Simply Chic! Oh La La!

Nina Garcia helps a false Fashionista come out of the closet

I love fashion. I write about fashion. I go onto blogs and websites and subscribe to magazines to see fashion. But I am not a fashionista and in fact I am a slob (sometimes) who will do anything she can to use as little energy to look good. Many times I will settle for clean, sweet smelling, and half decent.

While I have many beautiful items, bags, bangles, sunglasses, shoes, I have tried to get away with so many fashion atrocities. Wearing jeans with broken zippers. Tank tops with holes in them. Two different color socks. Socks with holes in them. Shirts with hidden stains. But I think I've finally matured and want to join the ladies club.

That is why Project Runway Nina Garcia's book, The One Hundred (A guide to the pieces every stylish woman must own), has come just in time. I normally hate fashion how-to-books, they seem dated before you even flip open the cover. But there is something timeless about this book. Garcia has it organized form A to Zed; The A-Line Dress to the Zippered Hoodie. So the book is beautifully simple and just beautiful. Each page is illustrated with stunning drawings by Ruben Toledo. I think Ruben Toledo does those great ten page advertisements you see in Vogue for different designers and high end department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.

I'm enjoying reading every page of the book and I am placing little sticky tabs on pieces I am going to look for to fill out my wardrobe. It makes me want to shop but not in my usual lost, see- something-I-like-that-I-have-nothing-to-match-in-my-wardrobe kind of shopping. That kind of shopping leaves me with literally no outfits, just random pieces. But rather conscious shopping, buying pieces that I adore and can where for many years to come. What I love about this book is it is not about a gratuitous slave to fashion mentality or vanity, it really is about appreciating beautiful things and being individually beautiful. And though I don't have children, yet, I am thinking about little trinkets (future heirlooms) that I can invest in now, and one day pass on to my little girl's from my youthful days. I'm really inspired!

So I have items I desperately need (marked red in the book):

Boyfriend Cardigan

Trench Coat

Trousers

Hobo bag

Knee Boots

Little Black dress

Man's white shirt

(I've just realized the list is too long to count. So let's skip to my second list!)

And ones I desperately want (marked purple in the book): 

Charm Bracelet (some charms I want on the bracelet, family, a pen or typewriter, a music symbol, fish and lion, and a charm for travel and food)

Hermès silk scarf (Oh Hermès!)

Monogrammed Stationery

Leather Jacket

Statement Necklace

Oh, I deserve it all!  Donations to my fashion fund can be sent anytime :)

Sex and the City: The Movie Book

Okay, not a surprise I am a big fan of Sex and the City, and will forever be part of that generation of women changed by the show, just like Oprah's generation was changed by the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

So, yes, I was one of those groupies trying to get into the first screening of the movie, but I had not predicated the smarter groupies who bought tickets days before. I saw it two weeks later and enjoyed it for the most part, though my biggest problem, with the entire movie, just happened to be the final scene. I did not find it realistic that Carrie would get married in that drab antique wedding dress. Even if she was prepared to compromise her desires for Big's (nothing new when it comes to Big and Carrie) I don't think it was honest for her to get married in that dress. This was someone who went to picnics dressed as Pippi Longstockings. If I wrote it I would have had Carrie get married in the glamorous Vivienne Westwood dress (even in City hall). I would have also had her friends, looking just as glamorous right behind her, not waiting out in the wings like second servings. Finally, the last scene with them in the diner was slightly disingenuous, why did they feel the need to pretend they are just normal down to earth folks like us, marrying at city hall, and eating at greasy spoon diners. If you're going to serve me the fantasy, serve it hot and sweet all the way to the end (including the stunning closet and hot penthouse.)

Anyway, that being said, I have seen the movie twice now. Yes, I'm a hypocrite.  But what I've enjoyed even more then the movie has been the book, Sex and the City, The Movie, that accompanies the film. The book like the original, Kiss and Tell version for the television series, is wonderful. Every single outfit, even those that did not make it into the film, is in the book. The book is broken down fully from the first scenes all the way to the last, so it's like reading the movie. The funniest quotes are highlighted, each characters image for the movie is analyzed, and even the various spots they filmed in New York are presented in the back. I love the book and have it sitting next to it's sister, Kiss and Tell. And every time I look at the book it makes me miss the four ladies that have forever marked me as a Sex and the City girl.

The Beautiful Fall book Review

I just finished reading Alicia Drake's book, The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris.  A couple months ago I put my name on the list at the library and was so excited when I was called about it that I went to the library after work. Until this point I didn't even know the library was open after 6pm.

Drake, a British fashion writer based in Paris, researched the book so thoroughly that I was amazed at the amount of work she put into it. Recently in the New Yorker's Style Issue writer John Colapinto wrote a piece about Karl Lagerfeld, it was well written but I felt sorry for the writer because after reading Drake's book there was nothing new he could reveal about Lagerfeld.  Halfway through the article I got bored and considered not finishing it, and finally, as if he knew it was impossible to avoid, he mentioned Drake's book. Let's just say Lagerfeld was not happy about the way he was portrayed in the book, telling Colapinto, "It's the dirtiest thing in the world". Neither Lagerfeld  nor Yves Saint Laurent agreed to be interviewed for the book. Drake complied her work from previous interviews and she spoke to many of the designers family, friends, and associates to fill in the many blanks.

Almost immediately into reading the book I was amazed that Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld were very different men then I had assumed. When I was a kid watching fashion shows with my mom, I would see Yves Saint Laurent on television, and he seemed so weak, insecure and sort of geeky. I assumed that he was someone always trying to prove himself but never given any respect which made him shy and nervous. Whereas, I thought Lagerfeld was the leader of the pack, always on top, everything came easy, an instant fashion icon. Neither of those assumptions were true. Saint Laurent was actually a fashion icon almost from the get go. He took over the house of Dior at only 21 and his label, YSL and fragrance Opium, set records and standards most designers can't imagine reaching. Lagerfeld actually worked really hard for many years as a freelance designer, putting out fashions that sold but most people didn't know who designed it. Lagerfeld also has a passion to know it everything, from fashion, to literature, music and history. That fascinates me because I have a similar obsession.

While initially friends as young men, that friendship did not last for long, a bitter rivalry ensued that exist even today. Drake portrayed Saint Laurent as man who controlled his surrounds with his supposed fragility, he was the man who everyone aspired to impress, befriend and inspire. He lorded over the fashion world, a icon in his own time. While Lagerfeld was viewed as hardworking, meticulous, eccentric and at times a joke amongst his own friends. Where Saint Laurent's friends knew never to burden him with their problems, no one ever wanted to make him unhappy, Lagerfeld, was known to mercilessly severe relationships with friends he felt betrayed or bored him, he was and is always looking for the new next big thing.

Sometimes I found that Drake over-romanticized the time (1970's), and the people. Even though she made it clear that those aspiring to make it in the fashion world often created persona's to get attention and find success, she seem to further perpetuate the persona's they created while unmasking them at the same time (odd contradiction). The book also seemed lopsided in Yves Saint Laurent's favour (I sensed she had a little more respect for Yves Saint Laurent then Karl Lagerfeld).

But I think Drake did an incredible job, the book was so thorough that you finish it having a much greater understanding of both designers, the fashion world of the past, and the modern day world of fashion that Saint Laurent and Lagerfeld created.

Chic Rating: CCCC/5

How Not to look FAT!!! A book for all sizes!

As I sat on the bus preparing myself for another long day (losing a fight to stay awake to my heavy eyelids that refused to acknowledge the tedious work day ahead), a glance at a woman getting up to leave the bus suddenly woke me right up, as my eyes followed her attention getting frame (and I don't mean that in a nice way) all I could do was silently pity what I saw.

I hate to be judgmental of other people's bodies (especially fellow women), but her attempt at looking cute that day had ultimately backfired into a whole heapin' mess.  She wore a cowboy hat, with a listless pulled back pony tail. Her polo shirt was uncomfortably tucked deeply into her very tight ill fitting blue jeans, so tucked in that it strained at the collar and over her large bosom. The jeans barely reached past her ankles and her black dress shoes were dated and uninspired. Normally this would not be enough for me to bat an eyelash at, but what had truly caught my attention was her sweet yet bad attempt to create an hour glass form by strangling her waist with a skinny belt right at her belly button where her high waisted pants began.

If it were not for the belt I would not have noticed her because as the iconic Vreeland once said when asked about what she thought of how most people dressed, "What do I think about the way most people dress? Most people are not something one thinks about". But it was that belt that made me notice her, that belt squeezing the life out of her stomach. That chubby tummy, attempting to rebel by trying to escape over that horrible vicious looking belt, that made me realize that she did care about her appearance or why would she be trying to create a tiny waist with an inappropriate belt? I shook my head remembering my own ill guided attempts at looking cute, sexy or downright hot, that had fallen flat because I took one thing too far or simply didn't know how to dress my body type.

When I first began reading How Not to Look FAT (157 pages) by Danica Lo (www.hownottolookfat.com), I was reading it simply for entertainment value, (as a size four which I only mention to illustrate how this book can serve all sizes), I read it to simply be in the know, but as I continued to read through it I found myself checking off tips and advice I can incorporate into my own wardrobe world. I think this book is so great for women of all sizes because whether you're curvy, fit, fat or skinny we all have found ourselves wearing things we think look great but are really not for our body types, and as Lo says, "Who ever said that fashion is democratic?".

Lo put this book together after her successful How not to look Fat column in the New York post (love you page six). Lo has a relaxed, well informed, straightforward writing style, that I really enjoyed. There was no fillers, just great practical advice divided into 25 neat and well organized chapters. Her book covers everything (except maternity clothes and lingerie but we'll consider underwear lingerie), Lo writes about jeans, accessories, suits, gym clothes, costumes, even scents that make you appear thinner (scents you ask? Gotta read the book). Besides her excellent writing style (the girl has a M.A. in fashion journalism. Who knew you could get a M.A. in Fashion Journalism?). Lo also speaks from a first hand basis, the gorgeous writer was also a plus size model before venturing into journalism and writing for the New York Post, so this is not some chick lit title simply for the bookshelf, she actually knows what she's talking about.  Anyway, as I was saying what stood out for me besides the writing was the fabulous illustrations.  The book was filled with illustrations along with definitions, my favorites were the Dictionary of Necklines and Dictionary of shoes.  I found all her illustrated breakdowns very cute and incredibly valuable in order to help me understand what various necklines, shoe types and undies can do to enhance or destroy an overall look.

She mercifully stayed away from chick lit talk,  she refrained from dropping big designer names every two seconds, she was a little repetitive with her examples but that can be forgiven, and she was very honest. Lo hates to work out and admits that she rarely does it, so she wrote the book in a practical "fake it till you make it" manner, supporting the idea that has always been the truth, fortunately or unfortunately perception is reality, illusions are nothing to be scared of (as long as your not butchering yourself under the knife to feed simple natural insecurities you can deal with less painfully by learning fab make-up tricks and how to buy the right clothes for your body).  Did you know that self-tanners can be used to create the illusion of a thinner more sculpted body? I knew make-up could (that's what they use head to toe on models walking the runway) but I didn't know tanning had evolved to that.

Lo also emphasizes that the the look is in the details, from your coat collar to your nail color putting pleasure, time, and self love into your appearance works wonders. Pick up the book if you come across it, you'll reference it time and time again.

Simply Chic Rating: C C C C/5

The Budget Fashionista...fierce, fabulous, and frugal?

Yes folks it is possible to be the first two F's (fierce and fabulous) and also the third F (Frugal).

I've never liked that dirty F word, Frugal; in the past it made me think of old penny pincher's and deprivation. I love beautiful things; everyone who knows me knows the battle I have fought with...the credit card. I have fallen off the wagon; skipped off it, fell asleep on it as it wheeled me into a financial ditch. But recently I have started to practice discipline regarding my ferocious (another F word) spending habits.

As a way to get my spending habits in check but still find a way to get the objects I so desire, I've become a sale slut, mistress of haggling, reluctant budgeting diva. So as not to feel completely deprived and then go out and max out my credit card I buy myself one thing (or so) per month.

March- a vintage roots bag 

April-A pair of Aviator Sunglasses

May-Skinny Jeans (Dark Denim)

June-A pair of Brazilian sandals and Skinny jeans (light Denim)

June has actually put me half off the wagon because I had not budgeted for those two items plus things like renewing my websites and virus protection renewal for my computer, came up, ultimately I was forced to put it on my credit card. The best-made plans I guess. Which means this girls gotta tighten the reins for the next 6 weeks or so until so much deserved cash starts coming in.

Anyway (Enough about me, this is a book review).

As I've embarked on this mission, I came across a great site (about a year ago), called www.thebudgetfashionista.com. The site has given me so many good tips, make-up, fashion, where to get discount items. So when Kathryn Finney (a.k.a. the Budget fashionista) released her first book this month, How to be a budget Fashionista (222 pages). I was very excited to read it, especially since my brain is a little tired of all the intellectual heavy fiction I've been reading lately.

This book is one of the first budget type spending books that I have related too. TBF wrote this book with chicks like me in mind, we want to be financially responsible but don’t want to sacrifice style and personal expression. Can’t a girl have both (plus a wonderful guy and cute wonderful babies and a fabulous career?)? I say yes we can!!!!!

Right away I loved the casual conversational tone of the book. She drew me in by sharing her shopping stories gone array, credit card debt out the ying yang, and love of fashion. Want I also appreciated was the fact that she did not subscribe to all those over used fashion terms we read in magazines right now (Thanks to sex and the city). She threw enough in to appeal to the chic lit girls but also wrote a book that will be relevant for shopaholics 10 years from now.

She gives tips on everything from how to budget, how to embrace sales, how to mix low-end pieces with high-end items to create your own style, also how to understand your personal style and what designers cater to that style (and how to get them for less). She even threw in little jobs that can help you earn the money to shop with out breaking the bank.

I just liked how Finney embraces shopping smartly. I folded and highlighted half the book and finished reading it in a few hours. I constantly make the mistake of depriving myself then going overboard, its something I’m working on, so I plan to use this book as my little road map to becoming a true budget fashionista. I don’t want to give away her tips but for anyone who can relate to wanting to be money savvy and chic, I recommend you grab the book before your next pair of Pradas.

Rating: C C C C/5