Friday, July 29, 2011
Dressing Better in 2011
Haven't posted in quite a long time. But I intend to post more in the very near future. Please stay tuned!
Friday, September 24, 2010
JTV Real vs. Fake
Tonight I was browsing Jewelry Television's website, jtv.com, looking at rings. For the fun of it, sorted all the rings with the highest priced one first. It was a 12.02 carat tanzanite ring set in white gold and surrounded by diamonds for $9,999. Interestingly, JTV offers a ring for $64.88, which looks very, very similar to the one for ten grand. This ring is a simulated sapphire ring from their Bella Luce collection. If you haven't already guessed, the ring on the left is the simulant, and the one on the right is the real deal. Can you see a big visible difference between the two rings? Is the difference with over $9,900?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Advice from Emily Post - Part III (The Woman Who is Really Chic)
This is Part III of the Emily Post advice I found regarding how to dress better! This section is entitled, "The Woman Who is Really Chic." Emily Post's tips on clothing and style were found on the following website: http://www.bartleby.com/95/33.html. I loved her advice so much, I am reprinting it, section by section. This is PART III.
Emily Post (1873–1960). Etiquette. 1922. Chapter XXXIII, Dress.
The woman who is chic is always a little different. Not different in being behind fashion, but always slightly apart from it. “Chic” is a borrowed adjective, but there is no English word to take the place of “elegant” which was destroyed utterly by the reporter or practical joker who said “elegant dresses,” and yet there is no synonym that will express the individuality of beautiful taste combined with personal dignity and grace which gives to a perfect costume an inimitable air of distinction. Une dame élégante is all of that! And Mrs. Oldname is just such a person. She follows fashion merely so far as is absolutely necessary. She gets the latest model perhaps, but has it adapted to her own type, so that she has just that distinction of appearance that the sheep lack. She has even clung with slight modifications to the “Worth” ball dress, and her “wrapped” or fitted bodice has continued to look the smartest in every ballroom in spite of the Greek drapery and one-piece meal bag and all the other kaleidoscopic changes of fashion the rest of us have been through.
But the average would-be independent who determines to stand her ground, saying, “These new models are preposterous! I shall wear nothing of the sort!” and keeps her word, soon finds herself not at all an example of dignity but an object of derision.
Emily Post (1873–1960). Etiquette. 1922. Chapter XXXIII, Dress.
The woman who is chic is always a little different. Not different in being behind fashion, but always slightly apart from it. “Chic” is a borrowed adjective, but there is no English word to take the place of “elegant” which was destroyed utterly by the reporter or practical joker who said “elegant dresses,” and yet there is no synonym that will express the individuality of beautiful taste combined with personal dignity and grace which gives to a perfect costume an inimitable air of distinction. Une dame élégante is all of that! And Mrs. Oldname is just such a person. She follows fashion merely so far as is absolutely necessary. She gets the latest model perhaps, but has it adapted to her own type, so that she has just that distinction of appearance that the sheep lack. She has even clung with slight modifications to the “Worth” ball dress, and her “wrapped” or fitted bodice has continued to look the smartest in every ballroom in spite of the Greek drapery and one-piece meal bag and all the other kaleidoscopic changes of fashion the rest of us have been through.
But the average would-be independent who determines to stand her ground, saying, “These new models are preposterous! I shall wear nothing of the sort!” and keeps her word, soon finds herself not at all an example of dignity but an object of derision.
Emily Post Advice - Part II (The Sheep)
This is Part II of the Emily Post advice I found regarding how to dress better! This section is entitled, "The Sheep." Emily Post's tips on clothing and style were found on the following website: http://www.bartleby.com/95/33.html. I loved her advice so much, I am reprinting it, section by section. This is PART II.
Emily Post (1873–1960). Etiquette. 1922. Chapter XXXIII, Dress.
Frumps are not very typical of America, vulgarians are somewhat more numerous, but the greatest number of all are the quietly dressed, unnoticeable men and women who make up the representative backbone in every city; who buy good clothes but not more than they need, and whose ambition is merely to be well enough dressed to fit in with their background, whatever their background may be.
Less numerous, but far more conspicuous, are the dressed-to-the-minute women who, like sheep exactly, follow every turn of latest fashion blindly and without the slightest sense of distance or direction. As each new season's fashion is defined, all the sheep run and dress themselves each in a replica of the other, their own types and personalities have nothing to do with the case. Fashion says: "Wear bolster cases tied at the neck and ankle,"or "A few wisps of gauze held in place with court plaster," and daughter, mother, grandmother, and all the neighbors wear the same. If emerald green is the fashionable color, all of the yellowest skins will be framed in it. When hobble skirts are the thing, the fattest wabble along, looking for all the world like chandeliers tied up in mosquito netting. If ball dresses are cut to the last limit of daring, the ample billows of the fat will vie blandly with the marvels of anatomy exhibited by the thin. Comfort, convenience, becomingness, adaptability, beauty are of no importance. Fashion is followed to the letter ... therefore they fancy, poor sheep, they are the last word in smartness. Those whom the fashion suits are 'smart,' but they are seldom, if ever, distinguished, because... they are all precisely alike.
Emily Post (1873–1960). Etiquette. 1922. Chapter XXXIII, Dress.
Frumps are not very typical of America, vulgarians are somewhat more numerous, but the greatest number of all are the quietly dressed, unnoticeable men and women who make up the representative backbone in every city; who buy good clothes but not more than they need, and whose ambition is merely to be well enough dressed to fit in with their background, whatever their background may be.
Less numerous, but far more conspicuous, are the dressed-to-the-minute women who, like sheep exactly, follow every turn of latest fashion blindly and without the slightest sense of distance or direction. As each new season's fashion is defined, all the sheep run and dress themselves each in a replica of the other, their own types and personalities have nothing to do with the case. Fashion says: "Wear bolster cases tied at the neck and ankle,"or "A few wisps of gauze held in place with court plaster," and daughter, mother, grandmother, and all the neighbors wear the same. If emerald green is the fashionable color, all of the yellowest skins will be framed in it. When hobble skirts are the thing, the fattest wabble along, looking for all the world like chandeliers tied up in mosquito netting. If ball dresses are cut to the last limit of daring, the ample billows of the fat will vie blandly with the marvels of anatomy exhibited by the thin. Comfort, convenience, becomingness, adaptability, beauty are of no importance. Fashion is followed to the letter ... therefore they fancy, poor sheep, they are the last word in smartness. Those whom the fashion suits are 'smart,' but they are seldom, if ever, distinguished, because... they are all precisely alike.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Emily Post Advice - PART I (Dress)
I recently came across Emily Post's tips on clothing and style on the following website: http://www.bartleby.com/95/33.html. I loved her advice so much, I am going to reprint it here. This is PART I.
Emily Post (1873–1960). Etiquette. 1922. Chapter XXXIII, Dress.
CLOTHES are to us what fur and feathers are to beasts and birds; they not only add to our appearance, but they are our appearance. How we look to others entirely depends upon what we wear and how we wear it; manners and speech are noted afterward, and character last of all.
In the community where we live, admirableness of character is the fundamental essential, and in order to achieve a position of importance, personality is also essential; but for the transient impression that we make at home, abroad, everywhere in public, two superficial attributes are alone indispensable: good manners and a pleasing appearance.
It is not merely a question of vanity and inclination. In New York, for instance, a woman must dress well, to pay her way. In Europe, where the title of Duchess serves in lieu of a court train of gold brocade; or in Bohemian circles where talent alone may count; or in small communities where people are known for what they really are, appearance is of esthetic rather than essential importance.
In the world of smart society—in America at any rate—clothes not only represent our ticket of admission, but our contribution to the effect of a party. What makes a brilliant party? Clothes. Good clothes. A frumpy party is nothing more nor less than a collection of badly dressed persons. People with all the brains, even all the beauty imaginable, make an assemblage of dowds, unless they are well dressed.
Not even the most beautiful ballroom in the world, decorated like the Garden of Eden, could in itself suggest a brilliant entertainment, if the majority of those who filled it were frumps—or worse yet, vulgarians! Rather be frumpy than vulgar! Much. Frumps are often celebrities in disguise—but a person of vulgar appearance is vulgar all through.
Emily Post (1873–1960). Etiquette. 1922. Chapter XXXIII, Dress.
CLOTHES are to us what fur and feathers are to beasts and birds; they not only add to our appearance, but they are our appearance. How we look to others entirely depends upon what we wear and how we wear it; manners and speech are noted afterward, and character last of all.
In the community where we live, admirableness of character is the fundamental essential, and in order to achieve a position of importance, personality is also essential; but for the transient impression that we make at home, abroad, everywhere in public, two superficial attributes are alone indispensable: good manners and a pleasing appearance.
It is not merely a question of vanity and inclination. In New York, for instance, a woman must dress well, to pay her way. In Europe, where the title of Duchess serves in lieu of a court train of gold brocade; or in Bohemian circles where talent alone may count; or in small communities where people are known for what they really are, appearance is of esthetic rather than essential importance.
In the world of smart society—in America at any rate—clothes not only represent our ticket of admission, but our contribution to the effect of a party. What makes a brilliant party? Clothes. Good clothes. A frumpy party is nothing more nor less than a collection of badly dressed persons. People with all the brains, even all the beauty imaginable, make an assemblage of dowds, unless they are well dressed.
Not even the most beautiful ballroom in the world, decorated like the Garden of Eden, could in itself suggest a brilliant entertainment, if the majority of those who filled it were frumps—or worse yet, vulgarians! Rather be frumpy than vulgar! Much. Frumps are often celebrities in disguise—but a person of vulgar appearance is vulgar all through.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Banana Republic Jewelry
Lately I've been checking out Banana Republic (BR) jewelry. They have some very stylish designs! I also love that BR has customer ratings and comments on their merchandise. It makes shopping so much easier to read the opinions of others. It seems that most pieces are quite pricey for costume jewelry, but check out their sale selection. Here's a piece I've been eyeing lately - the Centurion necklace, for $69.50. I'm waiting for it to go on sale, but it might never. I had been eyeing the Grace necklace, too, but see it is sold out tonight in the clear stone which I liked better than the aqua, which is still available.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Limited Jewelry
Recently I discovered The Limited as a great source for party jewelry. Many pieces are now on post-holiday clearance! This Statement Nested Chain necklace is a steal at $29.99 (regularly $49.50).
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