Cream of the Crop

Who doesn’t love a  chic crop top? It is comfy, sexy and youthful, all at the same time. What is not to love?

And contrary to popular belief, this piece can absolutely look classy! Remove images of crop tops with fringes or tacky crop tops worn with uber short shorts from your mind, this season’s crop tops are more on the elegant side. Rather than paired with denim cutoffs, crop tops are cropping up in increasingly sophisticated and fashion forward sartorial pairings. Try crop tops with high waisted tuxedo pants or with full or tea-length skirts.

I opted to style my black crop top with a more modern romantic feel. Partially inspired by Audrey Hepburn, this ensemble stays true to my brand of chic while simultaneously adding edgy and trendy details that make it more current.

The volume of my vintage inspired brocade print full skirt is the perfect balancing element to the sleekness and sexiness of my crop top. The full skirt also adds a more feminine vibe to this look. Modern meets girly and romantic happens when this crop top and skirt come together.

The vintage-inspired sunnies, black tights, and of course, the oversized pearl necklace are the details that give this look a more Audrey Hepburn effect.

Don’t you just love how the ultra modern zippered booties play off of the femininity of the skirt and pearls? Such a great idea. Having contrasting items in your outfit is a brilliant way to show off your fashion knowledge and styling prowess.

I cannot stress how much details make your look more personal and more you. The embellishment on these sunglasses up the glam factor of my look even more. I’m in love with this pair!

Consider beauty trends as well when putting your look together. Check out my wine-tinted lips, that are on trend with the color of the year, Marsala!

How are you going to style your crop top this season? I’d love to hear your styling ideas! Kisses!

Street Style to Steal: Retro Colors

Spurred by the 60s revival on the Spring 2015 runways and the current pastel color trend takeover this fall, the street style scene is turning up in a plethora of bright colors in mod silhouettes. Retro styles and bold, brash color is in. This is not the season to be a wallflower, this is the time to show off your penchant for eye-catching color and your love for fashion.

Stomp around town in go-go boots and show off your gams in a mod style staple, the mini skirt. Don’t forget to match your look with long Twiggy-esque lashes and a chic blowout. See my rundown of the top street style looks to steal and get inspired by. Enjoy the parade of fun retro colors and playful prints!

It doesn’t get any more mod and more fun than this dress that is positively made of sunshine. The simple cut of the dress and the Peter Pan collar are both girly and flirty details that make this frock look straight out of the 60s. Give it an updated styled feel by adding a pair of captoe oxfords. Bare legs make this look summery, you can easily translate this into fall with the simple addition of hosiery and outerwear.

An elegant shift dress in dusty rose looks even more mod with these snakeskin print blue go-go boots. The simple cut of the dress and the contemporary metal button detail prevents this ensemble from looking too much like a costume. It is important to avoid the costume trap when doing a take on retro dressing. Remember, it still has to look chic for the present day.

A belted T-shirt dress gets some ladylike vintage-inspired treatment with a small mod collar and kitten heel bow pumps. The cat-eye sunnies and top handle satchel reinforce the mod inspiration, but the jewel toned blue makes it feel so current and trendy.

A bright-colored cropped jacket with a printed mini dress gets a tinge of downtown vibe with some on-trend accessories that complement and don’t take away from the overall mod feel of the look. Black pointed toe mules and a silver clutch accent the mod statement of the jacket and dress perfectly.

The Brigitte Bardot hair and makeup of this chic gal aside, this is a picture perfect feminine meets mod outfit. The delicate print is a softer spin on mod florals, but the gamine silhouette and buttoned up look of this dress stays true to the iconic dress shape of the decade.

Cropped tops and trousers were a big look in the 60s. The bright color of these orange cigarette pants are great when paired with the boxy cropped top with a fun and playful print. Tomboy chic is one of the strongest trends during the mod era, and the colors and prints in this look update that tomboy trend. Not to mention the street flair that the studded heels and mini cross body bag add.

Black opaque tights under a short skirt is a classic 60s look. The color blocked orange sweater adds the element of geometry that was so popular in the 60s, and very reminiscent of the YSL Mondrian print of that time. The heeled loafers with metallic detail is another nod to the tomboy look that Twiggy popularized back then.

Turn heads in a lime green coat that increases the wattage of your look almost instantly, and ups your visibility by a thousand percent. It will be impossible to miss you when donning this shocking color, and when sporting such a fashion forward look with confidence and aplomb. The Audrey Hepburn inspired oversized sunnies is the perfect topper to the super cute mod mini and turtleneck combo.

A coquettish ensemble of a turtleneck mini in graphic black and red is elevated by the geometric detail on the pumps as well as the crocodile skin structure top handle satchel. The textured bob further updates this look, showing that your beauty look should always be in harmony with your style.

A checkerboard print two-piece set in lime green is cheekily punctuated with octagon-shaped sunglasses goes to show that high fashion can be fun too. This look is mod on the first look so you will do well to choose a pair of simple and sophisticated white pumps so as not to overwhelm this high glam look.

Are you going to time travel with the stylish set to the swinging 60s? What’s your favorite mod trend? I personally love mini dresses!

 

Style Icon: Taylor Swift

British Vogue’s November Issue cover star, country music icon, street style star, and pop culture phenomenon Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with. At such a young age she broke out onto the scene in a big way, with infectious rhythms and insightful, deeply felt lyrics. Her famous relationships (and breakups too) have been immortalized into country/pop-rock songs that has the rest of the world singing along. She has recently been making the news and making major headlines with her feminine and vintage inspired street style looks. Each look she steps out in is pure perfection, and she has us swooning over her to die for style. She always looks polished and always look paparazzi ready, which goes to show that you can stay true to yourself and not always follow the trends.

Start your own trend just like T-Swizzle has, and  learn from her sartorial savvy, as you browse through my top 10 picks of Taylor Swift’s best street style looks.

A departure from her typically sweet street style, Tay Tay shows that she can turn up the glam and exude a bit of naughtiness with this sexy black jumpsuit. She still maintains her signature girly vibe by toting her top handle vintage frame bag. Opting out of accessorizing and just letting the black pieces be the focus of this look is such a classy style move.  

In the summer, we saw Taylor Swift in one matching printed two-piece set after another. She practically lived in those crop tops and full skirts. She stays loyal to her affinity for matching sets and makes it more fitting for the fall in this knit sweatshirt and pencil skirt duo.

Taylor Swift turns up the glamour in a sparkling and shimmering Gucci gown during this year’s Grammy Awards. With just some elegant ear danglers as her accessory, she completely owns the red carpet in this beautiful silver column gown. 

I wish that we could all look this good on the reg, just like Taylor Swift does. She manages to look modern while donning vintage pieces. She looks absolutely flawless in this covetable outfit composed of a yellow houndstooth cropped sweater, mint green skater skirt, coral heels, and a lovely taupe frame bag. 

Want to know how to make even a pair of denim cutoffs look elegant? Do it like Taylor and add some polished extras into the mix. You can never go wrong with nude pumps, black frame top handle bag, and a white sabrina neckline top. Improve this casual look even further with a red lip and loose, tousled hair waves. 

If there was ever an argument about investing in tailored shorts for the summer, this look will be one of the strongest cases for it. A pair of brightly colored tailored shorts up the ante and gives a ladylike vibe to Taylor’s fondness and preference for menswear inspired footwear like these low-heeled oxfords. 

Taylor Swift might not be a school girl, but she certainly nails back-to-school style in this outfit. A red and blue patterned sweater dress  with her two signature staples, heeled oxfords and structured leather totes all make for an A plus look.

This is further evidence that you need not hold yourself strictly to the matching purse and shoes style rule. Sometimes, breaking fashion rules can be fun since the unexpected always leads to more excitingly chic looks. Simply take a gander at this printed sheath dress look and how the hot pink peep-toe pumps and hunter green bag play off each other stunningly. 

An orange and pink color block sweater can make your daily spring to fall uniform so exciting. Pieces such as this sweater are great for quickly and easily perking up your basics, like camel colored skinnies and black tasseled loafers. 

Taylor makes us like her even more as she embraces high street brands like Aldo. She totes a maroon structured purse from Aldo and matches that deep burgundy red shade with a deep-V sweater worn over a grey mini dress. The bowler hat and matching burgundy colored booties are just the right accessories to finish off this winsome look.

Which look is your favorite? All of Taylor Swift’s looks are so amazing, I simply can’t choose!

Images from Teen Vogue and InStyle