Posts Tagged ‘fashion’

If you want to look good every day, three must-have items are: the right shoes, the right bra, and the right jeans.  Since bras and jeans can make or break your shape, perfect fit is essential. If only bras & jeans were as easy to fit as shoes!  Considering how much much less needs to fit into a bra, than a pair of jeans, bra shopping is easy by comparison.    Despite this, bra experts say 85% of women are wearing the wrong bra.  Not sure how they determined this, but it made me wonder ow many women are wearing the wrong jeans.

Think about it–the area from the ankle to the waist is at least 60% of the body, yet we‘re expected to find something something off-the-rack that mimics the size and shape of a body unlike anyone else’s with sportscar-like ability for hugging curves.
A jeans-buying expedition isn’t just a shopping trip,it’s a quest for perfection, as we search for a pair that will make us look and feel amazing.

There are hundreds of brands and styles, yet we all have days when it seems none are crafted for a body like the one we see in the fitting-room mirror.  Even Levi’s, who should be the world’s foremost expert on jeans, recently came up with yet another line for those who can’t find good fit among their other 170 styles.

The good news is this season’s trends in jeans should make get the right fit easier, but the bad news is that this season’s jeans may not be very flattering.  According to the trend-spotters, high-waists and wide legs are back–didn’t we just finish eradicating “mom” jeans? Is it possible the designers responsible are trying to sabotage us by reinventing unattractive?  Or are they they just unnaturally attached to their “mommys”?

There are countless numbers of articles written on how to pick the right jeans, but in seasons with unfortunate fashions, the focus should be on NOT wearing the wrong jean.  At times like these, a good mirror, a ruthlessly honest girlfriend and a few tips are helpful.

No matter your height or shape, the length and leg of  your jeans is important.  On their way out, are the recently popular” skinny jeans”.  This trend was one an average figure would work, but they made the very thin look spindly and the more fuller figured appear to be in danger of toppling.  Now it seems we’re going to the opposite extreme, with wide legs that should be reserved for pianos & pachyderms.  Aren’t most of us trying to look as long and lean as possible?  Is there anyone out there who has enthusiasm for jeans that will make them look shorter and thicker?

If you want to wear the wider styles this season, opt for flared legs cut a little closer to the contour of the upper leg, like flares or bells.  To get the longest line, pair them with a delicately tapered or pointed shoe.

Now that jeans come in different rises, there is no reason to be wearing jeans that are too tight or too loose in the waist.  Whereas having a small waist is almost always a good thing, when it comes to jeans  a tiny waist with an ample derriere can be problematic.   Brands like Apple Bottoms and L.E.I. are cut for more curve, but if a small waist is an issue, go for mid-rise to show off the booty without having it spoiled by a poorly fitting waist band.  For those who have small waists with less curve, low-rise jeans can create an illusion of a curvier figure by accentuating the hip.

Pay attention to the cut as well as the material.  There are many lines which use Lycra or Spandex to help minimize figure flaws.  The days when “stretch” jeans were guaranteed to accentuate the wrong things or make ripples where you didn’t want them are long gone, the newer blends have just enough “give”, to cuddle your curves.

If you aren’t as cheeky as you wish you were, highly embellished pockets can work in your favor, by adding bulk while creating an illusion of more. Pockets placed lower can help downplay a butt that isn’t as high as it used to be. but unless you’re under thirty (or look like you are) over embellished or novelty pockets are best left in the left in the Juniors shop.

Trendy washes and finishes come and go.  Whiskered, color rinsed, grunge wash, sharkskin, metallics–there’s always some new novelty, but when the trend is gone, those dated jeans should be too. Enjoy what’s current, but keep in mind smoother darker finished denims in less a trouser cut can go anywhere.

Finally, be fickle.  Unless you have a brand of jeans that never fails, experiment.  Don’t be so locked into what you’re used to, that you miss out on something better, and don’t be a slave to brands or styles that don’t work on you.  Hot brands and high-priced designer tags do not guarantee of a better looking jean.  Most importantly, don’t let vanity cause you to buy jeans that aren’t the right size.  No matter what the tag says, if it doesn’t fit great, it’s not your size.

Your body is uniquely your own.  No matter what everyone else is wearing, choose what makes you look and feel your best!

One of the significant differences between the sexes, is the tendency of women to focus on smaller things men don’t see.   While men are making sense of the  big picture,  women are taking in the details.

For this reason, women often understand economics, better than men think we do. In fact, women are especially savvy in the realm of microeconomics.  If you have any knowledge of economics, you probably know the difference between micro- and macroeconomics. Macro includes big things like the GNP, unemployment, and trade, while microeconomics deals with the factors which affect the individual consumer.

Even if we don’t know what to call it, our highly developed shopping prowess, allows us to sense  economic trends.  Men may need to read the financial section of the daily news to learn how The Dow is trending, but women need only go to the stores to get a read on the economy.

Because women are often in charge of provisioning a household with things like Oreos and stylish clothing, we are quick to detect economic trends. The first indicators are usually commodities–things like coffee, sugar, breakfast cereal [aka grain], and gasoline. When the paycheck isn’t going as far, women don’t need the Wall Street Journal to tell them the economy is hinky.

It is easy to tell at the beginning of a retail season, what retailers are feeling.  When the economy is humming, retailers stock their shelves with eye-dazzling excess.  During downtrends, seasonal goods have largely run out, or are greatly marked down before the end of the season, resulting in spectacular mid-season bargains.

As inflation deflates our buying-power, it is clear our economy isn’t at it’s best.  Which means that once again the women’s magazines will be telling us how to stretch our grocery dollars, but there’s more to life than just food, and Nordstrom’s doesn’t have a double-coupon day.  So, as we tighten our very fashionable belts and cross manicured fingers waiting for an upturn, I’ve come up with new ways to save.

We could all save more if we’d just stop spending on unnecessary things–like those which are wasted on men.  For instance, think of what you could save on haircare costs, like color, cuts or styles.  Whether you get your hair cut for $120. at a posh salon, or for $12. at Supercuts, it is probable the man in your life won’t notice it’s different.

Think of how much money we’d have, if we stopped buying expensive, but-oh-so-worth-it shoes, in favor of lesser-priced shoes from PayLess or WalMart. After all, when was the last time a heterosexual male, who didn’t have a foot-fetish, went ga-ga or even noticed the pair that cost you a significant pay-chunk?

Cosmetics and perfumes cost a fortune.  Women would do well by foregoing the price of designer fragrances.  You will never miss them, once you realize the smells of pizza and beer are just effective, for attracting men.

There is also the matter of underwear & lingerie.  I’m not advocating for going without feel good/look good bras or  panties,  but the rest of the money spent on skimpy things is largely wasted.  When it comes to lingerie, men are like dogs–mostly colorblind.  They primarily see only red and black, though some may also respond to white.  Any color they can’t readily name, is apt to confuse them.  Details like real silk or French lace are also superfluous, as the only detail men appreciate in lingerie, is skin.  Everything else is superfluous.   The primary purpose of lingerie is to let him know we aren’t going to make him beg–unless, of course, he’s into that kind of thing.

Clearly we’d have more money in our designer handbags, if we’d stop spending money to make ourselves, yet more irresistible, but there’s a hitch.  While we may groom & dress with our man in mind, the truth is we dress for ourselves.  We spend money on all kinds of beautiful & spendy things, because they make us feel more desirable.  It isn’t money wasted.  When are more attractive, when we feel beautiful.

Earthquakes, nuclear disasters, wars, rising inflation, economic uncertainty AND just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse–they’re baa-a-a-a-ck.

Last weekend, as I was out & about, I was surprised to see them everywhere.  Dropping out of nowhere, they were in stores, at restaurants and even sporting events.  Just in time to ruin spring, comes the leg-shrouding long-dress.  In my own locale, winter has been too wet and too long to suit me.  Like most of the men I know, I have been anxiously waiting for shorts-weather.  The wonderful season of close shaves and suntan oil, but alas, it would seem legs are going back into hiding.

You may or may not be aware of  “The Skirt Length Theory”, in which there is a supposed correlation between hem lengths and economic trends. Recalling its premise, I’m trying to remember the economic conditions during the period in which I last wore a long dress to something other than a wedding. According to the theory, when times are good, women get into supply & demand economics, with an eagerness to show their goods.  Conversely, when the economy is shaky, apparently women hoard cloth by wearing skirts long enough to provide a make-shift shelter in the event of a worst-case scenario.  (A Yurt Skirt?)

Utilizing my understanding of economics and my observations of male/female relationships, I have extrapolated my own conclusion on “skirt theory”.  Keynes, Bernanke, Buffett and Friedman would certainly agree with me on this.  The more economic security a man presents, the more likely it is he will get more than a glimpse of ankle.

“The Skirt Length Theory” has mostly been debunked, probably because the affluence of the developed world has provided women more options for wearing whatever skirt length they preferred, but I suspect as the dreadful maxi-length dresses return, this theory will be given another 15 minutes of fame for re-examination.

The very bad news for those who have been watching  IRA’s & stock portfolios shrink, is the much-needed distraction of summer gam-glam will be in decline too.  As the graph lines on the Dow, The GNP and the probability of Congress solving our deficit woes go plummeting toward the earth, get your last glimpse of calf curves.

Hold on, it’s going to be a long summer.

In my grandmother’s lifetime, the cart was replaced with the car.  The coal-driven locomotive, was outmoded by airline transport and the television made the radio passé.  I think I’m starting to understand how she felt.

The skills of my first career became obsolete with the advent of the “personal computer” which was never very personal because it was driven by user-hostile batch files.

When I was growing up, music came on LPs, instead of CD’s.  Movies came from theaters and and if we were watching movies at home, they were probably home-movies.

The rotary-dial phone of my childhood has been replaced by the cell phone I toss in my handbag.  The room-sized mainframe computers are outperformed by the netbook, which also fits in my purse, and of course, the newest phones do everything but windows–those square glass things in the house, not the operating system.

I’ve adjusted to and enjoyed the changes, but the latest are starting to make me wonder if this is how Grammy felt.

Apparently, I am now in just like the mothers who still wore stretch pants when everyone else started wearing jeans. The latest trends have people wearing clothes so tight they alleviate any mystery.  Despite this, I’m still wearing clothes which outline more than define, my panties still cover my cheeky parts, and [gasp]  I still wear hosiery.

Women hate hose, men love skin, these two factors have caused pantyhose to become all but obsolete.  I say all but obsolete, because every single drugstore and department store still sells them.  Apparently, only I and the more well-turned out members of the AARP are still buying them.  I’ve perfected the art of being fashionably late, but on this it seems I’m just FASHION-LATE.

Back  in the day, “panty” hose eliminated the panty line and also eliminated the garter belt.  The “panty-line” is another thing that has mostly become obsolete, and though the garter belt is enduringly sexy, wearing one is an enduring nuisance–just ask a drag queen. Having worn hose with garters, long before I wore panty hose, the elimination of gartered hose–is enough to make me loyal to pantyhose, but there is also the cosmetic advantage.

I had a great childhood and my legs bear testimony to climbing trees, riding bikes and learning how to roller skate.  I like a little bit of very sheer mesh smoothing out the scars left by those fond memories, and though I am a huge devotee of full-footal nudity–hose make high heels feel better. .

So a recent cute-dress-impulse-buy, had me trying to decide whether or not I’d continue to be a grandma, or get with the times.   Decided I was stepping out with the skin in all it’s glory–shaved my legs extra carefully, and slathered on some lotion. The dress is hot, the heels are hot, and I am ready to do this, when the man in my life, enters the room and says, “Aren’t you going to wear hose?”  Apparently, he is as old school as I am.  I admit, I was relieved.

That evening, I spent a good amount of time scrutinizing the bare legs on display.  The most polished women are still wearing hose–most of them corporate-types or professionals like lawyers or doctors.  However, there are many women with very imperfect legs displaying them as proudly as beauty queens.  If they can do it, I can.  Maybe next time.

.

Picked up a magazine at the newsstand.  Magazines are perfect for those with a limited  time or attention, because they are full  of short bits.  There are always photo spreads, tips for how to do things better and the ever-popular quizzes.

In school, nobody got excited over quizzes, but put one in a magazine and readers enthusiastically reach for a pencil.

Magazines for women routinely have quizzes on how to determine one’s style.  This amuses me.  If you have a mirror, your style probably isn’t much of mystery.

Seriously gals, you know your style, you know what you wear, you know what you like.  You have ideas (which may or not be right) about what looks good on you.  You know what kinds of things you wouldn’t even wear for the one-time-only-last-day-on-the-planet apocalypse.

Yet, the irresistible draw of answering a few questions in return for a snappy label continues to intrigue.

Is your style sporty?  Is it more posh?  Maybe it’s just scary . . oops, sorry, I got distracted taking the “Which Spice Girl are you?” quiz.

Back to the subject . . how we see our self becomes the determining factor in how we dress our self.  We have labels in our head and an idea of the personality we wish to project.  Some people are able to stick to one style throughout their lives with only slight variations, but the divas update their style with each new season.  Ultimately, you will wear what makes you feel like you.

Woman can shop at the same store and still not look like they have anything in common.  One year my sister and I bought the same dress.  That is, they were the same until we put them on.  She teamed her simple white dress with canvas espadrilles.  I wore mine with black & white spectator pumps.
Same dress.  Different girls.

It all comes down to attitude.
Women will announce that they can’t wear capris, skirts, prints, stripes, or ___fill in your own___.

Not everything works on everyone.  Low-rise jeans aren’t as easy to pull off after a couple of children.  String bikinis are reserved for a very small number.  Lipstick colors like green, yellow and black are best left to those under 25, but there are many things women avoid, simply because they haven’t the moxie.  It’s a confidence thing.

Red lipstick, the color red in general, hats, and short skirts are just a few things which frighten the timid.

I bought a raspberry bra several years ago–not nearly as practical as white, beige or the perennially popular black.  Previous to the acquisition, I had been a devotee of a certain designer style bra.  On a whim I bought a bra that was unlike any other I’d ever worn.

That bra changed my life in some small way.  Someone asked me if it changed me because it made me feel like a fabulous sexy woman.  Nope, didn’t need a bra to do that. There was just something about it that made me feel good.  (If a kicky-fun bra was all that was needed to change our self-esteem, who would pay for therapy?  Then again an hour spent with a therapist costs roughly the same as an hour spent shopping at Victoria’s Secret, so it’s probably a wash.)

Like wearing a designer original, perhaps it was knowing that at any given time I was the only woman in the room wearing that bra.
Maybe it was wearing something that was as vibrant as I am.
Maybe it was the fuschia-red color, maybe it was the fit or maybe it was just knowing how often men forget that with women there is always way more than meets the eye.  (And it’s not the stuff under our clothes.)

All I know is this simple necessity empowered me in some way.

Live a little.
Wear Vixen Red lipstick.

Wear scarlet, crimson or cranberry.

Work a fedora.
Show a little leg.
Be a new you–even if only for a few hours.

Grab your “fab” and work a look–after all, why should the other women have all the fun?  Anything could happen!