Picking the Perfect Summer Hats

If you are like most people, picking out a hat isn't something you have done recently. After all, hats were out of style for a while but now they are back with a vengeance, so use your head and learn how to pick the perfect hat by following these simple suggestions:

Hot Headed? Heat rises so make sure you keep your cool when out and about in the hot summer sun. Search for a hat is made from breathable fabric like the Rolling Stones Trucker cotton/ mesh hat or a well ventilated woven hat like the Floppy Straw Hat.

On the Go. Always keep a spare hat in the car or on hand for those unexpected events. The Bop Basics Cowboy Hat with Leather Band will keep the sun out of our eyes in style. This woven raffia cowboy hat has a gold buckle at the leather band. Isn't it FIERCE!?! This is the perfect companion to take along when traveling or just leave in the car for occasional any-time use.

Shopping by fashion means more than just a color scheme; search for the latest trends like big brims. Yes, big brims are back and better than ever thanks to adjustable and reversible options that look as great as they wear. Sophistication and style has always been associated with brim hats such as the Eugenia Kim Honey Sun Hat pictured above. They'll make a strong statement whether shopping or taking an afternoon tea. Spice things up with reversible canvas sun hats that instantly transform into two completely unique looks for the price of one.

You can find these hats at:

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

- Suzanna

Ditto Delivers: Beth Launches New Clothing Line

Last month we reported that The Gossip songstress, Beth Ditto, teamed up with the U.K. fashion house Evans to create a beautiful collection for plus size women. Yesterday Ms. Ditto introduced to the world her clothing line (ranging from sizes 14-32) at Evans and I’ve got to give it to her – she did an excellent job! To describe her collection - its Euro chic: stylish, predominantly black, features a lot of print and designed to flatter a woman’s curve and to top it off its affordable! Here are some of the pieces from her collection.

Domino Print Dress

Stain Glass Prom Dress

Denim Pencil Skirt

Black Prom Dress



Black Leggings

Black Biker Jacket

This is what I call inspirational fashion!

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

- Suzanna

MAC’s Brave New Bronze Lipstick Review

I went to MAC to check out their collection called “Style Warriors” that you’ve probably heard about by now. I went there to buy one, and only one lipstick. That one was the one with leopard print on the inner shell (Yes I’m a print freak, what can I do?). It really doesn't matter sometimes if I like the lipstick or not. I just have to have it for the packaging. And so I got "Brave New Bronze", a satin finish that MAC describes as a “Creamy mid-tone pink nude”. I’d definitely say it has some bronzy orange undertones to it, but it is one of the most perfect nude colors I’ve ever seen. Studio pictures just don't do it justice. I am positive that it’ll look good on just about any skin tone and I’m not even one for nude lips. Today I wore it paired with a glittery pink lipgloss and I can assure you it was one of the most flattering summer lipstick-lipgloss combos I have ever found. Because the finish is satin, it is an opaque lipstick with some shine to it but because the colour itself is so creamy, it can appear a little muddy if you happen to apply too much of it or apply it without a nice lip balm underneath. However, that is the case for most satin, matte and amplified cream finishes, so no big news here. It turns out that I’m practically in love with this shade so I’m really glad I got it. Expect to see me using it in tutorials to come. Let me know if you've checked out MAC’s Style Warriors collection? If so, what did you get? Do you like what you got?

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Micky-

Plus-size Fashion Dilemmas

Source: By Ruth La Ferla

This month, a couple of years after Beth Ditto complained about the lack of plus-size fashion in Topshop, Arcadia plans to unveil a collection that Ms. Ditto designed for Evans, the company’s plus-size division. Available in the United States on the Web, it highlights cutting-edge looks like a corset dress and a cropped biker jacket.

The collection is the latest in an outpouring of fashions aimed at trend-driven, round-figured teenagers and young women, a population that has long echoed Ms. Ditto’s complaint that it is ignored by most merchants and brands.

Other stores and designers have picked up the message. Forever 21, a purveyor of cheap chic, introduced its plus-size line, Faith 21, this spring. Target recently began offering Pure Energy, exuberantly patterned dresses and tops for young women. Those follow hip niche labels like Karen Kane and Kiyonna, which are sold at boutiques.

All the lines see potential profit in offering stylish alternatives to the ubiquitous track suit. From a business perspective, that makes sense: the customer base is increasing, as health authorities have long pointed out. Some 17 percent of teenagers are overweight, according to the surgeon general’s office, more than three times the rate of a generation ago.

The market for youth-oriented plus sizes (usually 14 to 24) showed strong growth a couple of years ago, several years after the fast-fashion chain H&M entered the business. (H&M has since dropped its plus-size line, for reasons it would not disclose.)

Last year, sales of plus sizes to girls and young women ages 13 to 34 reached $5.8 billion, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm.

With consumer spending falling everywhere, that momentum has been lost: Sales declined 15.3 percent for plus-size shoppers 13 to 17 and 10.1 percent for those 18 to 34 in April and May, compared with the period a year ago, NPD says.

Plus-size lines aimed at older women have also suffered; chains including Ann Taylor and Old Navy have removed larger sizes from stores (they still sell them online).

Faith 21 was introduced “because our customers were asking for larger sizes, and to fill a void in the market for trendy and fashionable plus-size clothing,” said Linda Chang, the senior manager of marketing for Forever 21. It includes some 250 styles.

Smaller stores are also catering to shoppers who want figure-hugging fashions like their thinner friends. “Some of those girls feel like they have the brio to pull off a fitted look,” said Stephanie Sack, the owner of Vive la Femme, a plus-size boutique on fashionable Damen Avenue in Chicago. She confided that when she was 20, “I would have choked somebody to get my hand on a studded belt to fit me.”

“When you’re fat you stand out anyway,” said Annie Maribona, the shop’s founder and part owner. “It’s really important to go all the way and do something fun or even outrageous with your clothes.”

Stores as diverse as Kmart and Lord & Taylor have dispensed with conventional big girls’ “dos and don’ts,” offering the hothouse colors and exuberant prints, the ruffles and flounces of their so-called straight-size counterparts. Even horizontal stripes, once a fashion sin for the overweight, animate some looks in Kmart’s Piper & Blue collection.

“I’ve noticed lately that they are trying to make big sizes more into style,” said Kathy Salinas, as she considered a zebra-striped Piper & Blue tunic at a Kmart in downtown Manhattan this week. “You see that at regular stores, not just the plus-size stores, and that’s a good thing.”

Round-figured young women have found inspiration in popular culture. Ms. Ditto, who settled her girth on tiny gilt chairs at some 10 fashion shows this year, along with the actress Jennifer Hudson and the singer Adele, all appear in full-figured glory in the current issue of Elle.

The glamorously curvy Jordin Sparks captivated viewers on “American Idol,” then moved on to a recording career. On Stylista, a reality show on the CW network last fall, a curvy contestant named Danielle competed for a job as a junior editor at Elle.

More than tokenism, such fashion and media tactics seem born of a conviction that larger young women have become more self-accepting. “They are inclined to show off the parts of their bodies they love,” said Ms. Sack, the Chicago retailer. Pushing the trend is a broad movement of fat acceptance among academics, anti-bias activists and some psychologists. “It’s important to reclaim ‘fat’ as a descriptive, as even something positive,” argued Ms. Maribona of Fat Fancy.

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

- Suzanna

Micky's Guide To The Perfect Pair Of Jeans (Re-Post)

Jeans! We live in them. They go with us to work, they're there with us on the fist date with that hot guy, they are with us when we're lazying around, and we wear them when we're just hanging out with friends and family. There’s no denying it, they're staple part of most peoples wardrobes.

The other day the funniest thing happened. I was shopping with a friend when we accidentally overheard the conversation between two other girls. They were staring at a wall full shelves with an amazing selection of Jeans. This place probably had every concievable wash you could think of. Yet the two other girls were still talking about how hard it is to find a good pair of jeans despite all of the options available in front of them. Me and my friend just nodded in agreement and all four of us just bursted out into laughter together. The quest to find the perfect pair of jeans was on. I know first hand how hard it is to find the perfect fit and wash, so today, I’d like to let you take a peek into my guide book that will help you find those jeans that you’ll forever love.

First and foremost, let’s talk about washes. There are light washes like these: Seven7 Boot Cut Jeans that are awesome for the casual weekend look,

Medium washes like this pair of 1921 Boot cut Pima Jeans are really no-brainers since they go from day to night, and from helping your sister with the kids, to that casual lunch in which you want to dress up just enough to let people know how great your sense of style without over doing it.

There are the retro washes that bring us all back to the 80’s and are so much fun.

And then, there are the dark washes like these $44 Flying Monkey Skinny Jeans. The real foolproof that will make you look and feel thinner. You'll look and feel stylish and chic. Super easy to dress up with a couple of carefully chosen accessories.

Now we can move on to fit. I’m positive you've heard about skinny jeans like this: Rich & Skinny Sleek in Garnet Pink. It's likely that you already own a pair or you probably tried some on. Here my tips are very simple- longer, flowy tops are forgiving to the rest of the body and balance out your silhouette amazingly. Wear with ballet flats, pumps, stiletto heels, or whatever, but please, please avoid over sized sneakers. You'll look like you're 13, and managing the “proportion distortion” it will give you, will be a tough job. Where length is concerned, you'll probably want to go for ankle length. Extra-long will make you look shorter and thus larger on the hips. Besides, what better way to show off those shoes you love so much? As for the high waist trend; First of all, high waist and skinny legs don’t mix. It looks odd and it will either make you look 7 feet tall (the “proportion distortion” again) or make you look like you can’t breathe. That said, high waist is not for everyone. If you have long legs and long torso, they’ll look amazing. If you’re curvy and mind that the leg must be a little flared as opposed to being straight you'll be fine too. However if you’re short or pear-shaped, the high waist trend might not be right for you at all – Go to a store and try it on, but don’t get your hopes up too high OK? One of the other more common fits out there are flared Jeans, which are wider on the hem. Strait legs are pretty self explanatory. So are boot cut Jeans. Of course they're a little wider from the knee down, but not as wide as flares. One more thing about fits and how to really work with denim; no matter the wash or fit you choose, a tailored jacket adds polish and a cropped one adds fun. In the end, it all comes down to you and your body. If you are on the petite side, try a hem that hits the floor since it will make look a taller. If you’re boxy or apple shaped, looser jeans with a more substantial waist band avoids calling attention to your midsection. You don't want people staring at your most problematic area, much less if that happens because of the dreaded “muffin top” effect. If you are curvy, dark denim and a hem that hits the ground or the top of your feet when wearing heels will slim all of you down. As far as the waist height goes, go for a medium waist, one or two fingers bellow the belly button and you should probably look and feel your best.


Micky’s Ultimate Jeans Tips and Tricks:

Dark washes like this Sang Real Dutchess Boot Cut Jean in straight or slight boot cut leg will flatter everyone. When shopping, try at least four different pairs because although they might be the same size on the label, the various treatments and washes they go trough can alter the real size and fitting. A little bit of stretch (18% to 30% are the most common proportions) will make your jeans comfortable at all times, even on “those days of the month” when you might feel a little bloated.

If you’re like me and you have over 10 pairs of jeans but really only wear four or five, listen carefully: In the opinion of Calvin Klein’s creative director Kevin Carrigan, you need a slight lighter wash for spring, like this Taverniti So Janis Skinny Denim.

White Jeans like these: Flying Monkey White Skinny Jeans are perfect for the summer. These are a steal at just $40.

A deep dark indigo Flying Monkey Skinny Jean at $44 would be good for any and every occasion.

Of course these are just a few must have basics and the bare minimum. The truth is you can never have enough pairs of great fitting jeans, right…? Fashion is Foremost Inspiration, so no matter what's fashionable this season, whatever your size, shape, personal taste, or whatever the occasion, be comfortable. Resist the urge to buy jeans that look great on the rack or that are a size too small hoping they’ll fit next month.

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Micky-