The Fashionable Man: The Guy in the Orange Socks and introducing The Hair Narcissist

For the past couple hundred years, there has been one essential outfit, if you will, for a man. That outfit is the suit. The suit is a timeless piece of fine art, and it is the foundation for looking good as a man. Sadly, today, many men either wear suits that don’t fit or hate dressing with class. That is why all men should be educated as to the essentials of being suited up.

When choosing a suit, the most important facet is fit. If you have a hundred-dollar suit that fits, you will look better than the guy in the Gucci suit that sags over him like a bed sheet.

Ill-fitting suits can strike anyone-- even (and sometimes especially) celebrities

Many people fail to realize that most suits are made to be tailored. Unless you buy custom made, you probably need to go to a tailor. The essential areas that need to be covered are the body/shoulders, sleeves, and legs. The body should be slimmed down and your suit should hug your shoulders. When the suit fits the shoulders properly, it gives you that V affect. By slimming everything down, you are creating a more streamlined look that is free of wrinkles and excess fabric. Sleeves should be tapered and should stop just above the break of your wrist. You are going to want to show a little cuff. Your pants should have little to no break at your shoes. Fabric that bags at your ankles makes you look like you have elephant skin.

The thing about suiting up today is fit. Your suit has to fit well in order for you to be taken seriously; if it doesn’t then you will look like the majority and that is never what you want to do.

Outfit of the Day: Inspired by Kate Middleton aka the Duchess of Cambridge

The former Kate Middleton is an inspiration in many ways-- not least of which is in her fashion choices.

I love how she seems to have single-handedly brought back classic, tasteful, and modest fashion choices.  And!  On her most recent trip to North America, pantyhose!  (I've been telling people for years that business attire just isn't complete without pantyhose/stockings/nylons)

Kate knows how to dress for her body type and generally sticks to a few key shapes and cuts.  

She loves sheath dresses...

And one of her fashion staples is the wrap dress...

Wrap dresses are great on any body type because they can adjust to play up your best points while minimizing everything else.

I recently got this wrap dress at New York & Co. for about $7!  The necklace is also from NY&C and my mom got me the watch from some airport store.

XOXO,

Catherine

Outfit of the Day: Mixed Summer Stripes

Lately I've ben inspired by one of Jane's little brothers.  The kid has some serious style!  I'm always impressed with how well he matches prints.  ... In fact, I can't remember the time that I've last seen him in something other than amazingly coordinated prints!

Here's my attempt a mixed Summer Stripes:

Blue Striped shirt:  Tommy Hilgfiger-- from the closet of a friend

White camisole:  an essentiel de la mode

Yellow Striped shorts;  Unionbay--  I've literally had these since I was twelve!

Blue Reptile Print Skinny belt:  an amazing deal from New York & Co

No look is complete without shoes!  These great $7 Payless finds have lasted me for about a year.  This will be there last Summer of use though, because I love them too much.  But that's the great thing about $7 shoes-- they're practically disposable!

How do you like to wear prints?

XOXO,

Catherine

Summer Makeup and Skin Care

What's a better way to share the summer love than with the summer makeup and care of your skin? In my opinion…there’s not one. And now that SUMMER HAS INDEED ARRIVED (hopefully you've arrived with it), it is time to break out the good times and uh…oh yes...makeup! Okay, so that may not have been the very first thing that came to mind, but in fact the changing seasons do make you change the way that you make yourself look fabulous! Yes, we’re taking it back 70’s and 80’s style and defining makeup by the season. Learning from the classics is usually the only way to go. :)

But sadly, not all of us ladies have been told the truth about summer makeup and skin care (i.e. less is more, ESPECIALLY in the situation of makeup). So often, girls (let’s keep it general here ;) ) get caught up in the tans, cute outfits and summer love without taking the necessary steps to care for their skin. Not all correlate here, but I’d like to help the ones who do ignore this vital part to antiquing well. Yes, by that I mean aging. So you might be thinking, 'I thought this was about summer makeup, *not* Botox??' Trust me, it’s not. :) But in order to have the results you want from makeup, you have to set the foundation (no pun intended) for your skin to be healthy.

So what are some exceptional ways to keep your skin looking the way it should?

Here are some ideas that I recommend:

- 1) Facial Masks: (don’t get scared)

Here are some all-natural, homemade *easy* face masks that are very rejuvenating and refreshing for the skin:

Mask #1: Make a puree of ½ a cucumber and 1 tablespoon yogurt in a blender and apply it on the face evenly. Leave it on for 10-15 minutes and then wash it off with cold water.

Mask #2: Honey. Yep, really that’s all there is to it. Don't go overboard with applying it, though... you don't want to attract any of the bumblebees in town!

For more specific skin types here are some great masks:

**For oily skin- Milk of Magnesia. It is WONDERFUL for people with oily skin, and it’s simple to use. Just rub it thoroughly on the face and keep it on for 5-10 minutes and then rinse it off with lukewarm water.

**For neutral skin- Mix one raw egg (don't worry, it's okay), 1/2 cup of cooked instant oatmeal and one teaspoon of olive oil into a smooth paste. Apply it on the face and let it dry and then rinse it off under room-temperature water.

**For dry skin- Make a mixture of one egg yolk, one teaspoon honey, one teaspoon olive oil and one teaspoon vitamin E oil. (If your skin feels is extra dry or something on a particular day, substitute the vitamin E oil with one teaspoon of baby oil.) Apply this mixture to your face and keep it on for around 10-15 minutes; rinse it off with lukewarm water and dry it off thoroughly with a towel.}

**{Since it is summer, this one is pretty much a must: for a sunburned face, mix 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt and 1 tablespoon of runny honey :). }

All of these face masks are easily do-able, and great for the skin! Here are some other tips to help your skin stay fresh and clean for your summer looks:

2) Moisturizers: Make sure it DOES NOT contain chemicals that will back-track your progress of moisturizing your face. Here’s a quote from the EPA talking about some harmful (and yet common) chemicals in skin products: “This is also known as Methylparaben, Propylparaben, IIsoparaben, Butylparaben. Parabens are a group of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. They have been linked to possible carcinogenicity, as well as an estrogenic effect from being exposed to the continued use of parabens as preservatives. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their report "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: Agents of Subtle Change?" reported that the parabens—methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. It is a known medical fact that estrogen stimulates breast cancer and anything absorbed through the skin may be as high as 10 times the concentration of an oral dose.”)

3) DON'T GO OVERBOARD AND DON'T CHEAT!

Try not to overdo it on the raw sun exposure (keep it to a healthy degree), and as tempting as it may be to cheat and use fake tanning lotion, please refrain yourself. It destroys/damages your skin cells, penetrating your skin to a point that should never be touched. *No drama…promise* ;) Seriously though, that stuff really isn't good for you... at all. Stay away!!!

Increasing your care for your skin, will greatly increase the benefit (and purpose) of wearing makeup. Now here comes the fun part…

…but before I can share all the fun color palettes, we have to first determine if you are in fact a "summer girl" (I’ll be doing an Autumn/Winter makeup post when that rolls around, but for right now, we’re going to be displaying the fun that all you summer tone girls can have. This does NOT mean that if you don't have a "summery skin tone" that none of this applies to you. Take notice of what you *can* do for your skin tone right now, and don't worry about the rest. :) )

Here is a color palette that will let you decide if your skin undertones are more specific to cooler or warmer shades:

(If you can't view all of the photo here is the link: http://modernglamwoc.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/cool-and-warm-skintone-overview-map.jpg)

I hope this chart was able to help you determine your skin tone...but if you're still not sure you can do more research on your own. (or go ask a professional) Personally, I do not really have the joy or the fun of summer makeup (I tend to be more on the 'winter' side of the spectrum), but all of us winter tones do have the fun of being able to be a bit more on the dramatic side with the makeup so that's a plus. But we'll have to save that for another day, another post.

So, now that you've *hopefully* decided whether you're on the ''cool side'' or ''warm side'' we can pinpoint if you're a summer tone or a winter tone. If you're on the ''cool side'', you're a summer tone, and if you're on the ''warm side'', you're a winter tone. Ironic, I know. From now on, I'm going to make it a bit more specific to the summer side and see all you winter babes here in about 6 months! :) ***Note: unless you already have a darker complexion, then you will need check to see how much your skin tone changes over the year.***

This color palette chart is a pretty good assessment of the colors you should be sticking to:

(http://modernglamwoc.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/cool-and-warm-makeup-colours.jpg)

So, for you summer tone ladies, embrace those beautiful blues, pinks and purples! :) This is one way that I recommend you complete your summer look for a fun day:

• Concealer: Nothing quite covers up those unwanted blemishes quite like concealer.
• Foundation, liquid: This is where the color palette for skin tones will really be fantastic. Don't get the foundation color wrong-- take some time to really look through the liquid foundations so you can pick one that blends well and evenly into your skin.
• Foundation, powder: *Fun tip- when you're applying your powder foundation, apply in a circular motion for the best results. :)
• Blush: *Fun tip- blush how-to-apply's can be misleading. Usually if you buy a typical blush, it comes with a very small brush. The best way to apply your blush is with a medium to large sized brush. It blends more evenly with your skin, giving it a rosy glow that doesn't look like you just dumped all your blush onto your cheeks, because ewwwwthat'sreallynotattractive. Here are the brushes that I use... and LOVE:

See that big fat brush on the very end? Yep, that's your blush brush! :) One of the things that I absolutely love about these brushes is 1. The handles are made of bamboo (yay for being eco-friendly and pretty at the same time!) and 2. I've never had one of the brush bristles come out. You can order these offline from EcoTools.com or Ulta carries them as well.

• Eye Shadow: (If you do wear eye-liner, make sure that you apply it before your eye shadow so that everything blends better). Have fun in your new found joy of pretty summer pastels!

Annnnnd.........with the perfect lip color, you will be set! Just have fun with it, and don't go too dark on the color-- it won't compliment your new look as well. ;)

Enjoy your summer, ladies, and adieu for now!

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone. ~Audrey Hepburn

A Twist on Things [Day #4]

We all have our favorite colors. Oftentimes you're color reflects you're personality. For instance, my very energetic brothers favorite color is neon yellow, and my shy friends favorite is gray. Get the picture? My favorite is often a mix between allot of different colors. I'd say blue is my favorite, but I find myself wearing purple quite often. I realized I wear quite a bit of purple, without even realizing it. :P Yet, this post wasn't created for me to babble about favorite colors. But to inform you that you can use the colors that looks good on you, or you're favorite colors [Or both!] to you're advantage.

The twist today is this: An outfit with all different shades of purple. I paired a purple skirt with grey stripes with a light cotton black spaghetti strap shirt. This shirt is a life saver. It is multi faceted, thus I can wear this shirt with black, green, or purple. To add the finishing touches to this hipster outfit, I put a purple headband on, purple sparkly shoes and some retro style glasses. I really think it ended up working. All the different colors of purple kind of pulled together by adding the extra pieces.





Now you go find you're favorite color and use it to twist you're outfits up!

Floral Hair Pieces

Soo... I just stumbled upon this AMAZING post on The Glamourai
http://www.theglamourai.com/2011/06/glamourai-diy-floral-headdress.html

Which really got me thinking about how much I adore wearing flowers in the hair.  Thanks to shows like Sex and the City and Gossip Girl, floral headgear has really made a comeback in the past few years.

Growing up in Hawaii I'm definitely a huge fan of this trend.  I naturally gravitate to putting real flora in my hair!  Just the other day, I shocked my co-workers by showing up with a flower behind my ear.  Everyone thought it was fake at first, and were shocked when they learned that my lovely gardenia was actually picked right from my backyard!

For me, wearing flowers in your hair isn't just a fashionable thing to do, how you wear it has significance.  If you're single you are supposed to wear your flower above your right ear, but if you're taken you need to wear it on the left (because it's above your heart).

XOXO,

Catherine

A Twist on Things [Day #3]

Sewing days are especially fun when you make something spectacular out of random scraps of fabric. A Twist on Things day #3 will be able to attest to this. Out of extra fabric scraps and a thin piece of elastic I was able to create a lightweight, sparkly scarf. ;) It was definitely a piece I've been *wanting* to wear, but just couldn't find an outfit that it fit with. But, have no fear...because today I overcame that thought. I paired this fun, glittery scarf with equally glittery oxfords and a brown bubble dress. Finishing it off with a brown vintage belt with a gold buckle. These oxfords have been my recent love. I've always loved the oxford look, but never felt as if I could fit the style quite right. After finding these at DSW, there was no...and I mean..NO reason I shouldn't get them. [Aside from the fact that they cost me an arm and a leg.] ;) They have definitely been worth it though, and I believe they will be equally helpful as they are now throughout the fall.

The twist today is basically the centerpiece of the outfit: the scarf. What was once a normal, cute dress -- just became a statement. I even think that the Man Repeller would be proud of me. O.o




[Statue Pose] ;)

Good luck with the twisting!
<3Jane