Accessories Anonymous: The BEST accessory ever

Do you guys watch What Not to Wear? I think it is by far the best makeover show on TV. I love it and I love Stacey and Clinton. They always offer great advice, but what they do is so much bigger than just telling women to wear dark wash denim and empire waist dresses. They empower women in a huge way. Some people might say that shows like that are too cookie-cutter and that the stylists tend to make everyone look the same. Once again, I think this is where Stacey and Clinton set themselves apart. I believe they truly try to keep each and every woman's unique personality in mind when selecting clothes and teaching them how to dress.

But what they do best is that they teach women (and the occassional man) that the clothing you choose to wear each day can help you tell the world what to think about you. By dressing well, you are able to determine how the rest of the world views you and isn't that incredibly empowering? Don't be passive- take charge of how you are seen and perceived! You can choose to dress to blend in with the crowd and in doing so, you are telling the world not to take notice. Or you can stand out because of your own personal style and then you are telling the world that you are a formidable person, someone to be reckoned with. By dressing in a stylish and unique manner, you tell the world that you are confident enough to stand out from the crowd. Body type doesn't matter. Skin color doesn't matter. Height and weight don't matter. None of these things matter if you are wearing the most important accessory of all- confidence.

With this perspective, you can be wearing a $5 thrift shop outfit, but look like a million bucks. Or vice versa- without this perspective, nothing- not even a $5000 Badgley Mishka gown- will make up for the lack of that one crucial element of confidence.

Carry yourself and dress in such a way that you force the people around you to take you seriously and more importantly, to sit up and take notice of you. From there, they sky's the limit!

April Shoe Dazzle Showroom #2

I hope all of you are having a fabulous weekend so far. I have been very lazy all morning long, but I'm about to get motivated and head out into this beautiful weekend. It's sunny here, but very cool. I actually miss the 80+ degree weather from last weekend! But until it feels like summer again, I'm going to focus on summer shoes to keep me in the mood. I just received my updated Shoe Dazzle shoe selections. As you know from this post, I received April's shoe selections, known as "My Showroom." I didn't feel compelled to purchase any of them. I just wasn't in love. So, I've been waiting a few days for my next set and I have now received the second set for the month:

(P.S. The bottom left shoe- "Carly"- was actually in my original showroom for the month, but it was offered in a pewter color rather than bronze. More on that later.) To be perfectly honest, I'm not that impressed with this showroom because it's not really in line with what I asked for. When you receive your initial showroom, you have until the 6th of the month to either select a shoe or choose "Skip this month." Since I have not yet made a purchase, I'm not bound by that rule. Once a purchase is made, then the time frame rule takes effect.

Anyway, when you ask for a second selection of shoes, you are asked to answer some more questions. I wrote that I wanted to see neutrals, but that I preferred a nude shoe rather than blacks and browns. And yet, look at what they sent me: not a nude shoe in the bunch! AND one of them is the exact same shoe as my original showroom for this month, just in a different color. It seems to me that it would be easier for them to offer me the "Carly" shoe, for example, but when I click on it to see more detail, I would learn that it comes not only in the recommended pewter, but also in bronze, etc. Instead, I had to wait four days to learn that "Carly" is available in bronze as well as pewter. To me, that's not two separate shoe recommendations. Maybe I'm too picky, but it's how I feel.

In addition, for heel height, I selected all three options- flats, mid-height and high heel. I thought my next set would have a variety. What did they send? ALL heels! I am starting to feel that the process is a tad limiting. The concept of Shoe Dazzle is to make the customer feel as though they are getting the best service from a personal stylist/personal shopper. I don't know that I feel that way.

Anyone else disagree with me? Let me know your thoughts! And in the meantime, check out this "Hot Shoe" from the Shoe Dazzle website:

Once again, the shoe I like the most is one that was not found in either of my showrooms! The same thing happened last month, remember? I am not sure if I love this shoe enough to spend $40 on it, but I'll think about it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Accessories Anonymous: Hair!

Even though I am the FIRST one to completely neglect my hairstyle and make-up, deep down I really do understand how important both are in completing any look- whether it's date night, or a formal event, or even just work or a casual outing. My hair has always given me a battle- it never wants to look how I want it to look. It's thin and stringy and has little to no volume. Even teasing it like a Miss South Carolina pageant contestant doesn't seem to work. It just deflates and flattens out and looks terrible. Curls? I'd love to have curls, but once again my hair protests anything interesting or volumous. It doesn't stop me from trying, though.

With hair and make-up, just like with clothing style, it's best to choose a style icon. Model your look after that person. Bring her picture to your stylist and to the store where you buy your make-up. My motto is always: when in doubt, ask a professional. That's what they are there for, after all.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Kathryn Morris' hair. She's the star of "Cold Case" and in the first season her hair was TERRIBLE, but they fixed it and now I love it basically every time I see it. It's almost distracting. I'll find myself zoning out and not paying attention to the plot because I'm mesmerized by her hair! Sad, but true. What I love about her hair is that it has a little volume with really cute side-swept bangs. She often has it teased a bit at the crown to give her a little "bump" but then she pulls it back into a ponytail or bun. (One of my pet peeves on police shows and crime dramas is when the investigators have big, flowy hair. Um, hello? Aren't they always lifting HAIR from the crime scenes? So, wouldn't they at LEAST pull it back? Drives me nuts.) Anyway, finding the style she sports on the show so frequently was actually kind of hard. I found these two photos that show it:

She also sports such a pretty shade of blonde and it looks great with her skin tone. I've never been a huge fan of the pale blonde with dark, tan skin. It reminds me of the Real Housewives of OC and they all look SO plastic to me. Anyway, I love her pale alabaster skin against the super pale blonde. It actually looks quite natural on her.

One of these days I'm going to get the somewhat tousled, messy ponytail with a bump and side swept bangs and I'm going to rock it. I try to wear this look ALL the time, but I never seem to get it quite right. Mine always ends up looking like I'm trying too hard. Kathryn Morris always looks like her hairstyle is effortless. Color me jealous.

How do all of you feel about hair? We all love a good hair day, but how much do you think about your hair with each outfit. Is it always carefully planned as part of your look, or do you just style your hair based on what you feel like doing to it in that moment? I'm always curious about how other people deal with hair.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Project Runway: Season Seven, Episode 12

BRYANT PARK: Emilio, Seth Aaron, Mila and Jay
AUF'd: Anthony

What a fun challenge, right? Designing fashion inspired by the circus must be SO much fun, especially the part where you get to actually watch a circus show. A traditional circus show. I know Cirque du Soleil has been all the rage for the last 10 years or so, but there's a reason Barnum & Bailey's is still going strong. It's the "Greatest Show on Earth!" As for the fashions, I loved how every design looked so avant garde and over the top. Drama! I love it!

My initial reactions to each look:
Jay: He actually managed to make that Michael Jackson jacket look like it wasn't a Michael Jackson jacket. The open neckline made all the difference. I wish he had done it in less circus-y colors because it did strike me as almost too similar to an actual circus ring leader costume.

Mila: I HATE this outfit! It was costume from start to finish, in my opinion. Awful, just awful.

Anthony: Nice gown, but not anywhere close to the drama needed for a final challenge garment.

Emilio: Why did he have to add those polka dots? I think it would have been FLAWLESS if it wasn't for the polka dots. But that's just my opinion. I don't think the polka dots ruined the look, I just would have preferred it without them. To me, the stripes were so striking that I didn't need the polka dots.

Seth Aaron: If the sleeves had been shorter or maybe if the garment had been sleeveless, I would have liked it better. I still love the outfit because of how dramatic it was and because of the gravity-defying collars.

As for the judges reactions, I LOVE how Michael and Heidi FULL ON went up to the runway to feel Anthony's gown fabric. I also LOVE that everyone loved Emilio's gown the best. It was my favorite, too.

This is always the episode where they ask the designers, "Why should you go to fashion week?" and "Who should go with you?" I wish they'd call me up and ask, "Renee, whose collections would YOU like to see?" But it doesn't work that way goshdarnit. But let's suppose they did ask me that, my answer would be, "Emilio, Seth Aaron and Anthony." I am NOT a Mila fan and I think Jay's designs are something I've already seen. I rarely feel like Jay is being incredibly innovative. Meanwhile, I think that Seth Aaron and Emilio are always incredibly creative and Anthony's just SO entertaining. That's why I'd pick those three.

I love the twist with Jay and Mila at the end- it's just like the season with Chris March and Rami. I hope Jay brings it because I really don't like Mila. I don't like her designs and I don't like her personality. I don't have any interest in seeing a Mila collection to be honest. But time will tell how it all plays out.

Who would you pick? Do you agree with the judges decision? Leave a comment!

Another "Bouche Original"

I was running errands a few days ago and ended up at one of my favorite sewing shops- the Nimble Thimble. For those of you who live in the Central PA area, the Nimble Thimble is located downtown on Market Street and it is owned by the nicest couple in town. Seriously, they are so sweet. Their prices are fabulous, too. Sewing machine maintenance is less than $40 and they sharpen scissors for $3 per pair. Also, they guarantee that the scissors will cut beautifully or it's free. I was there picking up a handful of notions when I saw this really interesting fabric- the different shades of grey and orange drew me in. I got a couple of yards of it and threw this dress together later that afternoon. I've been making this same dress for weeks (as you all have seen and you're probably as sick of this dress style as I am), so I knew I wanted to do some small embellishment to make it a little different. The ribbon ripples kind of remind me of seaweed or a sea anemone or something, but ultimately, I really like them.

I also kept my accessories to a minimum- just my nude wedges and my baubles cocktail ring.

This is another perfect example of the print on the dress being the star of the show. Too many accessories would be overwhelming with a print like this one. Although, if I wanted to be a little more colorful with my outfit, a bright teal, blue or green shoe would be a fun addition to the look. Oh, well. Maybe next time, right? One of my favorite things about this dress is the pockets. I put pockets in my green and white skirt and was so happy I did. I also recently ADDED pockets to my green floral dress. I wish I'd put pockets in the black and white dress from yesterday except that I cut the skirt in one piece, so there are no side seams where I can add pockets. Anyway, pockets are the BEST and I wish every dress in my closet had them!

I still have one major project left before I'll be done making myself summer sundresses and that's to make a dress with the denim I bought on my trip to New York last month. I've gone through several design ideas, but I just can't seem to settle on one. I hope to work on it over the weekend so I can stop obsessing over it! Wish me luck!

Another creation

Remember my recent shopping trip in New York? I got the fabric I used to make this dress at Mood in the Garment District. I finally got around to making this fun, flirty dress with it. I didn't buy very much yardage, so the skirt ended up being a little shorter than I normally wear. It's far from obscene, though. In fact, I kind of like the length- it's a little more flirty, don't you think? I also like this dress because I jumped on the "exposed zipper" bandwagon:

I have always felt that good design hinges upon great fabric selection. An amazing fabric can take an otherwise boring, simple dress and transform it into something spectacular. Unfortunately, it also works the other way- a poor fabric choice can ruin an otherwise spectacular design. If you live in the central PA area and would like to find someplace besides JoAnn Fabrics to shop for fabric and notions, I recommend the PA Fabric Outlet. It's actually where I took a couple of pictures this evening:

I've purchased SO many fabrics and trims here, mostly for work. It's one of those hit-or-miss kind of places. Sometimes I go there and wish I had thousands of dollars to spend on fabric. Other times I leave empty handed and uninspired. If you're willing to check back regularly, the Fabric Outlet can be your best friend. On this particular occassion I was only looking for a couple of ribbon options to use as a finishing embellishment on another Bouche Original that I plan to wear soon. I'll take pictures for you to see it.

On the drive home from the fabric store, I decided to stop and take some pictures near one of the many picturesque farms here. I saw a field of black and white cows and absolutely HAD to try to get a picture with some of them. Of course, they saw me coming and they were like, "We're outta here." Only one cow stayed behind, but she eyed me suspiciously the entire time. 

 

Please tell me you can see that evil look in her eye! She was like, "Why are you interrupting my dinner?" I tried to explain to her about the picture taking, but guess what- SHE'S A COW. I gave up because I don't speak "Moo." Anyway, I did manage to get a couple of pictures of the two of us:

When it comes to clothing with a busy pattern, sometimes it's best to just let the garment be the statement. I could very easily layer on all sorts of fun accesories, but I chose instead to keep it simple- a pair of pale blue open toe heels and a simple cocktail ring (to emphasize my recent manicure):

Well, it's late and I'm sleepy. Leave a comment and tell me what you think of this dress or of anything else that comes to mind). Have a great night!

I'm a little behind, ok?

So I'm not exactly the most technologically savvy person out there (in case you hadn't figured that out already). When I learned to make collages on MS Paint, I was pretty proud of myself. Then I learned about polyvore. Umm... basically ANYONE in the world can make these collages, then smack 'em onto his or her blog in an instant. And they're a heck of a lot better than the ones I make on MS Paint! So, I made one to share with all of you. Why? Just because I can, that's why.

I was scrolling through the hundreds of dresses on polyvore and saw this gorgeous yellow dress from Arden B:

I thought to myself, "This would be a perfect dress to wear if I had a wedding to go to this spring or summer." As of right now, I don't have any weddings to attend, but one of YOU might, so here are some fun accessory options to complete the perfect wedding guest look. I've selected four pair of shoes and paired each of them with a clutch for four completely different looks that all center around this amazing yellow dress. Did I mention that I LOVE this yellow dress? I love yellow these days. I'm working on designing costumes for a show called "California Soul" and I'm obsessed with using yellow in the opening of the show. Maybe that's why I'm so drawn to this particular dress. Or maybe yellow is just a fabulous springtime color. Anyway, here are my four accessory options to go with this yellow dress:

Arden B Yellow Dress by Rtboo featuring Arden B dresses

Option # 1: I think of this as the Carrie Bradshaw version. She would never do anything matchy-matchy, so she pairs the yellow dress with blue/green crazy awesome, show-stopping platform heels (SO Carrie) and a bright fuchsia clutch.

Option #2: This pairing is for the girl who wants to make sure that even in a yellow frilly frock she still looks rockin'. Cage heels in grey and a multi-animal print clutch add quite a bit of edge even to this super girly dress.

Option #3: This version is a more casual Carrie Bradshaw version- the bright flats are suited to an early afternoon wedding and when you top the look off with that stripe-y, mod clutch in blue & red, you've got that quirky cousin look written all over you (in a good way).

Option #4: Finally, sometimes it's best to just let the cool dress speak for itself. In that case I recommend a nice pair of nude shoes and an equally neutral (but not matching) bag.

Click the hyperlinks to be taken to each item on polyvore. Warning: This is not a bargain collage. The items shown are priced ranging from $39 to $1,675.

Obviously, each look could be taken a step or two further with jewelry, hair style and make-up design, but be careful not to go so far as to make it look costume-y. There's a fine line between fashionista and fashion victim sometimes. Feel free to visit polyvore yourself and put some collages together. They call them "Sets" over there and you can publish them to facebook and twitter, too, if you're into that.

Have a great night, everyone!