Eurotrip

Ms. M just got back from a lengthy European vacation, where I celebrated Thanksgiving by eating lots of Swiss cheese.

While my dress size may have increased slightly, by appreciation and awe of European style and grace increased tenfold.

The clean skin with only a hint of makeup, the thicker brow that makes every woman look younger and more youthful; (yes, I’m talking to you, Ms. Pam Anderson and all those Betty-Page wannabees from Chicago circa 2000); the messy-yet-healthy head of hair, and clothes layered with a casual elegance that screams “I didn’t try.”

Plus, children and sexy European men make the best accessories, as they induce happiness--and all women should smile more often.

Love, and happy post-Thanksgiving,

Ms. M

Drawing a line

All of us have visions of strippers dancing in our heads when we hear those two words uttered together: "lip" and "liner."

However, as red lips and fall face priming were themes of last week, here are two great product links to check out:

DuWop

and

Benefit

Notice their colors--as natural as a baby's bottom. No red lines with heer pink lips here, ladies!

So, stop those running reds and bleeding lines in their tracks!

Good luck.

Love, Ms. M

Shins are Sexy!

Ms. M is training for a half-marathon and so my legs are on my mind a lot.

Like Clinton and Stacey's helpful road-sign says: "no miniskirts after 35." So, I've got to live it up while I can... but not at work. The sequined J.Crew mini is for the alter-ego only; (btw, her name is "Greta.")

So, consider this an ode to the just-below-the-knee skirt.

Now, as it is fall, (and only if they are appropriate for our body), we should be expressing love for the pencil skirt. That icon of retro vixens can turn a boring office outfit into something more.

(Bottoms around the world, however, will protest if I don't put in a plug for the all-forgiving and transformative a-line. They are more flattering to the butt, but fall seasons and pencils are so nice [as long as the top is somewhat fitted], good heels, semi-opaque hose....but don't go too far or people will think you're Ditta von Teese.)

Business skirts just above the knee are OK if they're not too short; but you need to have the right proportion of leg. Ms. M doesn't like the way my knees look when they stick out right below a hemline. It's like saying: "all above is smooth, mysterious, and elegant," then wham! big bumps in your face.

When the skirt hits you just below the knee all you see is shin (sorry, couldn't find a sexier word for shiny front of calf) and foot--a very long line. Being long-torsoed and not super leggy I'm always trying to look like I have shorter thighs and mile-long calves (which I don't, and supposedly is a model-like ideal according to bat-sh*t-crazy Karl Langerfeld).

When a skirt hits you just below the knee people will have no idea how long your calves really are.

An being an alluring women is all about creating an air of mystery.

Love, Ms. M

p.s. image courtesy of http://monkeysinmypants.blogspot.com/2006/08/do-i-really-need-another-reason-not-to.html

Holiday ideas

Sephora has started the holiday onslaught.

Great gift ideas are being boxed up and packaged as we speak. I'm rather fond of the "Fashion Week Live" set and the "Empowermint" set.

Happy shopping!

Love, Ms. M

Casual Elegance

We all have our lazy days: you feel like just phoning-it-in, giving up on your hair, and wearing baggy sacks for pants.

However, as my good friend once noted, it’s possible to dress like a lady, be comfortable—and not wear Juicy Couture sweats:

(A, only sl*tty cheerleaders have words printed on their bottoms, and
B, daily life involves responsibilities: people to see, impress, etc. Life is not a pajama party.)

Well, here are some basics I apply to my daily life and hopefully they’re helpful in crafting your own sense of casual style.

Casual elegance: 2 out of 3 Rule

1. Hair,
2. Make-up,
3. Clothes.

Always have 2 out of 3 done well.

Now, I’m biased towards clothes and make-up, as most women with confidence can rock a messy chignon, spiking cut, or headband/ponytail combo with ease.

Only the truly blessed can go sans make-up, so don’t risk it.

And never, ever make the rules clothing-optional. One of the two must be clothes at all times. Yes, it’s hard sometimes, but so is exercise. You must keep your sense of style in-shape, or you’ll loose track of it faster than you think.

Casual elegance: Study the artsy combination of the classics

Note the following list of clothing staples:

-Good fitting, mid-rise jeans,
-Textures: smooth cotton, chunky knits, tweed suit pieces, etc.
-Layers,
-Bold, decades-ago inspired accessories
-Flats
-And, most importantly, color

Doesn’t seem that big a deal, right? You can find good jeans at Old Navy, raid your grandma’s jewelry box, and avoid heels, right? But how do you mix it?

Well, try this for inspiration.

I’m a huge fan of J. Crew. Yes, they had their more boring past (and yes, they’ve gotten pricier). But their business model overhaul a few years ago has transformed their line into a great reference for classic—yet casual—style: better fabrics, delicious details drawn from high-end menswear (boldly patterned silk linings in jackets, for example), tweed and jeweled shoes, their party/bridal line, etc.

Avoid the stores at first, as their displays are not nearly as inspiring as their photo shoots. Go to their website, or better yet, get a catalog. And spend time looking for what appeals to you:

Note the risks they take—and how they pay off.

Note how the elements are basic: sweater, jeans, tee, and flats. But they take a stronger risk with color, a scarf twirled around, dramatic brooches or earrings, etc.

Note the make-up: simple mascara and a good gloss with an orange/pink tone.

And, lastly, note the hair: a messy bun at most.


For more tips, look here:

Another friend noticed a link on clutches—a fun way to introduce color and retro-punch into an outfit.

The Sartorialist has a great photo (about 5 images down, "Hands") that shows how color can enliven the basics. Note how the main outfit’s hues are grays and blacks, but purple and yellow-green are punches. (Ignore the stupid hand elements on jacket. We aren’t walking MFA projects, now are we?)

Love, Ms. M

p.s. image courtesy of http://www.insiteboston.com/img/style.jpg

Three awesome things for the day

1. I finally caught up on the Fug girls’ news and last week’s New York Fugging City article on Karl is great. Read it quick as it’s gone tomorrow.

2. I normally have a love-hate relationship with the Gap. They aren’t as affordable as Old Navy, and the majority of the time their big sister Banana Republic out-styles them. Plus, I find it rather annoying that their creative team picks at most 4 colors for all of their merchandise per season. Hate the mint green option that day, you’re screwed.

However, imagine my surprise when I stopped in for more textured tights to find classic fall staples such as:

Leather ballet flats in bronze, gold, black, and plaid (a great classic wish list staple)
Skinny metallic headbands,
A wide variety of tooled and braided leather belts that didn’t look cheap, and
A beautiful turtleneck sweater cape in a gorgeous navy

Great job, Gap!

3. Style.com’s Anatomy of a Classic features a fantastic historic timeline of perfumes, including such Ms. M favorites as Shalimar and Joy.

Love, Ms. M

Lady X

Everyone knows Lady X—she’s the somewhat nice, somewhat well put together woman-about-town, who just slips-up on occasion.Don’t get me wrong, she’s not a b!tch, but she just needs a nudge in the right direction occasionally. Lady X will be regular character here at dresslikealady; so, read and learn, ladies. You may recognize a little of Lady X in yourself.

Lady X, like the so-so date who isn’t as nice as he could be to waitstaff in restaurants, isn’t always aware of the lady on the other side of the changing room curtain. So, don’t leave the clothes on the floor… and, if you’re feeling nice, hang them back up. You’re really not in that big of a rush.

Love, Ms. M

The Red Lip

The fashion houses may be premiering their resort lines, but after sweltering through September and October, we ladies are finally getting to crack into the best clothing season of all—Fall.

This is the season that induces the biggest Fashion Week stresses, the largest issue of Vogue, and the cicada-like emergence of a staple of autumnal looks: Scandinavian Pixie Knit Girl, vaguely-masculine color-accented Android, and sexy Librarian-cum-Secretary-cum-Forties Vixen.

This means, the red lip is back.

After a year of reveling in the nude, pink, champagne, and fuchsia glosses, Ms. M is now cracking-out her trusty tube of red.

Brick red.

Artists, psychologists, and fashion directors will lecture on the benefits of the blue-based red versus the yellow-based red, but Ms. M always comes back to the brick red. In unappetizing terms, it’s the color of dried blood. A bit brown, a bit earthy, but in full gloss, mate, or blotted form it’s magical.

Unlike blue-based reds that blot away to leave washed-out pink puckers, or glossy yellow-based fire-engine reds that only Dita Von Teese can pull off, the slightly brownish undertone of a brick red is kinder to a variety of skin tones.

So, layer it on (but only if you line your lips well); or blot it out and apply a sheer gloss on top for a Fall version of the year’s wettest look; or apply a thin layer with a bit of gold eye shadow dotted in the middle of your bottom lip to look fuller—and fiercer.

Love, Ms. M

p.s. image courtesy of http://www.brandsizzle.com/blog/2006/12/trends_buzzword.html

The Wish List

Fall, the best fashion season, is still upon us, and with this joyous time of eating and bundling-up comes the desire to rock lots of fantastic clothes. It’s also time for Ms. M. to reevaluate her wish list of staples.

Here’s the idea:

We’ve all noted the cyclical classics that come round every 12–22 years: the mod-style mini trapeze dress, the platform wedges, the sexy British librarian pencil skirt, etc. These are the fun items to own, but only if they work for your body. However, in an altogether different category are The Classics: the elegant, yet simple, staples you see draped across all-knowing Parisian women, long-gone Hollywood icons, and, most often, your grandmother.

“French woman are steeped in the importance of style as small children. I actually think their "look" comes from confidence, buying quality over quantity, a certain nonchalance (they never look perfect, but always compelling) and a willingness to balance comfort and style... ”
--Robin Givhan, Washington Post

As Ms. M lives on a budget and can’t clear-out Burberry’s inventory in a single haul, she has to shop strategically—like an ancient forager scouting the horizon for the supplest, hearty, and most calorie-laden berry.

A staples wish list is a single sheet of paper you keep tucked in your purse, next to your wallet. Listed on it are all the classic items you wished you owned to round-out your closet, maximize the variability of your wardrobe combinations, and, of course, make you look fierce.

The wish list is there to remind you what to look for when the opportunity arises—and to keep you from being distracted by trendy junk you’ll hate in 2 months. Refer to it when you see the “clearance sale” emails in your in-box, when you walk through Nordstrom, when you log-on to Ebay.

Now, being fairly liberal and artistic, I know many of the items listed below will strike some of you as stodgy and conservative. My caveat is that my sample wish list is just that—mine—targeted to my color and trend preferences. Adjust yours accordingly. And remember, these are classics—the foundations you use to build your own sense of personal style. If they are well-made (or well-maintained) many of these items can be owned forever... which will transform you into the classically-dressed grandma.

--Knee-length, belted trench coat
--Ivory/Winter-white wool coat for formal occasions (3/4 length; stand-up Nehru-esque collar with belt; or swing coat)
--Nice Lingerie from La Perla (this won’t last for generations, btw)
--Menswear trousers and jeans
--Boatneck sweaters, tees (my neck isn’t as long as it looks in these tees)
--Silky camis and shells for work, play and wearing under blazers
--Work and drink-appropriate blouses with ties, ruffles, and bolder patterns (avoid cap or pleated baby doll sleeves, as they make my arms look like sausages)
--Cotton, fitted blazer (pale shade)
--Wool, colored blazer (like J. Crew’s jewel tones or Balenciaga’s)
--Navy blazer (schoolboy, gold buttons)
--Chanel-esque boxy blazer/coat with texture
--Black shift dress
--Denim skirt
--A-line tweed, wool skirts
--Black, high-waisted pencil skirt
--V-neck sweaters (black, grey, orange)
--Brown pointed-toe heels (2-3”)
--Ballet flats (colored, brown, black, metallic)
--Brightly-colored heels (red or orange or green)
--Open-toed wedges
--Platform pumps (not patented leather, unless I want to look like a porn star)
--Driving moccasins
--Tall black boots
--Wellies/rainboots
--Casual brown belt
--Skinny color belt
--Colored tights
--Textured tights
--Semi-opaque hose
--Long, thin necklace with gold pendant
--Enamel, color, and silver bangles
--Small pearl earrings
--Black/grey fat pearl necklace
--Gold dress watch
--Small, silk scarf (Hermes-esque, masculine print)
--Cashmere wrap
--Saddle-brown hobo/tote
--Large Birkin bag (black or blue)
--Quilted chanel-esque purse with chain
--Colored clutch
--Sequined top/jacket


Please note: Tim Gunn has his own top 10 must-own items. He knows what he’s doing, ladies, so check him out. My wish list is definitely longer than 10 items, but like that horrible movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus, it’s everything I would like to own before I die.

Love, Ms. M

p.s. image courtesty of http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/14/1060588519683.html?from=storyrhs

When overkill is a good thing (or) Vogue, W, and Lucky: the femme triumvirate of fashion advice

I know what you may be thinking—in this age of web research and blogs like this, why waste the paper? Well, after living for years with only The Economist, the right-brainer in me was dying to get out. (Plus, unused airline miles made for cheap bargains.) So, I swallowed my Midwest practicality, did some extra bicep curls in anticipation of my heavy recycling bin hauls, and checked-off those boxes.

Ok, I was feeling frivolous, perhaps. So, why should you bother? Well, Ms. Moneypenny is here to be your fashion coach, and first up is the warm-up.

These magazines are all about warming-up (or reawakening, in my case) that long dormant, but potentially fierce, fashion butterfly in all of us. While the budget may not be in hand to live the Condé Nast dream, the inspiration—and empowerment—that comes from flipping through these magazines are often rewarding enough. Fashion is art. It’s living art. And it takes ballsy ladies like us, and a few helpful men (Tim Gunn, The Sartorialist) to bring it to life. If we don’t do it, someone else will—and no woman likes to see someone steal her own thunder.

These recommendations are in no way implying you have to blow your budget—or alter your political, animal, or ecological positions on things like fur, vegan materials, or conspicuous consumption. Just grab these three sisters and remember: the goal is to coach your eye—and boost your experimental confidence— to transform your daily dressing routine (or night-before planning, if you’re anal) into a one-woman stylist session.


Big Sister Vogue


Vogue is the cool, classic airplane read of all your (imaginary) jet-setting friends. Yes, trying to find the table of contents is infuriating, and even I sometimes don’t care to read about André Leon Talley’s adventures; but you have to respect the man: he gets paid to travel, he gets paid to travel to a party for Valentino—in a giant dragon poncho no less… and he gets paid by Vogue.

This is the bible—yes, a very upper-class, white bible, admittedly—but remove the faces from the models and put yourself in the picture. Can you see it? Or, more importantly, do you want to see it? If so, there is something drawing you into the image. Stop and decide what it is: the color, the texture of the fabric, the hair, the entire shirt/skirt/coat? Or, is it just the mood evoked by the shot itself?

Tap into and—most importantly—dissect that attraction, and then practice applying that sensation to your daily wardrobe hunt. Remember, Vogue editorials are showcasing specific trends, and often specific fashion houses. So, while a royal blue, fur-trimmed blazer may not be up your alley (but Balenciaga’s is gorgeous, isn’t it?), try that blue color shot in something else: tights, (still too risky?) A large, chunky faux-stone necklace, then… or something as minimal as a scarf.

Remember the mantra, fashion is art… and so is theater. Define what character you want to be and go for it. Like all good actors you have to create a biography for your character: her inspirations, her hobbies, her tics. Where is she going today and who is she seeing? That character will help define the coat versus tights versus scarf dilemma.

Great Vogue artists—Grace Coddington being the top—can create cinema-esque drama in one shot. Open the pages and let your imagination run wild.

W: Middle sister drama queen

W is at times icy, even scary, but she’s always the well-heeled performance artist that wants you to be fierce at all times. Think of her as Grace Jones pre- A View to a Kill.

With a fantastic mix of short, one-off columns and full-length features on art, architecture and business, it comes across as a bit worldlier (or perhaps just a bit more “in” with the industry). Most importantly, however, it features the most striking and risky fashion shoots in ages. (Want proof, just look at the complaint/compliment letters they receive.)

Plus, who doesn’t want to feel the rush of having a half-naked Posh and Becks sticking up from their purse on the El?

Big sis Vogue is in your training bag to hone and tone your fantasy and character development, but with art-school rebel W take your character development and put it on the back burner. This is all about the compositions, art for art’s sake, a portable contemporary art museum, if you will. Let practicality take a back seat and just soak it all in.

No, you’ll never walk through a forest in nothing but granny underwear, a fox coat, and wedges—as much as Alex White makes it look cool. However, by being reminded that clothing (or the lack thereof) can be captured in a paper-based art installation, you’ll start to appreciate the subtle, practical differences you can make in the magic of your everyday lives.

Plus, the accessories spreads are drool-inducing.


Lucky: What appears on its surface to be a trashy little sister, but has the best heart out there

We are all inundated by beauty mags, Glamour and Cosmo being the more trashy cousins in this family. So when Lucky first appeared I groaned aloud and laughed openly at the name. But try it, ladies. Unlike her more intimidating older sisters, this one can be your best friend.

The more affordable, yet risk-taking boho at heart, Lucky is here to remind you to experiment, bargain hunt, and—most importantly—shop to your body.

After a few embarrassing college-age experiments, I became a firm believer in sticking with the classics; I intentionally shied away from anything I knew I’d hate in 2 months. (There is a reason why celebrities are never seen in the same thing twice: they can afford to shop more than us.) However, after a few severe post-college years where I felt trapped, I learned the subtle difference between a nasty, dates-quickly trend, a cyclical classic that comes around every 12-30 years, and—most importantly—the powerful separates and accessories staples that can transform and stretch a wardrobe. Those don't get dated at all.

So, you may not be brave enough (or leggy enough) to rock the tunic turtleneck dress and leggings, but little sis and best-friend Lucky can teach you 5-to-8 different ways to accessorize that turtleneck…or other more personable options that may suit you better.

Plus, she shares all of her shopping bargains with you every month.


Love, Ms. M



Andre image courtesy of http://nymag.com/images/2/daily/showandtalk/07/02/05_andreanna_lg.jpg

Everything I learned about being a lady I learned from the Bond movies

Being a child of the 70s and 80s I grew up with the bad Bonds, (even as a little girl I understood that the title Octopussy was so, so wrong).

However, the Connery years offer great tips for us all: classically-cut (i.e not fat, American-style) suits for the men, great cars, and the wonderful beginnings of sexy midcentury architecture. No wonder Mad Men is getting NYtimes reviews...

But what take-away messages are there for the women? Here's a three-point breakdown on how to act like a lady, Bond style:

1. Dress like a lady, no matter what the setting

Dress, hair, jewels, bag, shoes--nail it, ladies. As Clinton and Stacy's roadsigns remind us all, shoes and bags don't have to match. However, know your event, your setting, and work it. No slouches here. Girls up, tush out. There's an evolutionary reason why the Bond girls are pop icons decades past their prime. No, you don't have to look like a de la Renta print campaign, but take note of what he does. True ladies know how to balance the basics: vintage accents (especially bags and coats), they aren't afraid of dramatic jewelry; rock and hippie fashion has now morphed into staples for our day, so invest in a good jeans library.

2. Be able to move among a wide variety of scenes and crowds with ease

Hot on the heels of #1: know your crowd. Being able to talk effortlessly (i.e. not like a snob) with anybody you meet is the hallmark of a true lady. Granted, we can't all be stuck in near-death spy situations, but a chameleon-esque personality helps. This is the Midwest after all, folks; farmers, plumbers, architects, chefs, artists, and great musicians all hail from this region--make them all feel comfortable, like you're one of them.

3. Lastly, know how to handle a gun

Yes, they're dangerous, however, they are sexy. Now, I realize I'm deviating from a more traditional list of practical accessories--and the Midwest has to be all about the practical.
I'm rather fond of skeet shooting, like my dear Heather. Much has been written on this issue, so read Patton Oswalt's brilliant essay instead.

Love to all and powder that nose!


p.s. image courtesy of jamesbond-fr.com