All I want for Christmas is…

* Everything sequin * Navajo embroidered accessories * Gorgeously expensive bath products * Extra blingy costume jewelry *

Oh, and, for my significant other to think I’m the best girlfriend in the entire world. {Cue tolerable present ideas for men here}…

* Everything sequin * Navajo embroidered accessories * Gorgeously expensive bath products * Extra blingy costume jewelry *

Eek. I guess I’m really bad at sharing.

But, this holiday season I’m feeling recession-proof! Not just because of my array of lucrative freelance positions that I hold {most of which I’m paid in tweed skirts three sizes too big, costume rings that rust my fingers, and cashmere socks that I store in the “if I ever make it on that skiing trip” drawer.} Kidding. I’m feeling good, and I want my favorite friends in my life to look as good as I feel.

The ultimate Fashion-Friend’ly Gift Guide for everyone in your life who really matters…

For yourself, start with a fabulous heel that, for one time of year, you don’t have to just look, not touch… like this Jimmy Choo pair for $750. Add a colored denim pant, say JBrand, Rag & Bone, or Citizens of Humanity.

Oh, and throw in that must-have party dress {blame it on New Year’s Eve}! MICHAEL Michael Kors, $175

Now for the best friend, think STATEMENT! Anything leopard will do… like this MICHAEL Michael Kors tote, $598. For the blogger and fashion-obsessed friend, if she already doesn’t do the Lita…then she ain’t got nothin’ on style! (Fix it quick by getting her the newest and most lightweight {might I add fabulously comfortable} Jeffrey Campbell “Lita” boot, $145). And of course, no chic mom can be without comfort bling, like these STEVEN Steve Madden studded loafers, $145.

A spiritual friend should never leave home without a “well traveled” {lewk}, like this backpack reminiscent of a Turkish Grand Bazaar market find, or these prayer bead bracelets.

Co-worker time! LOVE HATE relationship? We all get it. Instead of filling his stocking with pricey coal, get him something that can enhance his inner cool-factor. Bond No. 9 perfume and cologne, $150 and up; Voluspa candles, $18 each;  Kiehl’s bath and body products, $60 gift set for men and women; Gucci coffee table book, $85

Fashionable best guy friend duties? Keep his mind-body-soul Los Angeles laid back in colored sock and TOMS shoes. Did you know, for every TOMS shoe purchased, a new pair of shoes is given to a child in need? Pump up that holiday spirit! $48 and up.

Blind gifting? Grab Bag? Can’t go wrong with the best hair-tie known to wo-men: elastic knots, 6 for $10; Hollywood Fashion emergency kit (filled with all women’s must-have-quick-fix’s like double stick tape, stain wipes, blister pads, more, $14.95, or quirky coasters that fit any home decor (or re-gifting pile), $6.95 each.

Happy shopping!

xoxo, elshane

(Photo 1: Malibu beach, summer 2011; Photo 2, 4, 5: vintage turban and belt, Free People top, MinkPink dress, Kate Spade necklace, Cutler & Gross sunnies, CC Skye cuff, LF socks, Jeffrey Campbell shoes, Photo 3: a necklace display at a Los Angeles flea market, fall 2011)

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I always say, “Life is greener when it’s candy colored,” yet it’s funny how something so simple can be so feared! COLOR! Mixing it, matching it, mismatching it… what direction to take, what paths to avoid? Bright reds and pale greens… for me? Deliciously perfect for an afternoon of shopping, spending, splurging! Please, yes, thank you! Yet they can make someone else utterly nervous, distressed, and insecure. My heart melts for this widespread panic; I’m gearing up in my Swarovski crystal-embellished armor (you think I’m lying…ha!) and fighting it to the core—my sweet colorphobics!

Isn’t it, after all, that color is what brightens our day? Makes us smile? Adds a glimmer of peace and luster to an otherwise dull palate of boring shades of grey and beige?  (A fashion synonym for boring is, in fact: BEIGE!) To conquer your color palate is to conquer your confidence.

Wearing two colors in one look, also known as color blocking, can instantly rev up your style. Start using the basic color wheel to experiment with mixing brights. Primary colors: Red, Yellow, Blue, can each, separately, be mixed ferociously, fearlessly with a secondary color: Orange, Green, Violet.

Think…

• Red and Violet: Score!
• Blue and Green: Score!
• Yellow and Orange: Score!

Rich, deep tones (primary colors) work well with lighter tones (secondary colors) because they don’t compete for the same attention—they compliment one another. Colors encompass qualities like hue (the actual color), tone (the lightness or darkness of the color), and chroma (the saturation, purity and intensity of the color), and the more you fancy yourself a Master Leprechaun of the rainbow, the more secure you will be while color-block dressing. Go bold, or go {Beige}!

Although it sounds so easy on script, going into your closet and grabbing two items from opposite ends of the rack {don’t we all color coordinate our wardrobe?} is a battle of textbook dressing vs. pushing the envelope. But a shimmery ocean blue silk top with clean-finish grass green skinny jeans and a lilac-infused Lucite cuff is a recipe for instant success, and that is undisputable your Honor!

There is, however, one glittering evil temptation that a fashionista must remember as a DON’T: the risk of dressing in the colors of your local sports team. An LA power chick should not wear yellow and purple together, same goes for a chic New Yorker in blue and orange, and a cutting-edge Floridian in sea foam green and orange. Gasp, horrors, O-M-G if your fashion is mistaken for… {costumery}!

Like all things in life, there is a time and place for everything. Going Beige is downright chic for an office meeting, a dinner with the in-laws, and a job interview…wait, all of those events sound like a snooze-fest…go figure {Beige}! So for a greener life, a life with butterflies, rainbows, lollipops and smiles, throw some candy color into the mix!

xo, elshane