Cincy Chic columnist, Kristie Sheanshang, had the amazing privilege of attending New York Fashion Week back in February and was chosen by Glamour.com’s Style Editor Tracey Lomrantz for a “What Are You Wearing” video segment. Coming down from the glow of hanging out with Lomrantz, Kristie was able to talk with Lomrantz about fashion tips and the latest trends she’s trying out for herself. We’re excited she was able to share her experience with us… check out her guest blog below! Enjoy!
You’ve probably already heard it, as I was glowing for about a month after my first trip to NYC fashion Week, and I didn’t think it could get better…but it has!
As I mentioned back in February, I had the luck of wearing the right print on print outfit to be pulled out of the crowd and interviewed by Glamour.com’s Style Editor Tracey Lomrantz for her “What Are You Wearing?” video segment. I was in disbelief and fell into the trap of (small time) celebrity life with numerous daily visits to the website to see if my segment was aired. As I spent more and more time on the site, I started getting a better feel for Tracey – like how she has always been obsessed with fashion, to the extreme of writing down every outfit in 3rd grade to avoid repeating herself. Or the numerous times she remembers wearing new shoes out of the store – “shopping to wear” is my kind of girl. I felt like I would be her friend, if she lived locally.
Thanks to the amazing World Wide Web, I was able to contact Tracey directly and had the opportunity to ask her how to take trends from catwalk to the sidewalk.
Her first suggestion is to always focus on figure flattery, Always! Even though she is a self-declared trend-oid, she understands super oversized silhouette only look good on skinny, Kate Moss-like figures. She is also not a fan of giant clodhopper shoes, they remind her of Frankenstein. “They just look awful” she exclaimed. She is glad we are back to nice, feminine shoes.
As a girl that likes to dress in “opposites”, she suggests not being tied to one personal style, but instead to pull in aspects of Bohemian with avant-garde or add some whimsical romance to your stylish Chic. Tracey’s look is to combine six super girly pieces with two masculine, or to dress down a fancy look with two casual pieces. Her philosophy is to never look too perfect; she likes having some disparate pieces. “I’ll shop the boy’s department, but my color is hot pink!” (Mine too!)
Talking about spring trends, she mentioned orange is her color of the moment, as she just bought a great wedge shoe. She is also trying pastels again for the first time since the 80s. She loves the super feminine looks with lace, pleated skirts that are pretty and elegant.
“It is total girly overload”. She is in the market for a great 1970’s styled white pantsuit, which she will modernize.
She admitted she has never been to Cincinnati, but last summer she and her fiancé (husband as of last weekend) drove cross-country and she made a game out of stopping at local malls to connect to the typical American woman shopper. In doing so, she confidently shares which fall 2012 trends are the most wearable for Midwesterners: – “Hats are everywhere this fall. Marc Jacob did some big crazy hats, which might be too extreme, but push yourself to try something outside a standard knit hat”. Outer wear is another big look; it was all over the runways of Tory Burch and Vera Wang. Instead of black, consider burgundy as a nice alternative that is still dark and versatile. She likes military structured jackets with brass buttons. She also stated pants are making a comeback, as is a return on separates. Look for skinny legs that are tailored and more sophisticated. Make sure you know a great tailor to ensure your best fit.
As for shoes and accessories, Tracey loves the return to the feminine shoe, especially the pencil heel, and a flat leather sandal for the day. She is wearing Lucite clear jewelry to bring in the transparency trend.
For the special guy in her life, she prefers he dress in classics. She loves a total prep wearing a well-tailored blue blazer. “Let me wear the crazy stuff.” Which according to her sister, she has always stayed ahead of fashion by wearing funky different things, which become the trend hitting the streets a year later. Tracey learned in ninth grade that she could feel cool and different by dressing to her individual style.
Her advice to a fashionista on a tight budget is to focus on accessories. “Buy the bangle bracelet for $15 instead of an orange dress”. Don’t invest major money in trends, instead, invest in a great trench coat, great shoes, a black dress and then spend money on scarves, necklaces and bangles to change it up.
As for celebrities she has met and found to be unbelievably sweet and humble, Tracey has a serious crush on the Olson twins. “They take fashion so seriously, and are knowledgeable. Plus they are down to earth. I am really impressed each time I speak to them.”
I had a ball talking to Tracey. She has a great sense of style and lives by many of the Flair (www.Dare4Flair.com) philosophies of having a great tailor nearby; investing in classic pieces, but modernizing them with on-trend fashions; wearing one knock out, well fitting attention seeking piece per outfit and understanding the correlation between confidence in your wardrobe and the confidence in yourself.
Tracey is excited about Glamour.com’s “What Are You Wearing” video series. There are three segments available to view with more in production. “The whole vibe of the video segments is to let everyday people feel like style stars!” Trust me, it was a fantastic experience, one I won’t soon forget.
Kristie Sheanshang is a style consultant, closet cleaner, personal shopper and public speaker who enjoys helping women look and feel fantastic by finding clothes that best fit their body, lifestyle and wallet – without looking like everyone else. She writes the style column for Cincy Chic, has a monthly “Dare4Flair” TV segment on FOX 19 and represents the Etcetera clothing line as well as some private boutiques in Cincinnati, OH. Flair is a 2011 Winner – Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce WE Celebrate “Businesses WE Watch.” Sheanshang is a Certified Image Consultant and has been published in CincyChic.com, Cincinnati.com, 24-7, Style.com and 365DaysofStyle.com. Dare for Flair in your life and clothes. We will help you Discover your Style and Re-energize your wardrobe. Visit www.Dare4Flair.com for more information.
Thanks to my intern Sara Elliott for helping put this blog post together!