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By kilax, October 30, 2008 9:22 pm

I saw this dress in an add for White House | Black Market and thought, “Ooo, I want that dress.”

Then, after thinking about it, for you know, a split second, I thought, “I don’t need a dress like that! What is wrong with me?!”

Nothing’s wrong with me. I just want a pretty dress, and a pretty occasion, and an excuse to look pretty and act pretty. Apparently, the print ad worked on me. Sometimes, you just want to dress up.

I’m almost done reading Valerie Frankel’s Thin is the New Happpy. I really liked the blurb of it that was in Self, and hey, what’s one more inspirational weight-loss book? Woo-hoo!

I don’t like it as much as I thought I would, but it’s not bad. Surprisingly (to me), my favorite chapter is the one in which Frankel describes when Stacy London, of What Not to Wear fame, comes over to her home and goes through her closet (this surprises me because it made me like London – I’ve always been weary of her after seeing the show).

Frankel is resistant about getting rid of her old, non-fitting, sloppy clothes. She thinks caring about fashion is superficial.

London goes on to tell her that caring about fashion for the sake of having the newest “in” item is superficial, but there is a difference between caring about fashion and having personal style. Having personal style can make you feel empowered, confident, and secure. It can make you respect yourself. It can express who you are on the outside.

Yeah, I am not explaining it very well, but it really clicked with me. I get what she is saying, because I do feel better about myself when I dress nicer. Even if it means wearing a nice top instead of a t-shirt with jeans. Or wearing some nice shoes on the weekend. Or pants that fit to work.

But I have to be careful. Because I am only now beginning to be excited about fashion, and don’t have a base of essentials to build on. I have to be careful not to buy things, like the dress above, just because it catches my eye.

I need to work on developing my own personal style first. I think I’m getting there. Slowly.

Comments (13)

By kilax, October 25, 2008 8:17 am

I was at New York & Company on Wednesday, and I really, really, really wanted to buy this sweater (below). But I resisted, because I bought a bunch of sweaters last Saturday at Kohl’s.

New York & Company “City Style Wide Turtleneck”

I love the “wide turtleneck” neckline on this sweater though.

For some reason, I’m attracted to unique necklines – like this one above, or the square neck below (which I did end up buying in two colors. It was only $8.50 after the discount and my coupon. $8.50!!! Each!!!)

New York & Company “City Style Square Neck Sweater”

I also really like the “cowl neck,” which I didn’t realize was a style until I saw in on the New York & Company website when I was looking up the “Wide Turtleneck” Top.

New York & Company “City Style Cowl Neck Top”

I have this (below) “cowl neck” top at home in a few different colors. When I find a clothing item like, I tend to buy it in 2 or 3 colors. Does anyone else do that?

A cheapo top from Sears I have in FOUR colors! (this green, plum, black and pumpkin orange)

I also really like turtlenecks (they keep my neck so warm!) and V-necks because they “draw attention to your waistline and elongates the neck.”

I think unique necklines dress up otherwise ordinary tops, making them a little more… feminine. I tried finding a list online of different necklines to try, and this is the best I found.

Do you stick to one neckline, or do you try a few different things?

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By kilax, October 17, 2008 8:36 am

Does your profession have a clothing stereotype?

Mine does – lots of gray, black and muted colors. I think I wore the gray/black combo three times this week! To the left is one of my typical “uniforms.”

I have a confession – Steven helps me pick out most of my outfits when I have meetings with clients, interviews, etc. The other day, he advised I take this top, because it is “designer-y.” He told me I looked “architect-y” when I wore the outfit on the left yesterday.

I told Steven he should be on that show, What Not to Wear. As a host, not as a “walking fashion disaster” (that’s what their website says!).

Comments (23)

By kilax, October 7, 2008 1:24 pm

It’s taken me an embarrassingly long time to learn how to apply makeup. And I’ve had a lot of help in the process – from my sister, my sister-in-law, a coworker, the women at Ulta and Clinique… After many years, I feel like I am finally coming close to liking what I am seeing.

I thought I should share some of the tips I’ve learned – most of which seem to be related to eye makeup. Maybe this knowledge is natural to some women – but it sure wasn’t to me! (I apologize for the long post, and the fact that it has a more specific audience.)

Brand Loyalty Isn’t Always a Good Thing!

I think the first mistake I made was that I was trying to stay loyal to a drugstore brand – Maybelline. Seriously, I had been buying their products since 2000. When I wanted to try a new color, I would stick to Maybelline, and often be disappointed. This resulted in tubes of unused lipstick and stacks of barely-touched eyeshadow (Do people ever return those things? I feel guilty, since I used it ONCE).

Now I’ve realized that just because I love ONE Maybelline product (their liquid eyeliner) doesn’t mean I need to stick with them for EVERYTHING. I’m branching out.

The Brows Frame Your Face

I’m not sure if I was looking for an eyebrow pencil and gel when I went into Ulta a few months before our wedding, but I ended up with Sue Devitt’s “Sudan” pencil and gel (I’ve since moved on to Maybelline gel – it works the same for half the price) in my shopping bag when I left.

Wow, penciling in my eyebrows really helped me look more polished. Of course, it’s taken me quite awhile to learn how to use the right amount of pencil. At first, I was using the side of the pencil, drawing long, flat strokes. Ugh… no! No wonder that pencil lasted a whole year!

I recently read in Allure’s Confessions of a Beauty Editor (you know I was thinking of  you, Diane, when I checked it out at the library) that the pencil should be sharp, and the strokes more “hair-like.” Yeah. Duh. That’s helped. A LOT.

Add a beautiful Mario Tricoci eyebrow wax (because they don’t do threading) and some gel and voila – muchos polished.

Use an Artist’s Tools for Your Canvas

I took my mother to Ulta the day before the wedding for a makeover, and to surprise her by buying some of the products. (My mother RARELY wears makeup. I’m not even sure if she brought any with her! Maybe some lipstick.)

The makeup artist used an assortment of brushes to apply her eyeshadow. Larger, softer brushes for the entire eyelid and up to the brow, and angular, flatter brushes for close to the eyelid. I was hooked. These brushes can be expensive, but I feel like I have so much more control with them – compared to the ones that come with the shadows. Of course, I am still learning how to blend colors and create different effects.

Get a Professional’s Advice

A month ago, I dug out all those old eyeshadows to look for something “new” to try. I tend to wear the same shadow everyday, but vary it by season. And it was time for a “Fall” look.

I saw nothing I liked at home. I finally dumped all that old crap into the garbage and made my way to the Clinique counter. I told the stylist the look I was going for, and she recommended the Strawberry Fudge Duo.

I’m liking it so much, I am considering trying another duo for a different, more dramatic, evening look. I am applying the shadow the same way – with the brushes – bit first using a bit of foundation on my eyelids to give the powder something to stick to all day. They had a product for this purpose at Clinique, but foundation works well for it.

Clump Free Is the Way To Be

I think I’ve tried every Maybelline mascara. Thick, Volume, Extending, Rubber Applicator – they all clumped and made my lashes look like nasty spider legs!

I decided to go out on a limb and try the CoverGirl Last Blast.

THAT was an extreme help.

Then, a coworker recommended using a round mascara-wand-like brush to comb my lashes before and after applying mascara (then clean the brush).

Wow. This helps so much more. The wand separates the lashes and you can actually tell I have individual eyelashes! I am only embarrassed that they were clumpy for so long!

Fin

Well, these are all of my tips as of now. I am still working on figuring out lips and face! What tips do  you have to share?

Comments (18)

By kilax, September 22, 2008 5:34 am

Have you noticed the hot colors for fall (for women) seem to be plum and mustard?

Jacket and pea coat from New York & Company… one of my favorite places.

I am totally digging the plum. I have bought a few tops that I love in this color:

I am even embracing plum nail polish! Or trying to, anyway.

But the mustard? I am afraid to even try it on! I actually think it looks nice, on the model, but what if I try it on, fall in love with it, buy it, and only wear it this season? I doubt that color will last very long. I feel more assured by the plum.

Are you trying these colors this season?

Comments (11)

By kilax, September 21, 2008 8:11 am

I must say that I loved suze’s post “discovering my inner fashionista” – probably because I am thinking around the same lines right now. Please read it when you get the chance.

Suze writes about how she never thought fashion was accessible to herself, being a larger woman. She disregarded it and considered those concerned with fashion to be “vapid and shallow.”

But then she realized that there were fashionable pieces available to her. She started taking more time in her appearance, and realized that her size didn’t matter. Taking care of her image made her feel better, overall.

I can’t believe how close this is to what I am feeling. I ignored fashion, and wore the same slacks and button-down shirts for more than a year – just because I was overweight and didn’t feel like taking care of myself.

Once I started eating healthy and exercising, something just clicked in me, and I wanted to start dressing nicer, wearing my hair nicer, and being more coordinated in general. I find myself picking up fashion magazines, actually LOOKING at the ads and fashion spreads and magazines, and imaging how certain outfits would look on me.

And like suze, I thought all of this was ridiculous, vain and shallow. But now I realize how much better it makes me feel to be “put together.” I understand impressing other people isn’t the only reason to care about how you look – it’s really about feeling good being yourself. Yes, I want the my colleagues and clients to think I look decent, but putting more effort into myself… makes me a better version of myself. I am more confident and more cheerful.

Even as I write this, I feel a little uneasy. I think that’s because caring about fashion goes against everything I have programmed myself to believe, as a larger woman. But I am ready to fight that. Thanks for sharing it too, suze.

(Unfortunately, “caring about fashion/style” hasn’t been easy on my pocket book! I’ve even added a new “fashion” category here, so I can start sharing some of my favorite fashion items with you)