Spring/Summer 2010 Color Trends

I love Spring. Mostly because I'm from MN and Springtime usually means that the snow is melting and you can finally quit wearing a jacket just to go get your mail. I love how refreshed everything feels and when the leaves finally start blooming on the trees again, you lose that dreariness you felt all Winter. One of my favorite parts of Spring? The way my parent's crab apple tree looked and smelled. They have one right outside the front door and the color of it when it blooms is absolutely gorgeous. They have lilac bushes too, and oh my goodness, the smell is overwhelming when you walk outside. Everything seems so lively, and I love that more than anything.

I love all the colors for Spring/Summer because so many of them can be found in nature. You can't really say that for Winter-unless you like white and brown (those are pretty much the only colors you see where I'm from)! I think this is why I love floral prints so much. There's so much color and vibrancy in those patterns, that it just makes me happy. :) Here are the top 10 Spring/Summer color trends from www.fashionising.com (http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--Spring-2010-Color-Trends-from-Pantone-Womens-2110.html)

1. Violet
2. Aurora
3. Turquoise
4. Fusion Coral (LOVE coral!!)
5. Tomato Puree
6. Tuscany
7. Amparo Blue (also love this shade)
8. Pink Champagne (makes me thirsty!)
9. Dried Herb
10. Eucalyptus

Safari!

It seems that each season, this trend pops back up. And I love it. There's something uber summery about safari prints and shapes. I know I'll probably never be able to afford a real African safari, but I can pretend in some of these clothes! I really love how neutral the colors are, so they look good on just about everybody. I think my favorite look is the belted shirtdress from Charlotte Russe (here's the link, it's an HTML image so I can't post it here: http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3958606). It's only $26 too! I love how you can pair it with a pair of like brown leather flip flops (stay away from rubber ones with this look or you'll just look sloppy and weird), or a pair of gladiator type heels (see, you can TOTALLY mix trends). The one thing I ask, if you buy this outfit, stick with browns. I HATE black and brown together. So wear brown shoes and stick with brown hued jewelry. Purple would look pretty with this though, just to add a pop of color. Maybe a jeweled type necklace with purple and turquoise? I think that'd be cute.

LOVE these shoes too if you want to go the flat route: http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4021974

If you want to go the heel route, something like this would be sweeeet:
http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4022005

Happy Shopping!

I NEED this dress.

Forever 21 is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE STORES. I miss being 5 minutes from the Mall of America-if I needed something last minute to wear on a night out to Sneaky Pete's (haha), I could count on that place to hook me up. Their tops are like $25 and under and super stylish. Yeah, the quality isn't comparable to a $50 top, but when you're only spending that much, it's not a huge deal if it rips or you spill your beer on it. The closest one is in Syracuse which is like an hour away from us. Definitely heading there post-pregnancy to pick up some much needed summery dresses and tops. Aaaanyways, I came across the dress, and I really want it. I don't know where I'd wear it, and since it has sleeves, it's definitely more of a Spring-y dress, but I think it's the pattern that I'm in love with. It looks like a painting-so pretty! And it's only $24.80. How can you pass that up? Here it is:

http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=whatsnew_app_dresses&product_id=2074787244&Page=1

Drool.

One of my biggest pet peeves

With Summertime around the corner, that means it's time for tube tops, halters, and other sleeveless styles. I'm all for dressing to the weather, but the one thing I CANNOT stand is visible bra straps. Oh my gosh, it drives me absolutely bonkers. The ultimate pisser-offer? Brightly colored bra straps underneath a tube top. Seriously, if it were meant to have straps, they would have made it that way. It is called a tube top for a reason. I understand that some women are bustier than others, but they DO make strapless bras for larger chested women. I found this website, Linda the Bra Lady, and they go from a 32AA to a 46H (and everything in between). How awesome is that? They're not even that pricey either, the priciest one (in a 46H) is $67. Which is WELL worth it for a good bra. For us ladies whose boobies are on the smaller side, I LOVE my convertible bras from Fredericks. It's kinda like this one: . Gives the twins a little push up while still supporting them. LOVE.

If you don't want to go the strapless route, you can always buy clear bra straps and hook them on to your convertible bra. That will look so much better than your dirty white bra straps sticking out (seriously people, SO tacky). They also have converters that can pull your straps together in the back. That way, you can wear racerback tanks w/o your exposing the straps. I always use those twistie ties that come with bread to keep my straps back (and they give the girls a nice little push up).

There are so many options nowadays that there is no reason you should be putting your straps on display for all the world to see. It's called UNDERwear for a reason, can we try and keep it that way?

Feel free to post your own ideas, I'm not as experienced in the big boobies area so I'll admit I'm a little clueless. That's it for now. :)

Here goes nothing...

So I suck at writing blogs, which is very evident by my pregnancy blog which hasn't been updated in like 2 months, but I was curious to see if I could keep up with something that I'm actually PASSIONATE about and enjoy talking about. Not that I don't enjoy telling the world all my lovely pregnancy symptoms, but this is just different. Maybe it will help me feel like I have some sort of purpose again too. Sitting home alone 5 days a week for 12 hours gets lonely and boring, and I miss being immersed in the world of fashion like I was back home. Between schoolwork and Macy's, I got my fix daily. Now, I have nothing. So maybe this will lift my spirits and give me something to look forward to each day. It can't hurt to try, right?

The purpose of me writing this blog is just so I have a place to put all the things I want, the things I can't have (because I can't afford them), and all my other useless advice I've been throwing at my friends and family for years (I was the only girl in my kindergarten class wearing striped leg warmers each day-that's gotta account for something, right?). And if you care enough about my opinion, it can also be a place for you to ask questions about an outfit, or whether or not you should wear those carpenter jeans on a first date (guys, I'm talking to you-and the answer is NO).

So, if you don't know who I am, you're probably wondering..."What the hell gives you the right to critique MY amazing sense of fashion?!", and the answer to that is...nothing. I'm just a lonely housewife whose sole purpose in life is to be the best dressed girl at the commissary. Which brings me to the best part of this post, the part where I get to talk all about myself and you all have to read it (well, unless you know me in real life, then you can probably skip over this part).

I'm Carrie. I'm 23 years old and currently surviving (I use "surviving" as opposed to "living" because there are days where that's what I feel like I'm REALLY doing here) in Upstate New York with my wonderful husband, Jason. Jason is in the U.S. Army and was "lucky" enough to get stationed up here to do the whole aviation/fly around in giant helicopters all day thing. He loves his job and it makes him happy, so that makes me happy. We have a little one on the way, and he should be here any day now. Seriously Liam, ANY DAY NOW. I can't wait to be a mom, but I also can't wait to get my body back and not have to wear those hideous maternity clothes anymore (if there was a barfing smiley, I'd be using it in excess right now)! Before Jason and I got married, I was living in MN working part-time as a Beauty Advisor for Benefit Cosmetics. I hated Macy's, but loved Benefit. I was also going to school part time majoring in Retail and Fashion Management. It was hard, and I wasn't very focused, so I ended up having to take some time off. And by that, I mean they kicked my ass out, so now I'm left groveling and begging them to take me back. Wish me luck! I've always been in love with everything fashion. I have stacks and stacks of Vogues, Glamours, Cosmos, and Marie Claires that are hidden from my husband. I love leafing through them and imagining what I might look like in that $10,000 Prada dress. I drool over the purses, jewelry, and the shoes-knowing full well I can't afford them. So what do I do? I go out and find my own affordable version of what I've fallen in love with, and in the words of Tim Gunn, I make it work. :)

So here's my promise to you-everything in my blog will be affordable. Unless, obviously, I'm posting something I'm totally LUSTING after (hence the name), like the new Chanel bag or something. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of eye candy here and there. I want this to be a place where you, the reader, can come and get fashionable ideas that won't send you into overdraft mode.

That's all I've got for now, there will probably be a few more sporadic posts throughout the day (in between laundry and vacuuming-barf again), so keep an eye out for those. Make sure to follow me so you can get the updates as I post 'em. Most of all, enjoy this, take everything I say with a grain of salt, and be sure you make everything your own. Thanks for reading...'til next time!

Carrie

And I totally forgot to add, thanks to Mrs. Rose D (yeeeeah, it's "D" now!) for the name idea, she gets ALL the credit for the title as well as the URL. We don't call her "rad" for nothin'! :D