Category Archives: Style

Trending Costume Jewel for Late Summer

Enameled jewelry is where it is at for late summer.  The idea is not to wear several charms on a wrist or necklace but to wear one single charm from an expenive gold or silver chain.  Fruit is really popular with enamaled strawberries, apples or cherries dangling from the chain being very popular. This look is also popular in dangling earring styles.

 

In terms of bracelets it is mainly the corded styles that are dominating the market. Bracelets made out of fabric cord in black or white are threaded with hematite, diamante or other types of round beads.  These items look good stacked and are like larger, more glamorous versions of the classic friendship bracelets.

 

Anything that has the Chanel logo on it is also in style for summer and fall. This is especially true of cuff bracelets which must have that big interlocking silver pair of C’s on the clasp. This too is part of that rage for anything that might have been popular in the nineties.  Vintage Chanel pieces are particulary poplar.  This look in costume jewelry is a mainstay. It just never seems to go out of style.

 

Necklaces made out of interlocking metal and interspersed with rhinestones or crystals are also a big deal.  These usually look like long collars and are made out of rows of interlocking chains that have a resemblance to watch wristbands.

 

Vintage or vintage look-alike necklaces made out of large clunky pieces of glass or rhinestones are also very hot right now but only as long as they are made out of platinum or silver colored metals.  Just like a seventies, young girls are wearing these rhinestones with black t-shirts and weathered jeans.

 

Also popular are necklaces and bracelets with large square shaped gems, bigger than your thumbnail in different smoky colors hanging on a single gold chain.  This is a very chunky eighties look for jewellry  with a deliberate nod to all things faux.

 

There is also a lot of fuss in the fashion magazines about what are known as statement necklaces.  Statement necklaces are big pieces, usually costume jewelry, that one cannot help but notice on the neck.  Often the beads or design is very kitsch or artistic.  Many of them are bib necklaces that cascade like a kerchief down the front of the peron. Once you wear this with a black top or dress then you need not wear any other piece of bling on your body!

Hot Fashion Trends for Late Summer

There are a few fashion trends in summer acccessories that are likely to stick around all through late summer and into the fall.

 

All year there has been a retro leean towards the kind of feathered and beaded earrings, necklaces and belts that Cher might have worn on her television show in the seventies.  Corded bracelets with big aqua and orange opaque beads are in fashion as are thong leather sandals with braided straps.d This is also a nod to the Idle No More movement which is generating a minor trend in fashion towards indigenou styles.  However whether or not it is politically correct to wear these stylses is another matter

 

Bib necklaces are also very hot this season. These are collars like chokers that then have reams of jewels or crochet draping about the neck like a kerchief.  The V shape usually hangs around the neck and below the breasts. The thing that makes the 2013 version different than the ones made of metal we have seen the past few years is that the bauble or beads tend to be of different sizes.

 

Multi-strand necklaces are a carryover from the last couple of seasons and they are still going to be in style. Whether they are made out of chains or multi-colored these necklaces look great on everyone.

 

There was a trend a few years ago towards wearing you belt just under the breasts to give your long flowing dresses more of an empire waist. You are going to see this revived for this fall.  Think of using a wide or shirred belt as a bodice.  The coolest ones will be made of leather with a tiered or double buckle in black and for summer white, lime or hot pink colors.

 

In terms of purses the smaller the better. The latest trend is towards little purses, the size of change purses that hang on long braided leather straps and that are molded to look like the faces of animals.  A little less childish are the large, elegant fabric bags with big wooden beads and handles that have forties and fifties styles kitch prints on it.

 

When it comes to keeping the rain off of your clear umbrellas are back in style especially if they have that big bubble shape. A true mod umbrella with a clear plastic bubble and black and white color design is not cheap!  They usually cost about thirty dollars or more.  However that is the price you pay to look as elegant as a Mary Quant model from the sixties.

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Is Your Purse Causing Pain?

The human shoulder and back is a very complicated, interrelated mechanism that can reflect pain from one area to the other. So many muscles also wrap around the torso and when stretched at trigger points in the shoulder and the neck cause pain at the front of the body.

 

Women who carry large heavy purses that are more than ten percent of their body weight are also prone to such health problems as –

 

Lower Back Pain – This is caused by the bag being too heavy. The pain can be transferred from one side of the lower back to the other.  This is usually due to muscles straining to compensate for the weight on one side of the lumbar disc of the spine.

 

Shoulder Pain – This is caused by a heavy purse cutting into the ligaments of the shoulder and causing burning, numbness and aches

 

Neck Pain – A stiff and sore neck is also often caused by carrying a bag that weighs too much especially if the purse strap is rubbing up the side of the shoulder and inching it’s way to the neck area while you walk

 

Hip Pain –  A heavy bag carried against one hip can cause compression of lower spinal disks

 

Knee pain – A purse that is too heavy can affect your gait and this can cause your knees to slip forward and out of rhythm. It is very common for women who carry heavy purses to experience pain at the side of the knees.

 

Ankle pain – An out of aligned lower spine can cause the sides of the ankles  just above the ankle bone to become sore and painful. If you feel pressure, swelling or pain here the culprit might be your purse.

 

Pain in front ribs – There are muscles that attach to the shoulder blades and spine and attach to the front ribs that can become traumatized too tight.  This is especially common in women with large breasts or who are carrying extra belly weight

 

Pain in the scalp – This is also caused by irritated or immobilized neck and shoulder muscles irritating nerves in the neck

 

Leg cramps – The body can be thrown forward by the weight of the purse, causing the hamstrings to shorten.  The result is distressing and painful leg cramps that strike without warning in the middle of the night. These types of leg cramps are also sometimes called “Charlie Horses.”

 

Unfortunately many women suffer more than one of these symptoms and all because they are refusing to put the heavy fashionable tote down.

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Ionic Hair Straightening

Ionic hair straightening is a safe way to permanently straighten hair. It is also sometimes called Japanese hair straightening or Ionic hair straightening. The treatment is very expensive and costs between three hundred and eight hundred dollars.

 

In this procedure a lotion is applied that destroys the sculpture bonds in the hair, which breaks it down so that it does not have, it’s usual frizz or curl. After the treatment is finished your hair is styled as usual and a lotion that sets it is applied. After this is rinsed out your hair is styled again and you will not be able to wash your hair until 72 hours has passed.

 

This is not a simple treatment.   It takes eight hours to accomplish properly. There are also a lot of chemicals involved so make sure this does not disturb you.  Touch-ups can take up to four hours.

 

How often you have to get this done depends on how long or heavier your hair is. Most people have it done very eight months to a year.  It does not work well on thinning hair, very delicate African hair or hair that is thinning or falling out. Most women get this done because it helps improve the management of hair. It is particularly ideal for women with frizzy, curly, dehydrated, damaged and coarse hair. It works bet of all on Mediterranean or Caucasian hair and the results can last for up to two years.  It does not work well on kinky or peppercorn curls.   If you have overbleached or henna’d your hair the straightening treatment may not work so well either.  Colored hair may be too fragile to handle the harsh chemicals and actually break the hair.  Make sure the salon technician handling your treatment knows that you have colored your hair before any processing of the hair begins.

 

The fact that the treatment does last so long means that you have to make absolutely certain that this is a good option for you. Once the treatment is done it is irreversible. Not even setting your hair with hot rollers or curling irons will restore its original volume or wave.

 

This is not something that you can do at home. You can buy ionic hair straighteners at the drug store or salon but these are not the same thing.  Hair tools that are called ionic in this sense are really just ceramic hair straighteners.  Although they do work and are very effective at straightening hair the results are temporary.