It was a definite no-go for several years, but the bare belly is back! Designers have taken last season’s cut-out-trend a little further and have created all kinds of belly-revealing fashion pieces. The bare part varies from upper stomach (Blumarine, Prada, Emilio Pucci, Dolce & Gabbana) to lower belly (Roberto Cavalli, Acne, Gaultier, Missoni), from modest to slightly tacky.

The how-to-wear part is actually quite easy. Mix your cropped top with long pants (Roberto Cavalli), shorts (D&G), pencil skirts (Prada) or maxi skirts (Emilio Pucci); everything is possible.

And though the bare belly isn’t quite the office look, there surely is no harm in showing of parts of your abs at a fancy cocktail party. On the contrary! Finally you can show off that hidden six pack of yours. Or ehh.. at least you have a good reason to start working on that.

If you’re not so sure about this trend yet, just opt for last season’s cut-out trend, which is still very chic as well.

I originally wrote this trend for TPS.
See more of this trend here.

Photos: Prada, Emilio Pucci, Dolce & Gabbana
Photo Source: Fashion Gone Rogue

As the seasons change and every once in a while we go from skinny to flared jeans and from round to pointed shoes, we also change from subtle bracelets to chunky bangles. And this summer, so it seems, it’s all about chunky jewelry.

We saw the eye-catching necklaces at Marni and the larger than life earrings at Blumarine and now it’s time to cover your wrists with big bangles. Choose for multiple ones like Bottega Veneta, Hermes and Carolina Herrera. Also, opt for color (we spotted orange, red and green ones) and maybe add a touch of gold (like we saw at Balmain) to bring it all together.

Whether they’re made out of leather, wool, metallic or wood; whatever suits your look the best is just fine. They don’t even need to be rounded; Gianfranco Ferré proved a square bangle can be just as much fun. Also, Giambattista Valli showed a few animal inspired examples that were even more creative.

Whatever bracelet you pick, there’s only one rule: don’t hold back! The brighter, the bolder, the better.

I originally wrote this trend for TPS.
See more of this trend here.

Photos: Marni, Hermes, Carrolina Herrera
Source: Team Peter Stigter (pictures can not be copied!)

Paisley, animal and floral prints, polka dots, stripes and checks; mixing different prints in one look is one of the biggest trends of this season. We already spotted the multi-print look last season at Dries van Noten and Marni. Yet for spring/summer 2012 many more fashion designers dared to show these clashing prints in their runway looks.

For instance Blugirl, Erdem and Sportmax mixed diverse floral prints in the looks. Loewe, Burberry and Marni opted for prints that were a bit more graphical. Moschino mixed animal with floral, Prada combined polka dots with cars and Dries van Noten showed florals in the mix with some other nature-inspired prints.

It seems with this trend there are no boundaries or rules. Just pick your favorite prints and start mixing. And remember you don’t need all designer prints. Mixing your H&M printed pants with your Zara top can be just as charming, prints charming that is.

I originally wrote this trend for TPS.
See more of this trend here.

Photos: Moschino, Sportmax, Dries van Noten
Source: Fashion Gone Rogue

Not the athletic type of person? No worries! This sporty summer trend can be worn to any occasion, not just the gym. The sport -influences are everywhere; in the materials, the details and certain sport items make a comeback too.

When it comes to materials we see thick surfer’s fabrics like neoprene popping up, lots of jersey and mesh details (Alexander Wang). Elegant items are given sporty details as well, like large pockets (Versus), hoodies (Rag & Bone, Kenzo) and eye-catching zippers (Blumarine). Then there are the classic sports items like the baseball jacket (Victoria Beckham) and cycling shorts making a huge comeback. And let’s not forget the Isabel Marant wedge sneaker hype that has been going on for the last couple of months.

When it comes to color the usual suspects black and white are a solid option, perhaps mixed with bright tones and touches of neon. Add your sexiest heels and some sparkling jewelry and you’re ready for a chic night out. There’s always tomorrow for the real working out…

Photos: Rag & Bone, Alexander Wang, BCBG
Source: Fashion Gone Rogue

I originally wrote this trend for TPS.
See more of this trend here.

As I wrote before I recently went on a press trip to London with River Island. I visited the headquarters and saw the new spring/summer collection in the River Island showroom in the city center of London. To get us in a spring mood the showroom was decorated in a Miami Vice kind of style. The walls were painted in the brightest colors, there were cocktails (and candy) and the DJ played some summer-y tunes (as if the collection itself wasn’t bright and funky enough!).

For spring River Island reworked the pastel trend, used lots of ethnic influences and opted for lots of color. Like always with this British brand every single items got it’s unique RI-touch. So a RI tie-dye short gets some extra mirror appliques, a RI baseball jacket is done in at least four different shades and a RI printed bathing suit is finished off by pearls. Though it can be a bit too much sometimes I generally love the rich styling and the images above portray some of my favorite items.

Photos
Lace & pastel pieces | Tie-dye shorts | Baseball inspired jacket | Comfortable shoes (they’re actually from the men’s department | Bathing suit | Beaded items | Me trying on a pair of rounded sunglasses | Colorblock bag 2.0 | Necklace | (very funny) PR lady | Don’t be a square!

After having walked around in my old clothes for my removal during the last couple of days I felt like dressing up today. Since it was – yet again – a lovely sunny day I decided to wear something spring-worthy. I combined something old (my H&M suit I bought last summer) with something new (my recently purchased Zara blouse). The blue of the suit seemed to match pretty well with the blue of the floral print and I added a touch of turquoise by wearing my favorite ZARA heels.

Look
Blouse: Zara | Suit: H&M (Trend) | Heels: Zara | Sunglasses: bought at Venice Beach (LA) | Ring: Topshop | Bracelet: Asos

Today was such a sunny day I felt like doing a little spring shopping. I got lucky; at River Island I bumped into the perfect spring dress. This eye-catching piece combines some of my favorite trends of the new season. It has a peplum, it combines two different prints and it has a nice touch of color to it. Not to mention the cool cut-out at the back. I can’t wait to start wearing this. Now let’s just hope the sun will keep on shining for the next couple of days!

Dress
River Island