While Spring styles are debuting in NYC for Fashion Week, let’s take a look at your Fall wardrobe.
You’ve finally found him–your very own Prince Charming. He’s perfect. Ruggedly handsome with a good sense of humor, fashionable, well-read, and manly. Oh honey, is he manly!
But what’s this? He wants to take you camping? As if!
No need to worry, my dear, this season Charlotte Ronson has you covered. You too can look chic and outdoorsy…
…for the two hours you last before checking into the nearest 4-star hotel.
Seriously, what were you thinking?! Don’t be ashamed–lots of girls are hypnotized by manly charms. Rugged sounds sexy until you realize that you are about to sleep both out of doors and on the ground.
That’s why God made concierges and Hilton Honors points. Have them send up a masseuse and a bottle of Veuve. You’ve earned it!
While Spring styles are debuting in NYC for Fashion Week, let’s take a look at your Fall wardrobe.
The first day of school, 1991. Armed with Lisa Frank erasers, Lisa Frank pencils, and Lisa Frank folders, she snaps shut her Lisa Frank trapper keeper and thinks about how rad this school year is going to be.
Bright colors, fast food, and an adorable little mascot? Lisa would be so proud, don’t you think? This is totally how 6 year old me envisioned my grown-up self: hailing a taxi cab in a brightly colored ensemble with hot pink stilettos and big hair.
And just in case your big hair and bold sweaters aren’t enough for you, Kate Spade has some goodies for your desk too!
So much, in fact, that we will literally fry & dye our own hair to be more like you. Yes, I know. You’d have thought the 1980s taught us something, but no. You’re like that cool girl in high school that we can’t get up the courage to talk to. But Oprah, we still want to be your BFF.
In the 80’s my mama called this “Big LA Bar Hair.” Today, I’m calling it “Afro de Oprah.” But white girls take heed: perm & tease too much and there will be nothing left to style come Spring.
While Spring styles are debuting in NYC, let’s take a look at your Fall wardrobe.
Have you ever seen yourself as the Wednesday Addams in a sea of orange-clad blondes? Then, Valentino’s Fall collection is for you! I have to admit, I wasn’t allowed to watch The Addams Family when I was a kid–a little dark for my mother’s tastes. But the moment I saw her headless Marie Antoinette doll, I more than made up for lost time.
So you can imagine my joy when I saw Valentino’s Fall collection. Who’d have thought that after 27 years of repressed melancholy, I’d finally get the chance to dress up as Wednesday Addams?
But Valentino didn’t stop there.
Do you sometimes find yourself longing to pull a Glenn Close circa 1996? Do you often have a desire to match your spotted pooch’s ensemble? Valentino has you covered.
And lest we forget that for every yin there is a yang, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Valentino’s nod to the White Witch.
So there you have it. If you’re looking for a way to show a little more of your dark side without going full on goth, fill your closet this season with Valentino and accessorize with your own Marie Antoinette.
This guy! Seriously, could he be any cuter? Ten years ago, I got blessed when the greatest guy a gal could ask for walked into my life, and today he turned 29! He’s my favorite person to spend time with, he has the best sense of humor and, to top it all off, he’s devilishly handsome. He also hates me making a big deal out of his birthday. So this post is short and sweet. Happy Birthday, Husband!
I adore this summery illustration by Elizabeth Graeber, and it will be hanging in our bedroom soon!
While I recognize that I should feel a little more affinity for Mother Nature, her being a “she” and all, I have to admit that Labor Day always tends to make me a little bitter. You see, here in the South the heat and humidity reach their peak in late August and early September making the fact that we must put away our linen and seersucker today all the more excruciating. Nevertheless, in the words of my own mother, “There are rules for a reason.”
Do you remember when you were little and your mama told you not to pull your skirt over your head? No? Maybe that was just me. Hmm… It’s not like pulling my skirt above my head was a particularly big deal. It didn’t hurt anyone. I was always wearing an adorable little crinoline underneath or, at least the very least, lacy boy shorts that I got to show off. Plus, everyone looked at me! And who doesn’t want to be the center of attention?
However, a lesson my 2-year-old self quickly learned is that not all attention is good–sometimes people are just laughing at you because you’re crazy. “Bless her heart, maybe she doesn’t know any better.” “Well for Heaven’s sake, do you think she even knows it’s Fall?” There are rules for a reason. It may not be hurtful, it may not have consequences, but it will most definitely separate the women from ‘Belles.’
When I see grown women wearing maxi dresses and cork wedges in September, they aren’t really hurting anything but my soul. You see, there are rules for a reason. In the old days the ‘No White After Labour Day’ rule may have been a clear way to segregate those that had been on summer holiday from the blue collar workers. It was also just a matter of practicality–white reflects the light and therefore doesn’t draw in the heat so it’s worn in the summer. However, living in a region that can stay brutally hot well into the Fall, Southern Belles pack away their white shoes, linen, and seersucker (neatly with tissue paper in a sealed garment bag, of course!) for a different reason. The fashion-literate Southerner needs a way to delineate the styles from one season to another. It may not feel like Fall when it is 95°F and you’re cheering on your SEC team of choice, but wearing your white capri pants aren’t going to help anything.
So happy day after Labor Day. Now go clean out your closet, and will the cooler weather to get here ASAP!
Did you know that September 1st is Lily Tomlin’s birthday? I’ve always been a fan (my mother does an uncanny impression of Edith Ann), but our recent West Wing binge-watching prompted me to do a little googling today. Do you know what I found out? Lily Tomlin has said some pretty brilliant/fantastic/pinterest-worthy quotes over the years. Here are my top 5…
“Sometimes I feel like a figment of my own imagination.”
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“I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.”
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“Instead of working for the survival of the fittest, we should be working for the survival of the wittiest–then we can all die laughing.”
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“For fast-acting relief try slowing down.”
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I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.”
If you’re a new reader, “Hello, Gorgeous!” posts are a round-up of beautiful, random links that are making me smile this week. Enjoy!
I have to admit, we couldn’t have picked a better week for our little beach trip. A day & a half back to work and then a long weekend? Don’t mind if I do! There are a few things that made me smile this week while laying on the beach or riding in the car and today I just wanted to share a couple with you.
Listen
Last week, Ellen Foord tweeted about Valerie June’s song “Tennessee Time,” and I have been hooked ever since. Valerie June’s voice is both beautiful and haunting–just perfect for a little weekend listening.
Also, might I suggest taking a moment of silence in respect of her fabulous hair?
… {silence} …
Thank you.
Read
My friend Beth has ridiculously awesome taste in books. It’s so good in fact that three of my most recent choices have been her recommendations. (Thank heavens she’s in Book Club.) After working together for a couple years, we are just now getting to know each other better so when she suggested Jen Lancaster’s latest book The Tao of Martha and I literally squealed, it caught her a little off guard. (She had no idea about the Martha idolization… probably for the best.) She had thought I would be excited about the subtitle “Why I’m Never Getting All of That Glitter Off of the Dog,” because of my well-publicized glitter ban following the great giraffe glittering of 2012.
Anyway, Jen Lancaster is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers, and I’m pretty sure we could be super fabulous friends in real life. You know, those quirky girls who have adorable lunches at nice restaurants and then drink too much and go home to glitter the Kitchenaid mixer? That could be us! I think she should be our first celebrity guest at a Book Club this Fall, don’t you?!
Check out the Tao book in which she documents her year of “living,” and then check out her blog: Jennsylvania. I could write a whole treatise on the book–she’s hilarious, she’s laugh-out-loud (aka not allowed to read in bed when Husband’s trying to sleep), she’s personal and relatable, her husband Fletch is a saint… yada yada yada. Instead, let me just tell you that she inspired me. I love how she summarized things on the Today Show, and, coincidentally, in the last chapter:
“You have to try. You can’t fail, if you don’t try. And there were some things that went horribly awry but the things that didn’t were shocking…”
How many times have you gotten this question in the past few months? If you work in corporate America or spend any time on Twitter, I’m guessing you’ve read an article, read a book, or had a discussion relating to this question in the past few months.
Our selection for August’s book club was New York Times bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Won’t Stop Talking, and I have to tell you it’s spurred A LOT of conversations over the past month. So many, in fact, that my husband is now reading the book, one of my best friends is reading the book, and I’m still just a teensy bit sassy about authoress Susan Cain’s portrayal of extroverts despite the fact that according to her little quiz I am a quintessential ambivert. (I blame any and all of my introverted tendencies on being an only child, but birth order is soooo last decade so we probably shouldn’t even go there.)
Are you reading anything that is making you slightly uncomfortable? Are you having conversations with people that have opposing views from your own? Is there anything in your life right now that is making you think through the why of what you believe?
I have loved how many conversations and debates this book has prompted. It’s challenged me to really think through what I believe about myself and also my relationship to pop-psychology.
2. How are you trying to relate to the people around you?
Yes, I have totally made cracks over the past month like, “If introverts are so quiet, why are their complaints all I’m reading about on Twitter?” But it has seriously been helpful to realize just how different people can be. I really love meeting new people and learning what makes them tick. This book is a great reminder that everyone has their own strengths and their own needs–by recognizing both, I can be a better friend and a better partner to everyone around me.
The gentle reminder I’d like to give Susan Cain: We need everyone. The quiet ones, the talkative ones, the inquisitive ones, the funny ones–people come with different personalities, hobbies, and interests for a reason. One isn’t smarter than another or more valuable. We need them all.
