Colorblocking Reminder

Photo from Vogue, 2011.

Here is your friendly reminder that there is still time to join Adrienne and me for our “How I Wear My: Colorblocking” post, which goes up April 4. Just send me a picture of yourself in your colorblocked outfit and I will include it in the roundup.

My look will be strikingly similar to the girl on the left, minus the eyeshadow stripes and sideways hair.

Sara Blakely, My New Hero

I really enjoyed reading the Forbes article “American Booty” about Sara Blakely and her business Spanx, which has put her on the Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires List for the first time this year as the youngest self-made woman billionaire. It’s motivating to learn how she did it and why—basically, looking for a product for herself that didn’t already exist on the market, an updated girdle so she could look good wearing white pants! I also liked reading about how she was the face of the brand and was the one hawking it herself at department stores like Neiman Marcus in the early years. Interesting too was to discover how she had to overcome several fears—of flying, heights, and public speaking—on her road to success and that she is a huge fan of Wayne Dyer’s motivational tapes.


I don’t own any Spanx products but at my time at Bloomingdale’s it was interesting to see the little store within the store that belonged to Spanx, in the lingerie department on the 4th floor. The visuals were bright, fun, and girly, and there was lots of personal attention from the sales associates. One of them asked if I wanted something from the Spanx line even though she knew I was a Bloomingdale’s associate and was on the clock. Talk about salesmanship!

If you own any Spanx products, can you give me a recommendation of the one thing from that brand I should own?

And who is motivating you these days?

IMPACT: Luis Estevez

Won’t you join me for margaritas on the lawn to celebrate my daughter getting a kindergarten spot at our local public school?

I will be wearing this gorgeous 1955 Luis Estévez gown, now on view at The Museum at FIT as part of the exhibit IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA. Mr. Estévez is a Cuban-born designer whose early career stints in fashion included time as a window dresser at the famous New York Department store Lord & Taylor, an apprenticeship at Jean Patou in Paris, and designing milliner Lilly Daché’s first dress collection. Estévez launched his original ready-to-wear under his own label in 1955 and a year later, at 26, became the youngest designer to win the prestigious Coty Award, an award created in 1942 to promote and celebrate American fashion.

Mr. Estévez, known as the “Neckline King” for his signature sculpted necklines, specialized in evening and cocktail wear, and was one of the 20 founders of the CFDA.





I’m pretty sure Mr. Estévez would want me to wear this lovely gown to celebrate my sweet girl getting one of the coveted kindergarten spots!


I love that the curators have the matching wrap trailing behind the dress. So dramatic and wonderful! Also note the hall of fabulous dresses. Just seeing it makes me happy.

Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA is on view through April 17, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

Little Luxuries: Rich Girl Hand Cream

I got this Rich Girl hand cream by Deborah Lippmann as a sample from Bloomingdale’s when I bought one of her nail polishes and I was instantly hooked. I love the thick creamy texture of Rich Girl and I especially love the scent—not too heavy, but fresh, slightly floral, even a tad beachy, and altogether wonderful. The cream is very thick yet it permeates my skin, doesn’t just sit on top of it like some other hand creams I’ve tried. The sales associate said it would be good for gardeners since it’s SPF 25 (although really, don’t most serious gardeners wear gloves?) but I actually like this cream best at night, right before bed.

It’s more than I would normally pay for a hand cream, $28, and I bought it with a Christmas gift card to assuage my guilt over a pricey product, then I remembered that it’s good to have a few products you love, that they end up justifying their price because you don’t waste money buying other inferior products. I don’t use that much, since a little goes a long way, and I alternate it every few nights with another less expensive (but still good) hand cream, so this 3 oz. tube of Rich Girl has lasted well over two months so far.



Do you have a beauty product that you buy yourself as a little luxury? Do share!

IMPACT: Bob Mackie

I’m having a week where I just need some Bob Mackie in my life.

I’m waiting to hear whether or not my daughter is on the wait list for kindergarten at our local school (A wait list. For kindergarten!), having just found out she’s on the wait list at what I considered our back-up school. Delightful. Oh and my credit card number was stolen and the thief went shopping online. Lovely. (Hey, enjoy those clothes, honey! They’re on me!)

Now we will take a deep breath and instead of worrying about things over which we have no control, we will look at a glamorous 1992 Bob Mackie creation now on view at The Museum at FIT as part of the exhibit IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA.



I liked plenty of looks on the ladies at this year’s Academy Awards but I do wish there were a few risk-takers, like Cher back in the day in all her Bob Mackie-wearing glory.

I love me a sequin so I adore everything about this evening gown and flower bolero. I wish I could wear this while pacing around my living room, waiting to hear about kindergarten and hoping my credit card problems will be sorted out soon.

If Bob Mackie can’t cheer me up, no one can.


You’ll have to be a tall drink of water to pull this number off, look how slender and willowy the gown is!

Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA is on view through April 17, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

Wallis, Wally, and W./E.

Andrea Riseborough as Wallis Simpson during the filming of W./E. Photo by Bauer Griffin.

Please do stop by Clothes on Film to read the article I wrote about the costumes in W./E., which I am officially obsessed with. It’s an overview of how the clothes worn by Andrea Riseborough as Wallis Simpson and Abbie Cornish as Wally Winthrop actually mirror each other, even though Wallis lives in England in the 1930s and Wally lives in New York in 1998.

Consider these photos of Andrea and Abbie as they make their way to the set for filming a preview of the visual treat that awaits you when you see the movie. The DVD for the movie comes out on May 1 and I will definitely be buying it!

I have to get out both my red lipstick and red nail polish after seeing the above photo of Andrea Riseborough. And isn’t that shade of blue on her just beyond gorgeous?



Abbie Cornish as Wally Winthrop. She’s wearing the dynamite open-weave cardigan over a white dress, a look I loved in the film. She must be making her way to the set in this picture because she was not wearing a backpack in the movie! Photo by Bauer Griffin.

Clothes on Film
W./E.

IMPACT: Carolyne Roehm

From IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA, now on view at The Museum at FIT, a green 1989 ensemble from Carolyne Roehm, perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!

It was nice to see work by Ms. Roehm on display, especially since she doesn’t design dresses anymore. Her website has some photos of her clothes from the time her line was active, from 1985 until 1991 (and there are pictures of young Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder, and Elaine Irwin), but the bulk of the site is devoted to her home design. She was Oscar de la Renta’s design assistant for 10 years before she started her own label and I think you can see an aesthetic similar to Oscar’s in this green gown and jacket. It is the perfect representation of her elegant and ladylike work.

If you have time, there is an interesting interview with her on David Patrick Columbia’s New York Social Diary and yowza, take a look at those interiors of her house!

Carolyne, invite me over for some champagne and an interview for my blog!

Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA is on view through April 17, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

Sew Right

They had me at “couture.” Craftsy, the online craft tutorial website that I didn’t even know existed, sent me an email: Would I like to take the class “The Couture Dress” with sewing instructor Susan Khalje? Why, yes I would! I don’t think I’ll become the kind of gal who is sewing her entire wardrobe, like my favorite sewing blogger, Erica of Erica B’s D.I.Y. Style, but I knew that all these fashion exhibits I go to would eventually lead me back to the sewing machine, just to practice making clothes.

My mother taught me to sew (thank you Mom!) and is a far better seamstress than I am. She actually DID make her own clothes in high school on a Singer machine called “Fashion Mate” (love it!) and if I have a sewing or fabric question I usually ask her first.

“The Couture Dress” class comes with hours of instruction, your access to the class never expires, and they send you the Vogue Pattern that Susan uses to make the dress, V8648. I am only partway in so I will have to get back to you on how it’s going.



I am not nearly sweet enough to wear a circular skirt (Dress F), so I’m thinking I will make Dress C in a solid color like navy or Dress B in black, with a white center.

Of course, before I actually start to make this dress, I have one other project to finish, which I started last summer.



The only things left to do to complete this skirt are slipstitch the waistband into place, add the hook and eye, and hem it. Have I done any of these things yet? No I have not.



I still love this unusual black eyelet which I bought last year from Mood Fabrics in Manhattan. I will wear this skirt with either a black or nude slip underneath or it’s going to be like that famous photo of Lady Diana holding the hands of children and yet you can see right through her skirt. Does anybody else remember this picture?

Colorblocked Accessories: Timex Red, Hermès Blue

I don’t know if I will actually wear this combination in this way, but in advance of the “How I Wear My: Colorblocking” post my friend Adrienne of The Rich Life (on a budget) and I are doing on April 4, I am already having fun putting bright colors together, mostly in the accessories department.



This Hermès Behapi leather bracelet is reversible. I can either wear it as it’s shown here, in bleu electrique, or flip it and wear it in etain, a lovely taupe. I love jewelry, or anything really, that multitasks. In this instance it feels like two bracelets for the price of one!

Please join us for the colorblocking post on April 4. Just send Adrienne or me a picture of yourself in your colorblocked outfit and we will include you in all this colorful fun.

Linda in Coral and Cat Eyes

Photo by Mr. Newton.

I love this picture of Linda Fargo, Senior Vice President at Bergdorf Goodman, during Milan Fashion Week wearing a bright coral blazer and cat-eye sunglasses. I am digging her style more and more. Every other street style picture I saw from the recent fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris shows a young woman mixing several prints at the same time and sporting messy hair. You see enough of those photos and after awhile everyone starts to look the same. Linda, on the other hand, stands out for me. Is it the beautifully-cut silver hair? The fact that she is older than the other ladies photographed? Or is it that she just looks vibrant and polished, elegant and fresh?

I think I know the answer.

IMPACT: Carolina Herrera

From IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA, now on view at The Museum at FIT, a white 2004 showstopper by Carolina Herrera. If I ever get invited to the charity ball I want to wear this.


I love the bodice, with its gentle draping and the wonderful curve at the top.

Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA is on view through April 17, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

How I Wear My: Most Cherished Wardrobe Item

Since Adrienne of The Rich Life (on a budget) and I have been on a spending freeze for February (a break from all that buying and shopping and the mentality of more, more, more), it was a great time to look in our closets and find one thing we love above all others for this month’s “How I Wear My” post.

I have a lot of accessories I love, accessories I am wild about (hello growing Hermès scarf collection and baby Chanel handbag), accessories I hope someday to leave to my daughter (maybe even a fashion-addled granddaughter?), and that’s before I even get started on jewelry, but my most cherished wardrobe item?

Easy.

My father’s U.S. Navy peacoat, circa 1964.



I love this thing. My father wore it as a young enlisted man, and his name and service number are written inside the jacket in his own hand. The patch on the sleeve designates that he was a petty officer first class when he last wore it (and he retired as an officer) and the crossed cannons signify he was a Gunner’s Mate. Technically I am not supposed to wear the peacoat with the patch on it, as I did not earn this rank myself, but between you and me, I am never taking the patch off, and I wear it exactly as my father (and mother) gave it to me one year for Christmas. Thank you Mom and Dad!



Adrienne and I hope you’ll join us on April 4 for “How I Wear My: Colorblocking.” It’s everywhere, those bright colors put right next to each other in solid blocks, and we are giving it a go as a way to welcome spring. Won’t it be so nice to have a break from all that navy blue and gray and brown and black?

Of course, if colorblocking doesn’t look good on me, I’m coming right back to the color and comfort of this fabulous peacoat!

Please do stop by The Rich Life (on a budget) to see everyone’s most cherished wardrobe item!