"It's a Question of Discipline"

"'I wouldn't be caught dead on the street in workout gear,' she said. 'But in an attempt to blend into L.A. life, I purchased my first workout ensemble. On several occasions I have stayed in it and met a friend for lunch, but it certainly won't be a habit. I felt uncomfortable and even found myself apologizing to my husband for looking like a slob. To a degree I dress for my husband and make an effort to be put together, but more than anything it's for me.'"

From an article in the WSJ on always dressing to impress. File this under "reasons to have high standards and stick to them".

Fashion Friday: Pinup Style Edition

(Yet another installment in our sporadically-updated series. Tune in for the next episode sometime in the fall!)

Speaking of the unrealistically skinny appearance of most models, I found this article about a trend in which girls take inspiration from pinups from the 40s and 50s, saying “to women who have grown up with the spray-tanned, skinny models as their beauty ideal, this look is new and refreshing, and even groundbreaking” and that it “'is a way of being feminine without looking like a little girl in pigtails and ruffles. Wearing stockings and high heels, there’s something fundamentally adult about that'...They draw on a pervasive nostalgia for 'more innocent days when sexuality wasn’t portrayed as so hard core and in your face.'”

It's certainly interesting, but at the same time I'm more than a little meh about embracing something that was originally about the objectification of women, even if it does involve a far more realistic approach to women's figures and a much more classy/glamorous way of dressing. You can dress in a chic and classy way without necessarily taking your inspiration from pinups. Thoughts?

College Teaches You More Than Math

(Now that finals have blissfully faded into the past-that-is-no-longer, I feel like I can finally post this)

One thing that college has taught me is that there are very few woman who are truly happy with the way they look. I am by no means thin, and I start seeing red a bit whenever somebody pats the fashion industry on the back for being "realistic" and including "curvy size eights" ::eyeroll:: When I was in high school, I looked askance at all of the thin girls I knew and thought bitterly that surely they must be happy -- they were thin for crying out loud!

Then I got to college, and listened to first my roommate, then the rest of the dorm moan about how fat and ugly they were. How could this be? This group of girls moaning about their weight included a beauty who ran a mile every day, my roommate who is curvaceous in the absolute best sense of that word and an assortment of sixes, eights and tens who were all perfectly healthy, curves and all. Maybe we weren't all in the best of shape, but we could hardly be labeled overweight, let alone obese. Seeing these girls (whom I regarded as pretty-near-perfectly-sized) just as unhappy with their figures as I was with mine astonished me.

Honestly, I don't have anything else very profound to say. We've all been sold a bill of goods* by the people behind the checkout glossies, and I can't imagine that attaining the nigh-on impossible ideal body that they present would make me (or anybody else) happy. As cheesy and trite and cliched and banal as it sounds, who you are on the inside really does matter more.

(No, duh, disclaimer: losing weight for reasons of health is a different kettle of fish from losing weight for the sake of societal pressures and conventions and fitting into the popular clothes)

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*You don't suppose the fact that fashion magazines are at least half advertisements has anything to do with this, hmm? Buy this face cream, that sweater, those boots, and be THIN! PRETTY! HAPPY! It's almost like they're businesses... ::le eyeroll::

Fashion Friday: Tights

And now for something completely frivolous. Although I've returned to the (comparatively) warm and balmy weather of SoCal, I miss the winter and would gladly head back to Minnesota, especially if it gave me the chance to wear patterned tights. It's a trend that I've always wanted to try, but never had the chance to. As long as you have to wear an extra layer on your legs, why not make it interesting?

{Gray Peacock Tights}

{Colorblock Tights}

{V Who You Are Tights}

{Wine Tights}

Fashion Friday: Monday Edition

So, as the title of this post indicates this post should really come on a Friday, but I was simply too excited to keep this gem of an article to myself for that long.



Do you ever find yourself pinched by a twinge of jealousy when watching old movies with those glamorous icons of style and elegance *cough* Audrey Hepburn *cough* Grace Kelly *cough*. 'Scuse me. If you are a bloke you will be thinking I have gone a bit dodgy, but if you are a lady you will, I hope, know what I mean. They always looked so polished and elegant regardless of the role they were playing or the place they were going.


Every inch the lady, even on a motorcycle.

In this modern world we live in getting gussied up like that seems too hard and time consuming. However, popping on a one piece outfit, like this strange a wonderful thing called the dress, can be and often is just simple an outfit to shimmy into in the morning as the old reliable jeans and t-shirt. A simple dress can be adapted to nearly any occasion or season just by experimenting with a few accessories. A well matched skirt and blouse can be just as easily adapted for the office, home or special occasion.

Dressing in this way gives the wearer a polished professional look with hardly any more effort than it would take to pull on their sweats. Why should we sacrifice elegance for ease when dressing with style can be so simple?


Who ever said mom's can't look great on the go?

Vive La Revolution!
Apron Revolution - She Sews for the Whole Family

Fashion Friday - Fashionably Late Edition

It seems, and in fact has been, a most frightfully long time since a post has been posted about fashion. I would like to take this fine Saturday to say a little bit about shoes. Yes, shoes. As a wise person once said, "You should not judge any man until you have walked a mile in his shoes". Perhaps this erudite and perspicacious individual attempted to intimate that one human being should not judge another without knowledge of this other's experiences and philosophies of life, or maybe he simply meant that much can be discerned by a person's choice in footwear. Whatever the case may be, the judicious choosing of what a well dressed and stylish lady adorns her feet with is paramount. In brief, and to conclude, there is something to be said for footwear that is chic, versatile and comfortable.

The ballet flat is a pretty piece that goes well with both skirts and pants.



The simple pump is a shoe that, though high-heeled, can be incredibly comfortable, as well as chic.




A pair of boots can be coupled with a vast array of outfits and are appropriate for almost any season.

See? We're Not the Only Ones

Interesting article in the StarTribune on Thursday about a group of women who vowed to wear more dresses this summer. Coincidence, or are women finally tired of the jeans-and-T-shirt look that has become a staple of our grunge culture?

Fashion Fridays

Yes, it is indeed that time of week again. A time when students of all ages are aquiver of anticipation for the two school-free days ahead and employees of all sorts go casual. It is, my friends, Fashion Friday!

Today's bit of flare and pizazz shall be what in the fashion world is called the hat. Many people believe that they cannot "do" hats, that is to say they cannot pull off that sense of savoir-faire necessary when wearing fashionable millinery. However, I think that anyone can wear a hat elegantly and tastefully, provided that the hat in question is the correct one for the wearer.

Here are a few examples:

Fashion Fridays

This is the first of (hopefully) many, many posts on fashion. However, they shall not be merely on the trends of the moment, but on how to dress modestly, with elegance and style. One such article of clothing that never fails to set my heart throbbing with joy is the 1950's party dress. More often then not they had sleeves (imagine!) and they always had full swirly-twirly skirts perfect for sweeping around the dance floor.

Here are a few examples all found on this delightful web-sight -http://www.poshgirlvintage.com/