The Space Between My Peers

Since this has been a print week and Coutorture has photos available from Oscar’s Resort ‘09 collection, and Dior Cruise ‘09 too, I thought we’d take a look at some prints, Fashion Lab-style.

Compare the use of scale in these first two.  Who is flattered and who is just plain overwhelmed?

In this second set, in addition to scale, we can study line movement and especially direction.  (Also note that the deep, square neckline, which is visually in balance, acts kind of as a solid to separate the print from the face.)

Just for fun, here’s thumbnails of some more pictures.

Which is your favorite look? That last picture is me. 

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

As long as we’re talking about solids vs prints …

In my previous post on selecting prints in scale with your facial features, I also recommend harmonizing the amount of “background” to the print with the amount of space around the features. Background space can be adapted by simply combining a small bit of a print with a larger expanse of solid.

Three other considerations in selecting prints:

1. line movement: at its simplest, this is simply asking are the lines in the print curved or straight?
2. line direction: consider also whether the print elements create a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal feel (not all do).
3. line clarity: I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this. Take a look in the mirror. Are the edges of your features clearly defined or do they blend into your face? (I suspect this as the reason I don’t wear lipstick well.)

Remember, there is a great deal of room for creativity in applying any of these principles. In other words, don’t hurt yourself trying to figure out whether your eyes are round or almond-shaped. Try both and wear what you like.  And have fun!

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

The main fashion take-away for my 18 year-old from our Italy trip? They didn’t wear many prints. She kept commenting on how much easier coordinating outfits would be if prints weren’t in the picture. (I told her with her idiom she’d be better off learning to mix prints and go for the trendy Dutch style we also saw.)

Do you wonder what place prints should occupy in your wardrobe?

• If you prefer solids, I noticed the Italians mixed textures and details into their ensembles, thereby keeping them from looking boring.
• A simple way to keep from having to mix prints: use them in only one part of the wardrobe, for example tops and blouses. Or suits and jackets. Or skirts and pants (my preference).
• Want to wear multiple prints? Pattern-mixing advice from “The Prince of Chintz”, famous interior designer Mario Buatta, via Sensational Color:

start with a biggest pattern first and then add all the other elements based off of the colors in the largest pattern chosen

This technique is illustrated in detail in a tutorial at Vintage Threads.

Are you a print person or a solid person? As the weather warms up I am drawn to more prints, but solids remain the backbone of my wardrobe.

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

I’ve been tagged by Vyque of Fasshonaburu.  Here’s what I’m supposed to do:

* Link the person who tagged you - check.
* Mention the rules in your blog - check.
* Tell about six unspectacular quirks of your’s - see below.
* Tag a new set of six following bloggers by linking them:

1. Janel at Pearls
2. Damselfly at Growing a Life
3. Jennifer S at Family Musings
4. The Queen of The Duchy of Burgundy Carrots
5. Polly, the Chick in the Country
6. My sister, just because I am really interested in what her quirks are.

* Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged - check

Six unspectacular quirks o’ mine:

1. My big insecurity in life is the possibility that there will not be a place for me.  Wedding receptions can induce panic.
2. (My hero says) when I get nervous, I put on more makeup.
3. I really admire women who are so naturally beautiful they don’t have to wear makeup, and every now and again I pretend I am one.  he hee.
4. I like change.  And not just the coinage kind. 
5. Instead of getting more comfortable with things, the more I perform certain types of tasks, the more afraid I am of messing them up. 
6. I have music picked out for my funeral.  Listen here.  I like the Jars of Clay version, but was interested to find an Emmylou Harris YouTube (small world since I have her haircut)

   When I go, don’t cry for me
   In my Father’s arms I’ll be
   The wounds this world left on my soul
   Will all be healed and I’ll be whole.
   Sun and moon will be replaced
   With the light of Jesus’ face
   And I will not be ashamed
   For my Savior knows my name.

   It don’t matter where you bury me,
   I’ll be home and I’ll be free.
   It don’t matter where I lay,
   All my tears be washed away.

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

Recently received via email:

What do you get for the bride taking the plunge in today’s flailing economy? Brides are less consumed with blenders and toasters, and more concerned with cash. Brides-to-be don’t have time to run from store to store creating registry lists, and those buying for the couple probably don’t have the time to go to five different stores the soon-to-be newlyweds are registered at.

MyRegistry.com saves time for all involved in wedding registry. The site allows users to create one all-inclusive registry, you can include items from any store in the world and compile everything in one, organized registry. Those buying for the couple who feel that perhaps a cash gift would be more sensible than another ten-speed blender can deposit a cash gift on the website, a feature that sets MyRegistry apart from the competition.

Link to MyRegistry.com FAQs

Myself? I always give the same gift. And I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been paying more for it.

Any NT’ers reading? Wannabes? I know bonnie makes kefir and drinks it with coffee. This spring I have become mistress to a batch of grains, continued experimenting with soaking flour, and resumed sprouting. Next up: fermented vegetables. How’d you like to receive a jar of peppery, fermented pickles as a wedding gift?  LOL

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

Just a few random links I’ve collected over the past couple of weeks:

Amy at MotherLoad has a great post up on building a starter work wardrobe.

New commenters:

Chloe from Her Accessories.

Polly at Chick In the Country (featuring What I Wore pictures)

Jennifer at Family Musings. Be sure to see her post on modesty.

Vyque at Fasshonaburu.

Sharon from A Scrapbook of Me

Master photographer Stuart Riddell

New to the blogroll:

Almost Dressed

The Budget Babe

BTW, Happy Mother’s Day!

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

Many thanks to Chrs for the question and the pictures for this sleeve-length fashion lab!  A previous sleeve-length fashion lab tested the affect wearing a 3/4 length (or pushed up) sleeve has on visual length of the legs; the question before us now is: 

what affect, if any, does sleeve length have on the apparent length of the top?  Do any of these tops look shorter or longer than they really are because of the length of the sleeves?

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

 I skipped posting for Teen-style Tuesday in order to spend time with my parents, who were in town to attend the annual Semi-Casual banquet (my older daughter was one of the special honorees this year).  Mom took this picture.

About my outfit:

• Mom bought me the safari style jacket for Christmas. 
• Same pants I wore last year. 
• Same shoes I wore the year before.

At the last minute, in order to more accurately repeat the contrast in my own coloring, thereby creating a more flattering ensemble, I selected the brown gingham check camp shirt. 

It’s also the humor in this outfit.  What’s so funny, you ask?  When I was small, back in the day when brown was the “in” color, my sister and I had gingham dresses.  Mine was brown.  Trouble was, I always thought that brown dress meant I was boring; which faulty thinking became known as the “brown dress syndrome”.  As an adult, though, I realized that my mom always liked brown, therefore choosing to dress me in it could not be bad. 

Wearing brown checks reminds me that I am way over the ”brown dress syndrome”, the whole thing was childish thinking in the first place.  What about you?  Have you uncovered any remnants of childish thinking in your own wardrobe choices? 

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

Becky writes:

Rebecca, several of your posts on dressing in colors that are present in your personal coloring have puzzled me. For example, I have very fair that is somewhat yellowish (also dark blonde/light brown hair) and I look horrible in colors that contain too much yellow. It seems to me that I look best in cool colors that balance out the yellow of my skin.

Nobody looks good in yellow outside of Texas, do they?

But seriously, Becky, you bring up a good question. Your experience corresponds with the advice to Choose the Opposite Color that I blogged about awhile back. (I also notice that most of the commenters said the same thing you did, “horrible in yellow”.)

Here’s how eternalvoyageur answered:

Hmmm… I think that we have to pick what we want to highlight in our colouring (either by using these colours or contrasts) and what we prefer to conceal or balance out. read the rest of her answer …

I agree. Don’t emphasize anything you don’t want noticed (undereye circles, acne, birthmarks, etc) by matching it in color.

In one of my very first posts, on selecting jacket colors, I gave the following advice on wearing a color similar to your skin tone next to the face:

• Separate the garment from your face with a swath of contrasting fabric.
• Choose as an accent color: your eye color, white, black, or your lipstick color.

There is, of course, the danger of being washed out by not using enough contrast in your color scheme. To combat that possibility:

• use a darker or lighter version of the eye or hemoglobin color
• use the complementary color
• add a small amount of white, black, or a shiny metallic

Finally, finding flattering colors to wear next to the face can be as simple as identifying your hemoglobin and melanin colors, by-passing the overall skin tint. Hemoglobin is the oranges, reds, and purples present in, for example, the tips of your fingers. By melanin I mean the color of your freckles, that is, the browns in your skin.

In the end, I decided against the monochromatic “safari suit” for this evening’s semi-casual banquet, opting instead for a variation with greater contrast.

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader

I’m taking a break from watching the rhubarb grow to bring you these links from around the Splendicity community.  Enjoy!

BEAUTY

Beautiful Makeup Search picks some great makeup for the multi-tasking Mom.

NY Spender loves her new T3 Tourmaline wet-to-dry flat iron!

ParisB of My Women Stuff shares some thought on the new Origins Organics face lotion.

Viva Woman takes a closer look at toners, toning mists and facial sprays and examines how each is suited for different skin types.

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog interviews MAC Cosmetics Senior Makeup Artist Jennifer Karsten and gets the skinny on how it’s like to work with Kanye West.

Beauty Bento Box learns a thing or two about eye makeup via a MAC fafi eye makeover.

Beauty Secrets Revealed shares a Tropical Hair Conditioner Recipe for Silky and Shiny Hair

Beauty and Fashion Tech tries out a number of products from the new Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Line and posts a picture of the completed look.

Beauty Match discovers Cossidia Rejuvenating Capsules: Nanotechnology skincare!

FASHION

Style…a work in progress ponders whether jewelry can have the evil eye when she says ” Wish me luck!”

Petite Fashionista got an email from Hayden’s Panettiere’s mom and she’s got some exciting news to share Once you read this, you better hurry and grab a ticket to this petite friendly event!

Sasha of Style Manila discovers a way to wear her vintage silk sari as a dress.

Tops 2 Bottoms offers the Bandeau One-Piece Swimsuit as a stylish reason to get wet this summer.

Indie Style File take a long lustful look at Vancouver Fashion Week.

Shoe Blitz features this chunky heel sandal, which is a great alternative to flats.

The Space Between My Peers (oh, there I am again!) recommends Making Peace With Your Body Image.

SHOPPING

ShopDiary says Gossip Girl Serena Van der Woodsen’s Burberry Prorsum The Mason Warrior Bagwill come in handy when she eventually goes to battle with her arch-nemesis, Georgina Sparks.

Shopalicious shows you how to impress your Mom on Mother’s Day with this charming Ava Rose wicker handbag — and get 15% off too!

Her Accessories has been blogging about her favorite picks for Mother’s Day and has posted her favorite picks - sure to win you Mom points!

All that & a found a gorgeous knife pleat dress that will take you through summer.

Happy Weekend!

Share This

 Subscribe in a reader