LAST CHANCE: WIN a Kylie Handbag from MICHELE
Posted on | January 31, 2010
CONGRATS to Pam B. of Carrollton, TX!!! Winner of the MICHELE Kylie Bag.
The first month of the New Year is coming to an end, and that means today is the LAST DAY to enter to WIN the Kylie bag from MICHELE.
We at Society Stylist have been strategizing on how to better reach our readers and bring you the latest news trends as soon as we know about them. We are working to implement a regular newsletter and one of the largest elements of this is updating our contact database. This is where we need your help. If you haven’t signed up yet then we need to you to go to our website and enter your information. If you’ve already signed up we need you to go to the website and make sure all of your information is updated. To encourage you to do this we will be giving away the Kylie handbag by Michele, that was featured on the cover of the Bloomingdale’s catalog and retails for $595 but one lucky reader will get it for FREE. Enter your information today as the last day to enter is TODAY, January 31st.
Register for our newsletter, The Social Register, or update your information HERE.
How to enter: Put “Michele” in the “Notes” section of your contact record.
Want additional chances to win? Encourage your friends to sign up as well. Tell them to put “Michele-Your Name” in the “Notes” section of their contact record. That will give you each one entry.
Cute Shoe!!! Insert Foot In Mouth HERE
Posted on | January 29, 2010
So I got a call from a girlfriend the other night who was mortified that she had unintentionally insulted, a well-known footwear designer. My friend, we’ll call her Jane, was out at an upscale area restaurant with her husband when a woman she didn’t know came up to her. The woman complimented her jeweled ballet flats, saying “Oh what cute shoes, who are they by?” Jane, having not recognized the designer’s name when she bought them replied “Oh, I just picked them up at Nordstrom, I don’t think they are by anyone special.” The woman then introduced her dinner companion to the conversation saying, “Actually, they are by this man. Meet Sam Edelman.”
Jane stood there wishing the floor will open up and swallow her whole; still thinking, should I recognize this name? Who was to know that a designer whose name she didn’t recognize would be having dinner at the same restaurant and she would first have to remove her foot (wearing her cute new shoe) from her mouth before she could enjoy her dinner.
As soon as she left the restaurant, she called me to inquire if I was familiar with a designer “Sam Mendelman or something” and filled me in on the story. I explained it was Sam Edelman and did she remember the “Sam & Libby” line that was popular when we were younger? Well, Sam Edelman is the “Sam.”
Augh. Haven’t we all insulted someone unintentionally? And wish we could take the words back almost before they leave our mouth. A reminder to us all to watch our P’s & Q’s and then just realize that sometimes things come out wrong and there is nothing we can do about it…so let it go. And if nothing else, it will become a funny story.
Project Runway and…Comments From The Straight Guy
Posted on | January 28, 2010
As I sit here in my Groucho Marx glasses, nose, and moustache writing this, I have to ask myself a few questions. First and foremost, WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO ME? I am a 30-something heterosexual male. I have gone through many phases of TV viewership in my life, ranging from compulsively watching multiple sitcoms every night, the reality show boom, only watching sports exclusively, even periods with no television. Now I find myself sitting here waiting to hear what nugget of knowledge Tim Gunn is about to bestow on a zany androgynous Asian designer with what appears to be a serious case of Aspergers Syndrome.
I honestly know very little about fashion or style, and really am not trying to learn more about it, so that can’t be the reason I am glued to this show. Is it because I secretly have a yearning for objects of beauty and original design? A resounding NO. I think it can be reduced to the following truism: interesting personalities will always drive stories. No matter what interesting people are doing, other people will want to watch them do it. Project Runway has learned this lesson well, and while they will always have a core audience of people primarily interested in fashion, they have also been able to successfully capture a newer audience……me.
…Just a few more hours until we hear Tim Gunn tell tonight’s cast to “make it work.”
Editor: Valerie Elizabeth
Staff Writer: Introducing our newest (unnamed) writer with “Comments from the Straight Guy”
Nailing It!
Posted on | January 23, 2010
Who doesn’t love-love-love a new manicure? Nails looking fabulous and shiny with a gorgeous new shade glazed over the top? It’s a semi-simple luxury that we love. Yet, let’s admit it. We don’t love-love-love the cost. Totally worth it, yet if we can save the cost of a bi-monthly manicure we could save approximately $600 a year! Holy Nails! We could buy a new Gucci bag with those savings!
Essie “Hi Maintenance”…my all-time FAVE!!!
However, there is no way we are going to have our nails looking shabby in the meantime. Can we have our nails looking chic without a trip to the salon? A new resolution that we can resolve to keep! It’s easy… With some simple tips and tricks we can learn how to make our nails look extraordinary right in our own bathrooms. No lie. With the tips, tricks and tools of a profession manicurist we can achieve these gorgeous nails on our own. Another plus is that if you get a chip you can fix-a-roo it without that extra trip to the salon. There are lots of benefits to learning professional tricks. And at the end of the year you can treat yourself with your savings on a new couture outfit or bag or trip! Ready to be your own nail professional? Sure you are – here we go!
DAILY FASHION TIPS:
1) Moisturizing your cuticles pre-polishing with oil will help that polish to stay on your nails – not on your cuticles!
2) Pressing Matters: Press your nail to be painted firmly away from your body on a solid surface while painting to get more polish coverage and more stability!
3) Color-ific! Pick colors that compliment you! If you don’t wear bright red lipstick, don’t do bright red nails.
4) Hold on! Grab that fave polish brush by its base for better control! But toss your fave after 2 years for a new one!
5) Natch, naturally! No polish? Instead soak nails in fresh squeezed lemon juice for naturally bright nails!
Editor: Valerie Elizabeth
Staff Writer: Karen Yannacio Morse
Resolution: Trust Your Instincts…The Story of How Dallas Got Scammed
Posted on | January 22, 2010
Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts. How many times have you felt something just wasn’t right with a situation? Something seemed too good to be true? Or the story just didn’t add up? But it was sold so brilliantly you wanted to believe it. You decided to disregard your inner instinct and go for it because the opportunity was amazing.
A few months ago I received a call from a good friend of mine who has a brilliant catering company— if you have been to one of our events with Glamour Magazine recently you may have tasted her scrumptious food. My friend had been “presented with the opportunity” to cater the launch party for a new online magazine called “Style Fashion Report” being funded by a guy who just moved to Dallas literally days before. She told me about how she’d been told that the magazine was fresh and new and innovative and how Dallas had never seen anything like it and about the owner of the magazine and how charismatic he was and how he promised an amazing opportunity to publicize her company to the 500 projected attendees at the event and thought she’d be a great match and get excellent exposure and would she be interested?…In doing it for free.
Here is the invite I received to one of his parties last week. Sadly I couldn’t attend.
Hold up. The warning sirens that are going off in my head right now are so loud I can’t hear you. So…the guy has been in town for literally days and is “about to launch” the hottest, newest, best thing to hit this city in, ever? SCAM. Not to mention, food for FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE, for FREE??? Is he out of his mind? Even if she were to provide hot dogs and potato chips, food for that many people isn’t cheap. Add that to the expense of staffing a party with 500 guests. Needless to say he was looking for a more refined palette, which is of course why she was recommended. What was my advice? No, no, and no. But if you don’t mind throwing money away, go for it. Oh wait, and no.
I admittedly have been in similar positions and have been suckered in quite a few times. Yes I too have been taken advantage of. But each time when I thought about it, those warning sirens had been going off in my head from the beginning. An excellent lesson I learned in 2009 inspired my resolution for 2010 (and beyond.) I am going to follow the ever-heralded advice “trust your instincts.” As I heard a speaker say a few weeks ago “If you don’t know whether to do something and you are searching for an answer…you already have your answer.”
If you read the Dallas Morning News this AM you probably read the story about the owner of the above-mentioned “Style Fashion Report” a one aka Mordan Stefanov who allegedly is a convicted felon with a long rap-sheet, an 18-year stint in prison, a slew of former identities and sadly a long line of individuals and businesses who he took advantage of. He was just picked up in San Francisco by the US Marshalls on behalf of the FBI. Too bad I missed that party he hosted last week, I guess I won’t get to meet him now. Unfortunately, there is no trust fund from his family in Greece, there is no magazine, there is no movie, there is no TV show, there is no spot reporting on the red carpet at the Grammy’s next weekend. There is just a path of people kicking themselves saying, “I knew something didn’t sound right…why didn’t I trust my instincts?”
The good news for Mordan (or whatever his name really is) is that now he can go from being the ultimate Dallas $30K Millionaire to actually having an awesome story for a book/documentary/TV show. So maybe is was all a brilliant publicity stunt? Nah, too many people were hurt. But I have a feeling this won’t be the last we hear about this guy.
The moral of the story, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!!! If sirens went off in my head having never met the guy, knowing nothing of the company and hearing just a brief tidbit about his endeavors, certainly someone else saw a warning sign too???
Didn’t read the DMN story? Check it out HERE.
Take a “Time Out” Be Okay With Saying “No”
Posted on | January 21, 2010
My glamorous friend Jennifer’s resolution is to “spend less time working beyond work hours and spend that time with my family.” Love it. How will she do this? How do we, as strong women, learn to say “No” to more, more, more at work and YES to ourselves? Through multitasking and taking on more of the workforce than in the past, women are now finding trouble in being OK with time for ourselves. But it’s that “time” to say “time out” and focus on what’s really important in our lives.
It is surprising how just taking a little time for yourself can refresh your brain and body and allow you to be much more productive than if you just kept pushing yourself. So even if it is just to give yourself 10 minute breaks throughout the day. Make it one of your resolutions to take care of yourself this year.
Editor: Valerie Elizabeth
Staff Writer: Karen Yannacio MorseDAILY FASHION TIPS:
1) Nanette Gartrell’s book “My Answer Is NO … If That’s Okay with You,” lots of tips & advice – check it out!
2) What’s motivating your answers- r u saying yes to please someone or b/c it’s actually your responsibility?
3) Take control of your life. It’s OK to say “no” without being a jerk.
4) You don’t have to justify why you can’t help – simply say “I am unable to help you with that right now.”
5) We all want to please others? But being a 24/7 people pleaser just isn’t fair to you or your family.
One Man’s [Woman’s] Trash…
Posted on | January 20, 2010
With allegations being brought to light about major retailers H&M, Wal-Mart and others allegedly throwing away their merchandise I thought this would be a good topic to address. [Story Here.] Anyone who knows me— or who has read this blog for any length of time at all— knows I am a big supporter of the idea of “reduce, reuse, recycle.” And personally I do not support the business practice of trashing merchandise, namely food, clothing and books in the light the rising number of people in our country and our world who do not have access to adequate food, clothing or books. I can however explain the primary reason for the business practice (right or wrong) and let you make your own opinion on the matter.
Many years ago I worked for a design house, you might have heard of named Polo-Ralph Lauren. I must state that I worked there prior to the company going public, and this was many years ago, so it is likely their business practices may have changed since I was employed there. I also feel obligated to add that I loved working for the company and it was there that I had my first encounter with “Collection” pieces and the idea that people would actually spends thousands of dollars (sometimes much more than just thousands) on clothing. It was a wonderful experience but there was one particular business policy I did not agree with. As you can imagine I made it a point to voice said opinion but to no avail. In fact, I often speculate what my life would have been like if I had grown up in the era of blogs. Ha.
Though I don’t recall there ever being much if any clothing to get rid of at the end of the season; I think we shipped a few boxes off to the outlet…I do remember what happened to shoes that were returned. There is a particular story that comes to mind that has kept this policy fresh in my memory.
We once had a client at the boutique who purchased a beautiful pair of black calf Purple Label Collection heels. About a week after she purchased them she brought them back (after wearing them) and asked to trade for a half size larger. I am a big believer in excellent return and exchange policies as a means to excellent service so this was not a problem. The next week however she brought the pair of shoes back (after wearing them) and asked to exchange them for another pair of the same shoe, in the same size to see if they fit differently. Let me back up, these shoe were produced in a limited run and cost $495 a pair. At this point I had made the realization that this particular shoe would not work for this client and even if she takes a different pair of the same shoe home it clearly will not fit properly. (Side note: this is a good lesson to learn, sometimes a particular style of shoe just will not work for you) Unfortunately, as I tried to explain to the customer that she might be better off trying a different style she got very adamant that she be given another pair of this particular pair of shoes. My manager explained that I should just give her the other pair as if I didn’t she would end up complaining to corporate, getting the shoes and getting some sort of other compensation. So I gave her the next pair of shoes (which did of course come back but I let someone else handle that return.)
Looking back I don’t think I was really bothered by the customer’s desire for this particular shoe or her determination to find a specific fair that fit properly. What truly bothered me was that I knew what was going to happen to the shoes. And that is what upset me. Our company policy was that if a shoe was returned that appeared to have any wear, it be cut up and thrown away. Yes even if the shoe had been worn for five minutes we were directed to destroy them. It was not until I read the recent story alleging H&M’s trashing of their merchandise that I realized what a problem I had with this years old policy.
I remember being really upset the first time I saw what happened and asking WHY in the world we would do this? Though fortunately I personally never had to actually cut the shoes. To be honest I don’t think I could have done it, it’s a little like sacrilege to me. All that waste…of shoes…of amazing shoes. No, I couldn’t have done it. At the time I volunteered with an agency whose primary fundraising objective was raising money for shoes for children so this issue hit really close to home. There was of course an explanation for the policy and this is likely similar to most company’s explanations so you judge for yourself what you think is right.
Apparently the disposal of footwear via the trash was seen as a cost cutting measure. It alleviated the need for the shoes to be delivered to a charity, it alleviated the cost of shipping the footwear somewhere for resale (there may have also been a health concern here) and it alleviated the possibility of return. Apparently prior to the policy being put in place the shoes were donated to charity. However a significant number of the shoes were then returned to the stores. This cause the company to lose the money on the shoe the first time it was returned and then, in an effort to provide excellent customer service, forced the company to take a loss on the shoe again. At an average of $495 a pair you can see how this might add up.
That being said I understand why they made the policy but I do not agree with it. My suggestion which was not acted upon was that we do something else to identify the shoe had been donated without destroying the shoe. Some suggestions I thought of were similar to what many outlet or sample lines do; cut the tag, remove the tag, put a red mark through the tag, paint an “X” on the bottom of the shoe or find some other way to tag the shoe while maintaining the integrity of the shoe for actual use.
Beyond that fact that ithe idea of throwing away perfectly good merchadise only to cause our landfills to fill quicker is completely “un-green” and therefore “unpopular.” With so many people in the world lacking for proper food, clothing, footwear or access to reading material should our country’s biggest retaliers really be throwing merchandise away?
Love Life
Posted on | January 19, 2010
When my college friend Julie was reflecting on New Years resolutions I found her thoughts refreshing. Julie said, “So, I’ve thought about this. Every new year, I make a list of far too many resolutions that I mostly discard by February. So, this year, I simply resolve to try to live in the moment; be happy with the beautiful gifts I’ve been given, but try desperately not to give up on my dreams. Hmmm…I think I’d accomplish ALOT this year if I could do all that.” Isn’t it in style to simply resolve to love life more?
The busier I am the more I find I fail to enjoy the exciting events even as they are happening. In fact as life spins out of control I find it is often the things I am most looking forward to that I rush through instead of enjoy. Setting goals is definitely important and certainly you cannot accomplish your goals with out setting them but what is the point of setting a goal if you don’t enjoy it, acknowledge it and reward yourself when you get there. And remember, you are never to old to dream, set goals, achieve those goals and reach your dream. It is a step-by-step process…start taking the steps.
Editor: Valerie Elizabeth
Staff Writer: Karen Yannacio Morse
DAILY FASHION TIPS:
1) This year try something new – a new hobby, a new sport or a new interest!
2) A spa visit a day keeps the stress away! Maybe excessive? Try the $39 @MassageEnvy membership. Worth it!!!
3) Say cheese! Finding ways to be happier? Take a daily pic, to capture the feeling & create a feel good journal.
4) Thank you, thank you, thank you! Each morning think of what you are grateful for. Great start for the day!!!
5) Dream, dare, do! Whatever your dream, create a step-by-step plan to get there. You’re never too old to dream?
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
Posted on | January 18, 2010
This year I plan to keep my locks looking lovely… keep my hair trimmed every 6 weeks…and maintain my fabulous color. Promise. Ok, now the harder part; how can we make sure we can keep our hair looking great today AND tomorrow? Is there some magical trick? How do the stars do it? How can I do it? Hair we go! Take care of your hair all year round. Especially in the harsher climates. If you color your hair be very careful not to overdo it, especially for your at home colorers (eek!!!) Use deep conditioner regularly to keep your hair moisturized and be careful not to put too much heat on your hair. Try washing your hair when you don’t have to run out somewhere so it can air dry, to avoid the heat of a dryer. Use a straightening iron? Invest in a good ceramic one like the ones available from CHI; and straighten your hair in small pieces so you only need to keep the heat on it for a few seconds. (I also suggest you buy the original charcoal grey iron-pictured below- I have heard reports that the fun colored irons do not produce the same quality of heat.)
If you have noticed your hair is falling out from coloring it may be time to give up the faux blonde. Decide, do you want blonde hair or do you want hair? Though we all are warned time and again that we are damaging are hair with color and heat we all fall short in taking care of it. We look at celebrities and think WOW their hair looks amazing all the time. I will tell you a secret, they are not done up like they are in the pics all the time. And often the hair you see is not actually their hair, it is high quality extensions they have purchased since their hair has been overworked. Years ago I had very long, very blonde hair. I got tired of keeping up with the blonde and decided to try darkening my hair at home. More than 12 inches fell off in most places. Ooops!!! If you are dyeing your hair more than one or two shades from your natural color you should be going to a professional. Your hair makes quite a statement about you and do you really want it saying “ratty, falling out, bad dye job, etc?” Make it a resolution to protect your hair and be honest with yourself…is your hair in bad shape? If it is go see a professional about the best way to restore it’s natural beauty.
Editor: Valerie Elizabeth
Staff Writer: Karen Yannacio Morse
DAILY FASHION TIPS:
1) Minimize brushing when hair is wet and at its weakest.
2) Shoot cool air on the hair shaft after the blow dry to seal in the shine and style!
3) Regularly use deep conditioner treatment to moisturize your hair. Try Joico’s K-Pak
4) Scalp massages actually stimulate hair growth? Fuller hair & a relaxation technique! Fabulous!
5) Enjoy a smoothie of bananas, honey, yogurt & low-fat milk. The biotin will keep your hair happy!
Date Night
Posted on | January 17, 2010
It’s date night! Time to relax, unwind, do something really fun…and oh, did I mention it’s date night by yourself? True. Didn’t we make resolutions to be stress free (or less stressed!) and happier? When is the last time you pampered yourself? Can’t recall? Wrong answer. It’s totally time to pamper the number one person in your life – YOU!
Now sit back, relax and let’s figure out how to be our most fabulous for date night! Maybe it’s a massage, a bath, a relaxing evening with a book by your favorite author…make some time for you.
Editor: Valerie Elizabeth
Staff Writer: Karen Yannacio Morse
DAILY FASHION TIPS:
1) Take a hike! Walk 30 min a day with just you & your thoughts. Great workout, great “me time.”
2) Tiny bubbles….in your bath! Bubble baths with a lavender scented soap. Relaxation!
3) Curl up with your favorite movie-maybe Coco Avant Chanel?-in the dark and enjoy! Popcorn is welcome!
4) Take a stop at your book store, get that girly book and snuggle with that and a Snuggie on your couch!
5) It’s all in the details! Pop into your fave boutique, find a new fabulous headband and wear it tomorrow!