I hope you  found some luck in finding some great outfits to help you look ten pounds slimmer with my last suggestion.  This second suggestion may sound simple but it can go wrong quite easily.  I’m going to suggest jeans but it’s very important that you follow these key points.

• Buy Stretch Jeans
• Dark colors look slimmer
• No pale or worn areas
• Wrinkles are never good

We have to admit that we aren’t teeny-boppers anymore and the days of laying on the bed with a hanger to zip up our skin tight Jordache jeans is well over. The key to looking chic is not to look stuffed into old jeans that we should have thrown out long ago.  Denim is such a stable in the American woman’s attire that you have to go out and treat yourself to the right pair.

Be sure they are not 100% cotton or many of the issues listed above are sure to come to haunt you.  Wear jeans that have a little stretch in the fabric.  It hugs the body closer without have the bunched up wrinkles at the groin. Now I know you know what I am talking about. lol Choose nice solid dark colored denim. It is not only slimming but you don’t want the worn or bleached out areas that draw the eye to your flaws. Choose a jean with a wider cut leg to draw and imaginary line from the hip to the cuff. Leave the skinny jeans to the bony girls. I hope these tips help you to find the perfect pair of jeans…  and don’t forget to get an extra pair once you do.

HUGS,  Hope

Tip #1 Always look to MA!
No, not your mom…  Monochrome & Accessorize!   The simplest but easiest forgotten tip is choose outfits of one earth tone color from head to toe.  Browns, blues, blacks, even cream or when appropriate white can work for anyone.  The key is to accessorize away from the areas we don’t want attention.  Have a big bottom? A bow, a print scarf, a pendant, or a unique pin are all great ways to pull peoples eyes away from those big hips.  A touch of a pretty print on the hem of a skirt,  with a nice solid top will detract attention from a disproportionate bosom.  By creating a monochromatic look we appear taller and leaner. A sure hit.

Heels.com is running an exclusive coupon for the next couple of weeks. The coupon is for $20 off orders of $50 and up! By using the code HAPPY20 at check out, customers can enjoy the $20 off through 8/28/09. With over 80 women’s brands to choose from like Guess, Jessica Simpson, and L.A.M.B, anyone is sure to find the perfect fit.

I have a secret to share. One of the premiere shops for elegant hosiery in the United States is available Online.  I have personally been a customer of their for 7 years. I can’t say enough good things about the stockings and how they make me feel when I am wearing them. Secrets In Lace is based in Virginia and has a private label that is sought after by the stars and some of the most famous people in the world.  The quality is beyond what you are normally used to seeing and the classic and “classy” style will make you feel like a different woman.

In 1997 they decided to make their  exclusive line available to those of us that weren’t fortunate enough to live nearby. They went online and have made these elegant stockings accessible to everyone. Let me tell you that when you feel these beauties for the first time you will enter a whole new realm.  The stockings feel like you are holding the gossamer wings of a fairy.  When you slide them up your legs your instantly feel sexy.

Secrets In Lace is more than just hosiery.  They have gorgeous lingerie such as garterbelts, girdles, bra, sleepware, slips and more.  Give yourself a treat and take a few minutes to see what they have and tell me you don’t agree.  I have always been a firm believer in nice undergarments. No matter what  you wear on top you feel like more put together when underneath your bra and panty match. I know you know what I’m saying.. lol  Their motto is Keep the Romance Alive ….  I say show yourself some love and do it for you.  Pamper yourself in luxury.

Hugs, Hope

I got word from one of my favorite online stores that Sarah was photographed in their shoes.   These sassy heels come in 4 classy color combos and really make a statement.

So many stars and fashionistas are enjoying a new trend. The Statement Necklace and other Statement jewelry can be seen in all celebrity magzaines and websites. Fun clothes and over sized baubles are making a comeback. Bold and chunky can be worn without looking like your statement is, “I’m playing in mommy’s jewelry box” . My personal style still is to tone down even these large pieces. I’ve never been able to seriously wear the Wilma Flintstone sized “pearls” lol So, these necklaces from Forzieri.com are just right for my taste. They have large prices but are still held together by a classic sterling silver chain.

Poster girl from Fashion Trend Guide gave some great tips for How To Wear – The Statement Necklace. Her first two suggestions were right on target. She says to avoid mixing bold jewelry with prints and to make sure to keep the neckline simple. I think these are key. You don’t want to look like a cacophony of wild animal prints and yard sale finds. Make your necklace look classy by making them the main attraction. For more great tips from her see How To Wear – The Statement Necklace.

Still not sure what I’m talking about. Check out the Accessory Report at WhoWhatWeardaily.com for some examples of stars going bold.

Have fun!
Hope

The summer is bringing out great sales. I keep getting notices of some wonderful deals to pass on to you. This one really caught my eye. How often do you get to buy women’s clothes for just $1 ? Fashion Bug is giving us the opportunity to purchase almost anything from their site for just a dollar. There are no coupons necessary for this great deal. You simply buy one item and then get the lesser item for just a buck. Pretty good huh? The items must be in – stock and there are some brands that didn’t want to participate so be sure to read the details. The biggest thing to watch is your timing. This is a short sale. It’s on now until midnight PT June 8th. So enjoy some at home shopping this weekend and get a great deal to tell your friends about! Follow the link below for details and begin shopping.

Buy One Get One for $1 Sale at Fashion Bug. Sale ends 6.8.08. Shop Now!

By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL

NEW YORK (AP) — Yves Saint Laurent changed the way women dress more than they know.

The Algerian-born designer, who died Sunday at age 71, was the champion of beatnik black, pop-art prints, safari jackets and peasant skirts still fashionable decades later. But his most enduring legacy is so pervasive as to seem almost unremarkable: pants.

Saint Laurent’s elegant pantsuits broke barriers between the sexes, a sartorial revolution that fit a social one and changed the way generations of women dressed.

“For a long time now,” he said upon his retirement in 2002, “I have believed that fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves.”

He was one of the most influential designers during the most important era of Parisian fashion, Christian Dior’s hand-picked successor and a peer to Coco Chanel and Cristobal Balenciaga.

“Every woman in the world, sometimes without even knowing it, has something in her closet inspired by Yves Saint Laurent,” said the American designer Michael Kors. “His genius is irreplaceable.”

Saint Laurent’s signature was taking menswear silhouettes and slimming them down to fit a feminine shape. He may not have been the first to put a woman in a trenchcoat or safari jacket, but “they’re indelibly associated with him because of the spin he gave them for the modern woman,” said Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

“Everyone wanted to be Yves Saint Laurent. He was such an unbelievably gifted man,” Oscar de la Renta said by e-mail. “He was a great innovator and some of his trends, like the smoking suit, are as influential today as when he first designed them. He just had an extraordinary eye for fantasy and every woman wanted to be a part of that world.”

Privately, though, Saint Laurent struggled with depression and drugs.

“You shouldn’t believe Saint Laurent was a happy man,” said close friend and longtime business partner Pierre Berge. “He was unsatisfied, anxious. A man who had trouble achieving what he wanted, out of perfectionism, precisely.”

Berge called Saint Laurent “very, very demanding with himself.”

“The night before a show, he could have the sleeves changed completely — for a millimeter, a millimeter! — and we could work all night in the ateliers until the morning’s presentation. … For him, there was no question of doing things otherwise. It was an imperial, extraordinary kind of perfectionism.”

Saint Laurent became a star in 1958 with the trapeze dress — with narrow shoulders and wide, swinging skirt — in his first solo collection for House of Dior, a year after taking over following Christian Dior’s sudden death.

When Saint Laurent launched his own label in 1962, he understood that within most women lived two styles: the practical one who needed clothes to get things done, and the flirt who needed peek-a-boo tops and minidresses.

The first YSL tuxedo for women (also known as “Le Smoking”) surfaced in 1966, paving the way for future stylish pantsuits. His 1960s’ “chic beatnik” look — black leather jacket, knit turtleneck, high boots — was initially met with bad reviews but became a classic.

Then there were his “art dresses,” such as the minidress printed in bright squares that evoked Piet Mondrian’s geometric works. His peasant-chic “Ballets Russes” collection dazzled Paris, and Saint Laurent also was among the first to mine China and Africa for inspiration.

“He was like Picasso in the way he kept transforming his style, and yet each new one had an incredible impact on fashion,” said FIT’s Steele.

While a master of couture, Saint Laurent also paid great attention to ready-to-wear fashion with his then-groundbreaking Rive Gauche collection, realizing that even some of fashion’s most devoted fans were losing the time and taste for elaborate custom-made clothes.

At the root of it all was a deep affection for women. His mother was an inspiration to him and a fixture at his fashion shows and wore nothing but Yves Saint Laurent designs.

“She was the one I thought of first this morning on learning that he had escaped the suffering of a world that resembled him less and less, to join the pantheon that is his,” designer Christian Lacroix said Monday.

Tributes poured out from fellow designers, including old friend Valentino, who expressed admiration for “his sense of fantasy and his great respect for women and beauty.” Giorgio Armani hoped to remember Saint Laurent as more than “the foremost and truest designer of our time.”

He described a private visit to Saint Laurent’s “museum-like” home in Marrakech. The Italian designer arrived “in a run-down minibus rented from a travel agency wearing shorts and a T-shirt which I could see immediately made him feel somewhat perplexed as he stepped out to greet us in a most elegant pinstriped double-breasted suit.”

“After just half an hour’s conversation however, he was talking to me like you would speak to an old friend taking me into his confidence. Then on saying our goodbyes he urged me to return to see him again soon.”

Saint Laurent’s brand lives on without him. By the time he officially retired in 2002, he had already sold his fashion house to the Gucci Group in 1999. Stefano Pilati is now at the helm of YSL Rive Gauche.

But with his death comes the close of an era — a time when a runway show could send shockwaves across continents.

“It is the end of a certain kind of a designer, the last of the Chanels and Diors, designers with an amazing international impact on fashion,” Steele said.

In part, that’s Saint Laurent’s own doing. He broke so many barriers that few remain; the industry has become more concerned with what sells, following his ready-to-wear influence; and Paris’ star in the fashion world has dimmed under the global influences he embraced.

Pamela Golbin, curator at the Fashion Museum (Musee de la Mode) in Paris, said Paris will always remain a center of fashion, but that something is forever lost without Saint Laurent: “A chapter is closing.”

AP reporters Angela Charlton and Gaelle Faure in Paris contributed to this report.

They are just the right size. Larger than the legendary Fendi baguette they allow you to carry more for a busy day. However, they aren’t so large that they become awkward and heavy. The strap is leather and adjustable so you can’t say it wont fit onto your shoulder comfortably. The signature FF Fendi monogram jacquard fabric is accented by leather trim and is very chic looking.

Best of all is the price. You can search high and low for a bargain designer purse but I can’t find a better deal. Normally this bag sells for $595 but you can have your choice of colors for as little as $209. It’s true but unbelievable you can save $386. lol I can do a lot with $386. (more shopping!) So you see, you can be fashionable. New Customers receive 7% off your first order on all brands including Prada, Fendi, Tod’s and Balenciaga!Give yourself a treat it doesn’t hurt to window shop!

Hugs, Hope