V-Style

Client Feature - Augusta Jones Wedding Dress

I may or may not be the marrying kind, but I do love a wedding! From the invitations and champagne to the flowers and food, I love attending, but nothing compares to my love of dressing a wedding. Recently I did the bridal styling for the lovely Brooke Mason, using the The White Flower Bridal Boutique. We put her in the "Tina" dress by Augusta Jones with a sweetheart neckline, ruched chiffon, and fabric flowers blooming off the full skirt with a high hem. We topped off her look with a short and chic veil and diamond drop earrings.

The entire look is modern romance and great for grass or beach weddings. So many women try to walk down the grass or sandy aisle with a full wedding gown that ends up gathering up the unstable ground below and sometimes tripping over the hem. By getting a wedding dress with some foot room in the front, you will have a smoother journey to "I Do."

Personal Stylist Purchase: Tabitha Dress via Anthropologie

 

I like a hot shift. I picked up this poppy 50's number at Anthropologie last week. Love the strong fit, bold pattern and vee in the back. Will be sporting it at events and with clients as well as any upcoming garden parties. To change it up, I will be pairing it with gold heels, orange flats, various belts, and long necklaces. I've already worn it three days in a row, different crowds of course, and with said variation in accessories. Successful purchase!

How To Order Clothing Online

When you shop for clothes online, you need to pay attention to the details in order to save time and money. Nowadays, many websites are offering free shipping and free returns, making online shopping monetarily risk free, but there is still the time factor. Wouldn't you rather order something, like it and keep it? Versus ordering something, being disappointed, going on line to print the return slip, taping the box back up and then sending it via USPS or whatever. Time is money and disappointment isn't fun. So here are some tips on how to order clothing efficiently on line...

1) Read the entire garment's description:

What is the fabric? Do you know what that fabric feels like? Do you already own something with that particular combination and do you like the feel of it? What are the closures? What is the size of the model wearing the garment and how long or wide is the garment in inches for this size? Most websites will tell you all this.

2) Know your measurements:

Most websites will give you a chart with what size they recommend for your waist size and so on, but do you know your accurate waist size? I was recently on eshakti's website that had some great images for how to measure oneself. Take accurate full body measurements of yourself and double check them every few months.

3) Read the return policy:

On line retailers are all different. Some have 15 day return policies, others 30 days, one has 365 days. Be sure of this, so you don't get stuck with something you don't want or lose money. The best advice is to open the package immediately, try it on and decide right away. Do you want it or not?

4) Create an "On Line Purchases" folder:

Create a folder in your e-mail account that keeps track of your online purchases. This way you won't forget about what you have purchased, if the return was accepted and so on. Before I did this, I was always thinking... when did I order that? Is it late? Should I call? Where is that e-mail so I can call them? You can even set an alarm or note in your calendar for when to check in with the online retailer.

5) When getting the unknown, go to the known:

When trying unusual garments or styles unknown to you, order from major and well trusted retailers with free shipping and free returns. The most wonderful aspect of on line shopping is getting that unique garment that can't be found in your local shop, but getting the unknown is risky. Best to leave the risky unknown purcahses to the dependable companies you know well.

What To Wear in Vegas

When heading to Vegas for its casino games, clubs and more, you want a fun and versatile look. I often pack my clients for their trips to the glitter desert. Most of the trip is work oriented, but we always add some fun clothes to the suitcase. 

When dressing for an afternoon in Vegas, think Oprah. You need an outfit to do everything. You need your clothes to be comfortable for walking, work over a bathing suit, and fits in a casino setting. For this, I either put my ladies in a day dress, dressy shorts or a romper. These options will work well in a pool setting as well as at the craps tables. Pictured above is one of my clients in a romper from Anthropologie. Underneath we would put a nude or white bathing suit for complimentary multitasking purposes. 

Parker Sequined Wrap Top and AG Legging Jeans

When heading out for an evening of dancing, bottle service and who knows what, you need to bring the style up and add some edge. Most women will be showing skin for days without taste. For my clients, we show the body without wandering into sleaze zone. You want to stand out, but still fit it. The sequin and leather combination above is a fantastic way to dance the night away and still be appropriate in the wee hour gambling rooms. Top it off with these Rachel Zoe heels and you will stand out appropriately.

If you are positive your evening will have you dining in lovely restaurants, hitting the clubs and nothing else, take it up a notch in this Michael Kors One Shoulder Jersey Dress and Tory Burch necklace. Fun, feisty and elegant all at once, you will be the best dressed woman in the room in this lime hue and bold neck décor.

Best Dressed at The Oscars 2012

Gwneyth Paltrow in Tom Ford

I may have mentioned this in previous posts, but I don't watch much television. Don't really care for the past time, but I adore movies, films, the moving pictures... from the words and music to the costumes. Sadly, I don't have many free moments and I am disgustingly behind in my viewing. My degree in film judges me harshly for my current out of the loop position. Despite my ignorance of the nominated films, watching the Oscars this evening was a joy. There will be critics and angry fans that will clamour on about Billy Crystal's lack of high volume humor, star speech jabs, fashion mishaps and so on, but I had a blast watching the awards ceremony. No criticisms from me. There is nothing like the wit, humanity and glamour this award show breeds.  

Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton

Maria Menounos

Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli

Nordstrom Designer Preview Event

Fashion, booze, salmon, dolled up folk, and a pier equals excellence. Tonight, I had the great pleasure of attending the Nordstrom Deisgner Preview event at Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier in San Diego. I adore a well organized glam event alongside a body of water.

When the lights went down and blew back up, my insides swelled with the warmth beautiful clothing inspires. I rose to film the entirety (video will be added later). As I stood in my grey suede Makowsky heels, my feet grew hot with discomfort, but the rest of me leaked heat. It was the chill of the evening and the missing pow. I was bummed by the twenty year rule. No matter the season, every designer picks and pulls from various decades and inspiration, but the twenty year rule cannot be avoided. Right now, designers are putting out the nineties... a time period of dated confusion. Dolce & Gabana's combination of a Laura Ashley floral with a leopard print encapsulates the influence perfectly.

Moving beyond the general vibe: the lines of Akris = fabulous. The poof of Oscar De La Renta = scrumptious. White school girl socks shown with Marni and Oscar = whimsical. Donna Karen's Romancing the Stone vibe = desired! The nude Givenchy vest suit = chic, and Missoni shot fresh air down the runway.

Another Take on Animal Prints

Animal prints have new meaning...imitating the leopard has given way to herding the whole breed onto your clothes. Birds, giraffes, lamas, elephants and other members of the wild are taking up shop on all sorts of garments. And I prefer it! Leopard and cheetah can always have a place in your life - just try to take my leopard Dolce and Gabana slingbacks from me - but, open the doors to all animal opportunities. I recently picked up a high waisted, bird print skirt from H&M. I am scouting for more delicious, like the items listed below. If you find fabulous "animal print" garments, please let me know!

See by Chloe Bird Print Silk Shift Dress

Rachel Roy

Rebecca Taylor 'Sunset Birds' Lattice Strap Printed Dress

Personal Style Profile: Rebecca Burgess

Name: Rebecca Burgess

Occupation: Writer, Educator, Project Manager, Dabbler in Farming

Interesting Fashion Fact: Every garment Rebecca wears is made of locally grown fibers and without manufacturing equipment. At the moment Rebecca and her local community have limited resources, but they are working on getting their local manufacturing base up and running more efficiently. Everyone is excited about increasing their technical skills, building new mills, and making new locally grown fabrics. 

Wearing: "I'm wearing a Heidi Iverson designed tunic hand knit with Sally Fox's color grown bio dynamic cotton- dyed in my organic Indigo (field of indigo pictured), and a Sally Fox buffalo brown cotton skirt.."

Personal Style: "I wish I had a bit more control over this one, but I'd have say my style is "ecological sanity" mixed in with whatever fits my body. Before I undertook the commitment to wear clothes with a transparent supply chain, I used to wear vintage denim, and elegant draping knits... I guess you could say 'rustic minimalism' is my true style."

Favorite Brand or Store: "Fibershed Marketplace. Right now we can offer a sampling of raw fibers, some gorgeous yarns, knit patterns we've tested extensively, and a select repertoire of handcrafted finished pieces."

Fashion Trick/Tip: "My favorite trick at the moment is 'how many times can I wear this before washing it?' (When I do wash the clothes, I've fallen in love with the process of using minimal water and lavender infused soaps... my clothes will last forever, I don't waste precious fresh water resources and I love the whiff of lavender that comes from a freshly washed garment)."

Personal Style Profiles feature folks with a strong sense of fashion. These individuals are not my clients.

Lana Del Rey Style

Tuesday Jan 17th, I was laying face down with a woman's hands in my hair when I heard Lana Del Rey in a way I would remember. I swear I had heard this song once before, I thought as listened to Lana float out the words, "playing video games." I ignored the massusee's pressure as I committed to memory the lyrics. When I left the building, I headed back to my home office. When I sat down at my computer, I typed in the lyrics I had memorized. I found Lana immediately. Ten minutes later I am watching the music video for Born To Die.  

Looking at and listening to Lana Del Rey makes me want to paint my lips the perfect red, get drunk and kick someone with a high heel. When I hear a good song, I want to wear good style. Music inspires me to get dressed... or undressed. Earlier today I was reading the Business of Fashion. There is a picture of a Rachel Dodes holding a sign that says, "Beautiful clothes inspire me to be a better person. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it is true." I completely agree. Wearing clothing changes you, sometimes for the better. Sometimes the other. Lana's style does the other for me, and I like it.

Personal Stylist Purchase: Steve Madden Printed Flats

 

Prints, prints and more prints. I want color and print in my life. These printed Steve Madden flats will accomplish many a thing in my wardrobe. One, so far they are comfortable - a must!! Two, I am obsessed with mixing patterns. I want to explode with pattern and although topping print mixtures off with a solid colored shoe is a great idea, I'm interested in bad ideas right now. For the more sane and chic, pair these printed flats with solid colored dresses, jeans, shorts and skirts in yellow, white or blue. Black would be too boring, but that is also a choice.