Spring Trends: What I'm Crushing on Pt 2

Spring has officially arrived, although it's hard to tell when I'm still waking up to snow, weather advisories, and we can't forget the nor'easter blasting the East coast.  I think we're all holding on to the thought that warm weather will appear sooner or later. A week ago I shared part 1 of my favorite spring trends, today I am sharing part 2, including a bonus trend.

4. Statement Straw Hats

Hats can be hard to wear if you have big natural hair like me. I'm feeling this trend because it looks like I can wear these styles, despite my big hair. I see a statement straw hat being added to my beach wardrobe this summer.

Gucci

A.W.A.K.E.

Delpozo

5. Pink and Red

Ok, I may be a little biased with this trend, as pink and red are our brand colors. Somehow, I think the universe manifested this trend for Kristin and I. Kristin even wore it when we hung out this past weekend.

Coach 1941

Oscar de la Renta

Kristin

6. Shorts

Shorts have never really been my thing. I've always been a little self conscious of my skinny legs, and shorts were never really flattering on me. I like the shorts being shown this season; 1.) they are longer, 2.) they are tailored, and 3.) they are stylish. Who wouldn't want to wear them?

Balmain

Saint Laurent

Off-White

***7. BONUS TREND: Black and White Polka dots

Choosing polka dots as a favorite trend is probably causing me to rebel against my mom, as she HATED polka dots when I was growing up. I never minded them, but was always hesitant to wear them because of her strong aversion to them. The big polka dots shown by Carolina Herrera are more my style versus the tiny dots.

Alexandre Vauthier

Jacquemus

Carolina Herrera

Have you decided what trends you're adding to your spring wardrobe? I would love to hear your favorites. 

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

~Chris

Spring Trends: What I'm Crushing on/ Part 1

Per the calendar, spring is set to begin in 12 days. The weather is giving me some spring vibes, warmer temps, lots of rain and bits of sunshine here and there. Anytime the seasons change I start thinking about how I am going to change my wardrobe. Over the past few weeks I have been browsing the web in search of spring trends. Here are a few of my faves!!

1. Rainbow

The rainbow trend caught my eye, because I love color. Either a mixture of colors together or separate bold colors. Many designers showed how the rainbow inspired them in different ways. The Carolina Herrera dress was my favorite interpretation of this trend. I love the classic style of the dress and the pattern mixing. The dress also includes 2 other spring trends, asymmetrical shoulder and the puff sleeve. (dress shown below)

Dolce and Gabanna

Etro

Carolina Herrera

2. Day Glow

It's OK to wear glitz and glam during the day!! Normally sequins and sparkles are reserved for evening functions. But this spring feel free to break out that sparkly top for a daytime event.

Dolce and Gabanna

Saint Laurent

Paco Rabanne

3. White Tank Top

Now I think of the white tank top as a wardrobe essential, not necessarily a trend. I layer with a white tank top almost daily, I guess that makes me a fashion trendsetter, right?  However, I do love the simplicity of this trend, you can find a quality tank top for under $10. Layer it or  wear it alone!!

Alexander Wang

The Row

Miu Miu

What trends are you feeling for spring? 

Next week I will share part 2 that will include 3 more spring trends I'm crushing on.

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

~Chris

Chris's/Kris's Closet (Christina)

Chris's Closet

On Saturday, Kristin and I met at Rehab Tavern for a Crawfish Boil. I've only seen crawfish in pictures, never ate them. So this event was an experience. I must say I am not a big fan of crawfish, but I did enjoy the sausage, corn, potatoes and beer.

After spending a couple of hours at Rehab we walked over to Land Grant Brewery and had a Mexican Lager and mini burgers. The afternoon was cool, and we met new people.

I didn't really know what to wear to this event, so I just threw something together. My hair was a hot mess, which is why I wrapped it up. My look turned out better than I expected.

Head wrap: Scraps of fabric, purchased from Amyang

Denim vest: Target (this vest was a denim jacket, but after several washes it started to distress, so I cut the sleeves off and made it a vest.)

Shirt: Thrift store find

Jeans: Gift

Necklace: Harlem Street Vendor

Cuff: Harlem Street Vendor

Wood beaded bracelets: ChristinaKristin (custom pieces)

Bracelet with red stones: Vendor @ the I AM AFRICAAN Day party NYC

Shoes: Express (purchased at Discount Fashion Warehouse for $10)

Clutch: Thrift Store Find

How was your weekend?

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

~Chris

Christina's Top 5 Spring Trends 2016

                                                                       Style.com

1. New Bohemian

The "New Bohemian" trend is all about mixing prints in one piece of clothing. I just bought a pair of pants from Target that have about 3-4 different prints, and I am in LOVE with them. Instyle tells us to gain inspiration for this trend from old National Geographic magazines and Janson's History of Art. This trend is care-free and all about expression.

       
                                                           harpersbazaar.com
2. Ornate Hair Accessories

When I first went natural, I did the big chop and my hair was pretty short, during this time I would not be caught without wearing one of 2 things, big earrings or a hair accessory. Now that my hair has grown longer I don't use hair acceossories like I used to.  I love the hair accessories that are being shown because they are "grown up", but still fancy. I have already began making new headbands and I will be sure to rock them this summer.

3. Oxford Flats

The first time this trend surface, I was first in line to buy my oxfords. I've never really given this trend up, I currently have 3 pairs of oxfords, and can't wait to get more. I prefer wearing flat shoes these days, and with all of the decorative oxfords out there you can really change the look of a plain outfit.

           
                                               www.fashionisers.com
4.Wicker bags

There are so many eccentric handbags on trend for spring, I chose these wicker bags as my favorite because straw and sunny weather just seems to go together. I have one wicker clutch that I purchased from the thrift store and I only wear it in the summer, it's such a neutral piece I can wear it with anything.

                                                                    www.fashionista.com
5. Shades of Pink

So I was super excited upon finding out that the color pink was named color of the year, more specifically rose quartz. This spring you will see the light pink shade in stores everywhere. I actually have a thing for rose right now, in my house you will see "dusty blush" in many places. So this pink trend has crossed over to interiors.


As I was writing about my favorite spring trends, I noticed that the trends I chose resonated with me in some way. Each trend actually is apart of the essence of my personal style. When you choose what trends you will incorporate into your wardrobe this spring, be sure that you have some connection to the trend, and try to choose classic trends when you can.  The trends I have chosen are in sense a part of my daily wardrobe already, with this new inspiration I can find new styles of these trends to incorporate into my wardrobe, and still wear them for a long time.

Stay tuned for Kristin's Top 5 Spring Trends, and for a follow up post where Kristin and I will shop for our trends at the thrift store. We will show you how easy it can be finding current trends on a shoestring budget.

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

Chris

Chris's/Kris's Closet (Christina) June 9, 2015

Chris's Closet

I am Christina, the hot pink of ChristinaKristin. Welcome to my closet!

Last week, I posted about Kristin and I being "It Girls" for Rocksbox. Today I am going to share with you how I wore 2 of the pieces. Kristin and I had a longstanding date to go to Paint Nite at Bar 145 in Grandview. If you are not familiar, Paint Nite also called Wine & Painting is held in a bar/restaurant where you can enjoy cocktails while you paint. The event was really cool the host played great music and had lots of energy the whole night. I have to admit I was a bit nervous at first, I just couldn't get past the thought of destroying my blank canvas, but once I got started I had so much fun. I can't wait to do it again.My outfit was pretty simple, since we were working with acrylic paints I did not want to  make a mess in "good" clothes.  

Blazer: White House Black Market

Tank: Nordstom, Abound

Jeans: Hudson Jeans

Shoes: Red Valentino

Jewelry:

1. Perry Street Alice Necklace (Rocksbox)

2. Jules Smith Textured Open Cuff (Rocksbox)

3. Black and white beaded bracelet- ChristinaKristin

4. Stella & Dot (2 bangles after cuff)

5. Last 2 gold bangles- gift from India

Sign up for your Rocksbox subscription and remember to use code christinakristinxoxo to get your first box for free.

Until Next Time,

Chris!

Style Crush: Black History Month Edition

If you have been following this Black History Edition series then you have seen my past 3 posts which have featured Ty Hunter, Rachel Johnson and Ugo Mozie. To close the series I am ending with ourselves (ChristinaKristin), many of you may or may not know that jewelry design is only 1 facet of our business, we also do fashion styling. Fashion styling is actually how we started our business and after experimenting with fashion design we found our niche in jewelry design.

                                 Christina                                          Kristin

To give a little background on ChristinaKristin I am inserting our bio, this same bio is also in our About Us Section. 

ChristinaKristin Co. is a design and style duo from Columbus, Ohio. They specialize in creating handmade, one-of-a-kind accessories, including jewelry and hair accessories. To date, they've created four unique collections: The Cotton Candy Collection, The Vegas Collection, The Heavy Metal Collection, and The Global Gal Collection.

Christina is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where she earned a B.S. in Apparel Product Development. Prior to forming ChristinaKristin Co., she interned for Seventeen Magazine, worked for BCBG Max Azria and did visuals for Express.

Following the completion of her Fashion Design degree, Kristin worked in visual development for Forever 21 and as a freelance stylist. Her work has been featured in The Miami Herald and Columbus Alive.

Together, they also provide editorial and personal styling direction, including child portfolio development with Photocentric Photography. Their work can be seen in Style-ology Magazine, UK magazine New African Woman and in Beverly Hills designer Malena Ruth's look book.

Currently you can see our portfolio at www.instagram.com/styleby_christinakristin, while you're there please be sure to follow us.

 New African Woman Magazine (UK)

Assistant Stylist Credit 

Children's Portfolio Development

I hope that you enjoyed this series, and learned something new!

Until Next Time,

*Chris*

Style Crush: Black History Month Edition

For me black history month is not only about remembering important people and events from our history, but also celebrating important people of today. This month's series of Style Crush will feature Black Fashion Stylists. As much as I adore June Ambrose, there are so many other talented stylists in the industry, who work extremely hard, but are more behind the scenes. 

I chose to spotlight Fashion Stylists because more often than not, they get overshadowed by designers or the client they are styling. The stylist is so key because they get the designer's collections to the public, they create an image for music artists, the stylist takes a concept and turns it into a look for magazines, fashion shows, etc. and 9 times out of 10 they also do some sewing and other tricks to prevent wardrobe malfunctions. Fashion styling is very near and dear to my heart, it was a dream of mine to become a stylist, and with lots of hard work, ChristinaKristin has had some awesome opportunities with styling. As a bonus I will feature our work at the end of the series. If you missed the first and second  posts in this series find them here and here!

Ugo Mozie

Photo Credit: www.swaggernewyork.com

Today I chose to spotlight a young man who is deemed one of the hottest stylist around. At just 22 years old he has definitely made his mark in the fashion industry. I have been following his work for about a year now,  and he is super talented. At his young age he has already debuted a fashion line and his clientele has included international super stars from Justin Beiber to Larry King. He is most known for his eclectic and androgynous style. He has touched many projects from the Oscar Awards, Sex and the City 2, Vogue, Elle, GQ magazine and much more. Mozie is of Nigerian descent moving to the states at the age of 3, he credits him being born in Africa as a major influence of his work. See his talent for yourself. For more information on Mr. Mozie check out his website www.ugomozie.com , his instagram which I follow myself is @ugomozie.

Photo Credit: ugomozie.tumblr.com

Photo Credit: ugomozie.tumblr.com

Stop by tomorrow to see the ChristinaKristin spotlight!

Until Next Time,

*Chris*

Style Crush: Black History Month Edition

For me black history month is not only about remembering important people and events from our history, but also celebrating important people of today. This month's series of Style Crush will feature Black Fashion Stylists. As much as I adore June Ambrose, there are so many other talented stylists in the industry, who work extremely hard, but are more behind the scenes. 

I chose to spotlight Fashion Stylists because more often than not, they get overshadowed by designers or the client they are styling. The stylist is so key because they get the designer's collections to the public, they create an image for music artists, the stylist takes a concept and turns it into a look for magazines, fashion shows, etc. and 9 times out of 10 they also do some sewing and other tricks to prevent wardrobe malfunctions. Fashion styling is very near and dear to my heart, it was a dream of mine to become a stylist, and with lots of hard work, ChristinaKristin has had some awesome opportunities with styling. As a bonus I will feature our work at the end of the series. If you missed the first post in this series find it here!

Rachel Johnson

Photo Credit: www.ebony.com

This naturalista is a stylist to NBA stars, from which she obtained the title "NBA Stylist".  The "Gentlemen" look that many players are now donning, can be credited to Rachel. Her fashion lineup consists of Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Lebron James and Amare Stoudemire. Johnson's styling aesthetic is influenced by street styles,art trends and classic Hollywood Style.

Before Johnson's NBA career began, she had a booming career styling the likes of Keyshia Cole, Pharell Williams, and Jamie fox. In 2005, Jay-Z introduced her to  Lebron James' manager, Maverick Carter, and that began her NBA fashion career. Johnson is also a business woman, she owns a styling agency based out of Brooklyn, New York called Thomas Faison.

Take a look at some of her work:

Photo Credits: www.thomasfaison.com

To see more of Rachel's work, check out her website in the www.thomasfaison.com 

Until Next Time,

*Chris*

Style Crush: Black History Month Edition

For me black history month is not only about remembering important people and events from our history, but also celebrating important people of today. This month's series of Style Crush will feature Black Fashion Stylists. As much as I adore June Ambrose, there are so many other talented stylists in the industry, who work extremely hard, but are more behind the scenes. 

I chose to spotlight Fashion Stylists because more often than not, they get overshadowed by designers or the client they are styling. The stylist is so key because they get the designer's collections to the public, they create an image for music artists, the stylist takes a concept and turns it into a look for magazines, fashion shows, etc. and 9 times out of 10 they also do some sewing and other tricks to prevent wardrobe malfunctions. Fashion styling is very near and dear to my heart, it was a dream of mine to become a stylist, and with lots of hard work, ChristinaKristin has had some awesome opportunities with styling. As a bonus I will feature our work at the end of the series. Alright, so get ready for some serious style in this series over the next 2 weeks.

First up is:

Ty Hunter

Photo Credit: www.jetmag.com

This stylish gentleman is stylist to the world's most recognized soul/pop vocalist, Mrs. Beyonce Knowles-Carter. Yes, he is responsible for the fierce style she displays every time we see her. He came from humble beginnings, he was working at a trendy boutique called Bui-Ya-Kah in Houston, Texas, he assisted customers including Tina Knowles. During his time at the boutique he would put aside clothes for a local group known as Destiny's Child. One day he called Ms. Knowles (Tina), the groups head stylist and asked if she needed a hand and the rest is history.

I took some excerpts from an interview Ty did on examiner.com, I will put the link at the end of this post.

Did you ever imagine you would be where you are now? What were your plans as a child for your future?

- I was always into fashion growing up. My Mom would always ask me my opinion on what she should wear when I was growing up. I was voted best dressed a lot in middle and high school. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be where I am today. There weren’t a lot of celebrities coming out of Texas growing up.

I was informed that you got your start off of a whim with an encounter with Beyonce’s mom, please expand on this. What were your thoughts at this time, and what made you decide to stick with it?

- I was doing Visual Merchandising at boutiques in Houston, TX, and Miss Tina would come in and shop for the four girl’s of Destiny’s Child. She would always come in asking me for my opinion. The girl’s would all come in by themselves to shop. I met Michelle first, then Kelly and lastly Bey. None of them knew we all knew each other. So, one day Miss Tina told me, “I’m gonna get you out of here.” And two weeks later I was at the Grammy’s, and the rest was history.

What advice do you have for those looking to get into the fashion industry? When is the best time to start?

- My thing is to really believe in yourself. Do not let your environment keep you from doing what you want to do. I never thought a little boy from Texas would be styling one of the biggest pop groups and stars in the world.

What an inspiring story!!! Now on to the style...

Photo Credit: www.necolebitchie.com

Photo Credit: www.bgclive.com

Photo Credit: www.idyck.com

For the full interview go to: www.examiner.com

Until Next Time,

*Chris*