Love It

I am seriously addicted to and in love with Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment. It is the perfect blend of moisturizing chap stick, skin saving spf 15 and sheer rose tinted color. This lip treatment hydrates, repairs and protects lips while also imparting a soft natural pinky-red color. It also soothes chapped lips and helps diminish fine lines. Plus it does all of this without the use of harmful chemicals like petroleum, parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes and phthalates. One swipe and you will be in love too, bye bye boring chapstick and drying matte lipstick! Available at your local Sephora stores and online at www.sephora.com.

Must See

If you are a fan of fashion and more importantly Vogue magazine you will be as excited as I am to see the new documentary “The September Issue” coming out, surprisingly,  this September. “The September Issue” is a behind the scene peek at what went into the making of Vogue’s September 2007 issue, the biggest issue Vogue has ever created, weighing in at five pounds of nothing but fashion. With unprecedented access, this film tells the story of legendary Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and her larger-than-life team of editors creating the issue and ruling the world of fashion. The following trailer will leave you wanting more.

Full Volume-How To Wear A Maxi Dress

I will admit it, I was not a big fan of maxi dresses when they first came out. They just seemed big and unflattering and the name maxi even put me off, like something you see on the side of a feminine hygiene product. But as the thermometer rises and it gets harder to look cool and stylish I have become a convert to the maxi dress.

Yes they are full of volume but if purchased with the correct shape and fit they can be very flattering as well as extremely cool and comfy. They are also very versatile because they can be dressed up and down with accessories you already own. They are perfect for trips and vacations because they are easy to pack and they can pull double duty as an outfit or a swimsuit cover up. Wear it one day with flip flops for sightseeing and another night out with wedges and layered necklaces, they also look great layered with a denim jacket or cardigan.

A few tips to keep in mind while shopping for a maxi dress:

Do Buy a maxi dress in the correct length for your height or get it hemmed, too long dresses look sloppy and cause you to trip.

Avoid gathered waists if you are bulky around the middle and make sure the top fits “the girls” properly, no one wants to see them spilling out nor do you want to spend all day pulling the top up. Make sure the dress skims instead of clings.

Avoid bright, crazy and loud prints, they can make you look heavier, opt for fun graphic or soft floral prints and you can never go wrong with solid colors.

Do accessorize with long layered necklaces, stacks of bangles, hoop earrings, belts or a summer scarf.

Do shop around, great maxi dresses can be found at a wide variety of stores in a range of prices, colors and styles.

Last but not least, please do not wear your maxi dress with cowboy boots, opt for flip flops, gladiator sandals or wedges and use caution when wearing with pumps they just seem too sophisticated for the bohemian look of the maxi dress.

For a great selection of maxi dresses check out www.shopbop.com.

Pair this Juicy Couture maxi dress with yellow bejeweled Mystique flip flips (www.piperlime.com) and colorful Juicy Couture Bangles (www.shop.nordstrom.com).

You can never go wrong with this black strapless maxi dress by Velvet, sleek, slimming and elegant, pair with these purple Seychelles gladiators (www.piperlime.com) and a scattered glass statement making necklace (www.jcrew.com).

Two super cute maxi dresses from Alice + Olivia and Velvet.

The Grass Is Always Greener

Summer is in full swing and this Plenty by Tracy Reese dress is the embodiment of summer fun. The criss-crossed neckline and full skirt are perfect for flirty summer evenings and the soft green color softly whispers bright, lush, cheer. The ethnic, bohemian print is right on trend and will look equally at home with gladiator sandals, sweet flats or sky high peep toe pumps. Available at www.anthropologie.com.

Your Dress Is Ringing

Wow, it seems fashion and technology are merging! As if you aren’t quite feeling connected enough, what with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, e-mail, and constantly ringing cell phones, you can now be alerted via your dress when your cell phone is ringing. Georgie Davis, a british fashion student, created a prototype of a dress that has scales on the right shoulder that light up when the wearer’s cell phone rings.

She designed this dress as part of a school project with mobile phone maker, Sony Ericsson, where they were encouraged to find new ways to incorporate technology into fashion. She designed the dress so she could be aware her phone was ringing in even the noisiest places. I know we have all been there when we could not hear our phone ringing in our purse and this would certainly fix that.

Pop On Over

Coach is moving with the times and releasing a new younger, fresher, more budget friendly line called Poppy on June 26th. “Poppy offers a different attitude that is younger in spirit,” said executive creative director, Reed Krakoff. “It’s playful, with more prints, interesting fabrics and more experimentation.”

Look for bright colored bags, shoes, jewelry and accessories perfect for adding a pop of color to your summer essentials. Pop on over to www.coach.com to get a sneak peek of the new line.

Jimmy Choo at H&M

H&M just announced that their next designer collaboration will be with Jimmy Choo. H&M said Jimmy Choo will unveil its collection in 200 H&M stores on November 14 and it will include shoes, handbags and a women’s clothing line to correspond with the accessories. 

“We adore Jimmy Choo’s shoes and bags,” H&M’s Creative Designer Margareta van den Bosch said, adding it was the first time the company has collaborated with an accessory brand. “I like the way we have worked with clothes to accessorize the shoes and bags rather than the other way around,” she said.

 Jimmy Choo co-founder and President Tamara Mellon said the brand would bring H&M “a sophisticated, fashion forward, accessible and glamorous collection.”

I am a huge fan of all things Jimmy Choo and am beyond excited to see their collaboration with H&M. If only there was an H&M store where I live or if only H&M would move with the times and open an online shopping site!

Never Doubt The Power Of Makeup

One should never doubt the power of makeup, great hair and fashionable clothing, as was evidenced on Oprah on Monday. Oprah’s show was about how to get your sexy back and made over women who were feeling and looking a bit frumpy. The results were beyond spectacular, these women were all beautiful and just needed a little help bringing that back out. Oprah’s team of stylists, make up artists and hair guru Ken Paves worked wonders.

Here were my two favorite makeovers from the show, you can click here to see all the looks. I hope this inspires you to keep striving to look your best and now is the best time to consider giving yourself a mini-makeover.

Before

After

Before

After

Silver Lining

If you only buy one new pair of heels this summer, make it the Calvin Klein Persia. This gold and silver confection of a shoe is elegant yet edgy and will literally go with everything in your closet. The wooden heel gives it a hint of casualness perfect to pair with summer outfits. Available at www.piperlime.com.

Well Made

While on vacation a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of shopping in a Madewell store. Madewell is J Crew’s latest spin off that opened a little over a year ago. Their intent was to create a smaller, well edited line of must have basics which centered around great denim. All of their looks and styles are trendy but still very accessible and wearable. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked in because unfortunately you can not shop from their website, all sales are made through phone orders or at the stores.

Since the line is focused on denim I decided I better try a few pairs on and see if they lived up to the hype. I had the salesperson help me pick out a few styles to try and while she was putting them in a dressing room I was drawn to the racks of super soft colorful tees and immediately started grabbing one of each style and color to try.

I loved every pair of jeans I tried on, the fit and fabric was amazing! You could tell the designers spent a tremendous amount of time getting it right. I would recommend trying a pair of the Rail Straight jeans, the skinny leg is elongating and they sit at the perfect spot on your waist and hips without gaping.

The t-shirts were also wonderful, long in length with flattering necklines and the sleeves were the perfect length, they hit mid upper arm, which is so much more slimming that those silly tees that barely cover your shoulders and make all arms look chunky. They were definitely buy in bulk, wear all the time kind of tees.

Madewell is well worth making a trip to and if you do not have one in your city, visit one that does and make friends with the salesperson so you can call her and have her send you new stuff! Madewell reminds me of what Gap used to be, the perfect spot to fill in the holes in your closet! Check out their website at www.madewell1937.com.