Category: Fashion

Nude-colored shoes

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I love Kate Middleton.  Or rather I love (in ascending order):

  • her hair
  • her smile
  • her fashion

One thing that I’ve picked up from Kate is the wearing of nude-colored shoes.  How many times have you seen her wear the L.K. Bennett Sledge pump?

Kate in her trustworthy L.K. Bennett Sledge Pumps
Kate in her trustworthy L.K. Bennett Sledge Pumps
L.K. Bennett Sledge Pump
L.K. Bennett Sledge Pump

Customarily, you’d pair a dark-colored dress with black shoes, but nude-colored shoes elongate the leg.  That’s a good tip that I picked up from Kate (or rather, her stylist); however, I wouldn’t wear a heel as high (4″ with 1/2″ platform) as the L.K. Bennett Sledge Pump.

PS You may find the L.K. Bennett Sledge Pump ($345) at Nordstrom.

Blast from the past: 60s #cosmetics ads

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When I was a kid, I hung out with my next door neighbor, who was two years older than me.  I liked her company more than that of her sister, who was only a couple of months older than me.  Gayle and I might have been young, but we were precocious in our fondness for clothes and cosmetics.

Here are a couple of items we coveted, but our mothers wouldn’t let us buy:

Source: flickr.com via STYLE on Pinterest

Lipshine from Helena Rubinstein’s Lightworks collection featured a “Splitstick” that was gloss on one side, color on the other, packed in a graphic black and white tube.

I love those swingy, pleated tent dresses!

Body Paint by Coty Originals has to be one of the most unusual cosmetics I’ve seen.  It came in a paint bucket complete with paint roller and pan.  Shades were blue, green, and mauve.  There were also four flesh tones.

This ad was scanned from the July 1967 issue of Seventeen.  The dress is by Betsey Johnson.  Can you believe that she’s been around this long?

More on my pantyhose obsession

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A perfectly beautiful look ruined by lack of attention to the legs. She needed some body makeup or, as some commentators noted, this is the reason to bring back pantyhose.  Silky sheer stockings and closed toe pumps (note how her toes are sticking out) would have completed this look beautifully.

My quest for the perfect pantyhose is like my quest for the perfect foundation.  Here’s my latest find:

For my light-toned legs, I chose Bare Bisque. 80% Nylon/20% Spandex control top panty: midway on the panty compression scale (light to firm). 85% Nylon/15% Spandex leg: the package very helpfully provides a leg sheerness scale from “very sheer” to “opaque.”  These are sheer hosiery, although I wish that they would look like a second skin.  I size up on pantyhose for comfort, and don’t sacrifice fit.  I found that No nonsense Silk Indulgence were very comfortable – no gapping in the crotch.

The Twilight Gown

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The Twilight gown

By now, readers should be familiar with the story about Bella’s wedding gown for Breaking Dawn.  Carolina Herrera designed the gown, and a licensed adaptation is available for $799.

I’ve read comments praising the “modesty” of the gown (although the gown has a teasingly cut sweetheart neckline and plunging back) and welcoming it as a change of pace from the current fashion for strapless gowns.

There are some aspects of this gown that I find weird. Twilight is implausible, but it strains my imagination that a 19-year-old from Forks, WA would walk down the aisle in a Carolina Herrera gown. I also question Carolina Herrera’s motivation.   Money and publicity, for sure, and maybe she had a genuine affinity for the romance and courtliness of Twilight.  Still, I am surprised that the patrician Ms. Herrera would do anything that might lessen her image.

Discuss.

Hermes limited edition sari line

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“Hermès admires India and has a lot to learn from India.” So says Patrick Harris, chief executive of Hermès International.  Indeed.  The patterns and mix of colors (often colors that you think wouldn’t work together) found in Indian saris would be an inspiration to the French luxury leather goods maker known for its “beyond classic” silk scarves.

Hermes limited edition sari

Now Hermes has launched a limited edition collection of saris for the Indian luxury market.  At $6000-8000 a sari, I can see only Bollywood stars (and some uber-rich) being able to afford it. While I think that this picture is intended for fashion spreads only, no self-respecting Indian woman would go without a blouse!

Source: google.com via Julie on Pinterest

Are pantyhose making a comeback?

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Pantyhose sales have been declining for a long time: the Washington Post (WaPo) saw it fit to print an article about declining pantyhose sales on its front news page several years ago: was it that newsworthy?  On The View, Michelle Obama admitted to not wearing pantyhose.

Now pantyhose are making a resurgence, thanks to trendsetter Kate Middleton (royal protocol frowns on bare legs).  To capitalize on the resurgence, L’eggs has launched a catchy new ad for its pantyhose (HT Shine from Yahoo!):

I can understand why women have given up on pantyhose.  Nylons run easily, and I’ve taken pantyhose out of the package only to rip before I can put them on my legs.  Also, pantyhose can be seen as constricting.  It’s hard to recall that pantyhose liberated women from garters and girdles.

Pantyhose never went out of style for me.  My calves are one of my best features, and I don’t always want to hide them under pants and long skirts.  Pantyhose also conceal razor stubble: I have pale legs, but dark body hair. It’s hard, however, to find nude pantyhose at my local supermarket or CVS. I never can get the right balance: pantyhose with too little spandex bag at my ankles, while pantyhose with too much spandex are too opaque and look like “old lady” stockings. What’s a good pantyhose that balances sheerness with the “leg-clingingness” that spandex provides?

Donna Karan black and white Color Block tights

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Patterned and/or textured tights are big this winter. This pair of black and white color blocked tights from Donna Karan takes the cake:


Donna Karan Color Block Tights

Who remembers the black and white unitard that Freddie Mercury of Queen wore back in the 1970s? These tights remind me of Freddie’s unitard!

Fall’s color story

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SoHo Accessories has a story on Pantone’s Fall 2009 color story. It also links to Pantone’s Fashion Color Report for 2009, which features how famous designers use the colors and provides advice on staying fashionable within budget from experts Simon Doonan (Barneys), Nina Garcia, Tim Gunn (Project Runway), India Hicks, and Clinton Kelly (WNTW).


Cover of Pantone Fashion Color Report fall 2009

Colors are:

American Beauty (balanced red)
Purple Heart
Honey Yellow
Burnt Sienna
Rapture Rose
Warm Olive
Majolica Blue, described as “a deep, mysterious teal blue with more vibrancy than the usual navy.”

Indeed. Navy is one of the flattest shades around. I prefer marine or indigo to navy.

The neutrals are neither warm not cool and bridge the gap between gray and beige or brown. From lightest to deepest, the neutrals are:

Crème Brûlée, a grayed-down beige
Nomad, which bridges the gap between beige and light gray
Iron, which is described as “neither gray nor brown.”

Come to think of it, these trio of neutrals would make a great eye shadow palette, with Crème Brûlée for the lid, Nomad for the crease, and iron for the outer corner or as an eyeliner.

Create your own eye shadow trio! Which existing eye shadows duplicate Crème Brûlée, Nomad, and Iron for a smoky eye?

Retro 60s eye makeup

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Total Beauty (of which I’m a member) has had a series on makeup and costumes for Halloween.

This feature on Retro ’60s Girl struck a chord with me: “Channel Twiggy with extreme false lashes and a pale pout.”

Be sure to visit Jamie’s excellent profile of Twiggy on her The Beauty of Life blog.

The eye makeup also reminds me of Penelope Tree, another top model of the sixties.

Penelope Tree