I ask, should you or shouldn't you wear white after labour day?
It is an old rule for sure, but it has been a fairly respected rule to this day. Nowadays though, winter whites are a pretty big thing so that provides a certain amount of... well, uncertainty. After labour day certain things in white feel less appropriate to me (like white jeans), but others I'm totally fine with (dresses and suits). I also feel like going on vacation somewhere might cause the white rules to be more flexible, or living down south, but even then is that just making excuses?!
There is definitely a reason I am thinking about this... I'm not sure I'm done wearing my white heels that I got this summer... but I'm also not sure I can gather the courage to wear put them on and leave the house! Recently two of my fave style icons wore white heels - in fact, both of these looks were favourites of mine from last week!
I'm definitely admiring the heels and not thinking they're inappropriate! I think my stance is do what you want because now more than ever, there is so much freedom in fashion. I'm just not sure I'm ready for this one... yay or nay?
This Wednesday I wanted to share an article that made it's way around Facebook yesterday - so you may have seen it already...
The article is called "How to Get Flat Abs, Have Amazing Sex and Rule the World in 8 Easy Steps". It's genius in that it talks about how magazines and ads promote and promise these things that we're always looking for to be happy - also meaning we're not happy until we've achieved these things. As the author Kate Bartolotta states: "We chase this idea of "I will be happy when... " - I will be happy when I have a new car. I will be happy when I get
married. I will be happy when I get a better job. I will be happy when I
lose five pounds. What if instead we choose to be happy -- right now?"
Her argument? By simply reading the article your life is good. You can see, you're likely in a sheltered area of sorts, you have access to the internet, etc etc.
The full article can be found here, or read on to see her 8 tips to embrace how awesome life is:
1. Stop believing your bullshit.
All that stuff you tell yourself about how you are a commitment phobe
or a coward or lazy or not creative or unlucky? Stop it. It's bullshit,
and deep down you know it. We are all insecure 14 year olds at heart.
We're all scared. We all have dreams inside of us that we've tucked away
because somewhere along the line we tacked on those ideas about who we
are that buried that essential brilliant, childlike sense of wonder. The
more we stick to these scripts about who we are, the longer we live a
fraction of the life we could be living. Let it go. Be who you are
beneath the bullshit.
2. Be happy now.
Not because The Secret says so. Not because of some shiny
happy Oprah crap. But because we can choose to appreciate what is in our
lives instead of being angry or regretful about what we lack. It's a
small, significant shift in perspective. It's easier to look at what's
wrong or missing in our lives and believe that is the big picture -- but
it isn't. We can choose to let the beautiful parts set the tone.
3. Look at the stars.
It won't fix the economy. It won't stop wars. It won't give you flat
abs, or better sex or even help you figure out your relationship and
what you want to do with your life. But it's important. It helps you
remember that you and your problems are both infinitesimally small and
conversely, that you are a piece of an amazing and vast universe. I do
it daily -- it helps.
4. Let people in.
Truly. Tell people that you trust when you need help, or you're
depressed -- or you're happy and you want to share it with them.
Acknowledge that you care about them and let yourself feel it. Instead
of doing that other thing we sometimes do, which is to play it cool and
pretend we only care as much as the other person has admitted to caring,
and only open up half way. Go all in -- it's worth it.
5. Stop with the crazy making.
I got to a friend's doorstep the other day, slightly breathless and
nearly in tears after getting a little lost, physically and
existentially. She asked what was wrong and I started to explain and
then stopped myself and admitted, "I'm being stupid and have decided to
invent lots of problems in my head." Life is full of obstacles; we don't
need to create extra ones. A great corollary to this one is from The Four Agreements,
by Don Miguel Ruiz: Don't take things personally. Most of the time,
other people's choices and attitudes have absolutely nothing to do with
you. Unless you've been behaving like a jerk, in which case...
6. Learn to apologize.
Not the ridiculous, self-deprecating apologizing for who you are and for
existing that some people seem to do (what's up with that, anyway?).
The ability to sincerely apologize -- without ever interjecting the word
"but" -- is an essential skill for living around other human beings. If
you are going to be around other people, eventually you will need to
apologize. It's an important practice.
7. Practice gratitude.
Practice it out loud to the people around you. Practice it silently
when you bless your food. Practice it often. Gratitude is not a first
world only virtue. I saw a photo recently, of a girl in abject poverty,
surrounded by filth and destruction. Her face was completely lit up with
joy and gratitude as she played with a hula hoop she'd been given.
Gratitude is what makes what we have enough. Gratitude is the most basic
way to connect with that sense of being an integral part of the
vastness of the universe; as I mentioned with looking up at the stars,
it's that sense of wonder and humility, contrasted with celebrating our
connection to all of life.
8. Be kind.
Kurt Vonnegut said it best (though admittedly, and somewhat ashamedly
-- I am not a Vonnegut fan): "There's only one rule that I know of,
babies -- 'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'"
Kindness costs us nothing and pays exponential dividends. I can't
save the whole world. I can't bring peace to Syria. I can't fix the
environment or the health care system, and from the looks of it, I may
end up burning my dinner.
But I can be kind.
If the biggest thing we do in life is to extend love and kindness to
even one other human being, we have changed the world for the better.
And from me: love your life, because even when it's bad, life is good!
Source: The Huffington Post
Last night was the Emmy Awards! Before the show I tuned into the Red Carpet special and really loved all the fashion I was seeing. It was a good year for fashion. I also watched the first bit of the show (and rather enjoyed it - I love NPH) until I had to click away for the Dexter series finale... can you believe it's over?!?!?! Anyway, back to the Emmy's - from what I saw there were so many surprises when it came down to the award winners. Neil Patrick Harris said it well when he said "No one in America is winning their Emmy office pool". When it came to the fashion how ever, the only surprises I encountered were how many of the dresses I fell in love with! Very few disasters to be seen on the red carpet - Heidi Klum being the only one I can think of at the moment. There were some repeat style winners though like Allison Williams and Carrie Underwood, who always seem to rock something I love, but also some unexpected newbies to make my list like Christine Baranski and Anna Gunn. Here are my 8 faves (yes, eight, I had to share them all!) :
There you have it, my most favourite dresses from last night! Who topped your list of fave fashion from the evening?
One thing I actually say a lot is that: you shouldn't say you can't when you can. People don't think enough about what "can't" is. Unless you've tried, "can't" is a mentality. Even then most people with most things try and try again. Don't say "can't" when you mean "won't" or "don't want to". It's a cop-out, because (as cheesy as it sounds) you really CAN do just about anything you dream and put your mind to and work for.
Is it just me, or do you kind of wish you look down right now and be wearing these...
Just one more reason (or a pair of reasons if you will) that Fall is okay with me!
As I mentioned on Wednesday I've not been able to keep my finger on the pulse of NYFW as much as I normally like. I usually like to catch a live show or two online but haven't even seen one! I have been keeping tabs on all the action via Instagram though, and thought I'd summarize fashion week by sharing some of my fave pics...
Sources: Marie Claire, Rachel Zoe, Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham, Rebecca Minkoff, Rach Parcell, Emily Jackson
