White style

As we know white is a great color for summer. It is crisp, fresh and it can be elegant or casual.

Everyone can use white if it is in the right style. White can make us look somewhat bigger; this and the ease with which white clothes get dirty are the biggest drawbacks to using this color. If you need to camouflage some areas of your body, just select the right style, but there is no reason to avoid wearing white.

The quintessential white piece in most closets should be the classic white shirt. While I used to love this piece it was impractical for me before the arrival of the non-iron white shirt (or less iron white shirt). This shirt can be used with jeans, skirts, shorts, on casual occasions, elegant occasions, on the beach and at a party, as well as in the office.

A piece suggested by many fashion editors is a white dress. Nina Garcia (Marie Claire), as well as Suze Yalof Schwartz (Glamour), recommend having a white dress. The white dress can be used for office, parties or casual occasions. It is the lighter version of the little black dress that offers versatility, but contrary to the black dress, it can make you unique in a sea of black dresses.

These are some consideration for using white:

According to Suze Yalof Schwartz, do not wear white shoes with a white dress. Avoid white accessories.

Suze also recommends pairing it with gold accessories. I also like to use white and silver and white and red, blue or black are also very classy.

Be careful not to show your undergarments when using white. This is very important; you should not be showing your bra or your whole body for that matter. Usually, the undergarments in nude tones (rather than white) work better.

White jeans are still in fashion. If you have a big butt or big thighs, be careful and use the right style, because white pants can make them look bigger. White jeans are fabulous; you can use them with shoes of exciting colors or nude, use them with colored accessories and a white shirt or a colored top. It is the perfect canvas for many looks.

Be careful when wearing white, because it can become dirty in no time. Carry a Tile pen with you for emergencies.


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My weekly trip to the mall

During my visit to the mall last week my favorite items were:

Anthropologie: 2 great pairs of jeans, really dark blue, straight leg, but not too wide. One was from Paper Denim and Cloth ($158) and another from Joe's Jeans ($160). Both of them flatter most figures making the silhouette look leaner.

Martin + Osa: great skirts ($78), kind of A line but with some pleats without creating bulk, gracefully fitting the torso, and creating curves and a smaller waist. Also great cashmere sweaters in exciting colors; they are on sale now at $98. I do a lot of window shopping before buying. I do not like to have a lot of items; besides, I have limited money. These two items are on my "wish list" because of their versatility and classic style; they will not go out of fashion so fast.

Zara: white shirts. Zara has taken the simple, classical white "man" shirt and added unique sleeves and woman's fit to create a super feminine white shirt.

This week my trip to the mall was exciting, many times I see the same stuff.

Pretty in pink

While pink may be a great color for women, it isn't easy to pull it off flawlessly all the time. I think it is OK to wear pink as long as you don't come across as cheesy or appear as if you are trying too hard to be cute. A great example is provided by Kat Kramer who wore a pink/black dress with a pink scarf and then matched it with a matching Gucci bag. I think she looks just great in this ensemble.

Heidiwood by Heidi Montag

I am always skeptical of Hollywood celebrities, often with zero experience in fashion (other than what they gather during their days in Hollywood where looking good is the #1 goal), come up with their own labels. I have previously discussed Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker and DEAR by Amanda Bynes. Heidi Montag from The Hills is also capitalizing on her success and now has a clothing line that also includes accessories and handbags. The clothes are somewhat affordable (they are more expensive than Bitten and Dear) and modern. Here is a video of the runway.

Roberto Cavalli at H and M collection

Roberto Cavalli is one of those designers who is not afraid of pushing the envelope, of trying what has never been done before, and of course, he designs beautiful clothes. No wonder then that Hollywood celebrities like Madonna, Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Gong Li, Victoria Beckham, Lenny Kravitz and Adrien Boyd are devoted fans.

While his designer clothes are obviously expensive, he is now collaborating with our favorite store H&M to bring the 'Roberto Cavalli at H&M' collection. Halle Berry and Sharon Stone are two celebrities that will be promoting the collection.

"Roberto Cavalli is one of my personal favorites. His clothes are sexy, and he is always on the edge and changes before other designers. I think the collaboration with H&M is great because now all women can wear his designs," says Halle Berry.

"I think the collaboration with H&M is a great idea. The clothes look great and the ads are beautiful. Roberto Cavalli is a wonderful designer who knows how to make both chic and sexy," says Sharon Stone.

At the launch party in Rome's Salone delle Fontane, models Erin Wasson and Jessica Stam showed his famous animal print dresses made of silk chiffon, a fabulous red carpet dress made of pleated gold lame, a mini sheath with sequins and pearls and shapely tuxedo style jackets and trousers. Watch some of these dresses in the video below:

Coats for the fall and the cold

During the cold months the coats are only indispensable to keep warm, but they also are the first piece of clothes people see. For that reason it is important to have a good coat. While some people go for utilitarian coats, other make a fashion statement with them. I like to have a nice warm coat that flatters my figure. This season I have done my window-shopping and these are some of my findings:

I loved the coats that Spaniard store Zara has for this season. They are mainly inspired in the 50s and in many colors. I want to get one of each, but I know that’s is not a good idea, I think I will get a red or off-white coat to look fashionable during the season. Zara’s prices are moderate from $69 to close to $200, but most of them are low one hundred.

I also saw a great coat in Neiman Marcus it was a lot pricier than the coats in Zara at $650.00 or so. It was a classical coat that exudes quality and style. This type of coats can be used for many years and they always look fashionable.

I also saw some coats in Marshals. Even though they were from well-known designers they did not look good. The cut was not right and I am not sure about the material. In TJ Max I saw some great coats from Via Spiga and other brands, these were good and stylish coats that will flatter most figures.

The Natick Collection

Natick, Massachusetts had a good-sized mall, but a couple of weeks ago it doubled. The size does matter when it comes to malls, but even better, the completely renovated and expanded mall is now called the Natick Collection (AKA Natick mall). It has some very exclusive stores such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Beside these giants, they also got a Zara, Louis Vuitton, Anthropologie, Lush, Burberry, and many others.

Nordstrom and Neiman carry all the fashionable brands such as Jimmy Choo, Prada, Manolo Blahnik, etc. In clothes and bags the names are equally impressive. I was there for the grand opening and the Nordstrom cosmetic tailgate party. I got my makeup done with Smash Box. There was so much excitement I could not believe how many women got up early to go to the mall.

Even more surprising for me was the fact that most people were dressed up! I never have seen the mall with so many beautiful people – I started to wonder where were these people hiding. The following day was the same way and people were buying luxury goods as if they have been deprived of shopping for long time. A lot of people were carrying bags from exclusive shops. It is not that Natick did not have shops – after all it is minutes away from Boston where all shops have been opened for years (except Nordstrom).

A couple of weeks later the excitement is still there, but people are back to normal mall clothes, the heels and chic are gone. If you live in the area I recommend to visit this mall it is exciting.