Navigate the Trends

 Jo No Fui, Spring 2012 RTW photo courtesy of www.Elle.com

And it goes a little something like this...hit it!!

You buy into the season’s must have trends.

You buy more clothes to make the outfits complete.

But soon your trendy clothes go out of fashion.

So you buy into the new and improved must have trends.

You buy even more clothes to make the new outfits complete.

And wouldn’t you know...your trendy clothes go out of fashion.

Dolls, you have entered the Trend Cycle of Doom, (T.C.D.) and it ain't pretty.  Symptoms of those afflicted with T.C.D. include: shopping on lunch break, using a minimum of three credit cards per purchase, getting drunk off of free Trunk Show Proscecco, and bragging about stashing Manolos in the kitchen cupboards.  Someone hand me a bon-bon, I’m getting stressed out just thinking about it.

Everyday Glamour Chicks, (E.G.C.’s), have a kinder, gentler, more cost-effective and space saving method to looking fresh, modern, and sexy. They wisely bypass T.C.D. completely and instead update their wardrobes bit by bit, focusing on finding extraordinary basics, otherwise known as classics with a twist.  That way they can keep it fresh until their clothes are in tatters.  Basics may be boring but extraordinary basics have personality and zing.  

 Jo No Fui, Spring 2012 RTW photo courtesy of www.Elle.com

Everyday Glamour Guide to Finding Extraordinary Basics, A.K.A. Classics With a Twist:

1. Start with your foundation—The Core Wardrobe.  Go ahead and click on the link for a refresher on this one.  Figure out how you would like to restyle your core wardrobe.
2. Edit, Edit, Edit!  The mantra is: “Less is more”, so get rid of all that stuff that is no longer fitting your image.  Let it go, release it, to let in the new.  Anyway, editing your wardrobe every 6 months is the best way to learn what shapes, colors, patterns, and styles work beautifully on YOU, not Barbie, but YOU.  And you will also be reminded of what works for your REAL life, not that fantasy life in which you are the lead actress in the film, The Secretary. 
3. When shopping designer, don’t go for what is shown in all the magazines.  Do shop the “bread and butter” basics built into the collection.  These are the extraordinary basics.

 Jo No Fui, Spring 2012 RTW photo courtesy of www.Elle.com

And with that, I leave you with some E.G.C. favorites:

L’Agence:   Basic with a young, downtown vibe.

Kal Rieman:  Sharp and tailored.

3.1  Philip Lim:  Clean lines, luxurious fabrics, staples with personality.

Equipment:  Blouses that don’t stop.

Jo No Fui:  Relaxed and pretty.

Theyskens’ Theory:  Unexpected design elements that work into the wardrobe with grace. 

Isn't she lovely?

Rooney Mara, Givenchy gown, Getty picture courtesy of www.heraldsun.com

Everyday Glamour Runway Report: Monique Lhuillier Fall 2012

Monique Lhuillier Fall 2012 RTW, courtesy of www.Style.com

By some happy twist of kismet, I landed a ticket to the Monique Lhuillier Fall 2012 Fashion Show on Saturday night.  With a sprightly step and a smile in my heart, I hailed a yellow cab:  "Lincoln Center, please".  I felt so fancy. 

Monique Lhuillier Fall 2012 RTW, courtesy of www.Style.com

Once inside, I decided to forgo the coat check, which, by the way, was sponsored by Barbie.  My daughter would later be most impressed when I told her.

I found my seat without a hitch and was thankful that the petite lady wearing an imposing black monument on her head didn’t end up sitting in front of me.  Lights down.  Spotlight on.  Music thumping.  And they were off!

Monique Lhuillier Fall 2012 RTW, courtesy of www.Style.com

Did Monique design this collection just for me?  Down the runway, one after another, came bold, Orientalist strokes of black and red, modern molten prints, and leather corset belts.  There were sequined shoulders, there was leather, flowing wool crepe, georgette, and there was lace.  I decided that yes, Monique did in fact design this collection just for me. 

I was so taken with a red crepe long sleeved seamed gown with a leather cross back and shoulder detail, (see picture one), that seemed to me to be a modern riff on 1930s glamour, that I hastily tweeted her collection to be “30s glam”.  Um, no.  I take that back.   The collection was more 1950s overall.  Clearly my 1930s predilection momentarily clouded my memory.  Sometimes a dress can do that.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy every piece.  On the contrary, I loved it all.  

Lingerie Lust

Ah...Valentine's Day!  It is a day that feeds every woman's hidden, voracious, boundless, wild, animalistic, wanton fantasies and desires....for sexy lingerie, of course!  Everyday Glamour Chicks, (E.G.C.'s), it is with great Valentine's pleasure that I introduce to you a special guest contributor to Everyday Glamour!!  She's smart.  She's witty.  She's stylish.  She's gorgeous.  She has a British accent.  Without further ado, I give you Sarah from the blog, Style On The Couch.....

 Myla lingerie photo courtesy of www.myla.com

Sexy Lingerie Rules for the Everyday Glamour Chick

By Sarah Jones, Style On The Couch

When Kate suggested I write a post for Everyday Glamour about lingerie, two thoughts entered my head. First of all, how on earth would I match the witty repartee of the author whose writing often has me laughing out loud, and secondly, how could I accurately sum up my views on the importance of lingerie and shapewear to the Everyday Glamour Chick, especially with Valentine’s Day on the horizon?

Mild panic and several champagne flutes later…

If you read my blog you will know that my lingerie collection is fast growing and almost rivals that of my outerwear collection.  This passion for lingerie grew as I became more comfortable with myself and my body.  Remember that part in Bridget Jones where Bridget hears that Mark Darcy likes her just the way she is, to which her friend Jude replies: “Just as you are? Not thinner? Not cleverer? Not with slightly bigger breasts or slightly smaller nose?” Well, I believe Everyday Glamour Chicks start from a place of loving their bodies and all their womanly best bits, just as they are.  The Everyday Glamour Chick has no room for insecurity and self loathing.  Praising your curves, loving your legs and embracing your silhouette are the first rule.

Bordelle lingerie photo courtesy of www.bordelle.co.uk

Kate once described Everyday Glamour as “an art and a state of mind: the outward expression of our identity as well as our aspirations.”  Well said Kate.  The second most important rule of being an Everyday Glamour Chick is therefore to find your individual lingerie style – what suits you and your shape.  There is little point in donning a fringed bodysuit and gyrating around the bedroom like Elizabeth Berkley in ‘Showgirls’ if your heart lies with delicate lace or slouchy boy shorts.  More importantly, your partner is guaranteed to sense that you are not comfortable with acting like a porn star.  Having said that, if you choose your outerwear to match your mood and different parts of your personality then why not adapt your lingerie accordingly?  Express your inner goddess with a brand like Fleur of England; be a dominatrix with designs from Bordelle….  Rule number three? Flirt with different lingerie silhouettes.  Find out what you like and don’t follow what you’ve done for years or just because your partner buys it for you.

Blush Naked Envy white bodysuit, photo courtesy of www.blushlingerie.com

My final and perhaps the most important rule for the Everyday Glamour Chick in the lingerie sense is finding foundations that FIT YOUR SHAPE.  Feeling glamorous will not happen when chicken fillets are required to fill the cup of that bra you simply liked the look of but that doesn’t quite fit. Nor will you transform into a femme fatale when your bra digs into your ribcage, or your knickers fall down of their own accord.  Think of the shape and silhouette you desire, Everyday Glamour Chick, and work from there.  Want a nipped in waist?  Invest in a corset, waspie or girdle.  For a hint of cleavage, invest in some extra padding or a balconette bra.  Want devastatingly seductive curves? Get hold of some shapewear – the sort that smoothes and accentuates the lines of your body, not that sort that makes you feel like a stuffed sausage (we’ve all been there and deep down we know that is wrong on so many levels.)  Please refer back to rule number one at this point.

The rest of the rules I leave for you Everyday Glamour Chicks to create for yourselves.  Bring a sense of your own personal style to your lingerie collection and don’t forget that feeling good, inside and out, is intrinsically linked. Happy Valentine’s Day!

StyleOnTheCouch xo

Ask The Stylist: Creative Wardrobe Planning

Harper's Bazaar photo courtesy of www.Thesimplyluxuriouslife.com

Dear Kate,

You write about dressing for the Time, Place and Occasion, (T.P.O.), and in the Autumm/Winter Shoe Basics post, you say:  "For shoes, there are three categories that E.G.C.'s focus on:  Work, Casual, and Going-Out."

And in Building Your Basics:  Get to the Core of the Matter, you suggest building a core wardrobe based on four bottoms and seven tops.  And just like with the shoes, you write that categories are essential when developing a core wardrobe.  I need a set for "going out", a set for "going to the beach" (yes! In Argentina, it is summer now!!!), etc…BUT...

What happens when your Casual/Work/Going Out life is the same but a little different? I work with designers, architects, and editors--all "creative" people.  I have very flexible working hours and work in a relaxed environment.  So the categories, Work, Casual, and Going Out, become blurry.

Sometimes I feel this "relaxed environment" puts so much more pressure on my wardrobe than it would in the usual office/work environment. I struggle with this.  If I have to go to a party or an event, I shine—I have no doubts about what to wear.  But these day meetings, when you have to be chic, cool, hip and casual all in the same outfit, and when you have to go from an afternoon in the studio to cocktails with cool people without changing, is overwhelming. I don´t know what to do... what to do?!!!!

To add insult to injury,  the women in this creative environment don´t wear heels: They are,  "I'm soooooo hippie...but look at my Birkin bag!" or "I´m sooo cool with my yellow sneakers".  But  I love heels because I feel more pulled together with them.  I don’t know.  On the other hand, I´m a tall Italian girl and with heels I summon attention and sometimes I don´t want to.

Sincerely,

Practical-Yet-Creative-Italian-Glamazon

Photo of Constance Jablonki, Vogue Nippon, courtesy of www.fashiongonerogue.com 

Dear Practical-Yet-Creative-Italian-Glamazon,

I love flexibility with fashion--blurred lines means more fun!  Forget those Rich-Bohemian/Pseudo-Hippies with their Birkin bags.  Pass on the yellow sneakers.  Instead, go for a style that you can call your own.  I think you should wear heels with abandon.  What is wrong with summoning attention?    As a creative professional, competition is fierce—it is essential that you stand out.

You want to stand out in a good way.  You want to be cool and unique without looking like you got dressed after kicking back a Bourbon on the rocks.  And when you have meetings during the day and then go out for cocktails directly after, you want to achieve a casually hip yet subtly sexy air without trespassing on va-va-voom territory.  You want to feel at ease in a variety of situations, you want to look polished, and because you are practical, you want dressing in the morning to be a snap.  You want a streamlined wardrobe, because Everyday Glamour Chicks, (E.G.C.’s), know that less is more.  Is that too much to ask?

While you must look creatively chic, you sense that there is an underlying dress code in your field that is hard to pinpoint.  And since you are a creative person, you have a lot of ideas and can go off on tangents, which means that your wardrobe can grow by leaps and bounds very easily.  Uh-oh.  

Well, I have a solution for you.  You must enforce parameters, Ms. Practical-Yet-Creative!!  My method is the most focused way to get the best bang for your buck, wardrobe-wise.  Rest assured that this method is simply a technique to bring you focus.  Afterwards, you can go back to being the free-spirited creative that you are!

The first thing you must do is to create personalized situational wardrobe categories.  Specify the categories.  Here are my own personal categories that can serve as an example:

1. Personal Stylist—What I wear to meet clients or go to a networking event, (which may include cocktails), not too casual but not too buttoned up.
2. Weekend in the City—What I wear when I have creative freedom and want to enjoy my clothes as I see fit.  When I’m not overly casual but not so calculated.
3. Mom on the Playground—Obviously there are days when heels look ridiculous.
4. Night Out--The opposite of Mom on the Playground wear...yippee!

What are your categories?  Of course there is overlap with my clothing.  I can wear my indigo skinny jeans in all four categories, for example, and I love that!  But you still need to know what your categories are.  Specify. 

Photo of Constance Jablonski courtesy of www.absinthrill.blogspot.com

Everyday Glamour Chick Guide to Building a Core Wardrobe:

1. For this technique to work, I am asking you to use your creative imagination!  Imagine that you are packing for a trip that could last up to a month and you can only use one suitcase for clothing, not counting accessories.  Ok, a LARGE suitcase is fine.  OH, don’t complain, at least I’m letting you pack your accessories in another suitcase!   You need to keep your packing as streamlined as possible.  The good news is that your days will be similar, you will only need to pack one category.  You will have to limit yourself to 4 bottoms and 7 tops, that can be mixed and matched together, not counting accessories.  That’s a grand total of 28, (roughly), different outfit variations.   This is like a puzzle.  
2. Always start with the bottoms.  Pull out 3 bottoms and one dress to focus on.  (Or 4 bottoms, or all dresses, whatever it is you want to wear.)  Four very different bottoms, please.  Not variations on the same thing.  Also, you may have more than 4 bottoms but  for this exercise to work you must restrict yourself to only 4 bottoms.  You are creating an ideal collection for a “fantasy trip”.  Parameters!!  If, on the other hand, you do not have 4 bottoms for the category you are working on, then you know where your wardrobe gaps are.
3. Try them on, one bottom, (or dress), at a time.  Always start with the dress.  Go through your wardrobe and try to figure out what your best tops will be for this “fantasy collection”. Pull together the outfit variations.  Ask yourself honestly if you will feel very comfortable wearing the outfit in your chosen situational category.  The less clothing you currently own, the easier this exercise will be.  If you have boatloads of clothes, well, this is going to be more difficult for you.  Try to restrict your choices as much as possible.  
4. Take notes as you go.  Decide on what pieces of clothing you need to wear or bring when out shopping for fill-in pieces, if necessary.  For example, I need to wear my pencil skirt out shopping so that I can find the perfect top to wear with it.
5. I can’t stress this enough:  With shopping, take your good time!!  You created a "fantasy list" of clothing that you need to shop for.  Even if you get only one of the items on your list this year, that is one step closer to the ideal.  And you need not feel restricted because this one item will definitely mix with other things in your wardrobe.  

This technique simply gives you focus.  Of course you have other stuff to wear—you are a creative type after all!