7 Ways to beat holiday stress

Don’t succumb to holiday stress: 7 tips for a joyous season

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What Style Personality(ies) Are You?

I am a juxtaposition of many style personalities. The older I get the more I want to express myself creatively through my appearance and create art all around me with ease. This quiz says I am a "Classic", with nuances of "Cutting Edge" and "Couture" also. I also know that I'm also bohemian with touches of Dramatic. But I can't do Dramatic often as it requires height-which I don't have and it doesn't fit consistently with my lifestyle. Psst-I'll let you in on a secret! Classic clothing survives the cycles of fashion, so I get to keep my wardrobe for years and still look current with a few updates and swap of accessories. Check out this fun style quiz - it's not all conclusive but just a starting point.

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Zizi Cardow's 2010 Collection Is Not For Prudes

You should check out the Zizi/Cardow Spring/Summer 2010 fashion collection, which was unveiled this past September. It definitely plays on the Nigerian fashion escethetic.

http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/shawnpunch/gallery-slideshow/G0000JcuNXOkbnxY/?start=

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A Pearly Excursion

The day’s events took me to Mikimoto in Costa Mesa.

In between sips of champagne and nibbles of tea sandwiches, I learned about the classification and making of pearls. They are formed slowly over time after a foreign object gets lodged inside the oyster or other mollusk having two shells. As a natural defense, the foreign object becomes a nucleus that is surrounded by layers of a protective coating, called a nacre. This sums up the formation of a pearl, which takes 6 months to 3 years in the making.

Mikimoto says that it only selects 3-5% of pearls harvested for its collections. In terms of size, pearls typically range from 3.5 mm to 14 mm. Although it is extremely rare to find pearls over 10mm in diameter, I saw many large pearls at Mikimoto, with one being identified as being over 20 mm. There are also sustainability issues surrounding pearls, with some species of mollusks being placed on the endangered species list due to environmental issues and overfarming.

Pearls come in a wide spectrum of colors from cream, to pink, gold, champagne to black, with white and pink rose rising in high demand for flattering the widest range of skin tones.
The different colors originate from different species and reflect the environments that the pearls originate from. The colour of the pearl tends to mirror the mollusk’s inner shell. They are cultivated in Australia, China, and Japan, to name a few. Gray pearls which range from having a greenish luster to varying shades of grey are often known as the South Sea variety. Other common areas of cultivation span from Tahiti, Philippines, Indonesia, to China. Pearls can also be dyed into different colors as is more common with the freshwater variety.

My trip was highlighted by an exquisite, show-stopping necklace combining large South Sea pearls, diamonds, and dark gemstones. Tres magnifique!

Sources: www.fieldmuseum.org/pearls and Mikimoto

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Socks Rule!

What's in a sock?

Well when wearing socks, clothes etiquette says that one's skin must never be exposed between trouser cuff and sock.

In terms of what to wear with formal and casual clothes, Casual clothes can be worn with thick socks in ribbed wool or argyle knit. Business clothes should be worn with thin socks in smooth or ribbed cotton, and formal clothing requires silk stockings.

Generally we don't want to mix these up as dress socks clash with casual clothes.

One popular deviation is that people refrain from wearing socks with loafers or moccasins as in preppies.

It's like how women are sans hosiery in warm weather or all the time now. I'm not mad at anyone who wants to save the benjamins! Beware: If you work in a conservative setting or visit a religious place of worship, this may be frowned upon as being too exposed.

Source: Clothes by Real Simple

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CFDA Honors Obama and Nods Given to Jacobs

Wow!

Talk about lifting up the folks around you as you rise.

Michelle Obama will be honored by the Council of Fashion Designers of America for her commitment to fashion.

Along with FLOTUS, three of the designers whose threads she's worn were each nominated for awards.

That's right, Jason Wu, Thakoon Panichgul, and Narcisso Rodriguez were all nominated.

Thakoon, whose latest collection for Target sold out swiftly before I could get a coveted dress, also designed FLOTUS' floral dress for DNC. He was nominated with Wu, and Alexander Wang for emerging talent.

I was glad to see one of my faves, Marc Jacobs was nominated and Anna Sui is set to get a lifetime achievement award.




For more on this, read the CFDA announcement or click here.






Pictures are credited to WWD.

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D’Amore Offers Its Tropical Sexy Confections

Fashionistas and the famous alike waited with bated breath to see the swimsuit collection of D’Amore at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 2009 collection in Los Angeles at Smashbox Studios. Under the hand of Marceau, the playful 2009 swimwear line was unveiled on October 14, 2008. In a few words, gloss and tropical glamour were the order of the day.

Present front and center at the show and causing a media stir among photographers were Slade Smiley and Jo De La Rosa formerly of The Real Housewives of Orange County and Date My Ex. Also attending were several starlets including Kim Kardashian, accompanied by her sister, Kourtney. D’Amore-Marceau’s line has shown in Miami before, and I think this line would be both well-received there and is tailor-made for that sexy city.

Thumping the to the beat of “West End Girls” by the Pet Shop Boys, toned, and even curvy models sashayed down the catwalk to show off looks that were perfect for a jungle jaunt or to go jet-setting off to St. Tropez. The looks were reminiscent of the 80’s, and 70’s glitz with elements of graphic prints, warm colors, bold patterns and an occasional billowy top that melded together to infuse the collection with a sexy feel. For instance, bronze lame with orange piping was offered in bikini and a one-piece style with cut-outs.

One maillot featuring red and yellow butterflies against a black and grey background with interesting semi-circular cut-outs. Mostly backless, there were lots of plunging necklines, sashes, ties, cut-outs around the torso, as well as interesting thin asymmetrical halters, one-shoulder pieces, and glossy leather-like suits.

The line was also punctuated with shiny sequins details, gold polka dots, animal prints, bronze lame, and maillots with revealing cut-outs. All fabrics were offered in several interesting styles, which at times were overly creative. Some of the maillots are figure-flattering and quite forgiving for a variety of women’s shapes like the deep-v halter with a side belt tied, which came in a gold faux snake skin, both a black/white animal print and vertical stripes. Also wearable were the occasional strapless suit and digital-art print maillots. My favorite was a warm tangerine and lime abstract print which resembled art.

There were even a couple of flouncy cropped ruffle tops that could transition into night-time. The more glamorous offerings included a black and silver leather bikini and for your trip to the French Rivera or Rio, nothing less will do than D’Amore’s black and silver suit accentuated with lace.

Caroline D’Amore, whose name is borne by the collection is a socialite, model, actress. She is also Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton’s frequent pal and is now the fashion director of this line. Stuck shooting a movie in the east coast at showtime, her partner Laurent Planeix took a bow and greeted the attendees at the close of the show.

Their collection overall featured adorable styles mostly of shapes reworked in different prints, fabrics and motifs. If you were going to a pool party, or plan to strut about in a sexy carnival this just might very well do.

All photos courtesy of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

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