The Secret to Fashion: Accessorizing

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:

Fashion throughout the ages: Our First Ladies

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.

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?

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…

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.