Look Better This Year
June 30th, 2011 by Joseph Ovens
No one knows how much longer the recession will last. Most of us don’t feel entirely comfortable spending a lot of money on clothes while the economy is bad. In three words, here is what we can do to polish our wardrobes at minimal expense: Reuse, Re-invent, and Recycle.
A plain black dress can be dressed up or down. With opaque black tights it looks casual, and with sheer black stockings it becomes dressier. When worn with a string of pearls a black dress looks one way, but when worn with a large splashy scarf it’s unrecognizable.
Everyone has a white shirt. It can be worn with a suit, jeans, or a skirt. Put a sweater over it and it can be the same shirt you’ve worn forever, but no one realizes it.
Speaking of suits, just because a jacket and pants or a skirt were bought together it doesn’t mean they always have to be worn together. A suit jacket might look lovely with jeans or a pair of tailored pants. The skirt or pants could be worn without the jacket for a whole new look. Hang them separately to see new possibilities.
Here’s a money-saving trick: Don’t wear pantyhose or tights under pants. Number one, you risk a run and will have to throw them out, and two, pants don’t hang right over pantyhose. Wear knee socks with pants or jeans.
Another way to save money is go on a diet! I’m not kidding. Not to save money, of course, but to look better in clothes and improve your health.
At the beginning of every year, everyone makes the New Year’s resolution to lose weight, and by mid-January it’s forgotten. Well, this time do actually lose weight. Losing even 10 pounds will make you look better and feel better. And you can keep some of those clothes you were planning to give away because they’ll look so much better.
Look at things carefully before discarding them. For those black pumps you’ve had forever, if you polish them and have new lifts put on, you’ve got a new pair of shoes at little cost.
Sometimes an old jacket can be given a new lease on life with a new set of buttons. Shortening a dress or skirt will sometimes make it look new. You can frequently shorten it yourself or, if you feel it’s worth it, pay the tailor. I had a leather pencil skirt that just didn’t look right. I brought it to the tailor and he took it in and shortened it. Suddenly, it was a beautiful new skirt.
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Posted in Fashion Glossary Online
A true master of his craft, Lee Alexander McQueen made extraordinary contributions to fashion. The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” set to close on Aug. 7, features the late designers gowns. 
Encapsulating a mixed array of emotions, McQueen’s work is both delicately alluring yet shockingly confronting. The exhibit is an opportunity to have a first-hand encounter with about 100 ensembles that are more commonly marveled at through photos from afar. Be
