Fun Friday: Shampoo Optional

I read everywhere these days that celebs are big proponents of not washing their hair every day. Some are down to once or twice a week! Sounds kind of icky, but as a mom of a toddler with another baby due any day, I’ll take any shortcuts I can find. Plus, it’s supposed to keep your hair healthier and shinier because it doesn’t get as dried out.

I hate to admit it, but I just can’t follow through! The first day, I style my hair as usual, using just a tiny amount of product. The morning of the second day is usually fine; I touch up with a straightener and some hairspray, and can leave the house feeling pretty good. But by the end of the day, my hair is flatter than day-old champagne. Of course, no one else has ever mentioned that my hair looks a little limp, but I feel so incredibly self-conscious that I’m embarrassed for even my husband to see me!

I guess when you have a team of stylists, hair gurus, and other professionals at your beck and call to touch up any errant strays or limp-looking locks, the shower-optional look can work for you. As for me, I’ll see you in the shampoo aisle.

How to Wear Spring's Trends

Depression-Chic styling ruled the runways this spring, but those looks are far from wearable in your normal everyday life. Luckily, Yaya’s has a few key pieces that can bring the look to your wardrobe in a subtle way.

Nic & Zoe’s “flirt” skirt captures the high-waisted and belted look of the depression-chic look in a business-appropriate way. Wear it with an understated striped button-down shirt and heels, a few delicate gold chains, and heels.

For a more casual version of the look, try Tribal’s cargo pants and matching vest in earth. Layer a silky tank or satiny tee under the vest and wear it belted to show off your hourglass figure. Add a pair of gladiator sandals and a layered beaded necklace or floral brooch for a feminine touch.

Check back Friday for some fun hair and makeup trends to wear with these looks, and check out the rest of our site for more great spring looks.

The Great Depression Redux: Spring 2009

With the slumping economy and worsening global market “recession” and even “depression” are words we hear all too often. Appropriately, style.com has coined the term “depression-chic” for the 1920’s-inspired looks we saw on the Fashion Week runways.

Sheath dresses and sack dresses were adorned with utilitarian belts, fringe, and lots of layered necklaces, while waists dropped to hip-level on layered tops and jackets. Some designers even went the extra mile, using crinkled, smudged, or ripped fabric to really play up the depression-era feel.

Update

I just wanted to check in to give you a quick status update. After spending 36 hours in the hospital and ER with my 2-year-old, I'm going to take the rest of this week off for some emotional recovery time. I apologize for not getting any new articles out to you this week, but please check back Monday for more.

Jackets and Vests for Spring 2009

skip to main | skip to sidebar

Like I've mentioned, I love to wear layers. What better way to stay warm in the cool weather or to add a bit of fun in the warm weather? You can change the entire look of a top by adding a jacket or a vest to it! Right now, I love these 2 pieces from Yaya's:


The first is a linen jacket from Tribal Sportswear. I love the bright blue color for it's cheeriness, and I love the easygoing silhouette for its laid-back attitude. I would wear this with khaki cropped pants or jeans and a vintage tee, with raffia sandals and a bunch of bangle bracelets.

The second is a hooded vest, also from Tribal Sportswear. I would wear this alone with Tribal's cropped pants in Earth on a hot day, or I would wear it over a white tee (long or short sleeve) with jeans on a cooler one. It would also look great over a lace or satin tank top for an evening out; the juxtaposition of the vest with girly textures and styling would be a fun way to play up the military feel of the piece.

Click around for more great spring jackets, vests, and sweaters, and check out our happenings page for great contests and specials.

Jackets and Vests for Spring 2009

I love layers, any time of year. Tanks, tees, cardigans, jackets, and vests…they’re so easy to mix and match for a variety of easy looks. So, I’m super-excited about suite101.com’s article that says that jackets and vests are going to be huge for Spring 2009.

On the runways, textures and silhouettes contrasted one another to show off the best of them all. Tight cropped leather mixed with a long and loose satin vest gives a sexy-but-sweet feeling (left). In the image on the right, a loose ruffled and ruched vest is paired with a sleek cropped jacket for a flirty look that’s still sporty. Bryan Reyes (center image) balances a menswear-inspired textured jacket with a silky tank top with feminine bead embellishments.

Wednesday’s article will show off a few of the pieces Yaya’s carries that fit this trend, so be sure to stop back then! Until then, browse the links above for some great spring looks.

The images above are courtesy of style.com.

How to Wear the Spring Color Palette

Jungle-inspired hues and prints will be big trends for Spring 2009, as we saw earlier this week. Nic & Zoe, a shopyayas.com favorite brand, carries a great selection of tops and dresses that bring the color story home.

The wrap top in natural, the mesh cardigan in berry, and the tie-front top in turquoise would be great additions to a work wardrobe. Each one brings a bright splash of color and a fresh silhouette to your Spring look. Try the wrap top with a tweed pencil skirt and a blazer or a cute pair of flare leg jeans. The cardigan would make a great layering; try it with a printed tank top and a solid tee in neutral or black. The turquoise tie-front top is an elegant looking top, perfect with simple black pants, heels, and silver bangles for a business meeting or lunch date.

These printed pieces are featured in earlier posts, so I won’t repeat myself, but I thought the pictures were worth showing again. From left to right, they are the “jungle dots” print top, “brushstrokes” dress, and “blue leaves” cardigan.

Click on the links for more information about any of the featured pieces, and take a look at our entire selection of Nic & Zoe pieces, including tank tops in some additional great spring colors.

The Spring 2009 Palette

The warm weather this weekend (at least here in the upper Midwest) has really gotten me excited for spring 2009 , so I am thrilled to start talking about trends for the new season. What better inspiration for spring than lush tropical colors and bright floral prints?

Coral, dusty pink, pistachio green, citron green, turquoise, lemon, and fuchsia are on Pantone’s list of colors, and Style.com shows lots of deep blue and grey combos, rose, beige, tangerine, and peach.

Patterns are either in-your-face tropical prints or soft and subdued florals. Forget dainty prints or polka-dots, though. No matter how bold or soft, the patterns are lush and large, but still look elegant when paired with neutrals or metallics.

Check out the pictures above from Fashion Week (courtesy of style.com) and stop back later this week to see a few great pieces we carry at Yaya’s that fit into these trends.

My Resolution

2009 is one-twelfth of the way over already. Can you believe that? I certainly can’t! I started off the New Year with the intent of changing my blogging format to make it a quicker read. I succeeded in doing that with my posts last month, but I didn’t bring you any new fashion advice or trends. I am sincerely sorry for that.

Starting next week, I will bring you a variety of short posts every few days. One will highlight a couture trend from the runways and show a few fun pictures of how the models pull it off. The next will show a few items we carry at Yaya’s that fit the trend and I’ll tell you how to incorporate them into your current wardrobe. The third one, probably posted on Friday, will be more fun to help you get ready for the weekend. I’ll answer reader questions or talk about common fashion no-nos, I’ll show you a few hot accessory or beauty trends, or I’ll post some of our new arrivals.

If there’s something you would like to discuss, please feel free to send me an email (just click the link) or fill out the form on the contacts page of the website. I’d love to hear from you, our valued Yaya’s customer.

Tell Us Your Pandora Story!

Yaya's started selling Pandora Jewelry 3 years ago. We have heard so many wonderful stories from our customers. We thought it would be a great tribute to Valentine's Day to share the stories. With your permission we will publish the stories so other customers will be able to share in your joy. So whether you gave a bead for a special life happening, or received a bead for doing something special for someone you care about-we want to hear your story!
There are a few ways to do this:
1. Bring your written story into Yaya's
2. Email your story to sales@shopyayas.com
3. Write your story in the 'comments' section of this blog.

More information on prizes will be coming soon, so subscribe to our mailing list or our RSS feed (icon to the left), or just check back here for more info

New Nic & Zoe!

One of my (and your, based on the great response we get to the product) favorite lines has just arrived! We have four new pieces from Nic & Zoe, designed by the fabulous Dorian Lightbown. Bright color and unique prints characterize these great new arrivals.

My favorite is the silk-and-cotton Brushstrokes dress. The light flowy fabric means it would look fantastic now under a black cardigan with black heels and black tights, or with the mesh cardigan in turquoise and strappy black or nude sandals for spring. The full skirt and belted waist make this a flattering and fun silhouette.

I’m also loving the Blue Leaves cardigan. The bold turquoise and brown leaf print is subdued enough for winter’s wardrobe, but would look great with the Also Perfect tank in turquoise for a bright pop of springy color. With nicely tailored brown pants or a cream pencil skirt, this cardigan can spice up a variety of looks.

Plus, be sure to check out the rest of the Nic and Zoe line for great deals and hot styles.

Help Others, Help Yourself

Choose the charity to receive the proceeds from your bracelet from the list below. Brighton is only available in-store, so stop in today for your Dream Peace Bracelet.

SEEDS OF PEACE
Empowering Youth to Become Leaders for Peace- Developing empathy, respect, confidence tolerance, mutual understanding, leadership, communication and negotiation skills to enhance cross-cultural communications in regions of conflict.

WOMEN FOR WOMEN
Promoting Peace in the Home- Promoting leadership to ensure violence prevention efforts are implemented and are developed for victims of abuse and violence against women and children.

USA CARES
Supporting Those Who Sacrifice for Peace- Supporting our military personnel and their families as they make the selfless sacrifice of service to our country-leaving their homes, families, friends and lives to defend the ideals of a nation.

ACTION AGAINST HUNGER
Ending Hunger to Create a Climate for Peace- Engaging in the fight to end hunger that endangers the lives of children, women and men in situations of war, conflict, natural disaster and poverty.

Coping with the Cold

Temps are supposed to hover somewhere between frigid and miserable for the rest of the week. That's great news if you love the look of hat hair and chapped skin, but not so nice for the rest of us. At least we have some great sale coats to help ease your pain! This tweed coat from Nicole Benisti is my absolute favorite cold-weather piece right now. The giant houndstooth pattern spices up a basic silhouette and color scheme, while the belt keeps it from being too bulky. It has a long hem, perfect for keeping out the chill. Accessorize with a bright hat, scarf, and gloves in your favorite hue, and you'll own the look.

Twill 22 Cordury Jeans

Everyone loves a sale, so I'm going to show off a few more of our sale merchandise this week. First up, baby-wale corduroy jeans in navy from Twill 22. They're soft, stretchy, and oh-so-comfortable, almost like a second skin. I love them for work with nude heels, a white button-down top, and bright accent scarf. You'll be polished and professional. They would be great for the weekend with brown flats and a white tank under a cozy brown sweater. I think I'm in love.

Shimmy and Shake

I'm loving this dress by Rojas right now. It's one of the newer pieces in our clearance section, and I think it's perfect for dancing the night away! It has a loose silhouette to flatter most body types; a light flowy fabric, made even more fun by the extreme shimmer and the pleats, and a high neckline so it's not too revealing. It would be gorgeous right now with a sheer black tights and ankle booties, or in summer with strappy metallic sandals. Click on the picture for more details.

Starting Saturday, January 10, take an additional 20% off all clearance merchandise online with code EXTRA20. Start shopping now, and save big on all your favorite designers.

Snow Day

Many of us living here in the midwest woke up this morning to a couple inches of snow on the ground. Though it's a beautiful sight, it's a huge hassle to deal with. Now is the time for a super comfy and practical outfit. My go-to is a tunic with leggings or skinny jeans tucked into waterproof boots. It's the perfect winter outfit- warm, cute, and with rubber or leather flat boots, your feet stay dry!

Check out Mac & Jac's quilted tunic, on clearance now. Stop by Yaya's for the best customer service on the web.

Is it summer yet?

I just found a few great pairs of flip flops from Douglas Paquette in the sale section, and now I'm dreaming of walking down a sandy beach on a hot summer day.

Reality check: it's 26 degrees and we're expecting a few inches of snow today. Yay.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites right now. Click on the photo for a link to them directly on the site, or click the sale button above to see all our winter sale merchandise.

And remember Yaya's is the place for the best customer service on the web.

Winter Clearance!

Just want to get a word out to all of you…sale time has started at Yaya’s, both in store and online. Click on the “sale” button above or click here to check out all the newly-added merchandise. All of it is at least 30% off, and there are some great deals on things that you can still happily wear this winter.

Need a new coat? Find some by Compos’d, Nicole Benisti, and Karen Kane.

In need of pants? We have cords by Christopher Blue, jeans by Billy Blues, and tons more. Check them out now.

And remember Yaya’s is the place for the best customer service on the web.