men's corner: jeans the right way...

there is much talk about women & the way they wear jeans...and the lovely name for that is "mom jeans" basically...you don't want to be associated with wearing the mom jean...but what about you lovely men? is there a male version of the "mom" jean?

take a look at this pic...what do you see? whitewashed high waisted jeans...flattering all the wrong parts of your body...poor mr obama was photographed wearing such jeans...the media had a field day with it...but the truth is...as i make my way around town...this look is almost always out and about...it is quite the norm...so as much as i "love a man in jeans"...this isn't the look i have pictured in my head...



oh...and while we are at it...how about adding some "sneakers with style"

now let's look at the pic below...medium-rise raw denim jeans sit at the most flattering place (on your hips), follow your legs (instead of saddlebagging out from your waist), and form-fit to you as you break them in...add some lace-ups or classic sneaks...and voila...perfection...

what will your mark be?

as our quest continues for finding our personal style...i ask you...what do you feel good in?

you will ask more of your clothes than you would in a spouse...you will demand that they make you feel pretty, and witty...and why? because you can!

you may wear a perfectly cut suit like a coat of armor - to conquer, to defend...at times, your clothes will announce you...at other times, disguise you...

your daily uniform? the things you reach for...time after time...one really great thing about clothes? they will never complain that you're simply too demanding or hard to live with...but you need to know what makes you feel secure...even if that changes depending on whether you're at home, or at work, or at your best friend's wedding...sometimes, security is knowing that you look drop-dead fabulous...

cut, color, and pattern are what you must consider...you start this by "facing the facts" as to your body type...that is...really focus on your size, your proportions...it really does make a difference in diciphering if a style is right for you...or not...



style is not about clothes alone...if it were, a white shirt, a pair of sunglasses, and a glen-plaid jacket would always look the same no matter who was wearing them...

style is about making something your own...coco chanel knew this...maids' uniforms, costume jewelry, men's yachting clothes - all were reinterpreted by her to suit her taste and sense of fashion...

style looks effortless...it removes any possibility that the wearer should ever dress any other way...did anyone ever wonder what katharine hepburn would look like in flashy clothing?

syle is confident...it can be brash and loud, or soft and demure...years ago...madonna, for example, was known for constantly reinventing herself; she tried on every possible look...others, like lauren hutton or jodie foster, have perfected a more low-key approach...

what will your mark be?

what do you like to wear?

yesterday i touched upon "what is your personal style"? many responses came in via twitter & email...many not sure what their style is...

here are some responses from twitter...

@CRAVEsf - Maybe some need help defining it... Good advice, nonetheless
@TheLipstickList - Great questions to ask!
@chriswolfgang - Someone told me mine was Ralph Lauren equestrian :D>
@IslandSirens - My personal style is anything inspired by the clothes I wear. So I guess I dont really have a personal style

so today...lets dive deeper in this topic of personal style...so...more questions to think about while defining "your" style...

what do you like to wear?

people are very versatile...we can be infinitely suggestible, incurably provocative, or comfortably predictable...the first hint of spring may be all the encouragement we need to reach for a pretty dress...but faced with a tough day at the office...we know enough to pull out the power suit that strikes just the right authoritative note...

our lives are not simple...they require us to be different people at different times...

so...who are you? are you shy? flamboyant? a seductress? what do you need to meet the demands your life makes upon you? kids, cocktail parties, board meetings, zucchini-growing competitions...

how are you going to handle your age? by adapting styles with pride and sophistication to who you are now, or clinging to a past vision of yourself by dressing twenty years too young?

finally...what style works for you? do you prefer the tailored lines of a more classic look? the flowing looseness of romantic clothes? are you dressing to get attention, or to deflect it? do you like the risk of fitted, sexy clothes, or are you more comfortable with an understated, no-nonsense approach? are you funky, athletic, minimalist, extravagant?

the question is...who are you...today?

stay tuned...more tomorrow...

what is your personal style?

for some of us, a closet is a very small space packed with strange outits we can't quite find...the clothes we finally do locate don't seem to really work once we've got them on...

the key is in defining our own personal style...

it will then teach us how to shop in our closets and create a wardrobe that meets our many needs...who are we? how do we live? what clothes really fit our bodies, our lives, our style?

it will help us answer these questions, as well as showing us the secrets to mixing the varied wardrobe items that we have...

it will help us to clear out the bad and recognize the classics that never seem to age...

it will teach us how to interpret a price tag and decide what clothes are worth investing in...and show us ways to dress for comfort, work, play, and evening...

most of all...it will teach us how to build a wardrobe that will last - with care, culling, and the occasional addition...for years...

if this task seems daunting...ask a friend to help...a friend that will be honest...or have a closet audit performed...the money spent on those few hours can reap incredible rewards...

"know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly" ~ epictetus

of a certain age...

about a week ago i attended a weekend long conference for aici (association of image consultants)...i knew going into it that i would walk away with some great new ideas...and a refresher...which is always good...added to that...i met some pretty incredible women (and men) that, obviously...being in the same business...brought about some wonderful conversations, tips, ideas...etc...

and then...there are the new friendships and relationships that are formed...one of which was karen...my first interaction with karen was me walking out of the conference room...hearing someone behind me saying "leopard coat...leopard coat" to which i turned around...and karen says "i NEED to take a picture with you...i love your outfit"

who wouldn't love an introduction like that? so here we are...in our first pic together...of course...i was lusting after karen's outfit as well...her top she got in paris...love! don't you love how she put her outfit together? so chic!



over the weekend...karen & i spent a lot of time chatting it up...come to find out...she has got an excellent blog...of a certain age...and she is a fabulous writer...i highly recommend hopping over to her blog...with humor and relevance...she brings the reader in...

as karen & i spoke further...we came up with several similarities...in that "what a small world" kind of way...she is two years younger than me...we went to the same high school...and we know alot of the same people...crazy...no?

karen wrote a nice post about me...lovingly called it "a fabulous new kid on the blog"...thank you karen!

throughout the weekend - the more we talked...the more we realized how alike we were...that i basically started saying that she was my sister from another mother...and by the end of the weekend...well...we were fast friends...

patterns patterns patterns...

patterns can speak volumes...they can be bold or demure, sublime or ridiculous...

they can even convey different interpretation of the law...

narrow stipes? banker...
broader pinstripes? gangster...
broad stripes? convict...

they can camouflage (the soldier's fatigues) or announce (the tourist's hawaiian shirt)...there are "no-pattern" patterns, like the subtle striping on a shirt or the small arrows of a herringbone tweed, which add texture to a garment...bold patterns, often found on bathing suits, can diminish or accentuate lines of the body...larger patterns will tend to make you look larger; smaller ones do the opposite...vertical lines elongate; horizontal bars widen and shorten...

they can be used to distract - a patterned scarf around the neck draws the eye to the face...

but they can also call attention to flaws we might rather hide...so use patterns as you use color: as an accessory...your mistakes will be less expensive...and your triumphs? fabulous...of course...

"some people were born to push the envelope of fashion and some to lick it..." ~ duff, mtv vj

pattern types:

floral - subtle in a scarf, or wildly feminine when done up big on spring and summer dresses...

animal prints - they're wild by their nature...but we've seen so many stylish people wearing them (particularly leopard) over the decades - that they have become classics...



plaid - because distinct plaids were associated with various scottish clans, wearing them became a dangerous political statement and was once prohibited by british law...now they deorate everything from umbrellas to dog collars...



stripes - horizontal, they seem nautical...vertical, they are more businesslike...while they can look fresh or refined...be careful not to cover yourself in them...stripes are tiring to the eye...



polka dots - comical when large, demure when tiny...they are best used sparingly - on silk scarves for example...as they can attract a lot of attention...

fashion funnies: what's that smell?

happy saturday! fashion funnies day! i laughed when i saw this comic strip...as i have had several conversations with different fashion bloggers this week about keeping or getting rid of all the fashion magazines that accumulate...

do you keep or toss?



if you have something to submit to fashion funnies...please do so via email to me...credit will be given to you & your blog/website...for those that have sent in comic strips...thank you!