Fashion expert, stylist, host and blogger, Sydne Summer is always helping people look and feel their best. When she isn’t trend spotting, commentating on red carpet events, or appearing on the Style Network and E!, you can find her blogging the top fashion trends on Sydne Style.

Her fashion sense is as classy as she is, having evolved from her upbringing in Miami and L.A. to studying in Boston, London and Paris. Even though she is one popular and busy woman, we were lucky enough to catch up with Sydne Summer and learn about some of her personal fashion habits.

New York or Los Angeles, and why?

LA. I love the energy in New York and how incredibly chic everyone is. But I can’t give up my relaxed Cali lifestyle. Nothing beats the gorgeous weather, palm trees, beach and ocean. Plus, driving everywhere just means I get to wear even higher heels.

Give us a sense of your personal style?

I’ve always been a girlie-girl. I lean toward feminine fabrics and classic silhouettes. Even when I wear my denim, you’ll usually find it paired with a silk top or tweed blazer. Since I’m originally from Miami I’m also obsessed with color, especially neon. I always find that when I wear a bright top or dress people tend to smile at me more–or maybe it’s just because color puts me in a better mood.

You’re best known for being a fashion expert, but what do you consider your greatest talent?

I think it would have to be my eye for color. Whether it’s putting together outfits or incorporating unique color combos in my oil paintings, which I love doing in my spare time.

What’s your daily habit?

Dog time. I rescued my Pomeranian mix Bunny four years ago and she always puts a smile on my face. Even when I’m stressed prepping for a TV segment or finding the perfect mint necklace for a shoot I’ll look down at the adorable ball of black fur at my feet and realize everything is going to be just fine.

What’s one thing in your closet you could never give up? And what’s your go-to piece in the closet right now?

My turquoise Manolo Blahnik sandals. I bought them with my first paycheck and love them just as much now as I did then. My go-to is a pencil skirt. Black is safe but I have them in all different colors and patterns. I usually wear them with a tee and statement necklace to meetings or a bustier at night.

BONUS: What’s your ideal summer outfit?

A bikini! Clearly I’m on vacay-mode. Denim cut-offs and a loose printed top are perfect for throwing on top when I leave the beach.

Sydne is wearing HABITUAL Almas Skinny jeans in Snowfall in her photo. You can find your own pair on Nordstrom.com!

During our last trip to Paris, we stumbled across the most charming hat workshop, La cerise sur le chapeau. (La cerise sur le chapeau means Cherry on the Hat in English, and we love how that’s incorporated in their logo!) Located in the 6^th arrondissement, right by Saint Germain des Pres, this shop brings you back to the days of the Rat Pack and Bonnie and Clyde. But, we all know the Parisians are among the top fashionistas of the world, so La cerise sur le chapeau also makes sure to add a contemporary touch to their designs. Each hat is hand-made and you can personalize the colors and details, so you’ll leave the store with your own unique hat. Ideally, we’d love to have a hat for each color in our coated denim collection!

Karl Lagerfeld has taken a risk in bringing together Paris and Bombay for the new Chanel Pre-Fall 2012 collection, but it pays off marvelously. Classic Chanel silhouettes meet Indian styling, Parisian fabrics meet intricate Indian detailing, trademark Chanel black and white softens into ebony and ivory. Even the mock dinner table evokes the right mood, with French candelabras alongside bowls of fruit and florals from an Indian palatial feast. That India is most often associated with Britain makes the collection suprising and more modern than ever. It’s hard to believe that Lagerfeld has never been to India.

We’ve also picked up on the Indian influence with new colors for our coated denim, Goa, Tea Leaf, and Taj Mahal, which will be available in January.

If acid yellow was the dominant color story coming out of Europe last week, it was a push towards “ladylike” cuts that caught our eye in the shape department. We saw classically feminine silhouettes in the dresses and skirts on nearly every runway, and many designers also showed beautiful high waisted pants, jeans and bottoms in both skinny and wide legs.

We use the term “ladylike”, because a high waisted pant is a more mature, sophisticated look, offering extra coverage for the wearer in both the front and the back, so you don’t feel like a teenager with your backside hanging out. The silhouette also shows a woman’s curves in all the right places, drawing attention to a small waist, and hiding “flaws” like thicker thighs and legs, for those that might be insecure about those areas.

Some of our favorite high waisted looks came from J. Crew and Vena Cava, who went with wider leg cuts, and Gucci, who led off their show with a slimmer version featuring button cuffs. Oh and hey, there’s that acid yellow again in a wide leg street look.  HABITUAL will offer several ladylike, high waisted looks in both wide and narrow leg for Spring, including the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny, the Harrison Ultra Hi Rise Bell Bottom, and also the Thalia and Inga Ultra Hi Rise shorts.

Paris and London Fashion weeks wrapped up last week and it looks like Yellow is a clear winner when it comes to color story. The tone showed up in nearly every line. On the lighter end, some of our favorite looks included a lemon yellow gown with bead detailing by Andrew Gn and a separates skirt blouse combination by Rue du Mail. On the darker end, Elie Saab did a group of his signature red carpet dresses in a smooth mustard color, and Burberry went the closest to the gold end of the spectrum with a couple of leather jackets. What all of the Spring yellows have in common is an “acid” tone: these are bold yellows, which go deeper than your typical springtime pastel so they have a bit more spice and strength.

Our own take on the yellow trend for Spring 2012 is a wash called “Tapestry”, a mid-range acid yellow dyed denim that falls somewhere between pastel and gold. You will see the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny, one of our newest cuts, in the Tapestry wash after the new year.

We just returned from a trip to Paris, where we spotted (and took home) one of the new aluminum Coke Light bottles designed by Karl Lagerfeld. There are three designs, each complete with Lagerfeld’s name and famous silhouette on the side. This is the second Coca Cola collaboration for Lagerfeld, after he designed a single bottle last year. Talk about a brand advocate – when Lagerfled lost 90 pounds in 2001, he reportedly consumed nothing but Diet Coke and stewed vegetables, and he still says “I drink Diet Coke and nothing else, night and day”.  The bottles went on sale in June, and are also part of an advertising campaign for Coke, featuring Coco Rocha, Jeneil Williams and Heidi Mount. You can also find Diet Coke versions here in the States. 

In addition to designing for Chanel, Fendi, and his own label, Lagerfeld has been keeping quite busy; he just announced he’ll be doing a capsule collection for Macy’s.

Does this count as graffiti? We loved this street art concept by Juliana Santacruz Herrera, who decided to brighten up potholes and cracks in the streets of Paris with colorful yarns. Hard to go wrong when you make the city prettier and solve a public nuisance at the same time! You can see more pictures in this post from Freshome.com.

If you’ve felt the potholes on Wilshire Boulevard anytime recently, you would agree LA could really use an artist like this right now. The only challenge would be installing them quickly enough not to get hit! The artist also put a fun time-lapse video of the installation on her Flickr page.