Monthly Archives: September 2021

5 Ways To Make Casual Friday A Slam Dunk

Posted in dressing for work and dressing for an interview, dressing your best, fall fashion trends, fashion trends, handbags, how to, personal style, tips and tricks, travel clothing, women's clothing tips by

Casual Friday means employees get a green light to wear jeans at work, but most employers want a dressed up casual style that still feels professional but is less dressy than the normal Monday through Thursday dress code requires. As a society, we are becoming more and more casual, and sometimes we forget how to do a casual style that is more than yoga pants and a sweatshirt. This blog post will give you 5 tips for making your Casual Friday wardrobe a slam dunk that still makes you feel great in your clothes and offers elevated style that is appropriate for work.

Tip #1: “Joggers” or pants that are banded at the bottom but slimmer in fit than a typical sweat pant are a trendy style right now. Most of us wouldn’t even consider wearing a jogging pant or sweat pant to work, but when you put this style in the right fabric, it can totally work. Take this olive green jogger set that is in the first picture as an example. Because this look is using a heavy weight travel knit that is a dressy and luxurious fabric, suddenly this style is taken up to a level worthy of the office.

Tip #2: Layer, layer, layer. You can easily dress up a simple sweater and jeans with a vest and boot and make the whole look not only trendy but dressy enough for the office on a Friday. Feminine details like the puffed sleeve on this sweater also add an element of dressiness. Clean jeans that don’t have any distressing can still be trendy when you have a bitty bootcut, like this style in picture number 2.

Tip #3: Printed denim is so in, and you can easily dress it up with the right top. I love how this waffle knit in olive green in picture number 3 is elevated by the banded bottom and the feminine button detailing on the sleeve. Look for added details like these to really help you do dressed up casual. The other tip that makes this look work is the dressy shoe boot and matching handbag. Keep in mind, your accessories really matter. This look, for example, would take on a whole different feeling with loafers, as an example.

Tip #4: Wear a blouse as a “shacket.” Stylish women have been using this trick for ions. Something magical happens when you take a simple blouse and layer it over a tank. It dresses the whole look up and adds dimension. This is another example of how layering can be used to give your look more dimension and style. The dark denim, skinny jeans and high wedges also help this look to be dressier, as do the accessories and handbag.

Tip #5: Take a work blouse, like the look in picture number 5, and make it more casual by pairing it with colored denim, which is dressier than regular denim. Oftentimes, it is difficult to tell if a colored bottom is actually a jean, so many women can get away with wearing colored denim for their Monday through Thursday office looks. Complete the look with some dressy shoe boots and a fun handbag, and you have a dressed up casual style that will have you feeling comfy and classy.

These tips can also work for dressing for work related travel when you need to be comfortable but still look nice when you arrive. If you want to see some more ideas, watch my live video tonight at 6 p.m. MST. In the mean time…thank goodness it is almost Friday! I hope you will try out some of these tips!

The Rules Of Getting All Dressed Up Have Changed

Posted in dressing for your age, dressing your best, dressing your figure, how to, personal style, tips and tricks, women's clothing tips by

I would say nine times out of ten, when a customer comes in looking for an outfit to wear to a wedding, she comes in looking for a dress. While I love a great dress, there are so many other ways to look dressy enough for a wedding without limiting yourself to only a dress. As our society gets more and more casual, pants, skirts and leggings are getting more and more accepted within the realm of business professional and also for special occasions. Honestly, the rules for getting all dressed up have changed.

The difficulty with a dress is you have to deal with the nylon issue. It is not fashionable right now to wear nylons, and while tights are making a come back, women of a certain age don’t often feel confident enough to go bear legged. Let’s face it, when you are fifty and over, your legs just don’t look the way they did in your twenties. And even if you have great legs, you might now have unsightly veins and discolorations that you don’t really want to leave uncovered. So what is a girl to do? It is a real problem. Do you look unfashionable by wearing nylons or do you feel exposed and uncomfortable having to show off your legs. Certainly there are options to get around this…you can wear a maxi dress that comes to the floor, or maybe cowboy boots that cover your legs, but both of those options add new wrinkles like creating a style that can work with the wedding and cowboy boots, as an example.

This is why it always surprises me when women are dead set on wearing a dress to a wedding rather than branching out to the much more convenient and easy to wear related separates option. I just dated myself there a bit. The term “related separates” is an old fashioned retail term used by manufactures to describe an outfit that is designed to go together and looks paired but includes two to three different items. The down side to this option is it usually costs a bit more because you are buying three items instead of one. The up side, however, is that if you are smart, you can get two to three great pieces that can stand on their own and be worn with other things in your closet. To me, this is a BIG win. Dresses can only be worn with themselves, and in this way, they are limiting.

Oftentimes, when I have a customer that is in this dress or die mindset, I have to move her, carefully, through all of her options. We start by looking at the dresses, and inevitably, all the problems with dresses surface. This one is too long. This one is too short. This one needs a cover up because she doesn’t want to show her arms. If we do make it to the dressing room, then other problems arise. If we get it to fit her bust, it is too big everywhere else. Or, vice versa, if it fits her hips and rear, it is too big in the shoulders and neck. You see, by their nature, dresses are designed for a woman who is the same size top to bottom. But really, who do you know that actually can say they wear an 8 or small on the top and an 8 or small on the bottom? It is rare that we are proportioned that evenly. If you have ever struggled to find a dress, even though you really wanted to find one, this is probably the reason.

So after some pain in the dressing room, I will usually, tentatively say, “What do you think about a skirt and top? Or what about a dressy pant and top?” We then have the obligatory, “Is it okay to wear pants to a wedding?” conversation, to which I assure her that it is totally okay. Honestly, in my twenty plus years of getting women dressed for the most swank special occasions like Governor’s Ball or weddings on the East coast, my favorite looks were never dresses. That is not to say that I didn’t have some women who looked amazing in the dresses that they purchased. I’m just saying that my favorites were…well….not the dresses.

I write all of this to perhaps open your mind to this idea of showing up to your special event in an elegant pant or skirt outfit and not a dress. At the end of the day, you will be more comfortable, and you are way more likely to wear those pieces again with other items in your closet.

It is okay that rules of getting all dressed up have changed. We just have to accept that they have.

6 Styles For The Perfect Bonfire Night

Posted in dressing your best, fall fashion trends, fashion, fashion trends, how to, personal style, tips and tricks, trends, women's clothing tips by

The warm orange glow of a fire that crackles softly in the cool, crisp air; the warmth of a cup of hot chocolate in the palms of your hands; the soft Chenille of a cozy sweater; the tip of a nose turned red by the first cold fall night….oooh, I can hardly wait!

From easy tunics and leggings to cute jeans, shackets, tees and plaids. Get these items on our online store here

Truth be told, while I love summer and all the wonderful things I get to do, my favorite season is fall. I love everything about fall because, here in Wyoming, it is a time of transition – the season between the heat of summer and the dead of winter; I look forward to it every year. And, in my opinion, fall clothes are THE BEST clothes. It isn’t cold enough to warrant a heavy winter coat, so we get to wear soft and cozy sweaters, warm down vests, trendy capes, cute hats and scarves, tall boots, shoe boots and, my favorite, UGGS.

So today’s blog post is all about dressing for those bonfire nights and staying trendy and fashionable while you do it. Whether you are on a hay ride, finding your way through a corn maze, sitting by a campfire roasting hot dogs, attending a loved one’s football game or cheering on our good ol’ Wyoming Cowboys, these tips will ensure you look great while you are doing it.

My favorite fall trends for those bonfire nights:

  1. The Shacket: this combination between a shirt and jacket is like wearing your dad’s heavy weight camping flannel. The oversized fit means you can layer it over other things and also makes it perfect to pair with the season’s trendy leggings. Add some shoe boots or tall boots and a coordinating hat and scarf, and you will have a trendy fall style, perfect for whatever fun you have in mind.
  2. The Chenille Sweater: sweaters are huge this season and Chenille (ultra soft yarn) abounds. This fabric just oozes comfort and cozy. You’ll be giving yourself hugs, I promise.
  3. Wide brimmed Fedora: Your fall look won’t be complete without a brushed velvet Fedora. This style works well with plaid blouses, shackets, capes, and more. Match your hat to your shoes and handbag for a the classic classy lady style.
  4. Plaid Shirts: My sixteen year old daughter calls these her “flannels.” I haven’t pointed out to her that flannel is a fabric and what she really means to say is “plaid,” which is the print. Ugh…did I just sound like an English teacher? (You can take the girl out of the classroom but not the classroom out of the girl! He he.) At any rate, my daughter is enamored with paid shirts because they are so trendy and they work so well over the cropped tops she loves to wear with her high waisted shorts and jeans. Wear them open, partially buttoned, tied…you choose, but make sure you have a plaid shirt this season.
  5. Suede or faux leather leggings: the great thing about this trend is these fabrics are ever so much warmer than cotton knit, so here in the west, we love this trend! Pair them with a cute graphic tee and a long sweater cardigan. Wear them with a tunic length shacket. Match them to a longer sweater. The best thing about this style is you will be as comfortable as you are fashionable for all those cool weather activities.
  6. Puffy down vests: these will just not go away, and it is probably because they are the perfect transitional item for fall when you don’t quite need a coat, but a sweater is just not enough. Choose one in a trendy fall color like olive, rust or mustard to give your outfit a fresh look. Match up a cute beanie and scarf, and you’ll be rocking fall style.

The leaves are already turning yellow on the tree outside my office as I type this blog post. Soon, we will be seeing golden yellow patches on the mountain indicating that the Aspen trees are beginning to turn. This year, make sure you get out and enjoy this season with all it has to offer. And, make sure you look great while you are doing it for all those selfies!

Want more ideas for fun fall outfits? Watch my Wednesday Night Wardrobing Live Video at 6 p.m. MST in our VIP Facebook group.