Blog: Crossroads Style

This is the one piece you need for spring and summer: a basic white button-up shirt. It can be found at multiple price points, from budget to luxury, and it never goes out of style. Find a favorite and it will carry you from year to year.

Its “secret sauce” is that it has so much versatility. It looks as good with leather pants as cut-off denim shorts. Pack it for your vacation and you can plan to wear it out to dinner or to the pool as a cover-up. It’s a match for both pants and skirts, you can layer it under and over pieces, you can wear it unbuttoned or buttoned, and you can even tie it to crop its length. Scroll down to see its versatility in action.

Relaxed with Jeans

As a Layering Piece

With a Full Skirt

With Leather Pants

Unbuttoned and Tied

Untucked

To Anchor a Designer/Casual Blend

Mark my words, this is the one piece you need for spring and summer. I personally look for crisp lightweight cotton ones that only need a low-heat iron and dry quickly when hand-washed during travels. We’d love to see your favorite choices, so tag us @crossroadstrading to share. Or, are you on the hunt for your own perfect button-up? Stop into any of our store locations to find yours. We even sort our racks by style, color and size to make it easier!

Have you been wondering about how to start a fashion career? If you’re passionate about fashion and eager to explore a career in this field, you should know about Crossroads!

Crossroads provides aspiring fashion buyers, designers, and marketers with valuable skills. Many of our store employees have grown into management roles within the company or continued on to other exciting fashion careers.

Here are just a few of the career skills that our employees learn and develop in our stores.

Fashion Buying

Many of our employees join our teams to learn about how fashion companies buy clothing. Our buyers are formally trained on how to evaluate and price clothing based on label, style, and condition. Along the way, they learn the most popular styles and brands on the market, including smaller boutique brands and designers just hitting the scene.

Visual Merchandising

Our employees develop visual merchandising skills by assisting with sales floor and window displays.

Fashion Marketing

For those interested in fashion marketing, each store designates a marketing liaison to photograph store pieces and post them to our regional Instagram accounts. All store employees also have a chance to cooperate in these projects by modeling, taking photos, or pulling pieces to style.

Designer Authentication

Our store buyers are trained on how to authenticate designer pieces from luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Alexander Wang.

Networking

Our employees get to work closely with others who are inspired and drawn to fashion too. Plus, our store teams have a lot of fun!

On top of all this, our employees get a store discount. Imagine the closet upgrade!

If this advice on how to start your fashion career has sparked your interest in working at Crossroads, we welcome you to learn more on our careers page or view our most current job postings here.

Your boots have been keeping up all winter, but with a little more sunlight each day you’re ready to talk about the best winter to spring shoe trend aren’t you?

Well it’s super simple, you’ll love that we’re giving you the thumbs up for it, and you probably already own what you need. Ready? It’s wearing socks with loafers.

It makes perfect sense: your leather loafers are swift when hitting the pavement, but a pair of socks will ensure extra warmth until we’ve reached those warmer days ahead. The best part? This look works with cropped pants, skirts and shorts too. Take a look at our inspiration photos below.

Wearing the Best Winter to Spring Shoe Trend

Where to Shop for the Best Winter to Spring Shoe Trend

If you already own a pair of loafers, then you’re all set. But if you need to find some for your closet, our stores carry everything from popular mall brand loafers to designer ones. Below is just a sampling of what I found looking through our regional Instagram feeds.

We want to see how you style your loafers with socks looks! Tag @crossroadstrading on Instagram for a chance to be featured on our company feed.

Ah, Chanel. Coming across a piece is a thrill, especially in the resale world. However, if you aren’t purchasing directly from a Chanel boutique, you’ll want to know how to authenticate the piece. Let’s talk about what to look for in authentic Chanel pieces.

1. Perfection

Start with this attitude: Chanel is the gold standard of luxury fashion, so their reputation and high cost are tied to a superior product. That means that everything you examine next should look perfect.

2. Stitching

The stitch count is high on Chanel bags– there is no skimping here. Even in a vintage bag you’ll see the stitching has stayed tight. The lines are straight, and the quilt squares are exact in size.

3. Flawless Stamping

A lot of care is taken to get the stamping just right. If imprinted, the stamp should have depth. Gold and silver imprints should be clear and easy to read. See some examples below.

4. Heavy Hardware

Lightweight hardware is a dead giveaway that a Chanel piece is inauthentic. Chains should have weight, and even clasp locks should feel heavy when they’re turned.

5. Quality of Accompanying Materials

Even something as simple as the item’s box, cards or dust bag can be telling. Chanel extends their craftsmanship to everything, so confirm that all accompanying materials are as perfect as the item itself.

So there you have it: exactly what to look for in authentic Chanel pieces. If you enjoyed this guide, check out similar ones we did for Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Coach. You can also follow our Instagram feed to see new pieces that come into our stores, or consign your designer item with us anytime.

I would like to put it on record that sweater vests get a bad rap. Maybe it’s because we associate them with our dads and grandpas. However, I keep noting these days how stylish they can be, and in so many different ways. Not convinced? For your consideration, I present what I think are the 8 best ways to style a sweater vest.

1. With Your Favorite Tee

So simple, yet so cool.

2. Over a Dress

I’ve seen this look done with short and long dresses. The result is consistently good.

3. Buttoned Loosely

I’m on the hunt for one with buttons now! The half-buttoned styling here makes it more casual.

4. With an Untucked Button-Up

Let your button-up frame the whole vest.

5. As a Top

I don’t know why I never thought to wear it alone as a top!

6. With Layers Upon Layers

Just layers and layers of goodness over here.

7. Tucked into Jeans

No need to hide your waistline with this styling.

8. With Puffy Sleeves

The sweater vest almost exaggerates the puff sleeves. Love this!

Did I convince you with my 8 best ways to style a sweater vest? If yes, let us see your styling by sharing a photo on Instagram.