the main line Moschino, they had two other lines: Moschino Cheap & Chic and Love Moschino. The Cheap & Chic line speaks to fashion-lovers who are young at heart and like fun and creative design without exorbitant pricing, while Love Moschino is well known for its fun and quirky styles and embracing Moschino’s ironic and intelligent creativity with love, passion, and sentiment values.
Without further ado, I would like to introduce Moschino’s Lemon Zest and white stripes short dress. This cute 1960s inspired dress, modeled by Hanne Gaby Odiele , you may have a flash back that this style reminds you of someone you may know…
(Description: Plain weave – Basic neckline – Rear zip closure – Two pockets – Unlined – Strap detailing – Flashes – Solid color – Short sleeves.)
…If you have ever watched Two for the Road – a film from 1967 starring Audrey Hepburn, you will have noticed the Audrey Hepburn inspiration. The creative director of Moschino, Rossella Jardini was inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s style in the film and created this simple and classic clothing line: short neat dresses with great color contrasts, stripes and geometric patterns.
What do you think? Do you love Lemon Zest color and love Moschino as well? If you want to buy a similar and less expensive dress for your summer wardrobe, check out this link.
Besides checking out new music and some of my favorite bands, going to music festivals also becomes a great opportunity to showcase your personal style. Sasquatch had some amazing festival-inspired outfits! I curated a selection of different fashion essentials and I hope you find them helpful. What you can expect to see is a little bit of everything from trendy or vintage to hippie or dayglo. Before going to the music festival, the first thing people usually do is figure say “What The H*ll Should I Wear!?” Dressing up at music festival becomes a fun part aside from checking out the bands and hanging out with friends. Yes, you’re there for another reason – people watching! It was so much fun!
Tips #1: Simplicity
Not all festival-goers like to dress up super fancy. If you are one of those people, below are some tips for you.
Be creative with what you have. During the event, one of the sponsors Kokanee beer was giving away free bandanas and festival beaded necklaces. As you can see in picture #1, the girl who was in a black tank top and blue jeans, by adding a pair of suspenders, a Kokanee bandana and necklace, you can look stylish and festival-spirited. Or you can wear something like the girl in picture #2 who’s in a fringe shirt with beaded tassels. As long as you have a pair of scissors, you can cut off the bottom shirt hem and the sleeve hems then tie them into little knots. Here you go, hippie fringe 70′s style can never go wrong.
Tips #2: Be functional
Prepare for the cold and grassy ground.
Even though the weather was nice during the day, it can get chilly when the sun goes down. If you head out around 4pm and plan to stay the whole night, you may want to bring an extra jacket or outwear. It could take 15-20 minutes to walk to get back to the camp site which you don’t want to do because you may end up missing some shows and too tiring. Also, wearing pants, you will appreciate it so much when you sit down on the ground if you don’t have a blanket, because the grasses will poke your legs like needles. (ouch, ouch, ouch!). If you wear shorts/skirt, bring a blanket so you can sit on the ground. Check out picture #3 & #4 for outwear style.
#3: From top to bottom: Leather and shell headband, layers of yellow glass beads and stones necklace, black Bikini top, a white/prints sweater, a pair of abstract mixed prints jeans, dark blue leg warmers, and a pair of brown moccasins.
#4: A pair of sun glasses, brown and white sweater, neon color beaded necklace, and a brown stripes blanket.
Tips #3: Think Bright/Fluorescent
During your whole time there, I guarantee you will run into someone who wears bright/fluorescent colors. It’s the time to start the party. By having bright and fluorescent colors during the day time especially helps cheer up the atmosphere and remind us the night time party neon light feeling. Not to mention that by wearing these colors will give you high visibility and makes it easy for your friends to spot you in the sea of people.
#5 A brown straw hat, grey shirt, blue jeans, a pair of mineral washed color skinnies, and a Cambridge Satchel neon leather bag in fluorescent yellow.
#6 White top tee, blue ripped denim miniskirts, and a double folded hot pink scarf, with silver and black beaded bracelets.
#7 Fluorescent chartreuse (halfway between yellow and green) tank, and 70s inspired black skirt with beading bottom tassels.
Tips #4 Go Vintage
Besides the bright colors, another most often seen pattern is vintage fashion. Vintage fashion gives you a wide variety of options, you can go from 1900s Gibson Girl and Post-Edwardian, to 1920s Flapper girls, 40s Pin-up girls, 1950s New Look, or 60s-70s Hippie/Boho. As you can see in pictures:
#8 Pin-up girls in red and black
#9 Charleston 1920s flapper girls
#10 Alternative (girl on the left) and Boho hippie style (guy on the right)
Tips #5 Group costume
Instead of dressing up by yourself, it would be way more fun to dress up with your friends assuming you come with a big group of people. During the music fest, I ran into two interesting big groups: #11 Business Attire and #12 Slutty Seniors. What they are doing is being funny at the same time trying to confuse people.
Picture #11: Why would people ever want to dress in business attires and going to the festival, that’s the last thing you would expect to see here? However, they did it. They highlight of this picture is the old big cell phone in the guy’s hand which we haven’t seen for ages.
Picture #12: I came across this group by walking down the main path through the festival grounds. The senior citizen from the far left approached me with a map and asked, “Excuse me, do you know how to get to … from here?” and pointed to the map. LOL. Yes, it’s a trap. However, one thing I don’t understand is why they called themselves slutty seniors – they don’t really look slutty, do they!?
Tips #6 Dress anything you want!
See picture #13, 14 and 15 are some of my fashion styles at Sasquatch.
#13 Headband, Layered black net yellow amber dress, and crystal bow belt – with gold star hat (just kidding – it was a display at a booth!)
#14 Spring/Summer white with green print long skirt and simply white vest top and bright red braid scarf and colorful bracelets
#15 Sasquatch spirited toes!
Above are my take-aways from Sasquatch fashion. What do you think? Which one is your favorite fashion style at Sasquatch? Leave your answer in the comments and let me know.
Did you know:
The second largest attendees of Sasquatch besides American are Canadian. You surely have some chance to make some Canadian friends there.
Once you settle down, they won’t allow driving out of the campsite to get more supplies, so prepare with the right amount or else you will end up paying over priced food and drinks .
It appears that Tycho (one of the bands I saw) was partying a few tents next to us on Saturday night. You can run into the bands anytime. You never know.
Two fashionistas, one idea. As Stacey Steffe, one of the co-founders of Le Fashion Truck, put it, “we love fashion and we saw the food truck, then we asked ourselves, why can’t we combine the two and create a fashion truck?” Here we go! Le Fashion Truck was born. Instead of you going to the fashion, the fashion now can come to you.
Why shop at the Fashion Truck?
If you have never been to one of the Le Fashion Truck events, you are totally missing out on the newest LA fashion shopping experience. Having been to a number of Le Fashion Truck events, I’m always amused by the different surprises. Why? Because it’s the whole experience of community shopping! You will never know what to expect, whether it’s the fashion inside the truck, the live band that’s playing on the spot, or the assortment of vendors that show up. It’s almost like Night Market in Asia (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, check it out here: Night Market).
All right, let’s begin with my most recent visit of the Le Fashion Truck at The Venice Meet this past Saturday. Located at 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd right by Venice beach, I’ve already indulged myself in the sunny morning drive and the fresh sea breeze. As soon as I walked to the event, I felt like I entered a happy land: live music, local vendors of organic butter, skateboard makers, art, food, and most importantly fashion.
So, what does it feel like to shop on the wheel?
Walking right up the cute little stairs of the Le Fashion Truck, you will be warmly welcomed by both Jeanine Romo (the other co-founder) and Stacey. It is so much fun to shop inside a fashion truck. First of all, you walk up to the cute little pink stairs. Once you get inside the truck, you will feel like Alice in wonderland. You will see accessories on both your left and right hand sides. Getting into the middle of the truck, it is the clothing section which displays both vintage and the latest fashions. On the left corner you will find a cute fitting room! Yes, can you believe that? At the end of the truck is the counter. To see a snapshot of the fashion on the wheels, check out the Instagram pictures at the end of the article.
What kind of fashion?
What the pink store on wheels offers is the latest Spring and Summer fashions by local designers such as Spectre Apparel and a large, affordable selection of jewelry, purses, and day & evening fashions, most of them created right here in the city of Los Angeles. Here are two of my favorite outfits of the day as you can see below:
A. Summer time: Top: Coral and White Striped button down top by The Hanger- $24 Bottom: Khaki shorts with brown and orange belt by Gaia- $36
The top is super comfortable because it’s made of light, soft cotton. The brown and orange belt just perfectly matches the shirt and shorts, which brings together a whole new look. I can’t imagine them separately.
B. Spring/Summer theme: Top: Vintage White eyelet blouse by E.G. California – $32 Bottom: White with pink floral pants by Gaia – $36
A pair of blush pink heels is subtle and yet balances the simplicity of the blouse and the vividness of the pants. The 45% white with 45% pink/yellow, and 10% blush pink is such an adorable and pretty combination. You can wear this outfit to all kinds of occasions: girls’ day out, teatime in the afternoon, picnic at the park, daily wardrobe, or a visit to museum.
During that day, Rai Italian TV was filming a segment with Le Fashion Truck. From left to right: Jeanine Romo, Me, Stacey, make up artist Brandy Rabone.
Did you know… (Interesting facts about Le Fashion Truck)
Le Fashion Truck is the first Mobile Boutique in LA.
The truck launched on Jan 13, 2011, but the company started in October 2010.
You won’t believe how funny it was one time a customer ran into the fashion truck and asked, do you guys sell food here? But for people who are into fashion, this is the best ‘food’ you can buy at the event.
Follow me on @ChalseaChen for more fashion update.
If you ever wander around Downtown LA, you should stop by SixHundredLA, one of my favorite fashion boutiques. Located at the heart of downtown LA on Spring Street between 6th and 7th streets, SixHundredLA is one of the most popular spots in addition to LA café, Exchange LA, and Hive Gallery. Today I’m going to present you a series of unique designs from the store and the reasons why you should go there NOW!
Now let’s unveil the unique pieces! From left to right and top to bottom, which one is your favorite?
Vintage ankle high beige moccasin boots are classic yet fashionable. Going to a masquerade party, how about try the floral chain headband and the white mask (by FREE SPIRIT). Are you one of those bohemian fans, then you should check out these Boho Babes’ must have— White Long Bohemian Feather Earrings (by Free SPIRIT)? As soon as I put on this Monster dress (by FELT UP), it reminded me of the song (Oh…) Girls just wanna have fun! The latest fashionable floral pearl sunglasses (by BLINDFOLDS), even Gaga is a proud owner of this pair! Lastly, it’s me wearing the handmade red crochet silk scarves (by 6TOKENS) standing in front of the store.
So why should you shop at SixHundredLA?
Reason #1: SixHundredLA has the most cutting edge accessories in town, which will never disappoint you. Since I don’t have my ears pierced, I can only wear clip-on earrings. The first time I stumbled into SixHundred LA back in 2009, I found a piece of earing that I’ve always dreamt of for years: the stylish ear cuff (by LOVEMADE x HAN CHOLO). Not only does the piece not require me to have my ears pierced, but also the design is so amazing that I can’t help but buy it. I was so impressed by that masterpiece that even 2 years later I’m still excited about it!
Reason #2: I love SixHundredLA also because it is a big local business supporter. SixHundredLA sustains the community by selling fashion pieces and accessories ONLY from local LA designers. As an individual who lives in downtown LA, I am super supportive of this approach. Think globally, but act locally.
Reason #3: SixHundredLA carries lots of good quality vintage clothing and vintage sunglasses that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. Instead of driving all the way to Melrose, I now can wander in downtown LA without driving and just walk to the nearby vintage store. Yay!
Tips:
Every second Thursday at the Downtown LA Artwalk, SixHundredLA will have DJ Higher spin, which will attract a lot of people stopping by and dancing in front of the store. Suffice it to say, SixHundredLA is one of the coolest hang out spots at the Downtown LA Artwalk. Also, don’t forget to say hello to “Six”, the super adorable little puppy who’s named after the store.
When it comes to timeless fashion, what name first comes to mind? For me, it’s Coco Chanel. Coco’s fashion weaves through history over the last two centuries. I can’t possibly imagine how many ladies she has inspired. I almost took Coco Chanel’s fashion for granted because I’ve seen Chanel ads all over the place, fashion magazines, billboard, etc, until one day I watched the Coco Before Chanel and Chanel Coco & Igor Stravinsky movies and now I’m inspired like never before. Because of these movies, I got Chanel fever and wanted to have a set of Chanel-style clothing in my wardrobe badly. Being inspired by the movie, I will DIY my own movie look-alike Chanel style. So…How to dress like Coco Chanel? Here are two keys:
Key #1: the contrast of striking black, or navy-blue, and white.
Chanel likes the combination of black (or navy-blue) and white contrast. One thing I’ll never forget in the Chanel Coco & Igor Stravinsky movie is that when Catherine (Igor’s wife) first visited Coco’s house and how she reacted to the colors in the house. As soon as they entered the villa, Catherine saw white walls and black lintels and White flowers. When Coco showed the family the girls’ room, Catherine looked around with distaste at the walls. She was a bit shocked and disliked Coco’s deep-love of the black and white contrast, which is how Coco separated herself from millions of women out there who like to wear lots of colors and complicated print patterns at once like Catherine…and to do this successfully, you have to manage proportions well.
Key #2: wisely proportion the use of black (navy-blue) and white colors.
Simply black and white combination won’t work in Coco Chanel’s dress book. If you pay attention to how Coco used the black and white colors together, you will notice how she liked to play with the color proportions. Coco liked to space out the black and white color, by using either striped color or ribbon in the form of geometry to make the colors contrast and stand out even more. Think before you dress, is it 80% black vs. 20% white or is it 60% white vs. 40% navy blue? As Coco said, “Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.”
Let’s take a look at the wardrobe of Coco Chanel in the Coco Before Chanel movie. In the picture above, you can see how Coco dressed: from left to right, navy-blue top with creamed white tulip skirt on the top left; striped navy-blue long sleeved cotton shirt on the top right; white Chanel suit with black shirt inside on bottom left; creamy silk blouse at the bottom right, and in the middle, and navy-blue robe with classic black ribbons white pajama inside.
Based on Coco’s wardrobe inspiration, I came up with the following outfit:
From left to right, striped navy-blue tulip skirt ($20 from Bora) paired with white silk blouse with navy-blue bow in the middle ($28 from Bora), and a pair of shiny black leather platform wedge heels ($98 from Star Couture). You can wear that to semi-professional business casual networking event, high-end restaurant for dinner, or a public speaking engagement.
Lastly, let’s enjoy one of Coco Chanel’s famous quotes: “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
After watching Pretty in Pink the first time at the 17th annual L.A. Film Fest, I fell in love with the way “Andie” (Molly Ringwald) dressed. She never wore any brand-name fashions, and remained as the most unique and fashionable girl in the movie: rebelled and yet mature, Andie was a true believer of the indie fashion and DIY styles.
Andie was from a lower class family, so she could only afford cheap dull-colored fabrics and accessorize herself with pearls that moms would wear, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be fashionable. Using her own creativity and sewing skills, she could put up a cute dress set within a $20 budget and yet mix and match all the clothes that she had in her wardrobe, and turn them into styles like no one else has.
After taking Andie’s Pretty in Pink fashion lesson, I got inspired and gave myself a “Chalsea” Pretty in Pink makeover. Here’s my set, from left to right: multi-string floral white pearls, decorative straw hat with black dot lace and flower, and black dress with floral lace on top. When the three items combine together, you will get the 80’s Andie Pretty in Pink look without the pink color. J
Looking through Andie’s fashion world, it teaches me the several lessons.
The first lesson: fashion takes courage. When no one in the world dares to wear some fashions, you will be the one who knows that and can still wear them. Even though other school girls laugh at her, Andie still wears her DIY clothes to school. Since her style is so unique, she attracts all the hot boys at school.
Next, fashion requires the instinct within you to tell what works and what doesn’t. Andie won’t stop wearing pearls just because of pearls are the accessories of middle-age ladies. She will still wear them because she knows how good pearls are when it combines with floral lace dress.
Finally, fashion admires innovation. This reminds me of a saying, if you want to become a trendsetter, don’t follow others but create your own trend and let others to follow. Even until today, every girl who watches this movie would want a dress that Andie owns: her re-designed vintage prom dress.
What’s your favorite dress in Pretty in Pink? Also, let me know what you think of my Pretty in Pink make over.
Looking at the photo gallery above, you may wonder where I bought all these amazing clothes from. Now I’m about to reveal the secret: they are from MissQ Fashion.
The ‘Q’ in Miss Q Fashion, in my own interpretation, means Cute, which speaks to their brand: Cute style. I became a regular customer since 2009 because I’m in favor of cute fashion style. I love this store because every time I wear their clothes at work, I’ll get complements. One of the main reasons why I keep going back is because their clothes are especially unique and special. As you can see in the photos above, they carry a lot of different styles, from top left, moving clockwise: black dress; jumpsuit; lantern sleeve top; criss cross leggings; pink gauze skirt; and whole white dress.
If you read Japanese fashion magazines often, you will notice that the store carries many clothes that are featured in the Japanese magazines. Lots of girls love to use the Japanese fashion magazines as a fashion guide when they shop for clothing. MissQ Fashion could be a perfect place to find some of the items that you see on the magazines, such as Vivi, Voce, Ray, CUTiE, etc.
The stores are located both in the heart of San Gabriel Valley and Rowland Heights. The store that I visit the most is the one inHilton plaza, which is in the same plaza as Ajisan Ramen.
Tips:
When you shop there, don’t forget to talk to the staff, they give free fashion tips that will make you happy. They update their inventory almost every week with the most recent trends among clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. They also carry some awesome, decadent items that you wouldn’t find anywhere else, such as the white furry leg warms and strip leggings you see in the photo gallery above. When you shop for $200 you will get a VIP card automatically which can help you save up to 20% when you shop there.
), Moschino is creative, elegant, has a sense of humor and is definitely original. In addition to the main line Moschino, they had two other lines: Moschino Cheap & Chic and Love Moschino. The Cheap & Chic line speaks to fashion-lovers who are young at heart and like fun and creative design without exorbitant pricing, while Love Moschino is well known for its fun and quirky styles and embracing Moschino’s ironic and intelligent creativity with love, passion, and sentiment values.
