Blog: Crossroads Style

Current Obsessions: Real Life Glee + Hawaiian Anything

June 1, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Friday, is that you? At the beginning of every week, it seems so bleak because you’re just so far away…but by the end of Wednesday, I know you’re just around the corner. Thankfully, the trip wasn’t without its highlights. I pinned, tweeted and Facebooked my little heart out, but while I was at it, I stumbled across some brand new trends, hair-dos and YouTube videos that I’ll be obsessing over all the way through Sunday. And I like sharing. Have a good weekend, kiddos.

1. Tropical anything. It’s the first day of June (!!!) and you know what that means – fun in the sun. These tropical earrings and the entire tropical trend are the perfect way to usher in summer. You might just like them so much that you’ll need to book your summer travel just to match them. Yes, I’ll have a side of island with my earrings, thank you very much.
2. Real Life Glee. In the words of Kelly Oxford, “Look at what GLEE has done to us There is no way that guy went back to Domino’s and could explain what happened to him.”

3. Ice Cream Colors. Mmmm…there’s nothing quite like a sleek ice cream-colored carry-all to carry you through summer and beyond. Yum.

Marc by Marc Jacobs, $175 at Roseville Crossroads

4. Short Haircuts. As the thermostat tells us the temperature is rising, so do our hemlines. Why not relish the feeling further and try to the achieve the same effect on your hair? That said, we love Kathleen‘s new do. How’s that for incredible lightness?

5. De-stress with Doggies Day. Did you know Seattle University has a De-stress with Doggies Day to help students who are cramming for finals de-stress and thus preform better on their exams? Ummm…what?? More universities need to take a leaf out of Seattle’s book. The photos are just too cute for school!

Images via Lulu Magazine, Seattle University, Inspirafashion, Facebook

Filed Under: Current Obsessions, Featured Post

4 Trends We Wish Would Go Away

May 31, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

As dedicated fashion folk, we read various fashion news sites, blogs, magazines and Refinery29 on the daily, and while we prefer to trend love, sometimes we don’t always agree with what we see. To each their own – people like different things, and that’s great! But today we decided to turn the spotlight on four trends popular with the fashion set that we can’t wait to see wither up and die like that early 2000′s poncho. If you don’t agree, hey, this is a democracy. Let us know what trends you love or love to hate in the comments below.
1. High fashion baseball caps. For decades, sports fans have sported these caps to rep’ their favorite baseball or basketball teams, and hey, that is cool. But why is the young fashion set wearing them in Hawaiian prints, in happy face prints or just straight up bedazzled? Why not any other hat? While the other kids are cheering their teams to the win, you somehow turned out the loser.2. Pajama suits for the great outdoors. This looks like a scene in a really, really bad dream. The kind where you wake up in public naked in your pajamas, don’t have any idea where you are and OH MY GOD your shoes couldn’t have been more poorly matched. Rough night. That’s going to be one heck of a hangover.
3. Wedged sneakers. Sneakers are A-OK alone, and wedges are fine and dandy in my book too. But together? I take issue with this. What’s next, stiletto Teva sandals? I mean really? Really?
4. Animal hats. Not even her good looks can untangle her from this fashion disaster, and that is just sad.

Images via Jak & Jil, Vanessa Jackman.

Filed Under: Featured Post

Blog Love: Revenge + Kolonel Mustard

May 30, 2012 By guest Leave a Comment

Another day, another blog. New fashion bloggers crop up on the daily, so what’s a girl or guy to do without getting completely lost in the blogosphere? Well, the answer is pretty simple, actually. Scroll on down and get your Cliff Notes, ladies and gents, because today you get a serving of our Blog Love feature. Here are four blogs that you should be reading quite carefully and quite often, featuring stellar style from around the globe.

1. Ring My Bell. Does Ashley look familiar? She should as she stars on the highly acclaimed TV show “Revenge.” Though she’s proven to have red carpet and event style, through her personal style blog we get a looksie into how the star dresses on her day to day around LA. We’re pleased to report that she’s fabulous on and off duty, and she does so in very LA casual-chic fashion.

2. Gary Pepper. What’s up to the down under! We’re not sure when Australia became a budding fashion mecca, but “like” wouldn’t even be the right word to describe how much we love it! Nicole, the blogger-babe behind Gary Pepper, is just one of the many bloggers leading the way. Sticking out from the blogger brat pack, we love how refined, clean and yet unique Nicole always looks. Her classy ‘fits would fit in better between the magazine editors on the first row of fashion week than at a blogger bash, in my opinion.

3. Kolonel Mustard. Before we move away from all this Aussie lovin’…can we please just gush over one more, pretty please? Benjamin is a gem and a find – It’s so rare that we find dude fashion bloggers, and even more rare that they dress with so much success. A dapper dude with a well-tailored style, this guy can really, really wear a blazer.

4. Victoria Tornegren. Victoria is based in Sweden, another homeland of wonderful things, and even though her blog is written in Swedish, we can’t help but ogle her daily outfit posts, sans story. Her style features a simple color palette, generally consisting of only black, white, blue and gray. The points of interest though are details – a cut out heel, rocker bag, frayed shorts, or a bold belt. We love how keen and clean this young lady’s outfits always look.

Did we miss you? Be sure to leave us a love note if you’d like to be featured here next time!

Filed Under: Blog Love, Featured Post

Items of the Week: Santa Cruz Crossroads

May 29, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

You know what summer is? Summer’s cool. It’s a flat-form, flip-flop, bare foot or bust kind of time of year, and we la-la-love it.

You know what else summer is? Not here yet (wah!). But instead of moping over how slowly we spin through the calendar, we’re preppin’ for paradise anyway. Take Anya here and this sweet ride of a bike. She proves that summer whites wear well, especially when you can wear them on your face (hello, Ray-Bans). And when it comes to arm candy, we say forget heavy metal and go for a big carry-all. What better way to ensure you haven’t forgotten a single summer essential at home? At the end of a warm summer day, some sunblock and a bikini will do you far more good than any arm party, so we say make sure you have the right arm swag. Manrepeller, who? Next stop? Surf city.
ON ANYA: See By Chloe dress sz 5/6 $80 (worn as a skirt), American Apparel sheer top sz S $10, Ecote wedges sz 8 $14, Teal TANO bag $120, Hunter green Nixon time teller unisex watch $40, Ray-Ban wayfarers $65, New Crossroads headband with bow at $8.50
ON THE GREEN ROBIN HOOD RALEIGH BICYCLE: Dooney and Bourke logo bag with front pockets $45, black patent leather hobo style Dooney and Bourke bag $85, and large grey patent leather Coach bag $60

Filed Under: Featured Post, Items of the Week

Just In: 3 Summer-Ready Dresses

May 25, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Get ready, get set, get dressed! The seasons are shifting and with Memorial Day weekend about to go down, we’re thinking it’s high time we all stock up on some high-low dresses. Arriving at all Crossroads stores in the next few days is an assortment of BBQ and beach-ready dresses.* Wear each of these pretty little numbers with heels or sandals…or better yet, completely barefoot!

Sheer maxi dress, $36.50Chiffon striped high-low dress, $36.50 (also comes in orange)Lipstick color-block dress, $32.50

*Except our Stockton Outlet

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Dresses, Featured Post

Trendspotting: Pastel-Blocking

May 24, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

If bright, bold blocks of colors aren’t for you, then prim pastels have a bit of something for everyone- including you, shy dahhling. We’ll keep those mighty bright crayons, but we’re trying our hand at some of the season’s newer softer colors…all at once. Color-blocking, move over for pastel-blocking, the same concept but subdued for an equally grand but more demure entrance.

Images via Fashion Gone Rogue, Jak and Jil, The Gummy Sweet, Gary Pepper, Tuula

Filed Under: Featured Post, Trendspotting

The Top 4 Tweeters You Should Follow

May 23, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

If you think Twitter is lame, the truth is, it’s probably because your friends are lame (hee hee, #sorry #keepingitreal). Twitter can only be as good as the people you follow, and I absolutely agree, eight tweets in a row about mocha-colored lipstick from a distant friend isn’t exactly entertaining. But before you write off Twitter altogether, we’d like to make the case for it – it can be fun! The key is to find the cool kids and follow them, and with this handy dandy list (plus us!), you can see that we’ve done all the work for you. You’ll get gut-busting statements in 140 characters or less. And that “OMG this lipstick is amazing!” girl? Unfollow her. Unfollow her now.

1. Ford Models. Models aside, Ford excels in one place for sure: Twitter. With over 80,000 followers, the agency has developed a smart, snarky tone when tweeting about their models, but also tweets gems such as “Thursday afternoon on Twitter…in no way is that a count down of any sort.” Long ago, I asked to know who was the person behind the Twitter curtain. The response? “Obviously not models.”2. Kelly Oxford. Upon stumbling across Kelly Oxford’s twitter, I promptly followed, added her to a secret list called “Hilarious” and then googled “Who is Kelly Oxford.” Typing in “Who is Kelly O” brought Ms. Oxford as a suggestion before Kelly Osbourne. Named one of the best Twitter feeds of 2011, Kelly is a screen-writer, blogger and mother of three. She describes herself as “[Previously:] your boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. Currently: your mom.” Best tweet ever? “If you don’t drink coffee today you will have an excuse for all of the stupid shit you do.” Her Tumblr is pretty sweet too, and her bangs are perfect.3. John Jannuzzi. John prefaces his Twitter with a short but to-the-point About section: Editor @LuckyMagazine. My tweets have nothing to do with my employer, ever. #PantsAreComplicated. I can almost hear his witty, dry tweets in his own monotone voice; for example, “Don’t mind me, I’m just sewing up my jeans in the bathroom,” or even “It’s always a joy to hear interns complaining in the elevator. A treat, if you will.” He also has an unsettling Pinterest board called Serial Killers, which happens to be the only Pinterest board he has period.4. Waffles Girls. I don’t even know what the Waffles Girls are or do. But I do know they amuse me with their incessant and strange tweets. They enjoy sometimes nonsensical, void of grammar tweets. They also like making fun of hipsters, which they most surely are. Best recent tweets: “its ok i scanned your diary and have it in pdf,” and “i usually only touch things i can install apps on.”

Filed Under: Featured Post

Meet Sam!

May 22, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

An exclamation point kind of girl, Sam is an avid animal shelter volunteer on her off days and a fabulous fixture at Santa Monica Crossroads when she’s on duty. A buyer from a long line of awesome Sams, I’ve had the chance to work with her over the last several months, and the more we worked together, the more I realized I had a real gem on my hands – the kind of person who does random acts of kindness and would rather smile than frown. I thought to myself, why keep that kind of star behind the scenes?

So today, we all get to know Sam and the beautiful city of Santa Monica a little better. Besides being a bit of never-ending sunshine (just like her city!), she eats ice cream with a fork and Hocus Pocus is one of her favorite movies. Girl crush mode is on. Read on and meet the friendliest Sam in Santa Monica.

Where are you from and where do you live now? How did you come to live there?

I was born and raised in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA, but I now live in Santa Monica. After graduating from Pepperdine University in Malibu, I stayed in LA and now live with two of my best friends.

We all have our ideas of what living in Santa Monica must be like, so how would you describe it to an outsider? What do you like about living there?

Living in Santa Monica is amazing! My favorite part about living here is trying out new cute little restaurants – which there are a ton of! Anything to do with food I’m all about! Santa Monica has so much to offer – beautiful weather, good looking people, tons of shopping spots, farmers markets, the beach, etc. My favorite kind of day is spent exploring new parts of the city with friends. I’ve always said that it would take a lot to get me to move out of LA!

What do you do at Crossroads and what is your favorite part about your job?

I am a buyer & marketing liaison for the Santa Monica location. My favorite part about being a buyer is meeting new sellers! You never know who or what is going to come through that door. I enjoy talking to people and looking at tons of clothes, duh! What girl doesn’t?! I also love seeing customers leave the store happy with all of their great Crossroads finds. Not to mention I love styling the mannequins in the front window!

What do you do in your spare time?

I love riding my bike around Santa Monica. The only downside is that it limits my outfit options. The other day I wore a maxi dress and it got completely wrapped up on the pedal – I literally couldn’t move! I was most worried about my dress being ruined! My roommates had to come to my rescue! So embarrassing. I also love singing with my roommate – he plays his guitar and we have “band practice” some nights. I’m sure our neighbors love it! My dad recently bought me a keyboard that I need to start learning how to play soon! New Year’s resolution! Is it too late for that?

I love that you volunteer at the Santa Monica Animal Shelter! What are some interesting experiences you’ve had there? Have you seen many sweet animals go to good homes? What do you like about volunteering there?
I absolutely love volunteering at the Santa Monica Animal Shelter – there is nothing else in the world besides those dogs that could get me to wake up at 8am on my days off! There is something so therapeutic about walking and hanging out with them. It is definitely hard not getting attached to the animals, but there’s nothing better than seeing them being adopted and going home with loving families. There are so many great pets at animal shelters just longing to be loved. If you are looking for an addition to your family, please start your search at your local animal shelter! The Santa Monica Animal Shelter is located at 1640 9^th Street, call us for more information at (310) 458-8594.

How would you describe your personal style?

I really don’t know how to describe my style. I just wear what I like! But friends have described my style as “Coachella” – which is ironic since I’ve never actually been! I am definitely planning on attending next year!

Do you have a celebrity or blogger style icon? Who or what inspires your style?

I am most inspired by outfits I see people wearing on the street. LA is home to so many well-dressed individuals! Style here is so diverse and I find myself being inspired by someone new every day.

Five random fun facts! Go!

1. I always eat ice cream with a fork.

2. I’ve never had a cavity.

3. I’ve seen Lady Gaga in concert 4 times.

4. My favorite TV network by far is Bravo.

5. I am an only child and wouldn’t have it any other way!

What are your favorite movies?

This is SUCH a hard question because I love watching movies, but some of my all-time favorites are Edward Scissorhands, The Wizard of Oz and Hocus Pocus.

If you had to listen to one band or musician for the rest of your life, who would it be?

I would probably say Michael Jackson – his music is timeless.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?

I have NO idea! It’s kind of a scary thought. But then again, life wouldn’t be as exciting if you knew exactly what was to come. All you can do is enjoy the journey. I just hope I’m doing something that I love, something creative, am still surrounded by my amazing and supportive friends and family, and am happy.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Yes, come into the store and say hi!

Thank you for your time, Sam!

Filed Under: Featured Post, Meet Our Staff

Items of the Week: Lincoln Park Crossroads

May 21, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Do you speako Americana? Believe it or not, it’s easier than you think! Sure, it isn’t quite the Fourth of July yet, but who says you should save your Americana gear for one day of the year? Why shouldn’t we have a bit of fun with our reds and whites, stars and stripes?

If I’m speaking a foreign language to you, peep these photos styled and taken by our Lincoln Park team for a better translation. The new Americana style our team has mastered meshes expected red, white and blue with a little Southwestern-inspired clothing and accessories…showcasing the best of all of our beloved American looks in one of America’s most friendly cities.

ON JAMILA: Liz Claiborne top size S $5, BCBG Max Azria skirt size XS $15, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag $25, Minnetonka shoes size 8 $16, New Crossroads necklace $16.50

ON MICHELLE: Emanuel by Emanuel Ungaro top size M $11.50, Kyliya pants size 5/6 $12.50, Steve Madden shoes size 9 1/2 $18.50

ON EMILY: L.A.M.B. dress size 4 $42.50, Ferragamo bag $150, Te Casan shoes size 38 1/2 $60, New Crossroads umbrella $8.50

Filed Under: Featured Post, Items of the Week

Best of the Week: Alexander Wang, Missoni, Colored Jeans

May 18, 2012 By Sarah Leave a Comment

If you ask our staff members what their favorite part of the job is, a lot of them will say that it’s the excitement of what the day holds. Unlike a normal store, each day at a Crossroads store holds something new – whether it be a pair of fresh Alexander Wang peep-toes or an adorable nautical Betsey Johnson romper. Their next favorite part? Seeing happy people walk out with those things they helped bring in. Take a look here and see what came into our stores this week. If you hit us up this weekend, maybe they’ll be there, waiting to say hi.

Alexander Wang, size 37.5, $350 at Fillmore St Paul smith peep-toe Oxford heels, size 8.5, $45 at Williamsburg Crossroads Betsey Johnson sailor romper, size 2, $47.50 at Hawthorne Crossroads Tory Burch, size 9.5, $45 at Wicker Park Crossroads NEW Colored jeans, $18.00 each, all Crossroads stores Matiko Cheetah shoes, size 7.5, $100 at Costa Mesa Crossroads

Valentino mesh booties, size 37, $350 at West Hollywood Crossroads Naven imitation leather jacket, size M, $55 at West Hollywood Crossroads NEW Various sunglasses, $10.00 each, all Crossroads stores L.A.M.B. small bag, $55 at West Hollywood Crossroads Frye boots, size 9, $145 at Irving St Crossroads Missoni flats, size 7.5, $150 at Evanston Crossroads Doc Marten’s, size 7, $55.00 at Haight St Crossroads