If it can't hide it...don't wear it!

Alright ladies...I know spring is in the air and as the weather warms up we are uber-tempted to show a little skin. But let's have some class!

I've noticed the cutout is back. You know what I'm talking about: that little missing geometric swatch of fabric from your shirt/bathing suit. I'm not sure what I think of this but after seeing a rather horrendous faux paux regarding this trend on Saturday afternoon, I feel its my responsibility to let you know what people will and will not let you get away with while sporting this trend.

Numero uno pet peeve -- if you can't hide a bra under it or go without, you probably shouldn't be wearing it. I know, I know...Carrie on Sex and the City did it all the time and with her couture no less. Well, that was a tv show that operated outside of the realm of reality. This most likely will not work for anyone not frequenting the Red Carpet. And even Carrie matched it to her outfits or went with a basic black. The girl, so unflatteringly depicted to the right (and I must thank Ryan for surreptitiously snapping this pick for me) is breaking a couple of rules. The bra doesn't even match. It was a lacy, periwinkle colored thing that stood out so obviously we were giggling about it for at least a half an hour. It didn't help that she was a little drunk and calling extra attention to herself. This shirt is the perfect candidate for the self adhesive bra. I mean, from the front she obviously needed "support" so I give her props for that. But when you only spend $14.99 on a shirt, you can spring for the $30 bra that can hide under it.

I was going to search for some good cutout options...but there aren't any really. If you wanna show some skin I suggest a halter, tube top or a strappy tank. But even with those options, if you can't go the no-bra route and you can't camouflage the thing, skip it. I don't care if its on sale or the most comfortable thing you've ever worn.

Its. Not. Attractive.

Beauty Night Out

So apparently, the Style and Image Network puts on a yearly Beauty Night Out which features local dc spa treatments, make-up consultations and boutique shopping. I was invited by a friend and was not sure what to expect at all. The biggest original attraction for me was that a portion of the $35 entry fee went to Dress for Success, a great Non-profit organization that provides interview suits, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women. You were also promised a gift bag which ended up having some free hair products (for color treated hair), some crazy pomegranate and blackberry energy drink, eye renewal creme (my favorite) and a book about why we should consider getting plastic surgery earlier rather than later -- not only was it kind of annoying to be pushing surgery on 20-somethings, but really heavy to carry around all night. But the best part turned out to be a free bar with all the beer and/or martinis (or Beautinis) i could drink. The martinis were made using Pink, a new vodka infused with caffeine that was making its debut in the dc market...i have to say it wasn't half bad, though i didn't really feel "energized". the was bottle really cool, but this marketing campaign is kind of lame. but whatever, it was FREE! there wasn't much food and when it appeared it didn't last long, so i was glad i ate first.

As far as product placement, they only thing that really stood out for me was the mini-makeup consultation by PR at Partners , using their "Pretty" signature makeup brand. I felt a little like an extra in "The Mummy" when it was over, with my golden-bronzed eyes and nude lip color but got some great application tips and the look definitely grew on me. My friend went for the oh-so-popular smokey eye look, but it was really modernized using a bronze shadow for the base and navy in the crease -- a great combo for brunettes! That, i think i might have to buy.

We went on to get free hand and back massages, which were good but nothing special. This was done by a traveling day spa company (listed as a vendor on the site). I'm still figuring out how i can suggest to our management committee that we have them come do massages for our office once a month... Moroccan facials were available, but watching girls walking around with mud on their faces and their hair in shower caps was not really appealing...so we skipped that. Besides the makeup people, I can't say I'd search out any of the other spa treatment providers in the future, so its not the kind of event you'd attend to find a great spa.

All in all I'd give the general event 4 out of 5 stars, mostly because of the free booze. I was only planning to be there for a few hours and we ended up being one of last groups to leave. The vendors were all incredibly nice and as a result we bought more stuff than we had intended. However lines were really, really long and I wished I'd worn more comfortable standing shoes. I can't think of many better ways to spend $35 or my Thursday evening and I'll definitely be on the lookout for next year's event and inviting all my girlfriends.

fashion insult to injury

i'm sure you were all greatly relieved to hear of the release of the british sailors held captive by iran after their "apparent" invasion of iranian waters. the sailors took top press coverage on the front of at least 2 major us newspapers (the washington post and the ny times) and showed the captives smiling and waving to what is apparently a crowd in iran. one interesting point, for those with access to the hard copies, is that the post managed to crop out the 4 very surly looking sailors who belie the gracious and thankful attitude of the others waving and smiling, obviously relieved by their eminent freedom or feeling pressure to make nice with iranian officials lest they renege on their promise to release you (again).

my biggest beef with the iranian government is after all they put Faye Turney through did they really have to throw her in that chadwick-esque outfit while the men got decent (if ill-fitting) suits? i mean, its hard enough to pull off a head scarf without pairing it with a monstrous navy and red striped shirt three sizes too large. all in all i can't help but feel that iran was trying to send the statement visually that this woman had no place as a sailor with a career, but rather should be in her rightful position at home in her suburban housewife outfit (granted most housewives i know dress way better than that). i'll admit there are a few pictures of her looking more put together, but if going on the pictures alone seems too judgemental (maybe they're fashion challenged), let me reference the iranian president's own words, who "admonished london for sending a mother, Leading Seaman Faye Turney, on a dangerous mission in the persian gulf". seems to me they see women in the military as a no-no.

fashion, or at least style of dress, does matter, especially in commanding respect for a position and conveying a sense of dignity. and the fact that the iranians would deny a person that, while obviously bestowing that consideration on her peers of the opposite gender, is almost more annoying to me than their increasingly pompous and provoking propaganda of late.
and if this seems like a bit of overreaction, well, i did label this a rant :)

its all about the silhouette, maggie...

as maggie and i hoofed it back towards the green line from happy hour thursday, we simultaneously noticed a girl with almost impossibly skinny knees. as maggie voiced this observation aloud, i immediately quipped "well, its all about the silhouette, maggie...". let me explain.

shoe trends this year are very noticeable. you have the option of poofy boots paired with the skinny pant, flats paired with the skinny pant or anything peep-toed, platform wedge and/or metallic paired with the skinny pant (obviously, the skinny pant is in). this particular woman had opted for the poofy boot option. the contrast of the pant fitted through the knee and the bulbous boot top created the illusion (or silhouette) of this girl's knee being about the size of my elbow. it is grotesquely fascinating and the trend doesn't seem to show any signs of tapering off despite the rising temperatures. the skinny knee creates the impression of skinniness overall.

in a similar vein, the pairing of a pant with a high heel shoe creates a longer leg (also making you look thinner) and a pointed toe on said shoe puts on the finishing touch, as it creates a tapering effect in the viewers vision. hence, the silhouette that your shoe creates goes a long way towards shaping an outsiders immediate impression. i learned most of this while i was watching a late night run on QVC (the home shopping network's rival).

so ladies, if you want to look like you lost 5 lbs. without actually hitting the gym or dieting, its all about the silhouette...

since when do stores have myspace pages?

welcome to the first post in the "fashionista wannabe" thread.

i don't know what happened but last weekend, while staring into my closet, all i could think was "i have absolutely nothing to wear". i couldn't decide on shoes or a shirt (thankfully i remedied my jeans crisis a month ago, when i hopped on the skinny jeans bandwagon). thus began a week long obsession with surfing the internet for deals and finally buying the grown up heels i've been craving as well as a cute new shirt from a trendy little boutique i ran across last night.

so a few weeks ago, i discovered that we had a loehmann's in friendship heights. and more exciting than that, after i signed up for my little discount card i got an email notifying me of their website. this saves me the trip of heading all the way up the redline, but really there is nothing like cruising the racks for the perfect find. they have a TON of shoes though, and if you know what brands you like, i would definitely look into that section of the site.

La'Vand, a boutique that represents itself as THE cool place to acquire your going out fashion, professes to carry a very limited number of each item (6-10) so that "only 5 other people in the area will own the same thing". more impressive was that the fashions were actually affordable...of all the clothes i tried on nothing was more than $50...they don't have sales, but hey, who cares. the sales woman picked out like 20 shirts for me saying i had to see how they looked on, and to her credit, she was right! They have a plethora of patterned prints and modern silhouettes that you can easily work into your existing wardrobe. The downsides were that a lot of the stuff was synthetic material like polyester and some shiny stuff that i typically try to avoid. and, with all the styles being from NY and LA, things ran a size smaller, which was ok in shirts but so not cool when i had to try on a pair of size 11 jeans and they fit like a glove (a really sexy glove, but still, no one wants to go from a 6-8 to an 11!). Hilariously, La'Vant has its own myspace page, which shows you its taking itself a bit too seriously. Its located in Pentagon Row, right around the corner from DSW.

btw, i just want to give a shout out to the D-S-W. i was trying to find a picture of the nicole miller shoes i bought and i can't find them on any of the major shoe websites...nada. they had at least 5 pairs of her shoes there and a decent range of sizes. i had plenty of shoes to pick from. and though my toes still are screaming for the return of my clunky clogs, these were by far the most comfortable pair of the bunch.