As I was prowling the post-holiday sales at my local shopping mall, I got to thinking about shopping strategies. A common piece of wardrobe-building advice – regularly offered in fashion magazines – is to invest more money in “classics” – like a crisp, white dress shirt or black slacks – and then save money by purchasing cheaper versions of trendy items.
I’m going to flout the fashion pundits and confess, on record, that this approach has never worked for me. Continue reading
The brooch has fallen into disuse. Once a signature of precise, well-planned grooming, in the decades after its heyday, it came increasingly to be seen as too fussy to be modern. The time is ripe for its resurrection.
The unerringly stylish diva also known as Nelly recently demonstrated how to reinterpret this historic accessory. At a family holiday party, she turned out in a black dress with a grey shawl and ivory-colored magnolia brooch. Gorgeous! The trick, I think, was that the brooch wasn’t constructed from a traditional, metallic material. This change, together with the contrast of the white brooch on her black dress, made the brooch fresh. And, as a party accessory, the corsage referenced by a floral brooch was perfectly on key. With the effortlessly elegant neutral color palette as a backdrop, the brooch was reborn as a witty, modern accoutrement.
My colleague Sara sashayed into my office this morning in a black, draped cotton top with an oversized turquoise-colored beaded bracelet. The dark, demure top was the perfect backdrop for the exuberant bracelet. I complimented her on the bracelet, and Sara mentioned that it was a gift from a friend, and she often receives compliments on it… so she wears the bracelet when she’s with her friend, so her friend can hear the compliments, too. Which I found even more elegant than her lovely outfit!