Tip Tuesday #10- How to Feel Blue (In a Good Way)

What better way to start talking spring trends than amidst a snow and ice storm!! Pretty much sounds right based on the winter we've been having… 

Looking at the calendar, spring will be here in a few days and even though Mother Nature may not have gotten the memo, that doesn't mean you can’t start dressing for spring. 

Blue is a hot color this spring and it’s perfect for these transition months. Red carpets were adorned with blues and the term “Blue is the new Black” was mentioned many times during this year’s SAG awards. Stores a chock full of all shades of blues- from cobalt to navy to pastel blue. It’s good to be blue- in a happy, fun sort of way. :)

Today’s tip- Here’s how you can very easily incorporate blue in some of this season’s top trends. Along with some inspirational looks to get those creative styling juices going.

Nautical- Nautical looks are hot this year. Anchors, boats and the classic Brenton stripe are adoring any garment and accessory this season. The true navy color is perfect for this transitional time of year. Add some gold accessories navy and white for a bit of pizzazz. 

Denim- Head to toe denim / chambray is still a look that’s going strong. Go casual or dressy with this versatile “blue look”. Add in pops of red, pink or leopard print to break up the blue a bit.

Athletic Inspired- Athletic inspired looks are a huge trend for this spring. Wear blue athletic inspired dresses, bomber jackets or skirts for some fun spring looks.

What are some ways that you wear blue?

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Tip Tuesday #9-What to Wear When You Find Yourself Working From Home

Today's Tip Tuesday a bit unplanned... When I found myself home today with a sick little one I decided to set aside that tip I had originally planned for today and blog about tips on what to wear when you find yourself working from home with a sick little one... We've all been there, your kid gets sick, and you can't send them to school or daycare so you end up staying home from work and your day turns upside down...

While I was able to move some things around, I do have 2 Skype calls that can't be cancelled. So what's a Mama to wear when she's gotta be professional enough for business calls and casual enough to pick up tissues and offer hugs all day. Well, there are quite a few ways to do this. My outfit of choice today- Casual waistband pants, with a pastel sweater and statement necklace (that I'll put on at the time of my call and remove when tissue duty starts again). And since my client can only see me from the waist up I'll be leaving on my warm furry slippers. (I hope my client's not reading this...)

Some quick tips on what to wear when you're working from home with a sick kid:

1. Machine washable- Kids =  germs (sick or not). Therefore, you want to be able to throw all the germy clothes in the wash. And yes, there are lots of work wear clothing that is machine washable. 
2. Accessorize- I know I may sound like a broken record with this one, but accessories help. Throw on a scarf, necklace, earrings etc when it's time to work. Even if you don't have to interact with anyone and it's just you and your laptop. It's a good idea to get a little professional when it's time to work. When you're dressed in work attire you feel like you're in work mode as opposed to tissue picker upper mode. 
3. Comfortable- You're home after all, why not be comfy. The fabulous thing is this season the trends are all pointing to comfort- from easier fitting boyfriend jeans to stretch pants and baggier boxy tops. 

What's you're outfit of choice when you're stuck working from home?

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Tip Tuesday #7- Know When to Shop for the Best Deals

It's now the end of January and the Holidays are officially over and with it goes the frenzy of sales. Sort of... While Black Friday and 12/26 sales are behind us, that doesn't mean you can't get a good deal, so don't think you now have to buy everything at full price. As a matter of fact, unless you're buying a very high end luxury item, specific brand, or need something in a pinch (there are even exceptions to all this) you should never buy anything at full price. Having worked in the retail industry for umpteen years, trust me when I say, save your money, you can always get a deal!!

Here's a chart outlining the best times to shop for certain items. 

January- Stores need to make room for spring goods so the mad dash to get rid of anything winter is on. You'll find very deep discounts on winter items- boots, coats, scarves, gloves etc. I will say, at this point it's all been picked over but, you can definitely find some great deals on winter items.

February- Spring goods start hitting stores and it's a slow time for sales. But, now is your chance to browse all the new spring looks and note down what you want to buy when the sales start. If you're in the NYC area, during this "down time", why not  go out and catch a Broadway play. It's "off season"  and you can get a really good deal on theater tickets now.

March- Planning on travelling for spring break and realize your suitcases have seen better times? Well, you're in luck, because it happens to be the best time to get a great deal on luggage. Also, some of that spring merchandise will start going on sale, so start looking for those coupons and take advantage of One Day Sales.

April- Remember all that spring stuff you saw in February and held off on buying for a better deal? It's deal time and just in time for the start of spring! Goods that came in in February are making their way to the clearance racks. Best bet would be to shop early so you're not left with picked over merchandise. Also, summer goods start coming in now, so while you're shopping for spring clearance, browse summer merchandise as well. 

May- Summer is in full swing in stores (even though it's not officially summer yet). Summer deliveries are out with big sales starting, especially around Memorial Day.

June- Tired of looking at your chipped dishes or want to complete your incomplete dish sets? Now is your time to do it. With wedding season in full swing retailers have lots of home products on sale, even those fine china pieces that you keep wishing would go on sale.  

July- Let the summer clearance begin!! More aptly, time to buy summer SANDALS! Summer shoes and clothing are on sale to make room for early fall / back to school merchandise. 

August- Summer clearance is still going on and now true summer items, like bathing suits, are heavily discounted. This is the time to stock up and save for next summer. The family (Mom, Dad and kiddos) will always need shorts, tees, bathing suits etc. so buy them a size bigger (for the kiddos) now while they are on clearance, and you'll be all set for next summer.  Back to school items start hitting stores, so see what's out there, but hold off on buying them. 

September- Labor day sales are the best time to buy outdoor furniture, pool stuff and all "summer activity" things. Again, buy them now and save them for next year.

October- When is the best time to buy back to school stuff? During back to school! Fall merchandise is on clearance to start making way for all the holiday goodies. You can get amazing deals on denim end September / beginning October. 

November- And so begins the Holiday shopping season. I have three words for this month- Black Friday Sales, 'nuff said.

December- Sale, Sale and more sale. The best day to shop all year is 12/26 when all off the post holiday sales start. Once again, stock up and save on winter items or if there is something that you wanted to buy and can wait till after the holidays, now is the time to buy it. 

Take it a step further and plan to shop on Thursdays, it's the best day of the week to get a good deal since most retailers start their weekend sales on that day. 

Hope this all helps you save money and find the best deals!

What are some of your amazing deal shopping tips?

Tip Tuesday #6- How to Tell if Your Shoes Are Made Well.

Picture it- You’re in a shoe store, you see a pair of shoes you love (that also happen to be at a great price) and when you try them on they fit perfectly. You scream “I’ll take them!!!” You immediately start texting, tweeting, facebooking, a picture of your new shoes with the caption “I know you’re jealous :)”. Next day, you’re struttin’ your stuff, wearing your new shoes on the way to work, and BAM the ankle strap breaks and you go falling forward. The next thing you know you’re down on the ground stunned, sad and have a skinned knee. Not a great place to be with what you thought were a great pair of shoes….

With a chunk of my career being in both men’s and women’s footwear, I’ve learned a thing or 9,000 about shoe construction and what a well-made shoe looks like. Here are some quick and easy things (along with VIDEO) that you can do in the store to make sure your perfect shoe will go the extra mile.  

Once you’ve tried on the shoe, found it be comfortable and it passed the visual tests- hand your kid your iPhone, sit down and let the inspections begin. 

Here's the information in text form, as well as some additional tid bits.

Bound for life- Make sure the upper is bound to the sole properly. Hold the shoes up together and make sure they are even, flip it to the back, make sure the heels are even. Visually inspect for uneven stitching or exposed glue. Then go on and (sort of gently) try and separate the upper from the sole. Look out for stitching coming loose or gaps forming. Tug at heels, straps, buckles or any hardware, again, look for any separation or loose stitching.

Get acquainted- Go on, stick your hand in it. Feel to make sure the lining is secure, applied correctly and that there is no exposed glue. Feel the upper to make sure there are no exposed edges that could hurt your feet.

Flex It- Flex the shoe. Does it make a cracking noise, or feel like it’s pulling? That’s an indication that the sole was either not attached properly or the wrong size upper could have been put on the wrong size sole.

What is it really made out of- If you are buying leather shoes, you want to make sure it’s a good quality leather. If you have a dark color shoe and see a white cast or white speckles, this may be mold!! A good indicator that the leather was not handled properly. You can even scratch is slightly to see if the “leather” comes off.

At most you’ll end up spending a few extra minutes in the shoe store (I can think of worse places to be) conducting these easy “tests”. But at the end you'll know you're buying a well made shoe.

Hope this information helps and Happy Shoe Shopping!

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Tip Tuesday #5- How to Organize Your Closet

Happy New Year!! I can’t believe the craziness of the holiday season has come and gone and here we are, in 2014… Wishing you all a happy, healthy and peaceful year.

I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions per se, but I usually start the year with certain goals I’d like to accomplish. This year I’d like to get “healthier”- not really watch what I eat (I’m usually pretty good with that) but, to overall get my body and mind in balance. The other goal I have is to get more organized. Now for those of you who know me, and my OCD tendencies, you know I’m already pretty “organized” (we’ll go with that word), so stop rolling your eyes, that’s not what I mean by organized… By organized I mean I need to get a system / structure in place and get rid of the clutter!!

The first thing to organize - my closet!! While I usually do a closet purge at least 2x a year I will say, unfortunately, I have not been able to do one since last year and now I’ve got hangers sticking out all over the place. So, if you’re in the same situation as me and want to know how to organize your closet- here are some tips on how to do so.

The one year rule- First go through your closet and pull out anything you have not worn in the past year. Then from that pile, pull out the basics, but only ones that fit!! (ie- white button down shirts, navy blazers etc.). I tend to put these items back in my closet since they are timeless and can be worn regardless of fashion trends. However, if any of these items are pulled out the second go around, they don’t go back in the closet…

If it doesn’t fit, you must… toss it…- No matter what your personal style, body shape, hair color, skin tone is, if you wear something that doesn’t fit (either too small or too big) it’s just plain unflattering… Now, if you’re on a real deal weight gain / loss program and you’re looking at these items as motivation to get to a certain weight (if you are- good for you!!!) go ahead and keep them. If you’re not, chances are you won’t fit into these items again. So, don’t let them create clutter your closet, just get rid of them. And if by chance you do end up gaining / losing weight it’s all the more reason to go shop for new clothes :)

Sort clothes by category- Now that you've tossed the unneeded items, it’s time to organize your closet. I like to organize mine by category- shirts, pants, blazers, etc. all separated so I can easily see what I own and can therefore mix and match to create many different outfits.

Assess your needs- Once you have your clothes organized you can then see what you need. For example, you may be going back to work in an office, with a clean closet you can see if you need more work clothes, and then go shopping!!!

I have a pile of clothing on my closet floor- Now, for the stuff to get rid of… Personally I like to donate them. There are several organizations, for example Dress for Success hosts donation drives, Salvation Army, Good Will or any organization of your choice. There are also garage sales, clothing swaps, etc.

Hope this information helps you to de-clutter your closet and therefore enable you to shop for more clothes, I mean, be less cluttered…