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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How to Wear Radiant Orchid for Your Skin Undertone

Pantone has named Radiant Orchid as the Color of the Year- 2014. 

Here is how Pantone describes the color-                                                                      “Radiant Orchid blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. A captivating harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid emanates great joy, love and health”- pantone.com

Radiant Orchid is a beautiful purple color and I’ve always been drawn to this color. I used a similar color as the accent on the 344pm website. This color not only works in clothing, fashion accessories and make up, but it’s also a great color for home accessories, paint color, and furniture.

While radiant orchid is a fabulous color, I will say it could be a little tricky to wear depending on your skin undertone. Here are some tips on how you can wear the color of the year based on your skin undertone.

First, determine your skin undertone-

Your skin undertone is basically the tone that is under your skin and is categorized as cool, warm or neutral. This is different from your skin tone (the skin color that’s visible), categorized as light, fair, medium, olive, brown and black. There really isn't a direct correlation between your skin tone and your skin undertone. For example, a person with a light skin tone can have a cool undertone and a person with a black skin tone can also have a cool undertone.

Don’t know your skin undertone? Here’s an easy chart I put together with various industry standard questions that can help you figure out your skin undertone. Please note, there are variations, and if you go between cool and warm then you are considered a neutral skin undertone.

 

How to Wear Radiant Orchid If you’re a Cool Undertone-

Since radiant orchid is a cool shade your skin undertone works great with this color. You can wear it on its own, mix and match, or even go head to toe, it’s all up to you!! Click through the examples below on how you, Ms. COOL Undertone, can dress up or dress down radiant orchid. 

How to Wear Radiant Orchid If you’re a Warm Undertone-

Radiant Orchid is a cool shade, so you may need to do a little “enhancing” when wearing this color. The first tip would be that you shouldn't wear radiant orchid close to your face because it could give you a “washed out” look. But, go on and incorporate this color in pants, skirts, accessories, handbags and shoes, basically anything away from the face. You can also use this color as an accent color, mix and match it with other colors, or wear different shades of it. Radiant orchid is in the purple family and purple looks great on warm skin undertones so, for example, you can wear a purple blouse, grey pants and add on some radiant orchid shoes for a trend right look. Click through the examples below on how you, Ms. WARM Undertone, can dress up or dress down Radiant Orchid.

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of how to wear the color of the year based on your skin undertone- go forth and go shopping for all that is Radiant Orchid!! 

PS- Want information on the items above? Head over to polyvore.com. Click on Members, put in my member name- mk-344pm and all of my "sets" will pop up.  Are you a  member of polyvore? Follow me for access to more outfit inspiration. 

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…

Life changes, your personal style doesn’t have to

As life changes, so does your wardrobe, but not your style... Making these transitions can be difficult and stressful. There’s the transition from “recent college grad” wardrobe to “working in corporate America” wardrobe. There’s, my personal favorite (I'm being a bit sarcastic), transitioning from “no baby” wardrobe, to “pregnant” wardrobe, to “returning to work after maternity leave” wardrobe. One of the biggest concerns that I hear from my clients is that now that they are a- (fill in the blank- mom, retired, SAHM, etc) they will have to change how they dress and this tends to make them feel overwhelmed and not themselves. To that, I always tell my clients to stay calm and know that even though life changes, their personal style doesn't have to. If you're a SAHM and consider yourself trendy, you don’t have to trade in your skinny jeans for “Mom Jeans”. If your style is traditional, you don’t have to switch out your button down shirts for casual t-shirts just because you have decided to work from home versus an office setting. Sure, there will be some adjustments to how you dress, but you don't have to change your style.

Here are some tips to how to stay true to your personal style while adjusting to many of life’s changes.

The Right Fit- Make sure you stay true to your personal style, but also make sure your clothes fit properly. Something I figured out the hard way- your body will change overtime... Gaining weight, losing weight- it happens... I realized that my mid 30’s, post baby body was not that of my mid 20’s single gal body. I looked at all my cute (yet now tight fitting) low cut ruffle tops from Forever 21 and thought I should just give up and turn them in for moo moos… But, I loved my cute ruffly tops. So instead, I reassessed my body shape / size and shopped for items that still suited my personal style, but now reflected my lifestyle and size. So, I moved away from the size 4, tailored fit chiffon ruffle blouse to the size 6 cotton (with a bit of spandex) ruffle blouse. 

Mix and Match- Every life change doesn’t mean you have to clean out your entire closet and start over with a new wardrobe. You can still wear your favorite pieces that reflect your personal style (but make sure they fit, see the above point). If you decide to quit Corporate America and start a business, while working from home, you can still incorporate the suits you love in your everyday wardrobe. Sure, maybe you’ll go a bit more casual, but suit blazers can pretty much work with almost anything. A navy blazer with a button down shirt and jeans will look great, whether you’re working at your home office desk or even in a coffee shop.

While the constant is knowing that life changes, the good thing is YOU (and your Jimmy Choo’s) don’t have to change with it…

Want a second opinion on what works for your personal style? Contact me and, together, we can figure out a wardrobe that works for you. 

Tip Tuesday #4- Organize your Morning Clothing Routine at Night!

You’ve got a big presentation today and you overslept… “Junior” can’t find his book report, “Sally” is having a full blown melt down because her cheerios spilt, and “Daddy’s” out of town on a business trip… In your “super-Mom” ways you solve the book report and Cheerios crises. But now, you literally have 3 seconds to get ready. You throw on your go-to black suit, which has some sort of stain on it, and your slightly wrinkled blouse and head out the door. On your way to work you’re more focused on whether or not people will notice the “unknown stain” rather than thinking about your presentation.

This example may or may not have happened in your house, but it’s safe to say that mornings can be a hectic!!! So, what’s something you can do to make it less hectic? Start your morning the night before by organizing your clothes at night! It may sound weird but it works. I do this, almost, every weekday and it’s been a huge time saver. So much so that I have also started putting my daughter’s clothes out the night before...

Laying out your clothes the night before not only helps you save time but affords you the opportunity to mix and match your outfits so you’re not wearing the same thing over and over. You are also better able to plan your outfit for the day- whether you have a meeting, an average day at work, taking the kiddos on a play date, networking event, etc. Like in the above example, if you did have a huge presentation the next day you probably would have noticed the stain earlier and chosen a different outfit which would leave you more time to think more about your presentation, and no about the stain…

While this is a quick tip, it’s sure to save you lots of time!! Hope this helps!

Please note there will not be a Tip Tuesday post next week so we can all enjoy some family time before 2013 comes to an end... Thanks for reading and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season!