Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s almost time to think about picking up a few new cute dresses. If I lived in a hot climate, I would live in in dresses ALL THE TIME. Usually, in SF, when I throw on a dress to go out for the day, I end up totally miserable and shivering by 2 in the afternoon. But this fact hasn’t stopped me from buying amazing dresses. I can’t help myself!

By far, my favorite online store for dress shopping is Mod Cloth.  Mostly vintage inspired, the dresses are all totally unique and affordable; the most expensive is less than $200. A lot of the dresses are by Max & Cleo, the formal line of BCBG, who make amazing dresses with interesting silhouettes.

Here’s my faves (from left to right): The Total Betty Dress, The Swiss Miss, The Marlene Dietrich, The Live Concert Dress and The 4th of July Dress. Check out more about these picks and more great dresses- Dresses!!!

Today is the first day of Spring and I’m obsessed with the butterflies and pastels of Anuschka handbags and wallets. While shopping around for my fave Anuschkas, I couldn’t help but think that anything from this label would be a perfect gift for the favorite chick in your life (including yourself). No girl could possibly deny the uniqueness and prettiness of these purses and wallets.

Everything is leather and hand-painted, so your wallet and/or purse will only get better with age, after a little wear ‘n tear. The line carries laptop bags, backpacks, and passport covers, in addition to purses and wallets of all shapes, styles, and sizes. I love it!

See Pretty Anuschka Wallets and Hot Anuschka Handbags for more of my favorite picks.

A friend and I were recently discussing what types of outfits are worn by interviewees for a big time fashion magazine job in New York and how these clothes compare to “appropriate” interview attire on the West Coast (a.k.a. the Best Coast). The Miu Miu outfit Jessica Alba wore to the premiere of Sugar yesterday reminded me of office attire you could rock after you land the job (the HR manager might not appreciate the mini skirt, even with dark tights).  See Dress Like Jessica Alba at the Sugar Premiere to see my Alba Outfit look-alike choices, including where to buy the actual Miu Miu Suede Peep Toe Pumps and an exact CZ replica of J. Albs’ engagement ring for cheap!)

The pieces of this look translate to an overall classic appearance with a twist of modern trends (i.e. printed blouse, skinny belt). The end result is an outfit that looks great at any occasion, by day or by night. Very cute.

I’m really enjoying all the new fashion that’s coming off the runways and onto online shopping sites as of late. I found a newish trend to match each letter of the alphabet for my Fashion Alphabet buyer’s guide on Kazowie. My personal faves from off the catwalk are A for acidic colors, E for embellished boho, H for hooded, N for neutrals, and T for tough jewelry. I’ve read that there were a lot of 80’s inspired looks in many of the Spring ‘09 lines. I’m not too sure how I feel about this. While I like the holey nylons and square shoulder look, I’m not so sure I could pull it off without looking like I was headed to a themed frat party.

As always, my advice for following fashion trends is as follows: rock one trend at a time to avoid poser overload. And keep hair and makeup neutral to avoid the Halloween in Spring look. (Unless that’s what you’re going for, of course!)

Yesterday, a friend commented on my inclusion of a pair of brown Calvin Klein ankle boots in the Taste of Neapolitan buyer’s guide on Kazowie, describing the booties as “Robin Hood-esque.” (I wasn’t lying in my Tim Burton-esque guide when I said that my friends and I love “-esque”).

Key “Robyn” Hood trimmings include anything leathery and feathery. I’ve replaced the green feathered cap with a two-tone brown fedora and swapped the cuffed knee-high boots for some slouchy leather ankle booties. If wearing more than a few “Robyn” Hood pieces at a time, I’d skip the tights to avoid medieval man overload.

When I read that Prada and Marc Jacobs incorporated metallic into their Spring 2009 lines, I immediately thought, ‘didn’t the metallic trend already come and go?’ When I saw that the designers mixed metallics with bright colors and sequins, however, I quickly changed my mind. Metallic’s in. And I actually like it! The complete opposite of pastels, metallics are a fresh new take on the bright colors of the season. It works for me. What do you think about metallics in Spring? Check out my Metallic Dresses, Purses, and Shoes shopper’s guides on Kazowie and leave a comment below!!

I often like to go back through the Kazowie.com shopper’s guides I’ve turned out in the past to see if my taste in clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories has remained consistent. For the most part, one can tell that all the products on my various guides were hand-picked by the same person. (See: Foxy Fringe, Hot Headbands, and Tie Dye Mania!). Of course, there’s always the occasional powder pink Burberry checked scarf that has me wondering what I was thinking that day. (a.k.a. I should have had that extra cup of coffee!)

Looking through my old lists today, I was inspired to combine the trends of two unrelated guides that I created, Pretty Black Jewelry and Springtime Fresh Nail Polish, and create a cool look for Spring that I’m definitely going to try. Gothy/funky/punky black jewelry paired with girly/chalky/pastely Easter egg nails? I think it’s a pretty interesting and unexpected combo.

Been there, done that? How did it go? I haven’t tried it yet, so I’ll let you know how it works out for me.