And the Winner Is....



Elle Saab Gown





Well, as promised, here are my three choices for gowns for the Oscar's on Sunday. I think my friends here at the condo thought I had lost my cookies when I was outside taking pictures of my paper doll under the trees!  I had to make excuses that I was taking pictures for a child's book.....



Christian Siriano Gown

 Check out the links if you want to see what they look like on the runway.  My apologies to the designers if I have not represented them correctly~



Oscar de la Renta

 I'd love to know which one is your favorite or what YOU many want to wear if you were going!  I know which one I'd wear......

Traveling Choices

Versatility is so key, don't you think?  Take for example this skirt ~ I can wear almost any color with it, it doesn't take a lot of care and the colors make it feel special.  So it's worth more than its' weight in gold for a traveling companion.

This iguana is sporting some of the same colors in my skirt.  It must have been mating season.  Thank God he didn't mistake me for another iguana.  Glad I escaped unscathed.

Wish I could grow this tree at home.



To Bathing Suit or not to Bathing Suit

While we are on the subject of body image/issues, it always saddens me to hear when women stop wearing a bathing suit.   In a perfect world, there shouldn't be any reason why anyone should stop wearing one.

I remember 30 years ago on the Cote d'Azur (aka French Riviera), everyone wore a bikini.  It didn't matter what your body type or what your age.  (It probably wasn't due to women's lib; the men strutted the beach in their speddo's while their wives tanned their bellies) While this is a refreshing thought, sometimes I think modesty is very chic.

 

  

I have been taking notes on the subject (kidding), and in my humble opinion, any cover-up that is water-worthy works.  You can find them in the bathing suit section.  A tee shirt doesn't work as well.  I see many women sporting swimmer shorts over a one-piece, or a swim-dress--and they look great and not old lady.  My big thing is a swim skirt.  Hey, I get my mini-skirt fix and it covers the real jiggly stuff. 

Boho Paula

This was actually an outfit I wore on Valentine's Day--my husband and I went out to dinner. Afterwards we went to the beach to take blog photos.



top~TJ's
skirt~Anthropolgie



Am loving this boho ensemble; part of which is from Anthropologie.  I'm not usually into boho--but am feeling more casual lately.

Skirt has pockets!!!

Don't you get the burning desire to post those bad pictures evrey now and then?  I do.  And here are some.  My new photographer, aka my husband, is an amatuer.  And we did have 2 for 1 for Valentines day.  Hence the bad hair. (Can't you always tell by the hair?)  Hope you have a few laughs.





Tunic as Cover-up--ew, boy

I never thought I'd be wearing this tunic as a beach cover-up--never in a million years.  I was concerned back in Mass about having THIS too short with leggings--and lordy, look at me now.

Maybe its the tan.

Do you remember coloring?  Well, I still love to color and here in Fl., I made a coloring out of the fabric.  Coloring is relaxing, no? 

Simple Colors--ya, right

Behind me is the intracoastal.  In the morning, there are manatees, and osprey--something we don't have in NE.  But we do have blue herons at home--right in my backyard-- that are in abundance down here.

I sort of love the simple colors in this outfit.  Well, if you can call fluorescent yellow simple.  I guess its the simple colors of the denim and white sneakers--and the neutral of my khaki jacket and THEN the fluorescent yellow.

Just want to give you another present of GREEN.....



Sacrificing Jeans

My new habit is sacrificing my long jeans by cutting them shorter.  I'm really pleased with the way these came out. I've beeen seeing a lot of jean shorts and jean capris this season and once I get home, all of my outdated or too short jeans are going on the chopping block.  

As luck would have it, there's a TJ's right around the corner from our condo.  I found myself there a few times already--this was something from one of those excursions.   I've tried to find some second-hand stores down here, but have struck out on that so far.  Of course the Mall was easy to find.

And here's a little something for all of you still suffering from winter...Just want to give you all a little taste of flowers....

Too Much Time

Have you ever tried to put your earrings in backwards?  I did, and its like rubbing your belly and patting your head--it's a mix-up.  (Your saying, boy, she's got too much time on her hands.)

And that may be true, but I did try and do it for a reason--really.  My earrings looked better on the backside--and without using my jewelry tools, I put them in backwards.  Alas, as fate would have it, none of the pictures of them came out well. 



But this one did.

Friend Friday--COLOR!

Color! A subject right up my alley.  Thanks again to KT at Modlychic for putting this all together!  Now for the questions and answers~


1.  What color dominates your closet?



All of them!!! All colors are my friends—the brighter and the more varied, the better.



This is just my Florida vacation wardrobe.



2. If money weren't an issue how would you change the color emphasis in your closet?

I really wouldn’t change my color scheme because at this point (lots of Color me Beautiful) I know what colors look good on me. And that is really the most important criteria for dressing with color—what best enhances your skin tone and eyes. Now if retailers offered brighter colors in the winter? I’d love to brighten up my winter wardrobe.


3. What is your mantra about mixing colors?

Have fun and embrace color—be inspired and try something new! Don’t Be afraid~


4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits?

I don’t “incorporate” color, I need to edit color. I need to make sure I’m not a walking color wheel and therefore don’t look like a crazy old lady. Choosing what color to wear on a daily basis comes from an inspiration from nature/art, or a vision that comes to me (which is  not like voices….really) or from someone’s outfit.

5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color into their wardrobe?

Hate to do this but some people I aspire to: Vanessa at Big Girl, Small Budget, Kasmira at What I Wore Today, Ariel at Artfully Awear, Sheila at Ephemera—they like to push the boundaries of color—and I want to be right there with them!

Tennis Skirt Magic

Isn't it weird that you can go from state to state and have a whole different set of values?  Here I am in Florida, and for some reason, you can wear shorter shorts and skirts.  Of course the weather plays a part,  nonetheless, I see many older women in short shorts and many in short tennis skirts.  Everywhere.  In public.

My condo sits on the tennis courts, and in my observations (OK, so I'm a nosey neighbor) I see older women of all different shapes and sizes sporting short tennis skirts.  Back in Mass. they would be wearing longer shorts.  And we have talked about the disconnect thing before--how easily you could make a mistake at our age if your skirt/short was too short.  Well, for some reason, make that a tennis skirt, and it looks appropriate!  Its like magic!  How much do I love this?????  Because I really miss my mini-skirts!

Of course, I had to test this theory out for myself.  I wore my bathing suit skirt and walked a fifteen minute walk to the beach--something I WOULD NOT DO at home.  I would wear something over my skirt.  Well, I have to say, I was a bit self-conscious at first, but I'll build up to it.  Maybe one day, I'll wear a tennis  skirt to the grocery store (like everyone else here!)  I'd certainly get my mini-skirt fix then!

OK, so the big question--where you live, is it appropriate at our age (lets say over 45) to wear a tennis skirt (short!) to the grocery store?

 

 

Best New Color for Toes!

Ah, summer accessories!  These are a couple of my new favorites~

This is the next best nail color--its by Opi and its called Extra-va-vaganza.  At first I was hesitant, as this color isn't as bold as I usually like.   Boy, am I pleasantly surprised!  This color is SO sparkly, and stays on like glue.  The sparkly thingies are fairly big, so they really sparkle.  It gets better: It hardly chips at all!  The only drawback is the texture may be too rough for fingernails.

Next up--hat!

I know, I know, its a bit eighties, but not so much, is it?  It's really working out great for the beach and for packing (it scrunches up to nothing and doesn't wrinkle).  It has a little brim and just a little sparkle.  And actually, the hat is  a different style for Florida--everyone has brimmed, straw hats--and the last thing I want to do is to look like everyone else!!!!

Above, just Florida flora and fauna~

Does anyone wear a hat to the beach?

 



Style Icon

Missed all of you!  Had a bit of an Internet snafu here in sunny FL but I'm back!

To the subject at hand.  There has been a lot of stuff out there lately on "Style Icons".  There is a bit at the back of Lucky Mag.; Michelle Obama is featured in a book--all on icons of style.  The article in Lucky is about Moms as style icons. 

Spending the last week with my mom, I wondered if she was my style icon.

Sadly, I wouldn’t say yes --as much as my mom has been a positive influence with my style, I wouldn 't say she was my "style icon". The one big difference is I am PASSIONATE about fashion/style, and she is not.


That’s not to say my mom hasn't influenced my style—she was very liberal, and open minded—which in turn gave me the confidence for my fearless sense of style.



dress~Marshall's
jacket~Kohls
shoes~Tsubo



Now about the outfit!  LOVE the contrast of this khaki jacket and the brights in the dress!  I've been seeing this color combo for a year or so--and love it in practice.  I had been looking everywhere for this jacket (can't see much of it here--oopsey!), but its a windbreaker style by the Vera Wang collection at Khols.  Little more money than I would normally spend, but it fits all my needs.  I had bought one similar last year.

So, is your mom your style icon?