Ahoy There, Nautical

As the warmer weather approaches, more Spring and Summer clothes start to blossom. A theme that has always been noticed to pop up here and there in Spring and Summer is the classy and casual, Nautical.

Nautical colors are usually associated with whites, navy blues, reds and maroons. As well as horizontal stripes on shirts and navy blue and white vertical stripes on pants. Over the past few seasons, many companies have begun playing around with the colors and even how they're worn. 


Classic Nautical: 
A classic nautical outfit is simply a horizontal striped shirt (blue/red with white) and white or khaki pants.  Flats look great with white pants because white makes legs look longer and with heels they may appear freakishly long. To the right is a good way to sport nautical and stay conservative.
For us on a small budget or just love to save, forever21.com has a huge collection of nautical themed clothes as seen to the left.






Dressy Nautical: 
A fancy edge to make nautical clothes pop is a small splash of red or yellow. Red, usually associated with nautical clothes, gives a highlight and is frequently used by designers such as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. To add a larger edge to these stripes a nice gold or yellow really gives a big accent as seen to the right. 




But above all, the best part of the nautical theme are the anchors!
Necklaces, bags and rings all give a summer edge to all kinds of outfits. 

 

5 Rules for Suiting Up

Suits are always sexy 

(Especially on my favorite soccer yummy- Lionel Messi) 

5 Beginning Rules for Suiting Up

Rule number one: Skinny ties are in. Long black skinny ties are back on the rise and slim a man's torso and even give the illusion that he's taller (See left). Who doesn't like a tall and lean man? 

Rule number two: White shirts match any tie. When in doubt match with white. Black and white can be very plain. To spice it up for the less spicy person try a hue of blue or a nice stripped tie.

Rule number three: Shades go well between shirts and ties. Any pale color looks great with a darker version of color. (See right)

 

Rule number four: 

To make things more interesting try a striped shirt. They are not as hard to match as it may seem. Pick a striped shirt and squint. Whatever color pops out is the primary color but when you squint you can see the secondary stripes. That color to be safe should be your tie color. This also works in reverse. If there is a tie you like you can pick the color from the tie to find the shirt. (See left) 

Rule number 5: It's perfectly fine to go black on black and the best part- it looks good on every man. (See right). Bradley Cooper wears the suit without the tie, but even with the black tie the suit is classy and not an eye sore as it's contrary (white on white) is. Black is also extremely slimming.

5 Do's and Don'ts at the Workplace for Men and Women

I constantly find myself walking into professional establishments where the employees are certainly less than professional. Here's a list I composed of what you might think you should wear- but actually wear instead.

Men

Don't wear shirts where chest hair pokes out. Not only is it unsanitary it can be repulsive to customers.
Do wear collared shirts or button downs, they are always classy and give off a professional edge.

Don't let your fingernails grow above the skin of your finger.
Do trim them and clean out underneath-because nothing makes a girl cringe like man nails.

Don't wear flip flops to work. It can actually be annoying to hear the loud flip and flop of the shoes for customers or patients. Also, the same with the fingers- long nails and hairy toes are repulsive.
Do try out boat shoes that are light and comfortable on your feet.

Don't wear sweat pants or sweat shirts to professional jobs.
Do wear them for labor jobs.

Don't wear white socks with black or brown shoes. It sticks out like a sore thumb.
Do wear black, brown or argyle.

Women

Don't wear skirts shorter than three quarters down your thigh. When you bend over, we see all.
Do wear pencil skirts to the knee, its classy and still shows very nice shape in your curves.

Don't wear open toed shoes and pantie hose.
Do wear close toed shoes to eliminate frequent pedicures.

Don't wear thin strapped tank tops.
Do wear thick straps and a cardigan.

Don't wear low pants without a short shirt. Low pants are very comfortable but its not so you can show your mid-drift-it is very unprofessional and unnecessary.
Do wear low pants with a long shirt.

Don't wear heels higher than 4 inches. It is so hard to believe you can wear those heels all day unless you're sitting, and if you are sitting all day-what's the point? Save them for the club.
Do wear heels to make you feel confident but make sure you can walk and express it comfortably.

Foam- for your dome!

The newest in hair coloring: FOAM


Late last year, a hair color company "Samy" had a brilliant idea for people who are constantly covering their grays or changing their style up. This great idea has sparked in sales and has even inspired major companies such as "Nice N' Easy," "John Frieda" and "Paul Mitchell" to copy. 
The great idea?
FOAM hair dye. Easy to apply and less than one-eighth the mess.
Genius.
In only 5 months hundreds of thousands have been sold and leaving the company to expand and sell from salons or hair stores to Walmart, Target and supermarkets across the country.
The product still must be mixed like regular dye to active the color. It comes with gloves and a pump top to excerpt just the right amount to fit in the palm of your hand. When the foam sits on the hair for 5 seconds it melts and spreads much easier than the goopy at home kits or the salon- ensuring more coverage. Application however is said to take the same amount of type (depending on color).


Follow the link to check out the colors of "Samy" brand foam or to learn more about coloring with foam dye. 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for lace!

As if lace wasn't rising in sales this past winter, the Academy Awards confirmed- lace is in. Many of the leading ladies including Mila Kunis, Hailee Steinfield and Scarlet Johanson rocked the lace in various colors. Many believe that lace especially in black has a sexual undertone- I will not pretend that it doesn't sometimes- but it also can be very flattering. Kunis (left) reveals in both her chest and thigh, but the lavender lace makes her skin illuminate absolutely complimenting her complextion. Hailee (middle) is a nice representation of the innocence of lace; the cream color of her skin and the pale pink of her dress make her glow from her bun to her toes. Johanson (right) also wears her lace in a color that compliments her without making her too racey. If her dress had been a more firetruck true red, it would have given off a sexual vibe, but I believe her maroon shows off her assets without making us condemn her as satan.

There are many ways to wear lace off the red carpet

Lauren Conrad (left) wears her lace in white. The best time to wear white lace is Spring; it gives off the vibe of doileys and delecacy. However, LC is from Cali, where she sees a lot of sun. For us in the North East, we should tone down the white for our pale skin and wear more pastels such as pale yellow, pink, purple, green or even a cream. LC's dress is a nice example of how to wear the lace without the judgement. Her dress does not cut down too far and the lace accents her collar bones and shoulders making her look slimmer.

Another great example of lace is Jennifer Hudson (right). She has a nice mixture of silk cream and black lace balancing out sweet and sour. Her lace does not cover her goodies so it stays innocent and flattering. The silk sides flatter and make us oogle at her curves as well as the black lace in the middle visually flattens her tummy.

But lets face it: we're not celebrities or going anywhere fancy- so how do we wear it normally?

The best way to wear lace on a normal day is in a shirt. Lace is also available at cheap prices and should always be bought cheap. Lace does not last forever and no matter how much you spend it will eventually still tear or stretch with wear and wash. For women on a budget the most affordable and fashionable shopping is at Forever 21.

The shirt to the left is a flattering color for any complextion. The baby pink brings out the cheek bones and lips in a flattering way. The shirt is scoop neck and a very comfortable length. The girlish frills at the bottom slim the waist by coming out further. On colder days the best way to wear this is with a nice cardigan especially a black, white, cream, pink or purple. What makes it even better is it has potential to be fancy or casual suiting any daily adventure. It could be worn with a blazer for an interview or out with a motorcycle jacket- whatever your day entails.

To purchase this shirt for $24.80 follow the link to Forever21.com.

Get it while you can- and cheap

Top 3 Things to Buy on Clearance - Now

Christmas has come and gone as a new year is beginning. This is the best time of the year to start scoping out the items you oogled over all winter because they are all marked down. With spring approaching stores are pushing all their old items to the back with the little red tag that makes me swipe my credit card faster than a kid to candy. 


1. Boots. Boots are now marked down to 30-35% off in most big stores. The best part about shopping now is that boots can be worn throughout spring with dresses, skirts, stretchies, jeans, and in some cases even shorts. The unpredictable weather moving from winter into spring gives you the opportunity to wear the boots now instead of having to wait until next year. 


2. Rain Coats. If you remove the lining from the inside, the jacket is not going to smother you with heat. It's a good equivalent to a sweatshirt except it makes you look more sophisticated and formal. And as we know April showers bring May flowers, so it's okay to buy the rain coat in preparation. 


3. Scarves. In many stores now the nice cashmere scarves are up to 50% off- the real ones. Scarves can be worn without a jacket so as we grow near to cooler weather it's easy to keep warm with less layers. 

"Get 'em while the gettin's good!"

Happy shopping

The Answer to Valentine's Day: Shoes.

Why guys should buy shoes for their special someone on V-Day

Fact #1: Women are always self conscious about their weight.
Fact #2: Most men do not know their girlfriends size.
Alas! Do not buy her clothes unless you would like to have a very angry girlfriend. Imagine if you bought clothes for your girl on the most romantic day of the year and she loved them- but they were too small. Do you think she wants to dive into that box of chocolates you bought her? Sounds more like she's going for the tissue box because she thinks she's fat (even though you think she's perfect). On the other side of the spectrum, you try to play it safe and buy a size too big. I hope you brought your helmet because if your girl wears a 4 and you buy her a 10, she's going to be throwing some serious punches.

Over generations jewelry has become one of the most popular Valentine's Day gifts because there is no size to guess. However it can burn a hole in your pocket- very fast. Diamonds, gold and silver are all very nice expressions of your appreciation but what if there was a cheaper way to make your girl feel good? Shoes.  

Women love shoes: that's a fact. 

Fact #3: "While sales of most things have plummeted thanks to the recession, footwear sales have gone up compared to the same period last year" (Cosmo).
Fact #4: Not all shoes are expensive. Stores such as Forever 21 and websites like zappos.com have cute shoes for cheaper prices in this recession.
Fact #5: Shoes make women happy-it's scientifically proven (as if it even had to be).
When women put on shoes it raises their self esteem by the body's release of dopamine (one of the bodies "happy" hormones). It instantly spikes a release of happiness to the woman. As well it also gives women a feeling of power. The actual added height makes women feel more powerful as well as feeling like the sexiest thing alive. What is better than making your woman feel happy and sexy all on Valentine's day? You get to watch her and that happiness rubs off on you.

The goods.

For less than 20 dollars, the shoes to the left from Forever 21 ($17.99 on clearance) will make her drool. The black heel matches almost everything she could wear on Valentines Day (which will probably be red or pink).

But if your girl is more of a brown lover (right) try these, (Forever 21) booties. They have a small heel for a girl that doesn't love the extreme or doesn't want to stand out. ($17.99 clearance).

These are just some of the fabulous shoes for low prices. There are so many out there and Valentine's Day is Monday so get shopping.

Don't know how to get her size in shoes? No problem, try this conversation with her next time:

"Your feet are so small and cute next to my huge feet? How small are they?"

Trust me the mixture of the compliment and question, won't make her think that's what she's getting.

Single?

Shoes still make a woman feel good. SO forget about men and treat yourself to a less-than-$20 pair. You'll thank yourself when you're out with your girlfriends Monday and you feel super confident.