The Week to Come

Welcome back my lovely mothers, grandmothers, mothers in waiting, and mother hearts.  We completed the age appropriate series while you were out accepting accommodations for  your exalted efforts.  These knowledge nuggets anxiously poised awaiting your scroll at the links below:

Springtime of Youth

Prime Middle Age

Mature Sophistication

And yes, I am ready to address summer now, in all its literal triple degree dominance.  How to dress for the upcoming incandescence is on its way.  Ciao for now.

Age Appropriate Dress: Winter Winsomes

Happy Mothers Day to one and to all, but especially to one Susi Q

This one's dedicated to you and all the other Grandmas out there.

"Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts." Martin Buxbaum

Two Perilous Pratfalls to Avoid

Age can be interpreted as a frightening prospect. Much in life, including fashion, seems to be geared to green inexperience. In response, many choose to become stationary, refusing to allow any progress into the dark unknown. Below are two examples of this tragic misstep.

1. Dressing to a favorite decade

The 80's might have stroked your pretty little ego. Your hair might take to a perm like a soul mate while your thighs inspire envy in the Dynasty Dames. But digging your heels into a past decade, be it flattering to you personally or not, makes you look stale. You might as well stamp an expired date on your forehead. Just because you don't want to wear the trends of the current season, doesn't mean you can get away wearing the trends of a past.

2. Avoid the Fashion Uniform

13 shades of a single velour running suit isn't acceptable. Velour suits of any type are adorable on little ladies under the age of 5. And chances are they're going to change their ensemble by the afternoon. I'll allow you one velour running suit for house-wear only, if you agree to select a variety of ensembles, preferably purchased within the last ten years. You and your wardrobe need to continue to move forward. Age is nothing to be afraid of. It is waiting with wisdom, class, and internally achieved beauty. But you will never be able to own these prizes if you don't step forward to claim them.

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Age Appropriate fashion look book cheat sheet.

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book can include your own professional wear recommendations and much more.

Dress Your Age: Autumn Apogees

You may be asking: spring ingenues, autumn apogees...why was summer overlooked? Obviously you have never spent a summer in Arizona. If you had, you'd realize why we're glossing over the torrid trauma.

Now, my fair ladies advancing on the sloping rise of life, how can you ensure age appropriate glamor?

I recommend making decisions based on this simple modus operandi:

+ 10 years = -1 trend = <>In other words, remove one trendy item from your ensemble every ten years. For further emphasis, I have charted it out for you below.


In essence this chart says, tees screenprinted with sassy witticisms are cute on tweens, not on their mothers.

Trendy items are anything that draws significant attention. It can be a statement accessory, a funky hairstyle, a garment in a non-standard cut or color, or if you choose a cheeky expression.

And when you do experiment with trends, choose a softer interpretation. For example, instead of a leather skinny pant, opt for a cotton that tapers slightly.

Your signature style should also be coming into its own now. Switching between modern, romantic, bohemian, and diva on a daily basis will make you look ungrounded. Start narrowing your range of options to what speaks with the greatest force to your soul.

Below I've collected age appropriate ensembles for a mature set, compliments of Anthropologie, which is in fact targeted to meet the needs of women 35 and over.

Lagoon Scene Readers
Tevy Scoopneck
Summerweight Cardigan
Tilt a Whirl Crops
Seychelles Get Outta Two Sandal

Seamed Circle Skirt
Gather 'Round Buttondown
Azteca Belt
Franco Sarto Journal Sandal

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Age Appropriate fashion look book cheat sheet.

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book can include your own professional wear recommendations and much more.

Dress Your Age: Spring Younglings

Fashion exploration precedes the threshold of college graduation, proper jobs, and weighty responsibilities. Here, every trend is novel seen with fresh, ingenue eyes. The body is lithe and the spirit is untamed. Indulge in experimentation forthwith, for during these fleeting moments, it is adorable, like chubby rolls on a baby. Even if you do make occasionally tasteless selection, you teetering around taking your first fashions steps.

Now, while I fully condone your right to sample new flavors of fashion, I must caution you on over eager skin exposure. Some style mavens may proffer that it's appropriate, even desirable, to show additional skin at this time of life. I however disagree. I counter that you should never abandon respect for who you are, where you are, and who you are with, regardless of age. That my fair ones is what modesty communicates. Demure dress is universally appealing, comfortable around the upper branches of your family tree as well as your current birds of a feather. And might I add that fashion malfunction favors the scantily clad. Staying bashful with your body ensures freedom from public embarrassment.

A completely innocent ensemble can not be achieved standing stationary in front of the mirror. Here's how to keep your wardrobe coy, at a complete three-hundred and three score degrees. Complete the checklist below while watching for cameo appearances of tender flesh and unmentionables.

1. one. sit on the ground and arch over
2. two. sit on a chair while you cross and uncross your legs
3. three. Raise your arms over your head
4. four. Bend and lean over

Below are two sample ensembles featuring all the trends a fledgling fashionista could ask for, compliments of Anthropologie's younger sibling store, Urban Outfitters:

Silence & Noise Colorblock Navajo Dress
Kimchi Blue Open Cardigan
Silence & Noise Ankle Zip Legging
Shoes for Lovely People Naomi Heel

BDG Halter Vest
Kimchi Blue Silk Dot Ruffle Neck Blouse
Silence & Noise Cuffed Trouser Jean
Seychelles Cutout Heel

Remember when you're tempted to wear a strapless romper, pick a pretty headband instead. Showcase your personality rather than your skin. You'll thank me for it later.

Tomorrow we move into the prime of life. I anticipate your presence.

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Age Appropriate fashion look book cheat sheet.

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book can include your own professional wear recommendations and much more.

Put it in a Box and Tie it with a Bow

Speaking of age, wisdom, and grace, don't you have a mommy or two in need of spoiling this weekend? Why not a day blushing Saturday class at Blissful Living Studio? I and the maternal posse will be there enunciating the finer points of age appropriate dress and whatever other fashion quandaries you choose to throw at me.

Run your cursor through these petite, precise points:
Place: Blissful Living Studio 166 W Main Street (Kristin has made is so delightfully pretty in here) Mesa, Arizona
Date: Saturday, March 9th, (Haven't you ever heard of Mother's Day Week? It can't all be fit into one calendar box)
Time: 10:30 am - 12:00 pm (this should give you time to finish breakfast in bed)
Register: by phone 480.733.5558 or
by web (just follow the blue lines below)
$50/pair $30/person (I fully condone buying yourself a mother's day present and taking the morning off from your usual duties)


Sign up for this class, publish a comment on this post, and you will receive a complimentary unassembled fashion look book upon arrival.

Happy Cinco De Mayo
Reachel

Dress Your Age

"A woman has the age she deserves." Coco Chanel

As of this morning, we have consumed 33.9% of year 2009. And as we submerse ourselves in the warm breezes of May, incongruous clothing needs arise: tweed is exchanged for broadcloth, wool for chiffon.

Allow me to compare this calendrical process to our own corporeal aging, for each comes with its own wardrobe.

While it may be adorably appropriate to wear suspenders and shorts in our ingenue youth it becomes ridiculous if not vulgar to wear the same combination in the youth of old age.

As in many other aspects of our existence, in fashion, youth does not trump maturity. Making such a claim would be like contending that spring break surpasses winter holiday. They are so incongruous they are incomparable.

So this week we explore making the most of each age we encounter, sucking the style marrow out of each opportunity.

Ciao my charmings, we begin the feast tomorrow.

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Age Appropriate fashion look book cheat sheet.

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book can include your own professional wear recommendations and much more.

Laundry Room Friday

Following is an addition to your Friday Laundry List, watch these wash videos and come see me all fresh and fluffy on Monday.