Interview with an Ingénue

Ingénue:n. an endearingly innocent and inexperienced young girl

                                                                           

Here, gals, is a fun new feature.  I have discovered that it’s not just grown gals that have information that we’d like to know. Our diminutive divas have something to share, so, one by one, I’m gonna give them their chance.  Hence: Interview with an Ingénue.

Ingénue: Laina                     Age: 3

 

What is your favorite music genre?

....mmmmm, pwincess.

Ok. Who is your favorite actress?

....mmmm, PWINcess.

What is the best way to wear this scarf?

uhhh

Like, how would you put that on? (I touch the scarf and scoot it towards her)

I don't wanna put dat onnnn

How would you put it on ME?

uhhh...but, I can't do it aww dah way

Ok. Just try some. Here. I'll come sit closer to you. If I put it here.....what would you do first? (I put the scarf in front of her in a heap and pick up a corner and then drop it) Oh I don't even know where to start. What would you do first?

She scoots a little closer to the scarf and starts to fiddle with it with her head cocked to one side

uhhh....make it like a soohcull (circle) She picks up different pieces and, with a strategy all her own, she folds different pieces into the center of the heap.

Nice. And then how would you put that on my neck?

Wuhl..dus like dis..and den it goes liiike dis (she lifts the heap, twirls it a little and then sets it down) Das dah way ih is. (She sits back on her haunches, very satisfied, and then picks up the bangles laying in front of her)

Okay. And just like pick it right up and throw it over? (I pick up the now more linear heap and arrange it on my shoulders and neck)

Yeah

Like that?

Yeah!

Okay, I love it.

Your favorite shoes are these Cinderella wedges, right? What is your favorite thing about them?

mmm....dese (these)

What color are they?

Uhh...blue

Like, what do you like about them?

Dehw (they're) spawkly like inside like dis (she turns the one that I have lifted to show me the glitter on the front)

Denim, like jean, in fashion for 2013 or out?

mmm...OUT (she really takes almost no time to answer. It makes me have serious questions about my outfits for the upcoming season)

Silver tone or gold tone? (I hold up the contrasting bangles that she's been playing with. She looks back and forth, examining)

mmm.....dat

Silver.

What do you think? The big debate in fashion right now. Red lip or nude lip? (I pick up and remove the lids of the two lipstick shades I brought for her visuals. A spark lights in her blue peepers, and she rises from sitting position to kneeling. I now have her interest)

Dat.

Red. Why do you say red?

uhhh, but I sink pink. (again, I'm evaluating my fashion choices. Seems that really no one can decide between these two shades! I decide I'll continue alternating them)

Who is the dreamiest prince of your dreams?

Sleeping Beauty (the prince)

I like him too. Also he can sing.

He can't sing

Why?

Cause dah PEOPLE can sing

The people can sing?

Yeah, but dey hafta dance fuh dah people sings

You're right. They dance when the people sing.

yeah (How could I not remember the ballroom scene at the end of the movie? She's not looking at me as she talks, though. She's examining the cosmetics in front of her)

What's dis? (She holds it to my eyes in her outstretched hand)

Lipstick.  Would you like to put some on in a minute? (You're welcome, Evie)

Wull, I wanna put some on now (She tries to work off the lid of the MAC tube. I promise we can put some on after we finish our questions)

Laina, what is the one thing you have to have in your hand before you leave the house?

Pwincess!                                    

Which princess?

Miss 'Punzel (If you know her, this was not at all a surprise. She routinely dons her "Miss 'Punzel" wig and places her plush Pascal on her shoulder while she walks around the house)

Floral notes or musky notes in your fragrance? (I hold up to her nose my examples of the two: Givenchy Play for Her (floral) and Victoria's Secret Rapture (musky). She closes her eyes a little and a slight smile starts on her face for the Givenchy. When I offer the Rapture, her eyes pop open, and she pulls back her snarled face and shakes her head. I deduce that she prefers floral)

Can I put dis on? (She again holds up the lipstick. Evie (Mommy) instructs her to wait. I proceed with my next question in hopes of distracting her)

Why didn't Cinderella just go back and get her shoe of the stairs? How come she ran away? Why didn't she just go back and get it? I mean, it was just a couple steps, really.

I don't know....when I...when I was Cindawella, I lost my sue too. (She elegantly lifts her leg with her toe precisely pointed to demonstrate for me her bare foot)

When YOU were Cinderella, you lost YOUR shoe too?

Yeah. (Gently to me, like, of course I did, honey. That's what happens when you're Cinderella in your life)

Did you go back and get it? (the shoe)

Yes.

So why do you think Cinderella go back and get it?

I don't know, but da guy git it foh huw and see wunned away fwom him. (She says this with dramatic tones as if she's really shocked and disappointed by Cindy's behavior)

Do you like Rapunzel better blonde or brunette?

Mmmm..bwown haiuh

What or who is the best companion for a true lady?

Cindawella

Ok. Always good to have Cinderella. This is my last question. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

(inaudible) Do you wanna see my Cindawella dahw? (She slides off her perch on the couch next to my makeups and asked her question while she's already on her way to retrieve it)

See? (She returns holding the doll up higher than her head for the benefit of my tall, grown-up gaze) See lost huw hewe sue when see was in da movie. See lost huw sue. Dauh's a cown, and see has a dwess. See stand when see dance wis da pwince. ("She lost her here shoe when she was in the movie. She lost her shoe. There's a crown, and she has a dress. She stands when she dances with the prince". I'm dying from the adorbsness of the pride this girl has in all her princess world. I try to redirect her back to my final question)

So Laina, what do you think you're going to be doing when you're 8?

I'm fwee now.

What do you think you'll be doing when you're 8 years old? Will you be in 3rd grade?

No. (She's wrapping the spare diaper I had in my purse around her leg like some sort of progressive accessory)

Oh. Will you be in school, or will you already be working?

Uhhh....I'll beee aaa pwincess.

As an 8 year old princess, what do you think you'll do for fun?

See....dances wis da pwince.

What else?

See does go wis anothuw pwince.

Right. One prince at a time! Right?

(We go back and forth with some conversation about princesses riding horses and engaging in gratuitous dancing sessions. I decide that it's time for the lipstick. This kid has waited long enough. I ask her if she would like to put some on, and she picks up her chubby painted toes in quick succession and makes her way back to me. I open the tubes for her and give her a choice between the two. She painstakingly slides the waxy stick across her pout until there is a nice, thick layer of MAC Myth coating her lippies. She then takes the tube of Revlon 645 Red Revival and applies a thick layer on top of the pale pink shade. It's a goopie statement, and it translates perfectly. She's a natural.

She leaves for a moment and returns with a bottle of her own fragrance. The bottle bears pictures of happy, dancing Disney princesses in all their pastel glory. Glitter floats through the liquid inside. She holds the spray to my nose so I can enjoy its fruity aroma. A perfect beginning for what I can already see will be a lifetime of stylish living. Welcome, Laina. Welcome to this unrivaled universe of ever-changing, ever-entertaining, never disappointing outward expression of all the precious thoughts and dreams that have already begun to sprout in your little, glittery soul.

Beauty......for ashes

This is a blog about beauty - all kinds. Sometimes beauty can be achieved quickly with the right products, adequate rest or measures to provide oneself with general health and nourishment. This, however, is only superficial. It fades. It vanishes. Everyone ages. Everyone diminishes, but.....even among the most aged, you can find beauty. What is it that is beautiful about a wrinkly face? A hunched frame? A mouth stuttering to speak? You can't always put your finger on it, but you see it as plainly as you can in the models whose faces grace all kinds of media. It's there. It's unmistakable. It's......beauty.
  
What is it? Or rather, what can we deduce could CAUSE this beauty?......Ashes. Loss. Trial. Hurt. Sorrow. Pain. Struggle. Opposition. Anguish.
        The original sources of the above images are unknown to me. I got nowhere in my search for their origins or stories. Short captions on the second and third pictures indicate that the women are 80 and 100 years old, respectively. I would venture that the woman in the first image was near these ages herself.
        What is something similar about all of these pictures? What are a few common denominators? What is the first thing you notice? I notice.....their smiles. They are all smiling - not just with their mouths. There is something smiling in their eyes. Despite bearing witness to hardships like the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, Civil rights struggles, women's issues, religious persecution, the Korean War and Vietnam - these are just world wide issues. What about their lives personally?
          Did the woman in the first picture ever battle cancer? Did her child ever break her heart? Did she battle clinical depression or anxiety or bipolar disorder? What about the second lady? Did she ever suffer under an abusive hand? Was she ever robbed? Was she ever horribly impoverished? Was she ever told that she could never have any children? The third woman, despite her obvious age, still has a shine in her eye, but, being 100, what was her story? Was she separated from family in merciless concentration camps? Did she have to escape or help someone else escape or did she resolve herself each day to survive until, one day, they let her go only to have no place back to which she could go to lay her head? But......they smile.....with their mouths and with their eyes.......because of their ashes.              
            They lived past the ashes. There were more breaths to breathe, more memories to be made and more gifts to give. They all learned this, mark my words, gal, because we all do, and we all will. We will have our ashes,......and then....they will pass. What will we do with them then? Will we let them poison us with bitterness or will we store them in our bank to draw from them and grow our lives?
          Today I think of my friend. Today she lives ashes. She is experiencing loss that is untouched by any other kind. Today she lives what, after much time has passed, others will only see as a wrinkle in her skin or a tremor of her hand or a glimmer of light in her eyes. They will see it all. They will notice. They will decide what they think of her, but there is so much that they won't know, facts they don't have, stories they have not been told. What they will not know is that the skin is wrinkled because it spent 9 months growing a baby while making careful effort to keep the insulin balanced in my friend's blood, that it weathered while it scrubbed the baby's things and dishes and that it burned against food or drink too hot for the baby, that it felt the warmth of the sun the first time this lady took the baby out into its light. What they will not know about the tremoring hand is that it spent hours at the side of a hospital bed stroking the cheek of the baby to wish it to grow strong enough to breath on her own, that it grew strong as it carried the baby everywhere the baby needed it to, that it smoothed the baby's dress for a million pictures, that it tickled the baby to make her laugh. They will not know that the light in her eyes sparked the first time this woman knew the baby was growing inside, that it grew when she saw the baby for the first time and then every time she looked at the baby after that. They also won't know about the wrinkled brow is that it knit together in agony on this day, that it pushed closed eyes that cried many, many, many tears - too many for us to count. They won't know that the hand, today, touched the baby for the last time, that it will hold the last outfit the baby will wear, that it will, soon, curl around the edge of the little box where the baby will lay. They will not know how many tears spilled out of the tender, beautiful, old eyes. They will not know how many hours the eyes spend over the years looking at the baby's things and pictures of the baby wondering what might have been. They will not know about.......the ashes. But they will see something.

The beauty.

When anyone with sight sees the face of my friend, despite the ashes of her life, they will see it. They will see the beauty. They will see the wisdom in the brow, the softness in the old skin. They will see the tremoring hand reach over to hold theirs in a moment when they feel they can't go on. They will see laughter still in the eyes. They will see the light that the little baby lighted that never went out. They will see all of it, and they will know......that it is beauty. It will give them comfort. It will cause them to admire her. It will steel their resolve. It will grow their dreams. It will make them ask questions about from where it came until they face their own ashes, and then they will know. They will know about the beauty. It never goes away. Once it has begun it's transformation in a soul, it never goes away. It is permanent. It does not age. It does not fade. It does not go. It spreads. Though some cannot yet explain it, none can deny its presence. It is the beauty of peace and promise. We are not left alone. We are never without hope. We are given the love of the One Who hurts with our pain, and Who stays in quiet, sad, inarticulatable moments. We are given Him. We are given...............

beauty.


For Madison.

Please Return to Tiffany&Co.

         Hey gals, hope you're all making great use of your week.  Mine has been a little cray-cray, but se la vie, right? 
         I wanted to share something with you - something wonderful....and then something else.  When I was at my sister's house for Christmas, I was handed a square box. I tore off the ribbon and the paper to find....another box. I looked at my mother thinking "Oh Mawm, making a gift look bigger by using multiple boxes isn't any better than putting a big wax "6" on the cake for my 23rd birthday because 2x3=6." I just kept opening because she looked very excitedly expectant. After opening the second box and taking out the paper, I saw.....another box, but when I saw this third box, my jaw dropped. I had been dreaming for YEARS of seeing a box like this. You know the kind that I'm talking about. That kind....is blue - Tiffany blue, to be exact. My heart started palpitating. My hands began to shake and my cheeks began their flush-when-you're-excited-or-upset-or-nervous. My mom and sister (the givers) sat with joyous satisfaction as I lifted it tenderly out of box #2. I opened the top, lifted the smooth, blue pouch and peeked inside - a heart-shaped pendant bearing the signature Please Return to Tiffany&Co motif. I held up the bauble to each person's eyes so they could see what caused such a reaction. Somewhere in the room full of my family, someone asked "Why does it say Please Return to Tiffany'&Co". I thought for a minute and realized I didn't know the answer. I said "Y'know what? I don't know." and then decided I'd find out later, but for now, this thing was goin on my neck.
        Since that day, I've loved that little necklace so much, I didn't even take it off for a couple weeks. I wanted to feel fancy even when I was showering! I did end up removing it and placing it where I place jewelry for save-keeping in my bathroom. Here:

I look at it every time I go into the bathroom and enjoy every bit of it's shiny, sterling glory thinking about the journey it made from Holly Go-Lightly's favorite hang out to my hands. (I realize it probably wasn't manufactured at the flagship location, but we all need a little fantasy!) I read the engraved message and think about the times I've wondered if those words weren't meant to be like the care instructions on a piece of clothing. Please return the WEARER to Tiffany's - absolutely every time you can manage to do so, for THAT is where she belongs.
       Then my "Literal Lucy" (a nickname my beauty school chum, Shea bestowed upon me) brain said, "Sarah, you should really find out the REAL reason the jewelry says that so you don't keep seeming uncultured or ignorant." So I set to work. I Googled, I Binged, I Yahooed. There wasn't any concrete information. All I could find were "answers" on Ask.com by people who couldn't be considered to be an authority on the subject. Pages and pages of other people's surmisings and gossip. No Tiffany authorities. Wikipedia didn't even say anything remotely related to the popular phrase in the company's line. Then I thought, "Oh, duh. Just go to Tiffany&Co. themselves."
I navigated to the company's website and clicked around....and around and around and around. There was absolutely nothing. I even watched a video that included information about their founder for whom the company was named, Charles Tiffany. It said nothing of the origin of the phrase. I mean, I realize you don't want to put all your marketing dollars into your lower priced pieces, but a sentence or two would keep people from starting gossip and devaluing the finery of the 175 year old company.
       Nothing.
      What about calling the store? I decided that, being mid-January, I might not be too much of a bother with a question that could be as quickly answered as mine. It's probably their most commonly asked question. They probably have a person for this ONE question, it's so frequently asked. The man who answered sounded like he was at a desk, in a cube (maybe just some dude workin a job - not someone who cares much of fashion history). He didn't know the answer but said he would transfer me to the customer relations department where another man picked up.  This was our conversation:

Me: Hi! I received for Christmas a silver pendant and chain with the Please Return to Tiffany&Co. design on it, and someone asked me the question of where the design came from (I was nervous to be calling TIFFANY&CO. so I was rambling a little). I didn't know, so I was just like "Oh! Wull, I'll just call Tiffany's themselves! heh...."

Him: Yeah, it's just a desoin. (his thick New York City accent erased any doubt that I'd reached the Wall St. store) It doesn't really mean anything (well it HAD to mean something at SOME point. why is it there?) I mean, we don't really get pieces retoined except some of the key chains. The key chains have serial numbuhs on 'em, so they can be retoined, but the othuh pieces, nao."

Me: (why isn't he answering my question. Did I sound like I wanted to return my necklace? NO WAY, BUD! I LOVE this thing!) Ok....so like....originally it was placed on pieces that COULD be returned to the store?

Him: I mean, naht really. It's just a desoin. (The tone of this last sentence sounded like a summarization - like he was done talking, so I politely obliged despite my annoyance at feeling like I had just been treated like a 9 year old lifting with tiny, unsteady hands a crystal vase to the light in a department store)

Me: Ok. Well thank you!

Him: uhkay, boye (He was laying the phone down before he was even finished speaking)

       Well, gals, anyone who knows me well knows that I don't like no for an answer unless your reason is really, really good AND you explained your reason to me really, really well. I DID call the flagship store, so maybe he was a bit snooty, or maybe I just caught someone at a bad time with a question that wasn't as important as what they were working on before the phone rang.
I looked for another number. I found the customer service number at the bottom of the website (sometimes they hide them). I double checked to make sure it wasn't the same number as the one listed for the store and then hoped that all calls weren't routed to the same place until someone decided you "got" to speak to a store associate. I dialed. A girl answered. She sounded very......rehearsed....and a little nervous, even. (I pictured her sitting in a row of cubicles at the end of which stands a burly, greasy haired man whose tap on the shoulder indicates unspoken instructions for you to immediately collect your things and leave, never to darken the door of another Tiffany&Co. establishment) I began to feel nervous too.  In spite of it, I presented her with my question. Here was my conversation with her:

Me (the sound of my words starting to sound strange after repeating them so many times): Yes, I received a Tiffany's necklace for Christmas blah, blah, blah...pretty close to exactly what I said to the guy at the flagship store

Girl: uh-h-h (my question actually has her voice beginning to falter) well-l-l-l, we have an archives department that can help you with tha-

Me: Oh YEAH! That's who I need to talk to! Yeah.

Girl: b-b-b-ut, the thing is....um..would you be able to take a picture of the piece you have becau- (I cut her off as she begins her explanation thinking that she's going to tell me what I learned the hard way when I asked the store clerk at their Waikiki store if he could clean my ring - if they can't authenticate a piece as coming from them (the holy mother of Tiffany's manufactury), they.....won't....touch it)

Me: SURE!

Girl: oh-h-kay (her breath is catching now, as if she might cry. I'm not lying! I imagine the man glaring at her while she tries not to let her eyes meet his from around her headset phone) well, the things is...they don't answer the calls. They just....um...well you leave a message and then they contact you back

Me: (I'm SO confused as to why they would bother to invest the time and money in paying people to volley customers from department to department over a very straightforward and frequently asked question....but, if that's how they do it to keep things "fancy", I'll go along) Oh...well that's fine. Can you transfer me?

Girl: y-y-yes. I'll transfer you-u-u (her voice trails off strangely and we are disconnected. I picture her defeatedly removing her headset and doing a remarkably fast inventory of her belongings so she can collect them before the oil-haired man's fingertip reaches her shoulder. In my mental Tiffany&Co. call center, I see the man give the tap. She closes shaking hands around her coat and handbag and efficiently rises from her chair and hurries out of the building without looking anyone in the face. She needs no explanation. She failed. She let someone get to the Archives department)

       By this point, I'm weirded out. This makes no sense. I try to make sense of the information, or lack thereof, that I've been given as I wait on hold for the archives department's automated system to pick up my call. These reactions were so strange. I mean, they are not a totally private company. They have stockholders. They are a revered brand, but I wasn't asking about anything that isn't presented to the naked eye. Had I asked from whom they buy their diamonds or what their manufacturing equipment included, I could understand hearing that word that I loathe - no. But "Hey! A whole bunch of your less-than-$500 jewelry says Please Return to Tiffany&Co. on it. In fact, you folks have sold stuff that sported that phrase for a while now. Why does it say that? Where'd that come from?", doesn't seem like it would reveal any trade secrets. SOME non-employee at SOME point knew why it was there. Otherwise, why would it ever have been purchased - let alone purchased with popularity to this magnitude?
 My mind's eye conjures up more images. I see a mouth as it begins to curl....in slow motion....to form the words to the explanation, ignorant of the devastating effects to follow. As sounds crosses over the lips of this mouth, everyone employed throughout the entire Tiffany&Co. empire acquires the super-human ability to cancel out all other noise in the world and listen with unwavering focus to the oblivious employee speaking their slow motion words. The lights flicker in every Tiffany&Co. store and office space in the whole world. Plaster begins to crack, powdering onto the meticulously polished glass cases and onto the floors. Workers begin to scramble and, within minutes, the entire Tiffany&Co disintegrates into thin air leaving behind only the dust covered employees. All the building materials, all the merchandise, everyone's desks and all the jewelry counters.....gone. Totally and eternally gone. Their collective, murderous gaze snaps to the bewildered phone agent to who's name history will forever attribute the demise of the 175 year old company.
A ring on the other line wakes me from my imaginings. The automated voice begins to offer options with correlating numbers.

Voice: You have reached the archives at Tiffany&Company. In an effort to serve our customers more efficiently, our menu options have changed. Please listen for the option that relates to your interest. To return to the main menu at any time, please press 0. As this department functions as the company's primay research facility, there is no one available to return telephone calls. After you have made your selection, you are welcome to leave your mailing address at the prompt. You will be contact via post mail only......

I listened as the business like voice informs me that, basically, if you want any information from them, you have to send a request. They will receive your request and then decide whether or not to entrust you with the answers. They will not even provide appraisals for an authenticated Tiffany&Co. piece. You can send a request (with clear photographs) to the evaluations department, but the most that will get you is general replacement values.  If you are not a museum or "engaging in scholarly research", obtaining any information about Tiffany&Co history or information about a Tiffany&Co sterling silver or other jewelry piece, there is a $1000 non-refundable fee.....just for one simple question.  Were I a betting woman, I'd also wager that, included in anything that actually IS made available to you, there is an equally intriguing....shall we say....gag order.
So, why DOES the line from Tiffany&Co  say Please Return to Tiffany&Co? Well, darling, that question is something for which they charge $1000 to dissuade many from it's mere asking. They don't even allow anyone in the archives department to speak directly with....outsiders.  They only screen messages. Why is it so secret? Why are they so tight-lipped? Why are things surrounding the answer to this so sensitive that the very asking of the questions is nearly forbidden??  They won't tell me. I suppose it's something that those within the hallowed walls of the Tiffany&Co empire quite possibly need to remain....a mystery.
I have no choice but to shrug and move on. But......if you ever find me wandering - looking as though I need help finding my way......just follow the  polite, shiny instructions fastened  round my neck.......

                                                 

Just laying around

        Hey gals! Look what I had just layin around......fashiony books! I thought today would be a good day to share some of my favorites with you, and these books called my name. Familiar with any of these or the names of the authors? Well, let's take some time with these tomes and have a little fru-fru fun. Grab your 'bucks cup and your jar of Nutella, and come sit next to me.

       Before we jump in, I want to tell you something that maybe you didn't think of before. There are two things that are separate that are often misunderstood as being the same thing. Those two things: fashion and style. Let's explore.

      Fashion is specific trends and items that are on the market. Fashion is concrete. Fashion is there. It's that shirt or those shoes. They are actually, tangibly, measurably there. They are a particular color, cut, shape, material, etc. There are boundaries with fashion. For example, that pair of shoes....can only be worn on your feet. That grey bag.....is grey. That pair of pants, in their original form.....will not work as a handbag. That dress comes to your ankle. It does. The designer gave specific instructions to the seamstresses to make the skirt portion to be so many inches from the waistline to the hem. No getting around the fact that it actually reaches your ankles.  That is fashion.

       Style is what you do with all those hard and fast fashion elements. “That” pair of shoes? They're ballet flats. They're definitely shoes,but there is no rule about the type of outfit with which they must be worn. You can wear them with jammies if you would like. They could be the finishing touch for a new dress or they can peek out from the hem of a pair of jeans. Ok. Maybe "that" grey bag is this one:

   It's grey. We can see this. It's not black. It's not green or red or purple, and it's not brown. It's medium size. It has handles and it has a shoulder strap. Whether you wear it with all solids or patterns or whether you treat it as a diaper bag during the business day or a statement piece after hours – that, my gals, is up to you. "That" pair of pants is hot pink. The end of the tapered leg hits immediately above your ankle bone. You have a sequiny off the shoulder top that would look totes adorbs with it. You also have a soft, solid t-shirt from the clearance rounder at Gap that you grab on a day when you've got the yucks. Wearing the pink pants with that shirt keeps your clothes from giving you fits but doesn't let other people know that you feel “off”. "The" skirt is grey – like an ashes-from-the-fireplace (ok charcoal) kind of a grey. It's jersey fabric with a straighter cut. You would be the one to decide if you go the precious route and don a wrap sweater and some flats or go caj (short for casual) and reach for a plain white t and some sandals......or you may look at any of these items and say “THAT is TERRIBLE! What the what?!”. Hence: STYLE.

        Fashion is what you're given. Style is your taste, combinations, the impressions you want to give, etc. There is no wrong answer. “But Sarah, I've heard you say this or that was “wrong” or “ugly”. How can you be talking about particular rules be true and it be true that I'm allowed to make my own rules?”.......It can't. I verbalize my style. Technically, when I am “imposing” my rules of taste on another, I'm in contradiction with what is ultimately more true – that style is subjective. You can take any item and pair it with any other item for any occasion or time of year. That's the real truth. You can't ever be “wrong”. You want to think about what it is that you're trying to say with your clothes because people hear what they say even before you speak, but that message is also your choice. That is how fashion has changed over the centuries, so there's a definite positive to operating outside the box. I have spent my whole life hovering over the lines of convention and what I really wanted. Do you feel like that? Ok. Well, then let's see if anything in these books solidifies in your mind what YOUR style is. Then you can take what you know about yourself and then immerse yourself in the world of fashion without losing who you are inside!

         Let's start with InStyle Secrets of Style. You read in an earlier post that InStyle is just my favorite magazine. Well, my devotion didn't stop there. My momma (who has always celebrated and encouraged my “sense of style” my entire life whether it was comfortable for her or not) gave this one to me one holiday (I think my birthday). It is a how-to on how to navigate through the world of fashion without abandoning your self. Notice “style” in the title – not “fashion”. Its chapter headings include: 2. Classics: Classics through the ages, 3. Shopping: Three Steps to Shopping Success, Telltale Signs of Style, Vintage Shopping, 14. Jewelry, Scarves, Belts: Great Moments in Jewelry, 17. Special Occasions (pictures and describes the structure of garments that could be worn so you have a “skeleton” for the one you'll choose for your own occasion) and 18. Travel: Packing, Destination Checklist – just to list a few. The book has 19 chapters total. There are pictures for everything, and, while the specific garments pictured are probably already out of fashion, calling black black will not change in enough time for you to care. The material is broad enough that this fashion connected suggestions will be usable for several decades. The other suggestions, like how to determine the structure quality of a garment or how to develop the sense of style that is already inside you, will be applicable to people 400 years from now. This book, along with the magazine, offers information – not rules. Good eye on this gift, Mom.

Book numero dos in our feature today is The Mane Thing by Kevin Mancuso. I have been interested in hair since I was old enough to wind some around my finger. My attentive, doting mother also purchased this volume for me. Kevin Mancuso is a salon owner/manager, educator and consummate stylist whose career began professionally in the late 80's. He worked under Vidal Sassoon at one point. His book was a brain child after having a bazillion clients with questions about......their own hair. The realization came to him that there were probably a bazillion MORE people with questions, and the only way he could offer great, technical information to TWO BAZILLION people was to write a book! It's good. I, unfortunately, let this lady get a bit dusty. I peeked inside it again, and, after doing the beauty school thing, I can see that it is a mini text book. It has basically the same headings as the spiral bound Pivot Point number that I lugged around on classroom days (only when I couldn't get away with leaving it in the car). The nice thing – it's not quite so overwhelming as my 700 + page elephant. Other nerds-that-wear-makeup-and-cute-clothes would like this book, but it's a good quick reference for non-bookworms too.

        The year that I was 20, my mom gave me a of makeup brushes from Victoria's Secret (see how she did that celebrating who I was thing over and over again?). They came in a case that was pink satin with a black lace overlay. My first makeup brushes. I felt so fancy because I was under the impression that they were such a fancy that you could apply your makeup just the same but you didn't have to dirty your fingertips – sort of like those big sticks ladies in the 20's used for their ciggies. I didn't wear blush because I didn't want to look like a clown. I was 20 with mostly perfect skin, so I didn't even need powder (hate that girl! - the 20 year old me). Those two brushes ended up lost amongst dirty laundry or empty shopping bags. I have yet to enjoy a lip brush. They all hurt! I think I just threw that one in the trash. One brush, however, remained. It was the shadow brush. I could do some magic with that one dang brush. I began exploring with some other colors besides the shimmery taupie brown I dabbed on most days. My mom saw my look of lust as I passed the makeup counters in the mall – all those colors and textures. All those different ways to be beautiful. All those possibilities for me to show the world what I could create. She purchased for me Beauty Evolution by Bobbi Brown (please girl, NOT BOBBY Brown. I was sitting at the BB counter one day being shown some foundation when a passing woman said “Ooh!!! Bobby!! I didn't know he's doin makeup now!” I died a little inside....and then I laughed). 

     Bobbi Brown and the world of cosmetics were introduced to one another during her mother's preparations for evenings out in quintessential 1960's fashion. The period's signature opaque, pastel hued eye shadows and nothing-less-than-perfectly-pointed liquid eyeliner extended a hand to the little girl. She grabbed hold and never released her grip. She worked at the local cosmetics store before graduating from high school, earned a degree from Emerson College in theatrical makeup and then worked for 10 years as a freelance makeup artist in runway shows, photo shoots and other creative ventures where she could use her hand. In 1991, she launched a line of lipsticks that cemented Ms. Brown into the retail market. The natural look cosmetic empire only grew from there. Bobbi's name is deity in the culture of fashion, the line of 10 lip shades has evolved into an international full cosmetic line and there are now several books with her name printed on the author line. 

       Beauty Evolution is a text book in its own rite. There are lessons on skin health, bone structure, laws of light and shadows, brush shapes and how to use them, what beauty has looked like through the ages and how to work your beauty at any age. She's a very analytical yet easy going person, so you can tell she was very discriminating with everything that is included in this book (and the others) but not at all towards the innate beauty in every woman's face no matter if her features are conventionally “pretty” or not.

       The last two titles in this feature are a departure from the “serious” or “scientific” attributes shared by the first three.

         Domestic Bliss by Rita Konig was a gift to me by my sister from another mister, Mandy. She is married to my brother, and I think sometimes she buys me items that are as over the top indulgent as someone could dream up and successfully market just so she can have an excuse to buy them and then watch me girlishly shriek upon receiving them. Domestic Bliss was one example among many of said gifts off of which I have torn pretty paper and a ribbon.....and I always adore them.  This book is sort of like Martha Stewart meets Amy Sedaris......or Emily Post after one two many cocktails. I'm sorry! That is the very best way to summarize these contents. You begin reading the book by judging it by its cover and feel sure that it's full of nothing but preposterous suggestions  that will ultimately feel more secure in the substance of your own life. I mean, chapters on coating everything in glitter and using a feather duster instead of Pledge and a rag just because “it's cuter” are things you'd read to give you a laugh during the time between your kids going to bed and the Zquil kicking in, and you kind of just bought the book for the cover anyway. Then, as you're giggling through the descriptions of an afternoon with a friend that consisted of a completely successful who-can-make-a-better-cup-of-coffee off or prissy complaints of not wanting to throw away a stack of old periodicals because the corners tear the trash bag or that that sewing baskets are typically stocked more often with old name tapes from childhood summer camp and loose buttons than usable thread or other supplies. Something in you connects with this 50's homemaker/desperately frustrated housewife, and you find yourself turning the page. You realize that the tip about placing an extra tumbler beside your own on the bathroom counter for your overnight (or longer) guest isn't difficult and is something YOU would actually like if it were you. You read on and find more usable tidbits from this sassy Brit until you find that you've reached the end!.........also it's cute on the shelf, or in my case, the dresser I use as my hair station in my kitchen.

     
 If Domestic Bliss were the Jackie Kennedy of books, The Bombshell Manual of Style by Laren Stover would.......well, it would be the Marilyn, right? (Her name was really Norma Jean Mortenson! Did you know that?) This book is hilarious and impractical, but I love it. It is full of completely unnecessary things to do with your time, some of which you will not be able to resist trying. Curious? Ok. This is a portion of her suggested playlist – for a bombshell kind of a day:

 

"Momma Looka Boo Boo" - Robert Mitchum

"Mambo No. 5" - Xavier Cugat

"Let's Do it" - Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Eartha Kitt

"Come Fly with Me" - Frank Sinatra
"Sunrise Serenade" - Glenn miller

"What a Wonderful World" - Louis Armstrong

"Black Coffee" - Peggy Lee
"Sugar in my Bowl" - Nina Simone

"Blue Skies" - Frank Sinatra
 

      There are suggestions for everything from dishes bombshells love to eat to decorations that a bombshell would NEVER have in her house. Bombshells don't sit. They (we) perch, and should a bombshell be without shoes, she should make an effort at standing on the balls of her feet as if they were tucked inside a high heeled shoe.......it's hilarious. It offers almost no actually usable advice, but it is very entertaining.....and it looks cute on the shelf too.

      So read up, gals. You can feed the nerdy side of you (the first three titles look like reasonable research material after learning about the last two, don't they?) or just be a priss while you soak in the tub wearing your bejeweled shower cap and read about what perfume Sofia Loren wore when she was a young screen siren. Either way, you can rest assured that you will find some way to incorporate “pretty” into your everyday.

 

 

Diva on a Dime: How to use cheap tricks without looking like one

Hey gals! My weekends are usually super full of me either grocery shopping or escaping from the house while Tony watches the kids for me and allows me some hours to mentally coast, BUT I bet you wouldn't mind if I crank out a low on cost high on cute tip, right? Well here's my most recent one!
    I do hair. Lots of you know that. I also do MY hair, and I bleach it out to the uttermost. There are days when I want every trace of natural oil to nourish my abused hair, so I skip the shampoo. My hair is fine, though, so just pinning it up in the shower still allows mist from the shower head to dust over my hair and limpify it (or break the disulfide bonds - if you wanna get technical....which I always do). Due to this need, I have spent time looking at shower caps, but the Wal-Mart ones are.......practical.

                          
As I said in a previous post, I spend way too much time in "comfy" clothes, so I'm not tryin to look all broke down and what not when I am tryin to save my hair for that day.
    The reason I ever even thought to begin using one is because I passed this at the Benefit counter in the department store, and I saw this!
 
No....I can't justify paying $24.99 for something that no one - not even my husband - should ever see me in. It DID get me thinking, though. I could really use a shower cap - just didn't even think about it since the 80's and 90's marketing teams had everybody overwashing their hair to try and get the 70's out of it! Well, it didn't work. I have sat in the company of many a "dirty" hippie, and they're nice people who are still around. While I don't ascribe to all their earthy hygiene habits, it is now very apparent that the other extreme of over stripping all the needed natural oils from your hair isn't good either.......hence my epiphany at the Benefit counter.
      My mom laughs at me sometimes, because I love to shop, but, if I can find my object of desire cheaper or MAKE it cheaper, I do, and I make it look as pretty as the mass produced version. When I decided against the "overpriced" version of this hair-do saver, I began my quest for its budget friendly counterpart.
       Guess what? I found it!!!
       The other night, I was out on one of my decompressing missions, so I went into TJ Maxx.  I found this little kitten:
                        
It's from this website. It's listing price on the site is $10.00 plus s&h. My TJ Maxx purchase was $3.99! I thought "Ok, it's a little old ladyish, but it's made really well, and it's cheetah print! That is trendy enough that it's not horrible....probably."  So I took it out of the package and threw it over the mirror above my makeup table (which I made myself, thank you) and left it there.
      I have bought InStyle Magazine since I was 19. It is chock full of designer photos, how-to's, beauty reviews and celebrity this-is-how-I-wear-its. I like to keep them around for clients because they also have hair-do evolutions of celebrities, and it has come in handy for gals in my chair to be able to see how several different cuts and colors can look on one person - plus, it's celebs, so it's on the trend mark pretty often (except for Courtney Love - bless her heart). Well, I was looking at the holiday tipsntrends for the November 2012 issue, and I saw THIS beauty!
               
       Well gals, that got my creative juices flowing (kinda like the Oscar de la Renta headband). That looks like bright colored grosgrain (pronounced grow-grain) ribbon with a little bejeweling. I HAVE ribbon, and I HAVE a hair clip I wore to my husband's Christmas party a few years ago that I'm not interested in wearing again.
       Ready for a mini picture tutorial? Ok great! (.....ooh....I'm so excited!!)

Ok. Here's what I'm using:

 

      

      This craft is pretty straightforward. You find the ribbon you want, find a jewel, snatch up a tube of E6000 glue (learned this trick from my beauty school chum, Antonio. He is an UBER skilled hair cutter, colorist and stylist. He knows his way around the makeup brushes like Michelangelo, and he also styles costumes for his stage shows, so when I saw this product mentioned in one of his posts, I went right out and bought some!) Arrange the ribbon in whatever formation you want (loops like I did or a more ornate bow). Glue the bow to itself to anchor its shape, glue on the jewel and then glue the whole mess to the cap! I left mine laying flat until it was nice and dry - overnight for me.
   
                                             Then WEAR IT!!!!!

     Mine looks like this:
                                                      
        It's so fun! It's cute. It was cheap. It's practical. What more could a girl want?....except for it to make me some Nutella cookies and a cup of coffee. Ahhh well. Maybe it will surprise me.
       Ok gals, this post way way more time consuming than I originally planned, and tomorrow is Monday! Make this work week a fantastic one, and you go ahead and spare your hair once or twice.

Hair, hair, flow it, show it, long as God can grow it....HAAAIIIRR!

      The Cowsills came out with a song in '69 that catapulted through the airwaves the sentiments of millions. They wanted hair. Beautiful hair. Long hair. Shining, Gleaming, Streaming, Flaxen, Waxen, Knotted, Polka Dotted., in fact. (click the lyrics to hear the song) A few years ago, I was a beauty school gal. My friend and I cozied right up to her shears one too many times, and I was left sporting this cut.

Please don't get me wrong. I adored it. It was short enough that it did anything I told it too, but long enough that I still looked like a girl........and then I got tired of it. I had to go through the weird phases of growth that didn't look like a hairstyle at ALL! I felt like when people looked at me, they saw this:

- especially after I got preggers and put on some weight. I went through months of pinning things back or teasing things up reeaaalll high. Despite all of that, it still looked odd. Then something happened. Pregnancy hormones took over, and it was growing about an inch and a half a month. (typical rate of hair growth is approximately 1 inch every four weeks) It was shiny and thick and luxurious. I bleached out a panel in the front, filled the blonde with a slightly-brighter-than-navy shade, and it didn't falter under the beating. It was wonderful.

    Then I had the baby. Hormones again. It started falling out in chunks - yes CHUNKS. I was experiencing post partum alopecia. This is a very common occurrence during which hair that is not shed during pregnancy is shed at periods of extremely close proximity instead of phases of 3 to 4 months apart as in normal hair growth. This left me.......with huge bald spots! I looked like this:

The first picture (the b&w) was taken at the very beginning of my pregnancy. The above picture was taken 3 months after I delivered Sally. They are taken at very similar angles, so you can easily see the difference in the hairlines. I took this picture originally to show my Facebook cosmo page gals my blue hair. Then I was too shocked by the thinness that I forgot to. HA!

      Hair thinness is not a bad thing in and of itself. The number of active follicles varies from person to person. We know this already. Some of you out there have so much hair that you could thin out enough to make a Locks of Love donation and still have "too much". Then there are those of us who lust after extensions on a regular basis. This......this, my gals, is life. We're all different. The reason for my shock was that there was such a difference on my own head within a very short amount of time. I went from those triangles on either side of my widow's peak being mostly full of hair to almost smooth bald. A substantial loss of hair like that is always for a reason. I knew mine, so I didn't worry. If you have a noticeable change in your hair - either loss or growth, you need to do some investigating. Hair grows out of the skin. The skin (so then hair growth) is nourished by your blood and other body systems. If something seems to go awry with your hair, something may be awry with one of those systems.

     Now, today's subject is :how to get that stuff to grow! You've got your hair. It's fine. It's normal. It's boring to you. Maybe you had a baby and thought shorter hair would be quicker to fix. Maybe you were just so bored and needed a change. Maybe you broke up with your man friend and wanted to chop off the locks he so loved. Maybe you got a little daring during beauty school one day........oh wait, that was me. Whatever the cause, your hair is short, and now you want it long....and it's not.

      You are not without options, but let's have a little anatomy/physiology lesson first. If you have ever sat in my chair or in one of my skin/beauty classes, you know that I am all about the reason behind everything. 

       How does hair grow to begin with? Well, it starts in the follicle. The follicle is a "crater" in the skin. In the very bottom of this "crater", there is a collection of cells that form a hair bulb. The bulb gets nourished and then produces cells itself that divide to serve 3 different purposes. Some will become the hair medulla (the "marrow" at the center of the shaft). Some will become hair cortex (the part that contains packets called melanocytes that determine our hair's color). The last group will become the hair's cuticle (the outermost layer of hair made of many, many tiny scales).  These cells die and dry out or KERATINIZE. (Ever heard of keratin treatments? Keratin is a protein that makes up the hair. If you get a Keratin treatment, they are re-stocking your hair with that protein to replace any that you may have lost.) This production of cells continues and pushes the keratinized cells out past the surface of the skin. Then you have HAIR! The longer this process continues uninterrupted, the longer a person's hair.  Yeah. It's a little gross.

          Ok, my hair grows super slow. How can I make those cells produce faster? Notice I didn't just say "How do I make my hair grow faster"? We just learned that hair grows by cell production, so the real task is to increase cell production, right? YAY FOR NERDINESS!!!!  Anyway, think for a sec. Hair growth really starts in the skin and then ends up producing a protein called keratin, right? So in order to affect the end result, we gotta start at the beginning - at the skin.

         How do I nourish my skin so it will nourish the hair bulbs faster and push all that keratin out past the skin's surface to give me longer hair?  Have I lost you? Think about a tube of lipstick. The lipstick is all in the tube until something (the spiral crank at the bottem) pushes it past the top of the tube. Then you can access enough of it to enjoy it (apply it). The hair "bulb" is the spiral crank. Nourishment to the bulb is the person holding the tube that turns the crank. All the cells and other science-y stuff is the lipstick. The "skin" is the top of the lipstick tube. (Think about viewing the tube from a side angle). The "hair" is the lipstick itself.

See?



 

The hair or the "lipstick" is really determined by what is happening to the thing it comes out of. In the case of this lipstick, it's MAC's formula and their tube design. In the case of your hair, it's your body.

So what are the things that affect hair's production? Well, my loves, anything that affects your body will affect hair's production. Main contributors will be 1. heredity (what your momma REALLY gave ya), 2. health (the things that are happening with or to your body and 3. nutrition (anything you put inside your body).

      Let's explore heredity. If your mom had super thick hair, your grandma has super thick hair and your great grandma was the bearded lady in the circus side show, chances are, your hair will be thick. If your mom has wispy tresses, her mom bought a lot of wigs and her mom also bought a lot of wigs, chances are, you will also need to get some Redken thickening lotion too. The number of hair follicles, diameter of the hair shaft (how big around each individual hair is) and the texture of the hair (curliness or straightness) is greatly determined by heredity.

      Health is going to play a large role in what your hair does. In fact, when something happens inside your body, your hair and nails are the last to know, but they can sometimes be the first things to tip YOU off to a problem or the resolution of a problem. That, my dear, is because you can see them. You can't see your vitamin absorption, hormone levels or organ function, but your hair and nails talk with those systems all day long.  So, as I said earlier, if you notice a drastic change in your hair or nails, start asking yourself some questions. If you don't think of something in next to no time, go to the doctor - for serious (as my nephews say).

      Health is affected, to a degree, by our last subject of investigation: nutrition. There is an old computer related turn of phrase that my dad used to say and I know you've heard: Garbage in; garbage out. So true, Danny boy, so true. (Danny was my dad's name) If, on a regular basis, you put into your body things that leave something to be desired in the nutrient department, it's gonna show.  If you neglect to put nutrient rich things into your body, it will be on "nutrient government assistance". LOL. Girl, I'm not hatin. We all pay our taxes, so we all should get to enjoy them, right? HA! Anyway, it's gonna show.

      On the flip side, if you are putting into your body vitamins, minerals and PLENTY OF WATER, your body will be able to use it......and it will show.  If a building is missing a few bricks near the bottom, it's not going to be strong, but if all of them are firmly in place, I'm gonna throw down a rug and plug in a lamp. It's party time. Same for your body which contributes directly to.....your hair. Right? Hair is protein. Protein is a nutrient. Nutrients come from......the things you put into your body. Follow? Ok. That was a lot. Don't fall asleep. Sciencey things can be real boring. Just remember the lipstick.

      If hair is made of protein....blah, blah, blah, what I just said above, then, in order to accelerate growth or strengthen growth, we would need to add more of what hair needs to grow.....anybody?......shout it out if you know it......PROTEIN!!!! Yes, yes, yes!!!

What's this I hear about taking Biotin?  Biotin is a vitamin. When you take 30 micrograms of Biotin daily, it helps your body metabolize (break down and move to the right place in your body) good things in food, including.....here it is AGAIN, gals - protein: the guts of hair. Biotin is not protein. It is a protein vehicle, so, in order for it to do it's desired job.....ya have to eat some protein: eggs, meat, nuts, etc. Biotin is inexpensive and is sold in every pharmacy or vitamin section of the grocery store that I've ever seen.

So I just have to eat eggs and peanut butter and take Biotin and then my hair will grow? As long as all your systems are working correctly and there are no extenuating health issues, Biotin will help. It has to. It's scientifically proven. But did you read what I said? It will help, meaning, there are other things you can do too!

     A sure-fire way to get nutrients from your guts to your skin is to put it on the nutrient taxi....the blood. Quicker blood flow = quicker transportation of the nutrients. So, get that blood pumping. Sedentary people will often complain about skin problems or even digestive problems because they let that blood just trickle through their veins with only minimal amounts of oxygen. Have you ever been stuck behind a person in the mall or Target who just schlepped along? SO ANNOYING! I have things to buy, places to go or people to see! Well, that's just how nutrients like protein and oxygen feel when they're stuck in someone who refuses to put the blood pedal to the metal.  Do something as often as possible that will speed up your heart rate for a good 20 - 30 minutes at the very least. When your heart rate picks up, it means that your heart is pumping the blood faster - just because you told it too. When it pumps the blood faster, you suck wind. That's more oxygen, baby! When you have more oxygen, your nutrient taxi (blood, remember?) works GREAT! Protein will rush to anywhere that it is needed. One of those places - HAIR!

    You can also draw blood to the skin's surface with a good scalp massage. That will also free up any extra skin that might not be needed any longer but just won't let go (dandruff). The hair follicle and the hair bulb will be stimulated (yes, excited) to begin or continue cell production. There are shampoos on the market that make a claim to do these things as well. What those do is sometimes stimulate follicles or glue together keratinized cells that normally fall apart before they reach the skin's surface.

    Any questions now? Anything a bit over your head? Message me or post your question on my cosmo page here.

     Now gals, take that and run with it, and grow some amaze-balls  HAAAIIIIIRRRRRR!!!!!



 



Hey gals!
     Wanna know what I did this past week? Some shoppin. Although I find myself far too often in yoga pants and one of Tony's t-shirts, I find nothing quite like collaborating items to express myself. I have been asked on occasion for my thoughts on this belt or that pair of shoes or how on earth would I be able to incorporate those pink cellophane pants.....for church?! I always find a way. It's a challenge! I have a few friends who accompany me in this madness too. We're easy to spot. We all look similarly different. *wink
     I spent LOADS of time when I was younger studying designers, so, if something is the "budget gal's" version that looks like the designer, I'll let you know how to find it and something about the designer themselves. A little history never hurt anybody, right? Also I have a very prominent nerdy side, so I like factoids.
    One of my new favorite stores is.........................................Kohl's! I am a Target girl through and through, but Kohl's has me cheating. Several years ago Kohl's was a great place to shop.....if you just needed a replacement for your themed applique sweater vest and trouser socks and sensible shoes. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those (THERE REALLY IS!!! MOST ESPECIALLY THE VEST!!!), but my eye tends to gravitate towards things a little more 2013.  As of late, Kohl's has upped their game to levels of AWESOME!  What does that mean, Sarah? How do you know what, exactly, 2013 looks like? Well, I'll tell you. Let's start with the designers. Oh no, you say, I don't live life based on what those crazy, eccentric, millionaires dream up. Are you sure? Here's an apt quote from the book turned fashion indulgent movie The Devil Wears Prada:

This... stuff? Oh... ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St. Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.

Miranda Priestly

 

Sheepish much? Now, let's start with the designers.
Let's begin with Oscar de la Renta since his name is mentioned in the above quote. Chances are, you've probably heard his name. I want you to know some things about him.
1. He was born in the Dominican Republic in 1932. He has 6 sisters. He is the only boy.
2. He did not spend his early life surrounding himself with fashion. He began his adult life as an abstract painter in Spain.
3. His first fashion endeavors were working for Cristobal Balenciaga (Who the fashion is that? We'll get there.)
4. He has had 5 marriages....to women, contrary to some generalizing stereotypes (Don't get me started)
5. He is a soft-hearted philanthropist. He funds a school in the D.R. for orphans. He never forgot his roots or the country that shaped him.
6. He started designs under his own label in 1965 while working with Jane Derby. That season looked a little like this:

Pretty, huh?
7. Got a "lumpy blue sweater" like Anne Hathaway's character? Wanna see why you have it for real? Well, Oscar didn't actually show cerulean gowns that year. But he did show something else. Recognize anything that has transcended to current wearability?

Apparently good ol' Oscar saw the tutu trend 11 YEARS AGO! Actually, it's immediately apparent that he toyed with it in '65.
8. This is what Oscar de la Renta dreamed up to offer us as textile self-expression for this winter:


    When you look at these pictures, what do you see? Not what is your impression, but what do you see? I see peachy pink and nylon covered legs.  I see small cartoon graphic print on solid colors.  I see overtly girly aesthetic. I see mandarin Jackie Kennedy-esque collars (there's a reason for that. de la Renta used to dress the Queen of Camelot).  I see a crocheted shoulder wrap. I also see.......a super cute jewel embellished headband!!! This makes me want one. Everything look a little over the top? Not that headband. You can rock that with your t-shirt and jeans, lady.  Dissect the headband. Examine it, It's thick and gathered in the middle. It has a big jewel. It, apparently, is acceptable to wear in a variety of colors. It looks to me like you could wear it in any muted shade and treat said shade as a neutral: meaning, you don't have to wear black to look like you're not trying too hard. Silver, soft pink, gold, bronze, lavender, grey, CERULEAN! (if you wanna go cray-cray). *wink. Any of those would work. It's doable. It doooeeesss cost HUNDREDS of dollars....hundreds. The Oscar headband isn't attainable, however, Forever 21 has this:                           and  Kohl's has this:

The headband is called the Knotted Velveteen headwrap. It will set you back $3.80.  The brooch is the Lauren Conrad (and we LOVE her) Simulated Crystal Beaded Flower Hair Clip.  Be ready to shell out a whopping $12.80. It was $18.00, but it went on sale. That's a total of $16.60 - before tax, of course.
   Oscar de la Renta "style" doesn't seem so far fetched now, does it? Not so "not something I have time for" or "not something I could pull off". Who can't wear a headband with a pair of jeans and a black (or pink or teal or grey) t-shirt? You can do that. You probably already do, and now you know why. This headband trend this season is because of a little Dominican boy who grew up with a bunch of, incidentally, unfortunately unfashionable sisters. He had a vision. He saw beauty as a concept, as an idea, and he wanted to put it in your hand so you could know beauty, ultimately, because you're a woman, and if anybody can appreciate what a woman really is, it's a boy with 6 sisters.
   So there it is. REAL post #1.  This one is about fashion history with a small DIY at the end. I never do anything without knowing why. I don't expect more from you. I want you to enjoy a jeweled headband until springtime. Oscar de la Renta worked hard for it. Do him proud, honey.


 "We're dealing with sophisticated customers. What's most important to these women is individuality. I have to create things she'll want to wear, no matter who she is."
                 ~ Oscar de la Renta