Fall 2013 Accessories Trends

This fall, it's all about the accessories. Earlier this month we posted on Fall 2013 clothing trends featuring structured suits, grey shades, big coats, and several other styles from the runway. I personally have reservations about the big coat trend (who wants to add tons of bulk in heavy fabrics and lose their shape while adding the illusion of extra weight?! Not I!). Despite the questionable trends, there is some hope this season in purses, and jewelry. Every good fashionista knows that accessories can make or break an outfit. We’ve picked the top accessory trends, check them out:

 1. Earrings

Fall 2013 Earring Trends by bree-jenkins featuring ruby chandelier earrings

Statement Earrings are a favorite highlight of mine for this season. I always love great jewelry and earrings add drama to your outfit and highlight facial features. Best worn with up-dos , this trend may mean you need to take a break on the statement necklaces to prevent dramatic over-do. Pearls were also quite prevalent in jewelry and could be worn in studs, details, or as a component of a statement chandelier earring. Honorable mention to sterling silver and metallic jewelries.

2. Shoes

Fall 2013 Shoe trends by bree-jenkins featuring heel ankle booties

Just the word “shoes” makes me smile. But I was a bit underwhelmed with most of the shoe trends for this season. I’ll be opting out of most of the “boyfriend” shoe trend. Leave the clunk-masters to your neighborhood electrician. I prefer the 1940’s, modern vintage heel and look that can be seen in many shoes on the runway. Also, velvet shoes are a big deal now. Although, I’d suggest taking the velvet trend with a grain of salt. However, I will fully sign-up for the thigh high boots. Provided that you have decent legs, rock them while wearing appropriate hemlines, and avoid the night-walker potential, this trend can be both daring and chic. And despite cycling for several seasons, the punk-rock shoe and inspiration is still alive in shoe-wear. In addition to studs, now pearls are trendy details that are going to be showing up on shoes.

3. Purses

Fall 2013 Purse Trends by bree-jenkins featuring santi handbags

The trend for fur is rampant this season. Purses with fur details were ubiquitous on the runway. Also, the double strap or forever bag is big this season. These structured bags compliment the strong lines and architectural elements of this season clothing designs. Also, pearls showed up in almost all elements of fashion and add sophistication and quiet glamour to bagwear.

4. Scarves and Long Gloves

Fall 2013 Accessory Trends- Gloves & Scarves by bree-jenkins featuring a hooded scarf

Staying warm is functional, but these trends make it fashionable. I adore the long leather gloves and plan to live out my Olivia Pope fashion inspiration trough them. Yes, I live in LA… but a girl can dream, can’t she? Major fashion points to anyone who can rock the faux fur (or real fur if you’re balling and don’t have PETA guilt) scarf. It’s certainly a ‘lot of look’ and can be worn to create an impression of opulence. But if paired with inappropriate urban wear (read apple bottom jeans, and glitter top) it can create the deadly effect of tackalicious -hood-rat- ratchedness. Yes, that is a real fear and a real possibility. Don’t let that happen. Stay gathered, by wearing your faux fur only at the most elite of occasions.

DIY: Rotating Jewelry Display

Image from LifeAnnStyle.com

Hi Fashionistas! I ran across this super cool DIY project from Life Ann Style . It's a fairly easy project that should cost less than $10! You can use cool plates from the thrift store and you can customize it for your particular needs. The girl in the video uses it for nail polish also, which I personally love. I love DIY and I'll post my pics on this project later. Also, I'll be showing you how to make a custom wall display for jewelry and accessories later this month.

She also has detailed step- by- step insturctions with material lists. Enjoy and Happy Monday!

Poise in a Pinch: How to get top quality for bottom dollar shipped to your door

I've been thinking a lot about money prison budgets and cutting my heart out spending lately, and being poised on a pinch. You know why? Because until I reach that champagne life that Ne-yo was singing about, I have to stick to a financial plan to make me reach my goals. That means tightening up the belt every once in awhile. It means choosing to pay for a fence around my house over a New York shopping spree or trip to the Dominican Republic. It means less date nights and fancy dinners with my hubby...saying no to gala event invites, concerts, and cultural events… sad day.

I’m depressed now. I think I’ll pamper myself back to happy with a spa day, mani-pedi, or some bath products… ohhh wait. Those cost money. *rattles money prison bars threateningly*

Another sad consideration that affects the fashion budget is how much gas costs! No more all day mall crawling or boutique shopping with these prices unless you live in walking or biking distance, or have awesome public transportation. (<- What would you do with the bags??) Even thifters need to weigh their options between the savings on threads and the gas burned to get ‘em (great reason to carpool, but also great risk of having your amazing finds poached by the fashion frenemies that rode along).

It’s sounding like a real no-win situation here, but trust The Gathered Ladies to do a little digging and keep you posted on tips and tricks to stay glam and pampered while stacking paper… in a savings account. Let’s discuss some new ways to get your hands on hot, expensive, clothes for pennies on the dollar without even leaving your house!

Clothing Rentals

Let’s start with the basics. If you’re pressed to have just the right outfit for that special occasion or formal event, clothing rental is a great option.

Rent the Runway – The most well known of online clothing rental/retail sites, Rent the Runway allows a shopper to select designer clothing, jewelry, accessories, and other essential for a fraction of the retail price. Rentals are for a 4 or 8 day period, return shipping is included, and so is the cleaning and maintenance of the items. Prices vary by item and rental time. They’ll even ship 2 sizes at a time!

Pros: user-friendly website, expensive stuff for cheap, retail as well as rental, reputable, no regrets policy.

Cons: No plus sized selection. Only 1-2 days to return clothes, no shoes for rental, more for special occasions than ready-to-wear.

Gwynnie Bee – Gwynnie Bee is a clothing rental site specifically serving sized 10-28 with great fashion. Shoppers subscribe to the site, pay a monthly fee, and maintain a virtual “closet” from GB’s curated collection composed on popular plus-sized fashion designers. The closet works like a Netflix queue. Monthly subscription fees range from 35$-159$ per month. Clothing comes 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, or 10 pieces at a time, with pre-paid return shipping and cleaning of clothes.

Pros: keep the clothes as long as you want, option to buy a rented piece, large sizes, personal style consultation, first month free

Cons: smaller collection, no smaller sizes

Bag Borrow or Steal – Made famous by the Sex and the City Movie, this handbag and accessories rental giant is still going strong. Their service is totally about making the best designer bags and accessories accessible. On their site, you can rent, buy, and even sell!

Pros: authenticity guaranteed, reputable, huge selection, designer shoes sold on the “private sale” part of the site, free standard shipping on all orders. Separate handbag cleaning service. You can sell authentic designer bags that you did not rent or buy on the site!

Cons: only sale bags rent for <100$, rental period is only 1 month. 

Box Subscription Services 

An even newer hot trend is box subscription. Users subscribe to these services and are sent boxes full of fashion, beauty products (full size and deluxe, or samples depending on the service), hair products, food, panties… even socks… monthly! The main difference between rental and subscription is that the fee is the only charge, and most of the time you have literally no control over what you’re sent. It’s like a mystery box full of girl power and ovarian glitter appears in your mailbox every month! For a really thorough inventory of different fashion and beauty subscription sites and reviews of their boxes, check out My Subscription Addiction. We’ll just cover some of our faves here to whet your appetite. 

Le Tote -  Le tote charges a monthly fee (49$) and works off of a queue like Gwynnie Bee, but the twist on this one is that you’re not in charge of it. Instead Le Tote allows you to create a profile to define your style. They curate a “tote” of 3 garments and 2 accessories from your “infinite closet” and ship them to you for free free free. Every tote is a surprise. Keep as long as you want. When you return the items (unless you want to buy), a new tote is sent!

Pros: keep clothes as long as you want, option to buy, no shopping required

Cons: no shopping required (?!), no plus size selection

 

Birchbox is one of the oldest and most popular beauty subscription boxes out there and has a great reputation for being able to introduce lovely ladies to their next favorite things.  I have friends who swear by this service, which sends 4-5 high end beauty samples and lifestyle samples (think tea, snack, candle). This box also has a 10$ monthly fee, the lowest we’ve heard of, so you know we had to include it in our poised in a pinch post!

Pros: high end products, no shopping required, super low cost.

Cons: sample size only 

Juniper markets itself as “the smarter way to manage your period”. We had to include this one for sheer ingenuity! Every month, subscribers receive their favorite brand of tampon shipped by mail, as many as needed. Along with the essentials to ward off Aunt Flo the monthly red bomber, Juniper thoughtfully and lovely packs deluxe pamper and comfort items (think gourmet honey, tea, chocolate covered pretzels, beauty samples… everything you didn’t know you required until this box started arriving). The fee? 28$ a month. Sold!

Pro: no period panic, no buying a multi-pack of tampons of which half are USELESS(!), no store embarrassment, discrete packaging, snacky-poos and treats to pamper yourself.

Cons: ummm?

So that’s all that I can pack in for today folks! (<--see what I did there?) Make sure to check out My Subscription Addiction for an even more comprehensive list of boxes to buy.

Want to share your box or rental review with us? Email or facebook to share and if we like it, we’ll share it! 

How To Rock...the Neon Fashion Trend

Happy Monday! We hope you enjoyed the holiday weekend. If it was a bust, let us cheer you up with a big dose of fashion inspiration! If you read our hot summer trends for 2013 then you already know that neon is big this season. These spicy colors are an easy way to make bold statements with little effort. Several celebrities like Solange, Kim Kardashian, Kristin Stewart, and Zoe Kravitz have sported the neon trend. One of the easiest and more powerful ways to use neon is in the shoes. All fashionistas know that the shoe can make or break an outfit, so if you wear the right shoe you can set your style on fire. 

In addition to a neon shoe, accessories like purses and necklaces in neon are perfect for pops of color. See the following outfits we put together for style inspiration!

This outfit can be paired with several different styles of shoes to be dressed up or down!

Pairing multiple solid neon colors is sophisticated.

Changing from neon flats to neon heels is a easy way to shift from work to play.
Steal the scene and look like a rock star mixing leather and neon. Do you have pictures rocking the Neon trend in a stylish way? Share your pictures with us on at thegatheredlady@gmail.com or tag us @thegatheredlady on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and if we like it, we'll share it!

7 Heavenly Trends... for Summer 2013!

This past Saturday marked the first official day of summer. You know what that means- a new excuse to shop for summer trends! We've compiled a list of hot fashion styles that you'll definitely want to attempt rocking. We've already spotted some of the looks in our Fashion Spreads! Although some of these trends may be on the daring side for the more conservative fashionistas, they all can be incorporated into daily style in a tasteful way to add playful elements to your look. Keep checking back, we'll be breaking down some of these in further details with "How to Rock..." posts. And for you fashionistas who are already wearing these trends, submit your pics to thegatheredlady@gmail or tag us on facebook, twitter, or instagram @TheGatheredLady #getgathered and if we like it, we'll share it! 

1. Graphic Prints

These bold prints take the work out of spicing up outfits. Choose your level of commitment to style-boldness with low-risk simple accessories like purses and tops or take more risks with dresses and pants. Also, graphic print shorts are guaranteed hot-ticket items this summer.

2. Leather

I'm sure you're thinking "Leather?! Ain't nobody got time for that in this heat!!". Don't worry, this trend is reasonable in that it's mainly skirts, shorts, and panels of leather that are being incorporated into clothing. Very temperature friendly. If you're still nervous, may we suggest wearing looser fitting leather, cool and roomy tops, and open toe shoes to make this style most practical. Check out how these ladies from The Gathered Fashion Spread & Nordic Poetry rock it for summer.

3. Neon

Poor Neon colors. Despite there attention seeking presence, they're only welcome in small doses and in trend cycles unlike their relatives Primary and Pastels. But seriously, neon colors can really add an amazing pop of color to your outfit. I opt for neon shoes, thin waist belts, finger nail accents, clutches and necklaces as my top choices to wear neon. I'm especially in love with my neon flats in citron color! Amazing! My neon fashion attempts with flats and belt4. Plastic & Lucite Accessories

Something about Plastic and Lucite that feels futuristic and metropolitan. Which is pretty cool, however this style is one to purchase in small doses. This look has been popping up since Spring, and recently was heavily featured in the Robin Thicke and Pharell music video 'Blurred Lines' by the models. Most women however don't look like 5'10 models with minimal body fat. Medium and fuller figured fashionistas may fare better with accessories rather than the plastic shirts and jackets. I've already purchase some lucite single strap sandals and am plotting when I can appropriately wear them!

5. Braids

Braids have made a serious comeback with celebrities like Beyonce and Amy Adams making them sophisticated and stylish again. Not just a hairstyle, braiding in clothing and accessories fits nicely with the tribal and graphic prints that have been a hit on the runways and in street style. I've been playing with the idea of box braids, but I may settle for braids in my sandals which is just as cool!

6.  American Rugged Charm

We won't go so far as to start singing "I'm proud to be an American", but we will give props to the American flag and this daring fashion trend of incorporating it and what I've deemed "rugged American charm" into outfits. This style can be seen in Native American print work, eagle themed shirts, as well as cut off denim shorts, summer cowboy & ankle boots, motorcycle tees and American flag prints. If part of you has a hard time wearing this fashion because you're worried about the underlying narcissism of American-pride  propaganda, just remember years back when Brazil flag shirts were all the rage. This isn't the first nation's flag theme to become a trend, so you might as well live it up while you have a pass and it won't be associated with any Larry the Cable Guy type fashion! LOL.

7. Nail Art

If you haven't noticed the hugely popular nail art trend, you're either a toddler, in a nursing home, or an alien. Even though you've seen it-- have you tried it? We've picked out what's popular this season, and coincidently it mimics some of the other trends like neon, graphic prints, and American. If you're too conservative to go all 10 fingernails, opt for a spicy pedicure or try the trend of painting your ring fingers a different color or design that the others. I personally love the attention to finger and toenails and have been sporting the cat and oval nails for over a year. I'm dying to try more graphic prints and neon colors, but only on my ring fingers for now!

Happy Monday! See you Wednesday. Now go get gathered with these trends!