Color Texture Pattern: Bright & Quirky Scarf

close up of my new favorite neckwarmer

It was supposed to be a quick stop at Target for some cheap (well-priced) body lotion. Y'know, the big pump bottle. Somehow I wound up in the accessory section - stay on the tiled floor, stay on the tiled floor - and suddenly this flaming beauty just popped up from the rack. A scarf that radiates spring in every fiber with it's searing colors, fine-gauged texture and quirky pattern.

Color Story: Sultry Romance

catharine malandrino gown, femina magazine [photo: armit sharma]

This is the feeling of the season as the days sort of tease back and forth between hot and cool. Rich, flowing silk in a deep mango shade wrapped in cool shades of lilac, rose, and fuschia with swipes of teal and black. Imagine the fabric is so fine that cool air can reach your skin all over. 

No need to worry about your crevices sweating furiously all evening. :sigh:

Color Story: Cool Brights

amazing uniforms at an indian spa

Over the years, I've designed a lot of PowerPoint presentations. When I first started doing them at work I gravitated toward blue backgrounds. Teal, navy, turquoise, lavendar. Always blue-based backgrounds. I could literally feel the relief in my retinas or irises or something. The colors not only enhance and offset the images being displayed, they invite the viewer to keep looking. Once, someone showed me one done in reds and oranges that actually hurt my eyes to look at. That's one thing that's so great about bold color. You can have blazing, eye-searing bolds. Or you can have vibrant, eye-soothing bolds. Neutrals are not the opposite of brights. Brights are the opposite of brights. 

Color Texture Pattern: New PJ's

tigerlily pajamas by alfani

The other night I bought these pajama bottoms while at Macy's to pick up some new stockings. (Knee-highs are so great in the summer.) These "tigerlily" pj's have caught my eye a few times. They're by Alfani, a great brand with cute styles at good prices, and they are modal, a super soft and cool fabric. Heaven against the skin, especially in warm weather. But what really drew me was the pattern. They are just so... pretty with the mix of animal print and colors on a warm tan background. 

A great buy.

Psst...Summer is Coming

And I want to feel as though I look like this: tall, thin, young, feminine and fluttery. 'Cause goodness knows I don't.

Color Story: Chic, Sleek & Saturated

Here's an ad that fairly blows my mind. The image is arresting: simple, spare and yet full of so much movement. The colors are complimentary: yellows to reds to purples. Everything - from upper right down and across - is round and flowing: the hairstyle, the ruffled color, the lines of the dress, the legs, the variations in the wall stain, until the eye arrives at the bottom left corner with the spike of the stilletto and the flower petals. 

And the richness of the colors is offset by the paleness of the model's skin and the depth of the shadow behind her.

The Golden Globes

I gave up watching award shows a few years back, but I do like to watch red carpet pre-shows to see all the pageantry. 

Emma Stone looked amazing. Those fluttery panels in deep purple/fuschia, those bling-lined shoulders, and that eagle on the belt? Awesome. Plus, her hair looked great and her eyes looked amazing, as usual. Maybe her fingernails should have been dark like her toes.

Nicole Kidman was stunning! I've liked a lot of her looks over the years, but this was like the best ever. It blew away any memory of her past triumphs. (Except that acid green chinoiserie that time. Still LOVE that one.) She looked like a doll. I wouldn't think a woman that slim would wear a cincher of any sort, but she freely admits to having no waist and that nude, studded gown is definitely showing off a feminine shape. Whatever it is it worked to perfection. She was Oz Barbie tonight.  

Sarah Michelle Gellar made a triumphant return. People are debating this dress like there's even a question of it's beauty. If Maggie Gyllenhall had worn it, they'd be fawning over it. Like Emma Stone, SMG looked individual. Her gown doesn't cater to any trends. No one else had anything like that goin' on. Baby Buffy chose well. 

Kate Winslet looked flawless. You can find no fault with this ensemble. The cut and color recall classic Hollywood. The shape flatters her utterly. Those splits on the shoulders add that 'just so' detail. And nothing was wrinkled. The only thing that could have made this look better: red hair. (Same goes for Evan Rachel Wood: loved the feathers.)

Diane Lane is always so stately. Elegant, individual. She always looks like she's playing up her own assets instead of dressing for approval. She's bringing the best DL she can to the party. And that DL is very fine indeed.

Berenice Bejo from The Artist. Dunno who this French actress is but her gown was inspiring. A beautiful deep blue, those fluttering panels on the bottom half of the skirt, and it just looked comfortable. Perhaps the next Marion Cotillard?

Mireille Enos was also amazing. Between her and Emma Stone, the redheads owned that carpet. I didn't see her on a broadcast, but the still shots are breathtaking. That is the best yellow dress of the event. What eyes, what a smile. Amazing. 

Honorable Mentions: 

Dazzleships: Ringin' in the New

It's 2012! Live it up! (And try to make it home in the same clothes you went out in.)

source: none magazine  photo credit: miki barlok

Viva Print Media: ELIZA Magazine

Technically, ELIZA Magazine is an online mag, but you can order hard copies. Have you read it? It started pubbing in 2007, but I just stumbled on it about a year ago. Their mission is to address real women with affordable clothes, great deals and realistic models. 

Staycation Day: Empire State of Mind

Today's my day out in the city. No destination in mind. We'll see what happens. 

high style on the brooklyn bridge

Source: Anne & Stiil magazine
Photo: Stine Kase

Far-Flung Fashion: Dressing for Distant Shores

It has been a few years since my last vacation and I'm starting to yearn from some place else again. (To be fair, Paris did hit the spot in a big way.) Sadly, circumstances leave me taking this week off from work and remaining quite local. Thank goodness New York City is one place where a 'staycation' can really count for something! My to-do list includes some of those 'roundtuit items that are so easy to put off, plus a few dashes of fun that life just seems too exhausting for in a normal week. Even sadder? Most of these activities will be attended in assorted denim-and-cotton ensembles.

Of course, glamming it up seems like the ultimate day off. But that's only for people who can afford lots of taxi rides to ease their stillettoed feet, and frankly, for people who don't venture outside the better-heeled parts of town where they're somewhat less likely to run into trouble. (Remember: Carrie Bradshaw's pink tutu was all good 'til the bus splashed mud on it. Reality, folks. Reality.)

So, while my jeans, sneakers and airy tank tops are doing their job keeping me on the go, I'll fantasize about high style in exotic ports of call.

sizzling hot pink against an earthy backdrop of orange and grey