Fashion Advice from C$

Every day on the bus/metro ride into work, I ponder fashion. For the most part, I am not on the cutting edge of every trend, however, I do know what works on people and what doesn't, regardless of any trend out there. I guess I'm more of a classics kind of girl, spending money on things that I know will never go out of style and mixing it up with color and accessories so that I look "fresh".

So I am on the bus/metro and I see things that should never happen. People of DC, how can you walk out of your house looking like that? How can your spouse/children/friends let you be seen with them when you are committing so many fashion faux pas?

I will outline some major offensives and will update whenever i see them. Until DC is a fashion friendly place I will continue on my mission to rid this city of horrible clothes, one Ugg boot at time.

1. First and foremoest, ugg boots. They shouldn't be worn with office wear no matter what. They shouldn't be worn with mini skirts (if it's warm enough to wear a mini then it sure as hell isn't warm enough for Ugg boots). Wearing them with jeans is okay, but only if your jeans GO OVER THEM. No one wants to see your ugly ass Uggs, cover them up with some jeans woman! Thank GOD they are slowly going out of style for good.


2. Matching colors. Since a youngn' I've always matched my clothes perfectly. My mother and I would have fights about "that green in that stripe doesn't match EXACTLY with the green cords, I CAN'T wear them together!" And her response would be that they were all the same color family and it was okay to mix them together. I've grown up and realize that things don't have to match perfectly, but simple rules must be followed:

a. If you are trying to match things perfectly

(red pants with a great red and white striped shirt)

the colors must match exactly.

No two ways about it. It has to be done. I

will notice that they don't match and I'll comment.

b. If you're going for an overall color family theme, that's cool

just make sure that it's obvious that you didn't try to match perfectly

and failed miserably, ending up with marroon pants and a candy

red shirt because you're color blind.

3. generally speaking, your bag and your shoes should match. Not neccessarily in color only (although I had a friend at BU who told us that he'd never sleep with a girl who's shoes didn't match her bag, we often questioned what kind of 'girl' he meant, but that's unimportant)

You can't wear a classy bag with slouchy shoes (i.e. uggs) It just doesn't work. Match the 'theme of your shoes to your outfit and purse.

4. while we're on the topic of purses, nothing pisses me off more than seeing young women wearing PJ like clothes (juicy couture pants anyone?) with a structured, classy or fancy bag.

Again, match the theme. Slouchy pants, slouchy bag. It's simple people.

5. Scarves, hats and mittens/gloves.

I'm all for warmth, it's important, but there is no need to sacrfice warmth for fashion. Your hat should match your scarf that you are wearing. Again, simple. I saw a stately lookingwoman yesterday who was dressed to the 9's but had a blue patterned fleecescarf with her dark coat (okay, not my favorite combo) and a big ass burnt orange hat on top of her pretty blonde hair. It ruined her look and made her look like an idiot. Match people, match. Get the blue solid hat to have whenever it gets cold. If you like to mix up scarves (like yours truly) buy at least one complete set of scarf, hat and mittens that you can wear when it's needed and when you don't need to

wear the hat, wear different scarves around your neck. That way you'll seem fresh even though you're mixing it up only a couple of times a week. Or buy a solid color hat that matches several in your scarf stash and mix it up that way. Easy. (I couldn't find a picture of a 'what not to do" but I hope that y'all get the idea)

6. Dressing your Age

Few rules when dressing your age. If you are older, dress your age, or a few years under (maybe 3-5), but not 10-20. Nothing grosses me (and i'm assuming everyone else) is seeing some 45+ woman wearing things that only a 15 year old would be caught dead in.

If you are younger and working in an office, dress the age of the next oldest person working in your office. I.e. My co-workers are 24 and 25 and I never dress older than they do. BUT if your next oldest coworker of the same sex (in my case, 4oish) don't make the 20 year jump and dress like a middle aged woman. Find someone you see regularly or a friend that's a few years older than you are and copy their office wardrobe. If all else fails, invest in a few good suits, some button down shirts, a couple pairs of nice shoes (at least one brown and one black) and some pearls. No one is dressed in DC without their pearls!

7. flip flopsThese are my favorite pair of shoes EVER. i wear them from spring until my toes freeze off in the Fall/Winter. It's fine to wear them to and from work, to run errands and such but it is NOT okay to wear them to any type of formal function (IE wearing flip flops to the White House) No flip flop is ever formal and the only time you can get away with it is if the formal affair is 'casual', meaning a beach wedding or summer BBQ with important people. Wearing nice flip flops (no plastic allowed) is fine in these circumstances, but very limited elsewhere. Also, try not to flip or flop as you are walking along. OR drag your feet. you know how to walk, do it.

Sidenote: if you do wear flip flops or any kind of sandal for that matter, please PLEASE

do something about your toes and dry skin. Paint your toes a nice color (i'm all for pinks and deep reds) and slather on some lotion and socks before bed to get rid of all that dry skin. No one and i mean NO ONE wants to see your gross ass feet without a little polish on them.

Ok, I think that is my rant for today, although I reserve the right to edit, change, delete or add to my list at any time. :)

C$