A bright ballet flat is the perfect shoe to take you from day to night, office to ladies' night, because it's so easy to pair with a variety of looks. It will look chic with a pair of tailored slacks for work and it'll give a pop of color to a pair of dark jeans. It'll also look fab with a cute little dress, and it gives you an excuse to add some bright, chunky jewelry to your ensemble.

You know, we have nothing against ridiculously expensive accessories. We love fabulous, flashy jewelry, and we think spending a paycheck on it is just a tribute to the fashions gods ... in theory. However, in practice, we're huge fans of inexpensive, fun pieces of jewelry that give a pop of color and whimsy to even the plainest of white tees.

That's why, at $12.50, this Old Navy Short Gumball Necklace is such a cool piece. We like it in red (picture it against a navy and white striped top for a trip to the Cape), but it comes in a variety of colors as well as a longer length.

Have you ever gone into a trance while folding a pile of clothes, experiencing lucid flashbacks to your days as a Gap employee? Do you feel the need to fold shirts symmetrically, one by one, to preserve the order of the universe? If so, there's a good chance that you've been brainwashed by all of the hours you spent learning an perfecting your symmetrical folding technique. According to US labor statistics: there could be hundreds of thousands like you.

As we mentioned earlier, we're slowly but surely buying Old Navy's bid as an American fast-fashion force to be reckoned with -- rotating new collections into their stores each month that are shockingly adorable and extremely amiable to our wallets.

For June, all of the looks centered around a modern nightlife theme, which consisted of metallic swimwear, sequin party tops, sleeveless hoodies and fun party dresses.

This time of year, we like to have a beach bag ready to go at all times. We stock it with sunscreen, a towel, and magazines, and keep it near the door. You never know when someone will suggest a beach day, and when the call comes in, we want to be ready!

We must admit, earlier this season Old Navy came out with a line of swimwear that left us a little puzzled, a little blase. Strangely unsupportive one-pieces, standard-issue boring teeny-bikinis. But they did hit on a great idea- metallics! And lo, their Spotlight Collection was born.

The best part of metallics is that they can be dressed up for evening or incorporated into an otherwise demure outfit for a touch of daytime sparkle. Old Navy does a good job of offering both matte and shiny metallic options-matte sequins can be used in place of a netural- pair this gold tank ($29.50) with a white blazer and capris or this silver and black dress($39.50) with a bright shoe in a red, white or neon.

The collection also includes options in the same tones, minus sequins. Try this colorblock tank dress in misses and womens' sizes for $34.50 and $39.50 respectively.

The Old Navy Spotlight Collection provides fun, flirty ways to integrate sparkle and sheen into your wardobe for summer! Check it out!

You probably know that Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperlime are owned by the same corporation. You can use your card from one store at all of the other stores, and they all do a ton of cross promotion with Piperlime, the shoe site.

When we think of Old Navy's swimsuit selection, our minds instantly drift to preppy pink patters, flirty florals, and a few retro prints rounding it out. Imagine our surprise when we walked in and were confronted with a glamorous metallic, plunging, deep-v neck one-piece!

We've always been a fan of the floral pattern for men's shirts, sort of. We'll qualify that by saying that we totally denounce most Hawaiian patterns and all patterns that include pink roses that look like they've been lifted off an ugly 80's couch. That narrows it down, right?

Men's floral patterns are coming back, but it's mostly limited to the tight, monochromatic vintage styles. You know, the ones that you could kinda convince yourself that they're not actually flowers, but maybe just flower-like plants -- because they're so small. They're a great way to bring some color and rhythm into your wardrobe without having to go plaid -- not that there's anything wrong with plaid.



[via SeeJackShop]

A bright handbag is a fantastic way to add a pop of color to an outfit, and a bright clutch is one of the must-have items for the season. Unfortunately, we can't all afford to spring for a dazzling designer bag, but that shouldn't stop you from carrying something fun!

You know how sometimes you have a dress or a long shirt, and it's great and you love it, but it just needs a little something else? We've found that a fabulous way to change up the look of a favorite (or not so favorite) frock is with a belt.

Eek! We have yet another sign that the economy is going downhill. The Gap corporation has taken a decision to cut costs, meaning the advertising budget is getting slashed. You know it's bad when they decide to scale down those awesome, high budget Old Navy ads.

The Gap will not be going ahead with it's spring campaign as planned. The CFO of the company, Sabrina Williams has said, "The primary focus of spring marketing for the namesake division will be print and in-store efforts for the retailer's footwear collaboration with designer Pierre Hardy, due out in March."

The reason behind all these cost cuts is simple. Profits are down. Gap finished the month of Feb. about 5% down from where it was at this time last year. Old Navy profits also decreased by 5%. The only store in the family that has posted gains is Banana Republic, coming in at a 2% increase.

I'm all for putting their ad dollars to better use. I mean just look at this commercial! If they pay me ten bucks I'll come up with something more creative than this. Hey, at least they have a good song playing in the background.



Via BrandWeek.

I've been doing research on lingerie for hours. That's the kind of sacrifice I'm willing to make for you, the Styledash reader.

It turns out that in our extensive coverage of all things soft and pretty (and sexy) that we forgot something, or someone to be specific. We forgot the fellas. True, the lingerie is really for us- to look at, not wear, not that there is anything wrong with that, but what about our soft and pretties (not as sexy)? We can't just stand around naked on Valentine's Day, can we?

That's when I remembered the ultimate Valentine's Day menswear item, the classic heart boxer. You may recall these timeless garments from such shows as every cartoon you've ever seen.

I think they're awesome in a wink, wink, nostalgia, hope I get depantsed sort of way.

If you haven't bought anything for the man in your life you better finish reading all the posts on this site and then run, run like the wind, to Old Navy and fork out $4.25. Seriously, that's it.

This is a huge week in TV history folks, and if you have to ask why -- you must not own a TV. Having to wait for tonight's unveiling of Lost season 4 is tearing me up inside. I was surfing for some Lost info when I came upon this piece of footage. For those of you who just can't wait -- like me -- and you just have to get a little nibble of Lost action to tide you over until 8PM central time, here's a teaser for tonight's episode.

On a more fashion related note, have you noticed that the Others shop at the Gap and Old Navy? I wouldn't say any of them were trendy dressers really, but they seem to have a kind of suburban shopping mall look about them. Before his demise, I'm pretty sure that Mr. Friendly was a covert spokesman for Eddie Bauer store.

Do they order from the catalog, or shop online? I guess when it's really important, they can send the submarine to pick up some fresh duds. They ought to start a hand-me-down thing with the rest of the island -- Jack's been wearing the same pair of jeans for like 91 days.

Right around 1998 Old Navy hit their stride. They were right in line with the Dave Matthew's Band-loving, sensitive frat guy look that was unfortunately sweeping the nation. But times changed, people got smarter (and actually interested in fashion), and they stopped dressing like dorks season after season. Other stores that used to target a similar demographic (Gap, J Crew, etc), re-imagined themselves for a more fashion-forward customer, while Old Navy kept insisting that faux-thrift-store, "retro" t-shirts and ill-fitting pants were all the rage.

But rumor has it that maybe times have changed. The company has launched an under-the-radar email campaign to generate buzz about the "New Old Navy." Unfortunately, no one knows what that means.


Fashionista thinks they might be buying Fred Flare and turning into a lifestyle store, or that they're about to release some cutesy TV commercial with their new head designer, Todd Oldham. I have no idea what they're planning -- but I hope they're launching a new clothing line that isn't targeted at high school-aged jocks.

Just a pipe dream?