Designer Spotlight: Gretchen

Last week, I was approached by the up-and-coming handbag label, Gretchen. The German label pays tribute to designer Anne-Christines’ roots in its German name, “Gretchen,” which means little pearl. In line with their name, the companies philosophy is “to create precious and exquisite accessories for ladies.”

The label has even taken the liking to Paris Hilton dedicating an entire page to her and the above handbag shown left. It’s important to note, leveraging a celebrity is a great use of PR to promote brand awareness.

Aside of fugitive short-lived fashion trends of the main stream market, Gretchen accessories have their own unmistakable and exclusive style that make them an object of desire for many seasons to come.

For more information about their Spring/Summer 2010 collection, check out their Web site at http://www.mygretchen.com/.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Forecasts show sunny skies and floral prints in our futures! The fashion bloggers have all covered and raved about floral prints during the early spring/summer runways and now that the season is here I am pleased to say the bloggers know what’s up! Designers such as Carolina Herrera, Christian Lacroix and Balenciaga are all participating in this spring fling. It’s great to see bloggers breaking into the world of fashion and actually picking up on the latest fashion trends of spring ’08.!

Whether it be work or play, wearing floral prints is easy to do. When I think of a floral print I picture myself in a dreaded sun dress. This will not be the case during the spring season, I promise. I particularly admire Lilly Pulitzer for her work-appropriate tile print sheath dress. Pulitzer’s use of structure and femininity creates a classic piece to add to any wardrobe while keeping up with the trend. Another favorite of mine is Anne Klein’s use of belts cinched at the waist paired with plunging neck lines to exaggerate the feminine shape of her floral print dresses.

Integrating feminine silhouettes and prints will ease the pressure of having to hide our figures in tent dresses and “maternity wear” that most of us have purchased in the past four months.