Adventures in Shopping

This weekend I went shopping with my friend Allison. She really needed a "little black dress" for some upcoming events and I am happy to say that we found one!

Allison is about 5'3" and often has trouble finding clothes to wear because she wears a plus size. She's also had lots of bad shopping experiences, so she was really nervous to go shopping. Fortunately, I insisted that we would have a better experience at Nordstrom. It took a little convincing, but eventually I took her over to the Encore department.

The salesperson was very nice and when we told her we were looking for a little black dress she immediately pulled out several options. Most of the options we never would have considered when they were hanging on the hanger. Allison dutifully tried them on, and was amazed how great they looked.

To the right is a picture of one we loved. (I have selected it in purple here because the details show up better.) The flowing layers are actually very slimming. It was so great to see Allison's face light up when she tried on this dress and came out to the big mirror where I was waiting.


~ Abi

Spotted on the Elevator 3/26

I guess I'm still pretty focused on this new 'global' trend; I keep seeing people wearing elements of it. I drew a sketch of this lady in the Elevator - she was wearing a gorgeous green velvet tunic with wide sleeves and beading on the cuffs, hem and neckline. I don't remember what she wore it with, but I can imagine this looking great with slacks or jeans. I find myself wearing lots of jackets with shells underneath, maybe I should be looking for some versatile tops instead.





~ Abi

Trend Spotlight: Global Mix

The store windows changed this morning.
Gone are the graphic images and bold colors: they have been replaced by soft leaves hanging from the ceiling and tall wooden organic shapes. The mannequins are wearing an assortment of animal prints, graphic tribal designs and chunky wooden necklaces.

I thought to myself, This must be a new trend - one that I know nothing about. So I caught up with my favorite Individualist salesperson, Kristina, to talk about what this trend really means.

Q: In a couple of words, what is the essence of this "Global Mix" trend?

Kristina: I see a lot of natural materials, with ethnic and tribal details. There is also a subtle sparkle and pizazz, even in the designs with a lot of texture.


Q: What are the essential elements that make up this trend?

Kristina: The name basically sums it up: a global mix. Designs are inspired by lots of influences. I see a lot of dresses that are wispy and flowing, often in animal prints or subdued bright graphic prints. There are also safari-inspired looks made out of sparkly, textured fabrics.

Q: If I could only buy one piece to capture this trend for my wardrobe, what would be the most useful?

Kristina: I would suggest one of two things: either just throw an animal print top under a basic black suit, or maybe get a flowing wrap with a bold, or more subtle, tribal print. Like this!

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It's hard to see in text, but Kristina was holding a gorgeous, sheer, green, gold and black wrap with an amazing leaf print. It really was the essence of all the things we talked about for the trend.


I've been watching people on the bus lately, and I have noticed a lot of people who are wearing elements of this trend. For example, one lady was wearing black slacks and a black top, with a stunning black and white giraffe print jacket. It really was amazing. I've also been seeing people with animal print scarves quite often lately. But honestly, it's still really cold in Seattle - so light dresses and flowing tops just aren't very popular right now. Or at least they're covered up with warm black jackets! It's hard to believe that Easter is only one week away.

As I have been investigating this trend I find elements that I like, but I haven't decided if I need to incorporate it into my look yet. I feel like my base wardrobe isn't quite complete enough to add a trendy piece right now. Maybe I'm just afraid to try wearing a leopard print top under my black jacket.

I do think that the pieces are beautiful - and I know people who would look great in many of the featured colors! Here is a link for some of the selection being offered online:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/6014666/0~2376776~2374327~6014666?origin=hp

~ Abi

Inspired by the window

Today, just like every day, I walked from the bus to my office and passed by the store windows. The display in one of them caught my eye.
I don't remember these dresses being in the window yesterday - it must have been changed overnight.

I will admit, I'm somewhat of a sucker for black and white patterns. I thought that these three outfits looked so stunning together. They also looked great in front of the black and white artwork.

This display reminds me that I do have a few fabulous articles of clothing in my closet already... my closet is not a complete fashion wasteland. Maybe I can wear my black and white skirt tomorrow.

~ Abi

Spotted on the Elevator:

A very fashionable lady was riding the elevator with me today. She looked completely pulled together! Her outfit was simple: a bright red-orange button up shirt with gray slacks, strappy shoes, and a brown handbag with a matching orange stripe around the top.

There's no way I could take a picture of her, so a sketch will have to suffice.
The thing I loved about her outfit was that though it looked pulled together, it appeared effortless. Like maybe it happened by accident.

Someday, I aspire to look so pulled together. Maybe confidence always looks so effortless, but I have a really hard time being confidant in what I'm wearing every single day. Sure, there are a few days each week when I really like what I'm wearing; those are the days that I get lots of complements. But it's not like that every day.


~ Abi

The Miraculous Sale!

I can't believe it - I bought the coat today!! I think I'm still in shock...

I happened to be passing by the window of the boutique store and new sale signs were posted in the window - "Winter Clearance." I don't know why, but I walked in and asked about the coat. They had one left in my size, and it was 70% off! The discount brought it down to a reasonable price. Sure, it maxed out my whole clothing budget for the month, but it's an amazing coat.

The coat is designed by Mackage, an international outerwear label. I didn't know much about the designers when I bought the coat, but I went home and pulled up the website and read all about the label and the inspiration for the season. I also found the video of the runway show. It was such an amazing experience to watch my coat appear in the show. I finally feel like I'm actually a participant in the world of fashion instead of just a bystander.

This is the picture from the website, which shows the coat in brown instead of the black that I bought. This is a great picture of the coat. I don't look at all like a model so the coat looks different on me, but I feel amazing.

I still can't believe I actually own a coat that was in a runway show!

The coat in the window

I found the perfect coat!

You know that song about the doggy in the window?
I felt a lot like the girl in the song, only I was asking, "How much is that coat in the window"

It wasn't at Nordstrom; instead, I had stopped in at a nearby boutique because the coat in the window caught my eye.

It's beautiful - it's from a well-known designer label and its WAY more than I want to spend on a coat. But I tried it on, and it's truly amazing. Heavy, warm, both gray and black, and it's stylish. It's a military style coat with a zipper closure on the side (instead of centered) and leather trim on the shoulders and a leather belt.

So did I buy it? No... I walked away sad. But I did draw a sketch of it!
If I could only find something like this at a more reasonable price.


~ Abi