The Little Black Dress

March 27, 2007 Fashion No Comments
Today Show Style Editor and author of The Buzz for in Touch Weekly, Bobby Thomas - did a fabulous piece on wearing the ‘noir shade’. Maybe you already knew that it was Coco Chanel who cast The Little Black Dress as a staple of any wardrobe, but news alert to me! I’ve had them in all different shapes, lengths (and sizes!)…but never did the research. The LBD probably hangs in the closets of most woman in the world in some way, shape or form and could take all of us just about anywhere!

 

Bobbie showed three different ways to wear the black dress. The Power Dress, when paired with a blazer for the office - can easily translate to the after work ensemble. These combined with classic pearl earrings and red lips will ‘demand respect while looking drop dead gorgeous’. As Bobbie pointed out, ‘Jackie O was the perfect example of a fashion icon who was sophisticated and stylish, without being over-the-top trendy’. I found a TDF Vera Wang LBD at Bloomingdales that had Audrey and Natalie written all over it.

The Play dress can take you from ‘day to play’ says Bobbie. Sun dresses will be the core of any wardrobe this season. A black one is a necessity and perfect example of how versatile an LBD really is. These travel easily and can fun with flip-flops and a cute bag for daytime shopping, or paired with ’strappy jeweled’ sandals for dinner.

Last, but not least is ‘the party dress’. This should be both fun and flirty! As for the shoes…anything goes. Have fun with the accessories - including wraps and bags, of course. Re-inventing this classic piece of art can be a party in itself. Just remember to keep the golden ‘less is more’ rule from Coco Chanel…the true godmother of the LBD.

The best part…they don’t have to cost you this week’s paycheck. You can find a fabulous LBD party dress from Nordstroms, Gap, to the best of discounters!

Today’s Thought:

Fashion fades…only style remains the same.

~Coco Chanel

Wearing White or Shoes?

March 22, 2007 Fashion No Comments
So – I’m on iVillage to find out more on what Meredith Viera had to say this morning on The Today Show about when to wear white. I’ll get back to that in a minute. All of a sudden, I see that the Hottest Shopping Section is spotlighting shoes today. NOW…we all know about my obsession with shoes – but did they have to list four categories that included pumps, sandals, espadrilles and peep toes! (don’t you just want to hug the people that brought the last two back to life?!). Do I need to tell you how excited I got when I saw 18,172 matches in just the first category? Even though these were listed as ‘dress shoes – once populated, that’s a LOT of shoes – even for me. Of course, I found three pairs before I even got to sandals, but all of a sudden it hit me. The shoe compartments that line the floor of my closet are maxed and just how many more cases of shoe boxes am I going to need now?! I guess I could have worse habits and certainly there can’t be a better hobby. Is there? One good thing. At least I know where I can get the shoe boxes!  

Back to the white thing. Grandmothers around the world taught us that you don’t wear white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. Suddenly, somebody breaks the rule. I can’t quite remember what the deal was with everyone wearing white patent leather shoes for Easter when that’s always before Memorial Day, but oh well. In the meantime – I live in southern California. They claim you can where white here anytime. Harper’s confirms this to be true - anywhere and anytime. For now, I’m on the thermometer gauge. If it feels like summer – then dress like summer. When the white shoes and bags come out, I also move my winter wools to the hanging garment bags that protected my summer whites.  It’s an easy transition. Oh – and another little tip…now that all my summer bags are kept in one storage container, they are so easy to get to. I also like the way they look on the top of my closet. The sweater size canvas boxes are perfect to line up smaller bags and the larger storage boxes keep all my everyday bags so that I can get to them as I decide at the last minute to change bags as I run out the door. Some things never change!

Today’s Thought:

Be yourself. Everybody else is already taken.

~Oscar Wilde