Trend Alert: The Accessories Edition

We've outlined spring's trends for you, but there's more to dressing for the season than knowing what's hot. You've also got to know how to put the looks together, and there's nothing like a few choice accessories to give an ensemble that perfect polish. Learn how to accessorize spring's favorite looks right now in the Accessories Spotlight, only at shopbop.

shopbop Obsessions: Our Spring Favorites

A lot - we mean A LOT - of incredible pieces have made their way into the shopbop offices this season, and it's bringing on a widespread case of spring fever. Take Melanie, for example. She's a little fixated on Jennifer Zeuner's Open Circles Cuff, and Erin's already got big plans for the Scoop Tee Dress by Bop Basics. Denny has her eye on Hunter's futuristic silver wellie, and I'm holding on tight to Foley + Corinna's Studded City Clutch. And there's a lot more where those came from. Spring fever is in the air. Catch it, at shopbop.

Toywatch

Now I'm not one for watches really. In fact, I haven't worn one since I grew out of Swatch and cannot quite afford a Cartier yet. Also I secretly think that I might have been so spoilt by the digital clock on my mobile that I now find it hard to read analogs. But I'm not quite ready to admit that to myself yet. But anyway, despite all that, my interest was peaked the other day when my cousin mentioned that he wanted to get a Toywatch- especially when I found out that it can be found within the stylish walls of Lane Crawford. So I decided to take a look.
For those unfamiliar, Toywatch are known for their lightweight, over sized plastic watches. I was pleasantly surprised by the designs. They are simple and elegant, with just the right amount of fun in the colors and the clear plastic material. I love the colors and designs of the two above. Priced at around $200USD each, they are great a great accessory to match your outfits with. If I was the watch wearing type and had resources to spare (one can always dream), I'd totally get a few!
Besides those fun ones, they also have ones that kind of resemble more classic designs. Like this white plastic one (left) from the Plasteramic collection, which is designed to look like those oh-so-sought-after ceramic watches but is not. And the one on the right looks remarkably like all those watches that I would describe as "elegant, feminine and delicate" from various luxury watch brands.
Naturally, in this day of super luxing everything, even a brand called Toywatch has a super luxe line. They have it in the form of this black ceramic collection (left). Now this is actually ceramic and not plastic pretending to be ceramic. The design is very elegant and sleek looking. Priced at $1500, its not bad for a ceramic watch- if only it didn't so resemble the J12 Chanel watches (right), which are priced at 5 times that price. Now it just looks like a ceramic watch pretending to be a J12. Not that there is anything wrong with that, Zara does it all the time, but this one is not even cheap! Personally, if I was going to fork out $1500 for a ceramic watch, I'd rather save up longer and get the original one.

Image Source: ToyWatch and Chanel

Checking Out H&M Spring 2008

I've been seeing this H&M print ad everywhere I go, mainly on billboards and in magazines, in London and Hong Kong. I feel like I'm being chased after by this pretty yellow image of Raquel and a wall of flowers telling me that: a) it's Spring! b) Wear yellow! c) Go shop at H&M now! After stalking H&M's website for awhile, they've finally updated their website last week with some of their Spring's offering.

The instant I saw this colour-block, T-shirt dress in the campaign image (worn by Raquel -not this image but the same dress,) I thought, wow, I really want this! It's such an easy, summer casual dress. I love the colour blocks of black, pink and orange together. It's just the splash of colour that I've been wanting in my wardrobe, and since I'm not bothered or creative enough to actually buy seperate colourful pieces and match them together, it's so nice to have the crazy colours put together in one dress in a stylish, easy-to-wear way.

So the next day (last Thur,) I rushed to an H&M store to check out the dress and they only had one size left, and of course it wasn't my size. It is so hard for me to actually find something I want from H&M (or from any store) and it was sold out -I was SO disappointed! It was even sadder when I found out that the dress is seriously affordable -it costs only about 199HKD (=26USD.) I am a bit annoyed that the H&M store was displaying this dress at the display windows when they hardly had any sizes or stock left. I always thought H&M was all about the volume business so I just assumed they'd always have sizes available. Obviously I was wrong. Lesson of the day: Check out these stores more frequently!

The other thing I liked on the website was this bright pink, silk-material-looking dress. It looks perfect for a night out, and since it's not expensive, I wouldn't feel bad if someone spilled drinks on it or if the place was smoky. Alas, they were also out of my size.

As for this red and white flowery top, it's not that I particularly like or dislike it. I thought I would post it up here because I swear I keep seeing people on the streets wearing it! And when I was browsing through a few online stores, I saw something very similar by Marc by Marc Jacobs. So expect to see a lot of red and white flowery tops near you this summer!

Have you checked out H&M's Spring's clothes yet? What do you think of the clothes?

Image source: www.hm.com/gb (Note that the prices are in Pounds.)

Alpha Female: Spring's Fierce Femininity

Chalk it up to all those snapshots of Carine Roitfeld at Paris Fashion Week we've perused, but lately we're all about standout pieces with avant-garde attitude. We're sidling up to futuristic metallics, bold belts and gorgeous gladiators. Little leather jackets and bags with loads of studs? They're the stuff mid-morning work daydreams are made of. Spring's fierce femininity? Find it right here, at shopbop.

Brian Reyes Spring Collection

Award-winning designer Brian Reyes launched his eponymous line in 2004 to widespread media attention and critical acclaim. Feminine styles with a modern sensibility have since become Reyes' signature, making him a favorite of Young Hollywood. Spring Brian Reyes styles certain to cause a celebrity stampede? We're betting on the show-stopping Cami, the refined Rachel, and the brilliant Bow Dress. Fresh fashion from buzz-worthy Brian Reyes? Find it here, in the Designer Boutique.

Michael Bastian Spring 2008 Collection

I think if you are Michael Bastian's fan, you should not missed his recent released of Spring 2008 collection. Michael Bastian's 300-piece collection was so densely laden with personal references that you felt a twinge of regret. Bastian claimed that his new gig as menswear designer for Bill Blass has liberated him to get more personal with his own line. So do you agree with his views?

Grey color is one of his main theme, which matched perfectly with red and white.

Just two casual wear of his 300 pieces collection, focus on red, gray and black color

Some of Michael Bastian's Bermuda collection

Two of his smart casual wear, one of striking stripe (black and white) and simple light gray suits.

Two formal business Spring wear from Michael Bastian

Last but not least, if you like to know what are his top 10 essential, that he shared with Men.style.com back in last year then, She Know Best has a very interesting write up.

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Tags: Man Fashion, Man Fashion Show, Men Designer Fashion, Michael Bastian Fashion, Smart Casual, Casual Wear, Formal Business Wear