White Out: The Trend, Tips & Challenge

Getting White Hot

The runways at the Spring/Summer ’11 collections around the world featured astounding amounts of white & cream. Mind-bogglingly, even more than color-blocking, whites, creams, and beige* were by far the most predominant trend on the catwalks. Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Reed Krakoff…heck, even the dark knight himself, Alexander Wang, went white this season! White can be flattering on any skin tone, and though it may be daunting at first blush, give it a try. Check out Harper’s Bazaar, Shine, Fashionologie, Teen Vogue, and Refinery29 for more inspiration.

*I prefer not to use the term nude because it generally implies that nude or naked skin is cream-colored, which, as we all know, is a load of crap.

New Assignment!

With that, the second assignment of the Bloggers Do It Better movement is going to be White Out. I can’t be any more excited to embark on a dreamy white adventure in the coming week, and I absolutely cannot wait to see your fabulous looks. (And don’t worry if you don’t have head-to-toe white pieces, just try to stay in the white/cream/beige color spectrum.)

I myself am going to seek out tonal dimension with whites + off-whites + creams for my look. And don’t believe the hype about white making you look heavier: going with shades of white all over results in a chic monochromatic look that will create a slimming effect that will make you look taller! And younger! And more beautiful! (Okay, okay, okay, I exaggerate just a teeny bit…but, go with slim silhouettes just in case, ‘kay?)

Tips: Wearing White

1. Stick to slim silhouettes.
2. Have a stain remover pen handy.
3. Accessorize with color or keep it sleek and chic with beige (think neutral pumps, clutch, and makeup).
4. …just don’t accessorize with bright lipstick (see tip #2).
5. Add dimension and avoid looking flat & washed out by varying the tones: pair off-whites with bright white and creams.
6. On the same vein as tip #5, layer, layer, layer! I know it’s getting warmer out there, so wear lightweight layers to stay cool, but the more layering you have, the more polished you look (and less like you threw on a swimsuit coverup and are headed to the beach bar)
7. Don’t be afraid to go sheer.
8. For paler skin tones, go really white or at least avoid wearing tones that are too similar to your skin’s natural tone, you will look washed out. For darker-skinned beauties, use cream colors to complement your skin tone beautifully.

Recap

Thank you for your incredible participation with the debut, colorblocking, last week. We turned a few heads (including that of famed Swedish retail giant H&M) and I’m super proud to report that over 100 bloggers linked up their looks. Let’s try and beat that record, shall we? If you can encourage your blogger friends to join the movement, I will promise you one thing: it’s going to be huge (can’t talk about anything yet but just know you are getting some amazing exposure to some very very influential names) and I’ll also make the thumbnail pictures bigger in the linkup from now on. Some of you mentioned wanting that in the survey and I’m happy to oblige!

See you next Tuesday at midnight central time (GMT -0500) when the link-up begins!

How to participate (the rules)

Click here for the rules if you need a refresher, or if you are new to the movement, because there are certain rules for participating!