Poll Results

Well, the results are in, and after a record number of votes (kidding if you didn't catch my sarcastic tone), you have voted that bright colorful nails are tacky...what do I think? Well, I'll tell you. Just like any trend, I think that this is not for everyone. Do I like it for myself? I have to admit that I AM a fan of the blue, purple, yellow, etc. nails...although, my hubby HATES it! I agree with Jill, that if you work in a professional setting, keep the color for your toes. I have a wonderful job in fashion, so I can get away with it...other industries I think it works...arts, music, funky stay at home moms. One thing I must add, is to keep your fingernails on the short side if you are going to go for a color. We don't want big long scary nails looking like Rainbow Bright. Also, if you aren't typically a "trendy" person, stay away from this trend. It's like a woman getting a really funky haircut, but she still wears "mom" jeans and Keds...just doesn't work! I hope I have helped you all in this area, and who knows...maybe those of you who voted that this is "tacky" will give it some more thought.

Ciao for now!

Fashion Show at Dillards

FYI-For you locals who are interested: (I have to say, this cracked me up...how do you have a fashion show for fragrance products????)

An upbeat fashion show featuring the latest cosmetic and fragrance products with a special performance by TangoNashville at 8 PM. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, live music, makeovers, special promotions and more at all of your favorite cosmetics counters. Pre-purchase a $35 Dillard's gift card at your favorite make-up counter to be used for purchases at the event and receive a free purse clutch and raffle tickets to win great prizes. Form more information call 615-771-7101

Tacky vs. Trendy

Check out my poll to the right of this post. I want to know what all of you think of this colorful nail polish we are seeing everywhere. I'll let you know my opinion when the poll is over. Hurry, you have until 4/30 to vote. And, leave a comment if you want to elaborate on why you voted a certain way.

Betsey Johnson

It is with great sadness that I write this post. Why? Because I am a fan of Betsey Johnson clothing...her dresses are fun, flirty and feminine...and best of all, flattering on a variety of body types. Not to mention how cute and inviting her store is. I received an email from one of my clients about a dress she bought from BJ. She had it cleaned and was wearing it to an event. Here's what she said:

"So, I took the dress to wear to the benefit and it was completely ruined. The appliques were all melted and the netting was out of shape. I took it to the cleaners to find out it has been recalled and they are cutting me a check. They said Betsey is famous for using bad materials that do not hold up. They advised me not to buy her anymore or Tommy Hilfiger also... So...I am going to need a new dress...or two... but I get my $300 back...!!! And I had to leave the party after 1hr...because I looked that bad...."

I know, right! I was upset about this. I have several dear friends who LOVE BJ's dresses and have several. I just wanted to give you all the head's up. I know how hard we work to find nice dresses, and then to have them fall apart, and have to start that painful shopping experience over...not fun!

Jon and Kate plus 8

Was watching this great show tonight (and I know lots of you love it too), and was cracking up at Kate. John wanted to take her shopping to "liven up" her wardrobe. She admits she has no style, and only likes boring colors, and he is the one with the style, and so wants her to try new cool stuff...that is colorful! I can't tell you how many closets I've gone through that were FULL of black, white, brown and gray....yawwwwnnnn. Kate is not alone (and by the way, I would totally be her image consultant for free so I could hang out with her)! And although it is great to have someone help you, you are not likely to listen to your husband (or sister, or mom) when they give you fashion advice. That is where an outside party (such as myself) comes in handy. I can help go from drab to fab in no time flat!

Spring Music Jam 2008

Saturday, April 12th was our annual fundraiser for Alex's school, The Spring Music Jam. It was a fun night with great food, a silent auction, and incredible entertainment (including a game show "Are you smarter than an ENA 2nd grader, where our 2nd graders competed against the songwriters to answer trivia questions). We were thrilled to have some incredibly talented performers. We had songwriters from here in Nashville perform their songs that artists have made hits for them. Some of our performers and songs were Grammy, CMA, ACM and Dove Award Nominated Duo:The Warren Brothers ("Anyway" Martina McBride, "If You're Reading This" Tim McGraw, " The Lucky One" Faith Hill, " How I Feel" Martina McBride, "Red Umbrella" Faith Hill; hit Songwriter Tom Douglas ("My Little Girl" Tim McGraw, " Loves the Only House" Martina McBride, "Little Rock" Colin Raye); Grammy Nominated Hit Songwriter Sarah Buxton (" Stupid Boy" Keith Urban).

You may be wondering why I am including this post on my "fashion blog." Well, Ciao Bella sponsored the event, and there were some very fashionable people there. I deemed that reason enough! Enjoy some pics below. Thanks to all who were there and helped make this night a huge success!

Mike, Stacy, Molly and Dennis

Stacy, Molly and me

The Warren Brothers


Sarah Buxton singing "Stupid Boy"

Are you smarter than an ENA 2nd Grader?

Kelley (sis-in-law) and me

Lindsey and Bobby

Mindy and Andy

Dennis, Molly, Len and Kathy (one of my ultra chic clients)

Me and my fab friend Molly

UAL (United Apparel Liquidators)

I don't want you all to think this is turning into a "Ms. Cheap blog"...it's not. But if I come across great deals in the area of fashion, I feel the need to pass them along to you.

Thanks to my friend and client Danielle, I am able to share some very exciting news about a new store in Nashville! It is called UAL (United Apparel Liquidators), and is located at 2819 West End Ave. (just across the street from Panera where Vandyland used to be). I had no idea what to expect when I went in there, but I liked what I saw! Every brand from Betsey Johnson to Dolce & Gabana, from Velvet to Prada. The way they work is, they buy from retailers (mostly boutiques and sometimes the designers themselves) and then they are able to sell the items at 70 to 90% off of the retail price. I'm talking some of the cutest dresses I've ever seen! They have men's, women's and children's clothing, shoes and accessories.

Just some examples of what they have and the prices...$340 Jimmy Choo shoes for $102.99, a lovely $2,195 Prada dress for $713. Now I know some of this doesn't seem too cheap, but considering the brands you are getting, some are willing to pay it! And for the real bargain shoppers, how about $300 Meltin' Pot Italian ladies and men's jeans for $9.99? and a cute $320 Betsey Johnson dress for $49.99? I also spotted some Chloe sunglasses for $70, and some Velvet tanks and tunics(which are so awesomely soft and comfy) for $19.99. There were also Common Threads skirts for $24.99. They also had some great knock-off sunglasses for $7.

UAL is very much a no frills place (concrete floors...kind of a warehouse feel, exposed ceilings). But the staff is super friendly, and super fashionable. I had my baby girl there with me, and one of the associates asked me what size she wore. She went to the kids rack (which was all closeout stuff from Fred Segal) and pulled everything in her size! How refreshing! Most of the kids stuff she brought me had original prices from $100-300 and were marked down to $4-10.

So next time you are in the area, stop by UAL. Hours are 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Mondays–Saturdays and noon–6 p.m. on Sundays. The number is (615) 340-9999. And if you aren't a Nashvegas resident, you can check out their other locations in Hattiesburg, Miss., New Orleans and Covington, KY. They don't have a website, but you can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/ualfashion

Happy Shopping!

Don't let your clothes laugh at you

Another great quote from my Timmy...aka Tim Gunn

"Clothes do not exist to humiliate their owners. … They don’t fit. Toss ‘em."

OK, so keep your wedding dress, and your tiny jeans from college to see if you can fit back in them one day. But keep them out of your "everyday closet." They don't need to be staring at you, taunting you. Just put them in another closet, or better yet, the attic! And no, high waisted, pleated, tapered jeans will not be back in style again, and if they are, don't wear them! They look good on NOBODY! Just have them to prove to yourself you can be back at your fightin' weight. Everything else...toss it!

Clense your closet....ohhmmmm

Last week, I had some mommas at my house working on a fundraiser. One of them wanted to borrow something to wear. So me and the 3 mommas headed back to my closet. One of them said, "I can't WAIT to see your closet!" I told her it probably wasn't as fabulous as she thought it was going to be. And I could tell by the look on her face when she saw it, that it wasn't. She said, "I have to admit, I thought you would have a ton more clothes than you do."

So people, this is my point. I drive this home to all of my clients, and will do the same for you. What you have in your closet has nothing to do with quantity, and everything to do with quality. It is so important to have a workable wardrobe. Meaning, you can mix and match your stuff to make lots of outfits. Make sure you have the basics, and then add some fun stuff to make your wardrobe more interesting.

Also, make sure you keep your closet cleaned out. Clean out your closet AT LEAST once a season. I usually do mine once at the beginning of the season, and once at the end (twice with Fall wardrobe, and twice with Spring wardrobe). A great tip to help you do this: Turn all of your hangers around backwards. When you wear the item, you can turn that hanger to face forward. At the end of the season, get rid of anything that is still turned backwards.

Keeping your closet "cleansed" will make you happier, and your daily outfit decision making less confusing, and much easier.

Namaste :)

Get yo' nails did!

Yesterday was two of my dearest friends' birthdays. I took one of them, Shannon, to get her nails done as my gift to her (Tiff, I wish you lived here still, and I'd have taken you too!). Now, this is not a luxury I often indulge in. Since we live on a strict budget, manis and pedis monthly don't fit into a category that is important to us! So I usually get my nails done for very special occasions, and at most, twice a year. Last night, we had Alex's big fundraiser for his school (songwriter's night, food, auction, fun...more on that later), and I considered that, combined with Shannon's b'day, special occasion enough for a small splurge. For those of you who are on a budget, but enjoy the finer things in life, like myself, I wanted to share this little gem with you. With some coupons I found, and tip included I got 2 manis and 2 pedis for $40. How is that possible you say? I'll tell you. At Franklin Hair Academy, you can have a student (or one of their teachers if you request it) do your nails for $8 and toes for $12. With my $2 off coupon, toes for $10. Now you can't beat that. I know some of you don't live here, but most decent sized cities have these places, so search it out. It's spring folks...go ahead and spend $18...treat yourselves...your feet will thank you ;)

Star spotting

We were at my son's baseball game tonight. On the opposing team was the son of a "country music star" (who I spotted with my super star spotting vision). She was sitting in the stands across from us. One of the mom's on our team said, "Holly, she needs to hire you as her image consultant." Now, I know that most people think that is all I do all of the time...critique what everyone is wearing, but that is NOT the case. In fact, I didn't even notice what she was wearing until my friend pointed it out to me. So I decided to use this as an example to give you fashionable moms some ideas of what to wear to your kid's ball games! Our "star" tonight was wearing a navy ball cap with pigtails, a green and white striped hoodie, black yoga pants, and red converse shoes. How would I improve on that? With the same amount of clothing, you can look very put together, and not overdressed for a ball game. With the same ball cap (and a ponytail instead of pigtails), the same striped hoodie, I would switch the yoga pants for blue jeans, and switch the red converse for a pair of non-athletic sneakers (such as puma's or sketchers). If you wanted to take it a step further, you could wear a pair of khaki bermuda shorts instead of jeans, and wear a pair of colorful flats to make your outfit pop! Hope this helps you all out...even though we aren't stars, and we could dress as crappy as we wanted, and nobody would notice :)

Trends

"We cannot control what designers, magazine editors, and advertisers are going to foist on us next. What we can control is the way we present ourselves." -Tim Gunn

Gotta love Tim Gunn. I always tell my clients this in so many words. Trends are great, and the new styles are so much fun to try. However, we must not sacrifice our personal style in order to where them. And if a trend looks awful on your body type, it's not worth it! Follow the rules for your body type, and if a trend fits in those rule, go for it!

Feel your pain

This weekend, I did a little shopping for myself (very rare). I'm usually shopping for other people. I just wanted to share this so all of my clients know I feel their pain. I brought a load of clothes into the dressing room at TJ Maxx and NOTHING fit right. So I feel your frustration, and understand that it takes time to find the perfect outfit. But persistance pays. Know that you do have to try on lots of stuff to find things that will fit your body type. I did find something at Marshall's though, and am very happy with it. Happy shopping!

Fashion Show

I got to be a part of one most awesome days ever! I was the emcee of a Spring '08 fashion show at the Governor's Club mansion. The lovely ladies from Petite Boutique (seen in the picture with me) pulled together this awsome event, benefitting Mercy Children's Clinic. I got the opportunity to go to all of the involved boutiques (Petite Boutique, Flaunt, Daisy Chain and Pickles and Ice Cream) and pick out all of the outfits for the models. I was very honored to be a part of this event. We were able to show outfits for all body types and had representation for petites, plus sizes, tall girls, and preggers! We also picked a lucky audience member for a quick makeover. I dressed her, and A Moment's Peace Salon and Day Spa sent over a great gal to do the hair and makeup. She looked great! Thanks girls for asking me to be a part of this...it was so much fun! Also, the photography was provided by the very talented Molly Brown-Boulay of Boulay Photograpy! Click her link to see pics from that day.

Are you happy?

Alright all you bloggers. I've done it, are you happy? I hope so. Hopefully, I won't become consumed with blogging, but chances, since I have an addictive personality, I will...just kidding. Happy blogging!