Welcoming Spring: Backyard Green Garden Party

If you’ve been in hibernation mode for the past 5 months like I have, you’re probably bursting at the seams to get out and do something! I find the best way to welcome spring is with a bright, casual backyard garden party with friends.

Paint the Town Paisley: Summer's Prettiest Print

During the summer you see a lot of stripes, and maybe even some polka dots. But paisley is seriously summer's prettiest print. The way it swirls and blooms inside twisted teardrops gives it a feminine yet somewhat exotic feel to it. The reason it's so popular for the summer is it's botanical beauty. Thought to be inspired by the tropical seeming date palm tree, looking or wearing paisley can transport you to it's origins of India or Persia. The pattern is truly unpredictable, just like the woman wearing it!

Styled for Spring: The Jersey Button Up

On the East Coast here in NYC, we're pretty tired of getting slammed with snow and "storm of the centuries". The second the weather gets above 45 we'll be jumping for joy! 45 and sunny may not seem very warm but it’s such a nice reprieve from the bitter cold winter we have had.  

While it may not be time for sandals yet, our designers are busy creating effortless looks for Spring time. Mixing and matching pieces from the Spring 2013 line and our own wardrobe, we’ve come up with an outfit that you can wear just about anywhere!

What is about a button up that’s so alluring? Maybe it’s the versatility: this burnout wash jersey cotton rolled 1/2 sleeve button up can be styled so many different ways. Not to mention you can wear it throughout spring, summer and fall! Tie it together at the bottom and pair it with a maxi skirt, or wear it with these great ankle-zip skinny pants like we plan to here.

How to: Style The Plain Tee

You already know about our love for the basic tee, so we won't bore you with the details. Here are a few tips from our designers for styling a plain tee shirt. If you have your own suggestions, leave us a comment! 

Click for the full size!

Decorating With Your Valentine's Day Flowers

We hope everyone had a love-filled Valentine’s Day this year. One of the Luv4Anouka designers got 50 red roses for Valentine’s Day and when they started to wilt, she couldn’t bear to see them thrown out. To Pinterest we went, trying to find ways to preserve their life, but there was not much creativity in the dried-flowers department. Sure you can dry the flowers and pin them to your wall, but here is another simple approach that works just as well!

Here they are before...

And after!

1. Cut off any leaves or thorns and cut the stems to your preferred length
2. Fan out flowers and tie a small rubber-band (like one you would use for the end of a braid) around the middle of the stems
3. Using some kitchen twine or string, tie around the rubber-band tightly (just to provide some extra reinforcement)
4.  Find a nice long ribbon and begin wrapping around both the flowers stems and the post you’re tying them to. Loop around several times and make sure it’s nice and tight. Then tuck it under and tie a knot to keep it in place. (She was able to tie it around the perpendicular posts for even more support).  

How To Style Printed Pants for Spring: Do's and Don'ts

The most playful trend for spring is undoubtedly the printed pants. Eye-catching bottoms are a nice break from over the top embellished blouses and the likes; they are almost like an accessory in themselves. This trend hit the runway in Spring 2012 and you've probably seen the fashion savvy begin to embrace them. But if you're thinking... Really? How am I supposed to pull those off without looking like Kelly Kapowski from Saved By The Bell? We've got you covered. Floral print pants are actually kind of (dare we say it) flattering. Here are a few DO'S and DON'TS to follow:

DO layer on top. With all other trends, the key is balance. A few layers on top will balance and soften the look.

DON'T wear knee high boots. Show off those pants, don't hide them under your shoes. For some reason, this trend just works better with delicate flats/loafers, classy heels or ankle booties.

DO experiment with tops. We love styling printed pants with a simple knit top, but we would never knock mixing prints! Floral and polka dots or stripes are some of our favorite combinations.

DON'T stray too far from the colors in your pants. If your wearing printed pants its likely that there are a variety of colors. Pick one or two colors from the pattern and match the rest of your outfit from there (especially if you're mixing prints).

Here are two ways to style our floral printed pants! In the first photo we styled them with our shadow stripe sweater knit and our blazer with cable rib pockets.  In the second photo, one of our stylists, Preethi is wearing them with a knit and hoodie from our fall 2012 line. These pants have zippers, buttons and pockets so they look like jeans but they are just as comfortable (if not more) as a pair of leggings!

Glitzy Photo Board DIY Inspiration

If you can remember (and long for) a time when photos used to be showcased around your house, and not your Instagram page, this DIY is for you. Here’s the situation: The walls of your bedroom are bare. The photos in your frames are over 10 years old. You and your significant other have no photographs together, but you’re tagged in about 50 of them on Facebook.

This is what happened to Samantha when she moved into a new place, so she decided to get creative! She ordered a set of 24 instagram photos to be printed by printstagr.am. She went to Michaels and picked up a corkboard, heavy duty double sided tape, glitter tape, sequin and pom pom string. It’s so easy to create your own photo board with the right materials!