Sunday, July 26, 2015

Site Review: Good Quality Fashions For a Lot Less



Recently, the folks at 10DollarMail contacted me and invited me to experience their website, which specializes in low-cost apparel, shoes, jewelry and accessories for women. In fact, everything on the site is priced at $9.99 or less. I was intrigued and wondered: Is it possible to get good quality fashions at such a low price? After a perusal of the site's merchandise, which includes Plus sizes, I accepted the invitation to review the shopping site. 

To experience the website, I order the Woven Straw Camel Bohemian Shoulder Bag, using a $9.99 gift certificate provided by 10DollarMail. In the summertime, I like to carry a straw bag on the weekends; straw is a casual and fun look. Plus, a big straw bag is handy for shopping, especially at the farms on Long Island's North Fork. To test out the 10DollarMail straw bag, I carried it on a recent trip to Lavender by the Sea, a lavender farm in East Marion (see photos).

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Shopping the Sales: The 3 C's



Editor's note: The winner of the most recent Flattering50 Giveaway is Lori. Lori won a Blu-ray of "Woman In Gold" and a $50 Visa Gift Certificate. Congratulations, Lori! The next Flattering50 Giveaway should be launching in early August 2015.

The semi-annual sales or summer clearance sales may be almost over, but there are still bargains to be found. I wasn't able to shop the sales till this past week and was pleased to find there are still a lot on sale in stores and online. Needless the sale, shopping at the end of the sales season has its advantages and disadvantages. The Disadvantage: You may not find a lot of things in your size. The Advantage: The clothing companies really want to unload their inventory and keep slashing prices. For example, this week, I bought a jean skirt and textured sweater at Gap for less than $20.

As a frugal shopper, I like to have a strategy when shopping the semi-annual or clearance sales. Without a plan, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the racks and racks of garments at reduced prices. While I may find a little something to wear right now (a midsummer pick-me-up), my real goal when shopping the summer sales is to get a head start on fall shopping. To shop for fall pieces now, I follow the 3 C's. That is I look for garments and accessories that are:
Chic
Color trendy
Classic

Friday, July 10, 2015

10 Favorite Quotes by Donna Karan


Photo credit: Christopher Macsurak

If you’re a follower of the fashion scene, you probably read that Donna Karan (above) stepped down as chief designer of her brand last week. LVMH, which has owned the label since 2001, has "suspended" the Donna Karan brand, according to the New York Times. Ms. Karan's other lines, DKI and DKNY, will continue to operate.

Ms. Karan held her first show in 1985. Fashion was a bit rocky in the 80s and early 90s. Whenever I look at old photos of girlfriends and female family members from back then, I inevitably cringe at the big hairdos, the big shoulders and, in general, ill-fitting clothes. In my humble opinion, it was the worst period for fashion in my lifetime.

Part of the problem with fashions in the 80s, I think, stemmed from the increasing numbers of women doing jobs that had been done by men in the past. No one seemed to know how to dress the working woman. I remember wearing boxy navy or grey pinstriped skirt-suits and sensible pumps to work. Cringe. (A girlfriend was told by her employer that she couldn’t wear sling-back pumps because they were "sandals.") Donna Karan designs were a breath of fresh air for women because they made them look and feel feminine and powerful during the day or night. (Scroll down to see Oprah's friend Gayle King in a luscious red Donna Karan gown.) Thank you, Ms. Karan!

Throughout her career, Ms. Karan has been a role model for women of our generation. I’m looking forward to see what she does next. She has been quoted as saying, “If I weren't doing what I'm doing today... I'd be traveling around the world on the back of a motorcycle.” Maybe she will.

For this post, I’m sharing my top 10 favorite quotes (so far) by the designer.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Flattering50 Giveaway: 'Woman in Gold' and $50 Gift Card



Editor's Note: This Giveaway has ended. Thanks to all of you who entered! Look for a new Flattering50 Giveaway in the future.

In “Woman in Gold,” Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, 69, portrays Maria Altmann, a proud Austrian Jewish woman who fled the Nazis during World War II and relocated to California. Upon the death of her sister, Maria takes on a legal battle, with the help from an inexperienced lawyer (Ryan Reynolds), to regain possession of Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” an artwork that was stolen from her family by the Nazis. The painting’s subject, Adele, was Maria’s aunt. Ms. Mirren gives a fabulous performance of a strong older woman who wishes to reclaim her heritage and seek justice.

The folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment would like to give one Flattering50 reader a...
  • Blu-ray of the “Woman in Gold”
  • $50 Visa Gift Card to mark her moment in history.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Top July Sales: Big Savings On Women Clothing



Editor's Note: The July sales have ended, unfortunately. However, there are lots of August sales going on. For links to current sales, visit Top August Sales: Summer Sales and Fall Previews

Where I live, the 5th of July is one of the quietest days of the year. Or, perhaps, it just seems that way after a night filled with endless firework explosion. (A hint of pyrotechnic chemicals still lingered in the air when I woke up this morning!) In an hour or two, however, I suspect the roads around the mall and department stores will be jammed with wise shoppers taking advantage of the Fourth of July weekend sales, which kick off the summer clearance sales.

Spending the day bumping into other people's shopping carts and waiting on long checkout lines, doesn't exactly appeal to me, to say the least.  I much rather turn on my computer and check out the sales virtually. For those of you who feel the same, I've created links to sales at some of my favorite shopping destinations for women over 50. Most of the 'Fourth of July' sales run through July 7th, so there's still plenty of time to look for bargains. Some sales, though, like the 40% sale (above) at Clarks runs straight through till the end of the month. I'll keep updating this post and new sales are advertised. Happy shopping!

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Color Quest: Stepping back from Neutrals



In recent years, the overarching fashion trend has been to ignore safe styling and look for opportunities to add a bit of edge. Women—yes, even women over 50—have been encouraged to “mix things up”—different textures, different prints, different attitudes. This summer, we’re being challenged to shake up the way we use color.