4/30/12 - Total Outfit cost - $4.00

This is a Kasper dress - fully lined - great color.  And, yes, it was $4.  If you want to add in the designer scarf that ups the total cost to a measley $7. 

Are you Audrey Hepburn or Janice Joplin?

What style are you?  Do you know?  Well have no fear - there are about 1000 places on the Internet you can go find out.  You can take a test with multiple choice answers that conveniently let you know whether you are 'sporty', 'classic', 'romantic', 'county', 'city chic', 'retro', blah, blah, blah.  Or whether your style icon is Audrey Hepburn (always on the lists), Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, or a host of young actresses I do not recognize at all.  So now you can be categorized to match your furniture choice - isn't that great! Not really.  Do you want to be pigeon-holed? Or look like your sofa?  I don't.  I went to a  nifty jewelry site once that offered to help you select jewelry pieces.  But first you had to take their quiz - in fact, you couldn't enter the site without taking that quiz. It consisted of unlikely choices "If you were going on a picnic, which 'style icon' would you prefer to go as?" It then gave you selection of five famous designers or actresses from which to choose.  Each query had a different answer group. Unfortunately, most of the time, I found that "none" would have been my preferred answer.  So, I picked the least objectionable of the bunch (kinda like politics!)  At the end of the test, I was then presented with the Jewelry Type I obviously had to be - and the site then showed me jewelry that would fit my tastes perfectly.  Um, No.  Not one time did the site ever present me with a piece of jewelry I liked (I mean - I didn't like ANYTHING).  You could not retake the test because it acknowledged your previous answers were the correct answers for you - AND - you couldn't view any other jewelry on their site because they had pre-selected everything for you - since they knew you best.  You couldn't change THEIR idea of what was perfect for you.  Too bad.  I couldn't purchase a thing from Their website since it didn't know a thing about me. 

So, what about you?  We can pigeon-hole ourself sometimes.  We don't even need help to do it!  Get stuck in a rut.  Hmmm.  Know what a rut is?  It is usually quite a dirty, muddy spot carved into something from continued overuse.  Have you decided that you are 'sporty' so you can justify only wearing jogging outfits or similar because it's your style.  Are you 'bohemian' so you can wear a lot of clothes that don't fit properly and it is irrelevant if they are clean or wrinkled?  Really?  It's not because you are lazy and don't want to try better? 

You are not required to be any specific style. At all.  I believe style is what you Are - not what you Wear. What you should require of yourself is to look great every time you step out of the door and people have to take a gander at you. There is no reason you must subject yourself to a defined 'uniform' of a style. Let your style start with your heart and your smile and your stance and your character and then put something on that body that expresses how absolutely fabulous you are.

That is what we are here to do.  Pull the fabulous In you to the outside.  Let us know if there is something particular you would like discussed.

God bless you richly.  I know that He has blessed me!

4/27/12 - Total outfit cost $28. (Includes top & skirt)

I love this outfit.  It is so pretty in person.  The skirt was $3. and I purchased the top at one of my favorite stores in NY.

Total outfit cost: $9.00 (includes Top, Skirt & Shoes)

This little outfit is fun.  I like fun! The top is by Finity, Skirt by Becky & Max (New York), Shoes by Steve Madden.  I have no trouble wearing White before Memorial Day.  All of the accessories are bright white and make this outfit 'pop' with the fun skirt.

It's a Fad, Fad, Fad, Fad World!

Don't succumb to fads.  Just don't do it.  You see them coming like a freight train.  Suddenly all the 'kids' start wearing, let's say, tie-dyed pants.  You see them Everywhere.  Wisely at first, all you can think is 'Yuck! Those look awful! Why do they wear those?' But brains are tricky things and after just a few months of this visual overload, your brain apparently slides sideways and shifts gears, and what-do-you-know, those pants don't look so bad.  Then, those pants start to look good...you know, if you got the right color for you. So you head down to the mall and search for the perfect tie-dyed wonders for your posterior and thighs.  Not surprisingly, you eventually Do find those things in your favorite color.  You slide them up and over your womanly curves.  You view yourself from every angle and smile with delight at how 'hip' and 'cool' you look (okay, that already defines you as NOT 'hip & cool').  Ooooo.  You are getting younger by the second.   You make your way to the checkout counter and against your better judgment just a few months ago, you actually purchase the latest fad for your very own.  Aww. 

Now what do you do with them?  You really can't wear them to church because they are too 'casual' and you are supposed to be more respectful of church; you can't wear them to the PTA because they really are too 'young' and someone might snicker; you can't wear them to work because the actual young adults are wearing them - and again you face that snicker issue; you can't wear them to where you volunteer because you don't want to appear to have fallen into the Fad trap; you can't wear them---wait, now they are out-dated and if you wear them everyone will know you are behind the curve.  Bother.  Well, you can wear them to bed, while you clean house, work in the yard (as long as nobody sees you), slop the hogs, you get the idea.

It's a brain thing. Eventually, your brain will reverse gears and you will see how ridiculous it was to purchase those things in the first place.  You won't want to put them on your body.  You won't even wear them to bed.  You will finally donate them somewhere.  tsk, tsk. Why waste your money in the first place?  Do you have that much disposable income?  If you see the freight train coming, move to another track and pass it by.  Do not turn your head and marvel at it's speed and pretty colors.  Do not let your brain tell you it is a good thing when you KNOW in your heart it is not.  Fads all end up the same. Fads fade fast. Don't let some crazed designer/decorator/hair dresser convince you in person or on tv, that a fad is 'you'!  You are smarter than that. No one is going to say, 'Hey, why didn't you get those tie-dyed pants everyone else got?' I promise they won't ask that question. Grab your common sense, keep your wallet closed and go out and look marvelous every day.

That's why we are here - to make you look better each time you step out of your abode!  Let me know how we're doing.

God bless you richly.  I know that He has blessed me!

4/20/12 - Total outfit cost: ??

I just don't recall how much this cost.  Why?  Because every piece is not new.  The top is Ann Taylor and I bought it about 3 years ago - on clearance; the skirt is Ideology and at least 11 years old!!  The brooch, necklace and earrings are vintage and purchased at resale shops all over.  The bracelet is carved red wood (I did pay $5. for it, because I liked the heft of it and it was much less expensive than the ones in NY).    And - I paid $15 for the Calvin Klein brown pumps new at a resale shop (nice sturdy heels). Just a little casual day wear.

Total outfit cost: $2.00!! (Includes Top, Skirt & Shoes!!)

That is right - $2.00!  The shoes are Steve Madden; the silk top is Collete Mordo; the pleated skirt has rivets along the hem.    People, if I can do this, you can too.

Total Outfit cost: $6.00! (includes Skirt, Jacket & Tank)

This Olive print skirt has little copper colored beads on it which reflect the light quite nicely.  The skirt was $3.  Not bad! 

4/16/12 - Total outfit cost: $17.00 (Jumper & Top)

This Black and Hot Pink lazer-burn-out jumper always gets attention.  Not expensive, but it looks cute!

Help! Help! Damage Control!

We talked previously about getting only one chance to make a first impression.  What if you messed that up?  What if you have already made your first impression and you, um, well, um, left quite a mc-nasty taste in the minds of those you viewed you?  NOW what do you do?  Damage control.  I will not sugar-coat this:  It is not always easy to undo what you ave set in someone's eyeballs.

Remember the 'cool' kids at school - the ones who always had it together.  Then there were the 'geeks' who used their brainpower to survive.  Those 'kickers' who could rock some boots and jeans.  What about the 'band nerds' who really did enjoy marching all over the football field.  The 'jocks' who actually knew what to do on a football field.  The 'goths' who went about always looking morose.  The 'theater' kids who knew that somehow their part in the I Act play would propel them to Hollywood.  There are so many more cliques - too many to list.  But, no matter how old you are, I am sure you can vividly recall where you fit in the school dynamics.  Maybe you fit in the 'uncategorized' - none of the above.  The thing is, everyone else who went to school with you - they also remember where you fit in the school dynamics.  Ouch - if you didn't fall into one of the really good groups.  And that was Years ago.  People remember.  So they will also remember that first impression you made (and will probably mentally categorize you).  It's painful, but true.  Are they going to categorize you as 'sloppy, lazy, indifferent'?

In this day of tough job competition, school competition, work competition, Life competition - you HAVE to put your best out there.  And while your best starts from the inside and works out, your appearance is what folks get first (they do in fact see you across the room, in the hall, at a table, in the store, etc.)

Too many people just don't seem to care.  WHY?  Do you want to seem 'sloppy, lazy, indifferent'?  Surely not. (I said this with a very quizzical face - because I am certain you want better).  Make an effort in your appearance.  Get up in the morning and start your day determined to be your best.  Put on clothes that Fit; clothes that Don't show your undies; clothes that are Not torn, dirty, stained or 'pilled' (pilling is just gross - always looks like bugs are leaving things on your apparel); clothes that don't stop at the fattest part of your calf; clothes that are meant to be worn in public (not your sleep shorts with hearts on them).  That is a very good start. In this day of technology - someone probably has a photo of you while you are Not at your best and it has been posted for all the world to see.  Let's change that.  Every day try to impress someone (let's pick YOU).  If YOU know you have put forth effort and followed those rules above - you will smile more and that will definitely make a better impression on the world!  Yea you!

Don't suffer when help is available.  Contact me and we'll improve things immediately.

God bless you richly.  I know that He has blessed me!

Total outfit cost: $15.00 (includes the skirt, top, jacket & shoes!)

Although the picture doesn't show the detail,  the jacket is Dana Buckman (camel & cream stripe), the skirt is Dana Buckman (pale tan); the top is dark brown; the shoes are brown suede and made in Europe. 

Is that you busting out all over?

How many times have you looked in your closet and bemoaned the fact that you ‘have nothing to wear’ (followed by a whimper)?  It happens to everyone – even people who have a giant closet full of clothes.  How is that even possible?  There are all kinds of reasons (we’ll talk about those another day) – but the most common reason is:

You can’t actually fit into those clothes anymore.

Sad, I know.  But there it is.  You have managed to gain a few pounds as the years rolled along.  After high school, you racked up the “freshman 15” as you sat in your college classes; then you got married and added on the “newlywed 10” as you no longer were required to look your best to snag a mate; then you had a baby and couldn’t loose those “final 5 (or 10)” pounds; and perhaps you repeated this last step.  Before you had time to look at yourself with a critical eye, you hardly recognized the person looking back from the mirror.

However you are not a spend-thrift and your clothes are still hanging in the closet that you wore prior to baby number two and even the wedding.  Why?  You like them.  You went to the store and picked them out and plopped good money down on the counter for them.  Therefore, they have real value and you should use them. Yup - that is why you justify squeezing your not-a-size-12-anymore* self into that 12.  See, you DID it!  Who is going to notice that the buttons are barely hanging onto that buttonhole?  Whoops, it couldn’t hang on anymore! Grab a safety pin and fix that (have you noticed that you actually went to the store and bought a giant box of safety-pins?).  And, your bitty pooch of a belly (well, it used to be bitty) appears to have stretched the seams of your bottoms in an unattractive manner – and those creases at your crotch, well, who’s going to notice anyway – you’ll be sitting down almost all day at the office.   So, off you go!  Out the door!  Blech.

Did you really step into public barely contained in your outfit?  It does not matter what the number says on your clothing tag. We are all aware that designers just make up those numbers anyway – there used to be a sizing standard, but that was before the world wrapped its arms and mouths around McDonald's.  Now, they pick a number that should make you happier.  Forget the number - you Must wear clothing that does not require a box of pins, duct tape, no deep breathing, slow moving only, and a big dose of prayer to get through your day.  Stretched seams and buttons (if they had feelings they would scream) look BAD.  Period.  No one has ever said, ‘you look So Skinny with your pulled out of shape outfit!’  It does not matter if you are a size 2 or a size 18 – if your clothes are too small, you look bigger.  As I have said before – no one Chooses to look bigger than they are.  So just say No.  You will look smaller, better, and less squishy if you wear what FITS. I promise. (Just don’t break those rules I talked about earlier.) There is something in that closet that fits your size.  And if not – give me a call and we’ll fix that!

* I use size 12 as 12-14 is supposed to be the average size – depending upon which survey you read.

Make your every impression matter.  

God bless you richly! I know that He has blessed me!

4/4/12 - Total outfit cost: $14.00 (includes top & skirt)

These bright yellow shoes always grab attention and it really pulls the outfit together!

4/3/12 - Total outfit cost: $9.46 (includes top and skirt)





Some people dress in all black and look 'goth'.  However,  I think that you should be able to do all black and just plain look great.   The skirt is by Cache and the top is by Finity.