Ladies! Summer has arrived (or, at least, spring has sprung) and for those of you who have not transferred your wardrobe from fall/winter to spring/summer, for those of you who have not un-vacuumed-sealed those insane shrinking bags that are still under your bed or in the back of your closet, get moving, you lazy bitches! (Before you get totally pissed--the new meaning of the word: Babe In Total Control of Herself.)
In the meantime, the fastest way to get a quick spring look and update your wardrobe is to do two key things. Read carefully.
Number one.
Get yourself a crisp white cotton shirt. I prefer (as most guys do) the simple, fitted cotton, button, front-collared style. Stay away from anything too frou-frou and busy. My fabulous friends at In Style magazine show four ways to wear a white shirt:
1. Big Night Out: Better known as "cleavage night" or "set the twins free" because they've been cooped up all week being serious.
2. Play Date: Better known as "I have no time to get cute for errands but want to look nice just in case I see Mr. Right (or Mr. Right Now)."
3. Suburban Resort: Better known as "I'm pretending to be on vacation while it's just a long weekend, or see #2."
4. Business Cool: Better known as "impossible-to do-wrong-in-any-work-environment, take- me-seriously chic."
Those are just four ways. The incarnations are endless and you can do it on both ends of the price spectrum. Those on the high-end (Hey! Let's max out the credit card) can't go wrong with Prada (enough said!). For those on the other side of the spectrum - the cost savvy, "I just bought my first home," or "I just left college, or the security of mom and dad" or just a plain shopaholic (you get my drift) types...drum roll please.....Target aka Tar-jay, is just the spot. They have a wonderful selection of just the shirt I'm talking about. Cool, crisp, clean, light, airy, and just $24.99....seriously cute! As is, just right but with a little tailoring around the waist (any reputable dry cleaner can do it), trust me -- I've had shirts taken in and you would never know the difference. Fit is always a sign of expensive clothes. You can also change the buttons to mother-of-pearl and voila!, your shirt just moved into designer for less than forty bucks.
Number two:
Dark denim skinny jeans. For those of you who are so pissed about spending upwards of $200 on your dark denim boot cut jeans and just as you got the perfect pair skinny jeans arrived on the scene -- never fear, a tailor is near! Now keep in mind, super skinny jeans are not for everyone, not by a long shot, no matter what anyone says. If you have the slightest junk in your trunk, which most real women do, you could end up looking like a chicken drum stick....never a good look. Read carefully: Take one pair of jeans that you love your bum in (Lord only knows you've searched high and low) and take it to the same tailor you took your white blouse to. Ask your tailor to take in the leg from the knee down and make the hem opening the same size as the knee and ta-da! Straight jeans which are perfectly acceptable and on trend. For those of you more daring, take yours in about 1" to 1.5" narrower than the knee. Now you have a stylish new pair of jeans that will allow you to show off all those pretty spring shoes. Pair those jeans with your crisp cotton shirt, and Memorial Day, here you come!
*Side note: light wash jeans are harder to do, stick to darker less distressed jeans.
*Side, side note: only do two pairs, wide will be back faster than you can YSL.
Look, fashion and style is about how you feel on the inside. If you're not confident, nothing is going to work. However, everyone loves a deal. Don't get me wrong, Prada sure feels good but most of us like to shop every weekend and don't have Prada-money every weekend. So with a few little tricks and a great attitude you can start this season off looking crisp, clean and fashionable.
And always remember, never forget: buy a new mascara every few months --no one likes spider eyes.
