Ok, seriously?

It would appear that Justin Timberlake is the latest celebrity to try and cash in on his name by beginning his own line of clothing with childhood friend Trace Ayala.

I honestly do not know why that should annoy me so much. I have not had a problem with P. Diddy’s clothing line, J. Lo’s clothing line, or even Jessica Simpson’s clothing line. Britney Spear’s fragrance line is fine with me.

But for some reason, Justin Timberlake is the breaking point with me.  That guy annoys the CRAP out of me.  And truth be told, I cannot for the life of me figure out why.  Maybe it was his once-curly hair.  Maybe it’s his ridiculous falsetto when he sings.  Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t like the way he dresses.  Although that’s not to say I’m a fan of J. Lo’s style either.

So what IS it?

The Grecian Goddess

One look that I particularly admire is the “Grecian Goddess”. Those one-armed, beautifully draped, flowing gowns make any woman’s figure regal.

Now Marchesa, for example.

Now, aside from the fact that this gown is practically falling off of Anna Kuchkina’s chest, it is absolutely beautiful. Marchesa in general is unusual while at the same time elegant. It’s a difficult combination, but Marchesa carries it off beautifully.

There is one Marchesa that I saw once that I have yet to see again.  It was a deep burgundy, one-armed creation with a large rosette on the chest.  I believe that Natalie Portman wore it in red to some event.

If anyone knows what I am talking about, PLEASE let me know.

Let’s talk makeup

Hey all.  Sorry I haven’t been on in a while.  Things have been ridiculously soap-operatic (not sure that makes sense) between love live and work and more work and yet more work and parents and…

Well, you get the picture.

Today’s item of interest is (ahem) makeup.

The thing is, there isn’t one specific type of makeup that I like. It very much depends on the occasion. Light makeup-maybe a bit of blush, naturally-shaded lipstick, and mascara would be fine for a work day. But for a special occasion, I go all out. Serious cream foundation, blush, eye shadow, heavy eyeliner, mascara, lip pencil, lipstick…

I am a huge advocate of heavy eyeliner, by the way. I know that makeup experts tell you to focus on one part of your face, it doesn’t matter what, but have you ever held your hand over your eyes and looked in a mirror? There’s not much to your face without your eyes. They make your face more unique then, say, a mouth or cheekbones.

In high school I used to wear Estee Lauder.  Mostly because my mom took me for a makeover at the mall and we ended up at the Estee Lauder counter in Bloomingdale’s where a woman who not only looked like but sounded exactly like Fran Drescher did a beautiful job on my already rather attractive face.

Since then I have broadened my horizons.  Nowadays I’m more of a Bobbi Brown fan.  So what’s your poison?

Ankle boots

There are very few fashion items that I feel ambivalent about. I either like it or I don’t. Or I like it with a certain look, but certainly not with others. Emphasis on the “certainly”.

But I am wholly ambivalent about ankle boots. I cannot for the life of me decide whether I like them or not. I think, for example, that Hillary Duff looks horrible in these ankle boots:

Clearly, ankle boots are NOT meant to be worn with skinny jeans.

Then again, apparently they are not meant to be worn with dresses either, as is evidenced by Naomi Watts:

Both looks are not only lacking in class but style as well.

Then again, I see ankle boots like these beauties from Jimmy Choo and I’m ready to whip my credit card out.

I simply cannot make up my mind.

So, what do you say?

New favorite “fashion for less” website

You know those everyday givens that are always in the back of your mind to do, and stay there? Well, checking out BlueFly was one of those for me. And I finally did it! I was a BlueFly virgin, but no more. The prices are fantastic. And the site is really easy to navigate, minus one or two minor annoyances that are characteristic of pretty much all of online fashion.

But what I love most is the variety and selection. It’s got essentially the same huge selection as a department store, but with much cheaper prices. I don’t know anywhere else where I could get an inexpensive cashmere-merino blend belted sweater like this one:

Or wide-legged wool trousers for less than $200:

I think I’m in love.

Top fashion trends for less

Let’s face it. We all want to look like a star-or at least someone who has the time and money to spend hours on their look of the day, for whatever reason. (To me it seems as though that just says you don’t have a life. But whatever.) At any rate, looking your best does not mean going for the most pricey. For the vast majority of us, Barney’s and Neiman Marcus are out of the picture. We have to stick to Macy’s.

Such being the case, I would like to present everyone with some cheaper alternatives that look just as great.

Let’s take, for example, the Burberry trench coat. I am a HUGE fan of the classic trench coat. (I know, I know. Can you say Casablanca?) And Burberry definitely has the look down pat. Classy, chic, and for a trench coat, pretty streamlined.

The Burberry trench coat, however, goes for $1,255. It’s a bit pricey for the typical shopper, me included.

You can find an equally sleek look for your trench coat, however, at Nordstrom, for $158.

The picture may be moderately less impressive, but hey, don’t take my word for it. Try it on yourself and see the difference.

More like this later…

Style it up on Halloween

You know, more adults should dress up for Halloween. And I’m not just talking about dressing up for the office Halloween party. Halloween is that great part of the year where anyone can where whatever they want. And they do. Their wildest fashion dreams can come true, be it a Victorian gown, a flapper, or even graffiti like this woman:

You don’t even need a costume per se. You can just wear whatever clothing you want and add whatever accessories you want, and design your hair in whatever style. Halloween is the time to unleash the look that you’ve always been afraid to show to the world. Strong makeup, unconventional clothing…it’s all about standing out.

The designers at Christian Dior apparently felt the same way, since they created their own line of Halloween couture:

With the jagged lines, adventurous patterns, and bold colors, Dior perfectly demonstrates Halloween in all of its off-beat splendor.

Accessorizing

Let’s talk accessories. The purpose of an accessory by definition is to add completeness to one’s basic outfit. A point which many sadly overlook. How many times have you noticed a woman wearing an accessory that is so loud/big/flashy that you don’t even notice that she is actually wearing clothing? Not that flashy and clunky don’t work sometimes. Think Dr. Brennan in the TV series “Bones”.

Bear in mind that this jewelry fits not only into her outfits but also into the personality which created these outfits.

So huge chunky necklaces and bracelets and bright hair ornaments are a possibility. You do need to know how to wear them, however. If you are going to wear a large necklace with an overbearing pendant, for example, I would wear a deep v-neck top in colors such as black, brown, or deep purple. Stay away from crew necks or boat necks. And from bright colors and trim. If you are wearing loud or large accessories, they are the trim on your clothing, and too much trim detracts from the overall look. It’s never good when one is wearing an outfit and you don’t know where to look first. The outfit should be a whole instead of many little parts. Your accessories, your shoes, your bag-they should all be complementary of each other.

Style that counters the culture

As you have probably noticed from my previous blog posts, my personal preference for how I would like to dress and how I would like to present myself to the world is the chic, elegant, classic look. I’ll go so far as to say that I think that the vast majority of the world would immeasurably improve by “classing” up their attire, snobbish and obnoxious though that may sound.

That being said, there is another look that, regardless of my personal preference, I cannot help but respect. Counterculture.

Truth be told, you can consider the Amish counterculture, fashion-wise. Actually, you can consider the Amish counter-culture everything-wise. And I do. The Amish maintain a lifestyle that they believe is right, regardless of outside influences. I am not saying that I would live an Amish lifestyle or dress as an Amish woman. I will say that I find the way that the Amish dress to be very attractive. Because it suits them. (Although I know this is slightly counterproductive to the effect that they had intended to achieve.)

Counterculture fashion is just about that: dressing in a manner that suits you as an individual, having absolutely nothing to do with society.

How can you help admiring those few who are not only adamant about but comfortable with their individuality? They have no apologies. They exist.

Deal with it.

The new black is black. Finally!

Absolutely loving the trends this season. You all know my idea of style by now-simple, understated. Elegant. That’s not to say that you can’t have variety within that paradigm. But the idea of fashion is for your attire to showcase your body, not the other way around. That’s not to say that I don’t love trendy, funky fashion as well. I do. But in order to pull the funky stuff off you have to be capable of…well…pulling it off. And not everyone can do that. Actually, let’s qualify that statement. Everyone can do that. Not everyone will do that.

Back to this season’s trends. Low-key is the phrase of the day. There are those designers, of course, who will never create minimalist apparel simply because they are incapable. Think BCBG Max Azria or Christian Dior. They create their own trends and stick with them, and they maintain their signature looks throughout the seasons and the years.

Then there are those designers who evolve and change with the seasons. Think Calvin Klein. Or Doo.Ri. Their fall line smacks of words like “classic”. “Timeless”. “Graceful”. “Polished”. “Genteel”. The list continue, but you can probably come up with your own synonyms. One quintessential outfit from their fall fashion line is below:

Doo.Ri

The chunky black leather gloves add the perfect touch to the outfit, adding an element of power to the sheer femininity of it.  Just beautiful.