what i love about this time of year...

...would be...mostly the gorgeous weather...but when it comes to fashion...this is the time that all the lovely thick september issues start arriving at my door...thank goodness my mailman likes me...because these babies are heavy! and he is getting an arm workout...

vogue 726+ pages
instyle 600+ pages
harper's bazaar 508+ pages
marie claire 296+ pages (wimpy wimpy wimpy is playing in my head)

still waiting on a few more...obviously...where's my elle??

point being...that my lovely mailman delivers these heavy thick mags (most of which won't fit in my mailbox) to my door...

and inside these beauties?? my favorite time of year for shopping...i am definately a summer girl for weather...and a fall girl for fashion...

and as so eloquently stated in "the september issue" - the documentary following vogue editor-in-chief anna wintour's preparation for the 2007 issue...
"september is the january of fashion"

and i'm lovin the fall fashions this year...

dressing up in a down economy...

i thought i would post an excerpt from my monthly newsletter last year...still applies... =)

let's face it - no one is interested in making unnecessary purchases in our current economy...the key word here is "unnecessary", because we all know that we will be making some fashion purchases...we just want to make smart purchases...

this is one of the reasons i enjoy holding trunk shows for the jana kos collection...it works well in this economy...women who have shopped the collection for years have told me the items they purchased from jana kos (previously "juliana collezione") years ago are still "go-to" items in their wardrobes...

(side note: summer show to be held may 5 - 17 in san francisco bay area)

a number of articles have been written recently about this very subject...one of my favorite magazines, MORE (a favorite of women over 40), recently noted:

"For women over 40, appearance is far from inconsequential. A 20-year old will look great and job-worthy wearing a paper bag; for us, it's not that simple. ....Push your boundaries a bit and buy something challenging and fabulous this year; switch quantity for quality - and wear what you buy to death."

whether you're concerned about being "job-worthy" or not...looking fabulous in your own personal style will do wonders for the spirit, yours and those around you...

Anna Wintour, editor of VOGUE for more than 20 years, was recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal. "What's going to work is something their customer doesn't have in her closet and that has a real intrinsic sense of value. ...I do feel an emphasis on quality and longevity and things that really last. I think what she buys is going to give her more pleasure because it's going to last longer, mean more."

And in HARPER'S BAZAAR: "...sleek and chic covetable pieces that strike a balance between simple and simply fabulous. People are thinking more about how they're spending their money, but that doesn't change their appreciation of quality, beauty, and pleasure."


you don't have to spend a fortune to look fabulous, but looking fabulous is valuable currency in your self-confidence bank, regardless of outer circumstances...