20. April 2010 by admin.

Almost anywhere in the world,  the lessons learned from the financial debacle experience  have more or less helped  shape people’s conservative spending  habits , especially on both luxury and non-luxury items.  One affected  area which may not be  considered indispensable  to some people  is fashion and its related accessories.  However, for fashion die-hards and enthusiasts,   it would almost be unbearable  not to be updated with the fresh trends taking into account the degree of influence fashion mags, runways and the who’s who in fashion have on them.    They will always find ways and means on how to stay on top of the craze come hell or high water!

Spring  and summer seasons are the best times of the year to get out and enjoy frolicking under the sun, having fun with our family and friends.      It  is the time where we want to wear our best summery and breezy clothes and show some  “skins” and feel good about ourselves regardless of age and  body type.   Basically, it is the clothes we pick and wear that would give us that confidence we need, as long as it is glam,  trendy and stylish.    Hey, hey, hey, you might say, but how can I  have glam and  fashionable clothes without spending  thousands of green bucks and ruining my cash flow just to have a complete makeover of my wardrobe?   Well, there is a solution to that.   As I said in my previous blog, a real chic “fashionista”  doesn’t have to be an ardent fashion follower , there’s no need to buy expensive clothes and accessories, instead make an effort to be a trendsetter-  from professional to fun and cool look ! 

So, to be a trendsetter in a tough economy requires someone to be smart and creative.  She is the type of a person  who at a snap of a finger, would be able to determine which outfit is appropriate or not.   However, for those who are not as “savoir-faire” as the rest,  there’s no need to fret about it- as you can simply check your  closet and examine which actually can be utilized and fitting for the season.   For spring and summer time,  you may take out and keep aside black ensemble and those with dull and dark colors and replace it with your existing brighter, bolder, hot, trendy yet cool outfit and accessories which lay still in your wardrobe. 

The Budget-Friendly Tips - Fashion Must Haves

1.    If you’re a dressy person like me,   you may opt to wear clothes with  floral prints and some super cute accents such as ruffles, ribbons and bows .  While 2010 fashion color is turquoise or in shades of blue,   white and pink colors are still preferred by many.  These colors are soothing to the eyes and would reflect an appearance of femininity, youthful innocence, fun and excitement!   It doesn’t have be a pure white or an all pink outfit, it could be matched with a printed or plain  stuff.  I am sure you have some beautiful sun dresses, blouses or skirts in pastel colors of blue,  pink, white, yellow  and some earthy tones with some cute accents  and a touch of flair .  A nautical striped outfit may also be good to look at.     All these form part  of  my existing favorites and wishlists!   A spaghetti sundress with a style on hemline,  an off-shoulder printed dress for office wear and night out,  a chiffon printed blouse  with dainty ruffles,  a weekender  dress  for worship/mall window shopping ,   a tank top and a jogging pants for a lighter moment!

2.    For simpler yet modern style,     capris , workwear denim, ripped  jeans, and wide leg trousers which you may find  in your closet are cool substitutes.  They  can be used during these times of year.  Yes, you’ve  heard it right,  ripped,  torn and peek-a-boo denim shorts and jeans are still in – from last year’s success in the streets- it is here once again!    If you don’t have it and  wouldn’t  want to spend your hard-earned money for ripped jeans but would have wanted  to explore wearing it, you can actually cut up your old jeans and let the fringes from the cut hang. 

3.    A cardigan for a charming spring/summer  dress  for  office wear or a boyfriend jacket  and blazer with sleeves rolled up is super cool, especially for spring and mild summer night.

4.   Check your shoe rack and select one pair for party or social networking gatherings, a pair of work heels, sneakers  or tennis shoes for a brisk walk,  sandals/wedges/ clogs    and flip flops,  that would fit and match most of your clothes. Spring and summer times are just perfect to show off your wow shapely legs and nice neat  toes! 

5.    As an alternative to your large and oversized bags, you may wish to use  your smaller, bright colored trendy bags still hanging in your closet.

6.    Sunglasses  , scarves,  hats  or umbrellas are definitely necessary, especially during warm summer days.

7.    A swimsuit or any related beach apparel for your beach, cruise or weekend getaway.  

8.    Aside from a pearl stud earrings, you can wear chandelier earrings this year.   It is okay to wear chandelier earrings if you’re comfortable with it  as it adds glamour to formal (night out)  or informal outfits (e.g. white shirt and jeans) .   However, if you’re not used to wearing earrings , it is also fine – a simple natural clean look perfectly fits for summer time.   

9.    Go to your  nearest  beauty parlor and have your hair styled. This is an inexpensive way to stay in fashion!

With all these tips  in mind,  you’re now set to go out and show that individuality of yours.   I am sure you will have a brighter, cooler, and trendy spring and summer time!  So, what are you waiting for? Come on,  flaunt  it!

Posted in Fashion | Print | 2 Comments »

13. April 2010 by admin.

Ah,  Fashion! One of my weaknesses – yet luckily I have never been or will never be tagged as a fashion victim despite the loads of clothes in my closet!  Or, is there such a thing?      

First, let’s dissect what fashion victim means as invented  by fashion gurus and as defined in the web.    Encarta World English Dictionary describes a fashion victim as a person   who is overenthusiastic, overzealous or uncritical follower of fashion trends, making the said person vulnerable to the so called “materialism” and “faddishness”.  Oscar de la Renta who apparently first coined the term stated that a person may be a victim of fashion if he is unable to identify commonly recognized  boundaries of style.  On the other hand, Versace  said that a person becomes a fashion victim if he excessively changes  her looks and style from season to season.  

For purposes of discussion,  fashion would refer not only to garments and clothes, but also its related accessories such as bags,  jewelries and footwear  – in effect the entire caboodle of the  fashion industry.

Second,   let’s examine what makes  or what influences someone to be a fashion victim.   There are various factors.  One  is wrong values,  but  the most visible and prominent  is the massive tri media campaign on latest fads and trends specifically aimed at the young, hip and cool teens and tweens (until late 20’s),  also known as the mini fashionistas.   These are the people who may easily be lured by the advertising strategies and techniques used by multinational corporations in the business shown everyday on tv, billboards, posters, fashion magazines, dailies and the like.    These are the people willing to  spend much money just to satiate their wants, following and trying to catch up with the latest trends even if they don’t need it, even if they cant afford it, and forgetting the more important basic needs (e.g. food, education, health, family, spirituality, among others)  in their respective lives.

Using the above explanation as the premise,   let me give you two classic examples I have encountered before wherein greed and vanity made certain people fashion victims.  They were my two pretty dorm mates,   one was a college junior student who was considered as la crème de la crème among her batchmates and another was a young budding urban professional with a promising career in the business world.

The said college student in her late teens can be considered as a certified fashionista.   She  was always the person who was not only “in” as far as fashion is concerned from head to toe but was also a deans lister vying for an honor in her years.       In fact,  most of the students  envied her style of clothing and wished they could also seize the same opportunity.   Little did they know that this student was hooked to a different kind of addiction – a fashion addict.  Since she was simply a student who completely relied from parents for tuition fees and school  related expenses,    she had no choice but to go for the local brands marketed in high end malls.   There was no weekend that she would visit branded stores and wouldn’t  return to the dorm without a shopping bag full of stuffs making her closet full of new and never been worn belongings which had become dated because of the rapid change in fashion craze.   To her, it was happiness when she was able to get something similar to what she saw in latest fashion mags or in tv from showbiz personalities,  but in the long run it turned out  to be a vicious cycle.   In view of her excessive fashion spending,  she could no longer pay her tuition and rent mainly because she used the money elsewhere intended for said expenses.   As a result of this,  her studies were affected and she wasn’t able to graduate and without honors the next  school year because she had to stop, leaving her parents frustrated —only because of her becoming a fashion victim!

On the other hand,   the second case in point  involved   a young urban professional in her late 20s who was obsessed at and used to buying famous designer label dresses, bags and shoes so as “to keep up with the joneses”.  Some of her officemates of her stature were wondering how on earth  could  she afford to buy said stuffs and showoff the same during departmental meetings.      It was found out later from a friend that this  young lady would have to go out of her way befriending older “loaded” men and would entice  them to buy said stuffs for personal gain and satisfaction.   In short, the young lady’s story turned out  to be poignant,  because she was fired from her office for certain valid reasons.   Her budding career went awry in view of her materialistic views and her being a fashion victim!

Oh yes, I can now say that indeed fashion victims in this world do exist.  Not only it has negative impact on peoples lives  but  it is also harmful to self development and professional growth.  It may be acceptable to us consumers to be pampered by fashion retailers with the rapidly changing fashion styles,  but we also have the option on whether or not to oblige with the said spoiling fashion trends.

While I still believe on the significance of fashion particularly in  economic development (e.g. employment generation, tax revenues, etc) and for aesthetic purposes ,  what is more important however is that we should learn how to balance between quality of life and whims and caprices .  Fashion should be regarded as something that would make you feel beautiful, confident and great in what you’re   wearing and can have a huge impact on your performance whether in school or in the workplace.  There’s no need for you to be an  overly devoted fashion buff, strive to be a trendsetter, instead.  In so doing,  you could be a true blue blooded fashionista!

On the other hand,  there are some people who are affluent enough to acquire the latest couture, high avant garde fashioned clothes but they just don’t have the “it” and simply   don’t know how to carry themselves, in that sense they could be considered fashion victims as well!  

THE TIPS

1.    Don’t be a compulsive buyer.  Think twice before wasting money on certain  things  which  are  not so necessary in your daily life.  You can buy the  essentials  and the basics needed in  your fashion wear, just like this one.  

2.    Don’t spend beyond your means.  You’ve learned what happened to the two young ladies as illustrated above.   There are also instances where some groups would be tempted to shop using credit cards and ending up with bills not getting paid.  If worse comes to worst, some people would even go the extent of engaging in shoplifting just to get the latest fad they’re  craving for. This is absolutely a no-no.   One important trait  to nurture in yourself is to be frugal in spending habits.

3. Don’t be disorderly in your personal things.     Scan, clean  and organize   your wardrobe closet so it would be easy to look for things needed on a daily basis.     Mixing  and matching your outfits will make your wardrobe  selection wider.  Allot some time and make yourself available to arrange your clothes and personal necessities according to color, design, type, importance or brands.    You may donate your old clothes to charitable institutions and set aside some which you think are worth keeping and can be used 10 or 20 years later!  Believe me, this is a lesson learned from my own experience!

4. Don’t   dress to impress -  Never  go for couture, designer labeled clothes, avant garde, high street-rip off clothings  if you don’t have the means; if it doesn’t suit you or match your age and personality, even if you’re comfortable wearing it, as the same may only make a bad impression on you.  

5.   Do browse  the helpful tips shown in my previous blog about power dressing (under “Fashion” category).  The said blog  likewise mentioned about several tips which may be useful on how to prevent from being a fashion victim.   Feel free to read the article and I am sure said tips  will be of use to  you too!   

Having said all of the foregoing,  let us learn how to tame our attitude towards fashion  and most importantly let’s  avoid  being a fashion victim.  However,  let us not also forget the importance of fashion which is also a means of expressing ourselves.    

Posted in Fashion | Print | 2 Comments »

8. March 2010 by admin.

My passion for fashion which goes back to childhood days has impacted on  my outlook towards wearing style.   I remember when we were kids, I used to draw and cut out paper dolls and dressed them with colored and designed various styles of clothing made of paper and other materials    which I  could see around the house.  Instead of buying ready made clothes , our mother would at times purchase  clothing materials from a local Chinese merchandise store  and since she had a little knowledge of sewing, she would create dresses during weekends  for her 7 girls   just to keep us up with the trend.  

Through the years,  my passion for fashion has  evolved into different stages  until my first encounter with the term “Power Dressing”.One of my friends introduced me about it  and it was during that time that  I was doubly working hard   on my way up the ladder.   At first,  it sounded intimidating to me until she finally said that actually I was already wearing exactly the said kind of corporate work-wear, based on  her own assessment.  I can vividly recall, it was a  (slightly above the knee)  black pencil rayon skirt, a fuchsia pink long sleeves  blouse with a black accentuated blazer, a cultured pearl necklace and a one-inch high heeled black closed shoes, I was wearing.  We were then on our way to the board room to assist our principals for a high level cabinet meeting.  Confirming what my friend said, one of our male colleagues in the said meeting said to me: “You look great in there”!   That I thought what she called “Power Dressing!”

So, what is power dressing?  I would like to quote some definitions found on the web:

1.    It is a style of clothing intended to make the person seem authoritative and competent, especially in professional settings in business, law and government.  

2.   It is a stylish and expensive clothing style intended to convey the impression of assertiveness and competence.

As can be gleaned from the aforementioned definitions, it appears that power dressing or PD (my newly coined acronym for it) refer to costly  style of clothing predominantly worn by women belonging to the top echelons of the society (e.g. Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, etc.) or by women who in their own style have been able to exude a feeling of power and authority.  These are career clothes or the so-called power suits designed by internationally renowned designers or by your local  wannabe designers.  

But just like my passion for fashion,  PD has likewise evolved since it started in the late 70’s.  There are schools of thoughts from fashion gurus on what PD should be in its modern context.  It seems that the PD has now turned out to be  less formal and with lower maintenance compared to the conventional PD.  The current power dressing is more flexible and modern and it somehow caters to all levels of  workforce and as such  may be good to the entire  manpower complement, both male and female.  

As the experts say, power dressing is all about appearing confident, capable and assertive at work.  To achieve this dressing style,  the following are suggested simple tips on how  to power dress in any work environment:

• Dress professionally – Regardless of your stature in the workplace (whether you are  newly hired,  a rank-and-file, senior staff or part of the management), you have to think of the clothes you need to wear  -  clothes that would reflect your personality in a positive and professional way.  It doesn’t have to be a designer-labeled suit, it can be a dress with a blazer on it.   Another option which I used for office wear is a cardigan sweater to match with some of my sleeveles office clothes, especially during summer and not so busy days.  Never wear tee shirts with jogging pants and sneakers on or with your bermuda shorts with a flat shoes.  Some people can be so at ease with the management and their officemates that they do not care anymore what they wear to the office.  
• Keep it versatile -  Mix and match your core and prized fashion wardrobe with several colored plain shirts or printed blouses to make an impact on your personality.  It also provides you multiple options or choice of clothes to wear on a daily basis.  In my case, I used to have two  very good suits which I normally wear for meetings outside the office.  Sometimes, I would change the inner blouse depending on my mood for the day.
• Ooze that confidence - Be smart and confident. Feel good about yourself and feel comfortable of wearing your office attire whatever form it is. When you’re confident on what you wear, you tend to be more confident in dealing with peers and clients.  
• Keep it simple but chic and stylish - Okay, I would say black ensemble is simple but broaden your spectrum of black, black, black!  I noticed that majority of the women workforce tend to wear black office attire,  not only here in New York but even in the financial districts of major cities in the world.  Some have tried other colors like red, navy, gray  or beige but these colors appear monotonous.  Lighter or pastel colors can be explored to have a fresher look. Keep in mind that color can uplift your spirit and make you more dynamic though the day!  It is all right to add style to your clothes but without weakening professionalism.
• Never dress to impress - Wearing stylish clothes just so to impress your boss or someone is not within the realm of power dressing.  Remember you are in the workplace,   your utmost duty is to be productive, i.e., produce and deliver the needed results.  You are rated according to your work performance, ability and character but not your outfit.  
• Avoid flat shoes and sandals - Shoes with “chunkier” heels, maybe an inch or two can add chic and confidence to yourself.  It makes you literally stand out from the rest, look taller and gives you that feeling of stability and a confident walk.  One reason why I suggest wearing “plumper” shoes is that wearing high heeled stiletto shoes can be a problem to some particulary those using public transport, i.e., walking several blocks just  to get to the bus stop and  to the  office.
• To complete your empowered woman look, you can add accessories to a minimum level coupled with a handbag that would go perfectly well with your dress and shoes. 

Therefore,  as long as you dress appropriately with flair, feel confident about yourself and act professionally (with hardwork and dedication),  then you are set for success!

Incidentally, some of the renowned designers (Dolce and Gabana, D. Versace, Jil Sanders, etc.)  who participated in the 2010 Milan Fashion Week appears to set the stage for the comeback of power dressing, this time with a twist!   Hence, this blog!

Watch out Fashionistas!    

Posted in Fashion | Print | 6 Comments »