To slip or not to slip

An interesting conversation topic came up on my morning walk with some of the ladies in the office. As we started walking, the girl next to me complained that her slip was bunching up and bothering her. This suprised me, not for the TMI, but the fact that she was wearing a slip. Her skirt seemed substantial and was a dark color, and didn't seem in need of a slip. Plus, aren't slips one of those trappings of our mothers' generation that us younger women have cast away? Then the woman next to her (of said mothers' generation) mentioned that she was completely embarrased yesterday when she forgot her slip, and was self-consious about her dress all day. Now I didn't see the offending dress, and thus I can't determine if a slip was necessary or if it was more a comfort thing. And then she said "Some people don't even wear slips!"

I was not wearing a slip.

Truth be told, it would have never even crossed my mind that a slip was required with today's outfit. I'm wearing a cute, cotton, lined dress (this one, to be exact. In turquoise. Very cute, but requires just a tidbit of tailoring to fit me right). Appropriate undergarments in appropriate colors=no visible lines. And while I would consider shapewear for smoothing lumps and bumps, its just to dang hot for that already. And a slip seems like a lot of hassle (shifting, bunching, weird fabric, etc.) for little reward. Doesn't that take away from the freedom of wearing a dress in the first place?

Anyway, my question is: slip or no slip? Does it depend on the outfit? The age of the wearer? The environment where said outfit is being worn? I'm curious, and need answers people! (I also need a place to get a good slip...)

CAbi who?

About a month ago I received an invitation from a friend to a CAbi party. I was completely flummoxed on what this could possibly entail, and when pressed my friend said "It's like Pampered Chef, but all about fashion!!"

Hmmm.

Still a bit skeptical, I looked up CAbi online and perused their catalog. On first glance I was a bit confused. Now I'm no fashionista, but I wasn't falling all over myself for the outfits in the catalog. Sometime a theme can go to far, right? They had layered pieces in ways that seemed downright weird in order to go bohemian, and then had grown women dressed in outfit "sailor "outfits. And I was skeptical of the prices too. Granted my last shopping experience was probably at T.J. Maxx or Target, but I always find myself dispointed in the quality to price ratio in most designer clothes. And I'm a grad student with limited income (and few places to wear nice clothes)!

But my friend has more style in her tiny size 2 body than I'll ever have so I decided to trust her and go over for a girls night. Fast forward a few glasses of wine and I'm running around trying on clothes like the best of them. No pushy saleswomen or bad fluroescent lighting, plus I had "Aunt Barb" going on and on about how great some of the pieces looked on me and how I'd wear them forever. How can you say no to that?

The damage?

Super soft Tencel trousers (still don't know why they tied her cardigan all funny...)

Cute red jacket that I love. The belt isn't pictured, but it makes it like a mini trench or something.

It is impossible for a woman to have too many cute black tops and this one has side ruching that hides the fact that grad school wasn't kind to my waistline.

So now I've had my pieces for a few weeks and I love them! More money than I spent on clothes in a while, but I'm trying to adopt a more sustainable approach to fashion. Spend more on good quality clothes that last many seasons and I'll save money in the long run. Not to mention valuable closet space! And besides, when clothes make you feel good about yourself, they are worth every penny.

Friday distractions - ombre

As grown-up cousin of tie-dye, ombre (aka color gradient) has always appealed to me. Something about the orderly blend or fade of color is just so soothing and exciting at the same time.
This year I found myself actually paying attention to fashion week because I had become enthralled by Project Runway runway despite the nauseating overuse of the word "fierce." I learned two things from this. One, most designers make clothes that are either hideously ugly or insanely impractical for a casually cosmopolitan city like Nashville--jeans and cowboy boots are acceptable red carpet wear here, even if you aren't a country star. Two, many of the cute designs were ombre!

Alexander McQueen - I especially like the print overlay on the second dress

6167 - Love the shape of this one!

A.F. Vandevorst - Not withstanding the horrible socks with heels on the second model

So I already had plans to try this sooner rather than later, but was super excited when I opened the latest issue of substitute-for-Blueprint (aka Martha Stewart Living). What's Martha up to now, you ask? OMBRE! Whee!

Her directions are in the article, available here. However, I'm skeptical of the whole dip-fabric-slowly thing as it doesn't always provide as smooth of a gradient as I would like (I'm a little crazy like that).

After some searching I located an alternate method, see here, here and here. Basically, the fixing (or the soda ash in Martha's directions) is left until AFTER the gradient is established so that the color can migrate freely on the fabric. Also, you can mix up different combos of your colors, ie 100% color 1, 80/20 color 1 and 2, 60/40, and so on. Seems more labor intensive and probably messier, but likely the way I'll try it as I'm a sucker for doing things the hard way.

And to top off your new ombre outfit? How about some gradient tights? Okay, that might be a little much, Nashvegas or not!

Cute Green Things

If you haven't seen it already, the Domino Magazine/Treehugger.com eco-decorating list is full of great ideas. I'd love to get my hands on some hemp/organic cotton fabric and print my own designs like this hand silk-screened beauty:

Mod Green Pod

Hand-silk-screened with water-based paint, this ornate organic cotton (perfect as a Roman shade) is as fresh as the brand-new firm that designed it.

"Grand Jubilee" $97.50/yard, modgreenpod.com for stores

Photo by domino digital studio

Oh, and how adorable is this dress:

BIG FLIRT

Vanessa Barrantes

Peruvian native Barrantes incorporates natural fibers—such as bamboo, which is antimicrobial—into her swingy dresses. Linen "Sophia" $198 lolaymaria.com

Turns out it is pretty easy being green after all! :)