This spring's brightest star isn't a new hot designer or some fresh-faced ingenue turned style muse - it's the trend of metallics.
From handbags to shoes to eyeshadow to cropped jackets, it seems just about everything this season has the midas touch.
 The best part? A little metallic goes a long way! So a simple flash of silver eyeliner for night, a pair of gleaming gold ballet flats for day, or a metallic handbag anytime is all you need to bring the trend to life.
For the true metal-heads amongst us, invest in a great metallic trench or cocktail dress. Since gold and silver are now considered neutral colors in your wardrobe, much as they have always been thought of for jewelry, these timely pieces are sure to look sensational for years to come.
Love the idea of adding a bit of flash to your style, but aren't quite sure which mineral tones looks best on you? Gold is a great choice if you find you look your best in warm colors like deep reds, oranges, and yellows.
Silver will surely sparkle on those who are drawn to a cooler color palette of pale blues and greens.
 Remember the finish of the metallic hue decides its personality. So, before you make a purchase, decide on the look you wish to achieve.
Metallic pieces that are super shiny and reflective are somewhat futuristic and always edgy.
Anything with beading or chainmail is reminiscent of vintage glamor, sparkly and irridescent metals can be quite modern, while soft matte finishes speak of rich sophistication.
For those wanting to explore metallics, but tend to shy away from anything too flashy, remember metallics go beyond your basic silver and gold.
Instead, you can opt for shades of plantinium, copper, or bronze. These softer shades will add just as much excitement and sophistication to your look as their more intense counterparts.
Photo credits:
First grouping: Urban Decay pencils from Sephora.com & Stardust polish from the Lippman collection Second grouping: Celine trench from Style.com, Juicy Couture suit from Neimanmarcus.com, & Stella McCartney dress from Elle.com. Third grouping: Miu Miu headband from Saksfithavenue.com, Ted Rossi bangles, J.Crew ballet flats, & Micheal Kors bag from Nordstrom.com.
 Born with a natural sense of style, Julie Hoylen is a fashion stylist and consultant working in the New York City area. Julie's professional experience in both the fashion and music industries has allowed her to develop a unique perspective on personal style that keeps her clients turning to her whenever they need help defining their look personally or professionally.
Julie is Sensational Color's Lifestyle Editor and Chief Style Maven. You can see the latest from Julie on Live In Full Color.
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Glitzy Metallics, Pearly Pales, and Fiery Brights: Shades for Nails Making a Splash Into Summer!
 After the long, dark days and short, dark nails of winter, hands and feet everywhere can rejoice that the colors of spring have arrived! This season we’ll shed our heavy layers and make a fresh start.
Ultra-feminine dresses, glossy candy-colored accessories, a modern trench, absolutely anything metallic, tailored sportswear with a shot of bright color, and an extreme pair of shoes (from the lowest ballerina flat to the ultra highest wedge) are just a few key pieces to place on your wish list this season.
Black and other super-deep toned polishes reigned supreme as the hottest color for nails throughout the fall and winter. Chanel’s “Noir” and OPI’s “Lincoln Park after Dark” reached cult status, adorning the trendiest hands and feet.
The buzz surrounding black finger tips, a trend that was embraced by women of all ages, set the stage for nail color to be seen as an ultimate accessory. Flashing black or intensely dark colors on your nails and toes may have gotten you as much attention as if you were carrying the “it” bag of the season.
Now it seems as if all shades are vying for the title of spring’s “new black," and everyone from beauty editor to fashionista on the street has their own opinion as to what the newest, most coveted shade will be. We set out to uncover the most exciting colors this season and here’s what we spotted:
Will shiny silver nails take over where black left off? First spotted on the runway at the Louis Vuitton Spring 2007 fashion show last fall, silver seems to be the color that best sums up the luxurious and modern spirit of this year’s best fashions.
We’ve been seeing a bevy of metallic toned dresses and accessories sashaying down red carpets over the last few months, so the shift towards a metallic manicure and pedicure comes at the perfect time for those of us craving a little star treatment.
“Rinse Charming,” a beautiful, gleaming silver by OPI, seems to be the polish du jour, getting mentions by beauty editors in both Vogue and Blueprint magazines as their favorite polish leading the trend.
Other sparkly contenders includes L’oreal’s “Sultry Silv,” Creative Nail Design’s “Silver Anniversary,” and “Stardust” from the Lippman Collection.
Ready to give this trend a whirl? Keep in mind your silver nails will make a real statement on their own, so for daytime treat your metallic manicure as you would any metallic accessory and keep the rest of your look clean and simple.
 Then, in the evening, really let your silver tips sparkle by pairing them with other metallic pieces or ensembles in warm pinks, deep purples, lush grays, lemon yellows, and gunmetal tones that are so “of the moment” this spring.
Love metallics, but find yourself drawn more to the gold and copper side of these mineral-inspired shades? “Gold is the new black,” says Creative Nail Design’s founder Jan Arnold to Marie Claire magazine in the March 2007 issue.
Their “Pharoah’s Gold” is a metallic gold polish that Arnold believes is can be worn with “all colors for all occasions.” Other gold rush contenders include Cover Girl’s “Goldmine” and OPI’s “Brisbane Bronze,” a shimmery bronze inspired by the free-spirit of the Austrailian landscape.
Spring 2007 is being described as the “season of the dress.” Today’s dresses have a coquettish twist - they’re modern, they’re flirty, and they are ultra-feminine. The return of one-piece dressing brings with it a sense of ease and lightness to your wardrobe.
 So lighten up your nails, as well! Pale, pearl shades that mimic the inside of a seashell are a beautiful accoutremont to this latest style. Chanel’s “Allegoria,” Nar’s “Please Me Pink” and “Temptation,” Revlon’s “Sweet Nothings,” as well as Shu Uemeura’s “Shimmering Sun,” are pale shades with subtle pearl finishes that reflect light. These shades have timeless sophistication - they're like wearing a strand of pearls without the fussiness.
For a more casual, clean nail color, nude-tones and sheer apricots look fabulous as the mercury begins to rise. Nar’s “Nude Nightie,” Estee Lauder’s “Peach Sorbet,” and Essie’s “Cool-lots” are all good bets. The orange undertones of sheer apricot give a fresh look to a French manicure.
Everything in accessories this season, from bags to jewelry, look as if they’ve been sugar-coated at the candy factory. Patent leather shoes and bags, bright, shiny enamel jewelry, and reflective fabrics all appear to be dipped in pure, saturated color. Give nails and toes the same super high-gloss colors.
The brightest stars include Chanel’s “Heat Wave,” Lancome’s “Code Red” and “Tai O,” and Deluxe Beauty’s “Star Daisy." Top them off with Yves Saint Laurent’s "La Lacquer" three-in-one or Covergirl’s “Blown Glass” for a mirror-like, high-gloss finish.
With the return of brilliant blues, fuchsias, purples, and yellows to haute couture, it’s no surprise that extreme colors for nails are making a comeback, as well. Rumors are spreading that certain starlets, tired of the black nail craze, have turned to deep blue and purple polishes to give their manicures an extra edge.
 Revlon’s Dark Pleasures line is sure to please. Their shades “Midnight Affair” and “Blacker Lacquer” are deep jewel-tone versions of blue and purple, while Essie’s “St. Barth’s Blue,” Maybelline’s “Twinkling Turquoise," and Hard Candy’s “Jailbait” are paler, though equally adventurous choices.
Better yet, take the “yin” approach to the black polish’s “yang” and paint your nails with Creative Nail Design’s “Hyper fresh." This pure, opaque white polish is sure to turn even the heads of your most ultra-dark polished friends.
Ready for a new look, yet still madly in love with your black as midnight manicure that was so attention grabbing over the holiday? Don’t fret! Deep colored nails are still super hot - especially as a contrast to the brightly colored, modern- day sporty looks we saw on the spring runways.
This time around, dark shades get a little kick with surprising undertones of another color. Nar’s green-black “Zulu” is a polish Vogue magazine referred to this season as “subversively chic,” and Dior’s “Brown Velvet,” a deep, warm brown, looks fabulous on toes peeping out of a pair of clear, lucite wedges...
But Won’t Your Toenails Get Jealous?
No, thanks to Du Wop’s toe polish, a polish developed and marketed to be used exclusively for your pedicure! The colors, brillantly named after famous footwear such as “Flip Flop” and “Sling Back,” are designed specifically to flatter feet, are quick drying, and contain tea tree oil - a natural anti-fungal fighter.
Nail Polish Remover as Aromatherapy?
Nail companies are slowly but surely becoming hip to the fact that smell plays an important role in how consumers choose brands. Nail polish removers, often an offender to the olfactory sense, are now being reformulated by some smart companies. Not only do these brands smell better, they are safer for your nails to boot!
Spa Ritual’s Conditioning Lacquer Remover, a specially-formulated vegan lacquer remover with complex, non-drying sugarderived solvents, features Italian Red Mandarin essential oil to energize the sacral chakra. Available through your local spa - type in your zipcode at sparitual.com to find the nearest location.
Celebrity Deborah Lippman’s own polish line is available through Neiman Marcus. Her remover, aptly titled “the stripper,” is lavender scented and acetone-free.
Born with a natural sense of style, Julie Hoylen is a fashion stylist and consultant working in the New York City area. Julie's professional experience in both the fashion and music industries has allowed her to develop a unique perspective on personal style that keeps her clients turning to her whenever they need help defining their look personally or professionally.
Julie is the Lifestyle Editor and Chief Style Maven. You can see the latest from Julie on Live In Full Color. |
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Written by Pat McDermott
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Always Hollywood’s most glamorous night, this year's 79th Annual Academy Awards had stars coming out looking to shine, and shine they did! We joined the evening’s red carpet watchers to see which of this year’s hottest color trends would make an appearance.
Just as no one film swept all of the categories at the award ceremony, no single color trend swept the red carpet. Pale hues, lustrous metallic tones, deeper colors and red, red lips stepped out in style.
A feeling of spring was evoked by breezy and pale pink, lilac, blue, green and yellow. Penelope Cruz, nominated in the best actress category, looked stunning in a blush colored Atelier Versace gown with a strapless bodice and a skirt of feathers.
 Jennifer Lopez’s gown by Marchesa featured an empire waist, a multi-strand diamond necklace and a pale, almost white, lilac color. Kirsten Dunst wore a pale blue Chanel Couture gown with beading and feathers at the hem, Naomi Watts choose a yellow the color of butter for her Escada gown.
Kate Winslet and Beyonce both came in pale green. Not only did they both choose the same color, but each of their dresses featured an asymmetrical design – Kate’s was an elegant Valentino creation and Beyonce’s a funkier Armani.
However, it wasn’t all light and airy on the red carpet. Some of Hollywood’s fashionistas carried on the trend of metallic tones we saw at both the Golden Globes and SAG awards. Cate Blanchett once again chose an asymmetrical Armani design. This time the gown was a gunmetal color, created by overlaying a silver dress with black crystals embroidered on tulle, and the look was both simple and elegant.
Rachel Weisz shone in a platinum satin Vera Wang, Jennifer Hudson - winner for best supporting actress - arrived in an Oscar de la Renta brown satin gown with a gold leather shrug, and Emily Blunt wore a strapless Calvin Klein navy blue sequined gown.
Jada Pinkett Smith may have tried to bring her husband, best actor nominee Will Smith, good luck by wearing a form-fitting gold Carolina Herrera whose look hinted at that of the Oscar statue itself. And last, but not least, Helen Mirren - winner of the best actress award - looked stunning in a creme colored Christian Lacroix gown embellished with gold lace and embroidery.
Deep, rich colors also adorned many of the stars. Reese Witherspoon was striking in a Nina Ricci strapless gown in deep eggplant color with multiple tiers of chiffon. Nicole Kidman wowed the crowd in a slim, straight vibrant red gown by Balenciaga that featured a large bow at the back of her neck.
 Portia De Rossi, in Zac Posen, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, in Proenza Schouler, both wore navy blue gowns with black accents. Celine Dion wore a mossy green Lily Et Cie gown, while Jessica Biel stood out in a hot pink (almost but not quite neon) Oscar de la Renta.
Gwyneth Paltrow was a real scene-stealer in a lovely apricot colored Zac Posen gown that highlighted very detailed stitching. Gwyneth was also one of a number of stars that sported another trend - the red, red lip. Others to follow this trend were Maggie Gyllenhall, Nicole Kidman, Rachel Weisz, Kirsten Dunst and Anne Hathaway.
As for the men at the awards, it seems about the only choice they had to make was whether they should wear a tie or a bow tie. Black and white was the standard for the evening and only Peter O’Toole felt comfortable wearing any other color - and he looked magnificently resplendent in his purple brocade tuxedo jacket.
Photo sources: Jennifer Lopez and Maggie Gyllenahall pictured on the red carpet at the Academy Awards. See all photos on Yahoo!
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Written by Julie Hoylen
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Stylists must have gone into overdrive to ensure that their muse didn’t take to the carpet wearing the same color as a fellow cast-mate or competitor. In fact, the only “fashionistas” to follow the trickle down effect of the Globe’s “white-dress” trend (at least of those who got air time) were the two commentators from the “E” channel. Perhaps it was simply an homage to their “bread and butter”.
Instead, fleshy-golden tones of shimmer and lace were the hue de jour. Cate Blanchett, in true star style, lead the trend in a form fitting, asymmetrical design by Armani. Other fans of this hot color trend included Sandra Oh in a demure beaded lace gown, Kyra Sedgwick in a vintage Herve Leger (a golden nude-tone seems to be her signature color), Nicolette Sheridan in a slinky champagne colored Colette Dinnigan design, Helen Hunt in a gown with a tight-fitted bodice, and Heather Graham taking the trend shorter with matching too-high heels.
On the other side of the metallic coin, shades of gray ranging from the palest silver to the deepest hues went from somewhat somber (a la Angelina at the Golden Globes) to sophisticated when paired with the right sta.
 Reese Witherspoon continued her trend of wearing a shorter cocktail-length dress, but this time around she choose a deep gray tint (sort of the yin to the yang of the yellow Nina Ricci dress that won her rave reviews at the Globes), Eva Longoria brought glory back to gray in a dove-toned, flowy Vera Wang gown, while Jamie Presley set the bar for glowing moms-to-be everywhere in a gunmetal gray, low-cut dress that looked more modern than maternity.
Mary-Louise Parker also went short and somewhat frillier than she normally does in a pale silver J. Mendel dress and Teri Hatcher’s form fitting long gown was such a pale shade of silvery blue-gray it almost read as white on screen.
Even the men looked a little more fashion forward. Steve Carell – winner of two “Best Ensemble” trophies for “The Office” and “Little Miss Sunshine” – wore a pale gray tie, while Tony Parker and TV’s “Dr. McDeamy” Patrick Dempsey looked casually classic in gray pinstripe.
Fiery shades of red which were hot this fall look like they will continue into the spring. Luckily this time around some stars realized this powerful color’s red-carpet potential choosing gowns in warm shades of red and orange – Julia Louis-Dreyfus wearing a strapless Carolina Herrera, “Bobby” star Joy Bryant in a ruffled Valentino, Jennifer Hudson in a low cut “Dream Girls” inspired gown, Grey's Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl and Ugly Betty’s Becki Newton.
Other color mavens of the evening included Grey’s Anatomy’s Kate Walsh in a yellow chiffon dress with a tease of pale blue by Kevin Hall, America Ferrera (after looking gorgeous in a royal purple at the Golden Globes) stayed true to flattering jewel-tones and took home an award in a deep, emerald green, Vanessa Williams looking radiant (and much better coiffed then we saw her at the Golden Globe Awards) in bright turquoise, and Demi Moore causing a stir, arriving with husband Ashton Kutcher, wearing this spring’s most regal shade – cobalt blue.
But the “color maverick award” goes to….drum roll please… Jada Pinkett-Smith, looking beautiful in a hot pink vintage Bob Mackie dress (she stood out at the Golden Globes in orange). We applaud her fearless, fresh love and use of color!
“Men in Black” could have been the theme for some of Hollywood’s hottest hunks, with Will Smith, Kevin Bacon and Forrest Whitaker all wearing black head to toe.
The “Women in Black” were also well represented by Anne Hathaway, 24’s Kim Raver and Helen Mirren (who I think shined even more in her peacock-blue gown at the Globes) who all chose elegant, all black gowns. Meanwhile, Mariska Hargitay and Edie Falco showed that brown is now just as much of a classic color choice as black for these events (and maybe even just a little more unexpected and sexy!)
With the race to the Oscars officially on, stars have only a handful of weeks to decide “who” and what to wear to Hollywood’s most important night.
Will the brighter colors and patterns from the spring runways influence their style or will the trend of monochromatic, muted metallics continue to reign supreme for their next sashay down the red carpet? We’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.
Born with a natural sense of style, Julie Hoylen is a fashion stylist and consultant working in the New York City area. Julie's professional experience in both the fashion and music industries has allowed her to develop a unique perspective on personal style that keeps her clients turning to her whenever they need help defining their look personally or professionally.
Julie is Sensational Color's Lifestyle Editor and Chief Style Maven. You can see the latest from Julie on Live In Full Color.
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Fashion Trends Spotted
