All posts filed under: Fashion

straight or wavy long hair for the woman over 40

What can I say, I am a fan of long hair and will stay with it for as long as I can get away with it. But the funny thing is that I have naturally curly hair and as a result, spend my entire youth trying to run away from the curls and the waves without much success. However, in the last decade or so, I have been able to straighten my hair thanks to all the tools available to make it work successfully. But now, everywhere I turn,  women in my age group with long hair are going wavy or curly once again and I am fighting with myself to make the switch, because although I can do it naturally, I feel better with my straight hair. So, I am throwing this entry out there to all the women who are in the same boat as me. Let me know where you are with today’s “hair style pressures”.

colorful door knobs in decor

I can’t stress the fact how much I enjoy walking through an Anthropologie store, ANYWHERE,USA and playing with their display of door knobs. They are colorful, creative, interesting, somewhat antique and “in my opinion” can be used for more than just door knobs. They are a great enhancement to the old boring key holder rack  in a home. A fun costume necklace, bangles and scarf  holder rack (which is easy to make) for your daughter’s room, AND as a rack  in the kitchen to hold  recyclable grocery bags and umbrellas.  They are make a wonderful personalized gifts for the holidays and even Mother’s Day (if you happen to be into making your own gifts).  So check them out and let me know what you think? Also, if you have your own suggestions of using these wonderful door knobs, please feel free to share them with us.

casual weekend sweaters

On the weekends, I like to revert back to my tomboyish ways by dressing  as casual as possible and while doing so, I want to simply be able to throw on my favorite pair of comfortable jeans and a sweater and call it day. Since I agree with  fashion advisers in suggesting women over 40 stay away from bulky sweaters, I  found a few which I think will do me just find this winter season. The cool thing about these sweaters is that they are border line between dressy and casual, which means I can wear them over slacks or a skirt to work or with jeans over the weekends. I call these sweaters transition sweaters from mid fall to early winter and then from late winter to “almost” spring in some places. I found these at J. Crew (in store and online) and although sometimes it’s really intimidating to walk into the store if you aren’t twelve years old, the sweaters are well worth the effort nonetheless. Let me know what you think?

fashionista or sarah jessica parker?

One word, which took me a while to get used to, is none other than the word “fashionista” and after looking it up in the dictionary to get the true definition of it, I discovered that EVEN this word’s meaning has evolved through time as a result of shows like “Sex In The City” and Sarah Jessica Parker. I am certain that most any woman is aware of the show, the movies and Sarah Jessica Parker and of course there are some of us who admire her style and others who question it.  But I must say, although eccentric and sometimes over the top, her sense of style is most unforgettable and  a challenge for most anyone else to pull off. So, here is hoping we can duplicate her conservative look as a woman over 40 and do our best to avoid the rest.

burberry london coats wish list

When I am ready to shop for coats, I often look through what’s been dubbed “in Style” for that particular year and then check out my old favorite Burberry London coat website for their selection and make my choices, then I head out to department stores which carry similar styles at a much more affordable price range and try to duplicate them for everyday wear. Although, like many women, I love quality work and have an expensive taste for most things, but when it comes down to it, I also know that I don’t  necessarily need to own the most expensive clothing lines to look my very best. So, I have included photos of my favorite Burberry London Coats from this Fall season and if you can run out and purchase them, then more power to you, but if not, then feel free to visit your local shopping malls or department stores and boutiques and see if you can duplicate the best of the best in coats. Also, if you want to share your findings, …

full length boots for the curvy calfs

I have always shied away from buying full-length boots because of my shapely calfs. Each fall I enjoy looking through the selection at the department stores and shoe boutiques and envy the women that are able to zip up the zipper, while stuffing their jeans in them. This year I was determined to find some boots that were either made out of stretchy pleather (which I am not a fond of) or gamble on asking for wide calf boots. Some of the clerks just looked at me when I did ask and others pretended they didn’t exist. So I walked away feeling somewhat dumb for my “uncool” question and decided to once more forget about buying full-length boots. On Thursday I had driven up to Roseville, CA to visit my mother-in-law and decided to try once more at the Roseville Galleria and sure enough the sales clerk at Macy’s knew exactly what I was talking about and was able to bring out four pairs (only 4 unfortunately) of wide calf boots. I was besides myself …

oh stop it halle berry

I am not a jealous woman nor envious but sometimes I just want to say, STOP IT “celebrity” you’re making me look and feel bad about myself. Yes, you might think this is childish but reality is that most women in their 40s have as much insecurities as teenage and girls in their 20’s. It’s that whole, body deciding what shape it should be, sometimes no matter how much you exercise or diet, and then there are the wrinkles and the gray hairs sneaking up on you and the pre-menopausal state taking over. Shall I go on? So, when we pick up a magazine or look online and see, in this case, Halle Berry, in all her beauty, we tend to second guess ourselves, physically that is because God knows what her personal life is like, and suddenly become sad (at least in my case). I am not sure if she has had plastic surgery or a nip tuck or whatever and frankly I don’t care. I do appreciate the end result and in my own …

sweaters for fall 2010 women over 40 can wear

Once the official transition takes place from Summer to Fall, meaning past the month of September to mid-October, I begin to feel the need to rearrange my closet in order to get a visual of all my sweaters. Then I go through them and decide which to toss and what to recycle for the upcoming fall season. At the same time, I shop online for the sweaters I would like to have and make my list in order to check them out at the store. One of my favorite stores, and this has been on and off, is Ann Taylor/Ann Taylor Loft. The reason for the on and off is that for a while there it seemed the store or the company had lost it’s touch and appeal so I stayed away from it. But now, this year that is, the items on their online catalog (at least in picture) look great. That’s another thing, what looks good on print doesn’t necessarily look good in the store, so with list in hand I plan to …

ankle boots for the woman over 40

Since through my research I discovered that ankle boots were okay for the woman over 40 to consider incorporating in their fall 2010 wardrobe (wow, a mouthful) I, of course couldn’t be happier since I am unable to wear full length boots, thanks to my shapely calf muscles (Believe me I am not complaining). But choosing the right ankle boot is a challenge for me of course, because  I don’t like it to be over the top, too bulky or the wrong heel style and I need it to compliment my wardrobe rather than overwhelm my style. Yes, I am aware that with slacks, you can pretty much pull off any ankle boot, but this year I really want to explore the option of wearing it with skirts. So here are my choices based on what I found online and one of these days, when we actually get our first rain fall in California, I will go try them on to see which one works best.

admiring restoration hardware

For a few months now I have stayed away from most things pertaining to  the home, mainly because I just sold mine and also because I am what one may call “in transition” with my life. But about a week ago I walked into a Restoration Hardware store because even though I desperately tried to walk by without looking, I couldn’t help succumb to the new theme from within the store, enticing my curiosity. Not sure if most of my readers are familiar with the store, so I have included a link here just to set the stage for you.  Anyway, I walked into the store or “the gallery” I should say and to my amazement, it had transformed into the most exquisite and delectable and almost museum like display of the most wonderful, classic and in a unique way functional pieces ever put together for the consumer’s viewing pleasure. Well done Restoration Hardware! After picking up a catalog and pointing out the wonderful pieces to my brother as we circled the store, I came home …