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Looking for a drop dead Oscars-worthy dress on a budget

February 28, 2006

Q. I’m graduating High School this year and I’ve been searching for a dress, but I don’t want the usual prom dress, I want an Oscars couture-looking gown, but I it has to be around $350-375. I LOVE sequins and I’ve looked on the websites for Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and A.B.S., but I have found few dresses with sparkle! Do you have any suggestions?
-Sassy Sparkle

A. For sparkle and shine, your dress shopping destination should be edressme.com. They have many Hollywood and celebrity recreations that hit within your budget and have plenty of sparkle without overdoing it. And while you may be hesitant to shop among prom , you can find plenty of sequins and choices at promgirl.com. And don’t forget to check out other sites like saks.com like I did:

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Niteline Sequin Embellished Gown
$338 at edressme.com

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Faviana Beaded Evening Gown
$218 at edressme.com

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Carmen Electra-inspired
$199 at promgirl.com

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Sue Wong
Beaded Silk Slip Dress
$385 at saks.com

Party wear with black lace

February 28, 2006

Q. I bought this gorgeous Chaiken black lace jacket (grosgrain ribbon belt, bell sleeves, hits just at the waist). While I think it looks super cool with a simple white cotton tank, jeans and fabulous shoes, I’d like to wear it to an engagement party and can’t think of what would look best. Any ideas? The party’s not super dressy, more sophisticated cocktail attire (guys will be in suits for sure).
-Black Lace Conundrum

A. You can easily dress up your black lace jacket from good looking with jeans to bravo with a fitted camisole and a black pencil or slight a-line skirt on bottom and your fabulous shoes to finish the look. The camisole doesn’t have to be black, but should be a fairly simple designed top so it doesn’t detract from the lace jacket. Use the link below to view some options.

Continue reading Party wear with black lace.

Can a curvy girl wear a skinny legged jean?

February 28, 2006

Q. I’m absolutely in love with the new skinny legged jeans and pants that have popped up all over the runways for Spring. I’m petite and curvy though, and am worried about how this look might translate on me. Is there any way to pull these off and not look fat, or am I doomed to admire skinny trousers with kimono tops from afar. Thanks for the help!
- Want Skinny, Not Stumpy

A. Truth is, not every trend is for every person. Ideally, the skinny legged jeans are meant for skinny girls with barely there hips and no thighs to speak of. That’s why we see them photographed on models. Curves become exaggerated when a skinny leg or tapered leg pant looks good below the knee, but shortens and balloons the upper half of the body. But you may be seeing yourself as curvier than you actually are, so as I tell everyone, don’t assume anything about clothes until you try them on for fit since every body is different. If you feel good and confident in a pair, then buy them and strut about. And if you can’t find the right pair, then look for straight leg jeans or pants for a slimmer look.

Stylish wedding shoes for hard to find size

February 15, 2006

69196 Gr7216 Q. I am going to be married in the near future (we are considering eloping, so it’s a bit casual). To that end, I picked up the J. Crew whitney silk faille dress in pale green and am trying to figure out how to accessorize it. I’m thinking strappy heels and some sort of wrap with dangly earrings, but I’m not sure what to do color-wise since the dress is a light sage green color and I don’t particularly want to wear white with it. Would metallic sandals work? Where would I look for something like this (especially as I tend to need a 12W)?
-Wedding Shoe Woes

A. Just because you’re considering eloping doesn’t mean your wedding attire has to be casual. It’s your day to shine whether it’s walking down the aisle at the Little White Chapel in Vegas, with your closest family on a hilltop in Hawaii or having a small gathering at an intimate restaurant.

Shopping for a larger size shoe can frustrating since many designers do not produce larger sizes and when they do, they produce fewer styles and stores buy smaller amounts of the styles compared to sizes 7 and 8. It may take a little more sleuthing to find a stylish heel that accompanies the chartreuse dress, but my suggestions lean towards a metallic heel and these shoe picks all come in your size:

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Special Occasions ‘Coco’
$143 at designershoes.com

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Annie Selena
$58.95 at zappos.com

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J. Renee ‘Inga’ Sandal
$82.85 at nordstrom.com

Hosiery how-to with color

February 15, 2006

Q. What is the recommendation for hose color with shoes? Can tights/hose be darker than the shoe? (An example of a probable fashion faux pas in my past history - red and black plaid skirt with black tights and red shoes.) Is it still recommended when wearing solid black or navy to have a unified color from head to toe?
-Hopeless With Hosiery

A. I agree, your red and black plaid skirt with black tights and red shoes would have been better on a six year old, but there aren’t necessarily hard and fast rules with hosiery. I recently wore a black sweater with a thin belt at the waist over a black pencil skirt and black opaque tights and gave the whole look character by wearing greenish teal suede high-heeled round toe pumps. Had the outfit been brown, I could have added bronze metallic or a dark, less shiny gold pump or even an animal print. Navy can be one of the hardest shades to match up head to toe so it takes a gal with attitude to add a little color like greenish teal, olive or hunter green and burgundy. While black certainly looks chic head to toe, it’s nice add a bit of color with a shoe or accessory in a deep hued color. Just be sure to see yourself in a full length mirror before you walk out the door. If you like it, then wear it.

Looking for a drop dead Oscars-worthy dress on a budget

Party wear with black lace

Can a curvy girl wear a skinny legged jean?

Stylish wedding shoes for hard to find size

Hosiery how-to with color

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Looking for a drop dead Oscars-worthy dress on a budget

Party wear with black lace

Can a curvy girl wear a skinny legged jean?

Stylish wedding shoes for hard to find size

Hosiery how-to with color

get the scoop

like us on facebook!

subscribe + win

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