I bought this skirt at my favorite local consignment store, Esco Limited of Colonial Beach, VA. I thought the laces were really interesting and wanted to give the skirt a try. But now I realize I have no idea how to wear the skirt! I think the best thing to do is to let the strings hang down. But now I’m not sure? Ideas?
Monthly Archives: January 2013
One Outfit Forward, Two Rules Back
I am slowly learning to create outfits on my own. But I seem to learn everything the hard way. I learned a bit about layering, but the pieces I chose didn’t fit well. I learned how to wear cropped jeans, but forgot that breaking up that line makes me look even shorter than I am!
I also wonder about the exception to the rules. Because there really are exceptions! So can a short, slightly plus size mom wear cropped baggy jeans? What about ruffled shirts? I love ruffles, but I am afraid that they make my breasts look bigger.
Then there is the question of the cropped jeans. In this case, I must have made a mistake in ordering them, because these came too short. That is a pretty amazing feat for someone as short as I am! I have read that the cropped pant is in style now. But if you are short you are not supposed to wear anything that cuts you across horizontally, because that will make you look shorter. So in this case, I should have had a pair of shoes the same color as the pants. But I don’t own a pair of shoes that color! So I wore these little white oxfords. This style of shoes is in style right now, but not with this outfit, not with this color, and not with these socks. So even though I was pretty happy with the outfit, the shoes ruined the look.
The there is the question of the fit of these clothes. Looking at the picture now, I see that the jeans are pretty baggy. Baggy jeans are ok if they are worn like boyfriend jeans. This time I might have been able to do that, because I was wearing a fitted jacket over a tucked in shirt.
When I put the brown coat on, with the gorgeous scarf, the colors really looked great. So I think I did at least get that much right.
When I look at the pictures, I really do like the outfit. But I broke so many rules, I’m not sure it evens counts as fashion anymore!
Magnetic Nails
After giving up on magnetic nail polish before Christmas, I decided to give it another chance. I used a Sally Hansen base coat and the Sally Hansen magnetic nail colors. I am not sure if it worked because I used the same brand of base coat and polish, but since it worked this time I am sticking to it. I did love the ripple effect once I achieved it-the secret is a base coat, one thin layer of polish, and then one thick layer. You have to hold the magnet up to the polish immediately, so it takes a little longer than regular polish. Then you need to keep the magnet close to the nail until you can tell you have achieved the desired result.
The only bad thing I will say is that it only lasted 2 days. I am continually disappointed by how quickly regular polish chips. But this one chipped much more quickly than usual.
Other than that, I really liked the results.
Free Style Tips Online
As you may have noticed, I post a lot of links to online stylists. I love these links! My blog is pretty much Fashion for Dummies, except that I am one of the dummies too! It’s about the journey of learning something new-in this case, it happens to be fashion.
These online stylists are great! They give outfit ideas and tips, focused on different questions. In most cases, the past questions are posted too, so you can usually find what you need. I am posting a few links here, just to give you an idea.
http://web001.whowhatwear.com/website/ask-a-stylist/emily-current-and-meritt-elliott-27/
http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/tips/cold-weather-celebrity-street-style#slide-11
Making amends with blazers
I have written about my blazer trauma here before, so I will just say that I have despised blazers for most of my life. Now, in the pursuit of fashion, I am trying to reconcile our differences. Some blazers are forgiving, and some are not. Due to my short, curvy frame, I really need a structured jacket. But there are also times when you want to break those rules-isn’t that what rules are made for? So where your blazers how you want to wear them. And if you need a few ideas, follow the link from Glamour:
More Chances for Regular Women to get Designer Clothes
I am always on the lookout for bargains and these sites promise just that. So far I have only had time to check out Tradesy. This one looks great. I have found just what I was looking for, and the prices are very reasonable. If you get a chance to look up the other sites, please post a comment about your experience!
.Threadflip: Essentially an Internet version of a swap party, you can get rid of the stuff in your closet that you haven’t worn in forever and replace it with new clothes. The Pinterest-looking site offers everything from department store finds and cool vintage pieces to high-end brands at crazy-affordable prices — like a Miu Miu skirt for $167 (regularly $450), Céline bags for less than $1,000 and Marc Jacobs ballet flats for $81.
Vaunte: Think of Vaunte as the Barneys of recommerce, as in, it only carries the most elite labels like Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Alexander Wang and Marchesa. Also, most of the pieces are plucked from the closets of fashion editors, designers and industry insiders. And while a majority of the garb is still relatively pricey considering it’s used, you can find some killer deals with a little digging. (We spotted Prada pumps for $90 and knee-high Manolo Blahnik boots for $150!)
HipSwap: With more than four million pieces for sale, there’s no way you’ll just browse. Type what you’re looking for in the search box and hundreds of matches will appear. The selection is unprecedented compared to others — you’ll see finds from A.L.C., Rebecca Minkoff, Tibi, Christian Dior, Stella McCartney, celeb-loved denim brand MiH and many, many more. Also, it recently began offering loot from celebs’ closets.
The Real Real: Similar to Vaunte, this members-only operation (you have to sign up to shop) offers a Fifth Avenue-approved selection. The site is very selective of the product they accept, so you won’t have an eBay-like experience where you search forever to find that one thing you want. And rather than a post-and-sell method, it runs curated flash sales (think: Gilt) featuring brands like Rag & Bone, Christian Louboutin and Derek Lam.
Copious: Copious carries similarly discounted stock to the other sites on our list, but it has something that none of the others do: a major social component. Users can only login using Facebook and Twitter, and all members are required to create a public profile. So you know exactly who you’re forking over your money to — relieving that “Who am I dealing with?” anxiety you may encounter on, say, Craigslist. Each seller receives ratings, too, so you won’t have to second-guess whether that brand new Balenciaga bag is authentic.
Tradesy: Tradesy does sell high-end brands, but it’s their more affordable finds — like Aqua, Forever 21, Express and Nine West — that have the biggest presence. We recommend this one if you want to stock up on $10 Silence & Noise rompers and $12.50 LOFT tops. I haven’t listed an item yet, but I have registered. It appears to be about as easy as listing on ebay.
Here’s the link to the original article, posted on People Style Watch. http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2013/01/24/online-shopping-designer-deals/
Right Scarf, Wrong Makeup
Sometimes these pictures make me cringe. I have worn that shade of foundation before, and gone out feeling so happy with my makeup. It is from L’Oreal, and it does feel great on. It covers well and feels so light! Unfortunately, I do my makeup in my room, and the light is not so great. So I didn’t realize that the color looked so orange! Yikes!Since seeing these pictures, I have started opening the blinds to let in all the natural light I can get. I do like the blue smoky eyes, but they look right for evening, not for day.
I was wearing the polka dot outfit featured in an earlier post, and I put on this new sequined scarf just to see how it looked. It tops off the look well. I can’t wait to wear it with an evening outfit.
So once again, I’m learning about all of this as I go along. Hopefully by now my readers have figured out that this is not like every other fashion blog. Basically, I started out knowing nothing about fashion.
Seven months in, I have learned a few things, but I have plenty left to learn! This time I learned about makeup. I don’t know what I’ll learn next time. Let’s figure it out together!
Cold Weather Class
Here in Virginia the cold weather seems to have set in. Sometimes I feel like I am wasting my time picking out clothes that will not be seen, because I will be keeping my coat on most of the day. So I was inspired recently when I saw an article about how to wear winter coats. I have a super warm puffer coat, Michael Kors from last year. The article suggested I just wear the leggings with no skirt underneath. I did it, burgundy textured leggings under the brown coat I cinched up as tight as it would go. I added some very special accessories, a soft scarf and hat I made myself. I think the results were pretty good!
The lighter side :)
Sometimes we get so caught up in the ‘coolness’ of fashion that we start taking ourselves-and our blogs-way too seriously. At times like these, it’s good time stop and smell the perfume samples!
My photographer son and I took a walk yesterday, and it soon turned into a slightly goofy photo shoot. We get a kick out of watching ‘America’s next top model’, so we started playing around and acting out some of the things we’ve seen on the show. I started jumping when he took some pics. Then we both climbed a fire hydrant and took pics there. Lastly, we snuck onto a closed softball field and took some pics in there. It was great fun!
I think we had fewer good shots than AMTL. But sometimes you just have to try something, and then you can relax about doing it. When that happens, you do it much better!
So here are some of our goofy pics! Oh and the outfit I’m wearing is a vintage long button up silk shirt, white with light blue polka dots; a white sweater with small pastel polka dots from Christopher Banks; grey leggings with dark blue polka dots from Kohl’s, argyle socks, and black menswear-style loafers. In some shots I am wearing a vintage Tommy Hilfiger denim jacket. My son is wearing his newsboy cap, a Captain America t shirt from Marvel Comics, and a pair of Denizen jeans from Levi’s.
My daughter,if you should happen to see her, is wearing a sweater dress from Gymboree, a pair of heather grey pants, and a pink princess jacket from Mon Petit.
At the bottom you will find a link to Refinery 29′slist of 10 Moments In Fashion To Smile About. But before you follow the link, here are some of our goofy pics for you to enjoy:
Cocktail Ring with the Neutral Nail
Cocktail rings were my first venture into fashion. I started seeing them on tv and in the magazines, and they were such small things I thought I could pull them off. Of course they’re not small as rings go, but they were a small addition to my wardrobe and they do pack a punch.
In smalltown Virginia, something like a cocktail ring can be big fashion. It’s just not something people do, so I felt kind of edgy wearing them. Now I wear one every time I go out. I had never worn this one before today. I can’t remember where I got it, but I meant to get the Starfish ring, and I got this one by mistake. I pulled it out yesterday and put it on, and I liked it more than I thought. So here it is, with the neutral/leopard print mani I did last week.
