Posts Tagged ‘ Shoes and Other Fun ’

Where Do You Buy Your Work Clothes?

June 24, 2011
By Hello Ladies

Woman shopping

We’ve tackled some tough issues this month — gender discrimination, pay inequity and the working mother’s juggle. So we’re going to lighten it up this summer Friday. Let’s talk about clothes.

A working woman’s wardrobe may not be as serious as some of the other topics we cover at Hello Ladies, but building a work wardrobe can require just as much finesse, strategy and fortitude as managing a career and a family. That’s because the middle-of-the-market designers seem to have forgotten the middle-of-her-life woman and the doesn’t-quite-have-a-middle-woman. It is possible to find decent clothes at the high-end, but the economy stinks and not every occassion, job or budget calls for Akris.

Last week I shopped for some staples and a few new pieces to get me through the summer.  It wasn’t easy. With a small budget, and even smaller amount of free time, I stuck to the higher-end mall stores like Banana Republic, J. Crew and Ann Taylor. And what did I find? Not much that’s wearable. The stores are stocked with:

1. Tissue tops. They just don’t cut it. Or cover it for that matter. Those of us above a size 4  need some fabric on our bodies. I’m not sneezing, I’m dressing. So bring back the cotton and leave the tissue fabric in the Kleenex box.

2. One shoulder looks. Sure, some of my coworkers may act like wild animals, but I’m going to work, not on safari.

3. Sleeveless. I love sleeveless tops but not at work. My preference has nothing to do with appropriateness and everything to do with air conditioning. In most offices, and certainly in mine, the AC is blasting from May to October. I’d throw a sweater over my blouse or dress, but they are made from tissue material or worse covered in…

4. Ruffles. The ruffle craze is out of control. Twenty-something celebs may need to add some bulk to starve off the anorexia rumors, but I do not. Nor do many of the women I know. I don’t need ruffles on my chest. I don’t need peplums at my waist. I don’t need layers on my skirt. I’m trying to smooth things out not bulk them up.

It seems  near impossible to find clothes that work for the office unless you are a super model, a twenty-something, or have no fashion sense whatsoever. So ladies, tell me where do you shop for clothes that are stylish, affordable, and cut to cover not to expose?

For some advice on building a work wardrobe check out these resources:

From our friends at The Gloss: How to Build a Work Wardrobe for Less

From The Corporette, also on Forbe’s list of Top 100 Websites for Women: Guide to Basic Women’s Suiting

From this site we just discoverd, The Wardrobe Diaries: 11 Work Wardrobe Essentials.

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Best and Worst of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards

February 28, 2011
By Hello Ladies

 

The red carpet was fantastic at last night’s 83rd Academy Awards. We loved all the red dresses. Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Hudson (although hers was actually tangerine) sported this year’s “it” color. Purple was the other color of choice. Natalie Portman’s deep purple Rodarte gown was stunning. Mila Kunis and Cate Blanchet looked lovely in paler shades of purple.

Offsetting the vibrant hues were nudes and metallics – a trend that carried over from last year. But this year, the shimmer, feathers and jewels made the dresses look fresh and fantastic. Gwyneth Paltrow, Hailee Steinfeld, Hillary Swank and Halle Berry all wore beautiful, pale gowns.

Ponytails were the hot accessory this year. Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon both wore this year’s version of the updo.

And in the can’t remember the gown, but aren’t these women stunning category – Mandy Moore and Sharon Stone both looked great.

We only have one winner for the worst category: the show. Yawn. We turned it off.

 

 

Images used with a  Creative Commons license.

Does Fashion Matter?

January 29, 2011
By Hello Ladies

The other day I opened my email and there was an offer to review a pair of Pajama Jeans. If you don’t watch late night TV, you may not have seen the commercials for these so-called jeans that supposedly fit and feel like pajamas.

Are Pajama Jeans ever okay?

At first I was offended. I don’t wear Crocs, see no reason for flip flops and I would never wear pajama jeans. Then I was intrigued. I did break down and by UGGs after all. And then I remembered a favorite motto – Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

The whole three minute incident prompted me to revive this essay which  first appeared on My It Things in 2007. Enjoy.

Does Fashion Matter?

At the risk of incurring Miranda Priestley’s infamous Cerulean speech from “The Devil Wears Prada” when she verbally shreds her assistant for referring to fashion as “stuff”, I need to ask the question: Does fashion matter?

Here’s the thing: I am an unfashionable size 12. I live in a middle class suburb. I work in a male-dominated industry in a blue-collar town west of Boston. My social life consists of family movie night every Friday (microwave popcorn and a Disney DVD), SwimTots at the community pool every Saturday morning, and dinner at my in-laws on Sundays. These are hardly the stats of a fashion insider.

I could easily live my life in two pair of khakis, a pair of jeans and a few sweaters from the Gap. Yet I soak up the features in fashion magazines. I like the articles that tell you how to go from office to evening–you know the ones that advise you to wear a suit to work and then change from the spectator pumps to strappy stilettos, from the Thomas Pink button-down to a sequined camisole, and from the Longchamp tote to an oversized satin clutch and voila, you’re ready to party.

I spend hundreds of dollars on fashion magazines every year. I have at least six fashion blogs bookmarked on my computer. I can tell a Prada from a Miu Miu, and spot a Tory Burch tunic a mile away. I lust after Manolo heels and Delman flats. I know that gray is the new black, Zac Posen is the new Marc Jacobs, and Agynes is the new Kate. My closet is packed with an eclectic mix of designer, vintage, leopard, and metallic. This season I covet cuffs and gladiator sandals.

For the office, I mix high-end, classic items from Armani and Escada with basics and trendy pieces from Banana Republic and Club Monaco. I carry my laptop in a Prada bowling bag circa 2000.  My coworkers favor Chicos for the high-end and Walmart for the low-end.  At PTO meetings and at the playground, my neighbors sport Old Navy fleece or knock-off Burberry jackets with Merrel sneakers.

So why do I bother? I have a modest budget. I share one salary with a spouse, two kids, two dogs and a 1920s Colonial fixer upper. I could put my time and money to much better use.

Like many 40-something, middle class women, my life looks good on paper. And it is. I have a husband I not only love, but I actually like. I have two healthy children. I own a home. I have no reason, no right really, to complain.

But I’m so tired all the time. I go from home to work and back again with barely any time to think. What my husband, a stay at home Dad, offers in love and compassion, he lacks in housekeeping. Laundry is stacked on the dining room table. Toys cover the living room floor. Our bed hasn’t been made since we bought a new duvet cover in 1999. While my job pays well, it is just that, a job — not a career. And exercise, something I do no more than five times a month, feels like a burden. I am fueled by two pots of coffee and a modest dose of Prozac every day yet I still can’t get out of my rut.

Many of my friends, under the pressures of careers and kids and aging parents, feel the same way. As a result, some of them overeat. Some drink. Some spend compulsively. I have experimented with all of those things. But my best coping strategy? I style.

When my children and husband have finally gone to bed, when I have finished answering emails from earlier in the day, I escape to our spare room where I keep my wardrobe. I rule over my closet with the exacting attention to detail that Anna Wintour and Glenda Bailey bring to the pages of their glossy magazines every month.

My closet is the only part of my life that feels organized. Alone in the night, I open every shoe box and reorganize them. Pumps go in the middle of the closet, ballets slippers to the right. Boots are organized by color and heel style. On Friday nights, I take the handbags I’ve carried all week and place them back in their felt sleeper bags. Then I move on to my jewelry. I have a fantastic mix of vintage and costume. I hang the necklaces, pair the earrings, stack the bangles. My kitchen counter may be covered with a days’ worth of dirty dishes but my accessory drawers are pristine.

Every Sunday night, I lay out outfits and create new combinations for the week ahead. I experiment with looks by changing shoes or belts. I take inventory of what’s in my closet and make lists of the pieces I need. Then I go to EBay and Bluefly, neimanmarcus.com and The Budget Fashionista to shop for deals.

I know it sounds frivolous, selfish even. But for me, it is salvation. My wardrobe allows me to exert control in a life that feels like it is controlling me. It lets me dress for the life I want to live, instead of the life I’m living. It helps me envision a future when I will be able to pursue my dreams. And it allows me to appreciate how blessed I am, because I know that is the case.

So to answer the question, does fashion matter? To me, it matters a lot.

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Hello Ladies Picks the Best and Worst Oscar Moments

March 9, 2010
By Hello Ladies

Lying on my couch dressed in yoga pants, my husband’s long-john shirt, and UGGs, wearing drug store makeup and a ponytail, and honored for absolutely nothing, I decided to judge the celebrities who walked the red carpet on Oscar night. It’s good to be an American.

From a fashion perspective, I loved the metallics and the blush colors (especially on Demi Moore’s dress) but I had hoped to see more color. And if I had paid a stylist to dress me in silver or gold, I would have been furious when Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, Amanda Seyfried, and Cameron Diaz all showed up with the same idea. I loved the color of some gowns but felt they missed the mark on cut (Vera Farmiga, Penelope Cruz, Zoe Saldana, Maggie Gyllenhaal). Finally, I loved how the regular-sized and plus-sized actresses lent perspective on the red carpet. When Mo’nique stood next to her fellow Best Supporting Actress nominees during a pre-show interview, some of her peers looked absurd with their protruding bones and hollow cheeks. Eat something ladies.

Anyway, here are the Hello Ladies picks for Best and Worst Oscar Moments at the 82nd annual Academy Awards.

Best:

1. Sigourney Weaver looking statuesque in a red gown with perfect accessories.
2. Sandra Bullock dressed like a winner in a gown that looked like liquid gold.
3. Queen Latifah dressed to perfection in a lavender gown with jeweled trim.
4. Sara Jessica Parker in a stunning Chanel couture gown – just amazing.
5. Kathryn Bigelow as the first woman to ever win, and only the fourth woman ever nominated for, Best Director.
6. Tom Ford in Tom Ford.
7. Woody Harrelson in Burberry hemp. Love the eco-friendly design.

Worst:

1. An E! reporter telling Sandra Bullock, “Starving was worth it” referring to how good she looked.
2. Joan Rivers on the E! Fashion Police show saying Queen Latifah looked good for a larger woman. She looked good period.
3. Charlize Theron’s breasts covered in bizarre rosettes. The color and cut of her dress were gorgeous. And her face- beautiful! But those breasts.
4. The facial hair on several male actors. Can you imagine an unshaven woman walking the red carpet?
5. Scantily clad Vegas style show girls ruining a Neil Patrick Harris performance.
6. The “trophy escort” whose only job was to look young and pretty and carry the statues on stage. Seriously, what year is this?

Fashion Week

February 18, 2010
By Hello Ladies

It’s Fashion Week in New York and it’s school vacation week here in Boston. But for the ladies it’s been work, work, work. So while we pay the bills, here is a little fashion fun for the rest of you.

The Peabody Essex Museum recently hosted an exhibit titled “Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel” featuring  more than 80 ensembles from the personal collections of style icon Iris Apfel. Apfel is an interior designer who once worked at Women’s Wear Daily. She is best known for her eclectic style and uncanny ability to mix “junque” store finds with haute couture.

Although the exhibit has moved on, the museum still features a fun, interactive web page where you can style an Iris paper doll. Check it out here. Forget the over-hyped, over-marketed looks under the tents this week. Get creative and experiment with your style on these paper dolls. But be careful, we are now obsessed with finding the perfect turquoise statement necklace (or six).

Enjoy!

If the Shoe Fits

January 6, 2010
By Hello Ladies

In a January 2 interview on NPR, the fabulous Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York, talked about woman’s fashion during the last decade. His take: the last ten years was a masochistic period for fashion. His examples, “shoes became ridiculously high and very painful to wear” and women thinking “legs never long enough, boobs never big enough, faces never Botox enough.”

What do you think? Are you wearing higher heels? Or are you still trying to rock the Croc?*

When you look at these shoes do you think fashion forward or iron maiden?

 What about these boots? Dominatrix or dominated?

Ironic isn’t it, or maybe just plain hypocritical, that Barney’s sells all of these shoes. They also sell 17 so called beauty treatments that contain hyaluronic acid. From Wikipedia:

Hyaluronan (also called hyaluronic acid or hyaluronate) is an anionic, non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan distributed widely throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues. … One of the chief components of the extracellular matrix, hyaluronan contributes significantly to cell proliferation and migration, and may also be involved in the progression of some malignant tumors. T… Hyaluronic acid is also a component of the group A streptococcal extracellular capsule,[3] and is believed to play a role in virulence.[4][5]

Does that sound like skin care to you or skin hate?

Now I’m not trying to trash Barneys. I love Barneys. And God knows, I am a fool to take on Doonan. After all, after one blogger criticized his work, Doonan responded in the New York Observer saying, “… I see now that there are two kinds of people in the world: In the first group, we have those who “do,” and in the second group, we have those who sit at their computers on their ever-widening asses blogging, platforming and commenting on the not-always-perfect efforts of the first group.”

But I am just so tired of fashion insiders lamenting the state of the industry. If they don’t like the anorexic models, the unattainable standards and the ridiculous products, they are in a better position to change things than their customers are. Yes we can vote with our (designer) wallets but if the stores don’t gives us a reasonable selection. What are we supposed to wear?

*Oh and btw, ladies, you can never rock the Croc. Never

Shopping: Recession Style

November 25, 2009
By Hello Ladies

shopLike most born salespeople, I enjoy the hunt — even when it comes to shopping. I find the pursuit of the perfect black pump or patent tote bag immensely more satisfying than the actual purchase. This trait has served me well during a recession. Money is scarce, but I still need to dress for success. Luckily, I’ve been able to use my prospecting skills at thrift stores, consignment shops and on Ebay.

And I’ve “closed” some incredible deals. I bought a Sonia Rykiel coat for $8, brand new Prada boots for $44, an Escada sweater for $4 and a vintage Douglas Stannard necklace for $29. Thrifty shopping requires a mix of luck and skill. As far as the luck, you’re on your own. But I can help with the skill. Here are my top ten tips for thrifting.

 1) Shop frequently: Merchandise moves fast in thrift stores. Shops usually bring in new stock weekly. Find out when the new inventory arrives and try to visit the same day.

2) Be willing to leave empty handed: If you don’t find something you need or love, don’t buy. Remember, an acrylic sweater with appliqué flowers is always hideous — no matter how inexpensive it is.

3) If it’s under $3, don’t hesitate: That being said, if you are on the fence about whether or not you “need” an item, ask yourself two questions: Can I think of a place to wear this? Is it $3 or less? If the answer to both questions is yes, than buy it. I still remember the $1 metallic Patricia Field bag I didn’t buy. I went back for it two days later, but it was gone.

4) Invest the time: You don’t need to spend a lot of money when you thrift, but you do need to spend some time. Thrift stores don’t employ merchandisers. There are no well-lit displays that show you what top goes with what pants. Often times these stores are very large and the racks are packed tighter than my closet. To find a treasure, you need to dig through the junk.

5) Shop for what you need and what you love: Only shop for items you need or love. On my Blackberry I keep a list of what purchases I need to complete my wardrobe or a specific outfit. The only things I buy that are not on that list, are items I absolutely, positively love, like the red Stuart Weitzman pumps I found last week for $70.

6) Know what clothes cost: It’s helpful to know the going rate for items before you shop – especially when bidding on Ebay. If you’re competitive, like me, it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to “win” against anonymous bidding opponents. Don’t pay $300 for an item that retails at $199.

 7) Find a good dry cleaner, tailor and cobbler: A good tailor and cobbler can make gently worn items look new again merely by replacing a zipper or re-soling a shoe. And never hang previously worn clothes in your closet without dry cleaning them first.

8) Don’t skimp on quality: Thrift doesn’t mean cheap. It means inexpensive. Always keep the same standards whether you’re shopping at Salvation Army or Neiman Marcus. Look for quality fabric and construction and check for a good fit.

9) Cultivate an individual style: Many people think thrift is synonymous with bohemian and eccentric. That doesn’t have to be the case. Sure you can find retro styles in vintage shops, but you can find classic items as well. You don’t have to sacrifice your style in order to save money.

10) Learn to accept a compliment graciously: When someone says, “I love your outfit,” try to say “thank you” and nothing else. For me, this is the hardest part of thrifting. I can never resist responding, “Thanks. It was only $5 at Goodwill.”

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