Kiss Me I'm Irish... Sort of...

When Patrick brought Christianity to the pagan isle of Erin little did he know that his simple act of faith and devotion to his religion would bring about one of the most celebrated holidays aside from Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Easter.  Here in the United States St. Paddy’s Day has become synonymous with parades, warm beer, dancing, and lots of green.

As a kid I can remember how excited my mom would get about St. Paddy’s day.  She would lay out all green outfits for the kids and then precede to “leprechaun trick” the house.  Each year the little “leprechaun” would play all kinds of different tricks which, we loved discovering.  When I went away to college St. Paddy’s Day took on a whole new set of tricks but, the excitement and the green outfits remained the same.

I’ve decided to list some of my favorite “leprechaun tricks” to play on your family and friends this St. Paddy’s Day.

Magically Delicious Breakfast

Surprise your family or roommate by dying the milk green with a few drops of food coloring and a bowl of Lucky Charms.  This is a tasty surprise that everyone enjoys.

Artistic License

Grab a dry erase marker and run around the house drawing all over your family photos.  Be sure to blame that sneaky little leprechaun. 

Shoe Scavenger Hunt

In the middle of the night take your victims favorite shoes and hide them somewhere in the house.  When they wake up give them the clues and hints left behind by that “little leprechaun”.  When they find their shoes make sure they are filled with little treats and presents.  We suggest gold coin chocolates and Rolos.

After you have sorted out all of the tricks that “little leprechaun” played on your house treat everyone to a Shamrock Shake.

Got any suggestions for other “little leprechaun” tricks or traditions from your family?  Leave us some suggestions in the comments!

2013 Trend: Cardigans

Cardigans have been around since the 1700’s and as the years have passes more and more people have come to recognize this stylish way to stay warm.  This year at fashion week we saw a great many different cardigans and we anticipate this snug trend to continue well into 2013.  Snuggle up in your favorite cardi and check out some of our inspirations from the runway to your street.

Vintage Lovers Lookout

We love a vintage cardigan and we were geeked about Alice+Olivia’s short 50’s cardigan design.  This cardigan is the perfect solution to any chilly spring day. 

Try mixing things up with dark straight leg pants, denim shirts, and chunky socks. 

Need a cute and cozy cardigan for this spring?  Come check out this L.L. Bean eggshell blue cotton cardigan that’s waiting in our shop.

 

The Big Cozy

Some days we need the maximum amount of comfort and what better way to get that overwhelming warm feeling is with a great oversized cardigan.  On the runway, Band of Outsiders shows off with a steel gray and black oversized cardigan with hose and loafers. 

However, most of us could use a little more leg coverage and that’s how we fell in love with this look.   An oversize blouse with an oversize cardigan would seem too much unless you tucked it in, genius! 

Need an oversize cardigan to work with?  Take a time machine back to the good parts of the 80’s and get grunge fabulous in this Anthony Sicari double button breasted cardigan sweater.

 

Chilly Office Hours

Chilly offices making you nest in your office with your parka still on?  Climb out of that fashion disaster cave and pull off an office outfit that is professional and warm.  We took our inspiration from Vivenne Westwood’s Red Label.  The funky pencil skirt with the belted fuzzy warm cardigan and tights seems like the perfect office look.  

To make this look a little warmer and more comfortable we love a good strong brown riding boot with warm wooly socks tucked under. 

Need an adorable solution to your chilly office woes?  Get snuggly warm with this Jones New York deep v neck cardigan with adorable trim and pockets.

How to Make It

Already have a cardigan but, not sure how to make it work for you?  Check out what we did with this striped cardigan.

We started with a simple stripe cardigan and matched it for different fashion situations. 

Going out with friends for the day; mix your prints with a sweet floral shirt, dark blue flares, and brown booties.  Staying in or going to classes in that chilly building?  Pull on that denim shirt over a pair of slim khakis and cotton tennis shoes for a comfy day.  Getting back to that office in the cold can be hard but, don’t let it stop your fashion sense.  Take a cream colored peplum top, tan pencil skirt, and short black kitten heels for a warmer office hours.

Here at TreasureChest we are looking forward to spring and more importantly spring fashion.  Tell us what trends you think are going to be big this spring!

Oscars Drama: The Red Carpet Then and Now

Sophia Loren

One of our favorite fashion events of the season, aside from fashion week, has to be the Oscars.  The gowns, the glamour, and the crazies all come out to play on that iconic red carpet.  We decided to pick a couple of our favorite red carpet looks from this year and compare with our favorite past looks.

One of our favorite style icons has to be the beautiful Audrey Hepburn.  Who could forget her simple lace dress with battu neckline?  Her short hair and high necked dress made for a stunning Academy Award Ensemble.  We think, now that Anne Hathaway has had her hair chopped she’s been looking to this favorite starlet for some Red Carpet inspiration.  We love her high necked dress with short hair and that simply elegant necklace.  All in all, a great look to revive for the coming year.

While, most of the internet fashion gurus have been classifying Salma Hayeks’ red carpet look on the fashion don’t we love it.  We think this look was completely inspired by Elizabeth Taylor.  The heavy jeweled neck, sumptuous velvet, and hip hugging dress makes us think that Salma may be stealing from the late Elizabeth Taylor’s fashion handbook.  While, her hair is definitely over the top 60’s we love that she kept the consistency of this very vintage outfit.

 Most girls dream of either walking down the red carpet or being a princess.  If you have the incredible luck of Grace Kelly you get to do both.  Her great taste and effortless style is forever ingrained in our memory, much like the mint confection she wore to the Academy Awards Show in 1955.  What’s not to love about this dress?  Curve hugging and elegant with just a little train create the ultimate statuesque figure.  And Helen Hunt nailed it!  She took a little inspiration from one of Hollywoods’ best golden girls and ran with it.  The navy blue of this dress perfectly complements her fair skin and hair and the silver necklace adds just enough sparkle.  Simply elegant.

The red carpet is the perfect place to play with proportions.  One of our favorites was Edith Head’s dress she made for Shirley MacLaine.  Young and upcoming, MacLaine was looking to make a statement and she certainly made one with that amazing Head dress.  We saw something very similar on Oscars night on Jennifer Lawrence.  We love the fact that Lawrence decided to step out of her norm for a poofy, girly dress.  It was very flattering, but, not very stair worthy.  While, a valiant fashion attempt we think she should train a little more before she tries out another humongous dress.

We love seeing the leading ladies of Hollywood giving a metaphorical nod to the past but, we also love the dresses that are in a class all their own.  Here are our top 5 dresses of the night.

1 Queen Latifah

You just can’t beat her on the red carpet.  She looks dynamic in her all white dress with beading just around the neck and bust line; her hair is slick and elegant in that low bun and her makeup is flawless.  Overall, we give her homage for looking so absolutely effortless.

2 Jessica Chastain

Her long strawberry blonde locks caught our attention, but, the gorgeous detailing on her copper dress kept us coming back for more.  Jessica took a major risk with that copper color on the red carpet but, it doesn’t clash with carpet or her beautiful hair.

3 Zoe Saldana

Zoe looked positively fun.  Her gown choice was both age appropriate and that belt adds some edge to the carpet without over doing it.  Her old Hollywood glamour hair kept her overall look from being too severe and the floral finishing around the sweetheart neckline gave her look femininity that we don’t often see.

4 Catherine Zeta Jones

Catherine didn’t step outside her comfort zone this year, but she looked absolutely smashing.  Her art deco design gown and long dark hair was a match made in fashion heaven.  We love that she used a more natural makeup to bring out her beauty.

5 Jennifer Hudson

With that voice, that presence and that style, how could we not put Hudson on our list?  And she lives up to all of that this year with a sheer long sleeve dress with a slit to nowhere, blunt bangs, and great shoes.

The fashion do’s outweighed the fashion don’ts this year on the red carpet and we hope that trend continues.  Well, I guess it’s back to our fuzzy socks and sweaters.  We will just have to dream of dancing the night away on the red carpet.