Month: March 2019

Jeans tend to fit me fairly well throughout but in those two areas I still have a hard time finding a pair that fit perfectly. This often means that I will be forced to customize these jeans to work for me. I have three major pairs of shoes that I wear with jeans my converse chucks, black dress loafers and flip flops. Often times if I go with jean that already has a boot cut fit they work for the loafers but I end up dragging my heel under the other shoes. Sometimes this can give you a nice distressed look to the heel of your jean, but on a rainy day it just means frozen feet and disgusting muddy heels on your jeans.

My simple answer is to go with a boot fit jean that doesn’t drag under my heel to much. Then cut the cuffs of the jeans vertically along the inside and outside seam to open the boot cut up further. This cut will look odd at first but after a few washings it will look nice and distressed and ad some personality to your jeans. The other answer is to cut the heel of your jeans out. Be careful when you do this and always cut on the side of caution. Once you cut the fabric away it cannot be put back. This cut will also look strange at first but after washing the jeans it will start to develop a nice distressed look. I always think it is better to cut your jeans specifically to what you needs are. Take the time to decide how to alter your jeans to make the work better for you next time you are looking to buy a pair.

The reason most women think of wearing dress shoes as a sacrifice for the sake of beauty is because 80% of special occasion shoes really are uncomfortable. But since they want to look their best for the prom, wedding or evening banquet, most women will put up with sore feet. You don’t have to, though.

Here are several tips that will help you find the “perfect” evening shoes:

1. All dress shoes have heels. Of course – high heels make your legs look longer and slimmer, make your feet look sexy and force you to keep good posture. However, you don’t have to wear 4-inche heels to get all these benefits. Go for kitten style heels – about 2-inches high. They are more stable and comfortable.
2. Another way to get comfortable heels is to choose wedge-heel shoes. Even if the heel is high, they are easy to walk in and you probably won’t even feel the height. By the way, wedge heels are quite fashionable this year.
3. About 50% of evening shoes are made from fabric but, if you can afford it, always go for genuine leather shoes. Quality leather has an amazing ability to adjust to the shape of your foot and always feels better than synthetics.
4. Get your outfit first and match the shoes to it; don’t do it the other way around. It will be very difficult to find a color that would match perfectly, though, so go for a color that is complementary. Black evening shoes are classic – they work with any dark colored outfit. If your dress is in a pastel color, try ivory shoes; soft, warm ivory usually works better than pure white.
5. Avoid straps; they might be sexy but they’re also a pain.. Instead, choose dress shoes with a longer, enclosed toe. This style always look very elegant.
6. Go for shoes with a soft, cushioned upper lining. A leather lining is preferable. If your perfect shoes have a very hard sole, get cushioned comfort inserts; they’re sticky on one side, for attachment to the sole of your shoe. Most online and traditional shoe stores sell them.
7. Make sure the shoes are your correct size. Shoes that are too small or too big will never feel comfortable on your feet.

In addition to the fact that canvas footwear tends to be more affordable, another big advantage is that they are very easy to maintain and care for. When you first get the shoes you should protect them before wearing them by spraying them with a cloth care spray or starch. If you have are one of those who has sensitive skin you should wear protective gloves when you spray your shoes and be sure to wash your hands good afterwards. If you have asthma or any other respiratory problem always wear a mask and if the spray gets into your eyes or causes your skin any irritation then rinse immediately with lots of water. These are just really common sense items but I didn’t want to neglect them.

Another great thing about these affordable and durable shoes is that you can easily throw them in the washing machine when they are dirty. Be sure to knock off any excessive dirt or mud first and if the shoes are caked in mud then scrub them with a soft brush and water first. You should also remove the laces and either wash them with the footwear, hand wash them or wash them the next time you do a load of laundry. The reason for this is to prevent staining from the eyelets and to get them clean all over. They can also easily be hung on a line to air dry and will last longer if you use this method as opposed to putting in the dryer. The heat from some dryers can actually damage the rubber and adhesives on the shoes.

Let’s face it. A bathing suit doesn’t cover much (some less than others) so we can’t hide behind layers of fabric…or can we?

3 Don’ts For Just About Everyone:

• Boy Shorts or Boy Legs
• String tie halter tops
• The big poofy skirted suits

I had a client who wears a size 2 shopping for a suit and she insisted that she wanted boy shorts because they “covered more.” So I decided to humour her and see if she has learned anything from our months of wardrobe shopping. She tried on the bottoms and let out a yelp. “These are just awful,” she replied. And it is true. They are just awful on just about everyone.

String halter-tops fall into that category as well. Unless you have very pert breasts and not very large ones at that, the string halter is a no-no. That would be followed by the poofy (yes, that is a made-up word) skirts. Many older people will buy them out of modesty, as will heavier women. Please don’t. There are other ways to cover up that won’t make you look like a beached whale.

When shopping for a bathing suit, go to a store that has the tops and bottoms separately if you are buying a two-piece. Many of us are not the same size in both places and a swim suit needs to fit properly.

Speaking of two-pieces, who should be wearing what style? Say “no” to the two pieces if there is flab where there shouldn’t be. OK here we go! Hold on to your swim suit!

7 Simple Rules to Choose a Swim Suit:

1. Choose a color and print that is flattering to your skin tone and body type.
2. To enhance small breasts, use a print on top with a top that ties behind the neck.
3. To minimize large breasts, use a tank style top but use caution. Avoid the uni-breast look.
4. Slim the hips by not having the suit bottom rest on the area you want to minimize.
5. Long torsos will look longer in a one piece. Try a tankini with a little shin showing in the middle to shorten your body.
6. Hide a stomach with a one-piece that has a little gathering at the middle (a bit extra fabric).
7. No waist? Create one with a one piece that is cut out at the sides or that has a sash or belt.

For accessories:

• Flip flops or sandals with a little heel or thickness will make you look less dumpy as you walk.
• Wear a sarong or skirt to cover up your legs if you want modesty or are trying to hide your thighs when not in the water. Choose a print or color that is flattering and tie it in a location that does not emphasize a bad area.
• A cotton gauze or sheer cover up is great for getting from place to place but remember that the sun will go through it. Wear sun block at all times.

We could go on and on about swim wear fashions and styles but the best advice is to go to a specialty store and try on different patterns and styles until you get one that is right for you.

It feels like a conspiracy. Every year, designers come up with new trends that make last winter’s clothing look prehistorical. Yet you know too well this year’s trends wouldn’t last long. Next winter, you’d be shopping again for trendy clothes.

Put a stop to this. At least minimize the damage. Go back to the basics and build a timeless winter wardrobe.

What you need are classics. Clothes that would look great year after year. Start building a brand new wardrobe by going back to the basics. Get clothing that need never go out of style.

In winter, you need jackets and coats as well as thermals, sweaters, long sleeve tops and pants and festive dresses or skirts. You can go for the trendy designs which go out of style very quickly. Trends like the bubble skirt rarely last more than a season. After that, they go back in storage for years. Instead, go for classics. Wool pants and wool skirts in solid neutrals will always be in style. So would a good down jacket. Thermal underwear are clothes you’d wear to death all winter and probably would be able to wear them for many winters to come until you out grow them, or they are all worn out. These are the things you should look for during the year end sales. Clothes that would form the backbone of your timeless winter wardrobe and which you can always wear in future years.

A brand new wardrobe need not be expensive. Not if you time your purchases just right. Instead of buying your winter wear in autumn, wait it out. Go for the year end sales where they clear stocks of winter clothing at discount prices. Then you can afford to get the best quality at the lowest prices. For example, if you long for The North Face jackets, instead of buying them just before winter, buy them after Christmas. That’s when you get discount north face jackets which never go out of style. Quality counts but you can get it for less when your timing is right.

Levi Strauss started to suffer competition from rival companies who wanted a piece of the jeans market in the 1940’s. When these companies realized the jeans market was going to be a very successful one, they moved in with their own products. James Dean gave jeans a new concept by wearing them in movies about teenage rebels in the 1950’s. Because of this association with rebellion, some schools in the United States would not allow students to wear jeans to school. They felt by doing so they were promoting rebellion. This of course ensured the sale of many more pairs of jeans as that is exactly what teenagers wanted!

The world of psychedelic jeans and painted or embroidered jeans evolved during the 60’s and 70’s. The fashion of this period changed the jean styles tremendously by adding a colorful new look. Sales, along with prices, started to soar in the 1980’s when fashion designers began marketing their own style of jeans bearing their own brand label. The jeans that in past years that had been famous for their ruggedness were now synonymous with designer names and high fashion.

The 1990s saw a drop in the popularity level of jeans as the youngsters found carpenter pants and khakis much more fashionable. They opted for something different from what their parents had been wearing. The companies making carpenter pants and khakis flourished in this period. But the makers of jeans did not sit idle; they came up with innovations that looked characteristically different. This appealed to the younger generation and they did go in for some new styles of jeans.

And now in the middle of the 1st decade of the 21st century, jeans are truly back in fashion. As we all know, in the world we live in today, there are millions of different markets selling all types and styles of jeans in a variety of price ranges. Whether you are looking for the designer jeans as a fashion statement or just a pair of jeans that are comfortable and strong enough to work in, there is someone out there making jeans just for you.

1. Retro. Back in the 80s, everybody was into the wool look. The stuffed up L.L. Bean preppy style was “in” and any fan of the 80s teen flicks knows that it was the decade of the wool sweater. All those college films seemed to make their characters sport wool as mandatory attire.
2. Movie Stars. You may have noticed that some of your favorite celebrities have been wearing wool in recent photos. Much like the trucker hat phenomenon of a few years ago, wool sweaters have become cool again (they are in with the “in crowd”) and you can see the trend setters wearing them. Movie stars and general celebrities often start trends which the rest of the population mimics. When its hot with the stars, it quickly becomes hot with the rest of the country (and often the world). Wool clearly is no exception.
3. It never really left. For a certain element of the population, notably skiiers and outdoors people, wool is a simple necessity of life. Wool socks can keep even the coldest of skiiers warm from frigid outside temperatures. Most of us don’t think about this because more than ½ of us live in cities these days and the southern and southwestern cities have become huge population centers. After all, do most of us really want to live in the cold year round? Judging by the demographics and population shift, the answer is clearly no.

The market demand of men’s saddle shoes at that time produced a lot of two-toned colored men’s saddle shoes. Even though there are a lot of men’s casual dress shoes in today’s fashion industry, men’s saddle shoes are still very much available in the market. Today men’s saddle shoes come in many variants. There are athletic men’s saddle shoes for active individuals. For those golf aficionados out there, there are also golf saddle shoes. Waterproof men’s saddle shoes are also out now. And for the casual type, you can always buy saddle oxfords that are popular among executives.

Nowadays, men’s saddle shoes are usually used for golf and sometimes in retro attires.

Most golf saddles have a classic saddle look but with advance features in comfort and support. Most have leather upper with a rounded toe box and its saddle has a contrasting color. Sporty or athletic saddle shoes now have a shock absorbing midsoles and stabilizers. Sporty saddles have superb traction which is another reason why they are popular among golfers. Having a shoe with good traction is crucial when playing golf, especially when swinging or putting.

So if you want to rock and roll, try on the craze footwear that replaced the loafers. After all, saddle shoes are considered as the ultimate All American Shoes. Believe it or not among kids today saddle shoes are coming back in along with bowling shoes. Who would ever think that the shoes our parents wore would be in with our kids? Well, I’m not going to knock it. It’s saved ma a ton of money on shoes just by passing on grandpa’s and picking them up at garage sales!