Black and White for Spring

A classic spring color combination is black and white.

It all started with the shoes I wanted to wear for the first time. My goal was to put together a look that worked with my body proportions and complemented their edgy style.

The Vince Camuto shoes had me at hello. The stud details are gold, so for this look, I wanted to complement that detail but not compete with it in my choices for other items. I decided on this old jacket with cream faux leather trim and fun gold zipper details. I found the jacket on the sale rack at Stein Mart last year. The pull-on slim-fitting dressy pants are old from Chico's, as is the tank.

The long tank with sheer details at the neckline and the hem allow the waistline to disappear beneath the jacket—the wide waistband pants with no other details allowed for a smooth foundation to build upon. The faux leather trim and zippers' placement and angles on the jacket are very feminine and figure-flattering.

I wore this look to dinner with friends on Wednesday date night. The evening temperatures are still a bit cool here, allowing me to wear a third piece. 

As the weather heats up during the summer, I will show you how I use sheer details in jackets and cardigans to add my much loved third piece without overheating.

I kept my accessories very minimal with sunglasses and two bold blingy rings. A bag didn't work with this, so Mr. Mickey was the lip color keeper for the evening.

I am often asked how I decide which accessories to add to the look. Accessories are like makeup; they should accentuate, not camouflage. With this in mind, I look at the outfit's style and accessories; they should all come from the same tribe. Think about a linen tunic over a pair of jeans with sandals. A bold, earthy necklace would work well to fill in the neckline, whereas a gold and pearl choker might not relate to the material or the attitude of the look nearly as well.

Warm Weather Game

As the temperatures climb into the eighties during most afternoons, I am wearing tunics often.

One of my all-time favorite looks for warm weather is a long, swingy lightweight tunic. By adding a long necklace, I am breaking up my middle's expanse with the deep V created by the necklace. This tunic's subtle print also moves the eye over that area without stopping on my trouble spots. When wearing a print, always be mindful of where the blocks of color and pattern land on your body. The wrong placement can actually draw the eye to a problem area.

I almost always wear a statement bracelet or watch and sometimes even layer on three different pieces on the same wrist with a three-quarter length sleeve. 

The ring is just a bit of fun, bling I picked up at some forgotten place in my travels. The clutch is old from T.J.Maxx. The sunglasses are by Michael Kors. The shoes are old favorites by Calvin Klein.

I took my camera with me on one of my walks to share some of the beauty of springtime.

I hope you are enjoying the tummy hiding tips I share with you on the blog this week. There will be a few more tips tomorrow, but honestly, if you study my looks, you will notice that I always try to downplay that area of my body.

Blush Is The New Black!

Are you proud of showing off your rock hard abs? Me either! This week, I share some of the little tricks that I employ to play down my tummy area and other jiggly bits.

Wear black. OK, I know that isn't groundbreaking news, but here is how I use black to my advantage. Black soft flowing tunics, tees, and tanks are my most important building blocks.

For you, it might be black, navy blue, or even dark brown, but you need a dark base color that you can wear on your top half and then layer over it.

If you are interested in drawing attention away from a certain area of your body, this tip is golden. Light colors emphasize, and dark colors recede. Whether you are putting on makeup or getting dressed, you need to always keep this universal truth in mind.

So the magic, fool the eye tool I am using here is the black Covered Perfectly long sleeve top. The low scoop neckline lifts the eye up and cuts the area that is my middle. Black is the perfect neutral for me, so I can add any of my other favorite neutrals over it. This jacket in blush is from White House Black Market. It is also a great neutral that I can wear with any of the other items in my closet.

Another fool the eye technique is to keep the middle of your body very plain and then use an accessory to draw the eye up to a real showstopper. 

The old woven clutch and the watch by English Laundry are both from Saks Off 5th.

The BCBGeneration shoes are from DSW.

The distressed (but never torn) boyfriend jeans are old from Chico's. The sloppy turned up cuff is a youthful hipster trendy styling trick. Sometimes I do play around with one fun trend per look. Too many trends on me can look silly. I can't say that I will ever wear the distressing trend to the point of torn jeans or release hem items, but I do like the look of faded jeans sometimes.

Here is a little video to show you how I quickly changed a plain tunic into a fool the eye top. The top I am wearing in the video is the Simple Comfort V-neck from Covered Perfectly.

More Tummy Slimming Tricks

Many styling tricks are known and used by the most fashionable women. It isn't that they have perfect bodies. They just know how to guide your gaze to their best features.

Women over fifty often complain about the sudden thickening of the waistline. Welcome to my world! I weighed nine pounds and eleven ounces at birth; my thick waistline has been my nemesis ever since. This means I have been using tummy hiding tricks for a very long time.

One such trick is to half-tuck your shirt. When you leave a shirt with a straight hem entirely tucked or untucked, you create a straight, bold horizontal line, usually at the widest portion of your body. This line guides the eye to look there at your middle in all its glory.

I created this collage to demonstrate this point. All of the pants and tops are the same size. In the center, I replaced the crew neck tee with an open jacket. (Imagine a low scoop neck shorter black tank under the jacket in the middle.)

Do you see how varying the hem length of your top or layers of tops create the illusion of being more slender?

A bold horizontal line or break at or near the waistline makes you look shorter and wider because it visually cuts your body in half. That is why I am a fan of wearing or creating the illusion of asymmetric or broken up hemlines in my tops. The diagonal line is so much more flattering than a single straight horizontal one. A jacket, cardigan, or vest is worn open over a shorter or longer tank is a look you see me often wear for this reason.

To get this effect, just tuck a little of the hem of the shirt into your waistband and let it fall softly back in place. This styling trick makes your legs look longer and removes the focus from your waistline. I also love a V-neckline for its ability to lengthen. 

The three-quarter length sleeves are the next slimming trick. Showing your forearms further breaks up the straight line created across your middle by your clothing. When your sleeves and your hemline end simultaneously, it creates a solid, horizontal line.

Even my hair is cut in a diagonal line, as you can see from the photo below. Hairstyles should be considered in a full-length mirror because balance is imperative for your overall look. A good stylist understands this and will give you a cut that creates balance and harmony from head to toe. (Imagine a petite woman with long full bushy hair that visually seems too heavy for her small body to carry.)

I hope that these tips help you to get dressed with more confidence every day.

The top was provided by Covered Perfectly. The jacket and jeggings are old from Chico's. The Ralph Lauren bag was from 6pm.com last year. The Vince Camuto sandals are several years old from Nordstrom.

A Different Look

Having a style formula for dressing can make life easier each morning, but I also like taking risks and trying something entirely different.

I rarely wear a print, wider leg pants, or flats, but here I am combining all three!

Throughout this week, I will be sharing the styling tricks I use to draw attention away from my thick waistline.

The cold shoulder top is by Clara Sunwoo. The pants are by Mesmerize. ShopMyFairLady provided both items to me.

The cold shoulder style is going to be very popular this year. These Clara Sunwoo tops are made from a comfortable and forgiving fabric that works well with many body shapes.

If I wear a print, it is almost always geometric or animal print. This one is a playful combination of the two.

These pants are the longer style of Mesmerize pants. I love that they have a simple waist with a very discrete zipper and no loops. This is a style I always look for. Not having a bulky zipper and loops or pockets instantly slims my waistline.

This shoe is named "Susan" (not named for me personally!). These are by Marc Fisher, and I found them at Saks Off 5th. The small gunmetal colored clutch is old from T.J.Maxx. The sunglasses are old by Michael Kors. I don't recall where I found those, but most likely it was Saks Off 5th.

ShopMyFairLady offers many of my favorite brands all on the same site, and they are so helpful. Each time I go there, I buy so much I have to ask them to ship it. 

The store is located in 

"The Alley In The Valley"

6000 Reseda Blvd. Tarzana, CA 91356

In The Pink!

Has spring arrived in your part of the world?

Our temperatures rose into the eighties for several days this month. The bright sunshine inspired many people to reach for their flip flops, tank tops, and shorts. I much prefer something more covered up for warm weather, such as this look by Tribal.

This just might be the perfect tee! It has three-quarter sleeves with burnout openwork details so that you are still cool and comfortable. The body is made with the same burnout layer over a solid tank. That means all my jiggly bits are camouflaged! 

These Tribal pull-on wide waistband pants fit like leggings that are not too tight, but with the great details of jeans. The front is smooth and flat so that you don't have a zipper, button, and all those loop bumps showing through your top. The legs do not flare out at the bottom, so the line stays long and lean. I would like a pair in every color, please!

The gold hammered gold cuff is several years old from Chico's. The BCBG bag with a bamboo detail handle is old from T.J.Maxx. The shoes are by VANELi. They were sent to me last year by Marmi Shoes.

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The outfit suggestions and tips I share with you most mornings are offered to you for free and with love for the forgotten women that we may feel like sometimes.

In that spirit, I would like to ask you to try something today. 

Kindness.

Instead of saying to those around you, "You should do it this way." or "I don't like that." Try, "You look so happy in that."

Instead of focusing only on yourself and what you want, recognize that you have the power to make those around you feel joy with the kindness of your spoken or typed words.

You really do get back what you give out.

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If Only It Had Sleeves

I bought this dress by Ralph Lauren because I loved the ruching at the waist and the unique detail at the neckline. 

I most definitely did not like the fact that it was sleeveless. At the purchase time, I thought I could work it with a shrug or a cardigan, but that plan failed miserably. As a result, I have rarely worn the dress.

Just before I gave it away, Yvonne from Cami Confidential contacted me. I am so glad she did! Yvonne Gillon has been a couture designer for more than thirty years. 

She created the piece I am wearing under the dress below (shown above on a model).

Several other fabulous items in the Cami Confidential line solve the issue of women who no longer want to show the skin around our underarm area or at our décolleté.

The piece I am wearing is called the Sophia, and you can find it at Cami Confidential. It was supplied to me, but I will be getting it in other colors to convert all the great sleeveless or low cut styles I have been passing up. 

If you have a mastectomy or other surgery scars you wish to cover, these pieces are excellent additions to your wardrobe. The sheer lace adds no weight, so you can wear these even on a hot day.

All of the items are made on-site in Cheshire, England. That means if you have issues such as lymphedema, they can adjust the sleeve size. All you have to do is ask!

Thank you, Yvonne, for coming to our wardrobe rescue!

In Summary

On Sunday, we had a lovely afternoon brunch before leaving the beautiful resort of Primland for now. We will return soon and often!

I layered the White House Black Market jacket over the white tank top by Peck and Peck via Stein Mart with the black ankle jeans by Chico's for the long drive home. I wore the gray faux reptile booties by Vince Camuto and carried my Zac Posen bag, both from Saks Off 5th.

Let's look back over the past few blog posts to see how I mixed and matched the ten pieces of clothing I took with me on this trip. I took three jackets (it could have been just one white one), three tank tops, one cashmere cardigan, and three pairs of pants. All of the items fit into a rolling carry-on size bag in addition to a hanging bag for the jackets. All of my toiletries and shoes also easily fit into the carry-on bag.

My travel look on the first day.

His mother loved the sweetness of the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. His father admired the baseball player Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane. As a result, Mr. Mickey was so named. He has been collecting Mickey Mouse antique toys of the highest caliber for most of his life. That massive collection is now for sale in its entirety. You can see much of the famous collection as it was once displayed in his museum on this Facebook page.

I wore this to dinner on the first evening.

I wore this casual look to breakfast on Saturday.

This was my look for dinner on Saturday evening.

This was my look for the drive home.

As we left the resort property, we saw this beautiful pheasant pecking about in the grass beside the road. I might have scared him a little when I squealed, "STOP... back up!"

The view of mountains for as far as the eye can see always soothes my soul.

I hope that this series of blog posts help you pack fewer pieces that work in various ways for your next trip.