It’s hot out there! So cool off at the mall and take advantage of the sales that have started and will continue into August at area retailers. Here are five summer fashion trends in full force.  
 
Feathers – Fashion pays tribute to a Native American influence this season. Feathers faux and real have found their way onto just about everything—whether they’re dangling from your ears, adorning your shoes or attached to your mane in the form of a hair extension (A la Steven Tyler on American Idol this season). Peacock is my personal favorite. I found a dangling pair of peacock feather earrings at the beach this spring that make a perfect accent piece.
 
Maxi Dresses – Almost everyone can wear this long revival from the 60’s and 70’s.  They’re showing up from the beach to the streets at everything from charity fundraisers to poolside summer soirees.  I saw several fashionistas rocking colorful maxi dresses a few weeks ago at U-Mall’s Sweet Carolina concert series.  Maxi dresses come in a wide variety of fabrics, patterns, silhouettes and price points. Choose from bohemian loose to figure flaunting fitted. Add bangles, a long necklace and either flat sandals or wedges to complete the look.

Jumpsuits – Chanel your inner Farrah Fawcett with a long flowy jumpsuit or a short summer romper, also called a playsuit. Jumpsuits were enormously popular in the late 60’s and early 70’s and then again in the 1980’s as flying suits (I’m pretty sure the movie Top Gun influenced that name!). Word to the fashion-wise—not everyone can get away with this look. Fashion rules remind us that the closer the style a new jumpsuit is to one you may have worn in the 1980’s (or before), the more you should reassess the fad as a viable fashion for you.  Sometimes you have to know when to give in gracefully. However, if you’ve got the gams—rock it!
 
Nautical—I had to throw in a summer trend that men could embrace too! The nautical look is one that’s present to a degree every spring and summer.  This year its presence is on high alert. Examples are classic American boat shoes, double-breasted sometimes-sailor-looking blazers, the hue of blue in countless designers’ collections, boatneck/scoop necklines, and horizontal stripes.


Honeysuckle—This pinkish-red hue has been deemed the color of 2011. (Yes, there is a research entity called the Pantone Color Institute that makes these decisions!) You might be confused about the name as I was, because the honeysuckle flower can be shades of white or yellow. For me, honeysuckle evokes the sweet taste of that very rare heavenly delicacy called honeysuckle sorbet served up at Crook’s Corner a few weeks each spring. For others it’s a happy childhood olfactory memory—catching a whiff of the honeysuckle growing wild while riding bikes through the Lake Forest neighborhoods. I digress. Back to the pinkish-red shade which is a gorgeous summer color for dresses, jewelry, wraps and even lip gloss! Try a honeysuckle halter paired with a pair of white jeans or shorts for a hot summer look.

Beat the heat with these cool looks, and remember—summer’s not over yet!
 
These are a few of my summer fashion trend ideas….share yours below!
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