Dressing Well on a Budget

     People with power and money often display their power and wealth in their clothing.    While I generally find ostentatious displays of wealth in clothing, especially wearing large highly visible designer brand logos, to be tasteless, the clothing still conveys power and wealth.  Expensive clothing often looks very good, and lasts well, but this does not mean you cannot dress well on a budget.  With a bit of creativity you can look powerful and interesting and have money left over for important things, like burritos.

Nice clothing is nice and all, but not when it interferes with my Burrito Budget.

     The first step to amassing a solid wardrobe on a tight budget is to examine what you already have.  Take out all of your clothing, your shoes, your accessories, everything that you wear, and try each item on.  There could be great options buried in the back of your closet, or covered by more worn out things you already wear.  Now ask yourself, is the clothing visibly stained, worn, or damaged?  If so, can you repair it?  Can you make it look like it was intentionally torn, worn, or discolored?  If the clothing is visibly damaged and irreparable you will not look powerful in it.  If you are crafty, you can cut it up and use it for some other purpose, if not, use it for cleaning rags.

     What remains in your closet should be in salvageable condition.  Now ask, does this clothing fit?  Will it fit in the future?  Can I find a way to wear it if it does not fit?  Your weight may fluctuate throughout the year, so its fine to keep clothing that fits you appropriately for all seasons.  But don't hold onto something that fit you in middle school, or during your 8th month of pregnancy with triplets.  You won't be that size again.  If the clothing is particularly nice, or used to look good on you, it may be worthwhile to take it to the tailor to have it refitted to you.  If it would cost less to buy a replacement, don't keep it.

     If your clothing is clean and fits you, it will look nicer regardless of what you paid for it.  Now it is time to assess the clothing you actually have to work with.  Do you like this clothing?  Do you feel good in it?  Do you or will you have occasion to wear it?  Can you pair it with a different piece of clothing, or something new to make it look better? If the answer is yes, keep this, if not put it aside with the clothing that does not fit you.  The reason you are doing this is to figure out what you need, and to get you thinking about new ways to work with what you have.  You might not need to buy any new clothing at all.  Do you have enough comfortable clothing for all seasons, for work, special occasions, going out, and everyday wear?  If so, you may just need to combine your clothing in new ways to make it interesting.  If you wear the same shirt, with different pants, and accessories every time you wear it, it won't look or feel the same.

     Once you have gauged  what clothing you have, and how you can wear it, you can start plugging up any holes in your wardrobe.  Before you run off to the store, realize there are many ways to get nice clothing for free.  For more timeless or vintage options, raid your parent's and older relatives' closets.  If they still have old clothing that they no longer wear, or that no longer fits them.   Your relatives will likely be happy to let you have their old clothes.  Do not worry too much about the style, fashion tends to follow a 20 year cycle, so clothing your parents wore, could easily look current today.  For more contemporary stuff, try holding a clothing swap with your friends.  Have everyone bring clothing they no longer want (like that pile of ill fitting clothing you no longer like you put aside a few paragraphs above).  Lay out all of the clothing, and let people take what suits (and fits) them.  You can donate anything that no one wants.  Even if you and your friends are different sizes, this can be a great way to change up your accessories, which are often all you need to transform an outfit.

Remember this jacket and dress?  They were in
my last post, when I discussed spring trends.
You want to know where these current trends came from?
My mom, and my grandmother's closet.

     Now that you have exhausted your options for getting free clothing you can actually start shopping.  The amount you should be willing to spend on something should be proportional to how long you expect it to live.  Buying cheap jeans are not going to save you money if they implode after two washes.  Here are the things to spend or save on:

Spend:

• Basics (Everyday shoes, jeans, versatile shirts, sweaters)
• Dress clothing (Women can get away with cheap dress clothing more easily than men)
• Wintergear 
• Bags and Wallets (you only need 1)
• Belts and Watches (more for men)

Save:

• Workout Clothing (Women you need a good sports bra, you can skip the lululemon leggings)
• Stockings (Nice ones fall apart just like cheap ones do)
• Socks and Underwear
• Accessories
• Anything trendy

     For clothing with a shorter lifespan, explore local flea markets, and thrift stores.  These can be especially good places to find unique accessories.  Some thrift stores are associated with charities, such as Philly Aids Thrift, so you can feel good about the things you purchase.  If you have an average build and a keen eye, you should be able to find clothing in these places.  If you have a less standard build or lack patience, thrift stores and flea markets are not the place to buy major articles of clothing.  It will take some extra effort to find clothing that fits well and is of high quality in these places.  

Even if you can afford new clothing, this place is worth checking out.
You can find anything from clothing, to silverware, to furniture here.

     The next level of clothing store is a consignment store.  These often sell high quality second hand goods. You can find consignment stores that specialize in anything from professional attire to prom dresses.  This is potentially a place to look for accessories.  Visit the more high end ones for blazers and dress pants.  You can find good everyday clothing in ordinary consignment stores, and trendy clothing in some consignment stores designed to sell current fashion.   You can even sell the clothing you no longer want to a consignment store for money, or store credit.  People with non standard builds may have a hard time finding clothing here, but will likely have an easier time here than at a thrift store.

At a consignment store you can put all of that ill fitting, unwanted
clothing to work.  Instead of lazing around in your closet, you can
make it earn money for better clothing at a consignment store.

     Fast fashion stores such as Forever 21 and H&M are great for trend pieces because they are cheap.  The clothing here tends to fall apart, so don't come here for long term wardrobe staples.  Adjusting to trends can be a big drain on your budget because you may need to get all new clothing every season.  Don't waste your money this way.  Get maybe one cheap trendy piece of clothing each season to keep looking current.  If you really like a trend, or it really suits you, consider investing in a nicer piece of clothing for that trend.  You can wear old trends without looking dated as long as you are tactful about it.  If you do not want to buy a new outfit for each new season, you have other ways to keep your look current.  Getting a trendy haircut, a new accessory, or one new color of lipstick or eye makeup is enough to keep your look fresh.  You can also just ignore trends entirely and stick to timeless looks.

This highlow skirt can be worn in many different
ways.  In it's full high low form I can wear it for a
date, or fancy occasion.

If I change my top, hair, and shoes, and add a
scarf, that same skirt that wanted to party
is now ready to do serious things with serious adults.

The highlow skirt has evolved! (I wrapped the long
end in the back around my hip, and tucked it into
my waistband in the front)  Now I can wear this
skirt to a concert, a party, or to glare at strangers.

   For those timeless looks, and basics you should focus more on quality than cost.  These pieces will form the basis of your wardrobe.  You want them to be versatile and last a long time.  If you invest in a quality piece of clothing, you will save more money in the long run than if you repeatedly buy cheap pieces that quickly fall apart.  Investing in quality clothing does not mean buying designer brands, it just means being willing to look outside of standard bargain sources.  Each store and brand of clothing cuts their clothing a little bit differently.  So do a bit of research and find a store or brand known for the quality of their products, that cuts their clothing in a way that suits you.  This will be the source of your basics.  Major holiday sales are a great time to get basics you might not ordinarily be able to afford.  Many trend items will be sold out for the season, but there is no reason to expect to have any difficulty in getting basics during these major sales.

     Basics are simple pieces of clothing that you can wear in many situations.  Many people think of a boring t-shirt and jeans when they think basics.  Basics don't need to be boring or plain, just versatile. They should be a color and cut that suits you.  Some basics worth investing in are dark well fitting jeans, a navy blazer, mid length skirts, and nice sweaters.  For shirts, you want to look for something low key enough for everyday settings, but made of nice enough material that you can dress it up for special occasions.  Any basic you invest in should fit in with the rest of your wardrobe, unless you plan to do a complete overhaul.  You want the new piece to pair well with multiple articles of clothing you already own for a variety of different situations.  That versatility is what will prevent you from needing to buy many different articles of clothing, which will save you money.
 

As promised, I give you Eli, a real boy!
This is a sweater that he wears for many different
situations.  He gets bonus points for having
bought it in a thrift store.

In this picture, Eli and his sweater feel dressy and
ready for mildly formal occasions.

Sometimes Eli wears these pants to be dressy.
Sometimes he wears them to jump out from behind
trees: such versatility.

 
      With any article of clothing you get, the fit contributes largely to how good it looks on you.  So no matter where you get your clothing from, consider the fit, and the cost of altering the clothing when you decide whether or not to purchase it.  Buying cheap clothing that you do not care for, or that does not fit is just a waste of money.  Do not spend money on anything unless you like it, you can get it to fit, and it can contribute to your wardrobe in more than one way.  Now go my friends!  Go off into the World and look interesting and powerful without cutting into your Chipotle budget.

   

Spring Trends

         Winter may still have us in its chilly grasp, but spring is fast approaching.  This means that new spring trends will soon be coming onto the scene.  In theory fashion trends start when designers put out seasonal fashion lines a few months before the clothing is intended to sell.  The clothing that will come into style this spring appeared in fashion shows this past fall.  In the months between when designers show their lines and when actual humans wear said clothing, magazine editors write reports on common themes they noticed across the many designers' runway shows.  The themes that suit the editors' tastes are what get labeled as upcoming trends.  Buyers for major retailers gauge which items they expect will sell well, and purchase these items.  The fabulously wealthy purchase custom made clothing from designers they like.  Celebrities generate hype for a trend by wearing it to high profile events.  By the time the actual season rolls around, the big wigs of the fashion world have already picked their favorite or most marketable trends, invested time and money in convincing ordinary people that these trends are a good idea, and put those trends onto the shelves retailers.  While we the masses do not get to pick trends for each season, we can determine how long these trends last.  This is somewhat like natural selection. Seasonal trends are somewhat random, but only the ones with mass appeal survive.  Clothing that can survive should look good on a wide variety of body types, and be easy or comfortable to wear.  Usually clothing that fails this falls out of favor, and fails to influence future trends.

          New trends do not mean you have to throw out all of your old clothes.  Older trends survive even as new ones come into prominence, and simple staple clothing can always look chic.  You do not need to be a slave to new trends, but you can certainly incorporate the ones you like into your current wardrobe.  I've compiled the most widely predicted trends I could find for spring 2016 below.  Get inspired by the ones you like, and laugh at the ones you find ridiculous.

Women's Clothing Trends

       Victorian Romance

It was 40 degrees outside when I took this picture,
that was a terrible idea.  Please channel your
inner Victorian in a weather-appropriate way

• What is this? High collars, floral print, flowy fabric, delicate ruffles, sheer fabric, lace, and just being very feminine in general.
• The Good: The clothing itself is very pretty.  The concept of Victorian Romance is broad enough that it can manifest in a wide variety of ways.  Sheer and lace have been in style for some time, you likely already have the pieces you need to achieve this look
• The Bad: This can look very old or very heavy if too much of your body is covered in overly ornate fabric
• How to wear it: Contrast the heavier elements of this look with lighter or younger clothing choices.  If you opt for a conservative neckline or length, balance this with lace, or sheer fabric.  If you opt to wear more ornate floral patterns, offset this by showing more skin.  Romantic outfits will pair well with delicate or ornate sparkly accessories.  

      

       Bedroom Clothing as Real World Clothing

This is a slip dress,
now you know.

• What is this?  This trend includes dresses that resemble sexy silky nightgowns or slips.  A slip is usually a simple spaghetti strap silky, lacy or plain fabric undergarment worn under a dress.  They look like plain spaghetti strap dresses.  
• The Good: This is sexy comfortable and will show off your body, if you already own a sexy nightgown, or one of your older relatives has a dress with a detachable slip, you don't need to go buy one of these dresses
• The Bad: You cannot hide a bra with straps under these dresses, you either have to show the straps, go strapless, or go braless.  More generally, you can't hide anything under these dresses, so you can't be uncomfortable with any part of you
• How to wear it: I am suspicious of this trend, it strikes me as difficult to wear and inappropriate for many situations.  If you happen to like this look though, you have a few options.  You can try pairing the dress with a leather or bomber jacket and boots for an edgier look.  For a more bohemian look, try a long matte colored slip dress with lace cutouts, or an interesting pattern and a head wrap.  You can elevate the slip dress by pairing it with a blazer or  sweater and more elegant accessories such as long necklaces.

       Exposed shoulders 

Exposed shoulders let you show
off your guns.

• What is it?  Off the shoulder, halter tops, especially the ones with higher necklines, and shoulder cut outs
• The Good: This can be done in a few different ways, giving you options.  The shoulders are a fairly benign part of the body to expose, making this wearable in a wide variety of environments.  For most women, their shoulders, and the upper part of their chest look nice.  This means many women should feel comfortable wearing some sort of exposed shoulders.
• The Bad:  Your shoulders may get cold.  If you wear something off the shoulders you will need to wear a strapless bra, and some off the shoulder sleeves limit the range of motion of your arms.
• How to wear it: There aren't exactly rules to how to wear this.  Just have fun.

       

      Spanish influence 

You can tell I am cool because I am leaning
against a brick wall

• What is it?  This is actually a set of trends inspired by Spain.  The theme across the 'Spanish' designs appears to be large architectural ruffles, and red, sometimes black and red.  This look tends to be powerful and ornate.
• The Good:  The Spanish inspired concept, similar to the Victorian Romance concept is vague enough to allow different experimentation.  These looks convey power.
• The Bad:   Large ruffles and ornate patterns can quickly overwhelm the body, and look old or costumey.  
• How to wear it:  Try incorporating red and black into your outfits.  A safe place to start is by adding red accents to black and white outfits (lipstick, shoes etc).  You can incorporate many of the other trends, such as off the shoulder, or lace into this one by wearing those trends in red or black.  If you go for a large ruffled skirt or pants, balance it out with a sheer, lace, or more form fitting top.  If you go for a dramatic ruffled top, balance that out with a sleek simple fitted skirt or pair of pants.

      

       Stripes 

Stripes--here to add fun to even the most
ugly of buildings, DRL

• What is it?  I think you know what stripes are.  Pin strips, thick colorful strips, any strips will do.
• The Good: Stripped clothing is easy to find, slimming if you want something slimming, and can draw the eye across your outfit in interesting ways.
• The Bad: Horizontal strips can add weight which many women do not want.
• How to wear it:  For many types of stripes, one's eye will be drawn along the stripes elongating you in the direction of the stripes.   Place stripes along parts of yourself you wish to look longer such as your legs.  That said, don't fear horizontal stripes.  Try mixing stripes with another pattern. For example you could pair a striped shirt with a floral scarf.  Just make sure there is contrast in the scale of the pattern (big stripes and a small pattern, or small stripes and a big pattern) and that the colors pair well.

     

       Shiny things

Same brick wall as before, but I get even more
cool points because I have one foot against
the wall this time.

• What is it? Sequins, metallic fabrics, and anything that sparkles.
• The Good:  Sequins have been in style for a while.  If you like them , you probably already own something sequined.  Sequins and shiny fabric can be very glamorous.  They call attention to you, and whatever parts of you, you happen to like.
• The Bad:   Sequins and shiny fabrics can look cheap and tacky if executed poorly.
• How to wear it:  As always, balance is key.  If you wear shiny, or sequined anything, then that item is the focal point of your outfit.  Keep everything else simple and sleek.  Reflective materials call attention to themselves.  Put shiny material over parts of yourself that you like.  You can achieve a more subtle shine by wearing sequins under lace or sheer fabric.  Since sequin is heavy and eye-catching, sequined clothing should fit you well, or be very well made, baggy sequined clothing won't do anything for you.  Metallic fabric can have beautiful movement, or look very sleek.  Try to wear flowey metallics or very crisp or fitted metallic clothes.

Women's Hair Makeup and Accessory Trends

       Hair

Evidently, this woman is also not me, please ignore
 everything about her except for the shiny thing in
her hair

     

I don't have enough hair to show you what a twist looks like
on my own head, but luckily the internet was here to help.

       As one who tends to lose fights to my hair, I like that many of the hair trends this season are either low maintenance, easy to execute, or take the focus away from how the hair is styled.

• For Long Hair: If you have long hair sleek high ponytails may be the do to try.  For a more glamorous ponytail, use a strand of hair twisted around your hair band to cover it, or cover the hairband with a sparkly decorative hairband.  For an edgier look try braiding said ponytail, or for the less skilled hairstylists out there try a twist.  Whats a twist? Split your ponytail into two chunks, then twist said chunks around each other to the bottom of the ponytail. Done.  Messy, low maintenance up-dos are also coming into style, so if these ponytails are too complicated for your hairdressing skills, you still have options.
• For Short Hair: If you prefer to wear shorter hair, a long choppy bob may be a trend worth trying.  I am a big fan of a choppy bob because your hair is cut to look good in its natural shape.  This cut requires almost no styling to look good.
• For Everyone: Regardless of your hair length, two trends emerged for everyone.  The first is decorative hair pieces, this could be a scarf, a sparkly comb,  or anything interesting you want to shove into your hair.  Not only does this add more accessory options, its a great way to hide a bad hair day.  The second trend is sticking to natural hair textures.  Given that fashion typically defines a very narrow beauty ideal, I am excited that designers want to encourage women to embrace their natural hair texture this year.

       Eye Makeup

While not screamingly obvious, there is indeed
a line of blue eye make up right above my
eye liner

• Many of the makeup trends described below are rather bold.  The eye and lip trends are not intended to be worn together.  Pick one area of your face to be bold with, and go more mild with the rest.
• Blue Eye Makeup:  No need to go overboard here, but a swipe of blue eye shadow can be lovely and dramatic.  If you are not as rediculously pale as I am, consider putting white eye makeup on underneath where you want to blue to go, this will help the blue pop more.  Blue eye make up will pair best with brown eyes as it will make the warm brown color pop in contrast to the blue.  
• Glitter Eye Makeup:   Yes glitter and sparkly things are inescapable this spring.  If you feel daring you can try glittery eye make up in a couple of ways.  one option is to use a slightly sparkly versions of the colors you typically use.  The more noticeable option is to wear a a clean sharp line of dark eyeliner above your eye, perhaps wearing winged eyeliner, and then adding a sharp line of glitter eye liner right above the dark eyeliner line.  
• Bold Mascara and Eyeliner: If glitter and blue eyeliner aren't for you, but you are still interested in this season's makeup trends, you can try just using more, or a more intense mascara than you typically do.

       Lips

This picture not only shows red lips, but you
get a bonus, statement earring (see below)

• Red Lips:  This is good for most women who wear makeup because most of us own red lipstick.  If you do not own any, you will want to find a shade that suits you.  Darker colors tend to make your lips look smaller and brighter ones tend to make your lips look bigger.  If your skin has cool undertones (if the veins in your wrist look blue) then lean toward bluer shades of red.  If you have warm undertones (if the veins in your wrist appear greenish) lean toward more orange shades of red.  

     

       Face

Thanks to the magic of bronzer we can see
what I would look like with a sunkissed face.
Maybe not a sun kiss, maybe just a sun hug,
or polite sun handshake.

• Sunkissed Skin:  This should be a fairly natural look, if you happened to be one who naturally wanders through the dessert and never gets sunburned.  Okay, so this isn't really natural for most people, but you are supposed to pretend it is by keeping the rest of your makeup understated.  To get this look you can expose your skin to the sun by natural means (just wear sunblock). If you cannot tan, like me, use more bronzer, less blush, and more neutral lip and eye makeup to achieve this look.  Just remember not to go crazy with bronzer, your neck is still pale and will look bizarre against a significantly darker face.

       Jewelry

• Statement Earrings:  I really like this idea because earrings can easily be made quirky and interesting.  You can wear mismatching earrings, silly earrings you find at a craft fair, or larger fancy grown up earrings.  No matter what, try to have fun with it.

Men's Clothing Trends

        A quick note on men's fashion.  For a long time men's fashion changed very slowly and was almost entirely ignored by the fashion world.  Because fewer men care about fashion, men's designers tend to either produce very simple clothing that they expect men would be willing to wear, or utterly outrageous clothing that is meant to be art, and never worn.  Today this is starting to change.  Even so, you get a very inconsistent picture of what men's trends will be.  Some sources only report the avant guard trends they seen, while others only report very wearable trends, and there is almost no correlation between the two.  Below is a mix of trends from both types sources.

       1950's Inspired

This was the least offensive bowling shirt I could find.
If you want to see it's uglier cousins just google bowling
shirt

• What is it?  This trend encompasses bowling shirts (loose, pointy collared button down shirts with large vertical stripe patterns), shorter tighter shirts, and high waisted fitted trousers.
• The Good:  The fitted tops provide an opportunity to show off that men don't often get.  The higher waist on the pants can create an illusion of long legs and a slimmer waist.  The bowling shirt is casual and comfortable.
• The Bad: More fitted clothing may not be easy for many men to wear.  Almost all bowling shirts are just ugly. 
• How to wear it:  If you feel like showing off, a slightly fitted collared shirt with high waisted jeans or dark pants should do the trick.  To be a less showy, wear a fitted t-shirt with a leather jacket or blazer over it.  This sill still look sharp but leave you feeling less exposed.  If you are possessed by the need to wear a bowling shirt (can we tell I don't like them?) pick one with an appealing pattern, like light plaid, or wear one open as a jacket with a t-shirt underneath.

      

       Statement Outerwear

Dear Men, please get over your concern that
intricately decorated clothing is too feminine,
your reward will be this jacket.

• What is it? This is a broad category of dramatic outerwear predicted to be stylish this spring.  It encompasses large scarves, suede jackets, and ornately decorated bomber jackets
• The Good:  You can wear something interesting and out there, and still look professional in a conservative environment as long as you take your coat off when inside.  Men's fashion tends to be bland, this is a nice contrast to that.
• The Bad:  Some pieces such as the silky floral bomber jacket may be a bit too feminine for some men to feel comfortable with.
• How to wear it: First remember to wear clothing underneath, these are only jackets.  The large scarf goes well with a plain jacket underneath it.  A suede jacket should look good over most outfits as long as it is not a bizarre color.  An embellished jacket will be the focal point of your outfit.  Simple or distressed jeans will provide nice contrast to the showy jacket.

       

       Floral print

Embellished jackets are just a gateway drug to floral shirts.

• What is it?  Clothing with a floral pattern, or floral details on it.
• The Good:  This is just bright and happy, it can add interesting detail to an otherwise plain outfit.
• The Bad:  Some men may feel uncomfortable in a traditionally feminine print.
• How to wear:  Go for shirts with a subtle floral print, perhaps keeping the colors more muted, or wear clothing with floral details.  Good options are t-shirts with a floral pattern on the sleeves, button downs with an ornate floral pattern on the collar and cuffs, and snap back hats that either have a large floral pattern over the entire hat, or a smaller floral patter under the brim.  The smaller the area with a floral print on it, the smaller you want the pattern on the print to be.

     

         Distressed Jeans

Coming Soon, pictures of actual ordinary
guys in clothing I suggest men wear.

• What is it?  Distressed jeans does not mean unhappy jeans.  Instead they are jeans that are faded, ripped, or otherwise look like you wore them into battle (no bloodstains please)
• The Good: These jeans have a bit of a badass rock n' roll vibe which is always fun to channel.  You don't need to buy new jeans for this look, you can just battle demons in an old pair until the jeans are battle worn.  By battle demons in your old jeans, I mean attack your old jeans with scissors.
• The Bad:  These jeans do not look professional, so it will be difficult to wear these anywhere you are expected to dress up.
• How to wear them:  Wear them for an ordinary day about town.  Pick a pair that fit you like a pair of slim fit not skinny jeans, and that do not expose large chunks of your skin.  Wear these with a graphic t-shirt, and a leather or other trendy jacket.  These will pair well with combat boots or nice sneakers.

       

       White, Green and Gray

But in the mean time, please enjoy these
unrealistically attractive men in clothing
I suggest men wear.

• What is it:  If you weren't sure, white, green, and gray are colors, apparently the key colors for men to wear this season.  They are not meant to be worn all at once, each color can be appreciated individually.
• The Good:  White clothing has a happy summery feel, also it pairs easily with other colors.  Gray is more subdued than white, but pairs just as well with most colors.  Green is less flexible than the other two colors, but you can pair different shades of green together in interesting ways.
• The Bad:   You must learn to coordinate colors (not sure this is such a bad thing).
• How to wear it:   You can start just about any outfit with a crisp white shirt, and just add layers or embellishments as you see fit. A gray shirt or gray pants can also act as a neutral base and pair with just about anything.  You can also layer different shades of gray on top of each other, I would use a lighter gray for an outermost layer.  You can wear a deep green pair of pants to make an outfit more interesting.  You can also wear layers of green, I would keep the outermost most layer subdued, and pair this with a non-green (maybe gray) pair of pants.  Wearing all green will make you look like a leprechaun.

Men's Hair Trends

The pompadour fade, which sounds mildly like a name for a
pretentious character on a children's show.

• You don't need to change your usual hairstyle, but if you were craving a change, or are about to get a hair cut consider trying a cut conducive to some of these looks.
• 1950's hair  That's right, we cannot escape the 1950's as a touchstone for trends this season.  Fifties hair is appearing as a trend in two different ways.  The first is the hard side part--always classy and not terribly difficult to execute.  The second is the pompadour, hair combed back and up from the front of your head (think Elvis hair).  For a more modern take on the pompadour try the pompadour fade.  It's a pompadour on top and a fade on the sides and back.  
• Short Fade If channeling the fifties ins't your thing, a fade to very short hair is also in style.  If you are still confused about what a fade is, it is a cut in which hair is razored down to the skin at the bottom of the sides and the back of your head, and then the length of hair is slowly increased moving up the sides and back.  The hair appears to fade in as you move toward the top of your head.
• Fringes: If you don't want to channel the fifties, and your like having more hair on your head, normal length hair with fringes (hair that hangs over your forehead) is also coming into style this spring.

     

       Well that was a large amount of information.  I hope you get inspired by some of these trends.  Just remember, blindly following fashion trends does not indicate a sense of style.  Instead what looks interesting is incorporating trends you like into your own style.  Now go my friends, and conquer spring fashion!

Impressing Strangers

          I visited Baltimore this past weekend to meet Professors at Johns Hopkins, and to see if the Physics program there was a good fit for me.  While physicists are not renowned for their sense of style, many of my friends and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to dress for these grad school visits.  This led me to look into the fashion advice typically given to people interviewing for jobs.  What I found was sometimes practical and other times positively painful.

 For women  the rules were:

• Dress a step above how you would be expected to dress for a normal day of work
• Wear a suit, or dress, perhaps dress pants and a blazer for more casual jobs
• Do not wear anything too short, or tight, or low cut
• Wear make up, but not noticeable make up
• Do not wear any attention grabbing jewelry
• Do not wear fragrant perfume
• Do not wear very high shoes
• Do not paint your nails a noticeable color
• Your hair should be styled simply, neatly, and come in a human color
• Do not wear anything trendy it will make you look less serious
• Do not give the interviewer any reason to believe you have a body or a personality
• Curl into a ball and die         

For Men the rules were similarly exciting:

• Dress a step above what you would wear to work
• Wear neat, clean clothing, preferably a suit and tie, but maybe a blazer and dress pants
• If you must wear jewelry you may only wear a watch or a ring
• Leather dress shoes are the only footwear option
• Do not wear anything too trendy
• Do not attempt to be unique

         I want to understand how to balance the very restrictive expectations for how one has to dress to impress powerful strangers, with one's personal sense of style.  While it is important to dress in a way appropriate for your meeting with strangers who may control your life, its also important that you go into the situation feeling confident and comfortable.  Looking good in a traditional suit will not help you if you feel terrible.  Your clothing should give you a confidence boost to help you navigate these nerve racking situations.  I would say a reasonable goal is carve out a comfortable place for yourself within the existing rules for dressing to impress powerful strangers.  Think carefully about when to ignore, and when to follow the generic soul sucking fashion advice prescribed for interviews.  Try to introduce one unique element to your outfit--nothing crazy--just enough to remind yourself and your interviewer that you are a real human, and to give something to help them remember you.  

Wearing a top hat and being a dinosaur are not required
for a successful interview outfit.  Still you want to walk in
feeling about as snazzy as this dinosaur.

          When deciding what to wear to meet a powerful stranger, you should always get a sense of what the dress code is in the place you are visiting.  Talk to a human about this.  Dressing professionally means something different on the East Coast than it does on the West Coast, than it does in the South.  You will save yourself the stress of struggling to interpret cryptic terms such as "Business Casual" by calling Human Resources, or your recruiter, or someone connected to the powerful person you intend to meet, and just asking how to dress.  Yes, this requires talking to a real live human, but I assure you, you can do it.  This will give you a starting basis.  If you cannot get this information, lean on the conservative side of what you expect to be appropriate for the situation.  You will not be penalized for being slightly overdressed, but you may be looked down on for being slightly underdressed.

          From this information you can establish a basic idea about what to wear.  For men this is typically at least a blazer and nice pants.  At most this is a black suit.  Because men have limited clothing options, the condition and fit of the clothing become immensely important.  It is perfectly fine if you cannot afford a high quality suit.  If the dress code allows it, you can invest in a nice blazer instead.  If that is still out of budget, take the blazer or suit you already own to the tailor or dry cleaner for cleaning, repair and fitting prior to the interview.  A cheap suit that fits well, and looks tidy will command more respect than a derelict expensive suit.  That said, you should still invest in a wool, silk, or cotton suit if you can afford to do so.  Less expensive suits are polyester, which will require more upkeep to make presentable.  If you do not own a suit or blazer, you can probably find an affordable one at a consignment store, a Men's Warehouse, or by waiting for major holiday sales.

For visiting a grad school, this is about as well as the professors themselves dress.
While the color of the pants may not show in this image, their lovely maroon powers
are the source of personality in this ensemble.

          In any of these cases, you will want to invest your money into the care and tailoring of your suit.  You should be able to move around comfortably.  The sleeves should end a half to quarter inch above your shirt sleeves, and land where your thumb meets your wrist.  The shoulder pads should end at your shoulders.  The bottom of your jacket should land around where your knuckles are when your arms hang straight down.  You should be able to slide your flat hand under the lapels when the top button is fastened, but you should not be able to fit a fist under the lapel without tugging on the buttons.  You may not be able to find a blazer that fits all of these criteria right away, but this should give you some ideas on what to look for.

          With all of this talk about the precise fit of a suit, it can be hard to imagine where the personality fits in.  Unless you are applying for a finance or legal job, you can have some fun with the color of the suit, dress shirt and tie (if you wear a tie).  Instead of a white dress shirt, you can try a pale pink, light blue, or lavender, paired with an optional tie of a darker complimentary color and possibly a simple pattern.  To exude extra personality consider a skinny tie or bow tie.  The skinny tie best suits leaner builds, but can look very fashionable on those who wear them well.  The bow tie is difficult to pull off without resembling a weatherman or college professor (unless that is your goal) and may exude more personality than your interviewer was prepared for.  To make the bow tie work, start with simple patterns or solid colors that compliment or are a similar color to your jacket without matching it identically.  You can wear a blazer and pants of different colors for less formal situations.  As I said last week, nice looking olive or maroon dress pants will make you look unique and put together as long as you match the other colors in your ensemble to your daring pants. If you must wear a suit, navy is likely the best color option.  It is elegant, and looks great on a wide variety of skin tones.  

          You will also want to make sure your shoes are shiny and without signs of wear.  Try to remember to bathe and shave the day you encounter the powerful stranger.  Releasing your man scent in their presence will not impress them.  You can be clean shaven, or wear a closely cropped groomed beard. Your lumberjack beard may hurt you in more conservative environments.  Outside of these you can rock your inner lumberjack as long as said lumberjack keeps his beard clean and neatly kempt.

          Now maybe a neatly kempt face, clean body, well fitting clothing, and shiny shoes don't make you feel confident, even with the possible addition of interesting colors.  Maybe you feel best in crazy patterns, mutton shops, and gym shorts.  In this case you must be sneaky with your personality.  You can wear a fun jacket and colorful patterned scarf right before you walk into meet the powerful stranger, and then remove them before walking in to meet them.  This gives you a chance to have a more funky layer of clothing on that you can remove right before the stranger with a boring sense of style sees you.  The other option is to wear something under your clothing that makes you feel confident, maybe its a silly shirt you can fit under your dress shirt, maybe its a pair of banana boxers, or flamingo socks. In the most conservative environments, I would be cautious about the flamingo socks, as they may look unprofessional if someone spots them.  Regardless of what you wear on top, you can at least have this little bit of secret joy to give you the boost you need.

Your secret weapon for serious interviews

          For women, dressing professionally can be especially restrictive, as looking too feminine can come off as unprofessional.  I find no joy in a pant suit, business appropriate high heels, and straightened natural colored hair.  So in navigating professional clothing I put a large amount of thought into which interview dress rules to follow and which to disregard.  As with men, the most important thing is to look neat.  This could mean executing a slightly unique but subtle style of make up expertly, or aiming for that 'natural' makeup look.  Looking neat means wearing clothing that fits you properly, is free of stains or damage, wearing shoes that are in good condition and arranging your hair into a controlled shape, that will not require you to fuss with it in front of the powerful stranger.  If you do not have money for professional clothing, you can get said clothing from a consignment store, or on sale.  As with men, having clothing in good condition is more important than having high quality clothing.

Have we seen this before?  Yes!  It's my surviving the cold
sweater dress.  It is also my surviving grad school visits
sweater dress.

         For more casual settings a women may impress an interviewer wearing a dress or a blazer and dress pants.  These must be fairly conservative.  The skirt should reach to about your knee, Your top should cover your shoulders and back, and should be neither low cut nor tight.  You can make the dress more interesting by wearing a cowl  neck, a wide neck with a long subtle piece of jewelry, or with an interesting but simple pattern.  If you are opting for a blazer, and pants or a skirt, black pants or a black skirt will give you the most flexibility, but gray and navy are also workable options.  These can be paired a variety of different blazer colors.  The blouse you wear under the blazer should have a conservative cut, but may have more color, or a more interesting but still mature pattern than other pieces of your outfit.  The blouse is not particularly exposed, so you can sneak in some personality here.  Pick a blouse with a color that brings you joy and suits you well.  If this color is very bright, or does not match your jacket, try to find a more toned down version of the color.  Some professional blouses have ruffles or knots.  If you are fond of these, they offer another route for injecting personality into your outfit.  You can also add a colorful scarf over a plain blouse as long as the colors play nice with each other

While adding a scarf over pajamas (as shown here) is rarely
 if ever interview appropriate, you can at least appreciate
what a more formal scarf would look like.

          For more formal encounters you may need a real woman's suit.  You have more freedom to select interesting colors than men do, but navy or black are safe defaults when in doubt.  In these situations you still need the professional blouses described above, though you may want to stick to more conservative colors.  If you opt for a black or navy suit, you have some limited options as to where the personality can sneak in.  You may wear a high quality colorful scarf, or interesting shoes.  Most interview advise suggests that you wear mid to low black closed toed heels.  As someone who needs the extra height, I would  simply disregard this advice, and wear high black heels that I can walk in, or high heels that have a bit of color for less formal settings.   This is one example of how you can decide if the typical advice about dressing for strangers appropriate for you, and if not, how to adapt the look without offending these mysterious beings who seem to have painfully uninteresting fashion sense.

These are interview appropriate heels.  If some fool thinks they
are too high, you can stab them using these same heels to prove
them wrong.

          The key to bending the typical  rules of interview style is to do so, while maintaining the tidy kempt appearance, and choosing your streaks of personality strategically.  Balance out your unorthodox element with more conservative elements elsewhere.  If you find you must wear a suit, and hair and makeup that does not make you feel confident and powerful, there is one last trick you can use.  Like the boys, you can wear a fun overcoat before encountering the powerful stranger.  You can also wear your sexiest undergarments under your suit.  No one will see them, and you get to feel powerful and sexy when wearing something that would have the opposite effect on you otherwise.

I like to sneak my personality in through my shoes.  These deep
red shoes are conservative enough for a less formal meeting
with a powerful stranger, but powerful enough to crush your enemies.

          Remember the most important thing is that you feel like an unstoppable dinosaur when walking into the meeting with a powerful stranger.  Your confidence and comfort will speak for themselves.  That said, you still have to play the game, and dress in a way unoffensive to the interviewer.  So do dress according to the guidelines of the environment you are entering, but don't forget to insert a bit of your own personality into your outfit as well.  Just remember to balance your more rebellious pieces with more traditional pieces elsewhere.  If executed well that scarf or those shoes may be the small token that leaves you feeling unstoppable, and helps your interviewer remember you.

          

Stay Warm Look Cool

          Just when we thought winter would let us off easy, February happened.  And it brought snow, subfreezing temperatures, and wind chill in its wake.  It's easy, especially for someone tiny like myself, to get buried under all of the layers of clothing necessary to stay warm.  It's also easy for someone tiny like me to get very cold very fast.  While the temperature seems to be warming up, winter isn't quite over yet.  Below I have compiled cold tested ways to stay warm without looking like a marshmallow.

          As always I will address the ladies first.  Starting with footwear.  During this time of year the ground is covered in slush, ice and salt.  This will ruin your shoes and be a safety hazard.  That said, I am bored of seeing so many of the same shapeless low heeled below the knee boots.  If you want to be practical and not look like everyone else, I would say to go for festive snow boots, or medium height heeled chunky boots with a rubber soul.  This will look less monotonous while still allowing you to easily navigate the cold.  For those cold days when the ground isn't covered in ice and snow, you can pull out more fun impractical shoes as long as they cover your entire foot, and do not  significantly slow you down.

Boots like these are simple, and practical for navigating
the slush tundra.

          I have noticed slim fitting over the knee boots seem to be emerging as a trend.  If you have these, great, if not, you can easily improvise them.  You can create a very toasty illusion of an over the knee boot by wearing over the knee socks or leg warmers with a matching pair of shoes.  I tested this out with leg warmers and was very very warm.  If you want more color and do not mind breaking your legs up, wear bright color socks or leg warmers to introduce some cheer into the gloomy February weather, just make sure to match the other colors you are wearing to your socks if you do this.

          With overall ensembles you will need many layers to stay warm.  To avoid drowning in clothes, try to only allow visible bulk on your upper or lower body.  If you do both, you will be lost in your clothing.  If you do neither you will freeze.

          I have seen many of you ladies wearing leggings as pants when there is snow on the ground.  Maybe you just hate having feeling in your legs.  Sure leggings can be wonderfully useful when it is freezing outside, but not in place of pants.  When it gets very cold outside I wear leggings or stockings everyday, but never by themselves.  They are a great tool for layering.  As I mentioned above, over the knee boots are currently in style.  Typically people pair these with a large sweater, and short skirt, leaving an enticing slice of thigh exposed.  You will not care how enticing your thighs are if you can't feel them.  I do not suggest leaving any skin you cannot cover with a coat exposed, but you can still get this look.  Instead of leaving your thighs bare, wear a pair of nude stockings or nude leggings, and leg warmers inside of or in place of your over the knee boots.  If you opt to wear stockings, make sure the socks/leg warmers are snug as the stockings will make them slide around.  Another way to layer with leggings is to wear them under a long skirt, dress, or jeans.  No one will see them, but the leggings will allow you to feel wonderfully warm while wearing clothing you typically save for warmer weather.  If your jeans are too tight for leggings. at least add a pair of sheer stockings, every little bit of extra layering helps.

Don't be fooled by what you see here.  I am wearing
leg warmers and stockings to look like I am wearing
boots over my bare legs.  I am much warmer as a result.

          For your torso big comfy sweaters and sweater dresses are your best friend.  A sweater dress will keep you warm, and fit closely to your body, so you can remember you have one after dressing like a marshmallow all winter.  You can always wear a fun bright pair of leggings or most of the leg wear described above with a sweater dress.  Most winter clothing is dark, so don't be afraid to wear bright colors.  You will stand out, and bring some cheer in the face of dreary weather.  The other warm option is a chunky sweater.  This will totally conceal the shape of your torso.  Typically you can balance this out with a tight skirt and form fitting leg wear (it had better be more than just leggings).

This dress has a giant cowl neck (extra loose fabric at
the neck) which gives me many different ways to wear it.
Here is an off the shoulder look.

Here is the dangling cowl look  

Here is the fuzzy jedi look

This is the look for when you don't want to talk
to or look at other humans.

          If you are not a sweater person, you will need to become a layering expert for the sake of your torso.  Start out with a tank top.  Add a well fitting long sleeve shirt, and a cardigan, vest, or giant scarf.  You can perhaps wear the scarf with the cardigan or vest, but please do not wear all three at once.

LAYERS! MORE LAYERS THAN YOUR
BODY CAN HANDLE!  (Disclaimer: Don't actually
wear more layers than your body can handle)

          Notice I said giant scarf.  Put your wimpy sheer scarves away until spring.  Even the scarves that you wear as mere accessories should be substantive (and match your outfit, but that is a given).  This will add a lot of volume to your upper body.  This is best balanced with a fun pair of slim fitting jeans.  If you feel like showing of your upper body, make sure to show skin that a coat will cover.  The exposed midriff, off the shoulder look, and plunging neckline are all very current looks.  You do not need to abandon them because it is cold.  Simply choose one patch of skin, and cover the rest of your body.

With a winter jacket on I was able to comfortably
wear this out when it was 18 degrees outside.
"How is that possible?!" you ask.

SURPRISE ATTACK LEGGINGS (and fuzzy
socks)!  That's how.

          Despite the necessity of practicality to survive the season, winter fashion tends to be quite extravagant.  During this time of year, sequins, fake fur, and anything sparkly are more widely accepted.  So go all out.  Bracelets and necklaces are good to wear in the cold.  Just try to wear them over your clothing.  The metal will get cold quickly, and feel uncomfortable in direct contact with your skin.  Rings make it difficult to wear gloves, and should probably be avoided.  Decorating your hair, or putting in up with sparkly head pieces can be very pretty and feel very feminine when the rest of your body is covered.  If you have long hair, you should probably tie it up in something you can put under a hat.  Otherwise the wind will destroy you.  Speaking of hats, you should definitely have one.  Beanies, embellishehed knit head bands, and berets are both fashionable and warm.  I have found that the cold and the wind irritate my eyes when I have contacts in.  If you need vision correction and own glasses, those are the better option for the cold, they won't dry out your eyes, and offer a small amount of protection.

          If you want to wear makeup in this weather, as with when you go dancing, you must be kind to your skin.  You basically want moisturizing everything.  You want to start with a moisturizing foundation that will not rub onto your scarves and turtlenecks.  You probably do not need much  blush, the cold air will give you a natural flush.  Use a moisturizing lipstick, or better yet a tinted lip balm.  Your lips will thank you.  The wind and cold may make you tear up so waterproof eye makeup will be your friend this season.

These are my sheer scarves.  Why are they over my bed?
They are hibernating until spring.  They are simply too
wimpy to stand up to the cold weather.

          Now gentlemen, it's your turn to be warm!  Much like the ladies, you achieve this by layering.  If you have long underwear, or tight running pants aka man leggings, you can wear these under your pants for an extra layer of warmth.  Heavy jeans, and corduroy pants are probably your warmest options.  Corduroy pants tend to look more put together than jeans.  You can look noticeably interesting if you wear either of these in a deep but less common color such as maroon, olive, or navy.  For your torso a safe default is to wear an undershirt, and an interesting button down, with a sweater over it.  You can make the button down sweater combo more exciting by wearing a button down with an ornate, or at least mildly stimulating,  pattern, and folding the collar of the button down over the sweater.  If you can color coordinate this you  are already beating most men out there.  If you are feeling more adventurous, try wearing a vest, cardigan, or casual blazer.  You can even wear the vest with the cardigan or blazer, or a cardigan/blazer over a sweater button down combo.  The options are endless!  (By which I mean here are at least four options). Now gentlemen, you also wear scarves.  Be like the ladies and retire your lightweight scarves.  Winter calls for MANSCARVES.  Try to wear ones with fun colors or patterns (colorful scarves can be still MANSCARVES as long as they are warm), as most of your winter clothing is likely rather dark and bland. The key to making all of these visible layers work is to pair the colors intelligently.  The image below should help you think about how to pair colors between all of your visible layers.

That's right men! You can wear colors!
Now revel in your new colorful freedom