Jumpy Claps for Melissa McCarthy

I really like it when stylists treat plus-sized women the same way they do the Under 16 Crowd: by putting them in clothing that flatters, regardless of the number on the tag.

Melissa McCarthy's stylist has been guilty of not following this maxim. Often, I see her dressed in clothes that scream, "I am made for fat girls! This is a fat girl shirt!" and I find it disappointing because Melissa is so much better than that. Which is why I'm super happy with her latest esemble:

It's a floral wrap dress from ASOS and it looks fantastic. Often, florals can cause what I like to call "Aunt Edna's Couch Syndrome". This horrifying condition occurs when a plus-sized woman is put in the type of musty and outdated floral print that used to cover Aunt Edna's couch. You remember Aunt Edna: she smelled like mothballs and baby powder, always had a casserole in the oven and a hard candy in her purse, and she still had the same sofa that her parents gave her for her wedding in 1950.

Mel here has handily avoided looking like anything of the sort. This floral print is modern enough to look like this dress is still actually on the shelves, and it's not size-specific. I can see this dress on everyone from Helen Mirren to Dakota Fanning.

She also kind of killed it in the accessories department:



Fat girls can totally rock Jimmy Choo. They may be a smidgeon too high on the ankle in a leg foreshortening kind of way, and I might also wish that her nail polish was slightly more youthful but, really, I'm just splitting hairs.




And the bag! The bag! I don't know that I've seen a better example of how to mix prints in a long time. Same colors, similar scale, perfection! I need this bag. Please tell me it is also from ASOS...

Neon Fan

Wasn't I just saying that the most flattering of all the neon hues is pink? Well, look at what happened last Sunday: 



Fan Bingbing at the Oscars

This is a lot of dress. And she is tiny. But, somehow, this really works. First of all, look at her face. It's really hard to make that look unattractve. While I don't love the fact that the lipstick matches, it has the effect of making her look even more like a living doll.  

I mean, that is a serious amount of silk satin. I love that the folds are very structural. she looks like a Chinese princess made out of hot pink satin origami paper. I have always felt that Asian are more sartorially adventurous than us Westerners, and this just proves my point. What Western actress can you think of that would have pulled this exact look off so flawlessly? Potentially Blanchett.

The inset of embellishment at the back adds a bit of textural interest without detracting from the rest of the dress and has the effect of looking like an obi being peeled away. Super cool. Marchesa works for her because it has the right amount of dreamy drama to compliment her looks and personality.

This is also an instance of great styling. you can plop the dress on her but, as we saw from Renee Zellweger, that isn't where you should stop. The hair has to fit the face and the angles of the gown, while keeping the head in proportion to the rest of the body. This beehive looks retro, architectural, Asian, and modern. all at the same time. Perfect. I maynot have chosen pink sapphires for the jewelry as I feel it tends to blend in with the fabric and lipstick, but I don't really mind it either. In this case, a contrasting color like turquoise could have been striking, but may have been a bit overdone on such a small frame.

In short, this is flawless perfection and I want to have this dress and wear it around my house and to Target carrying a mimosa and long feather boa.

Dita Von Teese Wants Natural Beauty

So, I don't really know all that much about Dita Von Teese. Probably more than the average person, but that's just because I pay attention to stuff. To me, she is an embodiment of Dolly Parton's famous quip: "Find out who you are and then do it on purpose." She has her styling down to a tee and truly commits to her look.

Take off all her makeup and she's probably a very pretty woman, but lacquer her up and she is a bombshell. This is one thing I love so much about styling: that every woman, no matter how 'average' can find what really works for her and shows her to her best advantage.

This woman is almost 40.

Dita here has her own line of lingerie which goes into the plus sizes and up to a G cup. The little I know about lingerie tells me that going to G is not very extraordinary, but for a celebrity line I think it's pretty decent. She had women of all sizes walk the runway at her show and tweeted: "To set the record straight, my Von Follies lingerie show 'no spray tan policy' means NATURAL skin tones will be represented, pale & dark.''

Fabulous. Severely. I really, really love it. Pale =/= Ugly (or 'pasty').

Beautiful skin and she definitely has lines around her eyes and on her forehead. Awesome. She doesn't appear to be injected with fillers or paralyzers, either.

She's got a sort of Ava Gardner thing happening, and I adore the sharp red nails with half-moon mani. "I've had 2 years to sharpen my claws, mother; Jungle Red!"

Check it: 3 different-sized women wearing very similar garments (i.e. the 'plus size' one is not covered head to toe) and all of them look sexy, confident, and real.

The blonde in the back on the left? A bit heavy in the middle. The brunette next to Dita? Thick thighs. The lady on the right? Hips, baby, hips. Figure flaws? Oh heck no. They all look luscious.

Photos courtesy of JustJared.

Vintage Finds

I'm a huge fan of vintage shopping. Thrifting. Whatever you want to call it. When my mom was a teenager, her parents bought a Victorian townhouse and renovated it themselves. They spent a lot of time doing second-hand shopping. To this day, most of our heirloom furniture comes from this period.


So it's business as usual when I come to work sporting my newest find. Take a looksee at the awesome new bag I snagged at Goodwill:

It's 100% leather made in Italy for The Limited. Remember The Limited? Yeah, I got flashbacks of floral dresses with attached chokers, too. But this bag is pretty rad.

It looks pretty similar to this saddle bag from Ralph Lauren. Vintage for $5 vs. Designer for $1200. Pretty Sweet.

Geeky Nails

There are a few things for which I am a massive sucker:

-animals
-shiny things
-figure skating
-old hollywood
-nail polish
-books

When any of these items combine, I go into a tizzy. That's probably why I am loving ladyflash's post on nail polishes inspired by A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They are also sparkly.

Link Love

I've been reading a lot of 2001 recap posts recently, but I have just come across my favorite:

My friend ladyflash wrote a truly awesome 2011 recap. I love her pictures, and the fact that she chooses really interesting polishes. Plus, she has a major jones for glitter and shiny things and we know how I feel about that...

Seriously, she is unpretentious and has amazing cuticles.

Aubergine Dream and A Well-Tailored Coat

 Often, women go overboard with holiday-themed sweaters a la Mark Darcy

Green, gold and cherry red are all lovely colors but can come off as a bit too 'on-the-nose' and wind up looking simply comical.

But Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge earns top marks for her gorgeous Christmas morning ensemble.

Color correct: Her coat is aubergine and her hat is cranberry.

She looks festive (what's more festive than cranberries?), regal, comfortable, demure, and (most importantly) warm.

I love that the hat and coat do not match. They coordinate. They are the same tones of two similar colors. The hat is a warm hue made in a soft velvet, bot of which serve to warm and soften her complexion. And she wears matching gloves. *swoon*

Her coat is perfectly tailored. Note the shoulders: draw an imaginary straight line from the widest part of her upper arm. If the shoulder seam falls on that line, the shoulders fit. If the seam hangs over, it's too big. If the shoulder sticks out from under the seam, it's too small. Remember: shoulder pads are your friend.

I really don't love her heavy eyeliner. I know I've said it before, but it ages her and I don't feel she needs it. Having said that, it's clear that she likes it and clearly so does Will. That's good enough for me.




P.S. I will love forever the person that finds me a picture of the back of this hat.


EDIT: the lovely jeanettic found some more great profile shots of the hat and coat, as well as Kate's lovely pair of Mascaro suede shoes.

 By the way, this hat is a modified trilby (essentially a fedora without the pinches).

Fully Loded (Where My Geeks At)

I need one of my lovely nail-obsessed friends to try this. It looks brilliant and clever, yet tricky to execute. Apparently, you swipe on this polish then wave the be-magnetted cap over your nail and a seriously cool design appears.

I'm looking at you, ladyflash...