OK, ladies, this one is for you.
I may not be a fashionista, but I always take pride in how I look and what I wear. And I have come a long way. According to my husband "I have unfortunately acquired an expensive taste in everything." So, without further ado, I would like to express my passion for fashion and how you can still look fashionable on a normal salary. Because I totally have one of those.
First of all, for those of you who aren't blessed with perfect skin and gorgeously curly or stick straight hair, we can be friends because I'm not blessed with either of those either. For those of you who are, you are welcome to skip the next couple paragraphs.
I am blessed with the worst skin anyone could have. I have fair skin, I burn easy in the sun, and I peel once I've burned. I am incredibly oily, and I constantly have at least one noticeable blemish. For those of you good with word analogies or studying to take the MAT, please know that (sweat: glisten :: pimple: blemish). Ok, I think we're all on the same page. In order to keep my skin presentable, I always always always, I repeat, ALWAYS, wear make up even when I'm running errands (maybe not a complete face of make up though.) I pay more for my make up so that it is light weight yet still has good coverage. But I am a bargain shopper for eye makeup because they don't affect breaking out. But, the key to controlling nasty skin like mine is not skipping washing your face. As tired as I am at night, I always make myself do that before bed. I use proactive at least twice daily, and all three steps at that. It's really reduced breaking out by at least half, probably more. Also, I mentioned I have oily skin and I use bare minerals "mineral veil" over my makeup. Another secret I have is a spray that I use once I've applied all my makeup in the morning called "All-nighter" by urban decay and I love it. It really does make my makeup last all day. My skin also affects my hair because part of my hair lays across my nasty oily skin, consequently my hair starts to look nasty oily throughout the day. I use Oscar Blandi dry shampoo spray. It too is wonderful. But my two rules are: wash your face every day and keep your eyebrows groomed and arched nicely.
My hair sucks too. It's really fine and has no body and I must wash it every day for it to look like I've washed it within the past week. I really don't have much of a solution here. Except, I never use conditioner and I only straighten the ends of my hair. I am still, after 25 years in need of major hair help. And regardless of the help I may receive, chances are I will never be happy with my hair. Ever. It's my thing, that's just how it is. When it's long I want it short and when it's short I'm mad at me for cutting it. I'm sure you can empathize.
Onto dressing. I do not claim to be a professional stylist, nor am I Clinton or Stacy, but let's just say I've seen enough people out and about lately in dumpy shirts or sweatshirts with leggings under jogging shorts with Ugg boots on over them. One word for this "trend": UGG. Anyway, so I'd like to impart some of my daily do's, if that's ok of course.
When I worked at Express years ago, I learned an important thing as part of my outfitting guide (and yes, the ONLY thing I learned worthwhile while working there.) I learned to always wear three pieces, such as the shirt you plan to wear, the pants/skirt on the bottom half, and then add a fun accessory. This accessory does not include your shoes or your winter coat either. I'm talking about a long necklace, a sweater over the shirt, a scarf, or a belt, etc. I've gotten so good at this that I pretty much go for five items daily. But be careful, this can be overdone. Which in my opinion is the only thing worse than looking like you didn't try. I will post some outfits I have compiled from my wardrobe later. This way though, you'll always feel and look like you've tried, AND you'll use more items in your wardrobe and get the wear out of them.
Onto shopping. When shopping, it is guaranteed, I will ALWAYS find something that I like whether I am at a massive sale at the Gap or in Saks 5th Avenue. I have to ask myself, "is this fabulous enough for me?" If it passes that test, then I ask myself, "does this look like it was $20 or $200?" If it looks like it was worth $200, I then proceed to thinking through my wardrobe and pairing it with items I wear quite often. For example, I would be more likely to spend more money on a plain black shirt than a pretty floral. The floral will go with two different pairs of pants in my wardrobe and be very difficult to pair a third item with. These are the items I buy cheaper on sale. I'd rather spend more money on the nice black shirt that I can wear with anything on the bottom and easily pair five different necklaces or scarves with it. For example, one of my favorite designers is Michael Starrs. He makes plain shirts and dresses. They are all comfortable, yet stylish and "one size fits most." With these plain shirts, I pick out fun jewelry or wear scarves. If the shirt I pick is longer, I usually wear legging jeans and boots. But the rule of three is great. Just think: shirt, jeans, scarf. Even on a lazy day, that's SO easy.
Simplicity is good. My favorite purchase of late is my black Longchamp tote. It is SO simple, but the beauty in this is that it is so simple that I can never bring myself to hate it for any reason. I can not get tired of this purse, I've tried. I travel quite a bit too so I can roll it up and pack it better in my suitcase. And also, here's the kicker, I can throw it on the ground and stomp all over it because I can just wipe it off with a lysol wipe since it's nylon. AND it goes with anything black or brown because of the brown straps. I mean, for goodness sake, if you're a female, go buy yourself a Longchamp or add it to your Christmas list for next year. You won't regret it.
One really difficult thing for me is looking special. Since I always wear makeup and always try to dress nicely, it's hard on a special occasion to make myself look special. The key to this is that on a normal work day I always skip most of my eye makeup. I stick to a thin line of eyeliner and mascara. And also, I just wear chapstick with color in it. When I dress to impress I wear something that I don't wear often and then use the eye shadow and lipstick. Then I add some fancy jewelry. I used to get so frustrated with those girls in high school who would roll out of bed and come to school with nappy hair and no makeup on day after day. And they'd finally shower and have someone do their hair and makeup for prom. Then everyone would make such a fuss over them. Hello! Look at me over here, I try EVERY day!
And finally, I will finish up with a list.
Things that I have splurged on that have been worth it: my Tiffany's key necklace (it's a statement piece and goes with everything because it's silver), my Michael Kors watch (it's oversized and makes a statement as well, plus it's silver and goes with everything), my leather camel color boots (I wear them with black and brown on a daily basis), my Longchamp tote, my David Yurman and John Hardy bracelets (because they are just so classic), and my Costa del mar sunglasses (because they are polarized.)
Trends I love right now: legging jeans with boots, nude colored flats, long shirts, long necklaces, belts over clothes, the classic white shirt, tankinis.
Trends I hate: big sunglasses, Ugg boots, menswear on women, military on women.
My rules: Unless I have a gift card or they are having a huge sale, stay out of Anthropology. Never pay full price for jeans because they are just jeans. Don't ever try to match your outfit with a Vera Bradley bag. Have your eyebrows done professionally. Don't stress about your nails unless you're about to get engaged, but on the other hand, don't start wearing sandals with last year's pedicure. Bras are friends, not enemies. If I can see your thong line, then the thong is not serving it's purpose. Always go for the simple item, not the trendy one. Chacos were not made to go with skirts. One nice purse over four cheap ones any day.
There will be more to come. Stay tuned.
I'll be seeing you. -AK
