Teens Style

1. Women’s Fashion Accessories’ Trend #1 - Animal Prints

Women’s fashion accessories’ trend #1 is animal prints. Although short women may not want to wear a leopard print dress, leopard print earrings can make for the right touch of trendy style appeal without going over the top. Find animal print fashion acccessories for fall in handbags, shoes, and jewelry.

2. Women’s Fashion Accessories’ Trend #2 - Metallics

Women’s fashion accessories trend #2 is metallics. Metallics make great accessories because a metallic gold or silver is a neutral fashion color, so it will go with anything. We don’t need to save metallics for the holidays. Today’s metallic accessories can be worn every day and everywhere.

3. Women’s Fashion Accessories’ Trend #3 - Snakeskin

Women’s fashion accessories trend #3 is snakeskin. Adding textured fashion accessories to a wardrobe generates fashion interest, so trendy snakeskin makes an ideal contrast with smooth clothing fabrics.

4. Women’s Fashion Accessories’ Trend #4 - Studs

Women’s fashion accessories trend #4 is studs. Studs can be hard-edge or smooth, so we don’t have to go the biker chic route to find fashion accessories with trendy studs that will add stylish, fashion-forward detail to any outfit.

Women’s Fashion Accessories’ Trends

By Paula Darnell, About.com Guide

We’re used to seeing sportswear on the catwalk, but spring 2012 took sportswear to a new level with fashion that mimicked something a professional athlete might wear when participating in her or his chosen sport. These exaggerated street outfits, such as the ski-inspired ensemble pictured in the photo above in the center, hardly seem practical in some cases. Others, however, are more wearable. The ensembles at left and right have potential and could be worn by most women.

Petites who have a casual fashion personality might enjoy this trend while others may decide to skip it altogether.

Sporty fashion is a trend for spring 2012. Pictured at left: green and gray ensemble from Marc Jacobs; in center, ski-suit-inspired ensemble from Alexander Wang; at right, casual zippered short set from Victoria Beckham.

All photos: Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images

Peplums, those flirty little ruffles that fall from the waist, are “in” for spring 2012, and they appeared in runway fashion shows at Rodarte, Cynthia Rowley, Luca Luca, Vera Wang, Thakoon, Jason Wu among others.

This isn’t necessarily bad news for petites because wearing a top (or dress or skirt) with a peplum can hide tummy bulge. However, a peplum puts a lot of emphasis on the hips, so short women who are contemplating wearing a garment with a peplum should make sure that there’s a balance on top. Sometimes creating balance requires wearing shoulder pads or something like a ruffled off-the-shoulder top so that the upper body and hips appear equal, giving the look of an hourglass figure.

Peplums took to the runways for spring 2012. Pictured at left: green top with peplum from Rodarte; at center, top with full peplum from Cynthia Rowley; at right, floral peplum on modified halter top from Vera Wang.

Left and center, Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images; right, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Just as Spring Fashion Trend #5 was inspired by design that was popular in the 1920s, other 1920s design ideas cropped up on fashion show runways for spring 2012. They included short dresses in the flapper style; that is, sleeveless shifts, often with fringe or beading, just as was popular during the 1920s. At Ralph Lauren many models wore cloche hats. During the 1920s the cloche was the most popular hat style in a time when women seldom left home without wearing a hat for day or a hair decoration for evening. Lounging pajamas in luxurious fabrics also date from the 1920s and were strictly for at-home wear then, but reinvented pajamas of spring 2012, such as were shown by The Row, are no longer meant for at-home wear.

1920s fashion flair isn’t for everyone. The shift dress can be quite unflattering to women who have full figures, and shapely styles will look better on such petite women. The cloche hat, which covered the short marcel hair styles that were popular during the 1920s, can be workable for most women, although very few women wear hats at all. As for the loose pajamas, their 1920s’ stay-at-home style probably makes more sense than wearing them outside of the home.

Skip this trend if it doesn’t speak to you, and if the 1920s-inspired clothing isn’t flattering but you like the style, opt for some 1920s-inspired jewelry or a 1920s-inspired metal mesh evening bag.

Fashion inspired by the 1920s ruled the runway at the Ralph Lauren 2012 Spring Fashion Show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, September 2011.

Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images

Art Deco geometric design inspired many leading fashion designers for spring 2012. Art Deco was very popular during the 1920s, and the Art Deco clothing shown by designers for spring 2012 featured geometric style. We saw this inspiration used by designers on both sides of the Atlantic from Hermes, the French fashion house, and Gucci, based in Italy, to American designers, such as Donna Karan and Max Azria for BCBG.

Whether or not a petite woman should wear Art Deco inspired clothing completely depends on how the design is applied and whether or not it flatters her. One of the best examples of a flattering Art Deco design worn by a petite woman is the gown petite actress Salma Hayek wore at the 2012 Golden Globes. Her red-carpet gown, a Gucci creation, featured an Art Deco design on the bodice and a long black skirt.

Dresses for spring 2012 have Art Deco inspiration. Pictured at left, dress from BCBGMAXAZRIA; in center, dress from Hermes; at right, dress from Lacoste

Left and right: Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images; Center, Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Spring flowers are on the agenda for trendy fashion in 2012. Floral fantasy prints showed up on runway clothing from Prabal Gurung, Altuzarra, Lela Rose, Proenza Schoulder, Rodarte, Peter Som, J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, and other designers. These garden inspirations frequently appear as very large motifs, which would be difficult for a petite woman to carry off because they would be out of proportion.

However, petites shouldn’t give up on the floral trend. The blooming posies are certainly appropriate for spring and summer, and when they don’t appear on clothing as oversized motifs, short women can frequently wear them. For example, the designs on the sheath dress with red flowers and the pencil skirt featuring yellow flowers (pictured above at right by Ralph Lauren) are both sized well for the shorter woman. Those who aren’t too fond of prints might try a floral top (Compare Prices) for spring worn with other garments that are in solid colors.

Floral fashion is a spring trend for 2012. Pictured at far left: off-the-shoulder floral dress from Rodarte; near left: floral sheath from Peter Som; at near and far right: floral ensembles from Oscar de la Renta.

Photo Credits: far right, Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images; others, Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images