An Unstylish Moment - New Years Eve 2013

We ponder extravagant party dresses during the winter holidays. So much excess, so much Cinderella. We drag out beaded ball gowns, cocktail frocks dripping with spangles and bangles, or pour ourselves into stretch lace minis. We get decked out like the halls--beribboned, sparkly, and blingy. The goal is absolute gorgeousness, the unforgettable kind that guarantees a steady stream of suitors in the New Year.

Well, I found the perfect outfit to ring in 2014--it doesn’t bling or zing, and it cost nothing. I shopped in my closet, and had my choice of animal prints, shimmering jewel colors, or vintage favorites. I finally settled on cozy and comfortable sweatpants and a fleece-lined hoodie. It’s perfect for this year’s NYE activity--staying in with my hubby, watching Monty Python, eating Indian take-out, and drinking Prosecco.

No inner debates over strapless vs sleeveless vs backless. Proper undergarments won’t matter. No shawl needed to warm bare shoulders. And if I fall asleep in my sweats, nothing gets crushed, torn, or rumpled. If I need opulence, I’ll slip on a cocktail ring.

Happy 2014 to my readers and supporters!  Each one of you is a source of inspiration.  Make this your most stylish year ever!

There Are Places I Remember...

Here's my mom and me when I was thirteen. I don’t remember the occasion, but we were visiting my great aunt Cille and I’m sure that there was a scrumptuous homemade meal involved--perhaps even a coconut custard pie, my mom’s favorite.

Mom is wearing an emerald and sapphire blue suit that she made, and I’m decked out in a cute navy blue double-knit shift with a low-slung belt designed to accent the hips. I had no hips or waist at the time, but the fabric was kind to the under-developed teen figure. There was no drape or cling to call attention to my lack of curves. It was one of my favorite dresses!

Mommy’s Little Fashionista

Me at Three

It's never too early to steer the young towards a fierce and fashionable path. This darling little fashionista is yours truly at the tender age of three. The adorable jodphur and cardigan outfit is courtesy of either my mom, my grandmother, or my great aunt. There was a heated competition among them to keep me on the best-dressed toddler list.

Here I am, sassy and stylish, ready for my closeup. Maybe I’m ready for a shopping trip. “The sale is where?? Hand me the car keys!”

The Ruby Slippers

ShoeEmbassy.com pulled me back to their website. This is not a quiet website--especially if you swoon over menswear-inspired styles. Their shoes are so super cool, so bad, that I bought another pair. And, no I didn’t need them, but what’s need got to do with a girl’s shoe collection?

Shoe Embassy sucked the credit card right out of my wallet and had its hot and sweaty way with it. Here’s the result--a pair of oxfords that have been dubbed my “Rock Lobster” shoes. Part rockabilly, part dandy, totally bold! They’re perfect for a relaxed workplace or paired with Saturday jeans. I’ll rock them this week with pearl gray cuffed trousers, a slate gray beaded sweater and black metallic socks. The shoe color will crank the volume up to 11.

No doubt people will stare and point at my feet. It’s okay--they’ve been staring at my hair for years now so I’m glad that they can shift their focus!

Sugar Coated

This coat is a cinch for Cutest Coat in the Closet.  This olive green corduroy trench was scored last year at the Philadelphia Flea Market.  Whenever I wear it I feel as if I should be in London strolling through the evening fog while Big Ben tolls the hour. 

Out of Africa and Into My Closet

I’m pogo-ing around the room in a happy dance. I just found out about a fabulous website, www.kisua.com that promotes African fashion. Global fashion is always cool and this platform showcases the talents of hot designers such as Beatrice Black Atari and Chechi Arinze.

Check out this site if bold color, exciting patterns, and unique interpretations of classic styles make your heart race. Check out this site if you’re tired of seeing the same old thing in every store. Trade in your standard issue black polyester blend pants for an eye-catching pair of wax cotton raspberry and grey print tailored trousers. Dare to dump your boring trench for a khaki oversized pocket coat.

The dresses are my favorite pieces in the capsule collections on the site. Classic sheaths and shirt waist styles are featured, as well as demure cotton dresses that could have come straight from a 1950s starlet’s closet. 

I'm writing love letters to coats!  I'm adding to my holiday wish list!  I'm realizing that my closet is shrinking! 

Gaultier Rocks It!

"The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk to Catwalk" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum is the one of the most spectacular fashion exhibits I've ever seen. Philly fashionistas, grab a friend, get on the Bolt Bus and see it next weekend.  Here are some of the highlights!

Glamour Puss

Edith Head

Today is eight-time Oscar winning costume designer Edith Head’s 116^th birthday, and I’d like to chat about glamour.  I’m a huge old movie fan.  I adore the old school glamour and melodrama, the scenery chewing of divas like Susan Hayward and Joan Crawford.  I gobble up the preposterous plots, gorgeous gowns and perfectly tailored ladylike suits.  

Ms. Head draped us in romance and allure in many classic films:  “All About Eve,” “Roman Holiday,” “Sunset Boulevard,” and “Rear Window” to name a few.  One of my favorite Edith Head designs is the breathtaking white strapless gown that she conceived for the 1951 film “A Place in the Sun.”  Elizabeth Taylor floated on that cloud of a dress and every aspiring prom queen that year wanted a knockoff of it.

Okay, now think about actors.  Could you get any sexier than Redford's and Newman's suits in “The Sting?”  Yep, Edith Head did that.  

I miss glamour.  Instead of cringing over stripped down looks or the stripper aesthetic I want to swoon over an impossibly beautiful gown or a sophisticated silhouette.  Where are the garments that make me want to kick up my heels?  

I kan’t kount on a Kardashian!

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in "A Place in the Sun"

Living the High Life with Sheena

In celebration of the recent NY Times discovery that Black people wear their hair natural (who knew) I’m introducing you to the delightful Sheena High and her magnificent crowning glory.

Sheena first thought about wearing her hair natural in 2010. One of her sorority sisters had been flaunting a riot of kinks and curls for three years and counseled her to “get rid of the creamy crack.” (“Creamy crack” refers to the chemical relaxer many Black women rely on to straighten their hair.) She responded, “My hair is straight out of Africa, it’s not gonna cooperate,” although she had long admired the styles and textures of unprocessed African hair. But when her hair stylist, a beneficiary of the unnatural hair business, said that her hair would look better natural she decided to make the change. Besides, making and keeping appointments for touch-ups was becoming a hassle. 

She didn’t want to do “The Big Chop,” cutting off the relaxed hair while transitioning from chemically processed to natural hair. (The “Chop” is gutsy, and is often immediately followed by the purchase of fierce statement jewelry and screechingly bright lip color.) So, she gave herself three years of graduate school for this “experiment.” The growing out process took about a year and she admits that she wasn’t wild about the big chunk of new growth. “Although [my hair] was natural I was still straightening it. I wasn’t comfortable with how it looked, or with styling it.” She found that putting heat on her hair made it fluffy and bouncy. Fluffy hair that moves is pretty seductive stuff for a sista and harder to give up than dark chocolate dipped strawberries!  On her 29th birthday, however, she decided to turn off the heat and never looked back.

Sheena is now more confident about her hair.  She‘s learned more protective techniques and adores her new look.  No more “dyed, fried and laid to the side” hair for this lady! Check out her incredible style--isn't she gorgeous?
 

 

Got Me Workin' Day and Night

Sometimes a successful workout depends on the right soundtrack. Stuff the right music into your mp3 player or smartphone and you just might want to drop it like it’s hot in between sets of shoulder presses.

Here’s a taste of the music that pushes me through upper body training sessions.

Lat Pull Downs to “I’ll Keep Holding On” - The Marvelettes

Bench Presses to “Heartbreaker Pt. 2” - Alice Russell

Dumbbell Flys to “Haitian Sensation” - The Blue Method

Bicep Curls to “The Groove Line” - Heatwave

Hammer Curls to “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em” - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

Side Lateral Lifts to “Self Esteem” - The Offspring

Push Ups to “Tightrope” - Janelle Monae

Tricep Kickbacks to “I’m A Man” - The Spencer Davis Group

Overhead Extensions to “Stone Free” - Jimi Hendrix

Planks to “Transcend Me” - The Bamboos featuring Alice Russell

Wiping Sweat, Stretching and Moaning to “Black Hole Sun” - Soundgarden

The results? Sexy shoulders and back, toned arms, and the strength and energy to carry overstuffed shopping bags from Nordstrom Rack! Hit me again, Lisa Lisa!

Heartbreaker

G.H. Bass broke my heart. Burned rubber and dropped a bomb on me. (Where’s The Gap Band when you need them?) Waved me away with a simple “talk to the hand.”

Bass quit making women’s shoes in narrow widths! How could they do that? They are the preppy style standard and their shoes should be fit for all feet.  Now the cutest loafers and oxfords of the season are unavailable for women with feet as narrow as ice skate blades.

The new Candy Weejuns are “preppy and polished,” according the Bass website. These adorable Skittle-colored loafers could have been the linchpins of my casual wardrobe--I woulda bought ‘em in every color!  Guess I'll just have to Moonwalk through life in another brand.  

Bye-bye Bass!!  I'm no longer a fan--I'm taking my socks and going home.

Today's Things of Beauty

Friendship is a thing of beauty that's a joy forever. Friendship nurtures and informs you. It makes you better, stronger. Friends are not a dime a dozen--they're never a door buster special at Walmart on Black Friday. You'd best believe there is untold wealth at the heart of true friendship.

These beautiful pieces of jewelry were a gift from a friend. They belonged to her mom, a smart, together woman who had a flair and color all her own. Beads were often used as currency in African and Indian cultures, so I was honored to receive so much wealth.

Thank you, Jocie--these are gifts that I'll cherish forever, just as I cherish our friendship. 

My New Favorite Shoes!

I have a deep and abiding love affair with menswear. Dude duds have appealed to me since my early teens when I grabbed a shirt from my dad’s closet and wore it until it was threadbare. Cuff links, button down shirts with a vest and tie--I wear them all. In the 1990s I had a thrift store tuxedo tailored to fit me. Although the occasions to wear it were few, it was the sexiest suit I ever owned.

For the past few seasons I’ve been obsessed with women’s brogues, particularly wild for wingtips. I trolled the Internet like a hungry man looking for a club sandwich, and drooled when I found them in Schiaparelli pink patent leather, midnight blue suede, and silver leather with purple soles. Those shoes came with price tags that seemed to increase exponentially with number of letters in the designer’s name (Yohji Yamamoto and Fratelli Rosetti were more expensive than Bass), so I deferred purchase.

I was in London's Greenwich Market recently when Cupid’s arrow nicked my ankle as I passed a merchant featuring affordable women’s brogues in luscious, colorful leathers. I fell in love with every shoe on display, and bought a pair of adorable saddle tan and navy brogues that I’ll wear forever. Check them out!

Walk On The Wild Side

These kicks make me wish I was a centipede.  How cool would it be to rock dozens of delicious pairs of shoes at once??  Imagine scooting along on fancy footwear like this, drawing admiring glaces from mere two- four- or six-legged creatures.  Fabulous shoes from Britain--let the pictures tell the story. 

Unpacking My Bags

Just returned from a remarkable vacation in London with three friends.  The legendary quirkiness and courtesy of the British made an indelibly positive impression, and made re-entry to Philly life a little tough.

Here's some of what I saw and what inspires me--have a taste of it!

Sneakin’ Around -- the Shoes of Summer

Summertime and the dressing is easy.  What’s better than barelegged?  Adorable shoes that complement those legs!  Here are the familiar, cute and comfortable shoes that will be my summer weekend staples.

Red Keds Champions--the classic sneaker that evokes childhood memories of tricycling around the neighborhood, endangering life and limb on roller skates, eating hot dogs and ribs at family barbecues, and visiting my grandmother’s cheery little house.  My mom bought me a pair of red Keds when I was a toddler.  She said that the first day I wore them I tottered around all day with a goofy little grin, eyes glued to my sneakers.  Love at first step. 

Silver gray Chuck Taylors--another signature shoe in my wardrobe. Chucks bring out my inner tomboy and are universally cool.  These are the shoes I'll be wearing when I'm 101 years old.

Confidence is Beauty - The Melissa Update

Rock It, Melissa!

Her wide smile is as gorgeous as her new “do.”  Melissa’s a natural beauty at ease with herself.  She has lots of good hair days, and her crowning glory is not tied to a Eurocentric standard.  She has spark, spunk, and exudes confidence. 

Treasures From the Trunk - Melissa D’Agostino

On a recent Saturday I walked into a comfy light-filled apartment on Rittenhouse Square filled with fashion treasures.  Melissa D’Agostino Fashion Textile Design was in the house with a closet full of riches.  Woo-hoo!  The weekend treasure hunt was on!

Melissa D’Agostino is a young Philadelphia designer who crafts one-of-kind pieces using Shibori hand-dyeing techniques and locally sourced materials.  Her dresses make any woman look heartbreakingly, traffic-stoppingly gorgeous. She also features stunning head scarves, wraps that moonlight as curve-hugging skirts, and tunics that don’t make the wearer look as if she’s wearing a slipcover.  The dyes are universally flattering colors from nature.  The collection, as her calling card says, is “a seasonless collection hand dyed and sewn in Philadelphia to celebrate the spirit of our client.”

Melissa’s background is in sculpture; she earned a BA in Sculptural Fine Arts from the Moore College of Art and Design.  She learned to weld before she learned to sew.  She’s warm and talkative, and her enthusiasm for her designs and her customers is infectious.  Check out these pics from the event, check out her website at melissadagostino.com, then try to convince me that you don‘t want one of her pieces! 

Melissa at the Trunk Show

Unknown Guest

Happy Mother's Day!

Betty in the early 1950s

Scratch a little below my surface and you'll find my unforgettable mother, Betty.  She's forever in my heart although she left me 16 years ago.  Happy Mother's Day to my readers and the fabulous mothers in their lives!

A Natural Woman

Melissa at the gym

This post is the first in a series on love affairs between Black women and their natural hair.  Meet Melissa, one of my workout buddies.

Melissa first went natural right after graduating from college in 1986.  “People thought I was disappointed about life after college, but I just didn’t do hair.”  Her sorority sisters kept her hair looking sharp while she was an undergrad. One made her hair swing with chemical relaxers, another was a wizard with scissors, a blow dryer and curling irons. 

When Melissa returned to her southern home town after college her mother said, “She done went to the white people’s school and lost her mind.”  Mom added, “We don’t want to look at your nappy head, you know white people don’t want to look at it either!”  Eventually she caved in to family pressure and straightened her hair.  Melissa then landed a job at a hotel and returned to chemical relaxers.  I’d bet that her co-workers and customers relaxed because she didn’t look like a revolutionary waiting to be televised.

She’s locking her hair now, and describes it is an individual journey with heaps of self-love. It’s a warm relationship between a woman, her hair, and her self-image.  As Melissa will tell you, “You can’t get away from yourself.” 

She admires Nina Simone and Maya Angelou with their striking African features and stunning natural style.  She talks about seeing black as a color of power, and how we need to reorient ourselves to that idea.  (Just think about judges wearing black robes.)  Black is also the color of elegance. (Just think of the LBD.)

Melissa wraps up our conversation about hair by saying, “Originally I cut it because I didn’t want to do anything [to it] but now thirty years later I have to decide what to do with it!”  Sounds like a fabulous challenge!

Skipping the salon also has a nice wallet fattening quality. She laughs and says, “I keep that $110 in my pocket.”

Supreme Beings

Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong

Did you ever belt out “You Keep Me Hanging On” or “Love Child” in the shower?  Maybe you shouted your way through “Stop! In The Name of Love” on a drunken dare at a Karaoke joint?  If you can answer yes to either question and/or you love fashion, you had to see “Come See About Me,” a small but meaty exhibit of The Supremes gowns collected by Mary Wilson. 

The Supremes (nee The Primettes) were the top selling group at Motown in the 1960s.  The six divas (Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, later Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell, and Scherrie Payne) offered the world style and glamour on a magnitude never before seen in popular music. 

In their early days, Ms. Ross, Ms. Ballard, and Ms. Wilson made it a point to choose dresses that were a step up from what the average shopper could buy in the local department stores.  Their popularity rose during the 1960s and their daytime style evolved from modest sweaters and pencil skirts to crocheted mini skirts and thigh-high boots.  Evening/stage wear moved from sleek, elegant gowns to beaded mini dresses and bell-bottomed jumpsuits.  Early Supremes style also featured black wigs teased to a towering six inches.  Maybelline was the fourth Supreme.  Thick winged eyeliner and cheek-dusting lashes added to the girls’ allure and was as important as vocal harmony.

Their early style influences included Sophia Loren, Ruth Brown, Dakota Staton, and Jean Harlow.  Their costumes sprang from the minds from the hottest talent of the era, including designer Michael Travis, a former apprentice of Bob Mackie, choreographer Geoffrey Holder, and Mr. Mackie himself.  The sequin trees were picked clean under their watch.  Magical hands combined yards of velvet and chiffon with barrels of glass beads to create sparkling confections that every Barbie envied.

Many of the gowns on display were worn on 1960s TV variety shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Hollywood Palace," and "The Flip Wilson Show."  The “Butterfly Gown” was designed for the NBC-TV special "TCB" (Taking Care of Business).  Check out the floor-length beaded sheath with a cape in the pic below.


My favorite images from the exhibit include a terrific photo montage featuring Diana Ross in a fierce metallic trench coat with matching boots; a promotional poster from the 1970s of Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong and Jean Terrell in carefully coiffed Afros; and the “Black Diamond Trench Coat” which rode the military style trend of the late 1960s.  This traffic-stopper is made of lustrous black silk and wool with sequin and rhinestone covered buttons.

The 1970s--post Diana Ross--featured bolder Supreme styles such as a deep purple jumpsuit with street sweeper bell bottoms and a snug little bolero jacket.  Gowns featured layers of feathers or pleats that made the wearer look as if she were floating above the floor.  There were cotton candy-colored gowns with an East African motif.

The Supremes were wonderful clothes horses.  They looked exceptional at a time when the world view of black women was one of us wearing rags on our heads and cradling mops.  Their clothes were exquisitely tailored and elegant.  The girls rocked brilliant sapphire suits, sumptuous white fur stoles, and leopard pillbox hats during the day, and shimmered in pearls, satin and exquisite lace onstage.  Yep--they were divas and this exhibit proves it!

Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross

The "Butterfly" Dress

Treasures

Walking on Air

Get Your Motor Runnin’

The reconstructed biker jackets for Fall 2013 that were just featured in the Paris fashion shows are the perfect Easter 2013 accessory for the chilly northeastern United States.  A little leather, a little flannel, long sleeves and zippered pockets to stuff your icy hands into.  What could be more appropriate for a late-arriving spring?

Novel Graphics

One of the hottest trends for spring 2013 is the classic pairing of black and white.  This high impact look is always right, day or night.  This ain’t a delicate floral print or dainty dotted swiss--the trend is a sophisticated, graphically bold statement.  This is style in high definition featuring broad stripes and crisp blocks of contrast. Many of the styles are mod 60s inspired motifs that remind me of Op Art--geometry, positive and negative space given equal prominence, clean lines and shapes.

Keep your accessories minimal but strong if you plan to rock this style.  Consider a structured yellow bag. Go for Vampira-red lip and nails or a retro-inspired geometric bob for the finishing touch.

You can find this look everywhere: H&M and Topshop dresses, Rag and Bone jeans, White House Black Market everything. Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and others marched these looks down the runway, and you can march them right into your closet.