Hunting High & Low: Grab & Go Clutches

I adore oversized purses. There may be nothing on earth that I like more than a bag that lets me cart around all my worldly goods without looking like a hobo. A giant bag can be a lifesaver because for some of us (read: me) there is no such thing as non-essential item. Last week I discovered that I had seven different lip glosses stuffed into the bottom of my purse. Do I really need seven glosses all at once?

Yes. Of course I do but there are times when one must downsize. Every so often a girl gets tired of dragging everything around with her. Sure a bag can fit your whole life but with everything else we have to deal with daily do you really want to? Sometimes you only need the basics and after months of walking around with purses large enough to be considered luggage I am officially ready for clutches.

A good clutch should be large enough to fit your day to day essentials but since its handheld it should also be small enough to avoid being uncomfortable. The F/W runways were laden with oversized clutch options which look great but can be a little tricky to handle especially once you take out the tissue paper and stuff them with your goodies. After you decide on a size that's right for you anything goes. Chose something neutral or go all out with wild colors and patterns, here we present a variety of options from inexpensive to super luxe.



UNDER 100 : Jeweled Clutch $48 - Steve Madden | Black Striped Clutch $48 - Urban Outfitters, Seersucker Clutch $38 - Amici | Gold Folder Clutch $95 - Ohna Elrich | White Patent Clutch $39 - Nine West

100 -300 : Embroidered Clutch $198 - BCBG Max Azria | Yellow Braided Clutch $295 - Lauren Merkin | Black Python Clutch $150 - Rafe | Black Floral Clutch $195 - Kate Spade | Gunmetal Clutch $195 - Lorelai

300 & UP : Peacock Embroidered Clutch $325 - Isabella Fiore| Croc Pin Clutch - Marc Jacobs (boutiques only) | Blue Suede Clutch $895 - Jimmy Choo | Red Quilted Clutch $1125 - Chanel (boutiques only) | White Quilted Clutch $395 - Marc Jacobs


Personally I'm itching to get my hands on that Isabella Fiore with the peacock feather embroidery. Its just the sort of thing I can see myself wearing and it can go from day to evening which is always a plus for a girl on the go. Is anyone else eager for the new clutches or are larger than life bags still going strong?

Dairy Queens

This yoghurt advert is to me like ice-cream to Dawson's dad...

Reading Feministing, I came across this post.

Apparently there's a series of adverts for a diet yoghurt that uses iconic images of women, like this --

-- and replaces the original skinny version with a plus-size woman.

The caption reads "Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt." (Thanks to joelle once again.)

Apparently after you finish retching in disgust at the hideous fatty, you then rush out and buy some diet yoghurt to make sure you remain attractive to men and diet yo'self down to the original skin'n'bones version.

Apparently, it's 2007.

Her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard...

However, I must now edit, because another dairy-licious thing arrived in my inbox today. To balance out the hideousness of that advert, I bring you the super-sexy fantastic Sara Ramirez. Who has got milk, and got curves, and got It:



Sara Ramirez: bringing me and dairy back together since ought-seven.

Reading Materials

In an average month, I get through ooh, a third of a rainforest's worth of reading material. A couple of papers a day, stacks of magazines a week, books up to my eyeballs, etc, etc. Something struck me recently as I set off for the park with an afternoon's worth of magazines, planning a lazy, sunshiney day of page-flipping and note-taking. Of the wodge of paper I crammed in my bag, three of the issues were weight-related:

Observer Woman (June 2007): The Body
Elle US (June 2007): The Body Issue
Teen Vogue (June/July 2007): editor's letter and main feature "Weighty Issue"

Let's take them one by one.

Observer Woman



I'm not a massive fan of The Observer's monthly Woman supplement. For those that aren't familiar, The Observer is The Guardian's sister Sunday paper; each week they do a not-that-good flimsy glossy supplement (in addition to the eight billion other Sunday sections) on a theme -- Sport, Food, Music, Woman.

(Hilariously, the three supplements aside from Woman are suffixed Monthly. Sport Monthly, Music Monthly, Food Monthly... one can only assume they wanted to avoid any reference to "your monthlies" and so chose not to call the Woman section Woman Monthly (or Women Monthly, which would make more sense).)

The problem with a Woman supplement is it doesn't really have a coherent theme in the way the other monthly supplements do, or at least the paper hasn't quite decided what exactly Woman is. So it's an awkward hotchpotch of fashion and beauty and fashion and beauty...plus the occasional interview or feature with a Woman of Note. Or a man who works in fashion or beauty. Basically it's a fashion 'n' beauty supplement - and hey, there ain't nothin' wrong with that. Except the paper obviously thinks there is something wrong with that, because Lipstick and Foundation and Dresses and Girlish Fripperies are Shallow; therefore we shall dress them up with the title Woman and throw in the occasional feminist slant to pretend like this isn't Vogue.

So, The Body Issue. It largely avoids the body - there's an interview with Tom Ford, an interview with Anne Sweeney, a list of what's hot or not for summer, lots of writers and peeps sharing their body hang-ups (including - eye-roll - Liz bloody Jones and her body dysmorphia*)...and a very short photo story on swimsuits, featuring four photos of two plus-size models, and an essay on same.

*I'm not making light of actual body dysmorphia. I just hate Liz Jones and think she's old enough to know better. If you're not familiar with this odious excuse for a journalist...ignorance is bliss. Really.

The photos are hot though:

"Are you shocked by these photographs? We were - and we commissioned them. We were there, during the shoot. We watched our models, Kate Smith and Elizabeth Satherlund, get transformed, made-up, and styled. We watched them pose. We studied early Polaroids. But still, we were shocked by the finished product. The photographs seemed illicit, transgressive. They seemed overtly sexual. Fetishistic, almost. They certainly seemed contrary to today's rules on glossy-magazine aesthetics. So much bosom! So much bottom! Such luscious rolls of back fat! Such extravagant thighs! Aren't there laws against this?"

Elle

Elle's Body Issue cover star is Jessica Biel, who I haven't actually heard of except in magazines and gossip pictures accompanied by Justin Timberlake. She's totally one of those stars who I know exactly who they are without knowing how or why they got famous. A TV show? A film? Is she a singer? I could IMDb her but then I remember I don't care.

Anyway, the straplines:

• THE BODY ISSUE: Love the One You're With
• The 6-Step Bikini Makeover Anyone Can Look Good Almost Naked
• How to Lose Those Last 5 Pounds And Why You Shouldn't Bother
• "Do I Look Fat In This?" Well... Since You Asked: What Men Really Think
• A Little Lipo? What's New, What's Safe

So in order...love your body, but make it over, lose weight by reading these conflicted messages, judge yourself through your fella's eyes, and if all else fails: cosmetic surgery!

No sign of any deviation from the norm in the fashion spreads (in three fashion stories, there are three thin, white, dark-blonde models). There are some interesting stories, but all from the perspective of losing weight and then realising that weight isn't the key to happiness. (The conclusion to these tales is always, hilariously, that the writer discovers it's what's inside that counts, and they have inner peace...inner peace conveniently contained in a newly toned Size 6 bod, but still - inner peace, you guys.)

There's the Mormon who lost 80lbs and had to have her excess loose skin removed by cosmetic surgery, who tells us all about her personal journey and God and wisdom and blah-di-blah...and ends with her gratitude for life and bodies and living: "I can finally say I feel gratitude. Not because I got plastic surgery and look better, but because this is the only body I'll ever have." Okay, then. Betcha you wouldn't have come to that inner-peace conclusion before your four-hour surgery though.

There's the new mother who feels "betrayed" by her body when the excess weight she gained whilst pregnant just won't go away. And by "excess weight" and "just won't go away", she means she gained 45lbs during pregnancy, lost 35lbs of that naturally after the birth through no effort, made some effort to lose the remaining 10lbs...and 'failed' because she still has 5lbs to go. She eventually finds inner peace though, despite that excess weight of...5lbs. (Find me someone who didn't get a few pounds heavier after having had a baby...)

The one article I thought was really interesting was a piece by Walter Kirn basically listing how his ways of seeing had been altered by the women in his life constantly pointing out their flaws to him. I do think it's true that the 'flaws' we see in ourselves and constantly obsess over (my current obsession is that I think my nose has gotten infinitesimally rounder over the last year and is now too wide for my face and needs reducing by 4mm. Really.) are usually not apparent to others.

Sadly Kirn ends with a tale about an ex girlfriend who had "let herself go" and casts "a perfectly oval shadow" (instead of being the petite girl he met and fell for, although since his description of her petiteness involves his not having to move an inch in his seat when she walked in front of him at the cinema, I'm thinking said ex was less "petite" and more "dangerously small," but whatever). After a few digs at her "jumbo bladder" and referring to health issues - even though he's kind enough to say that she was still "mentally sharp under her flab" (yes, really), she dumps him and loses the weight. His conclusion? Not to talk to women when they talk about their bodies. O...kay?

The issue is certainly worth checking out if you're interested, but don't expect to see any plus-size models or valuable arguments.

Teen Vogue

I'll own up to being a total Teen Vogue groupie (teen anything, actually. My long absence from this blog is cuz I'm writing a book on teen television), and am thus likely to defend its every move -- but I'm a groupie for a reason! I genuinely think it has a healthy body image, and is a healthy magazine for young women: it doesn't give the mixed messages (Skinny Stars! Stars Wobbly Bits! Are They Too Thin? Whoops, Stars Ate Too Many Pies!) of a celebby gossip rag, and it features plenty of readers among its pages. There's a good mix of not-too-patronising PSA articles with usefull information, it doesn't preach, and it showcases models and readers of different races and sizes far more frequently than its adult contemporaries on the newstand.

The June/July issue is not a weight/shape/body issue, but it does have an interesting feature on teen attitudes to the whole weight debate. What I enjoyed about it was they had obviously interviewed intelligent articulate teens - but they hadn't stuck just to those teens whose views were safe'. (In other words, they hadn't pre-concluded on the article's behalf, and found teenagers to quote who would say "it's not the magazines' fault, we're all healthy, I like a little cake AND a little exercise!".)

So there are positive quotes:

"I realise they have their body type and I have mine."
"Celebrity magazines promote mixed messages."
"My friends and I...would rather focus on school."

Iffy quotes:

"I could probably lose a few pounds, but I'm in no rush." (Iffy because we don't know if she could stand to lose a few pounds, but there's also nothing wrong with choosing to lose weight and doing so healthily.)

And down right BUH?! outrageous quotes:

"Being thin is more valuable than money."
"America, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah - they're not full-figured. They're fat."
"Would I rather be bigger but healthy, or really thin?"

The mag doesn't offer any conclusions, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

Similarly, I haven't made up my mind yet on any of these issues of magazines, but if you're looking for reading material to kick-start a debate or offer something beyond the usual, you could do worse.

Monif C Opens In Manhattan!

As you may have heard the flagship outpost of web favorite Monif C is opening in NYC this week.

Two plus boutique openings in the NYC area in less than a month? Amazing! The opening event will feature a special sale so tri-state area girls check it out!

Grand Opening Event:
Thursday June 14, 2007
7 - 10pm
Come shop the Monif C. line at 20% off, cocktails, music, personal shopping tips, and more!

Monif C. Plus Sizes
New York Plus Size Boutique Store
325 W. 38th Street (bet. 8/9th aves.)
Suite 1007
New York, NY 10018
Open Monday - Saturday, call 212-842-1641 for hours

I'm Starting To See A Pattern...

Even if you spend the rest of the year dressed in head to toe black now is the time to give in to summers wild array of prints and patterns. These aren't boring basic florals or even the Pucci-wannabe mod redux we've been seeing a lot of lately they're abstract, bold, eye-catching designs that are easy and fun to wear. Now these Celia Birtwell meets Jackson Pollock prints were all over the spring/summer runways so you can expect to see them everywhere this summer.


Masterful Missoni prints through the seasons


Prints can be tricky and I admit to being one of the most floral-phobic individuals on earth but these new school abstract florals and colorful graphic inspired prints are very user friendly. As with everything else there are tricks to wearing them.

Rules:

- Keep It Simple: I know I say that for just about every trend but they're words to live by. Too much of any good thing can take a look from trendy to tragic in an instant. Unless you're going for a mix & match look its usually best to keep it to one patterned piece per outfit. If you're doing a patterned blouse pair it with pants or a skirt in a solid color.


- Mix Master: If your feeling brave and wish to mix prints and patterns for an eclectic look remember to seek out coordinating colors. Look at the 3rd outfit in the Missoni pictures, there are two very different prints within the outfit but the colors all blend together to create a uniform look. Also keep in mind the types of patterns your mixing. Its usually best to mix opposing patterns like a floral with stripes. Too much of the same and you risk clashing.

- Look Within: When coordinating your accessories with your prints chose colors that are either within the print itself or go with everything neutrals. Granted one never wants to get too "matchy" but the easiest way to coordinate is to find colors that already a part of the print. If you're more into an eclectic look you can also mix in colors that are harmonious aka opposite each other on your good old art class color wheel. An all blue patterned shirt will look great with a pair of orange flats, trust me on this.

- Try Something New: Part of the reason prints can be so intimidating is due to the fact that there are so many bad prints out there. We've all seen the eerily reminiscent of wallpaper florals or the done to death bandana paisley patterns and frankly were too stylish for that. The best prints around right now are abstract and just a little bit retro. Look for bold patterns with an artistic quality.

- Never Mind The Bullocks: I have heard far too many people say "I can't wear prints, they'll make me look bigger" and I'm really tired of this kind of thinking. I'm not overly concerned with what makes anything look bigger or smaller instead I'd rather focus on what keeps things in proportion. If you feel your losing your shape in a giant flowing printed blouse throw on a solid belt. It balances things out and will show off curves instead of drowning them in too much material. And if you do feel self conscious wear prints on parts of your body you wish to show off. Prints draw the eyes in so use them to display your best features. Most of all don't ever say you can't wear something because of blah blah insert percieved notion here, judge each piece of clothing individually. Cut and fit are the most important things when it comes to looking good so focus on that first and foremost.


Printed Tunics: All from Anthropologie
Shoes: Bottega Veneta chain link sandals, Bottega Veneta Heeled Sandals, Fendi heels & K Jacques St. Tropez gladiator sandals available at Net-A-Porter
Bracelets: Scott Stephen, Giles & Brother, Scoop & Ben Amun

Now I've gone ahead and created four outfits each featuring prints in the form of a colorful tunic tops from Anthropologie, a store that never met a print it didn't like. I love tunics for summer because they're light , simple and go with just about anything. Throw on sneakers and you're good for a picnic, heels and you're good for an evening out. These combinations can be worn with jeans or shorts or whatever tickles your fancy. These serve simply to illustrate how versatile prints can be. Any of the accessories can be mixed and matched with the tops themselves and combined in an array of ways. Add on a great bag and a few dangling chains and your pretty much set.

The Sweet Smell of Success: Six Summer Scents

Its impossible for me to talk about summer fashion without at least mentioning perfume. I think of perfume in terms of seasons so whenever the weather changes I like to switch things up and wear something that fits with the overall mood. What I'd wear in January isn't what I'd wear come July and when things start to get warm all I want is that perfect summer fragrance ie. something light and refreshing enough to get me through the steamy days and breezy nights yet unique enough to avoid the monotony of smelling like everyone else. Finding a good perfume can be akin to finding a needle in a haystack I offer up six perfumes road tested and guaranteed to get you through the heat.



Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Nil

Notes: Green Mango, Grapefruit, Calamus, Lotus, Sycamore, Frankincense

This is just heavenly! Tart green mango and lotus infused with an incredible woody note that lingers. There is something so sophisitcated about this fragrance that makes it great for evenings as well as day. Hermes lists this as a unisex scent but to my nose it smells very feminine. The drydown is absolutely amazing, whenever I wear this I wind up getting compliments. Jardin Sur le Nil's cousin Un Jardin En Mediterranee, is also beautiful for this time of year, the fig note is especially impressive if you (like me) just love fig scents.

Bond No. 9 Coney Island

Notes: Margarita, Melon, Guava, Cinnamon, Chocolate, Caramel, Musk, Vanilla, Cedarwood, Sandalwood

If you like Pina Coladas...This is hands down the most fun you will ever find in a perfume bottle it smells like the absolute best cocktail you've ever had. Sweet guava, a nice sharp lemon lime note and just the right hint of vanilla. I know the name Coney Island probably brings to mind images of boardwalks and ferris wheels but trust that this is a far more glamorous concoction. I can't help but think of Esther Williams and her decorative swimcaps when I smell this.

L'Artisan Ananas Fizz

Notes: Pineapple, Citrus essence Lemon Rind, Bitter Orange, Bergamot, Pink Grapefruit, Pure Rum, Cedar, Precious Woods, Cocoa Milk, Lychee Sap, Vanilla

Now this is just genius. The perfect fizzy pineapple. Sometimes fruity sites can get too sweet or saccharine but this is just right; there is almost a spicy quality to it that separates it from all the other fruity scents out there right now. For an even lovelier experience there is also a Creme De Ananas body lotion that is simply heavily either layered with the perfume or all by its lonesome.

Tom Ford for Estee Lauder Azuree Soliel

Notes: Tahitian gardenia, Coconut, Orange Flower, Jasmine, Magnolia, Myrrh, Bergamot, Mandarin, Amber, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Caramel.

This is the beach in a bottle. Not the sea salt and surf version of the beach but the suntan oil and tropical flowers variant. Everything about this screams "expensive and exotic holiday" not to mention sexy, since Tom Ford may be the the worlds foremost purveyor of all things sex. Since Azuree is meant to be a "skin-scent" the concentration is unique compared with the usual EDT's and EDP's . Since nothing gold can ever stay this scent is unfortunately a limited edition much like its cousin last years amazing Azuree body oil spray. Fingers crossed that Estee Lauder sees what a goldmine they've tapped into an decides to make this a permanent product.

Marc Jacobs Rain

Notes: Wet Cut Grass, Wild Strawberry, Clementine Zest, Dewy Cypress, Tropical Rain Accord, Passion Flower, Sunshine Flower, White Orchid, Beech Amber, Musk, Tree Moss, Teak Wood.

Refreshing is probably my biggest keyword during the summer months and this delivers the goods. Rain is meant to echo the scent just after a downpour and while there is no way to bottle that kind of indescribable freshness this certainly comes close. Everything about it is light, fresh and clean. The cool green element of Rain is done just right and there is something very comforting about the scent in general. Plus since its a splash you can feel free to spritz on more whenever the mood strikes you without worrying about perfume overkill.

Annick Goutal Eau De Hadrien

Notes: Lemon, Citron, Cypress, Grapefruit

A blast of invigorating citrus that calls to mind every summer lemonade stand you ever saw as a kid without ever being childish or juvenile. Its just a light crisp lemon and grapefruit mix that is just what the doctor ordered once the weather starts hitting triple digit degrees. Eau de Hadrien is like walking through a lemon grove on a warm day, its so simple and pleasant almost minimalist. I also find that this is a great perfume for layering, if you're in the mood for something more intense a spritz of Kiehl's musk layered over Eau De Hadrien is astonishing.


All fragrances available online Aedes, Sephora and Estee Lauder though I highly reccomend heading out and trying them on in advance. Nothing is riskier than trying a perfume unsniffed.

Which fragrances do you guys like for the summer months?