STYLE

Some of the most common New Years resolutions, according to USA.gov, are to cut back on the alcohol (say buh-buy to martinis), eat healthier (goodbye chocolate, hello apples) and to get in better shape. Another common resolution, especially in the fashion world, is to improve your style sense and give your wardrobe a makeover.

All those goals are worthy aspirations, no doubt, but they’re also pretty overwhelming. That’s why it’s no surprise to hear about friends or coworkers — who set lofty New Year’s goals — fall flat before January has even expired.

Perhaps if more individuals employed the business analogy of goals and objectives when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, they’d be far more successful in their endeavors. Basically, we should break down our goals into smaller, more obtainable goals. By making resolutions look more like quantifiable objectives instead of lofty, hard to reach goals, we cut the overwhelming factor by a ton and improve the likelihood of success.

For example, if your goal is to slim down, break it down by setting smaller goals: hit the gym three times a week, cook more low calorie meals at home, pack a healthy lunch instead of eating out, etc.

If your goal is to improve your style and wardrobe, we’re here to help ensure a fashion victory through 2012. This is the first installation of a series, which will cover the following steps to refining your fashion sense and enhancing your armoire. The steps include:

1. Know yourself: Understanding what works for your body, style, lifestyle and budget

2. Employ books and periodicals

3. Organize your closet

4. Devise a shopping strategy and make shopping more enjoyable

5. Hit the stores

By Mirela Gluck

Los Angeles designers such as Rachel Pally, Cynthia Vincent, Karen Zambos and Geren Lockhart have all announced they’re partnering with QVC to offer affordable fashion options for their Spring 2012 collections. The effort to reach a wider audience and appeal to more budget savvy fashionistas is right in line with QVC’s mission statement, which is to provide quality products at a great value with little hassle for the buyer.

Because QVC sells internationally, this new partnership also makes the designers’ products available to a global audience instead of a local or national one. Their garments will also come with lower price tags, a plus for the many women who want to stay on trend without dealing with post splurge guilt.

Other well known designers already sell with QVC, including Marc Bouwer, Jacqueline Kennedy and Rachel Zoe.

By Mirela Gluck

If beauty is pain, then pain can result in devastating beauty. Such is the case with the Young&ng Spring/Summer 2012 collection of jewelry.  Taking inspiration from the emotional, artist, designer and creative director of Young&ng, Michelle Ng has once again transformed something unexpected – a broken heart – into a work of beautiful art.  The Spring/Summer 2012 collection by Young&ng brings forth stunning collection of jewelry including the signature headpieces and cuffs along with newly added pieces like necklaces and earrings all aesthetically reflecting a heavy, shattered and broken feel in hues of rose gold and midnight.

With this third collection, Michelle Ng has continued the evolution of the Young&ng aesthetic by introducing new materials, techniques and shapes into the line thus resulting in a collection, which remains distinctively Young&ng yet refreshingly new and exciting. Though a broken heart serves as a recurrent theme, this is far from a weak or fragile collection. In typical Young&ng style, the pieces are bold, powerful and edgy, carefully balancing beauty and strength, romance and darkness, mystery and magic. Evocative of a modern day fairy tale, this is a high-impact collection clearly designed with passion, emotion and a remarkable eye for detail.

Scattered embellishment, jagged shapes and intricate cut-out details are recurrent throughout the collection, continuing the designer’s fascination with the beauty of cracked and shattered glass. Materials such as Rose Gold and Midnight-dyed brush platting are combined with pearls, black pearls, ribbon and Czechoslovakian crystals to create complex yet refined pieces more akin to works of art than jewelry.

Though Young&ng has become known for striking headpieces and strong cuffs, Michelle Ng has expanded the spring/summer collection to include necklaces, rings and earrings, while favorite pieces from previous collections, such as the controversial Yarmulke and the classic Antique Gold headpiece, have been carried over and some slightly updated to match the season’s new aesthetic. Pieces range from the subtle and highly wearable to the more dramatic and statement making, characteristic of the Young&ng brand.

Young&ng is the haute couture jewelry line born from designer Michelle Ng’s desire to rethink the way we look at accessories and to redefine the fine line between art and fashion.  Michelle received her formal art training at New Zealand’s Elam, University of Auckland where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts. The Spring/Summer 2012 Collection is Young&ng’s third collection. The jewelry ranges in price from $330-$5,500USD and can be found at the Young&ng online boutique, http://youngandng.com/store

We didn’t make it to 9am Saks Fifth Avenue Sexy Shoes breakfast on Monday (we were hoping for a lunch…), but we did browse through the online version of the limited-edition Sexy Shoes magazine and looked at all the 25 finalists, which are on view at the “10022-SHOE” boutique in New York and at 11 other Saks locations nationwide. The “competing” shoes were selected by the editors of Footwear News and the winning shoes and the runners-up will be announced at the end of October, based on the number of votes each finalist receives.

You too can vote for your favorite sexy shoe from a broad range of shoe designs that includes a Christian Louboutin leopard pony hair and gold embossed leather sandal, a Sergio Rossi dusk suede pump with blossom detail, and a Christian Dior leather lace-up bootie with grommet embellishment. Vote for free at http://www.wwd.com/sexyshoes and you could win a $10,000 Saks Fifth Avenue shopping spree or a $1,500 Saks Fifth Avenue Gift Card.

Also, if you decide to buy something, don’t forget to take advantage of the SPEND$OME GET$SOME program, which allows you to earn as much as $450. Yes, some restrictions do apply, so make sure that the brand you are interested in is not on the “fine print list.”

The program takes place online between September 26 – 29, and online and in stores between September 30 and October 1. To earn the Saks Gift Card, just enter code SEP2011 at checkout.

Vote, shop and have fun!

Image credit: WWD.com