fall fashion

Fall Return to Femininity: The Elegant Hippie

This Summer's quintessential hippie style has evolved into a Fall 2012 return to glamour. Curvy woman are tired of styles that look like a tent. Slender woman want to demonstrate their assets as well. Have YOU been wondering how to wear the soft, billowy trends without loosing your best attributes or drowning in fringe?

Free Form, Shapeless, Fringe-y: Summer 2012 Hippie Style


That's where the 1930s come into the picture.




The truth is that the late 60s/early 70s hippie style wasn't just urban and native American influenced. In fact, the shape of clothing was paying tribute to the beauty of 1930s starlets, from sweeping a-lines, to the sex-pot, high-waisted, man-inspired suits. The exaggeration of the hourglass shape wasn't about pushing up your curves. On the contrary, it was about creating a gorgeous silhouette, starting with the defined shoulder. The 1930s was the birthplace of the hippie, the elegant hippie.  


Dress the Elegant Hippie, based on body type:

For Pear Shaped women: balance your curves by exaggerating the width of your shoulders. Well-constructed pants favor your hips, rather than hide them.
Shoulder Emphasis

Carousel item
Tilda Swinton
Antropologie, Cacoon shape creates width above waist. SHOP IT




Hourglass and Voluptuous Women: emphasize your beautiful sternum and bust-line with fabulous necklines and feminine construction. The boat-neck is a classic. Sexy is the suggestive silouhette of the shape rather than the revealing of it.

Jean Harlow
Subtle, Sexy Modern Boatneck SHOP IT
Figure Phenomenal Boat-neck Sheath Dress SHOP IT



For the tall or long ruler, "boy-shaped woman": bring attention to your waistline. Create a waistline. Also, utilize multi-layered, multi-textured outfits, like no one else can.

1930s Pants

High Waist and Good construction echo 1930s and 1970s. SHOP SIMILATR




For Petite and Short Women: add length to your legs with platform heels and stick to flowing, lengthening shapes that elongate the torso without creating definite lines.


Add caption1930s early platform shoe


The Platform gained more popularity worn on Starlets such as Carmen Miranda in the 1940s.
Style.com Fall 2012 Shopping Guide READ IT














Closet Cleansing 101

If Fall motivates anything in Western New York, it's a good shopping spree. Colors on the trees, feeling the breeze for the first time in months, and of course back-to-school-back-to-the-grind reminders that, alas, summer DIES for good when the seasons change around here. Play time is over. But not for your closet it isn't.



Some pointers for re-addressing the closet as you clean and clear it this fall:

If it's a classic and you have not worn it in a year, ditch it or replace.Classics- things like black dress pants, the little black dress, your husband's dress shoes.

If it's a trend item and you haven't worn it in 3 months, ditch it. Example - a blouse with nontraditional sleeves, a pair of pants with an extra long inseam, something in a color popular only this year.

If you have to ask yourself IF you look good, tell yourself to feel good, or wonder if it's too young for you, ditch it. Life is too short to suffer with image complexes. Wear what feels natural and makes your attributes look like attributes.

If you have 3 or more versions of the same item, ditch the excess. How many blue t-shirts do you need?Keep one plus another for backup.

If you love, love, love it so much that it's pilling, ripped, or faded, replace it asap!


Things to ditch this year:

Mommy Ass Jeans...that's right. Just because some 20-year-old can pull off a 1992 Kate Moss high waist, acid wash denim "retro" trend does NOT mean you can.





Uber Pointy Shoes or early 2000's Chunky Shoes. OUT.




KEEP it IF...

You wear it every week. (Your favorite high heels/dress shoes.)

It's lends itself to layering.(Cardigans, liner tanks or t-shirts...that shirt that never seems to get sweat-stained.)

You always feel good about your body when you wear it. KEEP.

It hangs well and rarely needs to be ironed.