High School Trendspotting: GUESS? bags

Ok, so this FT has reached a further demographic than my high school 'trendies', but it's still an FT (not to mention, my favourite FT) so I'm going to write about it anyway. Lol.
As the days go by, more and more GUESS? by Marciano bags have been gracing my presence. Not on my shoulder, unfortunately, but on the shoulders of others.

Tribeca Frame Satchel for glamour

I work in customer service, which means I get to see what everyone's carrying, and believe me I see at least 4 or 5 GUESS? bags come in and out of my work in a 4 hour shift. At least I have something nice to look at as the hours go by. Lol.

Queen Small Hobo for fun

My advice? If you haven't already got yourself a GUESS? bag (or, say...4) then definitely give it a go. Some people think following fashion trends is weak...these people have obviously never owned a a bag by Marciano.
Clue for next FT post: fun in the sun...

Catch.

*Romany*

[photos courtesy of shop.guess.com]

High School Trendspotting: Country Road bags

I don't know about anywhere else, but here in Australia these bags are positively famous, and for some reason an absolute must-have for any girl (sometimes even guys) going through the later stages of high school. What is it about these bags that make them a cult favourite? I'm not really sure, I've never seen the 'absolute must-have' attraction of the bags, which explains why I don't have one myself. It's not that I have anything against them -- they're huge, sturdy and can come in some nice colours. But I'm not bothering, because rest-assured I'm sure they won't remain en vogue for too much longer.

See they're a pretty regular bag. My guess is that they're size was originally what everyone was looking for, then after everyone had one for practicality, they became an 'IT' bag. It's strange, but then again, it's high school. (sorry, it's not the most glamorous photo, but it does the trick.)
Clue for next FT post: GUESS? who...

Catch.

*Romany*

[photo courtesy of cgi.ebay.com.au]

High School Trendspotting: Lurex Metallic Stripe Scarves

There's nothing better than lurex to glam up an outfit. And in what better form than a scarf?
Ever since, say September-October these have been everywhere. But it's great, because they're gorgeous! I haven't had the time to pick one up for myself but I borrowed my friend's the other night at a party, and am not looking forward to giving it back. Lol.

It's really just an ordinary lightweight, white scarf with tassles, but the metalic stripe (sounds a bit NASCAR, doesn't it? Lol) really jazzes it up. This one above is from ASOS which is an online store, based in the UK. Here in Australia, people are mostly wearing their lurex scarves that they bought months ago, probably from Sportsgirl, but Dotti is still stocking them in peach and other colours; Just Jeans were stocking the white ones, with blue metallic stripes a few weeks back, but I haven't seen any since...Glassons are still stocking them in white, and other colours, also.
This yellow lurex scarf with metallic stripe above is Miss Selfridge. It's so pretty!
For those of you dealing with winter weather at present (lucky. It's way too hot over here), thick scarves (e.g. pashmina's for sophistication and style), are an excellent option to keep the scarf trend going.
Clue for next FT post: it's a long country road we walk down...

Catch.

*Romany*

[photos courtesy of asos.com and missselfridge.com]

High School Trendspotting: Short Shorts and Long Cardigans

Yay! Finally an FT that works my way, lol! I've worn this combination of clothing many a time this year, and loved every minute of it.
Used to seeing the usual Daisy Duke denim cut off short shorts? No wonder you're not enthusiastic about this trend (not that there's anything wrong with these, but denim Daisy Dukes have some, let's say, risqué associations). Get creative and interpret/alternate this trend to make it your own. I've mostly seen loose fabric short shorts (that are mighty short, rest assured) this year, but denim is always hot so don't get down if that's how you'd like it. Whatever floats your boat.
Now for my favourite part, the cardi. Being a woman of a somewhat curvaceous stature, I have many body parts that I like to cover up. Cardi's are my best friend, for that very reason, especially long ones. Light, breezy, laid-back: perfect for summer.
Clue for next FT post: sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.

Catch.

*Romany*

[photos courtesy of victoriassecret.com and crossingwallstreet.com]

High School Trendspotting: White Shirts with Belts

This is a fairly new FT that I've been meaning to write about for months, but never really got round to it. I first noticed it on a very fashionable friend of mine, and soon others followed suit (no pun intended. Lol). It can be an extremely flattering look, giving an air of laid-back, relaxed chic meets office butterfly. This isn't usually the style of white shirt that's used (I've only ever seen shirts with buttons, and no in-built white belts), but as I always say, fashion is open to interpretation. You wouldn't believe how blank your mind goes when you need to think of brands that stock white shirts. Lol. To be honest, I think oversized shirts look better in this particular trend.
Hoorah I found the exact belt that's used (almost every time)! This particular one is called a Corset Belt, pretty much speaks for itself, no? Corset Belts work quite well, in that they are very flattering, often adding waist definition where there was none to begin with. Brown is the preferred belt colour with white shirts, it flows better. Black could work, I suppose, but in the end might look too harsh.
Clue for next FT post: who wears short shorts?

Catch.

*Romany*

[photos courtesy of levisstore.com and whiteshirtshop.com]

High School Trendspotting: Flannel Shirts

Sorry about having two trend spotting posts in a row. I just could not refrain from writing about this one any longer.
It all started about 3 weeks ago when we all went camping. Tartan flannel shirts were all the rage, especially blue. Now, we're back in the real world and this camping trend has transformed into a full-blown fashion trend. I have to admit, flannel shirts are totally comfy don't get me wrong, but I don't get why people are opting for these pajama-type tops (hence the only clue I could think of for this FT) over more stylish options? I liked wearing mine whilst camping, but it's just not my thing to go out looking less than well put-together.

I couldn't find a nice enough picture of an actual flannel shirt, so I decided to go with this picture sample of all the different colours flannel comes in. I noticed there's no dark blue (the colour that everyone's wearing), but the red/black is second most popular. Black/pink looks pretty hot, too. Somehow I don't think this FT is here to stay for very long, so don't too excited. I mainly just wanted to express my confusion. Lol.
My verdict: save it for the campsite.
Clue for next FT post: business as usual...

Catch.

*Romany*

[photo courtesy of q-sport.com]

High School Trendspotting: Skinny Jeans and Bright Flats

Now this is an FT I've always wanted to be able to pull off. But I was blessed with fairly big thighs and wide hips, and considering I'm not Jennifer Lopez (the only curvy woman who skinny jeans, not to mention high-waisted skinny jeans, flatter), they don't exactly look hot on me. But, no matter, fashion is fleeting as they say.

These are the exact type of jeans featured in this FT. This particular style is the Levi's -- 509 Genevieve jean.
Best to buy somewhat long ones, to achieve the ruching on the bottom of the legs. I see them in mainly this medium-light colour, but can also be worn in a darker colour (if opting for black, make sure jeans are skintight. If they are somewhat loose, it can look sloppy). But like all FT's it's open to interpretation.
Oh, I love these shoes (Zu -- Heaven Sent shoe)! I think I might go shopping on Monday and pick up a pair of these for myself. Anyway, these are another perfect example of what's exactly featured in this FT (wow, I picked well this time. Lol). The flats are almost always embellished with a belt over the toe (usually when gold or silver in colour), or if not, they're peep-toe style (often seen in red or yellow). Peep-toe shoes make my feet look weird, so I usually opt for closed-toe styles.
So hot.
Clue for next FT post: pajama party...

Catch.

*Romany*
p.s. Happy Halloween! If you're yet to have a Halloween celebration and are looking for inspiration for costumes, then look no further than Chic Stories! This blog features a fashionable compilation of what all the stars were wearing to their Halloween parties (among plenty of other stylish posts), to help you choose.

[photos courtesy of justjeans.com.au and zu.com.au]

High School Trendspotting: Fluoro

Ok, so this trend can be divided into 3 different categories: trashy, casual and adult. I don't usually like to say bad things about people , so I'll be relatively short with the Trashy category: I see lots of people around, who wear fluoro track pants usually accompanied with big styled hair, and I, personally, don't like this look. This trend never used to be that bad though (me having gotten into the whole track pants thing about 2 years ago), it probably could have passed as throw-on casual. But these days, the fluoro makes all the difference, creating a trying-to-look-just-thrown-together-but-just-looking-totally-fake look. Oh well. It's their choice. And that's all I'll say.

Casual is a lot nicer. Basically it's everything the name suggests. Comes in virtually everything, but the most popular item seems to be hooded jumpers. Then there's Adult. Or Nu-Rave as the fashion mags are calling it these days, admitting to being 'scared' of this trend. There's nothing to be scared of. Just be yourself.
As you can probably tell, I'm not the biggest fan of this FT but I'm living with it. Lol
Clue for next FT post: skinny minnie.

Catch.

*Romany*

[photo courtesy of stevieon.com]

High School Trendspotting: Slouchy Boots

Now this is something that started quite a while ago. Obviously it's more of a winter trend, but can be worn in summer also, with shorts. Doesn't sound too hot? Believe me, it is.
I generally try to steer clear of leather and suede products (I'm a vegetarian, see), but sometimes I just can't help myself. I've never even found a pair that come in my size, anyway, so I guess it's for the best.
Anyway, the type I see mostly are fairly dark, flat and leather. So basically, just imagine these...

...except without the heel (and perhaps in most cases a tiny bit darker, but this trend is open to interpretation of course). These can be worn with jeans (dark, skinny/ slim line jeans mostly), opaque stockings (another red hot trend), short shorts (more on those in another post) etc.

It started with one person, then before I knew it they were everywhere! Much like the Jade Necklaces. But, I suppose, that's what a trend is right?
Clue for next FT post: glow in the dark...

Catch.

*Romany*

[photo courtesy of fabsugar.com]

High School Trendspotting: Jade Necklaces

This idea just popped into my head this morning at work. My friends and I were talking about a particular fashion trend we've been seeing a lot of lately (one which I shall elaborate on in a later post), and I thought to myself wow, high school really is one of the most trend-following places on earth. Then I thought about how fashion trends (FT's) are extremely important to some people (myself partially included, lol), and figured it would be a good idea to record all the FT's I notice at school and write about them. This can be for any number of causes, e.g.: so people can read about a particular FT and perhaps decide to try it out..?
Anyway, I thought I'd start with something that I, myself, have invested in (and I was one of the first, I'm proud to admit, lol): Jade necklaces with red strings.


I remember writing about the fact that my close friends were going on a trip to China a little while ago. Well, they've been back for a few weeks, and one particular gorgeous friend of mine brought me back a jade necklace. She also bought these for quite a few of our friends. We started our school term this week, wore our necklaces and all of a sudden it's the new black.
Jade is a beautiful stone, and the red string represents good luck. Mine is heart-shaped, but they come in millions of different shapes and sizes.
For my High School Trendspotting (it's not a very catchy or original title, is it?) segment, I will try and give clues about the next FT.
Clue for next FT post: if the shoe fits...

Catch.

*Romany*

[photo courtesy of chinese-zodiac-symbols.com]