Blog Archives

He rested his hand in the small of her back

7/30/2013

Something so delicately feminine about the small of a woman's back. You may catch yourself looking over your shoulder to see who's following you when you wear this subtly suggestive style.

Urban Outfitters BB Dakota Wilmet Open-Back Sweater, $89

Alloy Split Back Tee, $14.90 - $17.90 (starting at $9.90 each when you buy 3 or more), 9 colors, 7 sizes

Free People Carousel Tee, $78

Free People Kalifas Kaftan Top, $68

Victoria's Secret Flyaway-back Tank Top, $39.50

More back stories...

We've got your back.

I keep coming back to this.

Buttons down her back

...And back to me.

Watch me walk away.

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My Sunday tees

7/28/2013

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Every Sunday I post a t-shirt. I enjoy finding t-shirts from etsy.com, from new designers, and from small clothing companies just getting started. Sometimes the shop owner will send me a t-shirt as a thank you gift, and sometimes
I buy one. Here I am in a few of my favorites....

Masato is a hot designer originally from a village near Tokyo, now designing beautiful new fashions in the U.K. Masato kindly sent me this t-shirt as a gift, and I love it to death! Aside from being the cutest thing ever, it's made of a high quality smooth cotton that allows me to dress it up and wear it to work or wear out at night with shorts, hose, & high heels. Click here for the dimensions & prices of the tee.
Click here to read more about Masato & his line of limited edition tees.
Click here to see Masato dresses & other designs.

This is my new RawRich patch
t-shirt, which I also love to death! It's a super high quality tee & I'm so glad to support RawRich Innerprise. RawRich Entertainment has some hot rap music you've got to hear (click on youtube video below).

Follow them on Twitter
@RawRich_Ent & follow them on Instagram here.

#RAWRICH

See the little kitty tee peeking out? This was one of the first tees I ever featured, a gift from Carbon Pawprint, a super cool eco-friendly purveyor of pet products made from reclaimed yoga mats! I love my bamboo tee, & I love the women who started this company--check them out at https://www.facebook.com/carbonpawprint.

So grab your phone, click a shot of yourself in your favorite tee, email it to openmindfashion@gmail.com, & you'll soon be featured on OMF!

See more of the individuals & organizations we've featured here: T-shirt Sunday Tees.

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You should know...

7/27/2013

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I feel like you should know IKEA slippers are the lowest price ever.
The robes are only $19.99 too.
Think gift or guest room?

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Coral wedge sandals under $50

7/26/2013

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Who doesn't love a wedge?

Blah blah blah wedges blah blah blah wedges. Seems all I can talk about lately is wedge sandals. I'd like some in coral please. 3 under $50...

Rakuten.com Etienne Aigner Women's Kaleb in bright coral, $30.99

6pm.com Christin Michaels Zofia in persimmon, $44.99

Belk.com Adrienne Vittadini Cissy Wedge Sandal in coral, $49.99

You may also like...

3 summer work
outfits under $50

Give 'em the cold shoulder

Cool, calm, and Collected: Summer Fashion Checklist

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Word of the day: purple

7/24/2013

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Blogger, radio producer, & single dad Noah Dingley writes the blog The Nomadden.

Last weekend Noah Dingley announced: "I need color. Ideas?"

We batted around a few possibilities and decided on a light shade of purple to complement Noah's brown eyes.
So Noah picked up a purple polo on sale at Target. We both agreed distressed is best when it comes to men's jeans, so Noah pulled out his new silver/blue dENiZEN® jeans to work with the purple polo. Add super cool Blu Blockers Mirrored Aviator sunglasses and brown leather American Eagle driving shoes, and you've got one very cool California outfit.

Here's Noah modeling the digs in front of his San Diego home. I think the purple really looks nice on you, Noah, and the jeans are très chic. Purple goes so beautifully with brown--will be great with your favorite brown leather jacket this fall!

Noah's next plan for color: goldenrod jeans.

Radio producer and blogger Noah Dingley

Here are all the elements that make up Noah's outfit & Noah's comments about each one:

Target Merona® Men's Ultimate Short Sleeve Polo, $12

"The one I got was a size small BECAUSE they tend to run big & I like my shirts to have a closer fit...as shirts that are more roomy are NOT flattering. I did it! ROCKED my first bit of purple!"

dENiZEN® from the Levi's® brand Men's Slim Straight Leg Jeans - Gray Storm, $29.99

"I fell in love with these jeans about 6 months back, and (sounding like a girl) I had to have them! The color and wash was unique (Silver/Blue blend) & they have the flap pockets that are so trendy, BUT you can slip your wallet, etc., BEHIND them (which is unique)."

BluBlocker Navy Blue Matte Outside/White Inside with Blue Mirror Aviator, $34.99

"The shades I actually normally wear indoors for help with neon lighting, BUT I love 'em! Blu Blockers Blue Mirrored Aviators (frames are white inside) & you can honestly wear them anywhere if you want good vision!"

American Eagle Driving Shoe, $79

"The shoes I'm wearing in the photos are a faded pair of brown driving shoes from American Eagle that I've owned for some time. Now they've changed the style SLIGHTLY, as you can see. GREAT, now I want the NEW driving shoes! :)"

Men out there (or ladies with men out there): Are you wearing colors? Which ones feel the best on you?

Noah is our resident male fashion guy.

Noah Dingley is down-to-earth and fun-loving with a great sense of style.

Follow Noah (The Nomadden) on Twitter & Tumblr.

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Never do this

7/22/2013

33 Comments

Never count up how many pieces of clothing you have.

You'll get bored in an instant.

You'll never want to buy anything ever again.

You'll reach a figure equal to a plane flight to Europe (or to the moon). It's bad enough calculating the cost
of your clothing donation for tax purposes.

You may wonder if you're being manipulated by the fashion industry.

You'll wonder how you ever accumulated so much & how you ever shared a bedroom closet with
your sister.

But if you do...

1. Only count to 10.
Jennifer Scott on her blog The Daily Connoisseur and in her book Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris suggests that we reduce our wardrobes to just 10 items & a few extras like t-shirts.
Jennifer Scott gives several benefits of The 10 Item Wardrobe here.

"[The 10 Item Wardrobe is] an exercise in liberating yourself from an overly cluttered wardrobe.
The goal here is to get your clothing down to a capsule collection of high quality clothes. (The less you shop, the more high quality clothes you can afford over time)."
--Jennifer L. Scott, author of The Daily Connoisseur and Lessons from Madame Chic

Had you heard of the 10 Item Wardrobe before? What do you think of it?

2. Only count to 1.
You may want to consider purchasing just one high quality, multi-purpose piece per season.

3. Count on your friends.
Friends everywhere are hosting "clothing swaps." Friends get together, drink wine, and exchange clothes.

Friends enjoy wine & exchange clothes at a clothing swap

4. Freeze!
I know two women who are in the midst of a clothing-buying freeze until January. Here one friend describes her reasons for the freeze:
"The last freeze helped me to reassess my wardrobe, wear things I hadn't in awhile, and when I was done, I really shopped less. A lot of the addictive desire of it went away! I spent my time on other things like reading and pottery. When the freeze was over, I really started to focus on quality instead of quantity. I realized it might be worth the extra few bucks to buy something that doesn't fade and stretch out."

"My friend is doing the freeze because she realized she has 115 pairs of shoes."

5. Count your blessings.
We are exceptionally fortunate to have so much while many people around the world have so little.

Which of these ideas would you be willing to do or which most appeals to you? I really hope you'll comment on this post.

Many thanks to Rachel for ideas & support she contributed to this post.

33 Comments

Pen & Ink tees

7/21/2013

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Pen & Ink Clothing has a sharp eye for design.

Pen & Ink Limited edition Vintage Monroe Tee, £20

Pen & Ink Problem T-shirt, £10. Sold out.

Pen & Ink Relax Tee, £15

T-shirt Sunday Tees

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3 summer work outfits under $50

7/18/2013

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Raise your hand if you think summer is the hardest season to dress for--especially for the office. I probably spend more money on summer clothes than any other season just because I'm trying to get it right--find comfortable, professional outfits that won't make me look sloppy or wrinkled and will help me stay cool. Here are three outfits that I've worn again and again to work this summer--all inexpensive and non-wrinkly and super comfortable.

Outfit 1:
I stole this look from J. Crew but found the skirt for $20 from Loft here. The skirt fits me like a glove and is made of a cotton/stretch blend that doesn't wrinkle. Black & white goes with everything. The skirt is available in more sizes in stores.
The top I got from J. Crew for $18.55.

J. Crew vintage cotton boatneck tee & black & white striped pencil skirt

Outfit 2:
I stole the concept for Outfit 2 from J. Crew too--a crochet skirt and crisp white oxford.
I paid $29 for the skirt from Athleta. Never wrinkles, goes everywhere. Similar here.
The shirt I've had forever, but I recently bought a new one from J. Crew Factory for about $33 including shipping.

J. Crew Factory outfit

Outfit 3:
I think dresses are often the least expensive and the least trouble, especially in the summer when you don't have to wear tights. I got this dress at H&M for $19.95. It would have been really short in my usual size, so I sized up until the length felt sassy but appropriate for work. I added my own belt and a lovely purse that a friend brought back for me as a gift from Italy.
They still carry the dress in the store. Never wrinkles.

H&M dress, $19.95

What are your go-to outfits for work this summer? How are you keeping cool and unwrinkled?

You may also like...

10 ways I saved
money for clothes
this year

Give 'em the
cold shoulder

Finding new combinations for the clothes you already own

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Side-by-side: mini-wedge espadrille sandals

7/16/2013

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Well, here's some frightening proof that you must research every shoe online before purchasing.
Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters are sister companies, I believe. They are selling the exact same sandal, but it's on sale at half price and in more colors at Urban Outfitters and not at Anthropologie. The sandal is also available at Maraisusa.com. I rather like the sandal myself and would prefer to pay half the price by walking across the hall or surfing just down the internet dial one click :-)

$54.99
at Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters Marais USA Espadrille Mini-Wedge Sandal, 3 colors, $54.99 (was $110), free shipping

While we're at it, here's the J. Crew version of almost the same sandal.

J. Crew Marina Mini-wedge espadrilles, $79.99. Extra 30% off with the code EXTRA30

$110
at Anthropologie

Anthropologie Espadrille Wedges By Marais USA, only in coral, $110

Maraisusa.com Jitney Wedge, 4 colors, $110

More tips
for stretching
that dollar

More Side-by-side

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Sarita's lost & recovered jewels

7/15/2013

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Sarita Coren sends us this fascinating story for our Lost & Found section...

My kids were still very little. A few weeks before, I had given birth to my second son and hired a woman to help me out. My oldest son, 16 months at the time, acted like a little energizer bunny, so I really needed the extra hands.

Gayle was a nice lady but shared a strange story one day about a boyfriend. A few days later, Gayle did not show up at my house.

We called her friend who had referred her who told us that Gayle had left to country to go to Trinidad! I felt a bit lost without the extra help and then something else hit me.

I'm not sure why but I decided to check my jewelry box. It must have been a hunch, that little gnawing feeling that something was amiss. Sure enough, my engagement ring and two diamond necklaces had vanished.

"I suppose those jewels were really meant for me after all."

The loss of the beautiful jewelry upset me as much as the sentiment that each piece carried and the feeling of being violated by someone that I had trusted with my children. One necklace was a diamond heart that my husband bought me because he remembered that I sold a diamond necklace of mine once, and he wanted me to have one. It was so kind of him, and it touched me deeply. Now it was gone, along with my pear-shaped engagement ring. I figured that would be the end of the story. But it was not.

At the time, my husband was working for his father who did real estate management. One of the superintendents in the buildings just "happened" to have a brother who lived in Trinidad who was - now get this - a police officer! The super had no trouble contacting his relative and asking him to find Gayle and the missing jewelry.

You'd think this would reach another dead end, right? How was he going to find a Gayle among so many people? Sure enough, a few HOURS later, we got a call that he had found Gayle and that she would be sending me back all the jewelry! Not only that, but I actually spoke to her over the phone and she apologized.

The Universe always has a way of balancing the scales. I suppose those jewels were really meant for me after all.

--Sarita Coren

Sarita Coren is an expert in natural skin care & green, healthy living. Visit her blog: Peace on the Skin & Peace Within

Response from OMF:
Your story almost made me cry when I got to the part about the diamond heart necklace--so so sad to lose something so precious! But then I saw your amazing recovery of your jewels! I can't believe it! Thank heavens! I have a friend who will relate to it, but her wedding ring was stolen, never to be recovered. Thank you so so much for sharing your story, Sarita.