French Fashion at an Affordable Price
The longer I’m around, the more opportunities I get to affiliate with various internet retailers. I’m becoming quite picky.
Typically when an offer hits my inbox, I’ll click on over to their shop. Then I’ll hit the sales. If I don’t find anything reasonably priced, why offer it to you?
A few sales I found when I checked out La Redoute:
We can afford these, don’t you agree?
Free Gift from La Redoute with code LRGIFT, 8/6-8/19
Question, though, since I have no experience with this company, do you have any La Redoute stories?
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Friday Fashion Lab: Four Season Dress
One simple day-time dress, at most two (one for weddings, one for funerals), is all I really need. When the dress I had died my frugal dress hunt began. This recent score will fill the bill quite nicely!
What makes this dress work?
- Silk is a wonderful year-round fabric, light-weight enough for summer, but substantial enough (and actually warm, too) for winter.
- The sleeveless, collarless style is elegant alone, but still easy to layer over.
Topping it with a blazer or a cardigan takes it from warm weather to cool. Oops! he hee. I got the cardi upside down! (Actually, for fun, I meant to do that; I was reminded of the idea by Danielle, in a conversation over at bits and bobbins.)
For creativity’s sake, it’s kind of a bummer that I don’t have more dresses. They masquerade quite nicely as skirts, don’t they?
One last thing I thought I’d try is a jumper look. Why not? For sure, though, if I were really going to wear this I’d tuck the blouse into my magic knickers.
Now … go play dress up! If you come up with any fabulous combinations, please - email them to me so we can see them!
I’m also looking for models for some future fashion labs:
- pleated vs non pleated pants.
- heels vs flats with skinny jeans.
- suits: any color(s) vs black.
- your choice.
Let me know if you’d like to play. 
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Using Scale to Select Prints
In selecting prints, the stealthiest mistake I make - tell me if this one get you too - is in this:
The scale of the figures in the print should be in harmony with the scale of the facial features.
In other words, no large florals for me!
Are your features small, medium, large or extra-large? A combination? Look at length and width of:
- Eyes and eyebrows
- Nose
- Lips
Also consider how much facial space surrounds your features. Obviously this relates to how much background space you would want in a print.
This isn’t a precise science. But does it give you any ideas why certain prints have never worked for you?
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Teen Style Tuesday: Casual Country Glamour
I’m fairly certain this young lady has a glamorous element to her personal style idiom.
Why do I think she’s glamorous? Three reasons:
- It’s 100 degrees out and she’s wearing jeans. Because she likes to wear jeans. Clearly she’s not afraid of fashion pain.
- While it isn’t defining, how else would a glamorous country girl wear her hair?
- The true give-away, though, is her toes. Notice how the pattern of the nail polish repeats the design of the t-shirt?
While this picture was taken at Creationfest, it’s a great look for the up-coming county fair as well!
(This post reminds me - I still want to write some more questions for the quiz. What ideas do you have?)
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The Price of Eliminating Bad Hair Days
In discussing and contemplating my hair in two recent posts (Blogger Reflection Awards and Vote for My Fall Haircut), I came to a conclusion:
I have been going too long between haircuts
Because my hairstylist is extremely skillful and my hairstyle imprecise, I can go longer. I often receive compliments on my haircut LONG after my last visit to the salon. Thus it always seems premature to schedule the next appointment before I leave.
The typical scenario: after about 10 weeks, I have a week when my hair looks so-so. Followed by a week when it looks fabulous. Followed by a week when there is no longer any doubt it is overgrown. Toward the end of that week, I make the call.
While I can usually get in fairly quickly, the problem is compounded by the fact that my hair has lost its shape enough that it now takes me another week of styling to get it retrained. Count them: that’s a minimum of 3 weeks of bad hair out of every 13 weeks! About one quarter of my life.
The simple remedy for this problem? Note to self, in the 9th week: make appointment for haircut. The cost? One haircut per year. Less than $25.
I’m putting a sticky note on my calendar right now. There’s really no excuse not to, is there?
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Spokane Thrift Stores: Volunteers of America
Not for the faint of heart, the Spokane Volunteers of America Thrift Store is one of three major thrifting spots within blocks of each other, along Boone just north of downtown. Not for the faint of heart because it’s just not as convenient in some ways.
The inconveniences:
- having to ask for the fitting room to be unlocked
- they don’t take checks
- they do take credit cards, but not at every register
- no parking lot. There is plenty of free on-street parking, but you may be forced to parallel park if it’s busy.
- the racks are not sized. They are, however, colorized and sorted and labeled by category.
All that said, if you are up to the challenge, they have a variety of treasures you may not find elsewhere. The prices aren’t necessarily the best, but the day I stopped all white tags were 50% off. This Ann Taylor pink silk sheath said “soiled” on the tag (I have yet to find where it’s soiled) and was priced $4.95 on a white tag. With tax it was $2.72.
- Yesterday I wore it Summer Day Wedding style - with vintage pearls, bag, and shoes - when our church received our new pastor.
- For this Friday’s Fashion Lab, I will use this dress to test my theory that a single dress can cover the four seasons.
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I Need New Black Dress Shoes
Although I’m not crazy about wearing alot of black, it does have a place in my wardrobe: three season heels. In other words, shoes for the social and business lifestyle categories, but not even for those categories in the summer. One pair should be plenty.
I may have mentioned this before, but I always wear heels to church - the higher, the better. The reason? Having my feet elevated is less tiring on my legs and minimizes the urge to sit with my legs crossed for extended periods of time. For meetings where I will be sitting, the same thing. Now that we’re inching towards fall (or being drug there, depending on your perspective), I need to face the facts: I don’t have this base covered.
I’ve been thinking of round toed pumps. Or sling-backs. Click picture for more info:
Some of these might not meet my Rule #3 criteria.
What shoes are you loving for fall?
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Just Linking: Aug 10th, 2007
Via the Sartorialist:
- What I would look like if I were glamorous: In Italy … coats that move.
- What I would look like if I had long dark hair and anywhere to go: At Prada.
Omiru readers believe Bohemian fashion is out, what do you say? Trisha’s tip:
If you love bohemian fashion, wear it in moderation. Pair your hippie-chic tunic with a structured pair of pants. Or wear your flowy dress with a sophisticated handbag and shoes. Oh, and buy it on the cheap–this is a fleeting trend, at best.
*groan*
In basic blogging business, I am presently involved in decluttering my sidebar … and it’s not going well.
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Vote for My Fall Haircut
I know I said I was going to do something about jeans for this Friday’s Fashion Lab, but I just can’t bring myself to ask my model to re-shoot after I got the light wrong. Not to mention the fact that I am experiencing a variety of strange symptoms hinting at the coming fall season:
- I’ve been craving and wearing jeans.
- I am in extreme wardrobe organization mode (more on that in another post).
- I badly need a haircut. But it’s August. I never want to do anything ordinary in August. (Did I mention I had an anniversary this week?)
As I’ve been hunting for internet inspiration, I’ve found two distinct possibilities.
Contender #1, as pictured on the September cover of Glamour magazine - Glamour [2-year subscription]
The cover story is about looking your best at your age and Mariska Hargitay, picture on the right, is my age (43). I’m confident my hair would do that.
How do you think that cut would look with silver hair?
Contender #2
Emmylou Harris is more than 15 years older than I am. Still, her long silver hair looks stunning.
With my hair, this is probably an option too.
Which look do you like? Or do you have an alternative to suggest? Either way, I will keep the gray. And I’ve accepted the fact that neat and tidy hair is just not me.
Update: my sister suggests the graduated bob. I’m afraid it’s a little bit of pride that makes me reluctant to revisit a haircut I had 5 years ago (along with some age issues, see complete discussion in comments). But, anyway, I did find a picture.
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Blogger Reflection Awards
Blogger Reflection Award: this award should make an individual reflect upon five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and who have provided an example. In other words, five dear bloggers whom, when you reflect upon them, you are filled with a sense of pride and joy. . .of knowing them and being blessed by them.
I’m honored to receive this award from RLF MamaArcher. I’m also excited that, in response to my request, Kristine has begun posting media recommendations under the category What to Watch. After having been without a TV for this long, I need all the help I can get!
Now that Kristine has moved away, I’m in desperate need of a face-to-face friend with whom to discuss the technical challenges of blogging.
If your blog is linked here, I am thanking you for blessing my blogging and/or fashion life with a Blogger Reflection Award. You then get to pass the award on to five others. Without further ado, a stroll down memory lane.
Back when I only had the vaguest idea what a “blog” was, and for some reason thought they were only for “other” people, my sister, a writer, had a personal blog. But years before that even, she had encouraged me to start an email newsletter containing my “what to wear” ideas.
Consider this post hi-jacked.
Once upon a time, there was a frugal princess with prematurely gray hair. Illustrating the truth that one’s personal perception of the physical self can be quite different from what others see, FP was quite mystified when people called her things like “earthy”.
When her blonde was of a more strawberry than arctic tint (because she was worth it!), our heroine got a gig as a model. A hair model, to be precise. Thinking maybe she’d hit the big-time, what she ended up with was nothing less than a stellar haircut. For free. Ideal for her hair type and style idiom, the long layers proved to be the up and coming thing. Frugal Princess was looking very stylish indeed!
Fast forward. In the busyness of modern life, root touch-ups begin to get old. The style stays the same but, after a period of painful grow-out, the color is all natural. For some odd reason, though, long gray hair is just long gray hair, stylish layers or no.
Then the ultimate humiliation: Frugal Princess is ignored at Nordstrom.
In an unlikely turn of events, FP finds herself suddenly once again the accidental recipient of a cutting-edge haircut, this time a chin-length graduated bob. It works. In combination with stylish little glasses, she strolls into Nordstrom, t.b.d. no less, and strikes up a lengthy conversation with the most helpful saleslady, who proceeds to point out just what pads of carpet to stay off to avoid the old lady departments.
Preparing to leave, our once-again stylish princess sees a friend she hasn’t seen for quite awhile and proceeds to share her delight in being able to get waited on in Nordstrom. To which friend replies, “well, with your hair long, you just looked like a hippie chick”.
The moral of this story: ???
