Hey, y’all!  After a (not so) brief respite, I’m back!  Sorry for the gap…just got caught up in life.  Way too much stuff goin on…

Anyway…

Apparently there is an Ugg boots giveaway for blog owners worldwide.  Placing the badge from Whooga Boots on your blog/website will automatically qualify you for the monthly draw.  Your location doesn’t matter – they ship internationally, and you can remain in the draw for as long as you would like.

Good luck!

Hi all, 

I know that it’s been a while, and I’ve neglected you shamefully.  Apologies all around.

Anyway…

I’ve discovered  - wait for it – a shopping search engine!  It’s called Shopwiki.  Pretty exciting stuff.   What I really like about this site is that regardless of whether the store that you are looking for has paid Shopwiki or not, you will find it there.  Good stuff.  I also like the way the site is organized.  I have yet to find a shopping search engine that organizes according to and actually gives you tips on spring style.  Well, I’ve found one.  Full steam ahead.  

Also, loving the fact that there are actual articles on each item.  Such as, say men’s pants.  This section not only explained each aspect of pants but what occasion it should be accentuated for and how to get that “polished look”.   My favorite line was definitely “Baggy pants  are rarely a good idea unless you have your own Rap label”.  So, so true.  Men, take notes!  They have a great section on clothing for men.  They also have a section on career clothing for men – business casual, casual, conservative, etc.  It’s well-done, and let’s face it, so many men need that kind of advice.

For women I love how they offer articles on trends and style.  And they have a section on piecing together outfits, which I think is quite necessary.  I’ve definitely seen women having trouble in that department.

Hey all! I’ve finally got my computer back, after a particularly stressful and downright horrible experience with the computer lab where I basically spent four hours doing their job for them. Serves me right for living in a country where the concept of “consumer satisfaction” is nonexistent, I suppose.

In any case…

Back to fashion.

Ok, you know those little tufty-headed googley-eyed pens, like this one:

Well, the latest fad on the runways is surprisingly reminiscent of those pens.  This little item, for example, that I found in Vogue:

I mean, people, come on.  Are we back in kindergarten?  Or worse yet, the eighties, those wonderful years of shoulder pads, overdone colorblocks, and pretty little-girl bows in our hair?

Hi all,

Sorry I haven’t posted in a bit.  My network card on my rather expensive if crappy computer seems to have been incinerated due to the large amount of times that my computer overheated over the past eight-or-so months.  Bringing it in, so hopefully I’ll be on board next week.

I’m not generally a fan of that Indie hipster look. But there are exceptions to every rule, and I’ve found the exception to mine: Pret A Portobello. Indie or not, the majority of this designer’s looks can only be designed as “classic”.  And by “classic” I mean absolutely timeless.   Let’s take, for example, this little beauty:

Just looking at it, I can imagine the way that it would drape, the kind of dress that covers and shows just enough.  This would be a beautiful dress with a silver link belt and black boots like this pair from Aldo:

Putting together beautiful outfits just makes me happy.  Good way to start your week…

I have been seeing this trend pretty much everywhere-department stores like Bloomingdales, men’s and women’s clothing stores like H & M and the Gap.  There are fashion designers such as British designer/activist Katherine Hamnett who focus entire clothing lines on the organic cotton movement.

Katherine Hamett organic cotton tee

And I want to understand the meaning behind this organic cotton trend.  Because when I read a label that says “Organic Cotton”, I get all excited and expect the actual garment to be more comfortable.  Or breathable.  Or some basic improvement in its wearability.  But I have experimented with organic clothing garments, and I submit that it is no more comfortable than the average shirt or slacks.  In fact, the only thing that has changed is my fear that I will find a squashed bug enmeshed in the fibers of my shirt.  So, who started this trend?  It was absolutely brilliant from a marketing standpoint, but other than that it makes no sense whatsoever.

This time we’re talking handbags.  And this time they’re the real deal, not the imitation crap that you find being sold off of those plastic tables in New York with labels badly stitched on.  Apparently there is a site called Euohandbag.  It’s the Blue Fly of bags, with incredible designer bags for much lower than you can find them on the shelf in the States.  For someone as desperately fashion conscious as yours truly, it’s a pretty exciting find.  Gucci, Prada, Miu Miu, Balenciaga, Dior, and most excitingly, Chloe…you name it, it’s all pretty much there.  My personal favorite is this little beauty by Prada:

And guess how much it was on the site.  Go on, guess.  $238.

Which leads me to ask:  Is this site for real???

Ok, everyone. The secret to great fashion has finally been let out. At least to me. Apparently everyone else in the world knew about the great fashion secret way before I did. Otherwise there wouldn’t be so many greatly fashionable people.

Following that circular line of reasoning…

The big secret that apparently everyone but me knows is ACCESSORIZING. Belts, for example. What belts can do for an outfit is absolutely incredible.  This outfit, worn by Arlenis Sosa in the Michael Kors Spring 2009 show, demonstrates perfectly what a hat and belt can do for an outfit:

There are many who submit that Michelle Obama is (or rather, will be) the best dressed First Lady of the US. She’s made the cover of Vanity Fair a couple of times, and was listed in their international best dressed.

I tend to disagree. Yes, Michelle Obama dresses decently, but so does every other woman in the position of First Lady. It’s part of the job description.

Now Jackie Kennedy was a woman with style and class. Not only did she dress “nicely” as all other First Ladies must to present themselves to the public, but she was a trend-setter. She had an exquisite sense of style, wearing trousers at a time when most women wore only skirts and dresses, but wearing them in such a way that it was quite clear that the pants were meant for a woman. Everything that she did, the way she moved, was infused with her special brand of grace.

I’m just not entirely sure that Michelle Obama measures up to that. Sorry, Vanity Fair.

All of us have a little fashion guru inside screaming to get out the moment we see an advertisement in Vogue or walk into Bloomingdales. I, for one, would be absolutely thrilled to buy BCBG out. But truth be told, we can’t all afford to buy pieces that simply won’t work in the mix-and-match system. And in today’s economy, no one wants to get any more in debt than they already are.

So how do you look like a million dollars while spending substantially less?

For starters, there are those miraculous stores that carry name brands for less like Marshall’s and Syms. I used to hate those stores when my mother would make me shop there, little snot that I was. I wanted her to spend the big bucks on me. But now that I no longer have daddy’s credit card available, those stores have become my home away from home. You have to sift, but it’s definitely worth it for the incredible savings.

Then of course there are department store sales. I generally shop at the end of a season. Honestly, the fall season in fashion ends when the actual fall season begins, so it’s not exactly the biggest deal.

Lastly, I try to buy solids, and generally solids that are easy to match to other solids. Patterns don’t make the clothing look more expensive. Actually, they often cheapen the outfit. I’m not saying purchase only solids in reds, grays, blacks and whites. Buy a couple of nice patterned tops. But you should be able to create twenty-five combinations out of ten pieces.