How to be a Poser
Not poseur. That’s something different.
Vildy and I have decided we need to learn to pose. Here’s what we’ve found:
- Christa Taylor has posted three tips she learned from a model for presenting yourself elegantly in pictures.
- Meg at All About Appearances has done a great series on posing.
And then, if you need a good laugh, there’s this: Look Good in Party Photos. LOL
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Masculine Femininity
Here’s the outfit Vildy built after last weekend’s discussion on pairing masculine looks with feminine details and vice versa. It definitely works! 
Thanks Vildy! *APPLAUSE*
ALSO, you will want to know that Janel at Pearls is doing a fashion series and posting, Real Fashion for Real People style, “What I Wore Today”. Skirt-wearers especially will want to check it out!
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Teen Style Tuesday: Layering with V-necks
This first picture is what I wore on Saturday to a meeting concerning the theatre group we are involved with. What it is: the top with the gathered neckline pictured below, worn underneath a deep v-neck t-shirt.
(Can you believe I posted it again, the outfit everyone loves to hate? Do you think it would be better if the colors were inverted, ie dark pants and light top?)
Last week I created quite a stir by gently suggesting V-necks are on their way out. If you love your v-necks and they are flattering on you, the layered look above, done with greater contrast between the colors, would maintain the vee line.
BTW, dd was cast in the musical Little Women, in a small chorus part. We are very excited, but I had no idea how intense the schedule would be if I ever got assigned to the costume committee. Well, I’ll be finding out. And trying to continue posting, too.
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Watching Fashion Trends Is Frugal
Integral to my frugal wardrobe strategy is awareness of the ebb and flow of fashion cycles. Not the little here-today, gone-tomorrow fads (like ponchos), although I have no objection to wearing one when it suits the wearer.
What am I looking for? I’m looking for classic pieces that are becoming popular, such as pretty flats. And I’m looking for major silhouette movement, like the return of narrow jeans. And, last but not least, I am looking for the pieces that work within MY idiom.
How I use this information to save money:
- Emerging looks: When a look is very fresh, it will often show up in final clearance at major stores. Buy it now, wear it for a really long time! Some items, such as a white dress shirt, are worth actually paying for at this point. (That’s hard for me, but there’s always my birthday.)
- Established looks: Once a look becomes popular, it becomes more difficult to find inexpensively. Sometimes I will find it at a thrift store (usually off-season), but more often it’s Old Navy or wait. Typically I choose wait.
- Saturated looks: When it’s everywhere, the handwriting is on the wall. A decision needs to be made: is this something I want in my permanent wardrobe? If not, and it’s still in good condition, I sell it on consignment, usually for more than I paid.
While I don’t always have to have all the latest styles, I do want to dress like myself. Myself really doesn’t like to look OUT of style.
Thoughts?
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Boyish Good Looks at Gap.com
As regular readers are no doubt well aware, menswear looks are a perennial ‘yes’ in my idiom. Now Gap is calling out a menswear trend for this fall, suggesting:
How to wear fall’s new trend? Balance menswear looks with feminine details.
Which advice is not bad. In my own recent self-talk, the flip-side:
How to wear summer’s trends? Balance feminine looks with menswear details.
One of my favorites:
On a more personal note: in my mind, this is what I look like. Or looked like. Although I am convinced that my eyes would be boring compared to the model’s.
I’d just like to change one thing:
To complete the look? Pair with skinnies or short-sleeved pants.
(Recently I had the opportunity to try on a mid-thigh, fitted shirt dress. I happened to be wearing my brown short-sleeved pants and was surprised what a flattering combination that was!)
Are you looking out for menswear looks?
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Real Fashion for Real People! Fall Business and Social
This was harder than I thought it would be.
My challenge, and yours, should you choose to accept it, was to show one business outfit for the upcoming season and one social outfit, using only items that are generally affordable. Here’s what I scrounged up, most pieces previously shown around here
:
Business
Characteristic of the individual with a strong contemporary classic style influence, most of my looks have a business edge. Unfortunately in my lifestyle I have zero need for traditional business clothing. If I did, I would wear this, but only in the fall/winter. Because of my idiom, I might also wear this for social.
- Base: black velvet skirt, thrifted for $1
- Top: white shirt, thrifted. I don’t remember the exact price, definitely under $10
- Layer: velvet paisley blazer, thrifted for $7
Social
This one can mess me up. I think I should be able to wear a sateen jacket for “smart” casual, but I just can’t - it’s too dressy, shiny.
- Base: year-round weight wool high-waisted pencil skirt, thrifted for about $6.
- Top: sequined tee, purchased on clearance several years ago for about $2
- Layer: magenta sateen blazer, thrifted for $1
See why this was hard? My business clothes looked dressy and my social clothes looked tailored. And I have no dresses, except the pink silk, my ball gown separates, and a couple of killer LBDs.
What are you wearing socially or for business this fall? Real Fashion for Real People is for everybody, I hope you’ll send in some pictures to share. 
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What I Will Wear: First MOPS
What I’m planning to wear to our first MOPS meeting, after much deliberating to myself and wishing I had time and inclination to go shopping:
- Base: (grayish) black jeans
- Top: long sleeve U-neck t-shirt, pale muted pink with mirror-y embellished neckline
- Layer: pink suede blazer
It’s been right cold at night around here and I’ll be greeting at the outer door, so I may wear my wool coat for the first time. Shoes? Probably lowish-heeled, cordovan oxford types.
Sorry no picture. Subject to change.
More later.
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Why Dress Up for Social Occasions?
I know we’ve talked about this here before, but thanks to the always appropriately dressed Wendy for pointing out the lovely discussion going on over at Manolo’s blog concerning the dumbing down of dressing up.
- Manolo the Shoeblogger’s September 18th entry, Dressing Down Those Who Dress Down, along with 40 or so comments, was inspired by Linda Grant’s question in The Guardian of the same date, Are dress codes dead?
- Linda Grant replies today to Manolo’s readers.
As I said, we’ve lamented before about the pressure to dress down. As for the reasons for this negative peer pressure, several have been suggested:
- Eating out is no longer a special occasion. (I know I have been guilty a time or two of eating out simply because I was not prepared to cook dinner.)
- Dressing up is perceived as “trying to show people up” or “trying too hard“.
- Worse, dressing up is perceived as having grown up!
- At “the bottom of the fashion food chain” we well know that lack of finances is not the issue.
- Could it be that we are just trying to avoid having to defend ourselves from “why are you so dressed up?”
Why dress up for social occasions? Linda Grant says it well in her original article:
Dressing down, ubiquitously known as “being comfortable”, says that you don’t care about how you look, as if your appearance were an entirely private matter that has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s the exact opposite: what you wear is part of the visible environment, as relevant as the architecture, the decor, the food on the table, the scents in the air.
Do you dress up? On what occasions? On a scale of one to ten, how exercised do you get over this issue?
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Splendicity Contest for 9/20
To enter today’s contest:
*Guess the Celeb: Post your answer in the comments section of today’s Splendicity contest post.
*All commenters to answer correctly, with the full first and last name of the celebrity in the picture below, will be entered into a drawing to win!
Please read the contest rules before entering. Thank You!
The prize for winning today’s splendid contest: A splendid set of Skin Care products from Renee Rouleau, worth $121.50.
The set includes:
Calming Chamomile Cleanser - This lightweight cleansing lotion is formulated with calming Chamomile and Vitamins A and E to soothe skin while gently cleansing the skin.
Bioflavanoid Toner - This mild astringent toner controls sensitive complexions plagued by red, spider-like veins while leaving skin feeling calm and refreshed.
Toning Cloths - The must-have toner companion to make sure the toner stays on the skin and not on the pad.
Anti-Cyst Treatment - This serum specifically formulated with Lactic Acid, combined with a special carrier molecule that gets absorbed deep into the skin that works to break up and disperse the acne lump itself.
Sheer Moisture - An ultra lightweight and greaseless cream that contains balancing ingredients to normalize combination skin, while providing the skin with age-fighting, stabilized antioxidants.
Thank you so much to Renee Rouleau for sponsoring today’s contest. To learn more about Renee Rouleau or to purchase her skin care products, visit ReneeRouleau.com
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How I Got Engaged
True, this story is not nearly as romantic as MIn’s, but since he asked I will tell you. It comes in three stages:
- We had been “dating” for about a year when my hero looked at me and very seriously said, “if I ever got married again, I would want it to be to someone like you”. Isn’t that romantic? Thankfully, I’m not always overly sensitive, so I took it the way he meant it (although I have teased him plenty!).
- Significantly down the road in our relationship, we put on an “engagement show”. We went to the jewelry counter of the store where I worked, chose a beautifully elegant bridal set, put it on the credit card, got dressed up for the handing it over, and started showing off. I distinctly remember one co-worker looking at my ring finger and pronouncing with a smile, “somebody loves you”.
- Finally, there was the time when we actually decided to get married.
You see, not long after the “engagement show”, and for what reason I cannot remember (I suppose it may have had to do with waiting four years already for a guy who had his mind made up he was not getting married in less than five), we broke up.
But when we did get back together, we did alot of things right:
- we returned the expensive rings and got gold bands we could afford.
- I asked my dad if he thought I would be happy.
- we kept the wedding and reception simple, taking three weeks to plan and execute. *snicker* poor choice of words.
Anyway, I believe this is supposed to be a meme, so here’s who I’m curious about:
- Mama Archer
- Icy
- Charity Grace
- Bonus: Vildy (you can answer here, if you want to do it)
- Bonus: Anyone else with a good story to tell.
See the guidelines at MInTheGap. Thanks for playing! And if you’ve never read my story about why I’m now a completely different person than I was then, here it is: Why I Read the Whole Bible in a Little Over a Year.
