Sunday observations on being well dressed:

What was she thinking?

Donna Rico Spring Dresses

It is a beautiful sunny day today, one of the warmest that we have had this year, and I see this women walking out of a boutique in head to toe black. She was a stunning woman, but all that black with very little skin showing...honestly, it was too much.

While black is universally thought of as the ultimately chic color, it’s not. Not for everyone at least.
The fact is, many people do not look good in black at all. While others, who can wear black well, tend to overdo it.
There are a small handful of people I’ve known in my life that can really pull off the very dramatic and distinct style of an all black wardrobe.
Not only does your coloring have to be powerful enough to be truly enhanced by black, put you need a strong character to back up the all-black-look as well.
A person all in black is usually perceived as dark and a bit intimidating and not someone that is easy to approach. If this is not your intention, tone down the black.

It’s spring; add a bit of color to your wardrobe of black.
If you can’t deal with color, add another neutral like white or tan to help break up the blackness.

Even a patterned scarf or a brightly colored shoe can help disperse the extreme look of just black. There are so many choices out there to add to a wardrobe to lighten and brighten basic black.

It’s spring; don’t get stuck in just black. Have some fun with color!

What great color have you seen in this season’s Spring Fashions?

The printed Skirt!

The printed skirt is very popular right now and is a great way to freshen up a tired wardrobe, making basic pieces look current.

The right printed Skirt can really brighten up your ensemble when paired with a great jacket or blouse, it’s perfect for the office or an afternoon garden party.
T for Tahari
Picking the right printed skirt to add to your spring wardrobe begins with knowing the type of prints that match your style. The same skirt in different prints can create completely different statements.
• Floral is a very big motif this spring. Typically Florals are considered Feminine or Elegant. This season however, we see the floral motif used in rather unconventional ways and can be quite vivid and even a bit edgy, appealing to the Sporty or Dramatic personalities.

Kate Spade

• Animal prints are still big and are always appealing to an Alluring personality.
• Painterly motifs and Ethnic prints, which are also popular now, are mostly creative in flavor but can also work for a dramatic look if it has bold lines and high contrast.
• Both nautical and traditional graphics like stripes, plaid and polka dots tend to appeal to the more traditional or sporty styles.

When thinking about prints, it is also important to keep in mind the scale of the graphic, because it can strongly influence the way the proportions of the entire outfit appear.
Basically a petite person will want to work with smaller prints and a person of grander scale will want larger prints. A print can actually be a great tool for creating illusion and tweaking disproportions. The way the print lies across the skirt will also have an effect on how the eye follows the print and so it affects proportions; horizontal lines will widen, vertical lines lengthen, and diagonal lines add movement. Nick & Zoe
An easy way to change the appearance of the scale of your bottom half is to find a skirt with a print that is closer to the scale you want, and moves the eye in the desired direction. The nice thing about having a print on the bottom half of an outfit is that you don’t have to be so concerned about how the print works with your facial features, but more the proportion of your entire body which is much more flexible. So go ahead, find a great printed skirt you love and don’t be afraid to wear it!

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Now let’s talk about the silhouette of the skirt.
The two popular silhouettes right now are the Pencil skirt which can very chic for a business look pared with a great sweater or blouse, and the pleated skirt which can soften and punch up a stuffy suit jacket.
The other skirt style which is popular with prints is the tiered skirt, although generally used for dressier looks it can be stunning placed in the right business look, and can work well in a day to night ensemble.

A length to about the knee is a very appropriate length for Business. While a shorter skirt is considered dressier and too revealing for business, appropriate only for personal events, a skirt that falls past the mid calf can look heavy and matronly.
A great Printed Skirt can really add to your existing wardrobe for this spring and summer!

If you are having trouble finding the right Skirt to match you style, you may think about getting some professional advice.
What types of printed Skirts have you seen this season that really caught your eye?

“Shopping in your Closet” Fashion Show

At the Day for Women event In Petaluma!


What an event this turned out to be.

We had a great time putting together this show.
The Three Models: Diane, Robyn, & Sharron

We started with pieces from each of our Models closets that just weren’t getting as much use out of as they wanted to. We delved into the reasons why and then came up with some solutions.
Based on those solutions and some supplemental pieces from various Spring2010 Collections,
we created brand new, updated outfits that really popped on stage. I know these ladies loved their new looks because they had way to much fun in front of the audience.
A lot of the initial work was done by phone and email, so this morning before the show was a real whirlwind.

It was fun though, and we ended up with stunning looks for the show!

I’d like to give a special thanks to my three great Models: Diane, Robyn, and Sharron!
They really sparkled this morning on stage.

The turnout was terrific with an audience was full of enthusiastic energy. I think everyone had a great time, and I hope everyone got a little something out of the show. I asked the audience to find me later and tell me something that inspired them, there were some great answers!
One women told me about her two walk in closets full of clothes she’ll never wear again, she just couldn’t face going through them……I told her to give a call!
Another woman asked me about finding looks that hid body flaws, I told her that was easy and there were a number of tricks she could easily use.
A couple of ladies were just really enthusiastic about the idea of being able to give old clothes a new life. They told me all about the pieces they had they now feel they could possibly resurrect. They were so excited; it was fun talking to them.

The best part of this event for me was being amongst all these inspirational women, listening to all their stories about how their lives have been touched by Cancer. It was wonderful knowing I could give them a small bit of advice to enrich their lives and feel good about themselves.

Discarded to Divine

Friday night I attended the preview of”Discarded to Divine” at the de Young Museum.
It was quite an event.
This was a show of unique garments made of discarded, un-wearable clothes redesigned into something new.

The garments themselves varied greatly.
From arts and crafts looking pieces to pieces that could have stepped off any runway this season. It was interesting to see the way different designers interpreted this concept. The pieces I really appreciated had meticulous construction, looked current in design and were wearable.

• One beautiful piece was an old full length Camel coat, that while maintaining its original function, was cut up and reworked into a very modern, sophisticated looking short Jacket.

I really liked this concept because it is a solution we could all have done to some of those un-wearable pieces sitting in the back of our closets that we just can’t let go of!!!

• On the other side of the spectrum was another interesting and very wearable garment , a pair of Bermuda shorts wade of men’s dress shirts. You could still recognize the detail of the shirt but it was now in unusual and surprising places. This garment was both unique and fashion forward.

Then there were the variety of people in attendance.
The whole concept of discarded to divine is a concept that appeals to a wide range of people.
Just watching the crowd and the way they were dressed was an education in style, because let me tell you there was a bit of everything there!
From the glamorous to the arts and crafts look. There were whacky hats, stilettos, floor length prairie skirts from the 70’s, crazy coats and everything in-between!
There were some really well dressed people in the crowd, along with the very creative, and very wacky. Though at times I thought I was at a costume party rather than a fashion inspired event, there were some a few people really dressed in the spirit of the evening.
One woman had this beautiful vintage inspired vest with a modern white shirt dress and great gladiators; it was a stunning ensemble very fitting for the evening’s event!

It definitely was a night for the creative.

A Day of Health and Joy for Women

Presented by Women’s Cancer Awareness Group

This is going to be a wonderful day to celebrate the health of women.
It is a day for women to find support whose lives have been touched by this disease; whether a survivor who is trying to take full advantage of her new life, someone going through chemo presently, or a person who has lost a wife, mother, sister, daughter to the disease. This event is intended to provide education, support, fun, and a place for information. This is going to be a day full of events to support Woman’s Cancer Awareness.


Petaluma Woman of the Year Award ~ Presented by: Mayor Pamela Torliatt
Key Note Speaker – Marilyn Kentz –formerly of “The Mommies”

BREAKOUT SESSIONS’TOPICS INCLUDE:
• Doctor’s Panel – Prevention • “Taking Care of Me”
• “Antidote to Rush / Stress Reduction” • “Decluttering your Home”
• “Laughter the Best Medicine” • “Nutrition for Healthy Living”
• “Caregiver Support” • “Women’s Guide to Money Matters”

A wellness market place

A fun Fashion show: presented by Bianca Stark-Falcone with Well Dressed
“Shopping in your closet”, where we will explore three women who have survived cancer and how their own wardrobe can be reworked to look fresh, fun and work for their new life.

On Saturday, April 17th, 2010
At the Petaluma Community Center 320 N. McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94952