1950 is Back

One of the hottest fashion trends for Fall 2010 is the vintage look of 1950.
1950’s clothing, hairstyles and makeup are going to be hot and huge on the fashion scene this year.
The old saying “everything old is new again” is very true this upcoming season.
Louis Vuitton has even gone so far with this trend to name his Fall 2010 Ready Wear Collection: And God Created Woman


What is our obsession with the old 1950’s look? It was simple and elegant. Housewives began cleaning in skirts with heels and a strand of pearls. Ladies looked like ladies, all dolled up in fancy dresses and petticoats. Femininity for women was about to take over the world.

Christian Dior was emerging on the fashion scene and all the buzz about fashion was about to begin.  
Hollywood also had a major role to play in influencing the 1950’s clothing. Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly became the style icons for this period. These women and their fashions have never gone out of style over the years! Who doesn’t recall seeing the photo of Marilyn Monroe’s dress blowing?

Women wore breezy poodle skirts or pencil skirts, oxford shoes, pink pumps, cat eyeglasses and pill box hats. Clothes became more form fitting for women and sexy undergarments were beginning to be popular as well.

Black and White were the colors of the year in 1950.
Women were seen wearing black and white clothing as well as accessories. It didn’t matter what the season, time of day or night, black and white were “in”.
I especially love this color trend because everyone has at least one piece of black and white clothing in their existing wardrobe.

A large part of the 1950 Fashion scene was the very distinctive look of the makeup that was worn.
Be ready to see many scarlet red lips with matching fingernails, thick liquid eye lined eyes, blue and green eye shadows and rosy blushed cheeks. Are you going to be trying these makeup techniques this season? I know I am. I can’t wait to go lipstick shopping and grab up the perfect color of 50’s red.

Hairstyles will feature simple “off the face looks” with high ponytails and beehives. It wasn’t uncommon to see women with shorter tresses to wear scarves over their heads. We have so many scarf options today, I’m sure this fashion idea will be huge this year!

If you were fashionably forward in 1950, show us how it’s done.
If you weren’t lucky enough to try these clothing, make up and hair trends the first time around in 1950, now is the time to have some 1950’s fashion fun!!  

 

 

Handbags: Function or Fashion?

I'd eagerly have to say for me, BOTH. I've always been one who chose fashion over function. I've even been known to walk around toting one bag INSIDE the other, simply because I didn't have time to change purses.
In comes my new "purse methodology". I now change purses every Sunday evening. It allows me to make sure I'm constantly changing my purse look, and keeps my rotation of purses moving at the same time.
How do you store your purses? I have an entire top rack of my wrap around walk in closet, especially used for my purse storage. They are arranged by size and color, I know, very OCD of me.
I have my "special" purses stored in their original cloth purse bags, and my everyday purses are lined up like soldiers, all in a row. This system seems to be working out great for me and definitely keeps me organized!
What attracts you to a new purse?  Is it a color, size or particular fashion label? Is it the function of the purse and how easily all of your items will be accessible?
I choose them for color, I choose them for size, but functionality really has never been at the top of my list. I'll happily dive to the bottom of my purse to dig out a ringing cell phone if it doesnt have a sidepocket cell phone holder....thats fine with me.
 

Handbags are always huge on the fashion scene, but more so it seems at the start of a new season.
What's in this Fall? Deep rich tones, tribal prints, animal prints and vintage. You never can go wrong with a faux leopard print handbag and a pair of black killer stillettos, I say.
Metallics are also really popular this season.....a jewel toned bag is an excellent choice for your evening out on the town.
Oversized bags are really hot right now, as well as the good ole classic sized pieces.

For those of us who are regular "Janes", with walking bank accounts, who can spend $5000 per handbag, I'm showing a few of my Fall favorites below.
Again, with no real rhyme or reason, I just totally love how they look. Most of these bags can be worn everyday, and the more casual ones can be dressed up a bit simply by tying a multicolored scarf to the handles.

What are your top favorites for handbags this Fall Season?


These purses can easily be found at Forever 21 stores or at Charlotte Russe, and are super affordable!

 


Feeling Stalked? It’s Probably Just Your Clothes

At least, in the future, it’s possible that your clothes could stalk your or spy on you.

Scientists are currently working on some kind of “smart clothes” that will be able to not only see and hear, but also speak. It’s just what we all need—something to talk back when we talk to ourselves.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is using a process akin to the processing of saltwater taffy (believe it or not) to make these “intelligent fibers.”

Why on Earth do we need such clothing is what first comes to mind when I think about this. Every time I hear about some new strange development, I always question whether research dollars could be better spent on—oh, I don’t know, curing cancer or stopping global warming. After all, these causes have to have fundraisers every year and we still don’t have our answers and people are still dying; I think they’re much worthier candidates for study than South Park “Towelie” knockoffs. Nobody likes a talking towel—who’s going to want a talking shirt?

Researchers say the fibers are being developed for a variety of reasons. MIT scientist Yoel Fink says, “We want to see how sophisticated a fiber can become to see how many different functions we can put into it.”

Hidden microphones that can be used in loudspeakers is cited as one use of the fibers, but we all know better than that; hidden mics aren’t famously used for crowded arenas but for other hush-hush operations—like oral sex in the oval office, entrapment scenarios, catching cheating husbands, and other spicy human sagas. Of course, if these kinds of fibers were widespread, we wouldn’t feel safe uttering anything to anyone. Google Earth wouldn’t have anything on this invasive technology.

The U.S. Army, in fact, is already testing the fibers. The medical market is expected to put them to use as well—to take difficult ultrasound images and to record blood flow data, say experts.

Call me crazy, but I’m suddenly envisioning a world of Terminator-like shirts searching the world for John Conner. And shouldn’t we work on sophisticating humankind itself before we apply the technology to our clothes?

The fibers have already been produced at least once. “Civilian applications” are expected to develop within the next ten years, so not only will you be able to spill your entire life on your social network or blog, but also to anyone who has a t-shirt with recording capabilities. What ever happened to good old fashioned privacy?

Are Duct Tape Dresses Tacky or Not?

Duckie from “Pretty in Pink” would have been proud; recently, a young, inventive couple from Arizona won a design competition by creating  a tux and a prom dress completely out of duct tape. Of the 240 entrants from across North America, Ray Banna and Yancy Esquivel received the highest number of Facebook votes for their entry in the DUCK tape brand competition.

After looking through a few of the other entries, I can see why these contestants won- their garb actually looks prom-worthy, which is NOT the case for a majority of the other entries I saw. Maybe it’s just because I’m conservative, maybe it’s just because I have an aversion to paint splatters on my dresses or wings that don’t help you fly anywhere, but Ray Banna’s tux and Yancy Esquivel’s dress definitely took the cake in my opinion. While their clothes would definitely stand out at any formal gathering, the attention they would receive wouldn’t be negative at all.

For the pair's work, which took several hours, each of them received a $3,000.00 scholarship and their school received a $3,000.00 prize as well from the DUCK tape company. Not bad for a little handy-work with scissors and a LOT of creativity. To re-cap, that’s $9,000 for an outfit made with materials that probably cost about $27.99 in a craft store- well done and congratulations.

This couple to the left's fashion left a little to be desired in my opinion. While the boa in hair was unquestionably striking, the retro 80's look didn't quite work out as well as the couple had probably intended. Her dress is better than his tux, but not truthfully by all that much. Better luck next time. I hope they are juniors, so they can try again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I don't think this couple's outfits  are nearly as tacky as the previous outfit and could have won had their Facebook campaign been just a little bit stronger.

Is There Enough Plus-Sized Clothing Available?

This past year has been a sort of coming out for plus-sized models if you consider the likes of a Crystal Renn who appears in both fashion magazines and on the catwalk or Lizzy Miller who appeared nude in Glamour and actually dared to show her belly flesh to the world. Despite the increase in publicity and popularity of plus-sized models, there still doesn’t seem to be a significant increase in the amount of plus-sized clothing available to women in proportion to women and their sizes.

A recent NYT article speculated that part of the problem may stem from the difficulties in modifying an existing clothing line to fit larger sizes because the proportions of the bodies change as well. Additionally, there is a greater range of variation between women with larger figures than those who wear a size two for example; some may be more pear-shaped while others might have a more ample bosom. Also interesting is the fact that stretchy fabrics are more difficult to cut and sew than their non-stretchy counterparts.

The retail giant Lane Bryant started out selling maternity clothes and then began looking for ways to serve women with “stouter figures”- after looking through thousands of insurance records with measurements of women in the early 20’s, Lane Bryant was able to determine that there were three types of “stout women”: “all-over stout,” “flat-busted stout” and “full-busted stout.”

Earlier this year, ABC received complaints when Lane Bryant aired a commercial starring a plus-sized woman in a lingerie advertisement during ABC’s family hour. The complaint was based primarily on the fact that the Lane Bryant model’s breasts were larger.


Currently, other retailers and clothing lines are marketing to plus-sizes as well. Surprisingly, the statistics seem to indicate that more clothing is sold in the larger sizes of the plus-sized industry at the moment. The reason for this may be that someone who has just become a sized 14 may still believe they will lose the weight and return to their former size of an eight or a ten. The plus-sized brand “Torrid” and the plus-sized arm of “Forever 21” are also heavily targeting the plus-sized market.

As many stores do, Neimann Marcus sells plus-sized clothing; the problem with their advertising and marketing lies in the fact that they use their standard models (who must be sized 2-6) as opposed to using any plus-sized models.

Flying Pasties, Don't Leave Home Without 'em

Whether we like them or not, airport scanners aren't going away anytime soon, at least not until we get rid of this pesky problem with terrorism and whatnot. Despite criticism that they are an invasion of privacy, body scanners for now are a necessary evil. But now you can protect yourself and your loved ones from the humiliation of having your bits and pieces exposed to the ogling eyes of airport security employees with a clever product called Flying Pasties.

Flying Pasties are basically stickers that you insert underneath your clothes to cover up your more private parts. According to their website:

"Flying Pasties are NOT your typical 'Pasty' or 'sticker', they are 2mm thick 100% rubber and can obscure your private areas when you pass through airport scanners. No adhesive necessary as they simply slip into your clothing!"

There you go folks! Now you can go through the airposrt scanners without feeling any shame.


How to Look Elegant on Your Wedding Day

It´s all very well being seen in the latest trends in your general style wardrobe, but following fashion´s ups and downs isn´t always the best idea for your wedding.  What´s hot now might make you cringe in twenty years time!  For the day you’ll memorialize in photographs and tell stories about to your children, you want a look that is timeless.  Here are a few tips on achieving that elegant look for your wedding day.

-          The Dress:  It doesn’t have to have a frumpy-high collar number, frothing with lace with sleeves that practically reach your fingertips, but an elegant dress is one that won’t be mistaken for simply a cocktail dress in white.  Dresses which are often remembered as elegant are ones not weighed down with beads and ten-foot trains, but simple gowns, well fitted to the bride’s personal shape and that do a service to her natural beauty.

-          Hairstyle:  I distinctly remember, in the days leading up to prom, my date’s question:  “Why do girls who look fine every day make their hair look like ice sculptures for the prom?”  Same thought, of course, applies to weddings.  Namely:  your hair style should not be an extravaganza unto itself.  As with the dress, simple is best:  clean up-dos or sleek, straightened hair worn down with possibly a few small flowers or diamante barrettes for decoration will look classic regardless of decade.

-          Make-up:   Go light on your wedding day make-up.  Make-up, falling in line behind dress and hairstyle and other aspects of your appearance, makes a big difference when it comes to the final impression you leave.  When aiming for elegance, you want to access your own self-assured attractiveness, and it’s difficult to look self-assured when you’re focused on holding your eyelids far enough apart that the industrial-strength fake lashes don’t get tangled together.  Choose colors which tie in well with the season and hour-of-day of your wedding.

-          Shoes:  This is the one area where I would recommend biting the bullet on discomfort, to a degree.  I’ve known a few instances where ballet flats or kitten-heels went with a bride’s look nicely, but, in the majority of looks, a classic white high-heel is the way to go.  Elongating the leg, improving your posture and, yes, giving you that extra boost of height:  all factors which photograph beautifully.

-          Jewelry:  Take an artist’s look at yourself in the mirror once you’ve put on your dress, practiced your hairstyle and stepped into your shoes.  If any places stand out as blank, fill the canvas as sparingly as possible.

And, as a bonus touch, have your photographer snap some black and white shots; it’ll make everything look all the more elegant.

Nude Celebrities at the BAFTAs

If you were anxiously watching the BAFTA's this year, hoping for some awe-inspiring fashion sneak peeks, chances are you were disappointed. Instead, all you saw were nude celebrities at the BAFTA'S – and not even the interesting kind of nude. Many of the stars necks, ears and wrists were noticeably naked, and they were just playing it safe with simple fashions, a move that's become increasingly frustrating for fashion aficionados. In fact, without the likes of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga fashion columns would be pretty demure.

 

 

Many celebrities at the BAFTAs this year went with basic black, white, or nude floor length sheaths. Cleavage and skin were minimal, with most stars opting for classy 50's style frocks. A few, like Helena Bonham Carter, broke the mold, but most celebs opted for safe, appealing styles. Some have speculated that the reason for the lack of luxury jewelry was due to the continuing financial hardship that most of the public are struggling with, and that playing down the status symbols of their wealth was an unspoken gesture of taste and respect.

 

 

While the occasional red frock was spotted, this was the exception, not the rule. The color of the moment is nude, and those who chose another shade of the rainbow managed to make quite a statement. Unfortunately, some of these statements were a little too bold, leading the press to totally bash the celebs who dared to step outside the lines.

 

 

After the awards, gossip columnists and bloggers alike were all wondering the same thing- was the trend of nude celebrities at the BAFTA's one that will continue? After all, one can only get so basic, before fashion simply becomes, well, boring. We'll stay tuned for next year's awards in the hopes that a few more celebrities decide to shake things up a bit and add a splash of color and plenty more bling!

 

Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Guide For A Gentleman?

The Associated Press report titled, "A Short Guide for the Modern Gentleman" -- I saw this video and had to comment on the topic.

What makes a gentleman in the 21st century? A clean set of clothing, a good body deodorant, and the good manners not to break wind in public. Breaking wind and sitting on the throne are things a gentleman does in private. Also, a gentleman should either have a job or a pension that supports his expenses. A gentleman is not a moocher. He lives within his means by making use of his own resources. If a gentleman choose to make a wager, he wagers no more than pocket change, and never more than he can afford to lose. A gentleman is not a welcher. A gentleman has at least one friend, because friendship is healthy. This could be a lady friend, or a gentleman friend, or it could be a well trained and friendly dog.

That's enough advice.

Salon Debacle #379

I don’t know a single woman who hasn’t had a hair debacle. I had my 379th hair trauma last week in preparation for a wedding that I’m not even going to go to.

I was at the mall shopping for a dress- beach casual, whatever that is, and feeling incredibly frustrated because where I live, there aren’t many weddings requiring beach casual attire and none of the sales clerks knew what I was talking about. I tried on dress after dress (none of which looked good except for a dress made for evening wear- decidedly not beach casual) and even phoned a friend from a dressing room to get a second opinion.

Finally, I picked a dress out, but only after making sure that I could return it if I kept the receipt- it looked all right, but was a little bit out of my price range. After that, I needed some help to feel better about myself- I thought getting my hair done would help.

I was wrong.

I went to a place in the mall, which is usually a no-no, but since I haven’t been in the city long, I don’t have a regular hair dresser. The hair stylist was nice, cute, and a little bubbly- I thought getting highlights from her would be the perfect antidote for my shopping blues. It wasn’t. As I learned the hard way, most experienced hair dressers do not look like they have just graduated from beauty school- as it turns out, she may have even been a beauty school drop-out with the way my hair turned out. The color was wrong and I had to have a re-do, which left me looking like a tiger, only without the RAWR.

The salon offered to set me up with a “more experienced stylist” the next day, but I said no. They charged enough that they shouldn’t have hired an incompetent stylist in the first place. Instead, I went to another salon where I was told it would take two more steps to “fix” my hair.

When she was finished, I still wasn’t exactly impressed, but it did look better. She then asked me if I was going to come back to finish the process at which point I told her I wasn’t sure- she then told me that I was one of those people who will never be happy and are always negative.

I told the manager and disagreed heartily with her assessment. Obviously, she never read my article about “Dishwasher Chicken”.

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