Style Beyond Measure

So sorry that I have been off the blog page lately. Can it be that nine months have passed by so quickly? I don’t blame you if you’ve totally written me off, and if anyone is still out there to read this, I send you my most grateful thanks and appreciation.

I won’t bore you with the details, but here’s a quick rundown of where I’ve been…

Job Searching…heading back into the full time career after about four years of freelance. A very interesting journey in and of itself - especially for us women of a certain age.

Issues that arose during said “job search “- How to get paid what your worth? How to compete with people 10 to 15 years younger and make your experience shine as you know in your heart it does? How to be interviewed by people 10 years younger than yourself - do you come across as a chummy older friend, or Ack!, their mother? And finally to add to all of that insecurity…What to wear for today’s job interview - skirt, pants, stockings, nude legs? The list goes on.

As I said, it was a very interesting journey on which I’ll post more soon - especially on those pesky “issues”.

Hooray! Gainful Employment - After a six month full-out search, plus two months of waiting for the official job offer to be made, I was back in the saddle work-wise and facing about 6 weeks of training (to my new company’s credit they believe in lots of training!).

Happy Endings (or Beginnings?) - The great news is that I’m very happy with my job - I love the folks I work with and the work that am I doing is a good match for my skills and talents. It has a strong “feel good” component to it, too. I really feel as if I am making a difference in my community.

So that’s where I’ve been. A journey to be sure, and one which I’m glad to have taken part in and even more glad to be settled.

See you for the next installment!

Thank you, Artella! I had a wonderful time!

I was lucky enough to be invited to present a Fashion and Style “Q&A” teleclass last week for members of the Artella community (of which I proudly belong!).

If you’re not familiar with Artella, please take a few moments and click HERE for a wonderful treat.

Artella is a warm and welcoming on-line community for writers and artists; and is, quite possibly, one of the most creative websites you’ll ever visit.

Artella is the brain-child of the exquisite Marney Makridakis, and to enter her world is to truly come in contact with your own creativity and authenticity.

Opportunities to embrace your creativity abound here, whether you are an artist, writer, poet, singer, story teller, whatever…

And our particular teleclass was full of creative “Wonder” Women who had an awful lot to say and ask about fashion in general.

I hope to share some of those discussions with you over the next few days. I also encourage you to send me your own “burning” fashion questions or comments to share here (don’t they all feel burning at some point or other?). E-mail me at Jaime@StyleBeyondMeasure.com. Or just hit the Comment button on this post.
In the meantime, thanks again to Artella and to all the wonderful participants for a fun presentation! The power found in a group of women is awesome indeed!

Speaking of someone whose looks or way of dressing catches your eye…

I hope it goes without saying that as “sisters” in beauty and style, we freely acknowledge that beauty.

Have you ever had a complete stranger come up and compliment you on something? Your hair? Your outfit? Your jewelry? Your shoes?

I’m sure you have, and what a delicious feeling that is - to be acknowledged and noticed as a person.

Acknowledgement is probably the very best gift we can give another person, even if we are strangers. Again, it goes back to the idea of acknowledging beauty - all kinds of beauty - and appreciating what it brings to us.

So please, in the spirit of sisterly “appreciation” - share the wealth. The next time you see a woman with a great haircut or pretty eyes or just beautifully put together, take a moment to stop and let her know how good she looks. You’ll be passing on a lovely gift and reaping the benefits from a deed well done.

We left off with the “G’s” last time. Shall we continue?

Happiness

Heart

Honesty

Honor

Hope

Hot

Impression

Independence

Influence

Inspire

Intimate

Irresistable

Journey

Kindness

Lesson

Life, Lips, Look, Lose, Love, Measure, Memory, Modest, Mystery, Naked, Nature, Need, Open, Passion, Peace, Pleasure, Possess, Power, Protect, Provide, Purpose, Quiet, Reflection, Relax, Remember, Respect, Reveal, Right, Risk, Sad, Scent, Secret, Sensual, Sentimental, Sex, Share, Show, Simple, Soft, Song, Soul, Special, Spontaneous, Strength, Surprise, Tease, Tempt, Tender, Thankful, Thrill, Touch, Treasure, Truth, Value, Vision, Whisper, Wild, Wisdom, Wise, Wonder, Write, and You.

What a perfect word to end with!

I came across a list of “Art” words I had saved - words to use in collage art - and I realized that they worked well for describing feelings about Beauty. What do you think?

Acceptance

Admire

Anticipation

Aphrodisiac

Appealing

Brave

Celebrate

Change

Character
Comfortable, Desire, Easy, Experience, Explore, Exposed, Fair, Fantasy, Fears, Freedom, Garden, Gentle, Gift, Glance, Gratify

And that’s just A through G…

More later.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately on Beauty.

Beauty is such huge topic…there are so many ways to approach it. Physical beauty, inner beauty, beauty as designated by others; and the beauty that only you can see.

But Beauty or the topic of beauty doesn’t have to be a “big” discussion with too much misapplied power attached to it.

It can be small - quite small. A moment. A breath where something or someone is noticed and appreciated.

Let us start with a small breath and feel our way through.

That is a good place to start.

As I have probably mentioned more than once here on this site…I LOVE Anthropologie. (Don’t know Anthropologie? CLICK HERE and be prepared for a treat!)

Not only are the clothes, home furnishings and knick-knacks “sigh-worthy” in every sense of the word, but their presentations in-store and the visual stories that their catalogues weave are truly wonderful.

And now, they’ve given me one more reason to love them which I just had to share. For all of the artists and lovers of the hand-made…please rush and CLICK HERE

It’s called Bound Together, and its an exhibit of handmade artists’ books from members of Anthropologie’s own staff from across the country. I think its great that they’ve taken the time to acknowledge the talents of their employees and better yet to showcase them on-line and in a gallery showing.

The exhibit is currently being shown in NYC in their gallery at Rockefeller Center. Unfortunately, I won’t be getting to New York this summer, but for those of you who do, please drop by the exhibit and just let me know if it is as wonderful as I think it will be.

Enjoy and be sure to send me a postcard!

I wanted to give you just one more “visual aid” from our Summer Wardrobe list (Click here: Summer Wardrobe Checklist).

This is from our Cropped Pant category…remember how we spoke about the importance of “fit” no matter what size you are?

The taller you are (this goes for Missy sizes and Womens’ sizes) the more ability you have to carry off a wide-leg cropped pant.

If you’re a Petite, then stick with a more fitted cropped pant in the seat, thigh and leg. A more fitted silhouette allows you to show your figure to its best advantage (no “swimming” in your outfit!) and gives you a longer line thus offering the illusion of more height.

Here are some examples:
This is from Liz Claiborne (LizClaiborne.com) and is a great example of a wide-leg cropped pant that can be worn by medium to tall Missy and Women sizes.

Can you see why the width of this leg might cut off a Petite size woman?

Now take a look below at an example of cropped pants for a Petite woman…

Better, yes?

Even if you’re not as svelte as this petite model, this fit would work well because it lengthens and thins the leg.

Don’t feel comfortable tucking in your shirt? Not a problem. Even with your blouse left out over the top of your pants (or with a tunic top) you still get a nice long line.

Ahhhh! The magic of a good fit!

More thoughts on “Effortless and Breezy” dressing from our summer wardrobe checklist from yesterday’s post…

* T- Shirts - You will probably want both casual and dressy versions this summer. By “dressy” I mean a t-shirt in a fabrication other than cotton…such as silk or micro-fiber, that is more fitted and looks more polished.

Take a good look at your t-shirts from last season. How have they fared? Give these your best critical eye because these items typically take the most abuse during the summer. And with t-shirts in plentiful supply in price, style and color range, you’ll probably do well to bring in new ones for this season.

* Shorts - again, use your critical eye…this time with particular attention to fit. Are they still fitting as well as last year? Any sewing issues that need to be addressed? If its a missing button or hook and eye, fine. Fix it. However, if you’ve got any frayed hems or stains that haven’t come out, go ahead and say good-bye. Shorts, like t-shirts, are in plentiful supply out there.

PS - think about including not only casual shorts in your wardrobe, but some dressier shorts as well. Dressier shorts would be the version you see out right now that are longer on the leg ( say, 7″ to 9″) and are more fitted through the thigh. They will also be in a dressier summer fabric like polished cotton. If you purchase them in a neutral color like khaki, black or white, you’ll get much more wardrobe “play” because they can be put with brights, pastels and print tops- more bang for your fashion buck!

*Cropped pants - a hundred varieties await you, all in different categories and price points. Here’s what you need to be aware of … your height; and, the shape / length of your leg.

The taller you are (no matter your weight) the better you are able to carry off a wider-leg cropped pant.

Petites will need to select a more fitted cropped pant - something more fitted through the seat, upper thigh and leg. That doesn’t necessarily mean go for a “tight” fit…it just means something that “fits” well and comfortably and not loose and oversized. Too loose and oversized will make you look like you are drowning in your clothes, as well as visually cutting your off your leg mid-calf making you appear even shorter than you really are! Something you don’t want to do.

Want some real-life “available in-store now” examples of what we’ve talked about today? Then check back with me tomorrow and I’ll show you what I’ve found!

Happy First day of Summer! And this is just how I like to view summer - Simplicity, itself!
Remember the days when one sewing pattern could provide you with five different looks and your summer was pretty well taken care of clothing-wise? Well, it still can be that easy and you don’t have to be a seamstress either (although I am envious of those folks who are!!!).

Summer fashion is meant to be all about dressing with ease and comfort. Effortless style in breezy fabrics is what we aspire to in a perfect world. Doesn’t that sound grand?

So tell me, how does your closet measure up?

Have you made the jump into Summer, yet?

This week is a perfect time to take a peek behind those louvered doors to see what you have on hand and what you may need to add.

Here’s a quick checklist to help you determine your “effortless and breezy” rating on this first official day of Summer 2007. These are summer essentials that work well for most everyone. Are they in your closet? And, if so, what kind of shape are they in?

* T-Shirts…both casual and dressy

* Shorts…both casual and dressy (dressy shorts? Check back tomorrow and we’ll go into more detail)

* Cropped pants…casual and dressy

* Summer dresses…long and/or short, flowing or form-fitting

* Tank tops and/or halter tops…casual and dressy (make sure the “girls” are taken care of in some way…either with a built-in shelf-bra, or a special convertible halter bra)

* Long skirts…lightweight, flowing and colorful

* Cardigans…(restaurants can get c-c-c-cool in the summer!)

* Casual hoodie or zip-front jacket…

*Cotton Tunic Tops…wonderful selection out there this summer

*Bathing Suits…(yes, you need at least two!)

*Bathing Suit Cover-Up…(yes, you need one…wrapping up in a towel no longer counts.)

*Beach Hat…(yep!)

*Flat sandals…both casual and dressy

*Summer sneaker…(think hot asphalt at the amusement park)

*Sandals with a heel…can be a short kitten heel, a spike heel, or a wedge sandal

* Flip Flops (or Thongs)…something that can get wet and sandy

* Summer handbag…

That’s it…a quick, down and dirty checklist for summer. Got questions? Tomorrow, I’ll go into a little bit more detail about the list. But for now, go ahead and check out your closet. I’m sure you’re much closer to “effortless and breezy” than you think!