Dear FASHIONGRANNY,
Ok! Here we are with all the kids going back to school and I am looking for some red-hot fashion advice for the Fall of 2011. Got any?
Signed,
Lowcountry Lazy
Dear Lowcountry Lazy,
Well! I hope your environs don’t have you so caught up in the flow that you won’t rise to the occasion of the coming Fall season! We live in an area that doesn’t require much more of us than to kick back and relax, but you know by now how I’m going to respond to a “what should I wear?” question. We have a whole new fashion season upon us to get it right and feel great!
FASHIONGRANNY has been reading her favorite fashion mag, ”In Style” and of course pouring over all the others including “Vogue,” “Elle,” and various European spreads.
The word on the street seems to start with COLOR. I am so excited, as some of my favorites have re-emerged as trendy tones for the upcoming season. Deep, lush and rich forest green, aubergine (eggplant) and navy are among them. It looks as though this is a case of everything old is new again. I remember in the 1970’s these colors were the highpoint, and then they disappeared to give way to the dreaded pastels and not so dreaded metallics. I just hope I kept some of my old pieces, as it is time to recycle!
So here are again – in a field of early YSL color blocks, giving fashionistas an opportunity to cultivate a grown-up couture look, putting the baby doll façade away for a while. I have to admit, these re-issued colors have caught me by surprise! I didn’t think color that rich would make a comeback; thought that gulag black had taken over forever. Not so!
Jewel Tones have remained in the fold, too. Bright cherry red, Kelly green and cobalt blue as bottoms, paired with a jacket or blazer is an easy buy and an easy addition.
Pantsuits are coming on strong! Not the horrible pantsuits that Hillary Clinton wears, but the wonderfully designed menswear from Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs. These suits throw all the others under the bus; they are cut for the feminine form and reek of high fashion. It is all in the cut, my dear! Even the shortest of women can wear them. You know, I love women in dresses and skirts, but I’ll tell you, a well-fitting couture pantsuit gives a woman a long, classic line without making her look manly. Is creates a silhouette that is incomparable. Add the must-have of the season, a loafer heel, to your suit or skirt for a modern update.
Boxy purses are new! Handbags that are not so huge and floppy, (finally!) are perfectly-sized for the lady. Pull out Mom’s or Granny’s alligator purses, they are right in style!
Scarves worn around the neck or tied as an accent on your purse remain a classy finish to your outfit.
If you glean a few pieces from your wardrobe, old and new, and pair them with updated accessories, you should be totally ready for the Fall season. This will not cost an arm and a leg – a good thing, since most Americans are on a tight budget right now! Don’t forget to support our consignment shops, as they always seem to have some unique item to complete or build your wardrobe.
I am looking forward to the season, my girls and guys. As the old Gillette razor commercial shouted,”Look sharp and feel sharp!”
Dear FASHIONGRANNY,
What’s up with women today? I want to be the best gent I can be when I am out on a date with a woman, but they just won’t let me! Case in point: I go to open their doors and they’ve already gotten out or say they can do it themselves. I stand up when my date returns from the ladies room at a restaurant, and she asks me why I’m standing! I attempt to pay the dinner bill discreetly and she wants to know how much it is and tell me how much to tip! Don’t women know how they should be treated? It seems not! I am not allowed my full manhood! Help me please!
Signed,
Frustrated Knight in Shining Armor
Dear Frustrated Knight,
No doubt, you’re frustrated! Have hope! On the other side of your frustration is a real woman who’s been looking for you for a long time!
This malady took hold of my gender way back when Gloria Steinem began roaming the earth.
Equal rights for women in the workplace are indeed important, but this throwing out of femininity (and its perks) with the bathwater was a huge and seemingly lasting mistake!
Big old brutish looking hags started speaking for women and somehow women were no longer to be the fairer, gentler sex. The inability to separate their womanhood from their message was off-putting. Equality did not mean, for me, that I was to lose my looks, let my bosom go haywire, dress as a man and start chewing tobacco! In fact I liked being different from men!
Were we to begin plowing through life with an “Annie Get Your Gun” attitude, proudly singing, “Anything you can do I can do better“?
Many of us knew that the scales were tipping, yet we did not stop the railroading of femininity by these hustlers, and what we got is what you describe. Females leaping from cars, en masse, with no male help, thank you very much! Women now wanted to pay their half at dinner, demanded to know the cost of their evening – as though that somehow made us “equal.”
You’re rising from your seat or pulling out her chair? Are you nuts? I’m not surprised many women don’t know what you’re up to! I am laughing here, but it’s a dern shame we bought the lie to the degree that we stopped being ladies, so most men stopped being gentlemen.
Don’t blame the guys, ladies; blame yourselves! The guys are not off the hook, however, and must return to appropriate behavior and not be slothful about it. Above all, remember dinner and courteous behavior does not merit a payback of casual sex.
I am sorry for your dilemma, Frustrated Knight. I hope this answer tweaks some gals back into a right-mindedness where their wiles are concerned. If it will give you some solace, FASHIONGRANNY will gladly go out with you and let you practice your gentlemanly etiquette.
Trust me, you will be up and down from your chair all night, opening all my doors and paying for everything! We will end the evening with a handshake at my door and a thank you note addressed to you in the mail!
