Jill Laine Style

Hello Stylish Ones!

Who among us doesn’t love a great sale, I ask you? I mean, retail is so upper bourgeois.
At JLS every Wednesday, prepare to see a new sale featured, along with a particular item from that sale.

Today’s featured sale is from J.Crew. I’m impressed that the fashion folks there have seriously slashed prices. Case in point, today’s featured item: a strapless summer dress for $30, down from $128! This dress will transition well into fall, with a denim jacket or belted cardigan, and boots. Moreover, it’s the perfect classic summer dress that you’ll look forward to wearing year after year.

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Hello Stylish Ones!

Indulgent. This is a word that elicits a multitude of thoughts and emotions, usually with a negative connotation. In this time when we all seem to be aware of making do with less, ‘indulgent’ sounds almost, well, vulgar.

So what’s so wrong with indulging yourself, with giving your heart, mind, body, spirit what it needs? In ample abundance?  This is not a sugar or carb loading spree, or one that will max out all your credit cards. This is about the tender, sweet little kindnesses that we all need to indulge in from time to time. So that we don’t go out of our minds and eat 12 chocolate croissants in one sitting.

Be Indulgent: Take time to indulge yourself today. Pick one of the following and indulge for 30 minutes. Enjoy. Savor. Put up a sign that says “No guilt allowed”.
Want extra points? Pick more than one item on this list. 

*Sit down with a juicy magazine or catalog, and a cup of tea
*Take a nap
*Get outside and go for a walk
*Put on your fave dance mix and shake it like your life is at stake
*Give yourself a mani-pedi, and try something new, get creative with your nail art

What do you like to indulge in, that doesn’t cost in calories or dollars? Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
JL 

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1. Fashion via your style is intertwined with your confidence. 

I invite you to play a game with me. Think for a moment about the most amazing outfit you can imagine, see all the details: the shoes, the jewels, and all the other yummy accessories. Close your eyes and imagine you in this outfit, take it all in. How do you feel? Like you can conquer the world! Now see yourself interacting with other people from this place, what does this look, and feel, like? 
 

Next, imagine yourself wearing something old and stained, maybe ripped, something that doesn’t fit, or that you don’t like. Close your eyes again. What do you feel like now? How does this affect your interaction with others? 

And so I submit to you that how you adorn yourself, your style, does matter. The feelings you have about yourself from the lovely land of your best style allow you and your confidence to flourish. Though others may be impressed by your outward appearance, it’s more about the inner you shining through that they see, and respond to. When your confidence is soaring and you’re seeing the tangible benefits in your relations with others, it’s a never-ending cycle of feel-goodness. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

This isn’t to say that our external presence should guide our entire self esteem or confidence, none of us want to be summed up in one dimension alone. How do we divide ourselves when our spirit, internal and external are inexorably one? I submit to you that living your best style allows you to expand yourself in all areas of your life, increasing your confidence and overall energy that others pick up on. When you’re in this magical confidence zone you’re more apt to share your quick wit, brilliant ideas, and all the other things that make you so fabulous, Stylish One.

Photo: fashionandpower.blogspot.com 

2. In it’s purest form, fashion is art.
You are your own canvas to be painted fresh each and every day. What a grand and exciting adventure!

Whether you call upon the great designers of our generation or the great designers at Target to express yourself, consider the color, pattern and texture that you’re able to express with fashion, and in three dimensions, no less. There is an absolute genius in fashion and style done right. 

3. Fashion gives you the ability to reflect your inside on your outside.
Whatever is going on inside your cranium or emotions, consider releasing that via your style. Fashion is the expression of your unique essence and individuality. If you are true to your personal style, this can never be replicated. You can never be replicated. Give yourself permission to discover your unique style fingerprint, and then unleash it on the world!

Here’s to the glory of fashion, and always,

To Your Style!

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1. House of Style Repeats. How genius is MTV for re-launching this program, with a young Will Smith and fresh faced Cindy Crawford? It’s a glimpse into early 90′s fashion, sans the polish of current reality shows. 

2. Barneys Warehouse Sale goes online. Anytime I can shop that sale with caffeine, in my ‘jammers, it’s exceedingly dangerous. 

3. Olympic Anticipation. These games teach me about persistence, success, and determination, which is why I’ll be tuned in start to finish. Read my vlog on SheKnows.com about how you can take home your own style gold! 

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OMG. I am so over obsessing and crushing on the latest celebrity rocking a major look (I die!) from an eponymous designer, per Editrix such-and-such.

Can we buy a Thesaurus already? Or make up your own words, that’s what I do!

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Hello Stylish Ones!

Is there anything that is cause for celebration quite like a great sale? Right up there with world peace, retail sales are something I strive for with earnest. That’s why I’m starting Salebration Wednesday, where I’ll give you the skinny on one JLS approved sale, and one super fabulous item from said sale that you’ll want to check out.

Lest you be living under a very large rock, you’ve heard of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. What I heart about this yearly sale is that it offers all the trendy fall goodies for the upcoming season, and basics, at a substantial discount. The sale this year goes through August 6th, so if you haven’t already, get to checking it out at Nordstrom.com!

Here’s one of my fave’s this year, these Steve Madden Fairlow Booties, down to $139.90 from $209.95. 

Loves me that big buckle, and that heel height is not too low, not too high, but just right. From jeans to leggings, skirts and dresses, these are your go-to boots o’greatness!

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Hello Stylish Ones!

Be Kind. Usually reserved for other people, this ‘be kind’ business. As of late I’ve come to ponder, what are the little things we can do to be kind to ourselves? Sure, I can gather a list a mile long of those niceties that cost a bundle in the financial or caloric department: go on a mad spree at Barneys, eat a chocolate croissant, and the like. It takes more creativity, however, to indulge ourselves with something generous, lovely, and free.

Of the utmost importance in the business of being kind to you is this gem: intention. It’s observing the ritual of kindness toward yourself, and savoring it. The cake and the shoes are delicious, to be sure, but so are the little things, if we take the time to observe them as such.

Therefore I’m proclaiming every Tuesday: Be Kind to You. I’ll list one idea where you can discover and celebrate juicy morsels of kindness toward yourself.

Today’s Kindness: Be Human.
Allow yourself the grace to make mistakes. Shake it off. You’re only human, after all. Take a look back at your so-called mistakes, with kind eyes. In each and every one there is a lesson to be learned, or a good that came later. Don’t focus on where you fell down, acknowledge that you got up. 

“Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Japanese Proverb

What are the generous, free things that you like to do for yourself? Leave me a comment below and share!

JL

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Hello Stylish Ones!

And so it has begun. Summer sales are sizzling like an egg on the sidewalk, with deep and juicy discounts. This is the perfect chance to find fabulous things for your wardrobe at a fraction of what you would have paid just a mere 6 weeks ago. So what’s the best strategy for shopping these sales with purpose? Here are my 3 tips for stretching your dollars and winning some big bargains! 

1. Buy Classics
Florals were huge this year. As were stripes. And lace. These classic items will go forward for many Spring/Summers to come. Avoid buying any strange patterns or cuts that may appear too trendy. Basic cardigans, jackets, shorts, dresses and skirts in simple and classic cuts are always a safe bet. 

Photo: myfashiontricks.blogspot.com

2. Buy Quality
If  you’ve been eye spying and lusting after a certain designer bag or shoe, this is the time to find it at slash and burn prices. Many high end retailers are having their blow out sales right now, which makes for some mighty fun shopping! Barneys, Net-a-Porter, Saks, and a plethora of other merchants are blowing out their summer merchandise right now, since fall items have already started to arrive. At the very least, consider this your opportunity to ‘buy up’, that is, use the same amount that you would usually spend to buy a better designer, with a higher quality fabric and a finer cut.

Jean-Michel Cazabat, Zoe, $129 from $339, Barneys.com

3. Buy Multi-Season
It’s a great day when you can find fabulous items that you love for your wardrobe at 50-75% off. But you go to a whole other level of shopping expertise when you’re able to seek and find pieces that you can wear from summer, into fall, and perhaps even the first vestiges of winter. Now you know summer sales are filled with bright colors, white, and summer fabrics such as cotton and chiffon-things that scream ‘Summer’. As well they should. But there is the occasional piece, in a fabric with a just right weight (not too thick for summer, not too thin for fall), in a perfect, in between color, that you know will effortlessly transition into multi-seasons. Which stretches your shopping dollar and budget even more, making you a bona fide Summer Sale Genius!

Photo: Fashionologie.com

Here’s to all the joys of summer, and always,

To Your Style!

JL

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