Why you should care about having the right undergarments

Ladies, my last post about the little black dress, reminded me about the importance of having the correct undergarments. Having worked in intimate apparel for more years than i care to admit ;), has left me with one thought. Undergarments can make or break an outfit…

 

Here is a simple test, grab a tee and or button down blouse. Then, get a comfy sports bra or bra-lette(yes, that one we wear on weekends that are stretchy) and a tee-shirt bra(molded, not padded, smooth). Try on your sports bra with the tee or blouse…now with the t-shirt bra. Which look is better? 

 

 

 

The t-shirt bra.

 Let’s have a better understanding of what is happening visually and physically. The cup, if it fits correctly, contains all your breast tissue, front and center. When the breast tissue is raised off the rib cage and out from under the armpit it makes one look longer and leaner.  Voila, you have gained a waist and lost several pounds. 

Now if you want to create the illusion of being a bit fuller i recommend Natori, “Pure Luxe” with wide straps or “Understated” with spaghetti straps. The main thing for all cup sizes is to make sure you have enough coverage that you get a smooth line, no “double boob”.  For D-G ladies try Natori’s “Element” , Chantelle’s  “Magnifigue” or “Parisian” these are lovely, smooth cup bras that contain your breast, front and center, again creating a sleeker look with out adding anything.

 

 

You can also find a excellent reference fitting guide and Q&A from Nordstrom here.

Many heavier garments sweaters, blazers layering of clothing can make you look shapless. The right bra will change that. Start with the best quality nude bra you can afford and see the difference it makes.

 

 

 

If you want any outfit to look better from your favorite jeans and a tee to the formal dress. Spend some time and money on what’s underneath. In addition to the large department stores, most cities have boutiques that are knowledgable in bra fitting. If you have an opportunity to visit the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue, in New York City, please go! It is wonderful to have almost an entire floor dedicated to underpinnings.

Look as great underneath the  dress as you do with it on. Dress for yourself. Please go get fit and get the best t-shirt bra you can afford. You won’t regret it. 

Now when do i get to wear the pretty lace bras?…to be continued

 

The thoughts and suggestions in this post are exclusively mine. I did not get paid or endorsed by any company or person. I did work at Nordstrom and several boutiques, as a bra specialist, many years ago. 

Shout out to Unsplash for photos. Photographers are listed respectively, Seth-Doyle, Caique-Silva, Brook-Cagle, Yoann-Boyer, Hust Wilson, Scott Webb, Larm-Rmah and Catherine-McMah.

 

Four easy ways to channel your Inner Love Child

Show your Inner Love Child some affection.

 

Frye Cowboy boots. Vintage GUESS Jeans, Handwoven vintage open front cardigan. Madewell denim shirt.
Frye Cowboy boots. Vintage GUESS Jeans, Vintage patchwork suede and knit jacket with hood. Toggle buttons

How do you blend era items and not look like you are going to a Halloween Party?

 Simple 🙂 Incorporate any of these ideas to show your style.

  1. Incorporate yellow gold.  Think chunky sweater in an organic shape.        Cape, cardigan or blazer will work great.
Frye Cowboy boots. Vintage GUESS Jeans, Handwoven vintage open front cardigan. Madewell denim shirt.
Frye Cowboy boots. Vintage GUESS Jeans, Handwoven vintage open front cardigan. Madewell denim shirt.
Handwoven vintage open front cardigan. Madewell denim shirt. Slovak blown glass necklace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage GUESS Jeans, Vintage patchwork suede and knit jacket with hood. Toggle buttons

   2.Add brown suede or leather.

 

 

 

 

 

Brown is softer looking than black.

 

 

 

 

Think suede skirt, jacket or cardigan.

The featured cardigan is knit and suede, with a hood!

A true 70’s relic.

3.Cowboy boots. Frye makes timeless styles. 

4. Denim & Denim on Denim.                                  

Jen 7 High waisted Dark Denim. Vintage Italian blouse

 

 

 

If you want a more sophisticated Sundance look. Darker denim, high waisted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More trendy go with a high waisted, faded, vintage pair of jeans.

Frye Cowboy boots. Vintage GUESS Jeans, Vintage handmade open front cardigan sweater. American Eagle felt hat

The ones shown are Guess. Layer a denim shirt.

Voila L’Amour 

All clothes are my own. Available for purchase, Brown Suede jacket  and Vintage hand sewn open front yellow cardigan sweater

Thanks for reading. 🙂

Have a beautiful day!

 

Are you Out Plaid by pattern? 3 Easy ideas to make them work for you

 

60’s Wool Zip Front Dress

Not sure what pattern to wear to mix things up? You can’t go wrong with plaid. Plaid’s history is long and interesting Fashion Archives did a beautiful job explaining the history. Here are three easy tips that work with plaid and most prints.

Anthropologie Moulinette Soeurs Dress Vintage Japanese Cardigan

1)Pick the minor color in the pattern and accent with that. In the example above, this Anthropologie, Moulinette Soeurs dress has a blue lining. Add a blue cardigan… voila.

2)Black boots any height shape or size work well. Classic as plaid itself.

 

Vintage Doc Martens Red Patent Leather Organic Cotton Green 3 Skirt Denim Trucker jacket

Want to take it up a notch Doc Martens from England in red patent leather. Add a classic rock and roll look. Not your thing?

 

 

Leather ballet flats

Ballet flats to the rescue.

 

3) Denim jacket or denim button down shirt. A denim trucker jacket or blazer always complete the look. A denim shirt also works well and can be tied in a knot in the front. 

Organic Cotton Made in USA Four panel sweater skirt by Green 3

 

Have a beautiful day 🙂

Green 3 skirt is new from the manufacturer and on sale at my eBay store, along with the two plaid dresses and vintage cardigan.

 

 

Had to share this piece of American History! 55-501’s 1950’s Levi’s 501

American Icons …Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, waves of amber grain and of course Levi’s

Never dreamed i would touch not to mention own a pair of Levi’s like this! Had to document as i will most likely never be lucky enough to find another pair!

I became self educated about Levi’s and other jeans thanks to a seller who gave me her decades worth of jeans to sell for her. She was planning on making denim purses when she retired and later changed her mind. In the mix of different jeans were various pairs of Levi’s.

 

So… what are the details that make one pair worth a few dollars and another worth thousands? Again a shout out to all others that have put this information out before me including Levisguide.com , RopeDye

In a nutshell you want to look at the Tab label and Color on the back pocket or back patch. Levi’s transitioned from “big E” to “little E” between ’67-69.  Big Letter E on LEVI’S Red Tab on both sides. Prior to this they only printed on one side

Selvedge refers to the way denim has been woven. Learn more here. Shown is white line selvedge. More recent styles include red line. Now unless you have a pair of designer jeans selvedge is not generally standard, they surge the side seam instead… much less expensive.        Check out the size of this pocket. It was intended for a Watch not coins. The white strip is selvedge, also unusual. 🙂

 

Type of stitching, this is a single stitch, in 1973 Levi’s switched to different double link stitching.

 Hardware. These are referred to as Button Codes and indicate which factory produced them. This one is a letter “E”. Now they are three digits.

Hidden Copper Rivets.                     Not visible when on. The jeans prior to this had the rivets on the exterior back pocket. Customers were complaining that it was scratching furniture.

Lemon Yellow thread not gold bronze

 

V-Stitching & Offset belt loop 

Again all of this information was learned from others and handling different jeans. Wanted to share this incredible find that is currently listed on eBay

So many great jeans so much history.. such as  Wranglers were made for Cowboys  and Rodeo use. Wrangler is the only western brand officially endorsed by Pro Rodeo Cowboys. Lee Jeans where made for railroad workers and they created the UnionWork Jumpsuit. Along with introducing the first zipper fly on jeans.

Hope you enjoyed this history lesson. 🙂

 

Here are the ways identified my Levi’s

Button Fly

Selvedge-White line not Red

Top Button contains and “E”

Hidden copper rivets

Single stitch pockets

no care tag

Selvedge Watch/Coin Pocket

Flat Silver LS hardware

V-Stitching

and off set belt loop

Lemon yellow thread