03

Jan

Best of the Web: Real Simple

Are you stuck in a style rut? Or have you been warned that you might be a strong contender for What Not to Wear?  If one of your goals for 2012 is to update your look (or FIND a look), then Real Simple is ready to help you Find Your Style Inspiration or  Reenergize Your Signature Style .

If the looks in the articles are not your cup of tea, keep in mind their basic principles: minor tweaks can have a major impact.  Look to icons whose fashion you are drawn to (it helps if they have a similar body type, but if not you can still incorporate aspects of their style that work for your physique or coloring.).  Or try your “opposite”: if you always wear your hair curly, try a sleek blowout.  If you opt for natural makeup, try a bold lip or smoky eye.  If you lean to skirts, try slacks; or slip on kitten heels or slippers instead of towering stilettos.  It’s a new year; try a new YOU!

**And congratulations to S. Curry for winning SCDD’s Commander in Chic  giveaway!**

Image courtesy of Real Simple

14 years ago Short URL 2 Comments

Haute off the Press/The Look

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02

Jan

Amber Rose, Get Your Life

Girl, bye.

You know the situation is dire when I’m quoting Tamar. BOOM!

Amber Rose rang in the new year in what amounts to sheer bedazzled Spanx and support pantyhose.  With a jacket. Why? I don’t know. But I had a strong feeling that when Beyonce brought back leotards some of you were going to take it way, way too far.

Newsflash:  If it’s chilly enough for a jacket, then some type of actual bottom is also in order.  Matter of fact, bottoms are ALWAYS in order.

This is one look that did not need to come into 2012 with us.

Image by Jesse Grant/Bryan Schnitzer/WENN/NPLG Images via YB

14 years ago Short URL Comments

Learn From My Mistakes!

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30

Dec

We Like to Partyyyy

If you’re a bad girl and your friends bad too, you’ll appreciate the party dresses in this post.  Spotted by effortlessly chic SCDD reader J.T. Coates, we recommend you scoop a sparkly mini for this season’s swankiest mixers and cocktail parties.   Check out these versions by French Connection that we adore; the line can be found at Belk/The Summit and at Dillard’s. 

Not sure about baring your legs in nippy temps?  Put on a pair of jet black opaque tights and black bejewelled or satin pumps to keep your gams warm.  The tights  add a monochromatic touch that can soften the flashiness of the dress, plus they lengthen the look of your legs!  Also, because these dresses often have a lot going on, balance your hairstyle, makeup and accessories so you don’t look like a streetwalker.  An oversized bun, a slick ponytail or tousled curls look lovely; add a vampy nail lacquer like this classic from Chanel, nude lips and a smoky eye, and you’re ready to party!

Image courtesy of Google

Don’t forget to enter SCDD’s chic giveaway by 12/31! Comment on 12/21’s post and you could win a copy of Commander in Chic!

14 years ago Short URL Comments

Love That!/Random Acts of Fashion/The Look

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29

Dec

That’s (Not) a Louis Vuitton

I don’t personally condone carrying knockoffs, but if you do, that’s your business. (Here’s how to spot a fake.) I just found it hilarious that Louis Vuitton is suing the makers of the Hangover 2 because of this scene.

14 years ago Short URL Comments

Random Acts of Fashion

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28

Dec

Pack Light

I have a confession to make: I am a bag lady.

A fab one, mind you, but a bag lady nonetheless.  See, I carry my life around in my handbag, and it’s literally weighing me down. (Even Anna Wintour – the editor of Vogue – knows this, per Robin Givhan.)  And I realized recently that all those “what ifs” I was planning for by packing so much unnecessary baggage (sumdgy receipts! socks! reading material! condiments! emergency hair and makeup tools!) never actually happened.  I don’t make resolutions, but I have a definite goal for 2012: free myself, stop the madness and drop all dead weight.  Literally. 

While I love toting a good Speedy or duffel, I’m downsizing to something that will only carry the absolute essentials: this vermillion Coach Classic leather shoulder purse.

Image courtesy of Coach

Don’t forget to enter SCDD’s chic giveaway! Comment on 12/21’s post and you could win a copy of Commander in Chic!

14 years ago Short URL Comments

Shopping is My Cardio

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27

Dec

This is, quite simply, perfection…

This song – sung by the incomparable Sarah Vaughn – is one my grandmother used to sing to me, and it has always reminded me to dream BIG, but to remember that realizing our dreams is often easier than we  imagine.  Sometimes our “castles in the air” are really right under our noses the whole time, waiting for us to step out on faith and grab them.  Sometimes we go around the world in search of something we’ve had all along; launching Same Chic Different Day has brought that home for me. 

As I celebrate SCDD’s 100th post today (!), I want to thank you for reading, for inspiring me and supporting my dream…you all are absolutely fabulous!  It’s been a whirlwind three months, and as SCDD grows I hope it continues to brighten your days with something a little different, a little lagniappe – and a little something chic.

XOXO Alexis

Don’t forget to enter SCDD’s chic giveaway! Comment on 12/21’s post and you could win a copy of Commander in Chic!

14 years ago Short URL 2 Comments

C'est Si Bon/First Person Fabulous

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26

Dec

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. 

 – Coco Chanel

Don’t forget to enter SCDD’s chic giveaway! Comment on 12/21’s post and you could win a copy of Commander in Chic!

14 years ago Short URL Comments

He Said She Said

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23

Dec

Fashion Flashback: The Friendship Bracelet

My short trip down Memory Lane this week paused to remember the summer of 1988, when our babysitter taught me how to make friendship bracelets from embroidery thread. Armed with a safety pin to anchor the bracelet to my jams (come on, you know what jams are), I made as many as my allowance allowed, then my friends and I traded them.  Though I never became very advanced in terms of technique, I could spend hours with my Walkman on, looping and tying to my heart’s content.

Anyway, these updated, blinged out versions by Courtney Prince are way more chic and add a bit of boho glam to an outfit…feel free to purchase me one!

Image copyrighted/owned by Courtney Prince

Don’t forget to enter SCDD’s chic giveaway! Comment on 12/21’s post and you could win a copy of Commander in Chic!

14 years ago Short URL Comments

Love That!/Random Acts of Fashion/Shopping is My Cardio

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22

Dec

A Girl’s Gotta Have it: The Go Cup

Blame it on my birthday this week: I’ve been thinking about all the accessories of my long-over childhood, like that Hello Kitty lunchbag and thermos I just had to have in fourth grade.

I know, I know…how chic can a “go cup” be? But if you’re from the Deep South, you understand its importance-nay, necessity-in adulthood: in the French Quarter you can carry (note: not operate a motorized vehicle with) your drink on the street if you have your beverage of choice in a non-glass container.  And for those of you who don’t indulge, did you know Starbucks gives you 10 cents off your drink order if you bring your own tumbler?

This super cute and festive Prize Ball thermos by Kate Spade ($35) has a party on the outside to match whatever party beverage you prefer to pour inside it!

Speaking of which, if you’re in the vicinity of a New Orleans Original Daiquiri shop or Fat Tuesday, make sure you try the Cajun Eggnog daiquiri! Please indulge responsibly.

14 years ago Short URL Comments

C'est Si Bon/Love That!

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21

Dec

Recommended Reading: Mikki Taylor’s Commander in Chic

From the beautiful photography to the warm commentary to the priceless “Mikki-isms”, this book is a style resource to have at hand.  Celebrating the effortless style of FLOTUS Michelle Obama and jam-packed with Ms. Taylor’s expertise from years as Essence ‘s final-word beauty editor, Commander in Chic was such a great read and wealth of information on building one’s personal style that I couldn’t put it down…it was more like having a one-on-one conversation with a style-savvy friend!

As Ms. Taylor notes, “At the end of the day, style in the broad stroke is about being on purpose.  It’s about being comfortable in your skin and not following the trends but setting them.  Finally, it’s about being your most bold, empowered self and using that awareness to color your world–from your inner and outer beauty to your fashion sensibility, from the love that you share to the hand you lend in service to others.  It’s about showing up ready to stand and deliver and not only looking the part, but being just the woman for the opportunity at hand.  That’s what being a “commander in chic” is all about.  And we, like Michelle Obama, are just the women to do so.”

Whatever your politics are, who can’t agree with that?  Fab ones, I loved this book so much that not only did I purchase one for myself, I’m giving a copy away!  So tell me how you “keep it chic”: how do you express your personal style (and I don’t care if you shop the Salvation Army or Neiman Marcus)?  Leave a comment below between now and December 31,  2011 and a copy could be yours!

14 years ago Short URL 8 Comments

C'est Si Bon/Haute off the Press/Love That!/Reading is FUNdamental (and sexy!)

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