Susan Wagner's blog

How to Wear a Cardigan

2009-11-07T19:15:32-06:00

Cardigans are big for fall 2009, but what's the strategy for making a cardi work for you? The key is to choose a shape that works with your figure, and then style it in a way that flatters your wardrobe.

Cardigans never really go out of style, and in a season where they're trending, your options are almost limitless; you can find great cardigan options in all shapes and sizes, at every price point. But how do you know what cardi is best for you?

A long belted cardigan is super versatile; wear it with jeans for a casual Saturday or with a pencil skirt for the office. A belted cardi will define your waist and give even the most casual look a pulled-together edge. If you're curvy or have short legs, look for a cardi that hits just at the widest part of your hips, not below; if you're slim or have long legs, opt for a longer cardi.

Pair your belted cardi with jeans or a slim skirt, or -- if you're comfortable -- with leggings. But remember: Leggings are a yoga pants alternative, not work wear. Save that look for the weekend.

A belted cardigan is a nice way to define your waist, no matter what your size or shape. Tie the belt at your natural waist, even if that is slightly higher than the waistband of your pants; For a little extra pop of color or texture, change out the belt that came with the cardi; just be sure to choose a belt that is proportionally appropriate for the sweater (a chunky sweater needs a fairly substantial belt, for example).

Pictured:Old Navy cable-knit tie-front cardigan, $36.50. Available in four colors in sizes XS to XXL.

For a sleeker, more classic look, opt for a slim cardigan in a lightweight wool or cotton. Look for one with really beautiful buttons for an easy upgrade -- but don't save the fancy cardi for work; pair it with jeans or cords for the weekend, too.

Layer your slim cardi over a blouse with a ruffled front; belt it over a dress or skirt. A slim cardi should hit at the high hip for the most flattering fit.

Ann Taylor merino crew neck cardigan, $80. Available in seven colors in sizes XXS to XXL.

The cardigan is a great staple for your closet; it's easy to dress up and can take other pieces from office to weekend and from day to night. Layer a cardigan over a strapless dress for cool weather, or for the office; replace your suit jacket with a belted cardigan for an updated work look. Pair an embellished cardi with boyfriend jeans for a night out. Embellish an existing cardigan by changing the buttons or adding a pin (or three).

Michelle at College Fashion dresses a fancy party frock down for dinner with the family -- by adding a cardigan!

Corporette reminds us that a patterned cardi is a nice alternative to a jacket -- what's your take on this plaid cardi? I love it.

And Stylemanship has cardigan suggestions for the guys (complete with visuals).

Susan Wagner writes about pragmatic fashion at The Working Closet and chic suburban living at Friday Playdate.

Plus Size Clothing: The Internet is Your Personal Stylist

2009-11-05T21:44:47-06:00

I love fashion magazines; I like nothing better at the end of a long day than to curl up in bed with Vogue or InStyle and admire all the pretty things. I'm currently smitten by the gown in the Bottega Veneta ads, although they are both beyond my price range and out of my league. Fashion magazines, as Tim Gunn says, are aspirational -- they're not realistic in the least.

Still, it's fun to look.

When I need real fashion advice, though -- like suggestions about where to shop or tips for styling my current closet -- I go to the Internet. Fashion bloggers are plugged in to what's current and cool, and they often specialize in a particular niche, which makes them inspirational. Fashion blogs offer concrete suggestions and strategies that will really work.

Which makes it even more fun to look.

When your closet is part of a niche that's not covered by traditional fashion media -- which, one could argue, is a lot of us these days -- it can be difficult to find anything that is either inspirational or aspirational. That's where the Internet comes in.

Fashion bloggers, particularly those with a tight focus, are your best friends; they're like that girlfriend who always knows where to shop and what to buy. Over the next few weeks, we'll look at some of the best blogs in different specialties; let's start with plus size fashion blogs.

Fashion, Love and Martinis is written by Amanda Allison Valdez; she covers fashion and beauty with video tutorials and posts about her personal style. Recently, she started a weight loss program; watch her amazing introductory video here.

fat and fab CHIC is a hip, cool blog that covers a range of prices, with an eye to what's hot right now. Subtitled "The Premier Shopping Guide for Discerning Fatshionistas," the site is a treasure trove of style and shopping suggestions.

Fat Chic is a beautifully laid-out site that looks like a magazine but reads like a blog. My favorite thing, though, is that Fat Chic has a Flickr pool. And we all know how much I love the Flickr pool as a fashion tool.

The Curvy Fashionista is also a magazine-style site. Marie Denee covers news and fashion and shopping; her writing is excellent and her behind-the-scenes look at what's new for plus size women is right on.

Your turn: When you look for inspiration, where do you turn? What blogs and websites cater to your plus size needs?

And next week: Shoes! Because I love a good shoe blog.

Susan Wagner writes about pragmatic fashion at The Working Closet and chic suburban living at Friday Playdate.

Glamour's Plus Sized Photo Shoot: Real Change, or Trend?

2009-11-03T21:37:40-06:00

In September, Glamour magazine included a small photo of model Lizzi Miller. The photo wasn't on the cover, or even in a prominent spread; instead, it was tucked away on page 194, next to a piece about body image titled "What Everyone But You Sees About Your Body." The response, of course, was overwhelming; women were enthralled by Miller's size 12-14 body, particularly her tummy.

Because she had a tummy, which was remarkable for a model in a fashion magazine.

Jezebel's Margaret Hartman appreciated Glamour's attempt to include real women, but hesitantly:

But still, being the ladymag with the most body diversity isn't that hard when your competition is Vogue. Both pictures of Miller were included in articles about body acceptance and May's plus-size swimsuit spread was a rarity. Every other model featured in this month's Glamour was very thin. Even "What Everyone But You Sees About Your Body" starts out with the standard photo of a perfectly-proportioned model staring at herself in the mirror with a slight frown, which doesn't exactly depict the average reader's issues with her body. Any shot of body confidence readers got from seeing a woman with an average-sized body presented as sexy is quickly neutralized by the magazine's other 295 pages of diet tips, workout recommendations, and images of women with all their natural bumps and rolls airbrushed away.

Hartman is skeptical, though, that Glamour is really making a change, either in the magazine or in the fashion industry at large. After all, fashion media has a lot at stake here: "If magazines run more images like the one on page 194, women may internalize the idea that you can look sexy with messy hair, no clothes or accessories, and a layer of body fat and stop buying products to fix their natural yet somehow 'flawed' figures."

This month, Glamour is capitalizing on their new niche as the Fashion Magazine That Loves Plus Sized Girls: The November issue features a two page photo of seven plus-size models, all nude, and all looking fantastic. So is this a big leap forward, or a baby step?

There are two ways to think about this, from what I'm hearing: One is to say, hooray! Real women in a mainstream fashion magazine! Showing their real curves! Big leap forward!

But the other side is this: The fashion industry isn't serious about including real women; this is one spread in one issue of one magazine, not a change in the entire industry. Designer samples are still made only in size 2; magazines are still primarily filled with women who are taller and thinner than the rest of us. Two pages of girls who look sort of like us doesn't make up for two hundred pages of girls who look nothing like us.

And then there's the middle ground: Glamour is absolutely on the right track, and it's great to see women whose bones are fully covered by their flesh, but to call a size 12 a plus size is laughable. Let's see some size 18 or 20 models in the mainstream fashion magazines -- then we'll acknowledge a change.

Marie Clare seems to be outstripping Glamour in the real change department; the magazine has hired stylist Ashley Falcon to write a column for them.

I'm the most stylish among my friends. Growing up in Miami's tight-knit Cuban community, I was the girl everyone sought out for fashion advice, the one who transformed boring outfits into head-turning looks with the flick of a collar or the cinch of a belt. Of course, it surprised no one that I decided to pursue a career as a fashion stylist—though at 5'2" and 220 pounds, I'd need an elaborate pulley system and a can of Crisco to shimmy into the clothes I dress models in. Instead, I'm relegated to the plus-size racks, where trendy usually translates into "when's your due date" empire waists and cinch-sack drawstrings. It's not easy being chic, but it's an epic struggle when you're a big girl.

Falcon is savvy and funny and honest about her size; her column, unlike the Glamour photo spread, will effect real change.

BlogHer community member Venus Vision wrote an open letter to Glamour; for her, Lizzi Miller's appearance in the magazine was an affirmation that her body was beautiful.

What say you: Is the face of fashion changing, or are magazines like Glamour patronizing larger women? Are you happy with the images you see, or are you looking for something different?

Susan Wagner writes about pragmatic fashion at The Working Closet and chic suburban living at Friday Playdate.

Shop Your Closet: Use What You Have

2009-10-25T09:47:06-05:00

This time of year, it's hard to resist the siren song of the mall. The combination of off-season clothes in your closet and shiny new pieces in all the stores is enough to make a girl bust out her credit card and start shopping. But this year, think about how you can use what you have before you grab up a bunch of new things.

Here are five simple ways to make what you have work for you.

You have: A great cardigan.

Wear it with: A belt. Choose a belt that works for your figure; if you're curvy, a wide belt will play up a small waist, while a skinny belt is great for short-waisted girls. Play with various ways to style your cardi -- button it just under the belt, for example, leaving the top and bottom buttons open. Or if your cardi is too boxy, wrap it across your midsection and hold it in place with the belt. Or take a tip from Michelle Obama and leave the cardi open under the belt.

You have: A basic white shirt.

Wear it with: A short-sleeved dress. Layer your summery dresses over your white shirt for a look that is crisp and chic -- and appropriate for fall. A short-sleeved dress is a nice twist on the sheath dress, and avoids that jumper look you can get when you layer a sheath over a blouse.

You have: Peep-toe pumps.

Wear them with: Tights. Yes, really! Pair your peep toes with some funky tights -- patterns are an easy upgrade, but color is fun, too. You can also match your tights to your skirt for a longer leg line, or to your shoes if you're wearing a skirt with pattern.

You have: A dressy jacket.

Wear it with: Your jeans. By "dressy jacket" I mean anything that you consider too nice to wear every day -- a suit jacket, maybe, or a velvet jacket. It's that jacket that you're saving for some event or occasion. How about treating Tuesday like an occasion? Or thinking of that one day when the kids are all at school as an event? Bust out the jacket; layer it over a basic tee and your fav jeans for a hip, cool look.

You have: Boots.

Wear them with: Everything! Substitute your boots for your flats or pumps for a look that's current and cool. Add some great tights and you're all set.

What's in your closet? And how are you reworking it for fall?

In other fall fashion news:

Closet Therapy asks, "Is this ruffle too much?"

Frugal Fashionista shows you how to get Sienna Miller's casual chic look -- for less.

And Mrs. Obama shops her closet, resurrecting a Thakoon dress she wore during last year's Democratic National Convention for an appearance on Jay Leno. Way to go, Mrs. O.

Susan Wagner writes about pragmatic fashion at The Working Closet and chic suburban living at Friday Playdate.

DDF Advanced Eye Firming Concentrate Helps Me Fake Awake

2009-10-22T12:00:00-05:00

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and DDF.

This will come as a shock to no one, but I don't get nearly enough sleep. In my 20s, I could go weeks without proper rest and still look fresh; these days, one night of a kid up at 3:00 am with a bloody nose and I have dark circles under my eyes for a week.

My fast track to wakefulness has always been a cup (or five) of coffee in the morning, but recently, I had an opportunity to try something external: DDF's Advanced Eye Firming Concentrate. I love a good eye cream, and I'm always on the lookout for that Perfect Formula -- and this may be it, truly. This gentle eye cream is part of a turmeric-based line at DDF -- yes, turmeric, like you put in middle eastern food! In fact, it has a light, spicy scent, just like actual turmeric (the smell vanishes almost immediately, though, so don't be put off by that).

DDF's Advanced Eye Firming Concentrate also has caffeine in it, which promises to eliminate puffiness and dark circles. I'm always skeptical of claims like that, because really, the only thing that will truly eliminate the telltale signs of sleeplessness is sleep. Or so I've always believed.

I'm rethinking that position, though.

The Advanced Eye Firming Concentrate is thick and creamy, but not greasy; it absorbs easily into the thin skin around my eyes without leaving a film, and works well with my makeup. My skin feels refreshed and restored, which is lovely, and my mascara doesn't smear off and turn into racoon circles. But more than that, my eyes really are less puffy and my dark circles seem to have vanished. And not it's not because I'm sleeping more -- oh no. I'm convinced that the improvement is from this eye cream.

Specifically, the caffeine.

Not a fan of the fancy eye creams (or the fancy coffees)? Try this at home remedy: Soak a wash cloth in iced coffee (put the leftovers from your morning pot in the fridge for later). Ring it out, and lay it over your eyes for 10 or 15 minutes. This will bring down swelling and tighten wrinkles -- temporarily, at least.

Just don't add cream.

DDF Advanced Eye Firming Concentrate is $88.00 for a .5 ounce jar. It's an investment, but good eye cream is worth it. Promise.

Think Before You Shop: Tips for Smarter Spending

2009-10-18T15:10:55-05:00

Last week, I wrote about Rachelle's Year Without Clothes challenge (no, not a year of nudity, although that certainly would make the whole getting dressed thing easier -- a year without shopping for clothes, new or thrifted or otherwise). The idea is simple: Starting November 27th (the day after American Thanksgiving, which also happens to be Buy Nothing Day), participants will swear off purchasing apparel for one calendar year.

I'm not doing the Year Without Clothes; I'm already big on shopping my closet before I shop the mall, and I'm very comfortable with my actual spending and shopping habits. But that's not to say that I don't love this project, because I wholeheartedly do. I like the way Rachelle has articulated her goals: To rethink our participation in consumer culture, and to challenge ourselves to be more creative with what we have. And this week, as I've been reading comments and emails about the Year Without Clothes, I've been thinking about how we can do both of those things without swearing off shopping all together.

Start by cleaning out your closet. Fall is a great time to do this, since over the next month or so most of us will need to pack up our summer duds and dig out our warmer pieces. As you do this, pay careful attention to what you have. Try things on; only keep what fits, for starters. Look everything over and deal with stains or pulls or tears. Get rid of pieces that are irredeemably shabby (t-shirts with yellow pit stains, for example). Take everything that is not seasonal out of your everyday closet and store it somewhere else (a big plastic bin under the bed works just fine if you're short on closet space). What you should be looking at now is your cold weather closet; it should consist only of things that fit right and are truly presentable.

Now comes the fun part: Mix and match what you have to make outfits. Think about what your basic, go-to outfits are -- and then think about what those outfits say about your personal fashion rules, and how you can use those basics to break your own rules. Here are five strategies for recreating your look using only what you own.

Change your shoes. Are you normally a flats girl? Swap your flats for heels, even for day. Or trade your utilitarian flats for something with a little embellishment -- whatever it is that you've got in your closet for special occasions. Even the most basic jeans and tee combo looks more chic with pretty shoes.

Accessorize. Big statement necklaces are still hot this year, so go all out with the accessories; wear multiple necklaces, or stack bracelets, or opt for your biggest, gaudiest earrings for daytime. Again, even your jeans and tee look will be transformed by a pile of funky necklaces or a big flower pin.

Pile on prints. We tend to stick to one print at a time, but there's no reason not to mix it up. Keep prints in the same color family (a blue striped sweater over a blue floral blouse, for example), and think carefully about proportion (two big floral prints will make you look like a sofa, but one big print and one smaller print give your outfit depth). Pairing very subtle prints with more dramatic ones also works (a sleek pinstripe skirt with a bold argyle sweater, for example).

Layer up! Have a great blouse and a great dress? Wear the blouse under the dress. Or try your short LBD over your skinny jeans for day. Layering can also take summer pieces into fall -- that jersey tank dress you went everywhere in before Labor Day might be perfect with a long sleeved tee or turtleneck and your boots for colder weather.

Mix day and evening pieces. Pair your LBD with tights and flat boots for day; dress your jeans up with heels and a sparkly sweater for night. I like to think of this as the Sharon Stone approach -- remember the year she went to the Oscars in a Gap t-shirt and a black taffeta ball skirt? No reason you can't make that work for you, too.

As you mix and match and style yourself (or enlist a friend to help, whatever works) look for the actual holes in your wardrobe. Is your black skirt too tight/too loose? Then you need to shop for a black skirt. Do you have a great white shirt but no bra to wear under it? Then you need to shop for a nude bra. And so on.

Look also for simple things you can buy to update your look. My favorite add-on right now are patterned tights. I have two great black skirts (one pencil, one a-line) that I can wear with flats or heels or boots. This weekend, I bought two pair of tights at Target, one a gray and black herringbone and the other a lacy chevron pattern. Instant upgrade to my skirt-and-sweater uniform, for under $20.00.

I like the no new clothes idea both because I like that participants will not be spending a year in sweats and because the idea of not shopping -- or shopping as a last resort, rather than as a knee-jerk reaction -- compels us to work with what we have. In my mind, that's where really style comes from.

I also like the way the no new clothes approach pushes us to step away from mindless consumerism and employ a Tim Gunn, make-it-work approach to getting dressed. I'm not alone in this: Styled in Chicago's Brandon Frein is completely opposed to the year of not shopping, favoring instead a consistent smart shopping strategy, one that will last beyond a year:

Instead of vowing to not buy any clothes for a year, let's vow to spend smartly. Let's promise each other that we will buy only the things we truly love and that we will wear them to death. Think about all the things in your closet that have never been worn -- the shoes that are a little too tight, the top that's "cute for $15", the jeans you will fit into when you lose that last 10 lbs. It's not spending money on clothes that's frivolous, it's spending carelessly that's frivolous.

Not sure how to shop smartly, or how to stop buying things that just languish in your closet? Get Rich Slowly's April Dykman has a great set of tips for smarter shopping, with links to other sites that are chock full of ideas. Dykman cleaned out her own closet a year ago and has been reaping the benefits of giving away an estimated 75% of what she owned. Her wardrobe, she writes, is "100 times more functional" post-purge. Could you do that? I have -- and I agree with April -- less really is more when it comes to clothing.

Susan Wagner writes about pragmatic fashion at The Working Closet and chic suburban living at Friday Playdate. She has a strict one in/one out rule when she shops: For every piece she brings home, something has to go.

Skin Care Basics Everyone Should Know (Yes, Even You)

2009-10-16T07:35:12-05:00

I have a friend who has beautiful skin -- smooth and even, with nary a wrinkle in sight. But recently, her mother called her and said, "We need to have a talk. You need to take better care of your skin. You're 35, after all -- it's time!" Despite the fact that my friend's skin is truly lovely, I had to agree with her mother. It's never too early to start babying your face.

Fortunately, a good skin care routine doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. In fact, the best skin care routine is simple and minimal; this really is a case of less is more.

So what should you be doing?

Visit the dermatologist. No matter how old you are or what your skin care concerns are, a visit to the dermatologist is a good start. I would suggest looking for a doctor whose practice includes both basic medical dermatology (she can remove that funny mole on your leg) and aesthetic dermatology (she could inject you with Botox, if that's what you chose). I'm not advocating for the Botox, by the way, but a doctor or practice that covers the spectrum will be more likely to work with you if your concern is simply wanting to keep your young, beautiful skin young and beautiful.

Streamline your routine. Skin care consultants will often tell you that you need a thousand steps to keep your skin young and beautiful. You don't. The less you do to your face, the healthier your skin will be. Essentially, you only need three things in your skin care arsenal:

1. A gentle cleanser. Use at night, to remove makeup and grit, and in the morning if your skin is oily.

2. A rich eye cream. Pat it on day and night. You'll thank me when you're 50.

3. A moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15. Choose one formulated for your specific skin, and wear daily. Get one that's tinted and skip foundation.

And truly, that's it. Three products, five minutes each day. So easy!

Feeling like you could manage more? Then add:

4. Makeup remover. If you're wearing waterproof or long-wear eye and lip color, take the time to remove them completely at the end of the day.

5. Night cream. If your skin tends to be dry, rehydrate at night.

6. Topical treatments for acne or wrinkles. Get these from the dermatologist, though, rather than winging it yourself with OTC options. Unless you're using the right thing, you can actually make the problem worse -- or create a new problem (the OTC wrinkle treatment might make your face break out, for example).

You can buy all the basics at the drug store -- I'm partial to Neutrogena's line of products, both because they offer a wide range of cleaners and lotions, and because they happen to be the brand recommended by every single dermatologist I've seen over the past 20-some years. If you really want to go with a fancy line of products, do it. The bottom line, though, is this: Great skin comes from great skin care; you don't have to spend a fortune, or invest hours each day, taking care of your face.

Do it now, before your mother calls and says, "We need to have a talk."

Karl Lagerfeld Says No One Wants to See "Round" Women

2009-10-13T21:28:53-05:00

Not too long ago, designer Mark Fast caught our attention for including plus-sized models in his London Fashion Week runway show. Fast's decision inspired some really interesting discussion, both here at BlogHer and elsewhere, about everything from what constitutes a "plus" size to why couture matters. For the most part, though, everyone agreed that Fast's choice to show his clothes on women with actual curves was a step in the right direction.

Everyone, that is, except Karl Lagerfeld.

This week, the German magazine Focus published an interview in which Lagerfeld dismisses the use of plus sized models, calling it "absurd." The fashion industry, Lagerfeld told Focus, relies on "dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women."

"These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly," Lagerfeld says, adding that these women are just jealous of the models.

Oh, Karl. For heaven's sake.

What got Lagerfeld on this particular soap box? No, it wasn't too many years of wearing those sunglasses and leather gloves constantly; it was German magazine Brigitte's decision to stop using models. Instead, the magazine will feature real women, says editor Andreas Lebert: "We will show women who have their own identity, the 18-year-old A-level student, the company chairwoman, the musician, the footballer."

Lagerfeld isn't down with that, unfortunately. Instead, he defends the models, saying that "Ninety percent of them are quite normal, properly proportioned girls with less fat and more muscles, who also eat pizzas and burgers." And while we're not picking on models, thin or otherwise, to assert that every woman who would like to see someone closer to her size is a "fat mummy" doesn't really make us want to defend Karl Lagerfeld.

We're not the only ones: Twirlit's Sherrie Gulmahamad is also rolling her eyes at Lagerfeld's pronouncements.

I don’t take exception to his idea that “round women” don’t mesh well with the dreamy fashion world. I take exception to calling us outspoken ones “fat mummies”! Lagerfeld (who is openly gay) can only see the female world as divided into his mannequins and to chubby potato chip-eating complainers. Plenty of healthywomen who think the size zero phenomenon is sick AREN’T potato chip couch surfers. I’m sure without much prodding you can find outspoken athletes, female politicians, philosophers and feminists, who aren’t “fat mummies”. Let us never forget that recently two supermodels wasted away to nothing and died of anorexia.
This raises a rather dicey question. Do the gay men controlling the fashion world also control the messaging about *our* bodies – and is it wrong, considering gay men aren’t really interested in our bodies in the first place?

Gulmahamad's question is an interesting one -- more interesting, perhaps, than Lagerfeld's uninformed assertion that women are down on super thin models because we're all essentially fat and lazy. Not because we're looking for a way to make fashion more than just dreams and illusions.

BlogHer CE avflox has an insider's perspective on the fashion world, and comes to a slightly different conclusion about Lagerfeld and the fashion industry.

Oh, but this is standard Karl, isn't it? He lives in a perpetual state of angina over society's murderous attacks on the skinny and the fur-loving.
I modeled when I was younger and I always thought that the whole point was that we had a nondescript body, and thus did not detract from the clothes. We were walking clothes hangers.
The fantasy and illusion is found in the genius of a collection and the portrayal of a specific lifestyle, not in the persons wearing its items. Karl should be concerned about how much emphasis is being placed on the bodies as opposed to his clothes and do something about that instead of making such a fuss. After all, this is his livelihood.
Focus, if they integrate different body types appropriately, is taking a step toward bringing the attention back to the clothes -- where it should be. Having said that, as a thin woman, I'm enraged by the statement that the mag will use "realistic" women because I am real, damn it. But, yes, variety would be excellent.

This gets to what I see as the heart of this discussion: Opting for models who look more like real women (even if we all agree that "plus" sized models are slim by most standards) is a step toward putting a kind of pragmatism into fashion. Lagerfeld fears the loss of the dream, but a fashion industry that lets all women dream about wearing the beautiful clothes that we see on the runway is an industry with a future.

What say you: Is fashion all about the dream, or are you crossing your fingers that one day you'll open a Vogue and see clothes that might actually work for your real girl figure?

Susan Wagner writes about pragmatic fashion at The Working Closet and chic suburban living at Friday Playdate.

A Year Without Clothes

2009-10-10T12:00:00-05:00

When was the last time you went shopping? Last week? Last month? Last year? Could you go a whole year without shopping? For clothes, that is, not food or toiilet paper or lightbulbs.

A whole year without buying a single piece of clothing. Think about it. Could you do it? Would you?

Rachelle at Magpie Girl is going to do precisely that: She is going to abstain from buying new clothing for herself for an entire year. What got her to this point? For starters, she's living in Copenhagen, where the cost of living is much higher than it is in the US and thrift stores are few and far between. But that's only part of the story.

...I went on a shopping spree this Summer in Seattle. Target, thrift stores, Old Navy. Now I was stocked on the basics. When I got back to CPH I was confronted by two American TV ads on Hulu. One for a designer discount store in which the spokeswoman said “Just because times are tight out there doesn’t mean you should have to stop wearing designer labels!” The second was for Target and featured the new term “frugalistas” and designer Nina Garcia from Project Runaway. She encouraged an average- looking shopper to buy bright blue and pink jeans, because “This season denim is all about color.”
WTF?! People are in foreclosure and designer labels are a priority? Soccer moms need to buy jeans they won’t be caught dead in next year because “this season” demands a color we abandoned circa 1985?!
Look, beauty is a deep value of mine. I love self-expression, and I think clothing is one of the ways we differentiate ourselves to others. But this endless cycle of disposable clothing designed to last “this season” and be out the next, it is absolutely ridiculous. And as much as I adore Project Runway, I’m sorry sweetie but fashion, at least as part of consumer wheel of fortune, is not going to change the world.

A year without clothes, for Rachelle, is an opportunity to step away from the consumer madness (and no matter how much you love shopping or clothes or fashion in the abstract, it is hard to avoid feeling crushed by the constant stream of This Season's Must-Have Pieces). "I just want to see what it’s like," Rachelle wrote, "to not be beholden to the trends of the 'season,' to get off the hamster wheel and just make-do."

Rachelle's post inspired a flurry of responses, both public and private. Eden Kennedy emailed me to say that she's thinking about trying this; among her reasons were these: "To find other ways to change my look than just buying new stuff. To challenge my creativity." Rachelle followed up her original post with a list of "*8 things to think about before going a year without clothes." Number five is Get Curious:

How will this help me be more aware of who I am internally and how I express that in my outward appearance? Am I a slave to fashion marketing or am I being my truest self? How deep is my resourcefulness and problem solving skills? How willing am I to learn a new skill? If I set limit, will my creativity expand?

Like Eden, Rachelle is interested in our shopping default; we're tired of our look (or our job or marriage or kids or life) so we recreate ourselves by shopping. Nothing wrong with that -- it's always interesting to challenge yourself to change -- but can change be affected without new clothes?

Of course.

Other women piped up that they are already doing this, already choosing not to follow trends and spend on clothes. Morra Aarons-Mele recently rethought her entire closet, and now feels like she's done shopping, for a while at least:

I just lost 65 lbs of baby weight. As a reward/necessity, I spent about $1000 on new clothes. I bought some gorgeous, multi-season pieces, not my usual TJ Maxx/run into the Gap special. I worked hard to edit my wardrobe and it took a couple months- after all those months of not buying clothes bc of baby weight, new baby, I really enjoyed planning out what I was going to buy, keep, donate. I made lists, cut out pages, and found an amazing boutique in Providence RI that I developed a relationship with. My sister came up and helped me weed out my entire wardrobe and edit it for color, cut, etc.
That said, I feel set now. I have no excuse to buy anything else. None. I want to see if my commitment to buying a "capsule" wardrobe, I think they call it, can last me a whole year.
I think it can.

But having all the right pieces is only one reason women don't shop. Some women, like Liz Henry, get dressed every day without elaborate shopping trips:

Anyone else here just wear what they have, and buy jeans at the thrift store or a cheap shop once in a while? I'd say once every 5 years or so I buy a nice suit jacket or shoes. Yearly underwear and socks. The occasional funny geeky tshirt online. A white button down shirt and a black one and three pairs of pants (more if I don't have a washing machine.)
I still get jobs, travel around the planet, go to people's weddings, and date people while dressing that way.

Finally, Leslie Madsen-Brooks offered this important reminder:

Since my pay has been frozen for two years and I’m taking a pay cut/furlough, I’ve already been doing this out of relative poverty because my income is now 14% below what it was supposed to be, and is on schedule to drop to 20% below within a year—if my job still exists.
Accordingly, over the last year I’ve learned it really is a privilege to be in a position to choose to shop or not shop. Remember that for millions of women (in this recession and beyond), not shopping for clothes is a necessity.

Which brings us back to Rachelle's Year Without Clothes and her refusal to participate in the culture of trends. Rachelle is challenging her readers to play along, in some way, during the next year. Not ready to give up shopping entirely? How about committing to one of these options, then?

What are *8Things you could do to make A Year Without Clothes work for you? Or alternatively, what are *8Things you could do to make the clothes you have go farther for you? Or *8Things that will help me spend less on clothing? Or *8Things To Do To Dress Like Your True Self.

Are you in? Could you give up shopping for one year? Or have you already? And if you're not ready to step away from the mall, what can you do to become your own personal stylist, and -- to borrow a phrase from Tim Gunn -- make it work?

Susan Wagner writes about fashion at The Working Closet and about chic suburban living at Friday Playdate. She is not giving up shopping, but she is going to to think more carefully about dressing like her true self.

Road Trip! New Look, or Same Old Same Old?

2009-10-08T14:23:50-05:00

I'm packing for a road trip this weekend, if by "packing" you understand me to mean "intermittently standing in my closet wondering what precisely one wears for a day of wine and cheese tasting."

Flats, I guess. I mean, because of all the wine tasting.

(Yes, I know you spit it out after you taste. But still. Flats.)

I have made a big effort to carefully curate my closet, to buy only pieces that I will really wear and that will work together. And yet, any time I am packing to go anywhere, I discover two things about my carefully-edited wardrobe.

1. It doesn't say what I want it to say about me.

2. Nothing goes with those great black pants.

That second thing is easily solved (note to self: shop for something to go with the great black pants! And take the pants along when you're shopping, because that way you will be certain that the outfit works). The first, I fear, is the bigger dilemma.

I love my clothes; there's not a single thing hanging in my closet that I don't enjoy wearing. On a normal day, I can whisk in, pull together an outfit, and whisk out, ready to get on with the business of doing whatever is on my calendar. But traveling, especially to events with specific functions (wine tasting!), always throws me.

But it's not about my clothes; it's about something else. It's about wanting to look like a better, smarter, more interesting version of me. Like someone who goes to wine tastings all the time.

(In my everyday life, I'm more someone who asks that nice guy at the liquor store if he can recommend a white that retails for under $15, please. Fortunately, he's good at that.)

A trip like this one always ends with me putting together crazy outfits, things I would never wear together in my normal life, either because the proportions are all wrong once I put them on or because they're just too dramatically different from what I usually wear. And at some point in this crazy mix-and-match routine, I start to wonder why this is so hard, why I can get dressed every morning so easily but now I cannot find three days worth of clothes to put in my suitcase.

Argh.

The bottom line for me is this: I'm not good with new looks; I like my routine, and my comfortable closet of Outfits that Work. But a trip always seems like an opportunity to be someone different, and the easiest way to do that is to wear something different! And that leaves me either packing a bunch of brand-new pieces (never a good idea, really) or furiously mixing and matching old standbys in the hope of creating a Better Me.

One that fits in a small rolling suitcase, of course.

In the end, I'll be taking my favorite pieces this weekend and wearing them the same way I always do. But what about you -- is a trip an opportunity to try out a New You, or do you just pack your regular uniform and go as your everyday self?

What's Your Jewelry Saying About You?

2009-10-06T22:35:44-05:00

Madeline Albright is in the news again these days, but not for her diplomatic career. Well, not exactly. During her tenure as Secretary of State, Albright was known for her dramatic jewelry -- specifically, her pins. Secretary Albright's pins are the focus of an exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design, for the opening of “Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection.” Secretary Albright has a new book out as well, also titled "Read My Pins."

"Former President George H.W. Bush had been known for saying 'Read my lips,'" Albright writes. "I began urging colleagues and reporters to 'Read my pins.'"

StyleList's Lesley Kennedy explicates some of Secretary Albright's more famous pins, including the serpent, the dove, and the atlas. Albright chose her pins -- she prefers that term to the fancier "brooches" -- to reflect the situation she was dealing with at the moment. Kennedy writes that Albright used her trio of "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil" monkey pins "to chide Russian President Vladimir Putin for his failure to acknowledge human rights violations committed by the Russian military in the violence-plagued region of Chechnya."

We should all be so thoughtful with our accessories.

Accessories are a simple way to update your wardrobe -- add a fun necklace to your basic tee, or a big pin to your favorite sweater -- but they can also make a statement. Think about accessories as one more way to give basic pieces personality.

Your personality. Of course.

My accessory of choice is a statement necklace; I'm not an earring girl, and pins are too complicated for me. But a big, bold necklace is easy to fold into my existing wardrobe, and makes a huge difference. Recently, I've been bidding on cool pieces on eBay, but most of my necklaces are OOAK pieces that came from craft shows or small local artisans.

Michelle Obama has worked her brooches -- pins? -- into her every day wardrobe. Most recently, she appeared at the opening ceremony of the 121st IOC Session at the Copenhagen Opera House in a stunning Rodarte dress embellished with three flower pins. So perfectly Mrs. O.

Get out your jewelry box and see what's in there -- think about how to work your existing jewelry into your current closet. Bust out the pearls and the dramatic earrings and that cool ring you've always loved but never known where to wear. Wear it to the office, or to dinner, or to playgroup. Why not?

You'll be making a statement, which is always a good thing.

Do you have a go-to accessory? A signature piece or look? If you could have any piece as your go-to, what would it be?

Susan Wagner writes about style at The Working Closet, and about chic suburban living at Friday Playdate.

Shop for a Cure

2009-10-04T21:25:19-05:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month; there are lots of ways that you can help find a cure for breast cancer, and lots of cool products that you can buy to support breast cancer research.

Maternity active wear line Fit2BMom has created a special "Go Pink!" kit that includes a round-neck maternity tee in "primrose pink," a headband, and a cool bag, for $52.00. 15% of sales through October 31 go to the National Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

How about giving your own breasts a lift to keep other women's breast's healthy? During October, Shapeez will donate 15% of proceeds from the sale of all Unbelievabras sold online. The Shapeez bra combines a bra and camisole for all-in-one shaping and tummy control; Shapeez bras retail for $75 - $85.

Want something simpler? Ann Taylor loft has partnered with jewelry designer Lisa Salzer to create this stunning -- and totally wearable -- bracelet. $5 of the purchase price of each bracelet goes to the Breast Cancer Research Fund -- and since the retail price of the bracelet is only $24.50, this is an easy way to make a difference. And look great doing it.

How else can you help? Make a donation directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Want to do more than write a check? Sign up for your local Race for the Cure. If running -- or walking -- 5K isn't your gig, you can register to sleep in for the cure. Check your local race registration web site for more information.

And finally -- and most importantly -- make an appointment to have a mammogram, or talk to your doctor about when you should start. Because t-shirts and bracelets are great, but not having cancer is better.

Looking for more ways to shop for a cure? Big City Beauty has suggestions; so does Sweet Nothings. And Bargain Hunting Moms remind us that October is the month to pick up a pink mixer -- all for a good cause!

Tree Hut Brazilian Nut Scrub: Like a Spa in Your Shower

2009-10-02T10:04:09-05:00

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Tree Hut.

I have a not-so-secret love of exfoliating scrubs; I use them on my hands and face and body. And yes, I have a different scrub for each of those parts, because not all skin is created equal. Body scrubs are the hardest to find, I think, because while the basic formula is so simple (something grainy + something moisturizing) it can be difficult to get the right balance.

Tree Hut's Brazilian Nut scrub is more than just right -- it is absolutely perfect. Really and truly.

I love this scrub for two reasons; the first is that while it is appropriately moisturizing, it's not overly greasy. The balance of Shea and sugar is perfect, and it doesn't leave an oily mess on your skin or in the shower. But even better, this particular scrub smells like chocolate, and I can't imagine anything nicer than buffing my skin smooth while soaking in the smell of cocoa.

The scent doesn't linger, though, which is great if you're using this as part of your morning shower. But if you really want to spend the day basking in the chocolatey goodness, follow up your scrub with Tree Hut's Brazilian Nut lotion.

Tree Hut's products all use certified organic Shea as a base ingredient, which makes them super moisturizing without being greasy or sticky. You can find Tree Hut scrubs and lotions at Ulta and WalMart, of all places; the scrub is $8.00 for 18 ounces.

So much cheaper than a spa! And just as relaxing and delicious.

Gap Co-Founder Don Fisher Dies

2009-09-30T06:30:13-05:00

Don Fisher, co founder of the Gap, died on Sunday. Mr. Fisher was 81, and had been battling cancer.

While you may not have known Don Fisher's name, you certainly knew his brands; he and wife Doris opened their first Gap store in San Francisco in 1969. In 1983, the Gap Inc. acquired Banana Republic; Old Navy launched in the early 1990s. In 2006 Gap Inc. added the shoe etailer Piperlime to their family, and earlier this year, the company acquired women's sportswear line Athleta.

But it was that first Gap store that changed everything.

Doris Fisher named the chain, for the "generation gap" between parents and kids, something that was on everyone's mind in the late 1960s. The idea behind the store was that a parent could shop the Gap with the kids and everyone could leave with a purchase. But the driving force behind the chain was simply a desire for good jeans. FabSugar notes that "the Gap revolutionized retail — the Fishers were inspired by a frustrating shopping experience. The couple had difficulty exchanging an ill-fitting pair of jeans and couldn't find the right denim size with the assortment at local department stores."

Last weekend, I bought a pair of "boyfriend jeans" at the Gap. Boyfriend jeans are women's jeans modeled on men's jeans, if that makes any sense; the pair I bought were "destructed," which means that they were pre-damaged (I actually found a small bit of pumice in one pocket). The idea is that it's like wearing your boyfriend's worn in, worn out jeans, but without the boyfriend. And without waiting for the breaking in.

It's brilliant, really.

The original Gap store in San Francisco carried Levis jeans and records; the store made its mark as a denim retailer by offering more selection than the competition. Today the Gap is still recognized for their jeans, which come in a range of fits and sizes -- and, with the inclusion of Old Navy and Banana Republic, a rage of price points.

The Gap has had ups and downs over the past 40 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Gap has maintained profitability but sales remain lackluster. Total sales have fallen 11% in the last five years to $14.5 billion last year from $16.3 billion in 2004." Consumers have complained that the clothes Gap carries have been trending too young; in other words, women my age, who have the money to spend, aren't shopping at the Gap because the clothes are for kids, but kids aren't shopping at the Gap because the prices are for grown-ups.

Gap has begun to turn itself around, though; in 2007, designer Patrick Robinson, 45, was hired as Head Designer, and the brand began to return to its roots. Which gets me back to those boyfriend jeans I was talking about before.

The Gap changed the way we think about fashion and retail; before Don and Doris Fisher opened that first store, jeans were simply a staple, not a statement. Americans bought jeans like they bought groceries, without much thought to style. But the Gap changed that, and in doing so, opened the door for other small chains serving a niche client base.

The Gap made stylish clothes easily accessible, and totally affordable, particularly in the past two decades, with the addition of the Banana Republic and Old Navy brands. Gap's short-lived Fourth and Towne line, which catered to women over 40, was the next logical step, although it wound up being a huge mis-step; Fourth and Towne pieces were not available online, which cut their client base down to nothing.

Which left the Gap and their jeans.

Gap jeans are still an American staple; for many of us, the Gap is our default go-to for denim. The Huffington Post's Michael Cohen went looking for jeans recently and, to his surprise, wound up at a Gap store:

So I made my way to the GAP (which in NY is as easy as finding a Starbucks) and found the least busy sales person who might listen to my designer jeans doldrums. She didn't care, at all. But she did bring me the six different versions that are part of GAP's makeover efforts to sell jeans to people like me.
She also explained, with a bizarre almost infatuated enthusiasm, how GAP is celebrating 40 years of jean-making, calling the line "1969 Premium Jeans" and how she just loves GAP's EVP of Design, Patrick Robinson, who created the "Born To Fit" campaign, ushering in a new chapter in GAP's history.
I don't give a sh*t. I close my dressing room door and go to work. Thank god I am wearing my Adidas sneakers so I can put the look into perspective. I first went for the Boot Cut. They always look good on me and like a bright light of an angel I turned around and smiled. Oh my god, these jeans really do look good on me. I can totally work with these.

Cohen winds up leaving the store with "three pair in all the available washes, which is still less than the price of one leg of my Nudie jeans."

The Gap is still struggling to regain it's footing. In August of 2008, the marketing firm Brand Keys announced that in a consumer survey, Gap ranked last in customer loyalty. This is quite possibly because other brands have taken what Don and Doris Fisher created at the Gap and implemented it in their own stores.

These days, you don't have to rely on department stores or high-end lines for basics; fast fashion is everywhere. Without that first Gap store, though, we wouldn't have the Forever 21s and H&Ms, and we would have far fewer pieces in our closets. I will always go back to the Gap, no matter how many times I leave empty handed, because I'm sure that somewhere under the crazy 80s revival ankle zip jeans, I will find my perfect jeans.

Susan Wagner writes about style at The Working Closet and about chic suburban living at Friday Playdate. She may never take those Gap boyfriend jeans off again; they are that comfortable.

Find Your Fashion Icon

2009-09-27T14:51:45-05:00

I've spent the last two weeks glued to my iPhone looking at photos from New York and London Fashion Week. I've seen some beautiful pieces -- architectural day dresses and fanciful pants suits and red carpet-ready evening gowns -- but very few of them are things I can imagine adding to my own closet. Some of this has to do with the theatrical staging of Fashion Week; we're not meant to look at a runway show and imagine ourselves going to the work or school or the grocery in these clothes.

Fashion shoots for catalogues and magazines are carefully styled; pieces are pinned and clipped to fit the model (who is always thinner and taller than the average woman). So that sheath dress, the one that looks sleek and fitted on the website, turns out to be shapeless in person. The pants that look sleek and slim in the catalogue are so tight that you can't bend your knees. Even when you do your research, the real fit of clothing can be frustrating.

Rather than looking to the fashion industry to shape what we wear and how we wear it, we need to look more carefully at real women. One step is to create an inspiration board; this can help you to identify the look you like. A second step is to find a style icon, a woman whose look you admire, and study how she gets that look.

How do you choose a style icon? Start by looking for a woman whose body type is similar to yours. Study what she wears and how she wears it. Look at fit and proportion. Look for women who are managing the things that you find difficult about your own body: big hips, a flat chest, short legs -- there is a beautifully dressed woman out there with the same body type you have, I promise.

Celebrities make excellent fashion icons, because they come in a range of ages and sizes and shapes (unlike the models in magazines, who tend to be young and tall and thin). Celebrities also make a living being photographed, which means that you have access to a nice range of looks for your inspiration board.

You can also look to friends for inspiration, but be cautious of this. You may think that you admire your sister-in-law's style, but there may be more to it than that; you may really admire her self-confidence or her organizational skills or her ability to spend an entire day with your mother without losing her mind. And while style and personality are closely entwined, you're not shopping for a new personality; you're just looking for style inspiration.

Who is my style icon? I admire Jackie Kennedy's clean, Preppie look; I am drawn to that wardrobe of day dresses and slim cashmere sweaters and tailored pants. Mrs. Kennedy's clothing was practical and comfortable and yet still elegant and chic. She made dresses work for nearly every event, no matter how casual; in our all-yoga-pants-all-the-time culture, I am inspired by that.

I'm not trying to recreate Mrs. Kennedy's era-specific look, but she is a touchstone for me when I create outfits. Her attention to detail, and the impeccable tailoring of her clothes, no matter how casual, appeal to me. Mrs. Kennedy's look was always thoughtful and crisp, no mater how dressed down she was. I will admit that I don't always look that thoughtful, but having that idea in front of me gives me a way to think about how to mix and match my very tightly edited closet and create a look that is distinct and consistent -- and one that works for me.

Need more inspiration? Second City Style looks at how Jackie Kennedy's style influenced Michelle Obama. If you're looking to Mrs. Obama as a fashion icon, bookmark the Mrs. O blog for all the details of who and what the First Lady is wearing. Don't want to make a celebrity mistake? The girls at Go Fug Yourself will steer you clear of bad fashion choices. And they'll make you laugh until you cry.

Your turn: Do you have a style icon? Who do you look to for inspiration? Or are you winging it on your own?