The Perfect Fit

Ladies, we have got to talk about getting a suit that fits; I just returned from the beach and I saw so many ill fitting swimsuits, it was unbelievable. You have your shape, embrace it, enhance it, just don’t wreck it with a suit that strains, sags, bags or makes you look like a sausage.

Now, I know you are thinking, ‘but I am only going to wear it a few times, I don’t want to spend a lot’. Sorry, but let’s face it, you have to spend a little to get a great suit that looks good, and this is the key, FITS. Time and money are required to find a suit that flatters. So get your comfy shoes, grab your best friend and hit the mall to find a suit that flatters.

Yes, all those adorable cheap bikinis at places like Target and Wal-Mart are hard to resist; you run in for laundry soap and get a bikini too (without even trying it on!). For the greater good, you are going to have to try it on! It takes just a second to pop into the changing room and try on the suit. The cheaper the suit, the less likely that it has any support anywhere, and very few women look good without (and I include myself) a little help from the spandex gods!

I saw a woman who was really quite lovely, and she would have looked fabulous if her cheap little bikini bottom wasn’t sagging and making her look like a toddler that had been in the wading pool. She also spent her entire time at the beach readjusting the silly thing. Hello! You missed that cute guy waving at you, because you were too busy fiddling with your suit.

Another thing, sure the beach is the place that you flaunt your assets, but you ladies out their with the big assets, harness them! I saw some ladies that I was positive were going to have swimsuit failure at any moment. Repeat after me, our breasts belong on our chests, not dangling down around our knees! If you are large chested it is imperative that you get some support! Again, S-P-A-N-D-E-X, I don’t care if your man thinks you look hot, a)he’s a man and b) well…he’s a man! Ask your girlfriends for an honest opinion (and no getting mad when they give it).

Okay, so I told you to get spandex, now let me speak to the women who take spandex to the extreme. To these ladies I say-spandex will only do so much! If you have a rather round figure spandex will not, I repeat NOT give you curves, too much of it in fact, will make you look like a sausage. A little support here and there to keep you in place is fine, but so much that you can’t take a breath for fear you will pop a seam is TOO much.

Many suit companies including Land’s End now offer a nice selection of mix and match suits that allows you to get a perfect fit for your top and bottom…yes, each piece costs roughly the same as a one piece, but very few one pieces are flattering. Go with the separate pieces and get a custom fit.

Now, since there are several weeks of summer left, buy a suit that fits well, and you will find yourself using it more, and that will certainly justify the extra expense.

~ Jennifer Flaten

Rufflicious!

I remember as a little girl, growing up in the 80s, my mom would put these little, light colored dresses on me all of the time, and all seemed to have large, small or medium ruffles…uh….I thought ‘THIS HAS TO BE THE MOST HIDIOUS THING EVER, I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL I’M ALL GROWN UP, SO I DON’T WEAR THIS STUFF.”

Well, I’m all grown up now and truthfully, up until this point, I’ve still despised ruffles and all that they stood for. When I would see others with a piece on that had ruffles (uh), I would be on the verge of actually peeoooking!!!

But this season, ruffles are BACK and I think they are back with a vengeance, poking fun at all of the ruffle naysayer’s (that would be me).

Many designers, from the runways in Paris, to the manufacturing plant in Indiana, have implemented ruffles with a 21st century twist into their line. So far, I have no complaints. The new ruffle is greater than the previous, or greater than ever.

I love the way that the ruffle has came back better, so now I can buy a ruffle dress, blouse, pantsuit, etc., and won’t have any shame whatsoever. No shame because, hey, “I know I look good in this.”

Ladies, you have to feel comfortable in what you’re wearing, head to toe, in order to walk and live in confidence; not arrogance, but confidence. And confidence definitely shows!
~ Nekiwa Smith

Blinded By The Light

You can definitely tell that summer has officially arrived, due to huge amounts of capris, sandals, sundresses and SHADES (or should I say sunglasses). Now, I truly love the look of summer and all that it has to offer, but one thing that upsets me is a nice summer attire look with the wrong shades or sunglasses. Sunglasses are accessories and therefore should enhance your entire look, not diminish it.
I love Tiffany’s new line of eyewear! I admire that they have increased in their design of their sunglasses. The Fall 08 collection has a whole lotta BLING added to specific pairs. I think that it is the cutest thing. Now for the past six years or so, I’ve seen other sunglass designers dib and dab in added sparkle and bling to shades, but often the bling was too bulky so it looked like shing or the bling was too little so it looked like nothing (ha,ha).

I think Tiffany has gotten the whole bling on the sunglasswear right! They’ve associated the bling to enhance and compliment the entire design of the eyewear piece.

Now ladies, I have a couple of steps that I’ve gathered throughout the years that I ALWAYS follow when picking out the right sunglasses:

Step 1: Always consider the outfit/piece that you are buying the glasses to accessorize with….

Step 2: The tone, shade and color of the frames should always be an undertone of the color of your ensemble; example: if you are wearing hot pink, PLEASE DO BUY HOT PINK OR ORANGE SUNGLASSES!!

Step 3: If you plan on carrying a clutch or bag with this outfit, make sure that the sunglasses that you buy go in line with your bag, shoes, jewelry, all accessories (IT HAS TO BLEND WELL)

Step 4: If you are considering buying a pair of sunglasses that has a little bling, always make sure that the bling does not overshadow the entire look the glasses or vise-versa, the glasses should not overshadow the BLING!

~ Nekiwa Smith

Sunglasses Not Only A Fashion Statement

We all know that sunglasses are not only a fashion accessory but also a statement of one's fashion individuality and independence, a mere expression of ones personality. Sunglasses can tell us a lot about a person - whether that person is witty, shy, social, fashionable, chic, sexy, etc.

In this post I want to address the dual importance of wearing sunglasses during this spring/summer season; for your protection and also the importance of staying chic and not be flashy about your designer sunglasses.

Yes, we all know that the best sunglasses are also designed by designers who specialized in shoes, handbags, denim, etc. My personal favorites this season are: Gucci, Tom Ford, Marc by Marc Jacobs and my ultimate favorite, Prada. Why are this designers the most famous or even the best designers for sunglasses? The answer is simple. They have vast experience in the fashion world and their knowledge of what costumers really want, and they also have set a trend with their fashion house. Thus, the sunglasses become another important piece in your outfit.

These designers have also taken the time and given the importance to the protection of the clients eyes and sight; it is not quite the same to buy clear designer sunglasses as to buy dark sunglasses so leave the clear lenses for winter season.

For women its very important to match your sunglasses with your purse. Ladies, please be careful when you try to match your ray-bans to your Marc Jacobs blue leather handbag...it's just a big NO. Gentlemen, it's very important to match your sunglasses with your footwear; wearing large, thick paste Prada sunglasses don't really go with your Gap flip-flops. Sunglasses and footwear give a complete personality to a summer outfit.

Sunglasses can make or break an outfit and completely make your trendiness go away, for the fact that you did not pay attention to the design and shape of your eye wear.

Need some tips on the hottest trends for the season? The best looking designs are Bob Dylan sunglasses (try Gucci), Aviators (definately Ray Ban), and Medium Thick Paste (Tom Ford). You cannot go wrong with those designs...but you can go wrong if you try to follow the fashion savvy of Kanye West. His sunglasses are NOT in.

Stay fashionable!

- Rog Castillo

Floral Fever

Funny thing about hair accessories, they either look drop dead gorgeous or completely ridiculous. There’s a very fine line one needs to be aware of when using hair accessories.

Probably age appropriateness is one of the first questions to ask yourself. Do I look like a six year old playing dress up? Nothing looks worse and actually ages a woman more than trying to pull off clothing from the juniors department-let’s face reality, those years are over! Well, hair isn’t much different. Don’t wear your daughter’s rhinestone barrettes or hairclips with bows attached. It just doesn’t work.

I do love the look of a flower in the hair. Just one beautiful statement clipped low in a chignon or tucked behind the ear in the summer can look breathless. Think Diana Ross in Mahogany or channel Billie Holiday.

Hibiscus Florals does extremely real looking flowers for the hair that come with a pre- attached hair comb or clip. They average around $29.00 which is perfect- a simple way to be unique without breaking open the piggy bank. Check them out at http://www.hibiscusflorals.com/

~ Eileen Lang

What's Hot (And What's Not!)

Ok, its summer time, the weather is hot and itʼs time to start getting that tan. What styles and trends should you be following this summer?

For makeup I suggest the au natural style. Carmex for lips works a treat; if you donʼt have Carmex then substitute it for Vaseline. Pouts are in; letʼs face it, which guy wants to kiss a girl and end up looking like he has been cross dressing? Lipstick is a no no!

Eye shadows - what colours should you choose? Blues, greens - something that stands out or brings out the artist in yourself. Paint your eyes like a Picasso piccy and feel good while you experiment. Thereʼs nothing worse than people that copy the trend. Have your own ideas and know what works for you.

Three-quarter pants are a great way to make chubby legs look attractive, but opt for miniskirts if you are confident enough to wear them. Try a combination and go wacky - mix leggings with a mini skirt to stand out from the crowd.

Try rainbow colours ! ! You must be thinking Iʼm a crazed mad woman, but really, experiment. Fashion is about daring and being able to stand out.

When it comes to earrings, putting in hoops gold is out dated. Try big, exaggerated silver hoops and as for nail polish try blue, orange, yellow (yes, go hippy).

Heading down to the beach? Put on a bikini and get the perfect tan. If you haven't made your holiday plans just yet, then just go to the back garden and lounge in the sun. Have a barbeque and make yourself feel like youʼre on holiday !

~ Clare Al-Aufi

All That Glitters Ain't Gold!

Sugar and spice and everything nice, tomato-tomatoe, zig, zag, uhhhh! Nothing’s better than walking down the side of coast of a nice, cool, warm to the toes, sandy beach, wind blowing in your hair, water between your toes and oh yeah, handsome men. Summer is getting better and better each year. We look forward to it, especially those of you that are full time students, uh-hum. This is the time of year that we women show off our great sense of style.

I have seen different types of accessories catered for some ensembles and drastically failing others. I love having different types and styles in my jewelry box. There is a feud between the metals for the winner of the best summer metal accessory award: Silver or Gold? Which one do you prefer? Which one do you think compliments this summer 08 fashion season? Each year, there are new trends infiltrating our stores, TV, even homes. I know because I am proudly part of it, though I do think that it is a little vain for there to be a battle between these two great metals.

Both are precious in their own right: silver is a great color for an accessory/jewelry, regardless of the cut or style. Gold is also, but is bolder in its flare and color. I like to say COLOURRRRRR. Silver was great for last summer and even this past winter. Silver or gold was the colour to sport, be it shoes, jewelry or handbags. Truly, I can’t pick between the two. Because both are so great and in line with this season, I normally choose based on the outfit that I am wearing, including shoes. I normally pick the subtler of the two if I am wearing a bold colour. If I am wearing a lighter, more timid colour, I normally pick gold, the bolder of the two. I’m noticing that the jewelry is getting bigger this year and more ethnic.

Diamonds also definitely spark. Diamonds are that pure, original, natural resource that’s been around and that’s been worn since the pharoahs and kings ruled every large nation. I prefer diamonds and gold any day.

You definitely cannot go wrong with diamonds, gold or silver. Each of these compliment any outfit tremendously, bringing out the best in your entire look: clothes, shoes, make-up, hair and accessories.

~ Nekiwa Smith