As I mentioned in this post from last month, my husband and I were taking a European vacation to Rome, Florence and Munich. Boy was it an amazing experience. We've never been to any of these cities and both of us have never been to Italy so we wanted to make the most of it. I took it all in. The food. The arts. The architecture. The food. The history. The food. The fashion.... and oh yeah! The food. Cannot forget about that! And did we ever enjoy the food, among other things!
But I did pay attention to fashion. Particularly to the European styles and the fashionable Americans traveling alongside us. There were three big trends I noticed, two out of three I was dying for and one I could probably leave behind.
Here are the Big Three I noticed:
1. Flat, Leather (or leatheresque), Equestrian style boots - Gotta Have!
2. Cropped Leather (or leatheresque) motorcycle inspired jackets - Gotta Have!
3. Printed Leggings - Meh!
So the first two trends I've seen over the past couple of seasons but I didn't think of making an investment on them just yet. I tend to wait around with trends for at least a year to see the staying power! I've done this with leggings, tucking pants into boots, and skinny jeans among other things. I love new ideas and trends in fashion but I really don't want to spend money on something that won't last me a while. Also, sometimes it takes more than a season for me to really even like the look! Some things just don't appeal immediately. I guess that's probably why I wouldn't consider myself a true fashionista. But boy, do I keep on plugging away with this fashion and style appreciation thing! Perhaps, in a perfect world, I'd be more adventurous but I believe that might take a much bigger wallet... Sigh! So until then, the trend-spotting and admiring from afar until I believe something is worth the investment and I really love it will continue.
Anyhoo, the cropped leather jackets, particularly those of the really soft, thin, and well-fitted persuasion really caught my eye in Rome. Actually, the ones I loved the most were in cobalt blue! Just like the one I included below! Another trend I spotted was the equestrian/riding boots with the flat heels. I'd seen some of these styles in the past, but these boots were everywhere on this trip. In the airports, on the plane and all over Italy and Germany. These would have actually come in handy in Munich where we got a lot of cold rain on the third day there! Needless to say, I was hooked! I got into the "I must have" mindset.
Where else to get a great leather jacket but Florence, Italy? The capital of leather goods. Where every block has at least 3 leather goods stores. I ended up buying the cropped leather jacket of my dreams in Florence, albeit, for a bit higher price than I expected, but then again, it was my one souvenir purchase for the entire trip! And actually after trying a few on, I realized that the asymmetrical zipper and cobalt blue didn't strike me as much as this brown ("taupe" as the designer and shop owner had called it) leather jacket. Just an FYI, the designer and store owner was Davide Cerasi of the
Davide Cerasi Leather Factory in Florence, Italy. While he gave me some of his cards and also apparently sells to Nordstrom, I think advertising via the blog will help me get the word out easier.
This is a picture of my lovely leather souvenir.
I love it! It's so well fitted (although I had reservations of the size "L" on the label in the back) and it's so soft and already treated for weather like rain so that won't damage it. It's a perfect lightweight for early fall weather also! I can't say enough about it. I do try to wear this thing absolutely everywhere!
The first thing I bought when I came home were these amazing
Katie and Kellie "Beyonce" equestrian boots in black with brown buckle detailing from DSW shoe warehouse. Actually, these are also featured in the collage below in all black. So I actually fell in love with three styles of a two-tone, brown and black equestrian/riding boot and could not decide. I usually sleep on it and let my heart tell me which one I really love, but after a few nights, I still couldn't make up my mind. Then it was time to call in the big guns. Yep! You guessed it, I emailed some of my friends I knew would be able to help me decide. Between the three boots, two friends voted for one style, two friends voted for another, and the third, the tiebreaker, actually voted for the third style left! YIKES! What was I to do? I still liked them all equally! After thinking a bit more, I finally consulted the pros and cons with my husband and showed him all three. He was more than happy to help, although looking at boots is probably not a man's favorite thing to do! And ultimately, my heart said yes to these gorgeous Katie and Kelly "Beyonce" boots. Besides, channeling some Beyonce, a.k.a. Sasha Fierce, is never a bad thing.
I'm loving these boots so far. I've worn them with both pants and skirts and they go with everything. The long zipper on the side makes them really easy to put on and take off and the brown buckle just elevates the look. I love the two-tone effect in riding boots!
The final trend I spotted and decided to pass on was printed leggings. Actually, a friend of mine and my sister both asked me this past year whether leggings were still in, and since I hadn't gotten rid of mine I said I thought they were still OK... Although I really had no idea myself! Hilarious! It's especially funny because I was the most resistant to the legging trend and barely wear mine but I do find them to come in handy still at times, so I'm not completely ready to let them go. I'm not sure why they asked me if they were still in style but I appreciate the compliment to my fashion sense! Regular monotone leggings are one thing, but leggings in a funky black and white print (which was the most prominent style I'd seen all over Italy) is totally not going to happen for me. My nieces look so cute wearing all sorts of plain and printed leggings under theirs skirts and dresses, but I know I cannot pull off what girls under the age of 10 can, and never will! So I left this one back in Europe with the Europeans. Unfortunately, the this weird printed (usually black and white geometric printed) legging trend seemed to follow me back here (creepy!) because I saw a girl on the Metro just this week wearing them and more recently at Tyson's Corner mall. Where the heck did those come from? Probably H&M or Zara! Well ladies, if you love it, go for it, but if you don't, you're perfectly alright to leave whatever trends you don't like behind. We can't rock them all! Otherwise we'd dressing a bit schizophrenic with all those different and competing styles!
Inspired by my recent trip, I've decided to include a Polyvore collage for you all based on my two favorite trends, the cobalt blue cropped leather jacket and the equestrian riding boot. I love how these accessories elevate this look to being really cool and polished. I don't know about you all, but I want that scarf!
