ring

Sartorial Saturday–The Double Collar Dress

Time to take a look at a dress in a rather unexpected color for autumn…the lovely Xanthe-Mai double collar swing dress in shades of wine and pink:

This dress looks very similar in style to the Minerva-Lee double collared blazer and the Cressida-Lee swing skirt, with the added bonus of being a single, easy-to-wear piece!

The Xanthe-Mai, like the Minerva-Lee blazer, has an absolutely stunning double collar in contrasting shades that I love:

The contrasting colors also appear on other bodice details, including the buttons, as well as the included belt:

I accessorized with a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, an Erstwilder brooch, and the very first hat I added to my wardrobe many years ago:

I also added my black lace gloves and a statement ring:

I love that this looks like a skirt suit!

Miss Candyfloss does peplums exceedingly well, whether on a jacket, or on a dress that looks like a jacket and skirt:

This is bright and cheerful look for fall!

I recently won a Miss Candyfloss Instagram giveaway, and I can’t wait to share that look, too!

Sartorial Saturday–Inspired by Klinger

Would you believe I managed to find fashion inspiration from one of M*A*S*H‘s craziest (and one of my favorite) characters, the indefatigable Corporal Klinger?

Actually, I have always admired many of Klinger’s outfits from the early seasons of the show. But recently, I noticed him wearing a statement ring over gloves, and I wondered to myself why it had never occurred to me to try it. I have gloves, and one statement ring that I don’t really wear anymore because I couldn’t figure out how to incorporate it into my outfits, and because I often get skin flare-ups when wearing rings. This takes care of both of those problems, because although the ring is of a more modern design, the gloves help tie it into my retro outfits, and they also protect my hands from any discomfort. It’s a win-win situation, and all thanks to good old Max! You can find inspiration anywhere, even in the most unexpected places!

Sartorial Saturday–It’s All About the Details

It’s time to take a look at my very favorite dress from the Miss Candyfloss “Smile with Lucy” collection…the Jael-Abalone.

This dress is similar in style to the Selena-Sun, one of my favorite pieces from this year’s spring collection. It has the same fun collar, square neckline, and asymmetrical row of functioning buttons down the front.

A detail I didn’t know about until I received the dress is the gorgeous and subtle tone-on-tone pattern found on the cuffs, collar, and belt…I love it!

I also love the colors of the dress…blue and grey are so pretty together, and the gentle stripes add just the right amount of visual interest!

I accessorized with a silver brooch, a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, and a pretty floral ring, plus a hat and gloves:

I love the elegant simplicity of this dress!

It’s such a smart look!

I now have half of the items on my wishlist from this collection…I hope the other pieces are released soon!

Seven is the New Ten is the New Sixty!

It used to be that 60 years of marriage was considered the diamond anniversary. Then, the “modern” list of anniversary gifts came out, and all of the sudden, 10 years is a diamond year. That’s quite a jump, from 60 down to 10! Of course, the modern list has diamonds for several anniversaries, and any number of gemstones and luxury items where they didn’t used to be (gone are the days of paper, cotton and leather–now it’s clocks, china and crystal!), but even so, cutting off the wait time by 50 years seems extreme.

It does make one wonder at the change. Is it because our society is so impatient, and so used to instant gratification that we can’t stand to wait until we’ve been married for 60 years? Is it because, even though life expectancies are longer, people are marrying later in life, thus making it less likely that they’ll be married for 60 years or longer? Or is simply that, with the divorce rate what it is, people want to get what they can while the getting is good? Any and/or all of these seems to me to be a viable possibility.

At any rate, even though we’re only celebrating our seventh anniversary this year, my wonderful husband got me a beautiful anniversary ring. Now, I’m a fairly patient sort of person, so it really wasn’t a matter of not being able to wait until our tenth (or sixtieth, I suppose) anniversary. And we got married young enough, so that’s not a problem. I’m also damn sure we won’t be getting a divorce, so it wasn’t a matter of doing the ring thing now, because we might not be together in a few years.

No, it was simple math. Thanks to Uncle Sam, and the economic stimulus package, we had the money now. With four children, we are fully aware that we may not have the money in three, thirteen or even thirty years, but here’s the government, giving us blow money, which is our civic duty to spend to try and help the economy limp along. So, good stewards of our money that we are (most of the time) we rendered unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and did some shopping, not the least of which is my new ring. I am very grateful for my new pretty, and while I would have been willing to wait until whatever anniversary was deemed appropriate to receive diamonds, I’m glad I didn’t have to!