Calla Gold Wisdom

Photo Credit: mytwobutterflies.blogspot.com


Calla Gold, my personal jeweler, has a couple of new videos that are super informative. The one I watched first pertains to untangling necklaces. Ugh! I used to pay my daughters to do this for me, but they have not been interested lately. Thanks to Calla, I have now possess the knowledge to do it myself without too much difficulty.

In Iran. . .

Photo Credit:  Afra Pourdad, at afrascorner.com 

How refreshing it was to hear a story about Iran in which the topics of nuclear power, economic  sanctions, and Islamic fundamentalism were not dominant. Instead, this NPR story is about a model posing in an outdoor bazaar in Iran.  The photographer, Afra Pourdad strove to show a colorful and very personal side of Iran. The images she captured are spectacular.

Holiday Fabrics

                                                                        burnout

                                                                            crushed

I am not ready for the holidays and like to wait until after Thanksgiving to get our Christmas tree and decorate my house. Easing into the season is a tradition for me.

One thing I do give thought to though--long before things get very festive in the retail world--is what I have to wear for special events. When I take my fall and winter clothes out of storage bags, I love to see all the luscious fabrics and sparkly pieces. Below is a guide to velvet, a favorite winter and holiday fabric seen on skinny jeans, jacket lapels, skirts, dresses, and blouses.

Velvet: a fabric with a soft, plush feel made of silk or a synthetic blend of threads.
  burnout: sheer flat and raised velvet patterns in the material have been created by "burning out" parts of the fabric.
  crushed: the material has a look of having been scrunched up and then flattened out.

Velveteen: This is a stiffer fabric with a soft feel, made of cotton. Velveteen is more casual than velvet.

In order to show you some examples of luxury fabric (seen above), I visited the luxe world of neimanmarcus.com. You can find comparable styles for your budget at most every story,  from Nordstrom to JC Penney to H & M.

Still Under Construction

Go to page 10 in this week's Coastal View News for further suggestions on building a basic wardrobe. The accompanying drawings are by my younger daughter!

Back in Blue

Photo credit: photos.cokertire.com
This is not my car, but it sure looks like it! 

Oh, how thrilled I was to read the headlines in the Los Angeles Times' "Image" section yesterday, proclaiming: "Bolder, brighter, blues." A quick glance in my closet reveals that my favorite color--without a doubt--is blue. Besides my love of denim, I like all shades of blue and must be mindful of looking at other colors when I shop.

According to Pantone, "dazzling blue" is the key color for 2014. I think this was the color of my first car: a 1963 VW Beetle. Do you like blue, too?

Remember This

Whenever I hear women and men complaining about the time and effort it takes to look good, I recall some wisdom from Tim Gunn: 

Remember:  if getting your fashion right were easy, everyone would look fabulous throughout history. And, as we know, it's never been easy and probably never will be. But that doesn't mean it can't be fascinating and a whole lot of fun.

In short, Gunn is saying that attitude is everything. I agree. 

(Today is my mom's birthday. Thank you, Mom, for encouraging me to enjoy fashion and for all of our special shopping excursions.)

All about Sleeves

Someone asked me the other day what kind of tops she should wear, given (what she perceived as) her broad shoulders. Here's the scoop on different sleeve types and what is flattering on different shapes:

1. Set-in: A sleeve sewn into the armhole. This is a great style for women with narrow or sloping shoulders.

Image Credit: Bodenusa.com

2. Drop: The sleeve is sewn in below the shoulder area. Women with broad shoulders are flattered by this style. 

Image Credit for this top and one below: Jigsaw-London

Neither here nor there:

This sleeve looks good on just about everyone!

Genius

I was looking at Level 99's website the other day and had to ask myself why other denim companies do not do as Level 99 does: offer an easy to understand graphic on how each of its jeans fits. You find a style you like, then click on it. Alongside the photo of the jeans is a picture like the one above, telling you how this pair of jeans fits, from where the waist hits to the size of the leg opening. Sheer genius!

C is fo Costume

If you read my blog on Wednesday, you learned about my costume angst. Thanks to a Huffington Post piece, I figured out what to wear. The beauty of the Post article was its suggestion to look in one's closet, not in a costume store to create one of the ten looks.  Sure, I could have been a great deal more creative, but my costume did not cost me a dime, it was comfortable, and I felt good in it. I will save the nine other ideas for the future.