Style Q&A-How to wear a magenta skater dress to a wedding?

Dec 23, 2011 by Clueless Fashionista

Lisa wrote:

hi clueless fashionista i have a new dress which i bought for a wedding. i am having trouble however deciding what to wear over it as it will be cold. its a magenta skater dress. a coupe of different ideas would be greatly appreciated, i will attach a picture of the dress!

Thanks for submitting your question Lisa. This dress is quite cute and I know you’re going to look smashing at the wedding. Magenta is one of those colors that is hard to match because it doesn’t clearly go with any particular other color. I noticed that the belt that comes with the dress is black so you could go with a black pashmina type scarf to wear as a wrap. They look very lush and glamorous but can also be very warm.

If it’s an evening, after five wedding, I would suggest go for sparkle or a rich fabric. Since it’s the holiday season, it’s easier to find pieces that have sparkle in them. You could try a sparkly black sweater/cardigan to wear open over the dress and pair it with sparkly jewelry to really make everything pop. Then, if you’re feeling adventurous, add some sparkly pumps and you’re all set to go. If not, a pair of fabulous black pumps will still get the job done. If you can’t find a sparkly cardigan, a velvet wrap or jacket would also work well. If you go for the jacket, make sure it is cut to flatter your shape (which means that it goes in at the waist). Then you could still pair it with the black pumps.

All in all, I would suggest you go for a black cover up and shoes and make the dress your pop of color. The cool thing about the extra pieces is that they are essentially neutrals and can go with other outfits easily. I hope this helps. Enjoy the wedding!

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Land the job without breaking the bank

Dec 15, 2011 by Clueless Fashionista

I was invited to participate in the “Present the Best You” contest hosted by Monster.com by writing a post giving tips on how to look your best when going on an interview and telling you about the cool new BeKnown App. I have the chance to win a $500 American Express gift card, an iPhone 4S and have this blog post featured on the The BeKnown Blog.

Recently a friend of mine went on a job interview and some of the applicants wore jeans and/or flip flops (She’s in Florida). I tend to take it for granted that everyone knows you should at least wear a jacket and skirt or slacks to an interview.

It appears they don’t.

I’m sure the idea of purchasing a suit for an interview can sound expensive to someone who’s never done it before. It doesn’t have to be. One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t have to purchase a complete suit. You can make a great impression in a jacket and skirt or slacks and it’s easy to find these pieces at very reasonable prices at the thrift store.

I recently visited a local Goodwill and found two pieces that I can wear in business situations and I spent less than $12 on both!

One is a black 100% wool skirt with a lining, which makes it great to wear year round. I did a quick search and the cheapest 100% wool skirt I found was one for $30. This one cost about $6.

Here is the skirt and the lining inside of it.

The second piece was a pair of gray slacks. I did a quick search and found some for as low as $20 which is a good deal for slacks but these were about $6, which is even better.

So fear not! You can find great business separates at the thrift store and look stylish for your interview without spending a lot of money.

And while you’re checking out the local thrift store and beefing up your professional wardrobe, you should check out the BeKnown app for the iPhone or BeKnown on Facebook.

BeKnown is a professional networking app for Facebook recently launched by Monster.com. BeKnown allows you to set up a professional profile directly on Facebook that is completely separate from your personal page. College Pages is one feature that allows you to network with fellow alumni of the schools you have attended and view job postings from fellow graduates. Now that you know where to find a great, inexpensive outfit, you can line up those interviews with confidence.

As a thank you for participating in this contest, I received a cute business card holder and makeup color palate. I also got one to giveaway! It’s a great business starter kit. In order to enter the contest, which ends Jan. 9, post a comment sharing at least one tip you would give someone about to go on their first interview. Can’t wait to hear your tips!

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Dressing for holiday parties with ease

Dec 12, 2011 by Clueless Fashionista

So the holidays are upon us, which means holiday parties and other festive gatherings.  If you aren’t a regular party attendee, it could be a bit tough to figure out what to wear to these gatherings. Wearing all black is great and very ideal for this time of year. If you get a great simple all black dress, like this one for $40 from JC Penney:

Now that you have a great dress (which can be worn year round, by the way), you can jazz it up with accessories. Here are some tips on how to do that:

1. Stockings. Patterned tights/stockings have been very popular lately. You can get some with sparkle or a pop of color and go with black pumps for a classic but festive look.

2. Sparkly accessories. The holidays definitely call for sparkle. You can get hair accessories, brooches, bracelets and earrings that sparkle. The main thing I want you to keep in mind is that less is more. Aim for doing no more than two pieces at once. You want to sparkle, not glitter like a disco ball.

3. Holiday colored accessories. Red and green are popular holiday colors and if you want to go for a more subdued addition to your black dress, look for accessories in these popular colors. Since it’s officially the holiday season, you should be able to find them fairly easy. You can even go as far as to wear pieces shaped like trees, wreaths or snowmen (to name a few). However, less is also more here. Don’t do more than one of these types of pieces.

I hope these tips help. For the record, when I do the holiday party, I definitely go for all or mostly black with sparkly or bright colored accessories. Black is very slimming and flattering and the accessories (even shoes, especially shoes) help make the whole outfit pop. If you have a go to holiday party look, post a comment. I’d love to hear your insight.

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Shoe candy-Sparkly Pumps

Dec 10, 2011 by Clueless Fashionista

I have been on a search for a great pair of budget friendly sparkly pumps. Now don’t get me wrong, sparkly pumps are definitely not in short supply but the ones I tend to gravitate towards are the designer ones that cost hundreds of dollars. My mom would not be a happy camper if I showed up on Christmas with my great sparkly pumps in lieu of her gifts. So, since I am keeping with the holiday spirit and buying gifts, I need some pumps that sparkle for less. Here are a great pair of orange sparkly pumps. You can get these for $18.99 at AMI Clubwear.

Now here is the actual secret. These pumps are definitely worthy of shoe candy but this post is really about the place that sells these fabulously yummy pumps, AMI Clubwear. It is a website that I learned about a year ago. They sell trendy clothes, accessories and shoes, glorious shoes for very reasonable prices. I have purchased shoes from them and they are of good quality. If you want to expand your shoe wardrobe without killing your budget, check them out. If you do visit and buy something (why wouldn’t you?), please share. I love to hear about great shopping finds.

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Holiday Style Tips with ALA Styles

Dec 2, 2011 by Clueless Fashionista

So once again, the holiday season has suddenly appeared! Ok, let’s be honest. It hasn’t suddenly appeared but since we are all often in denial about the holidays coming when August hits, we fight it off until it’s December and then we decide that the holidays have suddenly appeared.

But I digress…

I am the Executive Producer of Friday Girl TV and in one of our previous seasons, we did an episode where October Rose (the host of the show) was given some great holiday style tips by Amanda Atkins of ALA Styles. As we all start planning for those different holiday parties, we could all use some tips on what to wear. Here is a great video that offers some suggestions on entire outfits to wear but you can always take pieces that work best for you and your situation.

Enjoy!

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Cool giveaways in honor of Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Nov 25, 2011 by Clueless Fashionista

If you’re like me, you did not wake up before dawn to descend upon the stores and take advantage of Black Friday deals and that is cool. If you aren’t like me, you did wake up before dawn to descend upon the stores and take advantage of Black Friday deals and that is cool also.

I thought I’d do my own special event but this doesn’t require you go anywhere physically. Nor does it cost anything. I found two cool giveaways that I thought I’d share with you. Both are for a beauty product and I encourage you to enter. The coolest thing is to win something and then get it in the mail later. It’s like an unexpected gift that you sort of expect.

I’ve already entered one and plan on entering the other. Both products being given away look super cool and effective. One of them is a lip balm and I LOVE lip balms! Good luck and please comment if you do win and let me know how the products work. These aren’t my giveaways and I don’t get anything from referring you aside from the joy of sharing some cool giveaways with you.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!!

Maybelline Baby Lips and Lots of Lashes – Jersha & Dup

http://jershaanddup.com/maybelline-baby-lips-lots-of-lashes-review-giveaway/

Best Beauty Gadget Giveaway

http://www.nyaproductreviewer.com/2011/11/ageloc-galvanic-spa-ll-best-beauty.html

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Shoe Candy-Not Rated Women’s Systematic Oxford

Nov 18, 2011 by Clueless Fashionista

Menswear inspired pieces have become quite popular in recent seasons and they graced the runway for this fall season as well. There’s something about the tailored look of menswear with a touch of femininity for us ladies. These fabulous shoes by Not Rated are a feminine take on the classic shoe boot. They have great detail to give an added pop but are black so they can be worn with lots of different outfits. Plus, they sell for under $50 at Shoemall.com.

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