We’ve found them all for you:  Experts on shoes, denim, hair, makeup and clothing.  Here is your 2010 Spring fashion trend advice!

Shoes:

We went straight to the owner of Monkee’s, Elizabeth Broyhill, and asked her point blank: what’s hot?  Are gladiators still in?  What are you most excited about?  Here is what you need to know:

• Gladiator Sandals: The gladiator is back again this Spring in a major way.  If you’re still a little hesitant opt for simple leather strap for a cleaner look.  Or kick it up with embellishments or a high wedge.
• Exotic Embellishments: Go native with exotic embellishments.  Feathers, beads, paillettes… the more the better!  And this trend goes hand-in-hand perfectly with the gladiator phenomenon.

• Reptile: This is a look that is timeless in my opinion, but it made a major statement on the runways for this season.  Any reptile – snakeskin, alligator, you are good to go.  And don’t hesitate to go for a stamped leather for a less expensive buy.

• Nudes & Neutrals: This elegant look is here in a major way for Spring.  This look elongates the leg and is truly flattering.  And if you’re worried about matching your skin tone, TroveTkees will arrive soon at Monkee’s.  These celebrity must-haves are beautiful leather sandals that come in a broad palate of foundation colors – stay tuned!
• High Wedge: The petite gals always gravitate to these stunners, but even if you’re 6 feet tall, we say go for it!  There are many styles to choose from this Spring and a wedge is always a flattering look and quite comfortable to boot!
• Studs: This is a carry over trend from Fall and we welcome it to stay!  Studs are a fantastic embellishment to reflect that hard-edge of your style.  Go for a shoe that can carry you into the early Fall as this trend is sticking around for a while! Our zipper shoes are fantastic as well.

DENIM:

Boutique Bella has an amazing assortment of denim.  One of the owners there, KC Nikolai, talked me through the hot trends:

• Basically, whatever you want and love is on trend this Spring.  If you want a flare, a boot cut, or a skinny, they are all fashionable.  This season is all about YOU.
• You will see the opposite ends of the spectrum lining the street: tattered & battered along side with tailored and clean.
• Boyfriend jeans didn’t sell in the way that was promised, so it will be interesting to see if that look in denim stays around.
• J Brand continues to be ultra popular in Nashville and look for the love-fest we had over black denim in winter to carry into Spring. While gray denim is touted in the magazines as strong and trendy, it’s an urban look (think NYC and LA) and most of Nashville simply won’t embrace it.  Nashville loves white jeans and they are a must have.

• The Skinny Jean is proving to be one that has sticking power.  The various fit options have opened this look up to many shapes….especially if you pair with a boot and a long tunic.  Look to see a lot of cropped skinny jeans this Spring and Summer as more and more women embrace this look which is becoming more of a mainstay jean than a trend.
• The Daily Beast has an hysterical post on the trend of the legging=jean known as a jegging. click here.  It’s worth the click)
• Boutique Bella carries sizes 24-32 (00-12) for jeans.  They have low rise, mid rise, high rise, regular and long.  They have so many jeans; it’s amazing.  Give yourself an hour here and find your perfect jean!

HAIR:

Trim Classic Barber’s senior stylist Bryan Letcher (and Liza’s hairstylist) gives us the scoop on what to expect in hair.  If you need a updated look, I highly recommend Bryan.

• short hair cuts are fuller bodied pixie cuts reminiscent of the sixties
• mid length classic bobs with strong lines are still going strong
• long hair is getting more layered and textured

Mia Farrow in the 1960's

Carey Mulligan today

• Reds are multi-tonal but still have a soft lived in look.
• Brunettes are either dark and dramatic or muted with golden peekaboo highlights.
• Blonds are natural looking with a lot of buttery tones.

Styling is soft and often multi-textured (ie. smooth top with rough ends)

COSMETICS:

Woo Skincare + Cosmetics shares what the new, hot colors are for this Spring and how to apply them.  Here’s their sage advice:

• CORALS: For lips and cheeks, beautiful, lush, warm corals with a hint of pink.  Bobbi Brown has 6 new lipsticks and new rouge pots in Calypso Coral and Cabo Coral.  They can be used on either your lips or cheeks.
• SHIMMER into spring with a subtle look.  Use shimmers on your lids and cheeks in Bobbi Brown colors of Nectar and Pink Quartz.  One customer asked, “Can 50 year-old woman use shimmers?”  Absolutely, but sparingly, just in the crease of the lid and as highlights to your blush.
• Soft and feminine is in with subtle pinks, corals and warm browns.
• Brows need definition and Bobbi Brown has a new brow pencil that’s wax free to allow a smoother application.

Woo suggests corals and pink for Spring

CLOTHES:

• FRESH, WHITE, CLEAN, CRISP. Seek out shirts, tunics and tees that reflect an airy, light look.  Habit has a great selection from Velvet and Joie.  Stay away from cremes this Spring season as they are on the out.

Habit carries fresh and white as a staple for Spring

• NAUTICAL is still in and continues to be a versatile addition to your wardrobe.  You’ll see lots of white stripes with the traditional navy as well as other colors.   Pair your nautical tees and sweaters with skinny white jeans.

Nautical is a great way to add interest to your Spring look

• TWILL. Twill jeans are the new leggings with their sleek, smooth texture.  You’ll find twill jeans in white, khaki and black.  As Boutique Bella also said, the skinny jean is here for a while.  A staple.  Both stores disagree that skinnys are only suited for 20 year olds.  Meg just send her Mother a pair with instructions included: cover you backside with a long tunic or sweater, pair with boots and have fun.  High waisted trousers with wide legs are part of most Spring collections.
• THE SAFARI LOOK in fatigue colors of grey, khaki and white.  Check out Joie, one of Habits’ most popular lines.
• PENCIL JEANS that hit above the ankle.  Some will have cuffs to roll up and pair with flats.  It’s a new slant on the boyfriend look.
• SLUB.  I LOVE the feel of slub.  Slub is linen and cotton blended together giving shirts and wraps a distinctive look with its texture and weave.
• Razor back tees in all colors IMAGINABLE.

Slub, a linen and cotton blend, rocks this Spring

The title of this post is the only Kipling poetry you get today.  I know that disappoints some and relieves the others.  Consider the rest of this post as visual boot poetry. Does that even make sense?  Anyhow, check out these boots.  All available through the end of day Saturday for 20% off if you have a Centerstone Card. ($50. You can buy one at Monkee’s or look online for other locations).  These boots are from Perfect Pair, Monkee’s, Billy Reid, Stuart Weitzman, J Crew.  Have a great weekend! Happy Halloween!

From Billy Reid, the Gladys. $495. 20% off= $396 I love both colors, but the metallic copper ones are show stoppers.

All Frye, all at Monkees. Be sure to hit the Frye trunk show this Saturday. From left to right, $400.50, $348, $640. But take 20% with Centerstone Card.

More Frye selections at Monkees. Price left to right are:$398, $170, and $348.

At Perfect Pair, by Old Gringo. $495. $396 after 20% off. LOVE that Zipper!

At Perfect Pair, and the perfect price. By Bronx. $198.

Another bargain by Bronx at Perfect Pair, $148. Two of my friends have these and they are great.

With all this rain, a pair of Hunter boots from JCrew, reg price $115, may be the boot to take advantage of this weekend...

For a true "fits like a glove" boot (even with tiny calves) try Tall Tale Stretch boots by Stuart Weitzman in the Mall at Green Hills $575, but again, 20% off with the Centerstone Card!

As T.V. series are returning to the air, (An overdue welcome back Mad Men and yippee The Office starts soon!) we are beginning our own series of weekly blogs on what to wear to specific Nashville social events.  We get to talk about local charities and local fashion all wrapped together…our bliss.  Each post will also feature an “If I walked into this store with only $100, what should I buy?” item.  If you would like us to write about your event, don’t hesitate to let us know!

Real quick- why are we doing this? Because so many people email us asking about what they should wear!  (We secretly love that, btw.)  We have all been at a party with a nice cocktail dress on and seen some over-the-top rhinestones flash by secretly thinking, “Ooh, that’s just a little over the top for my taste.”  Translation:  “Honey, you’re waaay over-dressed and everyone in the place knows it!”  Black-tie has lately been left for an even broader interpretation.  I love to see a man in a tux and women in long dresses, but let’s face it, many opt for a short dress and the black-tie optional formal suit, saving lots of money and fashion headaches.  The little black dress (LBD) is a fashion phenomenon because is it truly DOES go everywhere.  Yes, it’s a little boring and terribly safe, but the embarrassment of the wrong outfit is a far greater fashion faux pas.  But, unless it is STELLAR, we will try to step outside of the LBD box for this series of posts.

The Event: The Mad Hatter Ball at the Parthenon, September 12th @ 7PM

The Cause:  The Rape & Sexual Abuse Center.  For more information go to www.sacenter.org

The Chairs: Deana Day-Cartee & Nancy Benskin

The Attire: Cocktail Party

The Fashion Police: Cotton Mill, the Perfect Pair and Monkees.

Some fun fashion ideas for the Mad Hatter Ball….

Outfit #1

Gorgeous Diane Von Furstenberg dress in silk for $345

BCBG Courtney in nude for $225, Monkees

Outfit #2

Nanette Lepore off the shoulder for $398

The back is fab too!

Pair with a Camilla Skovgaard shoe from the Perfect Pair for $395

Outfit # 3

Pleated dress by Catherine Malandrino for $545

What a gorgeous pleated back!

Metallic heel from Kate Spade & Monkees for $298

Next, we asked the Cotton Mill Collection to select one item for $100 or less that is a MUST HAVE for your fall wardrobe. Since jackets of all kinds are a must, especially with lots of texture and tweed, and they are being tied up with belts, the Cotton Mill selected this Hobo belt for $94.

The hobo belt is a versatile addition to this fall's season

Resources:

Clothing

The Cotton Mill Collection

Shoes

Monkees

The Perfect Pair

Labels

www.dianevonfurstenberg.com

www.BCBG.com

www.nanettelepore.com

www.camillaskovgaard.com

shop.catherinemalandrino.com

www.katespade.com