First Lady Hair

Let's play a little game. It's called match the First Lady to the hair. Alternative game: which First Lady had the coolest hair? My votes go for Ellen Arthur.

Key after the break! (click to enlarge)



Hair-Portraits of First Ladies. From left to right:
1st row: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Martha Randolph, Dolley Madison, Elizabeth Monroe, Louisa Adams
2nd row: Rachel Jackson, Hannah Van Buren, Anna Harrison, Letitia Tyler, Julia Tyler
3rd row: Sarah Polk, Margaret Taylor, Abigail Fillmore, Jane Pierce, Harriet Lane
4th row: Mary Lincoln, Eliza Johnson, Julia Grant, Lucy Hayes, Lucretia Garfield
5th row: Ellen Arthur, Frances Cleveland, Caroline Harrison, Frances Cleveland, Ida McKinley
6th row: Edith Roosevelt, Helen Taft, Ellen Wilson, Edith Wilson, Florence Harding
7th row: Grace Coolidge, Lou Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower
8th row: Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter
9th row: Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama.

NY Times Published July 4, 2009
By Laura Jacobs Read More......

Losing their touch? Or just giving in to celeb crushes?

I present the E! Fashion Police picks for best dressed. I think we all know who took home Worst Dressed (but you know she had her own golden globes as consolation...)

According to Joan and crew, George Clooney took home men's best dressed, and Penelope Cruz took home women's best dressed

Ok, I like Penelope Cruz, and we all know that there are some who would go gay for her, but I personally would have given the prestigious best dressed to Anna Paquin. Or even Jennifer Garner...but that might be a personal bias. I wonder if the Fashion Police this year were taken in by Penelope's inexplicably lustrous hair in spite of the January rain. Hmmm...could it be that even celebrities can be sucked in by this Latin god-dess? And back to George. I love George. Who doesn't? He's helping out Haiti with that telethon, but best dressed? I thought he looked like he normally does in the Oceans movies. My vote went to Robert Downey, Jr. I enjoyed his lack of tie. It looked right on him. I also enjoyed his formal scruff-- NOT to be confused with Jon Hamm's formal beard. I'm just more of a scruff girl, I guess. Ok, ladies and Will. I've had my say. Discuss!
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Rodarte for Target Disappoints

I would like to state some objections I have to both Rodarte's design, the marketing strategy for this line, and whoever styled these pieces for the website.

First of all, it is important to remember that this line is only shown in the junior's section of the store and on the website. Therefore, its primary marketing range, one can assume is probably 12-25 year olds (generously on both ends).

So getting into the nitty gritty:Who the heck said- yes, this shirt, over this bathing suit bottom, with this skirt. . .Huh? It looks like a mariachi costume combined with a mesh muscle shirt. And if you knew what skirt that was you would be further confused (spoiler alert: its mostly tulle and crepe). Dear photoshoot stylist, you need a new dayjob.

Then there is this and this:

Believe it or not, this lacy edged piece is actually a swimsuit. Now, maybe I'm just an old fogey (at 23) but That is Underwear! Also, what is this dress? I get the underwear as outerwear thing but is this really appropriate to market to young girls? Why would you want your daughter to go out wearing something that looks like some sex offender's x-ray vision? And on an impractical note- what teenager is going to take the time to hand wash or dryclean a dress covered in tulle? Really Rodarte? Really Target?

Then I'd like to end on this lovely note (and this is just my opinion, so if you like this skirt, go for it, but maybe dont wear it around me, or any cat ever).

In fact, maybe this model was attacked by a studio feline and half the tulle on her skirt got ripped off. But no, I saw it in the store and the picture doesn't even describe how much confusion I felt. Not to mention, the styling. Isn't the skirt a statement enough without the tites?

You be the judge. Did Rodarte's line for Target crash and burn? Maybe not completely. There were a few dresses that were not only apporpriate for Juniors (as they were being marketed to) but also actually pretty. And please don't think, Rodarte, that I am ignorant of your cutting edge rep, and your reference to the underwear as outerwear principle. I get it. And if a 25 year old or 30 year old wants to wear thier underwear to the pool, more power to them. But we should not encourage twelve year olds to act and dress like they are 25 or 30 don't you agree?

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JCrew Answers all my Questions

Once again I have found answers from visiting JCrew online. You may have seen or in fact own a pair of the mysterious hand warmers seen below which appear to be a veritable cross species in the apparel dictionary.

For years I have wondered 'what are these woolen wonders to be called?' And no longer will I have to settle for 'you know those wool gloves that have the cap thingy'. JCrew has put this question to rest: GLITTENS! So simple and yet so ingenious only the great minds at JCrew could have come up with it. Thank goodness I finally have one less thing to worry about. Now if only I can think of a name for those hats that are also scarves. These hybrids are really head scratchers

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The Foundations of Menswear: A retrospective by Net-A-Porter

Hello Saloners,

Today I was scoping the Internet for interesting tid bits and found this little piece (http://www.net-a-porter.com/magazine#/13/13) which I think is quite relevant. If you've seen any runway shows this past year or really stepped foot into any mall you can see it, men's wear has firmly asserted itself into women's wear lines. And thank goodness because a little tailoring never hurt anyone. But this retrospective from Net-A-Porter looks back at the trendsetters who did it first. I like what they've done but how did not one look from my fav Katherine Hepburn make it on the list? Like this one for instance? Were there just too many to choose from or what? Such a large oversight by such a fashionable source.

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Hello my costumed comrades

So this year I really couldn't decide between a few choice ideas for Halloween so I thought I'd consult my fellow Saloners. This year its all about looking back it seems. Whether it be to your childhood, classic film images or to a general era that no longer is. So your job, is to weigh in on which costume idea you like best. Your choices: Rainbow Brite, 70's Roller Girl, or Classic Jailbird. Let me know what you think! To help I have included some images of how I would interpret these ideas:

First is Rainbow Brite, a classic and beloved cartoon character from my youth. I would try and spin this in a more cute and not so much slutty direction, as it is vaguely creepy to sluttify cute cartoon children (yikes).

This is, of course, an idea I had last year that never came to fruition b/c of the genius clue characters theme. But I thought it was good enough to reconsider for this year. Really I just love coming up with ways to wear those sucks and my romper (love it).
Finally we have what I consider a classic Halloween option that I've always enjoyed and yet never seriously considered till now. I have no clue how I would swing the ball and chain or hand cuffs. I mean, does anybody have these lying around? I didn't think so. And one priority of this year's Halloween is slim to no budget for buying things. My goal is use what I already have in creative ways!

SO let me know what you all think and I guess everyone will see what I decide on October 31st!

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Halloween Magic....

With such fabulous costume ideas already on the board, this year's halloween costume decision has been a tough one. How can I be glam? How can I be unique? How can I be just a little bit skanky... So in my decision-making process, I had to consider my past (but really, the Black Plague can't be topped so I shouldn't be too hard on myslef) and a potential complement costume with a Lego man. Polly Pocket? I think not. Not good enough.
So, after a little bit of searching online, here is what I came up with, and I love it!

Caberet-esque magician!

Halloween '09 by Lhorvigne featuring Anna Sui

The real inspiration here is the sexy magician costume I found on a Party City-like website. I love any excuse to wear fishnets, though I am wary of the hot shorts. I thank Casey for suggesting bringing in inspiration from Caberet and the ever theatrical Columbia from Rocky Horror. All in all, it should be a good season.
Be jealous. Go on. Read More......

What's YOUR Halloween Costume?

Maybe it's a little premature, Halloween being a month away and all, but I got really jazzed. Guess who's going to be Joan Holloway from Mad Men this year.... Yeah. Me. Anyone want to help me dye my hair and shop for jewelry? :)



So what are you going to be? Post your pictures and comments. Let the planning begin! Read More......

It's Going to Be a Thing / Educate Yoself!

I'm so excited about this next it's going to be a thing! I am 100% endorsing/going to wear this once I get my grimy mitts (shoutout guitar hero world tour!) on one.


Turban headbands! And maybe just turbans in general for those very daring people. Turbans have such an interesting history, so I'm going to look into that a little bit for you all. Because I know you're interested. Or I will force you to be.


Generally speaking, a turban is a single piece of cloth that is wrapped around someone's head to serve as a head covering. Humans have practiced this form of habillement since fabric was invented - but we won't get into that subject! That's a WHOLE other post!

Generally turbans are worn in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. It seems to me that the reason turbans are more prevalent here is due to environmental elements. Heat, little coverage from the sun, dust, and other harsh environmental challenges all make turbans a practical choice for fending off the specific elements that are common to these areas. Religion is also a large factor in the use of turbans (although I would still argue that even the religious rules regarding turbans stem back to environmental causes - but again, that is a TOTALLY different post altogether). In particular, the Sikh faith requires that men cover their un-cut hair. It's probably a good bet that most of the people who wear turbans in the western world are of the Sikh faith.

Turbans didn't really become popular in the European world until the late 17th century. But at that time they were solely worn by men who would wear them while relaxing in lieu of their wigs. Oh those were the days. Women didn't pick up on this trend until about a century later. In fact, the first recorded use of the English word "turban" for a Western female headdress is in 1776 (thanks Wikipedia).

In the west, Turbans had two particular points of popularity. The first era that saw a rise in the popularity of the turban was that most beloved of eras - Regency! I'm assuming that they were so popular at this time because of exoticism, orientalism - you know how that went. They were generally worn with formal outfits at this point in fashion history. You can bet that if I lived in regency - I SO would have rocked this look. In fact - in the Kiera Knightly 'Pride and Prejudice', in the scene at Bingley's Ball (all white dresses - so glorious) there is one girl wearing a magnificent turban-esque head piece and I always say that she is me and I am her (besides me being Lizzy. Obviously.).



The other time that saw a great popularity in turbans in womens wear was the 1940's and 50's. This time around they seemed to have much more flexibility of use and could be worn casually (cover up those curlers gurl!) or still formally (I'm thinking Joan Crawford - she must have worn one at some point, or just should have, because that image is inexplicably in my head.)


So chic! I just really dig this look and I think it's rarin' for a come back. The milinary art deserves more respect!

And if you doubt that this trend has legs - Exhibit A: My favorite contemporary style icon of all time. Blair Waldorf.


She is one glorious bitch and I will follow her just abouts where ever she leads me.
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Fun Site

Becky told me about this site a long time ago, but I kind of forgot about it until today. It was a joy to rediscover, let me tell you. So the site is called Polyvore and the premise is that you can create outfits with their huge store of images of clothes, shoes, accessories, etc from different sites on the internet. It is SO fun. I made an amazing set that was inspired by Hobos. You know you want to see it. After the cut!



Hobo Clothes - by Twitoyear on Polyvore.com

Oh heck yes. Hobo chic is very relevant to us in this time of economic hardship. I tried to stick with functional clothes with a 1930's feel to them. And of course no self-respecting Hobo would leave the boxcar without his/her bandana. This one is just a little cuter than any of theirs would have been.
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Salon Event!

I had an idea for a salon event the other day. It could always correspond with Personal Icon month, or it could just be a free-standing salon event if we don't want to wait that long to do it. We can collectively decide that I guess. So I will explain the idea after the cut, but I will give you a little hint before the cut. :)




So my idea is to have a "Personal Style" event. Right about now you might be thinking - What in heck are you talking about Amy? Hold your horses - I'll tell you (I just realized that his post is sounding more and more like an informercial. Damn).

It is my belief that everyone has a very personalized sense of style - it's just that it's hard to see it from where you stand. It is also my belief that if someone is interested, they could really benefit (stylistically speaking) from knowing what that style is, and how they can use it to create a defined and cohesive life. So my idea is to have an all out event where we all just sit down and, through various style exercises, figure out what our most basic sense of style is (or at least what we wish it was).

I'll give you some examples of what kind of exercises I mean. 1. - write down words that you wish reflected you (I'll guarantee you that you already have clothes/other lifestyle routines that reflect those words). 2. - create a pictorial list of people who's style you always like/clothes you really really love/etc. 3. - make a list of all of the clothes you can remember from your life that you have loved an obscene amount. (i.e. you think I have a love of nautical things for no reason? four words - kitty cat sailor dress.) There will be other such exercises as well, I just haven't thought of them yet.

Besides the style exercises, we could maybe watch a very stylish movie (like Contempt which I just watched and will be the inspiration for my summer wardrobe this year, or maybe some movie that is less French. And with less of Brigitte Bardot's ass.) And maybe we could eat some stylish snacks. Like...... chocolate tuxedo strawberries? Idk - we can work on that if you all decide you are interested in having such an event. So just let me know what you all think!
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It's Going to Be a Thing: Economic Crisis Edition

It's been a little while since I've made an It's Going to Be a Thing post, but honestly I just haven't been inspired recently (except in menswear type things, which I don't think y'all really care about - but note: a mass popularity of the knitted tie is imminent).

But as for fashion that will affect us... I've been at a bit of a loss. So I decided to make this into a discussion post. Namely, what I'm interested in, is how will our economic crisis affect what we wear?

Here are some things that I'm thinking:

1. Obviously we will spend less and use what we already have more.
2. What we DO choose to spend money on will be good basics - things that can go with what we already have and will be very functional.
3. Quality will become increasingly important. Quality of fabric, Quality of cut, etc.
4. The things we buy will be easy to care for. Nobody needs the extra costs of dry-cleaning now.

Here are some things I'm wondering about. Will neutrals become more popular than color as they can work with more? Will texture take precedence over pattern as that can work with more? Will the prevalence of pattern decrease? Will our clothes become more conservative to reflect the somber feeling our country is experiencing? OR will we go in the opposite direction and opt for happier clothing as a way to combat those hard time blues? So many interesting things to think about!

As for me - I certainly don't plan on buying less color - I want more color if anything! And I never really care for a lot of pattern anyway. But I definitely am more interested in thicker fabrics that last a long time, like wools for winter, and cottons for summer. Also, I feel like I want to buy more dresses (big surprise) - but seriously - it's a total outfit in one piece! MUCH more economical. I also definitely feel that I want things that are more well tailored and figure flattering - these are things that will boost your confidence and make you WANT to wear something over and over and over again so you don't have to go out buying more!

Here is something else to think about. In the past, times of financial depression encouraged more women to sew their own clothing. Do you think this is even possible today?! I feel like people are so out of touch with self-sufficiency that that idea wouldn't even occur to most people. I am totally going to actually make some of the patterns (see below) that I have for some of my new summer clothes instead of just buying all new clothes. But then I've had these patterns and have really wanted to make them anyway. But maybe before they wouldn't have been the bulk of my new clothes for the summer season like they probably will be this year.


So I feel like there is a lot to think about concerning this issue. What do you all think will be the effects of our economic depression on our clothing choices? What are you looking for/are you planning on changing anything in order to suit the times? I'm interested in what you all have to say.

(An aside - in my research for this post, I found a surprisingly interesting article which - though not relating to fashion per se - had some things to say about other style choices. Read if you dare.) Read More......

Fashion Don'ts and Grievances (click the read more to see all of it)

Lately, I find myself having issues with articles of clothing I see all around me. I'm not certain if this is due to the proximity I live to Atlanta- the city where, seemingly, anything you wear goes...BUT I have GOT to say my piece on these...pieces. I can't keep quite about them any longer! Today I had my window down and was on the phone and actually said- loud enough to be heard- "Your dress is terrible!" Oops...but, in my defense, her dress WAS terrible. I will now display some of the fashion faux pas I've seen. Otherwise I'm going to throw down on someone.


Article A. The Fanny Pack/Manny Pack
I have a lot of built up frustration towards Fanny Packs after working at the capital of them. Oh, that's right people- we had games where we counted the number you would see during the course of a day. And the elusive Manny Pack (a fanny pack toted by the husband or man) was worth more points... Yes, I realize fanny packs serve the purpose of freeing up those hands for things like a churro and a coke that you simply MUST carry with you. I understand that you need to put your wallet and cell phone into a pack instead of just carrying, let's say...a purse or a bookbag or even *gasp* just putting said items into the pockets. I don't know what's worse, though...the articles of clothing fanny packs tend to be paired with or the horrible general fashion sense of the people (victims?) wearing them. To fanny packs, I say, BE GONE.

Article B. Sequined Items

Yes. I agree that sequined dresses and shirts can serve a purpose- let's say you're going out to that hot new club downtown for the weekend and you want to wear an outfit that says, "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! EVERYONE NOTICE ME!" then sequins are great. You'll definitely grab a lot of attention as every spotlight shines on you and you instantaneously blind all the people surrounding you. Which, come to think of it, sort of goes against the point of said attention-whore outfit. Yet, this is not my main problem with sequined outfits. My main issue is the crunching sound they make. I hate it! It grates on my nerves like nails scratching down a chalkboard, a knife scraping on a plate, or a dentist spit sucker that makes that weird "quuuuuuuooooo" sound...yuck! I'm going to put the rule out there: if your clothes make a sound, you probably shouldn't be wearing them. (Exception of tasteful corduroy)Article C. Tennis Shoes with Dresses

I know, I know what you're thinking. No! No one actually wears tennis shoes and socks with dresses anymore! Especially not with a suitdress! But, alas, dear readers- I have seen this trend more than once in the past week. It was startling. I felt for a moment that I had stepped back into time; or perhaps was on the set of a movie set in the 80s. One about a working girl and she has to walk to lunch and she doesn't want to wear those blasted and painful heels so she takes them off and puts on her much more comfortable tennis shoes- with protective socks- over her pantyhose and walks to that Deli down the road, the whole time thinking, "Screw Corporate America! Feminism, yeah!" but...sadly, I looked around...I saw no camera crew. And the time-space continuum seems to be in good condition so I can safely assume that I did not actually step back in time. Yes, tennis shoes, socks, and dresses do not belong together unless you are from the past or a little girl- and let's face it- those socks better be white and frilly, or with super sweet fuzzy dangly ball things on them (huh...that's weird to write out, but I don't know what they're called).
Also, I am aghast to see the tennis shoe with dress thing is even being used by certain "carefree" and "athletic" brides who just want to be "comfortable" on their big day. Ugh. Put on some heels or cute flats and suck it up...


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