Tune-up and feel fabulous

this spring!

Is there a woman alive who doesn’t occasionally feel that she needs a style tune-up? All her clothes seem a little tired or old. When she looks into the mirror, she can’t put her finger on it, but she just can’t get excited. I know; I have been there. And so have most of my friends - even stylish women who work in the industry. 

I’m not talking about the depression that comes from gaining a bit of weight or a difficult life change. No, I’m talking about the subtle sort of feeling that can just creep up on you and leave you less than fabulous.

Ironically it can even happen to women with a good sense of style. Life can get so busy that style, shopping, and all the things that make your look work fall by the wayside.  That’s when you need a tune-up.

So if you have been feeling less than fabulous, or just want to crank it up a notch, start now. After all darlings, you deserve it.  All it takes is a little time and few tricks. None of this is rocket science, and it is doable on any budget.

The sad truth is weight and women are loaded issues. Being a little heavier than you like can make you feel “less than”. Don’t let it. Don't fall into the trap of being a “lady in waiting”. Ladies in waiting wait to enjoy life. They  wait for the perfect man, love, job, or to be the perfect size. What a waste! If you have gained some weight, that’s life. You can make plans to lose it, but don’t deny yourself the pleasure of good-looking, well-fitting clothes now.  Motivate yourself by being good to yourself. If you aren’t good to yourself, who will be?

So stand up straight and take a look at the rest of you. When was the last time you updated your hair or had it done? It’s amazing how these things can slide. Cutting hair to make it grow is a fallacy, but losing an inch or two of dry old hair can make it swing. If you are due for a change, make an appointment.

Before you go to the stylist, ask yourself if your hair is really working for you. Does it make the most of your face and features? When was the last time anyone told you that your hair looked great? If you are over 30, are you cutting it too short? Many women do and it ages them. If you are in your 20s and working, are you still wearing your hair hanging down your back?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you may be in dire need of an actual hair “style”. Don’t get me wrong. Hair doesn’t need to be “done”, but a good cut that works with your hair texture and features can make a world of difference. If you don’t know where to start, find someone whose look you like and see their stylist and chat. Don’t be shy about using celebrity examples. Stylists are visual and prefer pictures to words. Notice how your favourite celebrities update their looks. They know the importance of keeping their own style and staying current at the same time. Look and learn. I think Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Hilary Weston, and Ellen Barkin are all fabulous examples. 

Get to the cosmetic counter every season. Change your lipstick or nail polish. This season, the newest looks are coral and pink. If you don't know your best shades, get help. Drugstores have the new shades as quickly as department stores these days; so money is not the obstacle it once was to being au courant.  Little changes add up to a lift.

Clean your closet and if it’s tight, or things don’t fit move them to another closet.

Everyone should find time to clean their closet at least twice a year, when the seasons change. If you are not the type of person who regularly tries on your wardrobe in front of a mirror, this is the time to do it. Try new combinations, inspect items for wear and fading, and get rid of old, worn, and faded stuff.

Find and organize your accessories and shoes. This spring, belts are very important, especially those that are woven of leather and fabric. Do you have any hiding in your stash? You might. Gauzy scarves are in. They are used as evening wraps and sashes. This season, you will also want anything fringed, small clutch bags, and wedges, as well as cork or wooden-soled sandals. Metallics are still very new looking and worn for day. Organize your treasures.

When you are finished with the closet - and if you work and have kids this might be a two weekend project - start on your drawers and jewelry. Be ruthless. Toss the worn and dated. They make you look that way too, even if you are only 25.

This spring, you can give your look an instant update with bangles. Look for wide ones, but also stack narrow ones of the same material. Enameled bangles look stunning. They can be very pricey, but department store chains have some that are chic and stunning at great prices. Also think vintage for unique style and unbeatable value.

www.rubylane.com

Get a stash of basic T-shirts to wear with everything. A silk shirt with puff sleeves is a cute and trendy option for younger or thinner women. I like T-shirts from www.victoriasecret.com. If you need a more relaxed fit try www.talbots.com

Summer dresses - especially in floral prints - are huge this year. If they aren’t too bare, they are perfect for the office and dinner out, too.

The new cropped jacket in a bright neutral or classic color is a spring must-have. It is perfect when you want just a little something to ward off the chill. It can make a summer dress office-friendly, or pull together pants and a top for a more polished look. If you decide to buy one and are not reed thin, avoid any jacket that cuts you in half. Get a shorter bolero length. Also avoid anything that is too boxy and makes you look square or top-heavy.

If you wear jeans, consider shopping for new pair. I am not a great advocate of jeans for evening, but the look is still with us, especially on the left coast. So if you are a blue jean baby make sure yours make you look young and hip, not like a dock worker.  The wash should be dark. Extremely low-waisted jeans are a thing of the past. If you have great waist, take advantage of the new corset fit. 

If you wear jeans out at night, check out L'Express for their super sexy metallic wash jeans. Great value. Le Chateau also has the best jean trends at a super price. If you have a less than perfect figure, a bulging tummy, or tricky thighs, know that many fashionable women who have had children swear by Tummy Tuck jeans. They have a special fit and design that makes the jeans “lift and tuck”.  J Brand jeans use Lycra to give jeans a perfect fit. Check our archives for more details. J Brand is available at most high end department and online at www.jbrandjeans.com. Right now all styles of jeans are in: boot cut, glare wide-legged. Buy what suites you and be very critical. White jeans look new and chic with metallics and can be very special with a cashmere or a good blazer.

You can pore over fashion magazines and then look for your perfect item with a wish list. Even after years in this business, I never tire of looking at my favourite magazines for images that inspire me. Some women find them daunting and the trends seem overwhelming and the images unattainable. Forget it. You need only to hit a few trends a season to look and feel fresh. Really. I listed the ones I think are most important and practical. There are many more. 

The shops have all you will need - from Neiman Marcus to H&M you can find it all and at any price. My list is a guideline for busy women. It is also my attempt to show how little it takes. A few new pieces a season can and will make all the difference, if you are committed to the whole process. I think it is just as important to get rid of what is old and doesn’t suit you. I can’t say it enough: edit, edit, edit. Take care of you. Focus on having good skin, hair and a healthy vigorous body. It’s attainable.

Darlings, dare to have a vision for yourself. That is really the most important element to looking and feeling fabulous. 

Sleep yourself sexier, smarter,

and slimmer

According to Ellen Michaud, author of the acclaimed book Sleep to Be Sexy, Smart, and Slim, sleep may well be a combination of a miracle cure and the fountain of youth. Alas, sweet slumber is as elusive to many of us as it was to poet Edna Vincent Malay, in her poem Midnight Oil:

Don't miss a word of Ellen Michaud’s exclusive interview, if you too are sleep deprived. You may be amazed at how many women are suffering a sleep debt and why. Ellen Michaud has all the answers, fact and figures about the sleep debt.

DD: Just how bad is the typical woman’s sleep debt? How many of us do you estimate are not getting enough sleep?

EM: It’s amazing. Surveys in which researchers actually take the time to talk to women indicate that some 75 percent of us are not getting enough sleep. Most of us are deprived of an hour or two each night.

DD: What are some of the worse consequences of being sleep deprived?

EM: The researchers I interviewed for my book Sleep to Be Sexy, Smart and Slim discovered that the worst consequences are a seriously increased risk of premature death, heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Sleep deprivation also significantly increases the length of labor in pregnant women. A study at the University of California at San Francisco discovered that pregnant women who slept six hours a night or less had 10 hours more labor than women who slept seven hours or more a night. They were also four times more likely to deliver by Cesarean section.

DD: Is it true that hormones can  play a major role in women’s sleep deprivation? What can we do about it – are we doomed to suffer through menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause – or is there help?

EM: A woman’s reproductive hormones seem to be the wild card that knocks the brain’s sleep/wake chemistry into chaos. The thing is, the fact that you KNOW that your reproductive hormones are going to disrupt your sleep at certain times - a day or two before you menstruate, during the last trimester of pregnancy, and with the onset of night sweats in perimenopause - makes it easier to deal with them.  In fact, there’s a sleep plan for each situation in my book. The most amazing women researchers across the country helped put them together so that every woman can head off hormonally-triggered insomnia.

DD: How bad is it to sleep with a snorer?

EM: Dear God. It’s bad. A study conducted some years ago by the Mayo Clinic revealed that a snoring partner wakes his non-snoring partner an average of 20 times a night - with an average sleep loss of one solid hour a day! That might not sound like much, but it you’re being awakened 20 times a night, you’re not only losing sleep, you’re losing the restorative sleep that rewires your brain and repairs your immune system as well.

DD: Are women as guilty of snoring as men?

EM: My Aunt Ellen says no. My Uncle Arthur says yes.

DD:Can snoring be cured?

EM: Yes. And the first step is to see your primary care physician for a visit devoted exclusively to figuring out why you snore. It could be something as simple as not vacuuming dust from under the bed, or all the grass pollen that drifted in your window while you slept. I will not tell you how I know that. Let’s just say that there’s a new vacuum with a HEPA filter at the top of my birthday wish list this year.

DD: Is taking sleeping pills always bad? Are all sleeping pills the same?

EM:  All sleeping pills have risks that range from annoying to scary. But they are not all the same. There’s a chart in my book Sleep to Be Sexy, Smart and Slim that allows you to compare the risks and benefits. Interestingly, the most effective treatment for insomnia is NOT a sleeping pill. It’s a short term program of cognitive behavioral therapy.  And not only is it more effective, an online program is cheaper. Somewhere around $19.95 as opposed to $3 or $4 a pill every night. You can download a program developed by the Harvard researcher who proved its effectiveness at www.cbtforinsomnia.com. The only reason you’ve never heard of him or the program is that Harvard researchers don’t advertise.

DD: Can sleep really help make you thinner and why?

EM: An incredible study of 68,000 women at Harvard Medical School found that women who sleep five hours a night are 32 percent more likely to gain 30 pounds or more as they get older than women who sleep seven hours or more. As to the why, researchers are still working it out. But it may be as simple as the fact that inadequate sleep lowers your levels of leptin, a hormone that makes you feel full, while it increases levels of the ghrelin, a hormone that makes you feel hungry.  Sleep and you feel full. Stay up late and you wake hungry.

DD: Will sleeping better and longer keep you younger?

EM: I’m betting on it!

DolceDolce Contest

Accessories that showcase beautiful precious materials and themes continue to be hit on the catwalk. Bridget Lynn Jewelry is known for delicate and captivating designs in gold and silver with precious stones featuring natural motifs. To win a $25 gift certificate from www.bridgetlynnedesigns.com - one each for the U.S. and Canada - be the first to text the words: “Bejewel Me”! And win!

Trendsetting looks

to update your look

www.neimanmarcus.com

Be as fresh as a daisy in this bright yellow Karta Beaded-Neck Dress. If yellow doesn’t suit you, find your dream dress in a floral, coral or cool blue. An interesting neckline is not only on trend, but a great idea if you spend your day behind a desk –or want to look alluring over a dinner table.

Trend of the minute at under thirty dollars a bright red cropped jacket.

Wow them with a delicious

pea shoot salad

Pea shoots are wonderfully tender and often an overlooked vegetable. They are traditionally used in Asian cooking and are now sought after by many chefs who appreciate their fresh and somewhat sweet flavour. I first became aware of them through fusion recipes about 10 years ago, and they quickly became one of my spring favorites. I still eagerly await their seasonal arrival. I enjoy serving them to guests, as often someone will have the pleasure of tasting them for the first time.

Pea shoots are great in any light tasting salad recipe. They are also good in quick sautés, where you might use tender baby spinach. In Asian markets they are often labeled duo maio.

This salad is nice for a dinner party. It is simple and combines light spring flavours and can be done quickly, if you have prepared all your ingredients.

For 6 or 8  - depending on serving size.

3 cups fresh pea shoots from Chinatown or gourmet markets.

2 cups of mix seasonal wild mushrooms

Fresh thyme

Crusty bread or baguette.

Wash and dry 3 cups of tender peas shoots. Clean and pick them over carefully.

Do not plan to keep the shoots more than a day or two; they are fragile and can wilt.

Sauté 2 cups of carefully sliced wild mushrooms. I wash and dry my mushrooms. Clean as you prefer. I use a mélange of wild mushrooms. Go to a good market to get them. I sauté them in oil, not butter as the salad is served cool with warm mushrooms. Butter congeals.

To the mushrooms add  ½ tsp. – 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

Make vinaigrette;

¼  cup of good white wine /sherry vinegar

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. sugar/Splenda

Mix well 

Add: 2/3 cup good olive oil

Toast 6 or 8 slices of baguette or other good crusty bread for croutons – brush lightly with oil and rub lightly with cloves of garlic.

To assemble:

Place the croutons on the bottom. Top with lightly-dressed pea shots. Top peas shoots with the warm mushrooms. Garnish with fresh pea shoots and fresh pepper.

This is an elegant salad that shouts spring. It is very easy to do, if you have your components read to go. It is perfect before any simple fish or meat, poultry, or even meat main course. Simply indulgent, but still a statement - just like you, darlings.

Darlings some of you may be having a really stellar year and feeling just fabulous good for you. If not, take some time and tune yourself up. You are fabulous and you probably just need to tweak a few things. We all have to recalibrate from to time to time to look and feel as fabulous as possible. Just remember, you deserve to take care of you. I tell you all the time you are fabulous and I mean it, but it won’t help you a bit if you don’t believe it, so please do. Every day I am astounded at the pure potential that surrounds me. It’s inspiring and humbling.

I wish you all a wonderful week to spend with friends and family. Remember much can be done with reorganization and imagination, if other resources are strained. Make time for each other and to make memories. Life is short make it sweet.

Until next week, please sign-up if you haven’t already - DolceDolceis free. And please forward us to all your friends.