Magpie Dressing

Hi kiddos. . .

I like shiny, glowing, metallic things. Not just on clothes, but on furniture, bedding, and walls ( but that is for another post). Like a magpie, I am drawn to shiny objects, or more particularly shiny clothes.

Shiney Bits by DC Style Blender featuring J Crew Tops

Not in the woman-of-a-certain-age-shopping-at-Cache-sequined-spangly-clothes way, but more in the opalescent-daytime-shine way.

It is like the difference between shimmer body powder (fantastic! I love it! I die!) and body glitter (stripperish twee that leaves a trail of bright flecks on the people you touch, yuck!)

So let's focus on gleaming clothes. Like this A-MA-ZING daytime shiny outfit I saw on TV the other evening. I have no idea who the designers are or where you could buy it, but I swear this fall/winter I will be totally emulating this look for the office holiday party. My sad little screen shot doesn't do it justice, but I hope you can get the idea.

Thoughts darlings?. . .

XoXo

~D.

(Silly blogger. . .won't let me post my pityful screen shot of the perfect daytime shine. Will try to post image later. Stay tuned kiddos!!)

Hello Lover, The House Edition

Due to my husbands hatred of color in any form, I am currently greig-ing my house. Gotta keep the Hubs happy, so neutral grays, beige's, whites, and creams are my inspiration and color pallate of choice.

Cream Beige Gray Room by DC Style Blender on Polyvore.com

The key with this look is to control the types of materials used, mix modern with antique, look for sensual forms made of natural products like driftwood, keep accessories either personalized or totally funny kitch, and add texture with nuetral colored pillows and fabric choices.

I personally love color, so to keep me happy I have chosen artwork that is oversized, colorful, and bold. So far I am super pleased with the mix. Will post photos of the house eventually, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I have mentioned before how inspired I am by the mother-daughter team at the great blog Sea of Shoes. Not only is their personal style interesting and detailed, but the house they live in is . . .A-MAY-ZING. I die!

Their living room has inspired some of my recent purchases for my now neutral home. Enjoy!

Stay safe out there kittens and let go of that tired out over stuffed Pottery Barn couch from circa 1998. Time to get sleek and greiged!

My Secret Shame. . .

I have a dirty style secret. Like all good secrets, it is both embarrassing and addictive. I am coming out of the style closet here folks so be prepared.

Ahem. . .

Hello, My name is D~ and I wear Jessica Simpson shoes.

The woman who gave our generation the sartorial splendor of Daisy Duke shorts worn with cowboy boots makes shoes I crave. They are priced just right, trend perfect, and surprisingly comfortable. J.Simpy you do good shoe.

And now she is branching out into bathing suits and dresses. . .sigh. I see another addiction coming on.



J.Simpy by DC Style Blender featuring Jessica Simpson shoes


Since our blog of the week, The Vintage Society, is all about boho chic with modern sexy elements, I have used that as an inspiration for my spring J.Simpy items picks.

Enjoy kittens!

D~

Blog Plug of The Week - The Vintage Society

Hi there poodles! It is time for our blog of the week pick. Get excited cause she is the coolest chick since Woodstock! Let us know your thoughts by email or comment cause we love to hear from you!!

Holla!
D~

Blog Name: The Vintage Society
Blog Writer: Beth Jones
Nickname: For Reals Boho Chic Chick

Content: As I have mentioned before, I am sick of certain terms that are misapplied and overused in the fashion world. . .Fashionista is one of them, another one is Boho Chic. So often this phrase covers a sad mix of flower prints, moccasin shoes, and patchouli smelling fringed leather bags. Rarely is it truly chic. But on the blog Vintage Society, the blogger Beth Jones is the perfect person for the term Boho Chic. She combs flea markets, thrift stores, the mall, and the internet for the best mix of vintage and classic options I have ever seen. Her style is a little bit country, a dab of rock and roll, and a ton of sexy heels. Which is why I call her my For Reals Boho Chic Chick. She deserves the title and she is the queen vintage treasures.

A Leg Up

Leggings…Ah yes, it is the age old question, well at least a year or two old, but back to the question: Can we still rock 'em and be a star? Or has Lindsay Lohan killed the concept of leggings for everyone?

We'll leave Lindsay for another post and just focus on the leggings. . .for now.

First and foremost everything in moderation and worn the right way can be stylish. It has to be done correctly and with good style. Notice I did not say good taste, because good style in not always in good taste…wink wink!

There are a few common sense rules that apply. But since common sense is clearly not so common, I will list them briefly. . .

1. Ladies, please keep them tight and immaculate. No bagging, sagging, fading or lint pills. They must be fresh, crisp, and clean.

2. No kooky colors por favor. Orange, red, brown, blue…or god help us pattern is SO not done.

3. No lace at the bottom a-la Madonna circa 1983. We are no longer desperate and I was never sure who Susan was anyway.

4. Or my personal favorite: Leggings as pants? With a short or tucked in shirt???? I don’t care how thin you think you are (and you are clearly proud and trying to show the rest of the world), this is ridiculous and juvenile…not to mention slightly disturbing, a totally contrived and WAY too much Camel Toe for me to be comfortable.

Now how to do it right. . .

Black or charcoal grey leggings paired with a slouchy, printed, button down shirt, perhaps a belt and a pair of sky high ankle booties? Perfection.

Or a long jersey tank/cami (note the word LONG), under a lightweight thin boyfriend cardigan and knee high stiletto boots? Nothing but heaven girls! Simply fabulous…and so comfortable…just like our old faithful: the Velour Jumpsuit (also another post for another day, so stay tuned).

Running daytime errands or shopping in Georgetown. . . I swear leggings, a great patterned boyfriend cardigan sweater, and cute comfy flats are the best!

Personally? I pretty much swap my leggings out for opaque tights, reserving the leggings mostly for the gym. Opaque tights are considerably more sophisticated and in some cases way more appropriate for grown up situations. But leggings or tights….it’s all the same in theory, you can go JUST as wrong with tights. Keep it simple and chic. We ALL know my mantra: “Less is more…more or less…”

And honestly speaking? Leggings deserve a lot of credit. They have been the gateway to some really great fashion trends: past, present and emerging. Leggings are giving way to skinny jeans, which are giving way to skinny pants, which are resulting in skin tight leather pants (purrrrrrrrr….I likey).

Casual Day Time Leggings by DC Style Blender featuring Helmut Lang tights

Opinion: In short, if you can manage to make them stylish, not trashy, or even simple and classic then I am all in! I say go for it (sorry LaLohan)!

But more factually: Black leggings, in some form or fashion, are here to stay. They’re like UGGS: they are a main stay.

So wiggle your self into a pair, slide on some high heels and rock ‘em like a rock star! You know you want to…
M~

"Clutch in the Can"

Alright party people gather 'round. Here it is, one of my favorite parts of the game...the fashion game that is. This is the time when we get to ban together and poke fun at the not so stylish and the fashionaby unfortunate. You know those people you see on the street, on tv, the red carpet...the cube next to you. And you think: "How did this happen? Is there a mirror in that home? How did her/his friends allow this to go down?? WHAT WAS SHE/HE THINKING?"
We know! We feel your pain (it's good for us to come together and share...it is healing).
D and I have coined these occurences "Random Acts of Style-ss". You know, like a Random Act of Violence...where perfectly innocent by-standers (that would be us) have to suffer for someone else's sins (that would be them, the style-ss). The post can be a story, a photo, you name it. Only qualification being the obvious void of all things chic.
So here it is, the kick-off to our regular feature: RANDOM ACTS OF STYLE-SS.
Now i'm going to have to warn you, it can and will get really U.G.L.Y (you will understand after you read below).
So brace yourselves, get your finger ready....point...then laugh...cuz this is a good one!
M~

Today at work, a girl in my department sent out an email to all of the women on our floor. The email read: “FYI: someone left a green clutch in the ladies room”.

Of course, MY brain immediately fires off a random sequence of: “OOOOhhhh, I wonder what color green it is? Maybe Kelly? WOW if it is Kelly Green, it would totally match my Sky High Kelly Green Velvet Stilettos that I just bought! Man, I should sneak to the bathroom and look at it…If I like it, I will ask who ever owns it, where they got it and then maybe, just maybe my search for the perfect bag to match my perfect shoes will be OVER! Hooray!!! But wait! What if the owner never comes forward? The "clutch" will probably go to lost and found and then what will I do? How will I convince the lost and found attendant to let ME have the bag??? MAN! It would probably take about 3 weeks for that to happen and by then, I would have already missed my friend’s art opening in the city where I HAVE to wear my FAB new SKY HIGH KELLY GREEN VELVET STILETTOS!!!!!!!” by this time I was screaming in my head.

Green Shoes by DC Style Blender featuring KORS Michael Kors heels & wedges

In the middle of my extreme highs and lows surrounding the mysterious green clutch, please note that I still had not laid eyes on this bag yet, my friend, we will call her ‘MEL' turned to me, very annoyed and VERY indignant, ‘MEL' says “Why would someone leave their clutch in the bathroom?? I mean COME ON, how D.U.M.B (and yes she did spell it) is that??”

I was a bit perplexed about why she was so upset by this…I mean it is pretty common place to haul your purse into the bathroom, touch up your make up and then forget it on the counter. I have done it a dozen times AT LEAST! But I brushed her off; somewhat annoyed that she had jolted me out my plans for “Operation Clutch in the Can”. I had to get my hands on this purse ASAP.

The Green Clutch Hold by DC Style Blender featuring Forever21 hair accessories

Here is how it went down. I relay the following conversation to you, verbatim:

Mel: “M (that’s me)” she says to me, “what do you think? HOW (please put the emphasis on the HOW) did that happen”

Me (still annoyed): “I don’t know Mel, and who really cares?”

Mel: “I mean, WHO would be carrying around their car parts in the middle of the day and LEAVING them in the bathroom?? How DUMB (she didn’t spell it this time…thank G.O.D)!!!

I just looked at her….trying to process…trying to understand…I just kept looking at her…speechless as it finally started to become clear…and then very VERY sad as it finally dawned on me. But by then, it was too late, she has already started talking again:

Mel: “Oh my God! That is incredible, how did they even get it OUT of the car?”

Me (very slowly and very deliberately): “Mel, a clutch is a purse…a HAND HELD PURSE. Not a “clutch” from a stick shift car”

Mel: “What?!?! No it’s not! They are talking about a “clutch” from a car! A PURSE?? Who the hell has heard of that?”

Me:“Everyone Mel…at least most people”

Mel: “NO! NO they have NOT! I bet you that no one has heard of that except you M and that is because you are all “fashiony” See watch, I’m gonna ask”

Me: “NO MEL DON’T!!”
But before I could stop her, she set off, walking briskly and with purpose. All I could do was watch…I sat at my desk, head hung low, peering at her through the window in my cubicle while: One by one, she went, from cube to cube (including the men and “old people” as she would relay to me later)

And One By One they struck her down…

Each time, taking a bit of her pep and a bit of her pride ‘til finally, she slunk back to me in our corner…defeated, she flopped in her chair and sighed…. “I SWEAR I have NEVER heard of that IN MY LIFE” she says.

I went to her, my cute little STYLE-SS friend, putting my hand on her shoulder I looked her deep in her eyes and said “Melly, the problem is I believe you. I KNOW you have never heard that before…and now everyone else knows too. Mel, they call it a “clutch” because you “clutch” the bag, you know, in your hand” I say this while demonstrating with my hand the “clutching” motion.

She looked up at me, big eyes…so Hazel and so confused.“But M” she says softly “you hold a bag, why don’t they call it a HOLD???”

Truth is stranger than fiction my friends…. M~

Hello Lover

Balmain, Style.com, Fall 2009 Runway, Price Unknown

Another regular feature here at DSB is going to be us finding striking items we love online and sharing them with you, our little darlings.

I've been obsessed with this website poshvintage.com for YEARS. I have secretly, lovingly, and obsessively stalked amazing vintage Pucci dresses, one of a kind Organically Grown sweaters, and fantastic little tye dyed slip dresses. Their stock is ever changing and their items are totally drool worthy. I've never actually purchased anything but this amazing 70's leather jacket might be my first purchase from them.

Balmain did a strong shoulder for Fall 09 and everyone is trying to knock them off, well this is the original that probably inspired Balmain. . .and I MUST OWN IT!

Sigh. Hello Lover. . .

70's Leather Jacket, poshvintage.com, $225

Baubles and Trinkets

I am obsessed with the idea of raw, edgy, yet still feminine rings. Don't get me wrong, I love a simple band just as much as the next girl, but something draws me to statement rings with a natural rough-hewn twist. Like something Janis Joplin would wear if she shopped at Anthropologie.

Girly Godess Rings by DC Style Blender featuring Alex Monroe rings

I wouldn't wear these rings every day, but when I needed them they would be there and they would be fabulous.

The Style Mullet, Business and Then The Party

Sheath Dress Business/Party by DC Style Blender on Polyvore.com


Everyone in DC has a sheath dress. We wear them to work, dinners, events, and even the grocery store. Unfortunately most of the time the dress is worn with clunky heels, old lady pearl jewelry, or a sad sack little cardigan.

I'm here to answer the age old question. . .how to make your sheath dress the clothing equivalent of a mullet, business in the front, party in the back, or day appropriate, night time ready. The key is color, accessories, and COURAGE.

Enjoy kittens.

Start with this great sheath dress in jersey in a teal color. The color alone makes it more bold then the usual gray or black sheath dress. Pair the dress with this charming red belt and fun red shoes for the office.

Teal Sheath Dress Day by DC Style Blender on Polyvore.com

Keep the jewelery simple wear only this chunky bracelet. And carry this conservative handbag in a structured ladylike shape. Keep your make up neutral and simple. I dare say you could wear this to work at any non-profit on K Street.

Teal Sheath Dress Evening by DC Style Blender on Polyvore.com

Now to head out for the evening keep the shoes and the belt, add this darling clutch, pump up your jewelery with this AMAZING ring and bracelet. Layers are key here, so make sure to keep the bracelet on you wore for daytime. Add some depth to your make up with eyeliner, heavy mascara, and a warm blush. Fluff up your hair and sally forth.

Champagne Dreams, Box Wine Budget (2)

Hey kiddos! It's time for our weekly Champagne Dream Items mixed with Box Wine Budget Realities.

Spring is here, sort of, so I am thinking of fun flat sandals to pair with jeans and simple tee shirt dresses. Tribal influence is on trend and headed our way for both Spring 08 and Fall 09.

Below my picks for high and low end flat tribal sandals.

Holla!



This mid-priced DVF beaded flats fall in the bottle of wine for the table category, neither high enough for champagne, but not low enough to be box wine at home. . .either way I love them.
Diane Van Furstenburg, Diana Thong, $210

These low priced, trend right tribal flats by Sam Edelman are fantastic. I wear a lot of black, cream, and beige these would be great with my wardrobe.

Sam Edelman, Gisela Thong, $93

Beaded, tribal, cute. Perfect and priced just right for ANYONE'S budget.

Sam Edelman, Gerry Thong, $99

I don't think I have ever worn Report shoes, but these would be the perfect way to start. I like the multi colors in the beads, that way they can be worn with ANYTHING.

Report, Redding Thong, $68

Ahhhhh. . .yum. The perfect ethnic inspired flat sandal, by the designer of my dreams. High price point, but you can wear these long after the tribal trend expires.
Giuseppe Zanotti, Ethinic Flat, $650

Sometimes true flats make me feel short so the slight wedge gives these Jimmy Choo's a leg up on the competition.

Jimmy Choo, Wedge Sandal, $895

Yet another designer I haven't worn called Dolce Vita, the price is low and the studs make it almost more rocker then tribal. . .either way they are cute.

DV by Dolce Vita, Oliver Thong, $62

Let's end on a high note. Zanotti beaded flat thongs. AH-MAY-ZING. . .

Giuseppe Zanotti, Beaded Metalic Thong, $595