Part Three: The Tomboy

Everyday Glamour has broken down the art of un-office dressing into four archetypes to work from, The Sensualist, The Chic Eclectic, The Tomboy, and The Luxe Bohemian.  Identify your dominant archetype, develop it, then later advance to break the rules.     

 Photo courtesy of www.HarpersBazaar.com, Street Style Milan Fashion Week Spring 2013

Welcome to Part Three in the Everyday Glamour Dress Down Tutorial Series!   

Casual Archetype Three:  The Tomboy

Think Some Kind of Wonderful on Lexapro.  The Tomboy drinks a Guinness, reads No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, and listens to Jack White and Drake.  She wears Calvin Klein lingerie.  She was recently overheard saying, "Let's chill on the roof." 

How to get the look:  The Tomboy wears her jeans dark or light, and either very skinny or very slouchy, with a waistline that is as low as you can go this side of the border.  She wears mostly black and white.  She has an affinity for zippers.  Let's not over analyze.  She wears the best fitting army pants on the market, (Aloha Rag makes them), with a leather Moto jacket by Helmut Lang.  She's constantly on the hunt for the perfect slouchy white t-shirt.  Her jewelry is simple hammered silver.  She loves exclusive wedge sneakers by Nike but knows that the Isabel Marant ones are played out by now.  Ha!  She also wears Frye harness boots with cut off denim shorts in the summer.  Oh...and sometimes she wears black pumps with her Aloha Rag army pants just to show that she is in fact a girl.

She loves:  Alexander Wang, Isabel Marant, Frye, Balanciaga, Helmut Lang 

 Photo courtesy of www.HarpersBazaar.com, Street Style Milan Fashion Week Spring 2013

Stay tuned for casual archetype three:  The Luxe Bohemian...

Part Two: The Chic Eclectic

Everyday Glamour has broken down the art of un-office dressing into four archetypes to work from, The Sensualist, The Chic Eclectic, The Tomboy, and The Luxe Bohemian.  Identify your dominant archetype, develop it, then later advance to break the rules.     

 Photo by Diego Zuko courtesy of www.HarpersBazaar.com, Milan Fashion Week Spring 2013

Welcome to Part Two in the Everyday Glamour Dress Down Tutorial Series!   

Casual Archetype Two:  The Chic Eclectic

Think Breakfast at Tiffany's on Acid.  The Chic Eclectic drinks a Bellini, reads Like Water for Chocolate By Laura Esquirel, and listens to Coldplay and Adele.  She wears La Perla lingerie.  She was recently overheard saying, "I'm not romantic but I love, love, you know?"

How to get the look:  The Chic Eclectic wears her jeans dark, light, or bright as long as they have a classic finish, with a straight or skinny leg, and with back pockets placed neither very high nor very low.  She mixes classic staples with highly styled and designed elements.  Her clothing tends to be classic in shape, however she adores stand out colors, prints, and textures.  She loves quirky shoes and you will often find that her handbag is classic in shape, but distinctive in color, texture, and/or pattern.  She is a master with scarves--she's one of those women who knows how to tie one and make it look incredible!  Her jewelry is either very simple and discreet or very stand out, depending on the outfit of the day.  She is an expert in the art of classic dressing with a stand-out focal point.

She loves:  Hermes, New York Vintage, Sigerson Morrison, Carven, 3.1 Philip Lim 

Photo by Diego Zuko, courtesy of www.HarpersBazaar.com, Milan fashion week Spring 2013

Stay tuned for casual archetype three:  The Tomboy...

Part One: The Sensualist

Dressing down beautifully is an art that can be learned.  We can do better than Lululemon leggings, a Vince sweater, ballet flats, and a Celine bag...much better!

Everyday Glamour has broken down the art of un-office dressing into four archetypes to work from, The Sensualist, The Chic Eclectic, The Tomboy, and The Luxe Bohemian.  Identify your dominant archetype, develop it, then later advance to break the rules.   

Photo of Caroline Issa courtesy of www.fashionfix.net-a-porter.com

Welcome to the Everyday Glamour Dress Down Tutorial Series!   Let's get down to the real nitty gritty, shall we?

Casual Archetype One:  The Sensualist

Think Belle Du Jour on Valium.  The Sensualist drinks red wine, reads Fear of Flying by Erica Jong, and listens to Sade and Miguel.  She wears Kiki De Montparnasse lingerie.  She was recently overheard saying, "A little more to the left..."

How to get the look:  The Sensualist wears her jeans dark with a straight or skinny leg, with a waistline that can be high but is never too low.  She wears simple, unfettered tops in cozy cashmere, sublime jersey, and luxurious silk.  Nothing is too tight nor too loose.  She accessories with leather, croc, snake skin, and lizard.  Her handbag is structured and does not have obvious hardware.  She invests in high quality classic shoes with a pointed toe.  All clothing details are subtly suggestive:  think ties, tassels, and shiny metal accents.  Her jewelry looks as if it is never meant to be taken off.  

She loves:  Club Monaco, Reiss, Barneys, Equipment, Nicole Farhi, Saint Laurent, Manolo Blahnik

Photo courtesy of www.fashionhoob.com

Stay tuned for Casual Archetype Two:  Chic Eclectic...

"Sweets to the Sweet"

Vogue, Lanvin dress, Daria Werbowy, photo courtesy of www.lindsayalbanese.comEveryday Glamour takes Valentine’s Day very seriously.  The Valentine’s post needed to go deeper, to get to the real nitty gritty, and the clock was ticking.  So I called up my mom for advise, and it went like this:

Me:  Hey, Mom!  I'm doing a Valentine's Day post.  I have an untested theory that all men love Strawberry Shortcake.  Do you have any stories about Strawberry Shortcake and men? 

Mom:  No, it’s Banana Bread.  Fundamentally, all men love it.  They find it very romantic.

The premise is established:  The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.  Everyone knows that.  But what I wanted to know was which desert gives a woman the most results for her efforts?  I was convinced that it had to be Strawberry Shortcake, hands down.  I wanted to get to the bottom of this, so I hatched a sneaky plan.  And I needed to enlist the help of my sister-in-law:

Me:  Hi!  Ok, so I have a Valentine’s Day post idea for the blog and if you feel like it , it would be amazing if you could participate!  I say all men love Strawberry Shortcake, and mom says no, it’s Banana Bread.  So anyway, I was going to do an experiment.  Without telling Ken, one day I will make Banana Bread.  Another day I make Strawberry Shortcake from scratch.  I measure the reaction for amorous behavior.  Could you do the same with David before Feb. 14^th?

Sister-in-Law:  I heard different.  First of all…the universal smell for men is vanilla, FACT!, and I heard all men are turned on by the smell of Cinnamon Buns.

So we decided to sneak around and make all three deserts for our men, Banana Bread, Cinnamon Buns, and Strawberry Shortcake,  present them on different days with nonchalance, and stealthily observe their behavior.

Photo Vogue UK, courtesy of www.reinedeboheme.tumbler.com

Easy, right?  Wrong.  A few days later I heard back from my sister-in-law:

Sister-in-Law:  Ok, here is the deal.  David and I are trying to watch our weight so I’m not baking.  I just asked him what’s sexier:  Banana Bread, Cinnamon Buns, or Strawberry Shortcake.  Banana Bread reminds him of Mom and Strawberry Shortcake is too cute.  So Cinnamon Buns it is.

Me:  This is SUCH BULL!!!  Strawberry Shortcake made from scratch is totally manly!!  Men love it!!  Ken literally fell asleep at the table with the Banana Bread.  Total fail.  But with the Cinnamon Buns, he rubbed my leg and kept repeating this is so good.  Make the Strawberry Shortcake, please?  And Cinnamon Buns are so easy—get the Pillsbury ones you stick in the oven.  C’mon!! Please!!  You can’t go on a diet now, I have a blog to write!  Ha, ha!

Photo by Annie Leibovitz, model Karlie Kloss, Vogue, July 2009, courtesy of www.geanimalisandru.wordpress.com

I thought I had talked some sense into her but then I heard from my brother:

Brother:  Were you aware when you gave her this assignment that she can’t bake?  It’s really funny watching her.

Me:  Damn!  You are not supposed to know!

Brother:  Yes, it’s inherently a problem with the experiment.   In my opinion, guys get turned on when a woman bakes anything for them because it shows their ability to function as a mother.

Me:  Tell me the story! 

Brother:  Which means they will make great moms.

Me:  Yeah, but Bro, Ken literally fell asleep after eating Banana Bread.  I looked over at him and he had fallen asleep at the table!  But with the Cinnamon Buns he was amorous.  Ok, tell me more.

Brother:  When I was 20, and I was just hanging out with Amy as friends, I remember she brought over a whole tray of cookies that she baked.  It was game over at that point.

Me:  Amy #1 or Amy #2?

Brother:  One obviously!

Me:  Ha,ha.  Ok but tell me the story about your wife trying to bake.

Brother:  Why does everyone ask that!???

Me:  Sorry!

Brother:  I don’t even think about #2.

Me:  Amy #1 was better, I know!  Teasing.  It’s funny.  It’s like "The Cat in the Hat".  Thing One and Thing Two.

Brother:  Ha, ha, ha!  Thing One and Thing Two…Well, when I woke up, she was quietly struggling with a mixing bowl.

Me:  Details!

Brother:  She was using these flimsy, malleable-type bowls, which are meant for liquids, not mixing.

Me:  Right.  Ha, ha!  Then what?

Brother:  There’s a reason why mixing bowls are made of stainless steel.

Me:  Ha, ha.

Brother:  Then when I saw her she started laughing because she knows how bad she is at baking.  She put the heterogeneous mix into a bread pan and then turned to me and asked if I wanted her to put nuts in it.  Kinda late for that.

Me:  So this is Banana Bread!

Brother:  After it was in the oven a few minutes, she climbed into bed and pulled the sheets up to her face and said, “I don’t even know how long I’m supposed to bake it.  I don’t even know how long it’s been in there.”

Me:  I’m gonna kill her!

Brother:  Yeah she told me about the whole experiment.

Me:  Damn.  I’m making Strawberry Shortcake now.  Totally secret.  Ken has no idea.

Brother:  You’re not controlling for the nurturing effect.  You need to have someone of the same gender give it to them.  Or we get it ourselves.

Me:  Well, you have a point…but this is not an experiment per se, it’s more observational and then compile the results.  Unfortunately, all my friends are either single or on a diet.  Generous eye roll.  I still think Strawberry Shortcake is gonna be the winner here.

Brother:  Cinnamon Buns.

Me:  We will see now won’t we?

Well, I guess you all want to know what lit my husband’s fire.  It was the Cinnamon Buns.  I was pretty surprised.  I used those easy Pillsbury ones that you stick in the oven.  Buns from scratch are ten times better, but he doesn’t know that.  The Strawberry Shortcake got fair results in the amorous department, but they were more work.  Based on my results, I recommend that my readers bake up some Cinnamon Buns and serve with coffee in bed on Valentine’s Day morning.  That’s the real nitty gritty.

But wait, there’s more to the story!  Later my brother went to a wine and cheese party and got to talking about my little experiment.  Three men, two medical students and an artist, all said they preferred Strawberry Shortcake.  In fact, they seemed almost offended that there were alternatives other than the shortcake.

So click here for the recipe!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Everyday Glamour Guide: New Year's Resolutions

How are all of those clean, shiny, newly minted New Year’s Resolutions coming along?

 Photo by Alex Prager, Vogue, Sept 2011, courtesy of www.piecesnmelodies.com

Have you been working out faithfully 6 days per week at 5:00 am?

Did you cut out sugar once and for all?

Are you cooking delicious, healthful meals every single night?

Did you pay down a huge chunk of debt?  I know we’re only one month in, but surely you are making headway, yes?  Yes???

Have you edited your closet like I keep telling you to do? 

Wait…Are you steam rolling your way through your to do list, (written on January 1^st)?  How’s that willpower working for you?  Roll up your sleeves, honey!  Heeeeave HO!  With self-discipline, hard work, and persistence, nothing can stand in your way!

I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

There is another way to accomplish your dreams—an easier way!

The Everyday Glamour Guide to Getting Shit Done So that You Can Really Enjoy Your Life

If you want to work out 6 days per week at 5:00am: 

Why?  All that talk about energy and health, whatever, yadda yadda yadda—you want to feel hot.  Just admit it.  Now that we have that out of the way, here’s how you do it:  You do it the Kaizen way.  Kaizen is the practice of daily continuous improvement.  For two weeks your only goal is to get up at 5:00 am, brush your teeth, and put on workout clothes.  If you can do more, that’s great—it’s gravy.  Just keep in mind that minimum goal.  Why it works:  The waking up part is the hardest to establish.  After two weeks, your body will adapt and waking up will no longer be painful.  It’s my guarantee. 

 Photo by Lachlan Bailey for Vogue Paris, April 2012, courtesy of www.whatstrend.com

If you want to cut out sugar once and for all:

Why?  All that talk about energy and health, whatever, yadda yadda yadda—you want to feel hot.  Just admit it.  (Yes, I’m repeating myself here.)  Now that we have that out of the way, here’s how you do it:  You do it by replacing the behavior.  When you eat a cupcake, the sugar and chocolate prompts your brain to release a chemical called Dopamine.  It feels damn good.  This dopamine creates the craving to repeat eating cupcakes.  Replace the cupcake with coffee!  Sure, you will be now addicted to coffee, but trust me, it’s better than being addicted to cupcakes.

Photo courtesy of www.cuputcauda.com

If you want to cook delicious home cooked meals every single night:

Why?  All that talk about energy and health….ha!  Hot chicks cook!!  Just ADMIT IT already!  Here’s how you do it:  Find a mentor.  Find someone who loves to cook and ask her to email you recipes one at a time.  Email is great because you can print out the recipe and put it in a folder.  Voila!  You are building a cookbook!  Try one new recipe per week at the most.  Talk with her about your success!  Once you feel comfortable with one recipe, you can ask for another recipe.  Each time you go grocery shopping, you go through your personalized mentor-generated cookbook and write down the ingredients.  Before you know it, you’ll be cooking every single night…and loving it!

Photo of Crystal Renn, Vogue Paris, courtesy of www.hautetoday.wordpress.com

If you want to pay down a huge chunk of debt:

Why?  Because the debt is sucking your soul.  Besides, it’s not hot.  Here’s how you do it:  Start with small extra payments at first, and work your way up to bigger payments.  It’s like when you are overweight and all of a sudden you realize that you are desperate to lose 30 pounds in a month--that’s not how it’s done.  Find small ways to cut expenses and add that to your payments.  Keep finding small ways to cut expenses, and it will build up over time.  It helps to see the finish line, so it helps to cheer yourself on by picking off smaller chunks at a time.

Photo from Vogue Espana, courtesy of www.polyvore.com

If you want to edit your closet like I keep telling you to do:

Why?  Because it saves you MONEY and you will finally feel….you guessed it…hot.  Here’s how you do it:  Get the free Wardrobe Edit Workbook, offered on the right hand side bar.  Make it fun!  Call in sick if you want, I won’t tell.  Blast some great music, and get to editing.  Forget doing this perfectly.  This is not about perfection, it’s about taking a look at what you have and assessing as best you can in this moment.  Do what you can and do not worry about the rest.  This is a gradual and fun process!

Happy New Year, my E.G.C.’s!