Marc Jacobs bag on Amazon Every January Pantone announces a “Color of the Year.” This year it’s called Viva Magenta. That means you will expect to see it in advertising, home furnishings, and fashion. The color swatch you see on the left here was pulled directly from the Pantone site.       Now, if you do a further search on the very same Pantone website and click on the “2023 Color of the Year” the first image you see is this one. (Below) The Toe Bag on Amazon They both have the exact same numerical identity: Pantone 18-1750. So you tell me. Are these two colors the sa ..read more

Photo: Kraken Images on Unsplash Photo: Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash What we feel most comfortable and appropriate wearing for the holidays varies greatly depending on the level of formality of the event, the company, and the venue. So when Suzanne Blons (“The Beauty Shaman”) asked me to do a seasonal update with some ideas about what to wear for a variety of holiday events, I had some fun! Here is the link to our video. For that interview I sent her a few ideas for holiday outfits for casual, slightly more formal, and very formal settings. But I wanted to share some of the images he ..read more

Photo: Anthony Delanoix on Unsplash Followers to this page know how much I love French style. But Italian style is making a big splash (and I’ve loved Italy ever since watching Roman Holiday.) So, what exactly is “French” style and what is “Italian” style and are they really that different? Let’s break it down. France When you think of France you usually think of Paris, simply because it is an international fashion capital where new styles and trends originate. Parisian climate is generally cooler year round. That requires being a little bit more covered up, or prepared to cover up, even o ..read more

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash Packing for a trip, or for a vacation is always a challenge, but it’s a happy one. It lets us fantasize about the beautiful scenery we will encounter, imagine the relaxing, carefree days ahead, the delicious food, the people we might meet, and the wonderful places we will explore. But as we all watched the heartbreaking video of hundreds of  people desperately fleeing their homes in Ukraine, I kept thinking, “How did they decide what to stuff in those small rolling suitcases when there was urgency, their lives were on the line,and they didn’t know where the ..read more

The subject of swimsuits creates anxiety for a lot of women. Time and gravity take their toll and waistlines disappear.  Skin elasticity changes over time as well. So, when shopping for your suit, pay attention to the details. Look at the back of the suit as well as the front. A lot of swimwear will have a very low cut back, or lots of lacing in the back that you will have to deal with. Also, consider how high an angle you are willing to go in the leg area. Visually, a slightly higher cut leg opening will elongate the look of your legs and make you look slimmer than one that is pretty mu ..read more

Photo by Anna Shvets on Unsplash I know and love my style. It’s comfortable, familiar, I trust it, and it suits me well, as every good relationship should. But that doesn’t mean that periodically I’m not wooed by a new trend that isn’t my style. Such was my temptation recently. So I decided to cheat on my style a bit. Here’s how I did it, guilt free, and here’s how you can too. Start With Your Limitations Andrea’s (much loved and used) palette The one area I won’t stray from is my color palette. I may not wear all of the colors in it (there are about 100 swatches in my John Kitchener pale ..read more

Photo by Anna Shvets on Unsplash I know and love my style. It’s comfortable, familiar, I trust it, and it suits me well, as every good relationship should. But that doesn’t mean that periodically I’m not wooed by a new trend that isn’t my style. Such was my temptation recently. So I decided to cheat on my style a bit. Here’s how I did it, guilt free, and here’s how you can too. Start With Your Limitations Andrea’s (much loved and used) palette The one area I won’t stray from is my color palette. I may not wear all of the colors in it (there are about 100 swatches in my John Kitchener pale ..read more

The subject of swimsuits creates anxiety for a lot of women. Time and gravity take their toll and waistlines disappear.  Skin elasticity changes over time as well. So, when shopping for your suit, pay attention to the details. Look at the back of the suit as well as the front. A lot of swimwear will have a very low cut back, or lots of lacing in the back that you will have to deal with. Also, consider how high an angle you are willing to go in the leg area. Visually, a slightly higher cut leg opening will elongate the look of your legs and make you look slimmer than one that is pretty mu ..read more

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash If you have a 401k – or even a piggy bank! – you are probably counting your pennies very carefully right about now! So I wanted to share with you a few of my strategies for creating a great wardrobe on a tight budget. Set Your Goal Photo by Artem Beliakin on Pexels Before you plunk down the credit card, take a hard look at needs vs. wants. (This is what we explored in my last post.) It’s tempting to jump on sales, especially when we’ve been feeling a financial pinch. Buying something perfect on sale is a mood elevator! But that’s not always a great s ..read more

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash Packing for a trip, or for a vacation is always a challenge, but it’s a happy one. It lets us fantasize about the beautiful scenery we will encounter, imagine the relaxing, carefree days ahead, the delicious food, the people we might meet, and the wonderful places we will explore. But as we all watched the heartbreaking video of hundreds of  people desperately fleeing their homes in Ukraine, I kept thinking, “How did they decide what to stuff in those small rolling suitcases when there was urgency, their lives were on the line,and they didn’t know where the ..read more