Today’s Outfit Idea: Red & Purple Pizzazz

All right, all you ladies who push your style aside because you’re too dang busy just trying to get your kids or your partner or yourself out the door in the morning – the Fastionista is here to ease your style fear.

Red and purple is one of my favorite color combinations. Both are such dramatic shades, and both command attention. As with any bold combination, however, there has to be some balance involved so that we never come off looking too, well, clownish. So here’s what’s in my closet today:

· Red Cardigan: Although a cardi is great as a completer piece, today I’m going to wear mine buttoned up without a layering piece underneath because I just want that uninterrupted burst of red on top. My cardi is fitted, hitting me right at the hip, and has ruching at the bust along with faux diamond buttons to give this sweater a unique quality.

· Lace Peplum Skirt: Lace is a great way to bring texture in to an ensemble, and peplums are toute la rage right now, so instead of just wearing a more standard black pencil skirt with this outfit, I’m going to go with this particular black pencil skirt to kick my look up a notch on the style scale.

· Accessories: Here’s where I’ll bring my purple in, starting with a purple, black, and white striped scarf that I’ll knot at the neck. I’ll also wear my purple and silver metal flower bracelet, and faux amethyst stud earrings. The earrings mimic the faux diamond buttons on my sweater, and the touches of purple at my ears, neck, and wrist tie all of my pieces together into a composed, complementary outfit without anything being too loud.

· Purse: I do want one more element of red here to echo my sweater, but, again, since I don’t want to overdo anything, I’ll use my purse as a way to subtly bring it in. So I’ll carry a shoulder-strap handbag with a black and red abstract design.

· SHOES!: Any added color at this point really would be pushing my outfit over the style edge, so I need to go with a neutral here. A black patent leather pump with a pointed toe is fashionable and works well with the other elements in my outfit, while keeping things simple at the same time.

Voila! There you have it: great fashion fast. And you, gorgeous lady, are ready to take on the world, Fastionista Style!

Be ahead of the trend and work these styles into your ensemble before they hit the mainstream.

Today’s Trend: Rock & Roll Runway

The more conceptual haute couture collections are coming out for spring/summer 2012, and Chanel has decided to do a 180 from their more mainstream ready-to-wear line by embracing classic rock-and-roll styles. They’re bringing in edgy, dramatic looks in the forms of sharp silhouettes, shoulder-dusting earrings, and shine, shine, everywhere. For a twist on the standard black they’ve delved into deep navy blue. (Check out the line here at Elle.com.) Grab a few ideas from this look by swapping out your black skirt for a navy blue, or adding a little edge with long earrings (shoulder-dusting earrings, BTW, don’t need to be heavy to be edgy: their length can be striking even if they’re delicate silver strands).