The Illusion of a Lady

I have this phrase I always use with friends- "You have to keep the illusion of a lady!"-meaning that one should always be on their best behavior and put their best self forward when in public. (Yes, this includes sitting straight, shoulders back, and legs crossed). It seems that on the spring runways, designers took my advice by showing lady like ensembles in pastels and 50's inspired frocks.

Take a little mix of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and top it off with a bit of Blair Waldorf and you've got the right look. Designers like Marc Jacobs (for Louis Vuitton), Giambattista Valli, and Miuccia Prada all seemed to take inspiration from decades past with delicate details like lace, modest skirts that fall to the knee and ladylike pencil skirts, and demure blouses. The light and airy easter egg hues also lent themselves to the trend-- pastel pink, sorbet yellow and green seem to be the colors of the season.

Ladylike inspirations (clockwise from top):

Edith Head's Dress for Success, Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polish in Pepto Pink, Prada SS 12 collection, Tocca grapefruit and cucumber hand cream, MZ Wallace Little Alice bag, Ginette_NY mini boy and girl 14 k gold w/ diamond necklaces, Prada SS 12, Dolce Vita suede pump, Louis Vuitton SS 12 collection.

I, for one, am pleased to see the nod to purposeful dressing. I cannot express enough my views on dressing for your career and stage in life, and then there's something to be said for just dressing to express all the right things and keeping some of it a mystery.

What are your thoughts? Too prim and proper or refreshingly sophisticated?

**All photos courtesy of Google images.

A New Level of Shopping

No matter how many clothes I own, I like to always update with a few things each season. The only problem is that I don't take my own advice and get rid of things that I haven't worn in years or more importantly dispose of seasonal, cheap stuff I wore the heck out of and enjoyed but aren't really investment pieces worth taking up coveted real estate space in a closet.

I used to make a few bigger purchases each season and then do some filling in with some trendy, cheaper items. Some great investment items have been my Prada wool trenchcoat, a Katayone Adeli lace dress, a Jil Sander navy wool and cashmere skirt, a Dries van Noten cotton blouse, a Chanel spring tweed jacket and a YSL gray wool tunic. All of these items still remain in my closet and are in full wardrobe rotation at all times (well, except for the Jil Sander skirt which honestly is a tad small...but I am hopeful to fit into it again by next fall/winter!). My favorite "filling" stations back in NYC were Strawberry's, J. Crew, American Apparel, Club Monaco and one season, Bloomingdale's flagship's second floor. I often didn't have much luck at Zara or H&M though I definitely own a few items from both (and based on my advice, should have gotten rid of these items long ago as I don't really wear any of it anymore). The remaining items in my closet are sample sale purchases, gifts from the designers and stuff I bought while on vacation or business trips.

On my current budget, I can't afford to buy the high-ticket items and while I do miss, at times, the beauty of really well-made and well-designed items, I must say that I am really happy to find some very fashionable and inexpensive finds at my not-so-secret retail therapy "boutique." That place is called Target. Have you heard of it?

All joking aside, I really have replaced Prada and Barneys with Target and Kohl's. And I have to say, my wardrobe hasn't really suffered too much from it. The other day I went to Target to check out the new Gaultier collection. Unfortunately, that Target didn't have it so I took to the phone to call around and finally tracked it down to another location closer to my home. Hurray! as I thought about adding a fun, navy and white nautical stripe top or dress or something else to my spring wardrobe. I had heard about a leather motorcycle jacket (for a whopping-for Target $200!) as well as his signature "tattoo/grafitti" patterned items. With full anticipation I entered the Target and....disappointment! Honestly, it was all so bad but I couldn't just leave so I decided to at least try on the navy and white striped dress. As I was making my way to the dressing room, a dress against the wall caught my eye. It was a black tank top style with a long skirt in a shimmery silky taupe with a double stitched cuff-like hem. I loved it but the only ones left were a XL and XXL. Feeling fat these days, I took the XL and thought maybe it would work. Along the way, I grabbed a floral tunic top in lavender and some drawstring cotton sweatpants in a pretty wisteria color. And off I went to the dressing room.

"Disastrous," is all I could sum up for that JPG nautical dress. Maybe on someone who weighed less than 100 pounds. The horizontal stripes, the weird extra material that looks like a diaper and goes between the legs and the totally 100% polyester material = Totally NOT Tubular. More like I looked like a tube.

The Mossimo tank dress, on the other hand, was splendid! Absolutely perfect...except for the size. I had to have it; it was very minimalist and had a Dries-like quality but at a Target price ($24.99)...so on my MUST DO TOMORROW ASAP LIST was stop at one of the other nine hundred Targets in Omaha to track down the dress.

And as already predicted, the floral top and sweatpants were comfy, sweet and definitely something to lounge around in at home on the weekends. And the top paired with a skirt and cardigan could work outside the home as well. (Who am I kidding, I'll be wearing the sweatpants with the shirt with heels and rocking it at the Troc! In comfort!)

Needless to say, I became obsessed with my Mossimo dress and finding it so it became priority numero uno. There were three Targets on my list and I went to the first one and...voila, my dress was hanging on the wall in a S and a M. I grabbed both and en route to the dressing room I found myself in the Liz Lange Maternity section and then the store went quiet. Or, more appropriately, I stood there silently but mumbling in my brain, "I mean, really Alice, c'mon, I mean, can you really? No. ALICE! Really? I know you think you're kind of chubs these days but you can't really shop from the maternity section of Target! But I know, it's really cute. I mean, R-E-A-L-L-Y cute. Looks totally like your Marni khaki cotton trench.
But, really, Alice...it's effing Liz Lange Maternity. Says so on the freaking label on the back of the coat! It just doesn't seem right. But not like you really care..." and with that last thought, I looked around me and stealthily grabbed the Small and Medium and headed off to the dressing room.

"OMG. I love it!" was all I could say but my mind was still in that purgatory known as "I'm not pregnant, can I really get away with buying something from a maternity line?" But it fit, the empire waist was very chic, I loved the belt, the length was perfect and the olive green looked fresh. I tried to look at myself from every angle to see if it looked like there was too much extra fabric in the middle section. And to be honest, it wasn't much different from my own Marni empire-waisted cotton trench in terms of the shape. To me, this Liz Lange Maternity trenchcoat was a winner. And at $39.99 you couldn't beat the price. I finally decided I didn't care that it was maternity and who knows? Maybe one day I will be pregnant and then I will already have something to wear! "SOLD!"

Two for the Road: 10/9/09

Date: 10/9/09

Bag: Prada gold and brown brocade small tote

Shoe: LAMB by Gwen Stefani peep toe bootie in black and brown

Worn with: Badgley Mischka brown faille and tulle skirt, Cynthia Steffe cream cashmere sweater with pearl and crystal bib

I had a cocktail event to attend to that night so I had to wear something a little more dressy to work. I also had a vintage fur stole (that I practically stole for like $40, purchased in Walnut, Iowa) that I wore that evening. The bag is from a trip to Milan (my twice yearly Prada purchase) and the booties are from LAMB and currently in store at Trocadero! They are truly so hot. I love 'em. The skirt was a borrow from James and Mark before an event and the PR Director told me I could keep it. I know you can't see the sweater; but it is a scoop neck and has rows of pearls and a crystal brooch. I bought it on sale somewhere I cannot remember...

Two for the Road: 9/26/09

Date: 9/26/09

Bag: Gucci gray patent satchel

Shoe: Prada brocade d'orsay pumps

Worn with: Simply Vera by Vera Wang white tuxedo ruffle blouse, gray American Apparel gray cotton cardigan, Bottege Veneta silk skirt

It's not a big surprise to hear that the bag was yet another editor's gift from Gucci.

I don't quite recall the season; it was one when gray bags were all the rage (Fall 2005?). The shoes are very old Prada; I think I bought these in Milan along with a brocade skirt and brocade bag. I remember Anna Wintour had a similar Prada brocade skirt. The Bottega Veneta skirt was a sample sale purchase. I think it might have set me back about $50. I know, what a steal. The white blouse is from the Simply Vera line at Kohl's and the skirt is one of my usuals: American Apparel.

Two for the Road: 9/24/09

Date: 9/24/09

Bag: Jimmy Choo Mahala in navy

Shoe: Prada gold snakeskin flat sandals

Worn with: H&M lamé dress, American Apparel cardigan

The Jimmy Choo Mahala bag was a gift from the PR folks pre-fashion week. I love the navy color of the tote; it's definitely one of my favorites from the JC peeps. The funny thing is that they gave me the same bag in turquoise a season later. That bag did not fare the same fate as this beloved navy one; I ended up selling it. The gold Prada sandals are a pair that I purchased one season in Milan. I loved the mini platform and the matte gold material. In the beginning, they gave me terrible blisters and the stiff bottom made walking in the shoe extremely uncomfortable. It's only recently since I've moved to Omaha that I've broken the shoe in and now it is seriously one of my favorites. Really comfy, totally chic and goes with almost anything. It seems like every season I bought something at Prada, whether it was a pair of shoes, an item of clothing, a bag or a small accessory. Back in the day, you would arrive in your hotel room in Milan one night and a white Prada shopping bag would be there waiting for you with your show invite as well as a brand new handbag. Those were the days. Unfortunately many of us (including me) often times would return our gift and get something else in the shop. I think, honestly, that's why they stopped giving us gifts. Could you blame them? Totally rude, really, but then again, it's typical fashion. (Haha.) The dress is a new one from H&M; very retro-Gucci. The cardigan, yup, the same one from American Apparel.

Two for the Road: 9/18/09

Date: 9/18/09

Bag: Miu Miu gray croc print leather with scarf-wrapped handle

Shoe: Prada navy leather loafer with stacked heel

Worn with: C&C black long sleeved cotton top, Fendi navy short sleeve jacket with brown leather self-belt, Mossimo ombre polyester skirt

This is my homage to Miuccia Prada as I am wearing both Miu Miu and Prada accessories today. The bag was one of my purchases from Milan fashion week (I can't recall the season but I am thinking circa September 2005-2006). I loved the ladylike look of the bag and especially loved the scarf-wrapped handle. The colors are totally on point for right now--the gray with teal, navy, brown and tan. I would wear Rescue Beauty Lounge's Under the Stars nail color with this bag. I think the shoes are one of my first Prada sample sale purchases. They have the perfect rounded squared-off toe and chunky heel. I've thought about giving them up some seasons but am always happy to pull them back out of the closet year-in and year-out. The jacket was a bargain sale purchase from a London Fendi shop; I remember getting an unreal deal. And the skirt is something I picked up at Target earlier this year. Coincidentally I got it because it reminded me of old Prada. I can't tell you how many compliments I get on the skirt...every time I wear it. I love telling people it was $19.99 full price. LOVE!