Dress in Pink (Carefully) for the Cure

I belong to an organization in Denver called the Alliance of Professional Women, http://www.apwcolorado.org/. Quite a few members are participating in the Race for the Cure, http://www.komendenver.org/ on October 7. I was at a board meeting tonight and tomorrow is our monthly luncheon. They mentioned that the participants are going to try to wear pink to the luncheon tomorrow. It got me thinking, "hmmm...pink for business...be careful!" While I make it a practice not to make big rules about dressing, I think pink is worth talking about. The problems with pink for business are:

-It's associated with Barbie. (Okay, so she's an icon and she's got a great body, but if you take her head off of her body, it's hollow!)

-It reminds a lot of people of baby girls. (They're adorable, but they're not so powerful.)

-Really pale pink can wash a lot of people out. (Aren't we all trying to really show up?)

Seriously, I'm not about to tell my clients or anyone else not to wear pink for business if they love it. I just advise caution! Here are some thoughts if you love pink and want to wear it for business.

-First, think about your occasion. If you're going on your first sales call with a decision maker who's known to be a barracuda, I'd probably suggest black and white or navy and white over pink. If you feel powerful in pink, wear pink hanky pankies until you develop a relationship with the guy. I'd also keep your pink under wrap when you're negotiating and closing the deal.

-Instead of an all pink suit, consider it for your blouse. Charcoal gray with fuscia is a really unusual combination!

-Pale pink in combination with other colors can be very elegant and sophisticated. Your textures need to be rich. For example, a silk charmeuse, pale pink blouse would look incredible under a pearl gray, cashmere blend suit. A sumptuous, pale pink, cashmere sweater would be great with a beige, wool, pencil skirt. Think quality!

-Pink accessories might be enough for some. Again, really think it out. Nothing you wear for business should look like something your teenage cousin, niece or daughter would wear.

Deck yourself from head to toe in pink during October to support breast cancer. Wear pink with caution for business!

Photo: bcrfcure.org

Does size matter?

I was giving a presentation last week and one of the participants asked me "Does size matter?" My answer? No! No! No! As women, we're so conditioned to judging ourselves by the clothing size we wear. On top of that, manufacturers and designers are driving us crazy with the inconsistencies in their sizing.

The fact of the matter is that the only thing that really counts is being healthy and making sure our clothes fit us correctly. A number is just a number! You can take a size 6, an 8, and a 10 from 3 different makers and lay them all on top of each other. Chances are good that often times they'll all be the same exact size! I always say that if I ever got tired of image consulting (which I can't ever imagine!) I would lobby congress for a law to require sizes to be standardized. As I mentioned earlier, our identities are often tied to the number we wear. And most of us feel better when that number is smaller. It seems to make sense that designers would realize that if they make their clothes true to size or a little bit big, they'll sell more clothes! Although it's practically impossible for me to fathom, but I'm sure that even really small women are tied to their size. If you've always been a size 2 and have worked really hard to maintain it, and you need to buy a size 4 in something...panic sets in! What are they thinking?

Back to the real point...It's really just a number. Except for Levi's 501's, I've never seen a piece of clothing with the size printed on the outside. What's important is for you to be happy and healthy whether you're a 2 or a 22.

I got a newsletter from sassyfit.com the other day with a great message from sassyfit.com's Celina Moser. It read, "I was a diet freak in my 20's. I could eat the same simple meals meal-after-meal and not really think twice about it. I'm sure part of it had to do with the fact that I was broke, but I also had quite the social life and hardly had time to eat anyway (lol). I was rarely concerned about how a meal tasted as long as it kept me looking good in my size 4 jeans. How things have changed...(sigh).

Today, the new me wants sass in different ways - more mature ways I'd like to think. I want tasty and good-for-me meals that can be prepared without much effort at all. My focus isn't so much about fitting into my super tiny jeans (to look fabulous for my next hot date). My focus today is about feeling strong and toned - and fabulous in my size 8 jeans."

Remember, it's just a number!

Dresses

I'm so excited that dresses are so hot this season! I know it all started with the wrap dress, which I never really got around to, not to mention I can't afford the DVF's. But there is quite a plethora of dresses on the fall market.

I wore dresses as a little girl, but they were gone from fashion for years. The thing is...they're so easy. One piece...pop it on and out the door you go! But back up one moment. You still need accessories. The great thing is, though as with the "little black dress," or LBD, you can completely change the look of a basic dress with the accessories. I was looking through my InStyle Instant Style book this morning over breakfast.

They showed a LBD 3 ways. First, a la "so genteel" the dress was topped with a velvet cropped jacket with ruffled trim and worn with pearls, black lace over nude satin pumps and a clutch purse.

Next, a la "haute stuff" the dress was topped with a feather shrug. (Feathers are hot this season.) The model was also wearing very strappy shoes and a couple of mid-sized silver bangles.

Last was the simply sexy style. Starting with the basic dress, the model belted the waist of the dress with a metallic buckled belt, carried a sleek silver clutch and wore super sexy shoes, think Sex in the City shoes.

Those are only a few of the options for a dressy little black dress.

The sheath dress is big this fall, too. It can double as a jumper over a white blouse, be worn alone with several strands of pearls, (think Audrey Hepburn) or be topped with a basic blazer in the same color as a stand in for a suit.

Although I've found that dresses are super comfortable and easy, there are still tons of styles and fits, so you still have to try on a bunch to find what works. And on that note, I better go shopping!

Photo courtesy of: edressme.com

Fashion Tape!

Okay, so this isn't anything absolutely new, but nevertheless very exciting to me, so I thought I'd share. Fashion Tape! It all started when I was at Victoria's Secret the other day buying a bra to wear with a very low cut ABS dress I'm planning on wearing to a wedding in a couple of weeks. (This is actually the dress, however, I'm hoping my hair will look better!) I was very excited to find a great new strapless bra. I was also looking for accessories to go with my dress and had it with me, so I thought I'd try on the dress over the bra, just to make sure it worked. You could still see the center of the bra a little. In a panic, I asked the salesperson if there were any other solutions. She suggested using fashion tape to stick the bra to my dress. Voila! You can't see a thing.

Coincidentally, I had on a top that day that is very complicated. (I know, you may be wondering why a shopping pro would wear something like that on a shopping trip. Hey, no body's perfect!) I won't go into all of the details, but I had the top pinned to my bra straps, etc. All I did was whip out the fashion tape, and everything was perfect. I'm thinking this fashion tape is going to be great for a lot of sticky situations: the blouse that fits, but the buttons are in the wrong place, hems that fall out as you're walking out the door, strapless tops that just won't stay up and more!

I bought the ones from Victoria's Secret, since I was there, but the Hollywood Fashion Tape is a little cheaper, and I happened to see it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond when I was buying a wedding gift.

Jewelry Organization

I was working with a client on Friday whose mother had come into town for an extended visit, and was organizing everything in sight. (I so wish my mom would do this!) Very shortly after I arrived at my client's home, said mom whisked me into the enormous closet to showed me what she'd done with the jewelry.

She had put cork board on the wall above the built in dresser. Then she had put in tons of push pins and hung the jewelry on them. Okay, so it's a really simple concept, but it was amazing how organized it was and easy to see the jewelry. Obviously, it worked for necklaces and some earrings, just not posts and bracelets. Still!

After we'd gone through my clients existing fall wardrobe, and I was accessorizing her "new" outfits I'd created, I was able to see the jewelry so much easier than when I'd even just had it all laid out on the dresser in the spring. One caveat though, you have to keep sterling silver in plastic bags so it won't tarnish, but I can picture pinning the bag on the wall. I think I'm going to try this in my closet. I think I do a pretty good job of wearing all of my jewelry even though it's hidden in a jewelry box and drawer, but I'll be interested to see how much more creative I'll be once it's hanging up.

Scouting Fall Fashion 2007

In just a few mere days, all of the Fall Fashion Preview issues of the fashion magazines will be hitting the newsstands! Admittedly, it's a pretty exciting time of year for me. Although the magazines have been giving small glimpses of fall for most of the summer, September is when the big, thick, "bibles" hit. You may be wondering why I'm talking about this. It's simple, one word, okay well two: Wardrobe Planning! By seeing the new trends and designer offerings, you can begin to get a good feel for what you need to update and complete your wardrobe.

My favorite magazines are Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and InStyle. Lucky and Marie Claire are pretty trendy and don't really have anything professional.

Instead of simply planning a trip to the mall, where it's easy to get overwhelmed and sidetracked, take a little time to browse the magazines and see what you really like. Don't just look at the fashion editorial. Study the advertisements as well. (This is the Super Bowl of fashion advertising!) If it's a handbag or shoe ad, take note of the model's clothing, hair and nails. For example, I absolutely love the nail design in the current Dior models are wearing. Next, look at the editorial and identify trends for shoes, pants, blouses, jackets, and more. Once you have a good handle on the trends you like and the pieces you need to update your fall wardrobe, you're ready to hit the stores. With plenty of ammunition!

Photos: Style.com