How to stop trending and become a classic.

Spending too much on one-season items? Get off the fad-track.  A few seasonal trends add punch to your wardrobe, but if you have a closet full, you’ll be spending a ton of money on items you can throw out every year.  Here’s how to stop trending and become a classic.

YOU have a style (vs. some one else’s/designer’s style).  Designer fashion should only be a base point for YOUR style.  What is your style?  Start by thinking about what you want from your personal style: to be the standout in the crowd, have the only “something” in town (scarf, dress, bag, shoes), be comfortable and stylish…?  What do you want to say at work? Professional, fun and flirty, funny, knowledgeable?

Now, take a look at some people wearing something similar to your style and go from there. You can do a lot of personalizing with accessories over classic traditional clothes (no, I did not say out-of-date clothes, just classic lines, prints and colors). A little brown work dress for instance, can be made over completely with complimentary patterned leggings, great shoes that make your ankles look smaller and your legs longer, a scarf that draws attention to your pretty face and long neck, or a stand-out belt to show off your small waist. Add a classic designer black blazer and you WILL stand out at work – in a good way.

Camouflage flaws always. Forget fashion that doesn’t work with  your body shape, face shape, length of your legs…  We all know that skinny jeans do not make you look skinny! In fact, a narrow leg only works on women that already have long thin legs…and thighs!

Add sentiment to make it yours – like a great scarf, bold bracelet cuff or a bright green bag! Go big with accessories but in keeping with your newly defined style.

Oh, and one more thing. Never refer to your clothes by the designer name! This is YOUR look!

Men in white shirts #2 and #3

So nice. Brad Pitt in a white shirt…and below, the ever classic George Clooney in white.

Men in white shirts #1

Ah yes, Johnny Depp in a white shirt.

I’m starting a new category just to showcase men in white shirts.  Maybe if our men see how good other men look in white shirts we can convince the guys to wear them more often.

Go bold at the wrists

“It’s the jewelry that actually makes the look”, says fashion stylist Jesse Garza, co-founder of Visual Therapy, a New York wardrobe consultancy, and co-author, with his Visual Therapy partner Joe Lupo, of Life in Color: The Visual Therapy Guide to the Perfect Palette for Fashion, Beauty, and You!. Says Garza, “I love a flattering, clean backdrop with a statement piece–a pop of color.”

I’m with Jesse.  Although, I wear classic lines and colors in clothes, jewelry is where we can dress it up and go bold. My favorites are statement pieces, chunky, authentic storytellers–like a triple-strand of big beads; a thick, geometric bangle; or the Shakespeare cuff (shown in the photo). Perhaps as a reaction to tough economic times, precious jewels have been stowed away, replaced with semiprecious stones such as lapis, pyrite and quartz; and materials such as horn, resin and even Lucite.

Lupo and Garza take a slightly scientific approach to jewelry.  Balance is important – one piece near the top of the body- earrings plus a necklace or great infinity scarf–a ring on one hand (if you have the fingers for it) and a bracelet on the opposite wrist. Create a drama explosion around the face and another at the wrists.

Left to Right:  filigree metal, gold cuff, golden circle,  Shakespeare cuff

Leg Warmers – still in fashion

I admit it. I still love the 80s. Yes, the music, too.  And…they’re back – well, at least some of the fashion is back. Everywhere I look there are unconstructed jackets, slim pants or leggings and leg warmers.  I love leg warmers!

There was a time I wanted to look like Oliva Newton John or that girl from Fame. Back then, I wore leg warmers over jeans hanging over my boots and red heals as well as with skirts and dresses. They not only look great – they keep  you warmer, too (well, except for those crochet ones). 

Left to Right:  stripes, green spat-style, crocheted, gray knit

Way-back machine: shopping cart seats

I started out in design in the mid 80′s. My son was 14 months old and there was no such thing as a shopping cart seat. I needed something to bolt the active little guy down, so I designed one and started a small business on my kitchen table. Those days, no one thought twice about germs and the designs arriving on the market about the same time as my Baby Shopper, were all about comfort and containment.

Forward twenty-some years and it’s a whole new world of baby stuff.  I was in Buy Buy Baby a few weeks ago and was stunned by the amount of stuff that no one actually needs for their baby. But…evidently people buy, buy. Do we really need a Clip-n-Go Health and Grooming Ring that clips to a diaper bag? Most babies have little hair or if they do have hair, it typically does its own thing for the first couple of years.  Is there ever a hair combing or nail clipping emergency?

Anyway, my point is that the baby world of design is where I started. I loved designing that seat, sketching ideas, creating patterns and trying out different concepts.  These days I am into accessory design – scarves, jewelry and wrist gloves.  Wrist gloves, aka wrist warmers or fingerless gloves are another creation based on need.  I’m a cold person.  I have looked for years for wrist warmers that were not made to throw a snowball. I didn’t want thick knits, lacy cuffs or those made from pink stripe knee socks.  I just wanted something nice looking – very tailored, to wear to work that covered my wrist pulse points. Wrist warmers (or wrist gloves), along with scarves that cover the neck pulse points, will keep you warmer while leaving your fingers free so you can continue to tweet, text, hold a pen or use a keyboard. I couldn’t find them, so I designed them.

Yoga pants. What’s yoga?

Were yoga pants ever just for yoga?  We all know they are the most comfortable pants ever let loose on the world.   I wear them a lot and have looked everywhere for great yoga pants including:  Lucy, Lululemon, Gap Body, Nike, Adidas, Athleta, Juicy and more. One complaint though; all pants are too long. Although the average American woman is 5’4″ (my height) for some reason they make them all way too long.  Cheaper for them but a real pain for the rest of us. I also like them snug but not too tight in the butt and thighs.  Of course, this is dependent on how big your butt and thighs are.  My favorite:

Lucy: These pants are amazing.  They have the best fit – sleek through the leg but flared at the bottom.  They are a bit pricey but they wear well and pack perfectly.

How to keep warm at the office

Researchers in Canada recently found that mood influences how hot or cold we feel. The study revealed that people who are lonely or socially excluded are more aware of the cold. So, according to this theory, if you want to get warm, get social, get active, get out of the house.

As mentioned elsewhere, I am a cold person. I wear a hoodie to the mall in summer. I wear jackets, scarves and long sleeves to my office. I have begged for space-heater-authorization claiming a genetic lack of warmer-genes.

I am told there are a few other things we cold people women can do to stay warmer in the office (even in the summer):

• Dress in layers even in the summer. Cover your torso with a thin camisole – long or short sleeves underneath your dress or blouse. Keeping your core warm will keep all of you warmer.
• Wear longer skirts. This works even in the summer months to keep your legs warmer in the office. In the summer months just wear lighter fabrics and colors.
• Cover your pulse points that are typically exposed. Those will usually be the radial in your wrist, the brachial on the bicep, and the facial and carotid in your neck. There are also the popliteal behind the knee, the posterior tibial just above the ankle, and the dorsalis pedis on the top of the foot.  You could also go so far as to wear a hat in the office and cover the temporal pulse point  near the eye but that’s going to give you hat-hair and we can’t have that. It is better to look good than feel good particularly if there are better options.
• Wear boots with warm socks under pants. This works even in the summer since who knows you have boots on? Socks by the way, are a biggie. Choose natural fiber socks. I have loved cushioned Thorlos for ages. They are not pretty for work but then you’re wearing them with boots.
• Wear scarves like jewelry. They come off at will and offer a number of fashion statements in addition to keeping your neck pulse points covered. The tube type scarf tends to look a lot less wintery and since it doesn’t wrap and dangle it works better in the office and stays out of the way.
• Personally, I also suggest wrist warmers or fingerless gloves.  I designed the Annies and call them wrist gloves. Wrist gloves or wrist warmers are meant to keep your fingers free and  your pulse points covered while still looking good (not wintery) in the office.  So, put regular gloves over them if you’re going out to throw a snowball.
• And finally, avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine. Both increase blood flow to the skin stealing warmth from your core and making you feel colder. I think I can avoid alcohol at work (at least most of the time) but caffeine – that’s going to be a problem.