Fashion Friday :: The Summer Staple

Fashion Friday posts are published regularly by fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

Jean shorts cross the borders of fashion. They can be worn boho with a tank and kimono, classic with a white tee and leather jacket, grunge with a half-tucked flannel shirt, or preppy with a blazer. Styling is everything when it comes to cutoffs, and with so many looks, they're the perfect staple for summer travel.

Styling Tips
This season, look for a pair that's ripped and slightly high waisted, either cuffed or frayed. Gentlemen: keep them long and slim. {Short cutoffs on men are not cool! I can never erase the vision of a dad in short jean shorts strolling around town on the Croatian coast last month. Keep that look on your sailboat only, sir!}

In the same way that you wouldn't wear a loud necklace with big earrings, you should avoid wearing tiny cutoffs with a tiny top. Balance out your leggy look with a more conservative top half. And don't forget to match your footwear to your look -- flat strappy sandals, mid-rise wedges, moccasins and sneakers work well with jean shorts. And if, like me, you wore wedge sneakers and booties all year long, there's no reason to stop now.

Buy or DIY?
Denim cutoffs are the perfect style for both the budget conscious and the big spender. If you decide to DIY, select jeans with little to no Spandex, as they won't distress well and will cling to your thighs. For a flattering fit, instead of cutting the legs straight across, angle your cut so the inside seam is slightly lower. Reduce, reuse, recycle, right?

Trip Styler Tip: Call me the modesty cop, but when your pocket linings are hanging out the bottom of your cutoffs, they're too short. Often less is more ... just not where jean shorts are concerned.

Now What To Buy?
(left to right)
J Brand high rise shorts, Zara high waist shorts, Madewell high rise denim shorts, Cheap Monday short skin blue rinse, 6397 slouch short

More Fashion Friday
White Chucks
Cycle Chic
Cabin Fever

Fashion Friday :: White Chucks

Fashion Friday posts are published regularly by fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

You know that moment when you're traveling and a tourist asks you for directions? Or that moment when you're able to carry on a basic conversation in a country's native tongue? Those moments make you feel like you belong in the place you're visiting. Fitting in with the locals is always at the top of my travel goals. If I'm mistaken for a local, I've succeeded as a foreigner under the radar.

If you want to look like a local in Europe, there's one element that crosses more borders than the European Union: White Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers {"Chucks"}.

I know that's a bold statement, but you can trust me as I've just returned from three weeks in Europe, where, moments after stepping off the plane, I observed an entire group of teenaged girls wearing them on the train. I saw them on the feet of high-end shop girls in Amsterdam, tapas servers in Barcelona, Zara-chic twentysomethings in Croatia and supermodel moms inside Charles de Gaulle.

In Europe, Chucks aren't a trend, they're a staple.

Here's my favorite look, as seen on the Riva in Split, Croatia's second-largest city.

(clockwise from left) Equipment signature shirt, ASOS pleated maxi skirt, Retrosuperfuture lucia francis puma sunglasses, Converse chuck taylor all stars

Trip Styler Tip: Shoes are arguably the most important and agonizing item when packing for Europe. White Chucks are versatile and they'll save your feet during the inevitable miles and miles of pounding the {very old} pavement.

More Fashion Friday
Cycle Chic
Surfer Style
Made for Walkin'

[top images via pinterest]

Fashion Friday :: Cycle Chic

[trip style = urban]

{Editor's Note: We will not be publishing on Easter Monday.}

Fashion Friday posts are published regularly by fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

I'm heading to Amsterdam next month and recently a friend jokingly asked if I'd go to the red light district. I confess I hadn't even thought about it. When I think of Amsterdam, I imagine stylish cyclists on Dutch upright bikes with tulips in their baskets riding alongside picturesque canals. I suspect the same thing of Copenhagen, and I refuse to think any differently until I'm proved wrong. Part of this confidence comes from my faithful addiction to street style blogs and their sub genre, cycle chic blogs, birthed in Copenhagen in 2007.

There's something magical about cycling in a bike-friendly city, smiling at passersby, having moments of fleeting flirtation at stoplights with fellow cyclists, all while getting in some light cardio. Of course bike commuting is only magical until that moment when it begins to downpour, you're splashed by passing cars, yelled at by impatient cyclists and you knock down a whole row of bikes while locking up your own. That's when you go inside for a Heineken. Speaking of Dutch beer, I'll have to drink some and I'll have to go to the red light district. It would be disrespectful not to...right?!

More Fashion Friday Surfer Style Life’s a Beach Romantic Caribbean Cabin Fever

[street style photos via thesartorialist.com, garancedoré.fr, amsterdamcyclechic.com, thelocals.dk and jakandjil.com]

Fashion Friday :: Surfer Style

[trip style = beach]

Fashion Friday posts are published on the last Friday of every month by fashion and lifestyle blogger Heather.

Puka shell necklaces are back, y'all! Just kidding---thank goodness---but surfer style is alive and well and living on Oahu. Last month, I took my first trip to Hawaii, where I rediscovered my high school love for all things surf. Once you get past the Tommy Bahama shirts and the wear-it-30-different-ways sarongs of Waikiki, there's a whole island of beach style to embrace---lest you look like a Haole.

Now What To Pack? Women (clockwise from top left) Reef creamy leather sandals, Quiksilver lamrocks butler shorts, Quiksilver stavi hat, Spell cambodian tribal bag, Free People big dipper oversized tee, Billabong only good vibes blanket towel, Billabong sunset ryder hat, Free People sunkissed flora racerback tank

Men (clockwise from middle right) Quiksilver railed long sleeve shirt, Quiksilver malone sweatshirt, Reef warrior stripe, Reef suicides chino, Reef kitchi kah mi win shoes

More Fashion Friday Life's a Beach Romantic Caribbean Cabin Fever

[top photos via reef.com, collage by @heatherlovesit]

Fashion Friday :: Made for Walkin'

[trip style = urban]

Fashion Friday posts are published on the last Friday of every month by fashion blogger Heather.

Is anything more important than comfortable shoes when you're traveling? I can't tell you how many times I've regretted the shoes I packed when I valued style over comfort. Even though it is a great excuse to buy a new pair on the road...

I recently bought a pair of John Fluevog Hannah boots (shown at top left) and I've barely taken them off. They're the most comfortable boots I've ever owned and definitely Trip Styler approved! These booties are perfect for quick escapes to New York and Portland, and I know I'll be wearing them on the cobblestone streets of Europe next year. Style and comfort together in the same shoe---it's possible!

Trip Styler Tip: If you tend to pack shoes for style over comfort like I sometimes do, remember to bring a stick of Band-Aid Friction Block to avoid blisters {also available in generic form at your favorite drug store}.

Fluevogs are designed in Vancouver, BC in a studio overlooking their flagship store in one of the most striking retail spaces in the city. They're known for their durability, customer service and unique styles. They've been making some killer contemporary shoes lately and I suspect I'll become one of their many loyal customers. And since I live in Vancouver, it's great to know that I'm buying local.

{Editor's Note :: I spent some time with John Fluevog and his lovely wife in Africa four years ago while at a wedding in Nairobi. He is an extraordinarily gracious, well traveled (and well dressed, obviously) gent in case you're interested in the face behind the shoe!}

Now What To Choose?
Women (clockwise from top left)
Hannah, Astern, Malcolm, Impel, Cha Cha, Paglia, Boogie Woogie, Ard, Wizard

Men (descending from top right)
Wynn, Soros, Kashmir

More Fashion Friday
Life's a Beach
Falling for Portland
Runway Style

[shoes via John Fluevog]