Being gaudy isn’t the only option for being in style in 2011. Although animal print and bright colors are anticipated trends for spring, subdued style, which started in the fall with nude-colored handbags, has been going under the radar. In September, High School Musical and Hellcats star Ashley Tisdale was spotted with a tan or taupe-colored purse, and recently, far more celebrities have been seen with this look. Instead of the light brown to peach look of the fall, however, “nude” has moved in a somewhat brighter direction, replacing these darker colors with blush or rose pink shades.

On the lighter end is a pale pink Coach handbag seen on Eva Longoria recently. With a satchel style, the handbag is a solid shade of light or frosty pink.

Cameron Diaz takes this simple style a shade darker, being seen recently with a rose-colored Valentino handbag. Much like Longoria’s Coach purse, the Valentino bag has a satchel style with curved edges and a small strap. Small embellishments are added to the strap of the Valentino handbag.

Most, however, can’t afford the styles of the stars, and to be up with the latest trends, find a designer-inspired bag with the same look at a lower price. Best Handbag Wholesale has a similar dark rose-colored satchel handbag with slight embellishments in front. Although a moderately darker shade than the purses seen on Eva Longoria and Cameron Diaz, this designer-inspired handbag captures the same look.

For a nude look leaning more toward peach than blush, this pink buckle purse by Best Handbag Wholesale uses a lighter shade and adds embellishments. With western-style rhinestones added to the edge and to the buckle, this handbag can be carried like a satchel or, coming with a larger strap, worn like a shoulder bag.

Cat eye sunglasses – not to be confused with wayfarers – have emerged as a popular eyewear style for women. Combining an angular and sloped top with a rounded bottom half, cat eye shades appear like wayfarers with a feminine touch. Somewhat of a vintage style, cat eye sunglasses are a fusion of ‘50s frames with ‘80s wayfarers and, much like the latter, are found in several colors and styles. Some designer sunglasses brands emphasize curves, and others go for a full-on angular look.

Celebrities can be seen wearing cat eye sunglasses, and because of the style’s quick rise, these shades will likely be an it-look for summer. Katy Perry sported a pair of bejeweled cat eye frames by A-morir before her wedding to Russell Brand, but here are some of the other stars wearing this look:

Dita Von Teese was seen wearing a pair of classic style cat eye frames recently. With a black frame and brown gradient lenses, such a style can go with any outfit, such as the fully black ensemble Von Teese is wearing or a more colorful look. Matching her vintage pinup look, these sunglasses emphasize curved lines, and even the top half has a softer touch.

Nicole Richie, who is now better known for fashion than her reality TV stint The Simple Life with Paris Hilton, was also seen recently in a similar look. While using the same black frame and brown gradient combination, these cat eye sunglasses are larger, thicker, and emphasize the top half of the frame.

The cat eye style sported by Scarlett Johansson favors an almond shape, which, unlike the style worn by Nicole Richie, does not cover half of her face. Johansson’s shades appear more ‘50s than ‘80s and, designed in a neutral style, can be paired with any modern or vintage look.

Rarely is Lindsay Lohan in the news for something good: no notable movie releases (playing a character like yourself in Machete doesn’t count), no fashion line success, and now charges of grand theft for supposedly stealing a necklace valued at $2,500. Although Lohan’s recent court appearance in a white Kimberly Ovitz “Glavis” dress increased sales for the designer brand, Lohan’s leggings line 6126 has faded out of department stores and is now in the process of rebranding. But not all Lohan news is bad, and similar to a story from earlier this year, the Mean Girls star is designing a handbag line, only it’s her own brand, 7286, and not for Ed Hardy.

Lohan’s designs are already appearing in stores and are presently sold at DSW Shoe Warehouse for $80 to $170 dollars. A quick look at DSW’s online store, however, shows minimal offerings: a few animal print and solid color bags in shoulder, satchel, and tote styles. Although the line will likely expand from these basics, 7286 can be summed up in a few words: dull and unoriginal.

7286 could expand to more designs just like 6126 now includes clothing and accessories. Of course, this is assuming Lohan will have time to design and won’t end up in jail. At the moment, however, why go for a Lindsay Lohan-brand handbag when such styles can be found in nearly every low- and high-end designer collection?

Instead of forking over $100 for a Lohan-designed handbag, find a designer-inspired style with the same look at a more affordable price. If you are looking for a bag similar to Lohan’s in the picture above, consider this purple leopard print handbag from Handbag Distributor. Embellished with rhinestones for a western touch, this handbag uses the same formula as Lohan’s above – leopard print in a bolder color variation.

Animal prints are still popular, but color variations are not the only options. With patent leather still a material of choice, these glossy animal print bags still retain the original colors of spots of stripes but may alter them slightly, as this animal print handbag from Wholesale Handbags USA does. With leopard spots and tiger stripes added together, the design is a collage of two popular animal prints.

Designers seem to get women’s fashion all wrong, and sunglasses are no exception. With tall and thin models displaying the latest fashions, most high-end designer attire is bound to look off and odd on the average woman (even a celebrity), and accessories for many of these lines have been colored pink or another bright hue and covered in rhinestones, studs, or other embellishments. While a few studs here or there are still trendy, not everyone wants to look like a Jersey Shore cast member, and if A-list celebrities are the barometer of trends, eyewear is taking a back-to-basic approach.

Blake Lively, a star on the girliest of girly shows Gossip Girl, was seen recently in Ray Ban wayfarer sunglasses. But instead of going for a feminine look, such as pink or red frames, the actress seen this year in The Town chose a classic look: a black frame with black lenses. In the case of Lively’s moderately androgynous look in the picture – a fedora and what appears to be a sheepskin coat – the neutral sunglasses fit right in.

Kristen Stewart, who was apparently the highest-paid actress in 2010, was also spotted recently wearing a classic pair of Ray Ban Clubmaster sunglasses. A look that debuted in 1980s, Clubmaster sunglasses have a design concept similar to wayfarers: angular lines juxtaposed with curves. Clubmaster sunglasses essentially have a half-rim look, which makes them seem automatically more masculine and look like something Chris Lowe, the soft-spoken keyboardist for the Pet Shop Boys, would have worn in a late-‘80s music video.

On the A-list for teens, Miranda Cosgrove, the star of iCarly, is seen in Christian Dior oversized sunglasses. Instead of succumbing to a more age-appropriate look, Cosgrove appears to forego the sparkles and bright colors and settles on a classic pair of shades: a black, rounded frame and dark gradient lenses.

Although slightly older and maybe now a B-list celebrity, Ali Larter, best known for television show Heros, was seen recently in Persol aviator sunglasses. Women’s aviator sunglasses, over the past few years, have become more feminine: a pink or red plastic frame with light-colored gradient lenses. Persol, much like Ray Ban, goes for unisex looks, and stars like Larter have added these neutral frames to balance out their overall feminine appearance.

Bold and big best describe handbag trends from the last two years. Hobos were in, animal or snakeskin prints covered everything, and studs were the perfect rock star – or is that western? – embellishment. For the upcoming fashion season, some of these trends are still in, so don’t retire your current purse to the closet just yet. Brands Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci, Louis Vuitton, and Valentino have all rolled out their spring 2011 lines. Based upon what they’ve added, here is what to expect for designer inspired handbags in a few months:
• Bold but solid colors. As Marc Jacobs’ collection shows, you can be bold, but just choose one color. Louis Vuitton takes some liberties with two-tone, bold-colored handbags, but the looks aren’t much of a stretch.

• More shape. As you can see by the Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton bags, no look is shapeless this year. Everything has angles or a slight curve.
• Smaller purses or satchel styles. The latest Valentino handbags range from clutch sizes to medium-sized rectangular styles.
• Texture. Solid colors aren’t always boring. As Nina Ricci’s collection shows, textured fabric makes an ordinary pink or black clutch distinct.

• Quilted Leather. Even though Chanel has had this look for a few years, Marc Jacobs is adding the style – angular, solid-color purses with a quilted or bubble texture – to his line. Could Blake Lively, the Gossip Girl star and face of Chanel, begin to sport Jacobs’ bags instead?
• Longer Straps. While not a trend on all bags, all of these spring lines have a few looks consisting of a thin metal or leather strap attached to a clutch or medium-sized purse.
• Studs, metallic shades, and animal prints. These have been in for the past few seasons. Although Valentino toned the stud embellishments down, don’t expect any of these to drop off the fashion radar just yet.

Slouch purses are on the way out, but that doesn’t mean that bigger isn’t still better. Like we saw a few months ago with Twilight actress Nikki Reed, bigger bags are practical but, from a style perspective, need some shape. Not everyone these days is carrying around a large bag, and Sienna Miller, actress and wife of Jude Law, was spotted with a leopard print Prada bag the size of a clutch. With a strap attached, the leopard print Prada bag functions more like a small purse.

When you look at Sienna Miller’s bag from a trend perspective, animal prints are still in, but big and shapeless styles are out. Could it be that celebs are carrying fewer accessories, leaving the makeup at home? Or is the size of a hobo handbag too excessive for the amount of things a woman – famous or not – needs to carry?

While this leopard print Prada bag costs more than a month’s worth of rent, you can still get the same style at a lesser price. Designer-inspired handbags are capitalizing on this trend, rejecting hobo styles for distinct shapes and a smaller body.

Best Handbag Wholesale has a zebra print clutch embellished with a flower. The clutch has the print all over and the accents – the flower and a few rhinestones – are minimal.

Animal patterns cover larger handbags, and much like the bag Nikki Reed sported a few months ago, these white leopard print handbags have some shape. The animal print, for this purse, has some variation, which we have seen over the past year. Additionally, as many of these designer-inspired handbags from Best Handbag Wholesale have some western inspiration, this particular bag is embellished with rhinestones. Although not as modest as Sienna Miller’s Prada bag, this leopard print designer-inspired handbag is a bolder interpretation of the same trend.

Revamping your brand, known for decades for instant photographs, begins with collaborating with the hottest pop star of the moment. While Polaroid and Lady Gaga started working together a year ago, only recently were their camera sunglasses revealed. Shown at the Consumer Electronics Tradeshow in Las Vegas, the sunglasses function as both a digital camera and, like ordinary designer sunglasses, protective eyewear. An Instant Mobile Printer and Instant Digital Camera (get the “instant” theme yet?) also made at appearance.

While fashionistas may pass up the printer and digital camera, these sunglasses are a curious item. Gaga and Polaroid have released them under the Grey Label Line as product GL20. Although the sunglasses have Gaga’s popular shield-frame look, a camera is embedded in the frame near the nose area, allowing the user to take pictures and videos. LCD screens are added over the eyes, and the user, then, views all pictures and videos instantly on the exterior of the shades. A USB port is added to the side of the frame, allowing the user to put any pictures or videos onto a computer.

A price for the camera sunglasses has not been listed, and the product is not expected to appear in stores until later this year.

Although the camera sunglasses are a confluence between fashion and technology, can Lady Gaga’s presence (she’s Polaroid’s Creative Director) revive the camera brand? Ever since digital cameras appeared nearly 10 years ago, the brand once known for instant pictures has been disappearing along with film and darkrooms. Why would consumers continue to use a product that produces a subpar image and does not hook up to a computer?

Polaroid cameras were convenient up until about 2002, and since then, they’ve become an item with the nostalgic value of cassettes and VCRs. Too cumbersome to carry around everywhere, Polaroid cameras were always a novelty item. While the GL20, too, seems like an expensive novelty product, it could be easier to take around and, maybe briefly, make the instant picture brand relevant again.

The Situation already debuted his clothing line, which looks like an Ed Hardy knockoff, and J-Woww’s Filthy Couture came to a stop, but Snooki appears poised to be the next Jersey Shore fashion brand, according to a story from the New York Post. Not entirely recent news, Snooki was expected to get involved in designing sunglasses with J-Woww back when Filthy Couture was in the works. Instead of being J-Woww’s partner in crime, the pint-sized guidette is going off on her own.

According to the New York Post article, Snooki’s clothing line will, in initial stages, encompass slippers, jewelry, and sunglasses, all blinged out beyond recognition. Clothing, lingerie, handbags, and beauty products may be added later. Brand Happy Feet, known for the large puffy slippers Snooki wears on Jersey Shore, is already beginning to collaborate with the reality TV star.

Although no designs have appeared, what do you think Snooki’s fashion line will look like? We can suspect that she’ll capitalize on her image, going for low-cleavage clothing and brightly-colored, and rhinestone-covered accessories. But, while Sitch’s line looks like cheap Ed Hardy gear and J-Woww took the lace and corset look too far, Snooki could combine these two tawdry trends or go for something completely different.

Snooki tweeted nearly a year ago about creating a line with zip up hoodies and decals, but who knows if she will follow through. As the overly-tanned reality star is doing a book tour at the moment, her fashion line may take a while to hit stores.

Examining her fashion choices, what should we expect? Rhinestones everywhere are inevitable, and her styles will make such Valentino sunglasses seem modest. Her handbags and clothing, if added later, may even out-bling some of the recently popular western handbags.

How do you change your image from a lower-tier department store for the middle-aged set to a hipper, more youthful character? You bring the Kardashian sisters on board. But considering their recent debit card debacle, is this a wise approach for Sears? Maybe or maybe not. Although no one really associates the Kardashian clan with financial responsibility, they – Kim and sisters Kourtney and Khloe – are often photographed by the paparazzi for their fashion and handbag choices. So with a Kardashian fashion line consisting of handbags, clothing, lingerie, and jewelry coming to a Sears near you, what should you expect?

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that their line, designed for the 17 to 35 age group, promotes a curvy body image. Aside from a sex tape and reality TV shows, though, isn’t this just what Kim Kardashian, along with her sisters, is essentially famous for? The clothing line, as well, will capitalize on their individual fashion choices, but, really, how often does a celebrity clothing line capture the star’s individual style?

If their line will truly take into consideration their individual fashion choices, what would be seen on store shelves? Youngest sister Khloe seems to have the most out-there style, appearing in red and gold in May and with a pair of western handbags at the end of 2009. If we are to take these looks as representation of Khloe’s style, bold attire and western handbags best describe her look.

As far as the other two sisters are concerned, Kourtney seems to be photographed the least, while Kim, despite a rise to fame with a sex tape, appears to go for a classic look. We reported her wearing a Chanel quilted leather handbag back in October, and more recently, she has been seen with Hermes Birkin bags — even at the gym.

Taking each look into consideration, what could this Kardashian clothing line look like? A mix of classic and western handbags and bold style? We have to wait and see.

Blog Styleite recently did a piece about the many sunglasses styles Lady Gaga has worn over her brief period of fame. It’s only been about two years since her debut The Fame appeared, and since then, Lady Gaga must have looted through every designer sunglasses store to find this eclectic assortment of shades.

To follow the Styleite piece, Lady Gaga has often been spotted with a pair of rounded frame sunglasses or, as they call them, Lennon-esque shades. Perhaps John Lennon might have preferred something more modest, but considering the singer sported the style in the “Paparazzi” video and on the street, it’s safe to say that this seems to be her preferred look. The Paloma Picasso frames – a combination of rounded, gradient lenses with an angular frame – is a variation on this. To get your own Lady Gaga look, consider these rounded frames by Ray Ban.

Gaga’s style isn’t always all over the place, and from the pictures Styleite gathered, she appears to go for a classic look on occasion, donning a pair of Ray Ban wayfarer sunglasses. Finding this style isn’t difficult. Everyone from designer eyewear retailers to Claire’s and Target carries this frame. How you wear it, however, may make you look like Lady Gaga – or like a poor Katy Perry imitation.

Shield frames are a common look seen on the singer, but rather than being average club wear, the frames often reflect her unique style. A while ago, we saw rapper Kid Sister in a pair of studded shield sunglasses, and Gaga, similarly, does her own thing with this versatile style. Worn in the “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” videos and in variations in concert, shield sunglasses offer Gaga the largest space for style experimentation.

In fact, outside of the Styleite piece, Gaga has been seen wearing an ‘80s-style pair of cat eye sunglasses.

If you’ve been keeping track, oversized and aviator shades are two looks we haven’t seen Gaga sport. A basic Google search for both of these comes up with little evidence she has worn either out in public. Are they too trendy to be worn by this avant-garde pop star? Maybe she has a few stashed away in her closet for casual days.