Jan

31

Fashionable Frames for Spring

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Although winter is currently hitting, and hitting hard, it’s time to start thinking about spring fashion. Those who plan ahead, after all, end up with the cutest stuff at cut-rate prices and are the first to roll out their fresh spring look. So, instead of waiting to see what’s hot, why not start the trends! We’re here to give you pointed advice on what those in the know expect to be hot. Tom Ford sunglasses are always a spring-time favorite and a sure bet. You can also go colorful and bold with the brighter colors of Ray Ban Wayfarers or Versace’s intricate and frilly designs. Depending on your spring wardrobe, any of these will be sure to get you some positive looks when the snow thaws.

But spring fashion isn’t as easy as many think. It isn’t all flip-slips, florals and brighter hues. To really be fashionable you have to seamlessly blend your winter wardrobe into your spring one to make the transition a beautiful and seemingly effortless one. Here’s how:

As the last thrashes of winter start to die, start wearing bolder, brighter scarves with brighter tops under your jacket. Your hair can be freshly dyed, your lipstick can get brighter and your blush more dominant. Shoes can turn from boots to slip-on’s and then segway into flip-slops.

Seamless transitions are part of a true fashionable person’s talents. And making it a smooth one isn’t as easy as it may seem. Still, without the transition it will seem as if you jumped from a winter catalog directly into a spring one without any real thought to the middle ground.

Jan

10

Winter Shades

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Sunglasses in winter seems like an illogical fashion choice, like wearing sunglasses indoors, but believe it or not there are great reasons for both activities. Rappers and other musicians wear sunglasses inside to block some of the harsh glare from stage lights and the constant flash of photography. Not so silly, after all. And with darker shades like the Carrera men’s shades or the dark Prada and Dior that women celebrities wear on stage, pros are sure to keep their eyes protected. In winter, the glare is harsher, shade is less available, and the sun reflects off snow and ice to extremely damaging results. Sunglasses indoors and in winter is, in the end, a smart choice. So join the celebrities and slip into your Serengeti sunglasses all winter.

Here are a few tips to picking your winter shades. First, you’ll want to go a bit darker than normal with the lens tinting. We’re talking dark brown to black. Especially in winter. If you can get polarized lenses on your glasses so you don’t forget them when you go outdoors that’s smart, but one of the problems in winter is peripheral glare, so form-fitting or wrap-around sunglasses are actually the best bet for winter. We’re talking huge Carreras or something sporty and snug, like your Nike or Adidas.

Second, you’ll want a material that doesn’t get too cold. Plastic is better for holding your warmth to your face than metal would be. Frames like Ray Bans or Serengetti shades may not be the best choice, for one because of gradient or lighting tinting, but also because of the thin metal frames. You’re not getting much in the way of coverage for your face or keeping yourself warm in the coldest months unless you go big, go thick and go plastic.

Jan

6

Men who Know Fashion

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Some men have good fashion sense, most of them simply play copy-cat with the stars they see on TV or their favorite musician, or even more terrifying, they copy the Brawny man. Check out the recent Rolling Stone Magazine image of Zach Galifanakis. This isn’t exactly a look many people could pull off, but as a comedian he is allotted a certain amount of odd leeway. These Tom Ford – Carter shades are a bit too John Lennon for most, but Zach manages to pull it off using his super serious persona, the one he uses throughout Hangover. We suspect that hippies, and those with gauged ears would adore these Tom Ford shades, but that the majority of folks will find them too goggle-like. Still, for unique, male fashion Zach is getting high marks.

It’s hard to do a roundup of great male fashion without mentioning Brad Pitt. He was launched into the big time seemingly overnight, and his decision to pair up with Angelina Jolie made him half of the most powerful celebrity couple in Hollywood. We’re not sure if he is dressing himself or else has a team of experts, but Brad hardly ever makes a mistake with his wardrobe. We’ve seen him in Tom Fords, Dita, D-Squared, Prada, and even Versace. And his recent foray with Police sunglasses proved successful and sexy, even for a middle-aged man.

Daniel Craig is another celebrity who isn’t caught on camera, ever, without looking primped and cool. We’re talking James Bond 24/7 with this guy. It’s all creased shirts, clean jeans and shoes that match his belt and, we’re betting, his wallet too. This guy was a born looker, and although he has a bit of a rough side we think the fashionable side emerges more prominent.

Nov

10

Denim is Always in Fashion

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Throughout the years there have been a few fashionable fads that have stood the test of time. Denim is one of those long-lasting items, Tom Ford sunglasses are another. These fashion fountains of awesomeness will likely be in fashion, as symbols of nostalgia and middle-class fashion.

Finding fashionable brands that can stand the test of time isn’t easy, in fact if you want to jump in on a style that is sure to last you need to find slow, baby-steps of perfection. That is t say, when you see a style that works you find one that piggy-backs on that style perfectly, advancing the look by small steps rather than giant leaps. Leaps tend to be fads that come and go. By which we mean they mostly go and are quite expensive. A real lover of fashion knows the difference between giant leaps in design fashion and giant flops, and the flops usually attempt too much at once in the manner of refusing to piggy back on existing styles.

Take, for example, Ray Ban sunglasses. The brand is well established and has a cult following. You’ll find people from all walks of life wearing these shades, and they don’t diverge too much from their original design of aviators and wayfarers.

Oliver Peoples are another brand that manage to do this really well. They can break into a new market, as they obviously at one point did, without shaking the ground into cracking open and then disappearing into obscurity. Where some brands fail (MiuMiu and Fendi may well yet fall into this category) these smaller, snail-paced brands will outlast them because they don’t try to be the “next big thing in fashion.”

Oct

27

Chinese Fashion Fads

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With many fashion looks things start in Asia and then spread outwards. You’ll find this is especially true of electronics and fashion. Shockingly, companies release new concepts in Asia, where fads are more likely to catch on and take off, and then the fads spread out from there to dominate Europe and, sometimes, even breach the valuable American market. While some fads start the in the USA, like Tom Ford sunglasses, brands like Gucci and Prada launch new, revolutionary looks in Asia first. So, following Asian fads is one way to stay a step ahead of the US fashion scene.

In the vein of sunglasses, you’ll find that Asians tend to like flashier, more show-off frames than their Western counterparts. This may be a simple expression of wealth, wherein gold and flashy colors end up making you look like you are worth more than a simpler, classier design. Thus, with eyewear fashion Asia isn’t the best example to follow. In terms of clothing, however, you’ll find example galore of fads that started in Asia and then swept the Western world. Layered T-shirts, ripped jeans, high-tops, these are all looks that are coming back into style in Asia, and thus are likely to make a new sweep in the west.

Last year, when everyone was wearing all black with silver accessories, the fad was all but over in Asia but only just hot and fresh in the US. It seems many Americans are averse to change, and especially wary of big changes in fashion that mean taking risks—and especially the risk of looking silly—to be fashion forward.

Aug

12

Simple Sunglasses

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Not so many sunglasses are simple and clean-lined enough for those who are shy. Shy folks think sunglasses are an extravagant accessory, something posers and rock stars wear. And yet, on sunny days you just have to wear them. So, what is the simplest band that won’t have any hidden connotations or make you look like you are trying too hard. Well, the first brand that comes to mind is Serengeti for men, and Bolle for women. These two brands are sporty and casual without jumping into the line of high fashion or filling up with useless accessories and technologies.

Bolle isn’t an expensive brand, either, making it one of the more practical sunglasses brands for women. And just because it is affordable doesn’t mean it is lower quality, Bolle is still considered a designer brand. And you don’t have to be sporty to look great in them. Your typical librarian will look just at home as a jogger or fan of skydiving. They are just simple shades with a logical design.

For men, Serengeti is known as the driving sunglasses brand, and yet they are so much more useful than just driving shades. They are casual and clean-lined, without offering too much in the way of flare or extravagance, and yet they are elegant and simple. For men who want something nice, simple and clean this is the brand for you. They look as great with a suit as they do on a man in swim trunks, and they are a fantastically diverse design.

Aug

9

Finding your inner beauty

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Beauty is only skin-deep, or so they say, but finding something that is invisible within yourself is no simple task. One think you’ll notice quickly about happy people is that they are comfortable with themselves. You’ll see them being more unique, acting more comfortable around groups, whether loud or shy. You’ll find them acting out with crazy fashion, like Hugo Boss eyeglasses or Dior shades, or chilling easy in Prada. A comfortable person who enjoys living in their own skin will enjoy any fashion, and be able to look okay in anything.

Extremely happy people don’t need to be flamboyant to gain attention, they do it to express themselves. There is a huge difference between those things, and yet amateurs can’t tell the difference. The difference is how an item is worn, a shy person won’t be able to pull off wild sunglasses without looking a bit out of place and tawdry.

Meanwhile, a wild person can’t pull off simple fashion without looking like they are trying too hard to be serious or refined. It would be like seeing Ben Stiller in Armani and thinking that he dressed himself. He didn’t.

A confident brand that can walk the line in the middle of shy and confident is Tom Ford. You’ll find Jennifer Anniston wearing these as well as the girl next door. Celebrities across a range of genres and occupations from musicians to actresses to people who park cars for a living wear Tom Fords, which is what makes Tom Ford such an amazing brand.

Jul

26

Sunglasses for ladies

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Women, you have it easy. You can wear makeup in public without scorn to make you look prettier, and with that ability and social power you can change how you look a dramatic amount. Men can’t do that. Men can only try to be cool. Only women can be beautiful. And with some sunglasses you can take your look from good to fantastic. Alexander McQueen sunglasses, for example, take the idea of beauty and sexuality for women and uses that in every design. McQueen loved the feminine form, and he worked tirelessly to perfect each piece and imbibe it with sexuality. He invited hip-hugger jeans for crying out loud, and was one of the architects of the concept behind bottom-cleavage. And yet, despite these achievements his sunglasses designs have never received the praise they deserve for their innovation and charm.

Prada may be stark, cold and bold—the perfect look for city women, but it was also innovative and fresh when it was launched. The idea behind all of Prada’s high-end gear is durability and functionality, and those are two concepts that are usually tossed out the window the second one thinks of ‘fashion.’ This alone makes Prada a stand out and while it has a reputation as being the bosses preferred sunnies, this simply isn’t fair. Prada wanted to provide high-end, durable gear for the emerging middle class. Items that would last forever and be passed down through generations. They didn’t think they’d be the ‘flavor of the week’ in NYC.

Apr

20

Chloe on the Rise

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Kirsten Dunst looks fabulous in Chloe, but she isn’t the only one donning these sexy sunglasses this spring. This Chloe 2200 model is particularly good for Dunst, whose blond hair and light eye color makes it difficult for her to look dashing in many colors, particularly in reds. But these muted burgundy shades with simple pieces of flare and slight horn-rimmed shape are ideal for giving her higher looking cheek bones and adding a bit of color to her pale skin.

Chloe is a design that almost any woman can get behind. They are universally feminine and tastefully chic. The designs are not overtly loud or modern, as so many looks are. Prada, Dior, Burberry and others bash their fashion over your head in such a manner as to make it impossible to avoid the brand names and loud designs. Chloe achieves fashion success by being subtle, innovative and carrying a single design to fruition and working and reworking a single design until they have achieved a look that is universally sexy and new.

Dunst isn’t the only woman who finds the look irresistible. Hillary Duff was recently seen in the same model sunglasses, and feminine women like the Kate Winslet are perfect for Chloe. The design is less pretentious than many other designer brands, so women that play the girl-next-door card are attracted to Chloe in a way they can’t be drawn towards designs like Jimmy Choo.

Finally, Chloe has a whole line of simple designs that are fashionable and new without being modern. They are classically beautiful with new innovations to make an old world look seem fresh and alive in the 21st century.

Apr

10

Diet and Eye Health

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I have friends who try to make their poor eye health a fashion statement by wearing high end glasses like Armani or Dior, but this simply draws more attention to the eyes. What these people should do is evaluate their lifestyle and try to make healthier choices. There is nothing that can be done other than laser surgery to reverse the damage that has already been caused to their eyes, but at least they won’t get any worse.

The health of your eyes is tied intrinsically with your lifestyle, including diet and exercise. You’ll notice, perhaps, that many of your more active and healthy friends do not need glasses while your computer-loving, TV watching amigos are constantly shifting their thick glasses back up on their noses.

Some foods you can eat to increase eye health include vitamin rich vegetables, leafy greens and carrots. Your body also needs a lot of moisture to function properly, so water is the best bet for this. You need oils, grains and items from every food group but you can skip the top of the food pyramid and avoid sugar.

When it comes to exercise, you don’t need to hire Chuck Norris and start a program that will redefine your life. Instead, simply go for a walk every day or start your morning with 5-10 push-ups. Even these small amounts of exercise benefit the body, get your heart rate going and help to circulate your blood. Simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator will, over time, make you a healthier person.

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