The Best Money You Will Spend This Season

A classic black cashmere sweater dress. So timeless you will keep it for a lifetime. 
For less than $200:

Cashmere Ribbed Turtleneck Sweater Dress from bluefly.com

The Must-Have, Go-to Dress of All Time

It flatters every body shape and is appropriate at every age. It is perfect for any season and nearly every occasion—you can easily glam it up, or funk it down.

The classic black wrap dress and its various versions (mock wrap, crossover, ruched, empire-waisted, etc...) is a foundation piece for absolutely every wardrobe.

Proving its value as the go-to dress, just about every label and designer offer a version of this classic silhouette, making finding one in your price point easy. 

Julian Wrap Dress at dvf.com for $298US

It would be criminal of me to open this segment with anyone other than The Queen of the Wrap Dress—Miss Diane Von Furstenberg. 

Every woman should own at least one DVF wrap, so this is a perfect place to start. And this little cutie is currently available in the DVF online boutique.

Here is a little charmer I couldn't pass up, great price and is available in diverse colors and styles (short, mid or long sleeve, collarless, various colors). The perfect wardrobe basic:

A great bargain from Lands End for $69.50US

A beautiful high-end silk and gauze version for those with designer tastes and a budget to match:

Gorgeous Rocha's £1,052.59 from net-a-porter

A floaty, elegant Leona Edminston offering:

The Ivy Dress $425AU at Leona Edmiston

And if you already have your collection of black wrap dresses or are simply tired of black (how? HOW is that possible?)—I'm loving the next best thing—charcoal. 

Just delicious. 

Mesop Marle Crossover $149AU at Birdsnest

Make it Yours—Celebrity Fashion Salute

I would be remiss to open this occasional-or-sometimes-but-not-very-often-semi-regular celebrity fashion Make it Yours post with anyone other than the fabulous, Ms Sarah Jessica Parker.

I love the way she works a dress.

The best part is, all of these looks are timeless and completely copyable allowing the flexibility for personal touches to 

make it your own, girl! 

Find these at jcpenney.com

Picture this gorgeous silky number with fab & sexy chunky sky-high wood heels with metal studs. Toss on a trendy faux-fur vest and you are ready to go!

So Fun & Completely Current at americaneagle.com

Fendi's from David Jones can give this  dress the perfect edge

 I would love to don this prettier-than-possible dress with some awesome and unexpected rugged biker ankle boots...or maybe a nice pair of sexy, strappy sandals and an oversized, floppy straw hat?

It's hard to imagine this dress looking any better ever, but different is possible—and good! I'm picturing stiletto-heel black suede boots with a canary yellow cape! Yowza!

Yummy Kate Spade Boots

Affordable Nine West 

Gorgeous Vintage Cape. Photo: weardrobe.com

Love YSL and Fashion as Theater! Maybe not daywear, but I HAD to include it!

Off the Stands—A Monthly Magazine Review

Inaugural Edition—April 2011

InStyle x 2
Madison
Marie Claire
Vogue Australia

Most women are too time poor to flip through even one fashion magazine a month, let alone several. For this reason, I'm welcoming you to the inaugural edition of Off the Stands, a monthly review of four to six fashion magazines currently on the stands. 


As an avid reader, shopper and blogger, I will dig through the information and share reports, trends and highlights. Please email me with recommendations or suggestions on how I might improve this regular DressologyHQ feature.


Lets get started! 

Fabulous DVF

All the publications report the 70s chic trend remains strong with super-wide-leg pants and jumpsuits at the forefront. If there's one thing to be learned....embrace mixed patterns and wild (especially animal) prints! Also evident is the continuing strength of metallics, with an emphasis on gold. Dresses, my personal fave, continue to dominate with longer hemlines making a return.

INSTYLE, March and April 2011 instylemag.com.au

InStyle knows how to present fashion for the every day woman. The very best part of this, is providing readers with website information in the photo credits! How utterly modern! 
MARCH
D Pair camel and gray. Classic, elegant & easy because most of us already own pieces in these colors
D Anoraks as competition to trenches as the (Southern Hemisphere) climate cools
D Significant wedding dress feature for future brides
D Photo shoot with Rose Byrne featuring Marchesa, Mulberry, Alberta Ferretti & Isabel Marant
D A behind-the-scenes Oscar feature with backstage photos—but for last year?

APRIL

Katherine in brogues...and tailored menswear

D Longer hemlines, brogues, khaki urban chic....and tweed? All trends easily embraced

D Don't miss 28 Days of Outfits. Very easy to duplicate adding your own style & using your wardrobe basics

D Loved Transformations an instructional, useful explanation of how to wear key pieces like leggings, pencil skirts & metallic tanks

VOGUE, April 2011 vogue.com.au

I think Vogue needs a facelift or maybe botox, from dry editorial to what feels like a dated format, it just feels tired. Having said that, the beauty of a Vogue photo shoot cannot be beat and they remain Tastemaker HQ.
D Red, black and gold as a new color combination trend
D Eastern-ethnic and Asian influences and tailored, menswear-inspired as hot trends
D Something I've seen nowhere else (go Vogue!) but very wearable is the “doubling-up” of belts, scarves & even purses. 
D An entire photo shoot of dresses. Gucci, Stella, Bally.....beautiful dresses as art!
D Opening of a new Hermes boutique in Paris in a disused art deco swimming pool

MARIE CLAIRE, April 2011 marieclaire.com.au

Always appreciate MC including brands like Witchery, Country Road and David Lawrence in their photo shoots bringin' it for us common folk! Their tagline is 100% truthful: Celebrating style and substance. Great features as always.
D  If you’re a Kylie fan, RUN, don’t walk to the photo feature with Dolce & Gabbana 
D  Heaps of dresses & jumpsuits reinforcing the 70s vibe with high waists & fringe
D Love the 101 Ideas section which provide inspiration for every day dressing
DOut of all the Runway Reports, they did it best. Interesting, fun & accessible

MADISON, April 2011 madisonmag.com.au

I’ll admit, the photo feature with fashion photog Ben Baker kept me busy. The boy is from Adelaide....so he has my heart.  
D Accessory report includes impressive statement shoes, belts & bags from affordable to designer & in between
D Love Cheap Chic for outfit ideas you can actually go out and buy
D  Trend report  featuring berry as the new fall color and colorblocking madness
D  One-page feature on Bally of Switzerland? I heart those guys. 

TOP 7 REASONS to Put Makeup on and Fix Your Hair Before Leaving the House Even if You are Just Picking up the Kids from School or Going to the Store for Eggs and Milk

1. If you don’t look in the mirror this will be the day you have something big and green stuck on your front tooth.

2. You will run into your former hairdresser and he/she thinks (or says): "HA! I knew you’d be nothing without me!"

Proof that even the most beautiful women benefit from a little help...

3. You will see people you haven’t seen in years—and they will look great. You will never see them again to prove that you too can look great. Really you can...


4. Security will follow your unkempt self, because you are absolutely a shoplifting threat. 

Jessica Alba, still beautiful, just better with product.

5. It’s the first day of the rest of your life and first impressions count!


6. The rip in your sweat pants grows in proportion to the importance of the person, or persons, you see.


7. The stain on your T-shirt grows in proportion to the importance of your need to be taken seriously.

Much prefer the glam-Pam...or do we?

Inspired by earlier post, “My anti-style Moment Parts 1 & 2

BookVu: Fifty Dresses that Changed the World

The Design Museum

Publisher: Conran Octopus Ltd, London 

106 pages

Go ahead—judge this book by its cover. The color, the font, the title, the simplicity, the Breakfast at Tiffany’s wonderment of it all. 

Put Katherine Hepburn in a tiara on a striking mustard background and who wouldn’t judge?

This book is delicious. It beautifully outlines 50 dresses that made a “substantial impact in the world of design.” And it does this well. The people at Design Museum know their stuff and readers are bound to learn a thing or two (unless you’re a costume historian or professional Dressologist).

We’re not talking universe-altering-atom-splitting-curing-hunger-world-peacifying stuff, we’re talking dresses. 

But they are amazing dresses that created long-standing trends in women’s fashion. The 50 Fabulous Frocks reflected the politics of the day and put designers on the map. You will likely guess a couple of the creations that make the cut, but you may be surprised by others. I think Betsey Johnson is notably and unforgivably absent, but nobody asked me...

Zandra Rhodes. Photo: myfashionlife.com

Design Museum gives a short explanation for each selection. But it’s a somewhat text-booky read.  I wish they would’ve hired a writer to snazzify the copy to suit the beauty of the dresses and photos. But all is forgiven, Design Museum.

Go forth, if you love fashion, art, design, style, picture books, or mini coffee table books, it’s a very pretty text book. It’s worth spending the $$$ if in the industry or a crazy hobbyist. Otherwise, a quick flip through will do the job nicely.

I Gotta Girl-Crush on Jessica Biel

I really do think she's one of the most gorgeous women.

Making it relevant, I love how she makes an ordinary pair of white jeans look extraordinary:

Photo: otte-a-tete.blogspot.com in MiH Jeans

My fascination with the dress—and how to wear it well—continues:

The girl does have a thing for the classics. 

Black, cream or black-and-cream. 
If in doubt, this is a surefire, go-to elegant look.