Maine Girl

While I was in line at Walmart today with all the back to school shoppers, I picked up a version of an In Style fashion magazine (there are so many out there!) and thumbed through it. I found a lot of interesting beauty trends that are just coming about for fall! The first one that I think I may try is the GREEN nail polish. Don't worry. It's not like the green print that I used to type out this blog. It's like a beautiful jade green! Some of the green polishes they listed were lighter shades and some were deeper. Light for pale skin tones, deeper for darker skin. I think I am going with Chanel's Jade green this fall. If you do decide to sport the green polish, remember, it looks best on short rounded nails. You will look like the Bride of Frankenstein if you use this color on long nails. I love short nails. They look so much chicer when using a colored polish. The next trend I saw and LOVED was the "new" smokey eye for fall. It uses more of the green hues vs...

My son just went back to school today. First day of the 7th grade! He is going to be 13 in November. I was just reflecting back to when I was going into the 7th grade and just how I felt. I have to say that what I was going to wear on the first day of school was probably the most important thing to me. I wish the most important thing was how I was going to try to get all straight A's, but I just couldn't help it. I just couldn't stop thinking about what was going to be "Laura's Look" this year?! I remember hoping that the mailman was going to be delivering that fresh new September issue of Seventeen. Who was going to be on the cover and what will she be wearing?????? Ohhh the anticipation and excitement! I will never forget the feeling:-)

Anna Wintour is the editor and chief of Vogue magazine. I just call her the Queen of Vogue. She is someone who I respect and admire and I would do anything to work with her! I don't care how mean, how disrespectful, or how bad she might make me feel. (You all saw The Devil Wears Prada , right?) It would be such an honor and such a great learning experience to even be given the opportunity!!!! I cannot wait for this documentary to debut!!! I got the chills when I watched the trailer!!!!! Go to You Tube and search for "The September Issue" (that's the name of the documentary:-) to watch the trailer!!! Or if you are lucky enough to be my friend on Face Book, I have it posted on my personal page. P.S. If you are not my friend then you should be!! I will more than likely accept your request.

If I were going to a cocktail party I'd be wearing this. Then I would have to be pinched because this is an outfit I would only be wearing in my dreams!

Real life can be well, too real sometimes. Ruffles are so pretty and we all want to wear them, but sometimes we think they are to delicate looking for our day to day activities. Here is a gorgeous blouse by Chloe. I am adoring Hannah MacGibbon's designs despite the slack she is getting from fashion reporters. This blouse is a little steep for my budget though at $1240. Yes, that is one thousand forty dollars. I wouldn't want to do anything while wearing it. The brown ruffle blouse is from Talbots. It is a little more affordable at $99 and you can actually move around in it and you wouldn't mind as much if you bumped up against someone.

If you know me, then you already know how much I love finding out what the new trends are for each season. I take these trends and modify them to fit them into our real lives. Whether it has to do with clothing, accessories, make up and hairstyles, you know that the real trends that we see in fashion magazines very rarely work in our real lives. When you see these trends in the magazines, ask yourself, who you see wearing these? How old is the model wearing it? Is she at work in the middle of a meeting, or is she walking down a catwalk in front of a photographer? Remember being a model is a job. It is her job to make the clothes look fabulous! And what a cool job that must be, if you are what the designer is looking for to represent his or her designs. To me this means high pressure on these poor girls, but if you are a natural then no biggie;-) Well most of us are not natural runway models in our real life. I love taking these trends we see for each season, and considering my own pers...

Cuff bracelets are THE must have accessory for FALL! They are such a simple way to make a big statement! They are great for ladies who are easily driven nuts by bangles that jingle all day (I personally don't mind, but I am still loving the cuff;-) The cuff stays in place because you can easily pinch it together on the arm wherever you want it to sit and it generally will stay put. They look great for day but also can be stunning for an evening cocktail party. My belief is that you need a clean look to begin with when wearing a cuff. I love putting a cuff with a casual t shirt and jeans. I have read that wearing more than one cuff at a time is also a fashion do, but that depends on you. Personally, I think it could get a little tacky for real life, but it may look great on models in magazines. Here are just a couple of my favorite cuffs, but you will have to visit Laura's Style on Facebook for my Complete Cuff Album!

Kate Spade's new creative director, Deborah Lloyd, believes in dressing up a little all the time!! I thought I was the only one who thought this way;-) I have always loved Kate Spade for her old fashioned ways that seem so irrelevant today. She not only is a clothing and accessory designer. She has written series of lifestyle books that EVERYONE should read. Manners, Occasions, and Style are their titles. I happen to own the one called Manners. It is filled with tons of ways to display common courtesy. Ways that are no longer common sense in today's world. Deborah Lloyd seems to understand Kate Spate fully and lives her brand at home and at her job. She is totally Kate Spade! I believe it just comes naturally to her. She has taken the Kate Spade elegance and put in just a hint of modern practicality. I love that! Lets face it. We do live in a new modern world. We should celebrate just how far we have come! But we all just need to stay true to ourselves and down to earth, not ma...

I actually tried these two styles of shoes at K Mart yesterday and they were pretty comfy! They actually looked nice on and I can picture them looking expensive when worn with the right ensemble. They had nice durable soles and the inside was really cushioned. They were only $14.99! But the website is showing that they are $12.99!

Statement jackets are one of my favorite pieces to wear when the weather gets cool. They really can make an outfit more exciting and of course they add that extra layer of warmth when its a little cooler outside. There are so many different varieties of jackets out there that it may get confusing. Which one is right for you??? The boyfriend jacket has been popular this past spring and it is here to stay throughout the fall and winter seasons. This style is longer in length. It usually covers most of your bum. It has a slouchy, more relaxed feel. This style will look great on someone who is tall with a shorter torso. It can balance out the look of your long legs with your short body. It looks fab this fall with leggings or a straight leg jean. The shrunken blazer has been in style for a few seasons now. It is a shorter style and lots of times will have three quarter sleeves. It will hit your body at your high hip. This style will look great on many body types but will especially flatter...

I received this gorgeous flyer in the mail today asking me to visit any Neiman Marcus store or log on to their website and purchase this new lipstick by Guerlain. The flyer was BEAUTIFUL. It was on glossy paper and when you opened it up it almost felt like an invitation. It even smelled good. It had this little tab inside that said "pull here" and when you pulled it out it was like you were opening up the lipstick. Stunning!!! Then I started to read about this brilliant new beauty product because I was so curious. The picture of the lipstick itself was very intriguing. It has a mirror on it that you can flip open when applying the lipstick. NICE. The silver tube is sooo shiny and pretty too. I showed the picture of it to my husband and he asked "How much?" Typical of a husband. I searched for the price on the back of the invite and I read out loud "$45.00." Even I was in question when I read this price. So I read further trying to figure out what, other th...

I was inspired by Abba on my ipod this morning while on my morning power walk. " Gimmie ! Gimmie ! Gimme!" (that's the name of the song in case some of you didn't know:-)

Vests are so cool, so hip, and so now. I have always loved that menswear look for fall and the great thing about it is that it seems to come back in some form every year! This year it seems like fashion is about not trying so hard. So you should not worry too much about what you are going to wear undreneath your vest. Believe me, there seems to be a vest for everyone out there. Lets face it, we all have our own unique style(as we should) and the menswear look is not for everyone. If this is the case you should opt for a softer more feminine feel, such as wearing a soft feminine blouse underneath with a delicate longer style necklace. Vests also look great when worn unbuttoned over a white tank paired with skinny jeans and ballet flats while the weather is still warm. And of course I just love the way the vest looks over a white blouse. Make it more feminine by keeping the blouse open at the neck and tying a scarf around your neck in one of the more modern styles, such as a sash wrapped...

Ladies it is now time to introduce you to the bib necklace. It has been a total hit this past spring/summer, but going into fall, it's a MUST! These days its hard to figure out what to wear. It's hard to know what everyone else will be wearing when you get there. You want to look fabulous, but not like you tried sooooo hard to look this way. The gorgeous styles of bib necklaces out there add just enough of the something different, cool, and I must say spectaculousness ( probably not a word in the real world, but trust me, it is in the fashion world:-) that you need to make that outfit "special." If you decide that you want to sport one of these beautiful works of art, then you MUST keep that outfit so very simple. You must wear something without a collar and a high enough neckline to make a "backdrop" for your bib necklace. Or something low enough to show it off. Forget about the ruffles, lace, sequins, and bows, that may be your usual thought when dressin...

This just looks so nice and cool for a day like today!!!

There is just something about a bow that I love. It could be that it reminds me of all those gifts I used to get on Christmas morning that were tied with a bow so beautifully, or the ribbons that were tied in a bow at the end of each braid my mother used to make in my hair. I am not sure what it is but I love the way bows look. They look soft, fluffy, and just plain old pretty! Wouldn't you agree?? For an example, take a plain old handbag. Kind of boring, right? Well take a scarf and tie it in a bow on one of the handles, and voilà !!! You have something totally feminine and unique!!! I love that:-) Here are a few examples of bows. But you must visit Laura's Style on Facebook to see my complete "Bow" album!

It's that time again. Well it's that time for me all the time now that I'm a grown up. Meaning that I am not only on the hunt for the perfect tote specifically for back to school like most ladies at this time of year, but because I am ALWAYS carrying a tote these days and I am not even going back to school! (at the moment anyway:-) I just have so much stuff! Of course I carry all the purse essentials like a wallet, lip gloss (usually like 5 different ones for some weird reason), Rimmel translucent powder for touch ups during the day, my checkbook, a notepad, a pen and the list goes on and on. Plus I carry my lunch, which I try to pack everyday because I'd rather spend my money on fashion than fast food:-) Then there's that extra pair of shoes that I need at the end of the day so that I don't limp through the grocery store in the heels that I have been stomping around in all day!!!! Plus I don't like to wear my nice shoes all over town. The pavement is so ha...

When you are staring deep into your closet wondering what to wear with what, what exactly do you see??? Or should I say what don't you see??? If you do not see these items, then you must make a list and little by little begin to let them in! A classic trench A white blouse A simple sheath A pencil skirt Ballet flats Pearls A statement scarf A classic wool coat Black cashmere turtleneck/jewel neck Black pumps A classic handbag A GREAT fitting pair of jeans (I call them my skinny jeans because they make me feel great when I put them on:-) If these items are missing from your wardrobe, think twice before buying that trendy ruffly blouse or that cool boho skirt. You need to let the basics in first, then build up around them. Kind of like when you build a home. And yes, I love my closet that much, I probably could live in there!

When I was a young lady I ALWAYS looked forward to getting the September issue of Seventeen magazine. I would study those pages the whole month of August before going school shopping with my mother. I needed to get my "look of the year" down before we headed out to the stores. My mother and I almost never fought about my fashion choices even though some of them were quite hideous now that I look back. Why she let me leave the house trying to look like Cyndi Lauper is beyond me. But I'm glad she did:-) One of my most major problems with shopping for back to school was the fact that I was all about the name brands. I had no money but always wanted the best of the best. This was my only frustration. We ended up shopping at places like K-Mart, Zayre, and Rich's Department store. I would only dream of owning those Calvin Klein Jeans. I was the last of six children though, so did get a lot that that they didn't. It was really cool when my mother took me out to the mall....

RED seems to be the color for September! What a great color to represent the month. It just makes you think of the RED apple you are going to give your teacher, the RED leaves on the trees, and the RED cheeks you get when the weather starts to get cooler (nature's blush! I thought I'd leave out the RED nose that also happens, because that's not so pretty:-) I just love all the different shades of RED I am seeing! There is a RED for every skin tone out there! Most ladies look for that perfect shade of RED with the blue undertone, which would be a cool RED . But if you have a warm complexion, an orangy RED might be gorgeous on you. I run into a lot of RED heads who say "No RED for me!" That makes me sad!!!!! Little do they know, a nice warm RED would be stunning on them!! The bottom line is that you have to experiment with every shade, and don't give up! There is a shade of RED out there somewhere that will enhance your beauty. Trust me. I'm you...

This is a magnificent blouse!!! I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like this. I bet the fabric is amazing! I am afraid I will never know:-(

Nope, I don't mean for your car, although that could be what you really need, and in that case you should get that first. (BUMMER) After that is fixed you will want a muffler for your neck! These have been really popular for almost 6 months now, and going into fall they will be more popular than ever! They are so pretty and come in many colors, patterns, and fabrics. They can really change up an outfit. If you are not quite sure on how to wear one, just go to YouTube and you will be able to pull up hundreds of video tutorials on how to make them work for you!

I love the look of a simple sheath style dress. It is classy and just so simply elegant. They are so easy to wear because you don't have to think! You can change the look simply by adding a heel, or a ballet flat, some pearls or a long pendant, a belt or no belt. I am really loving the fact that turtlenecks are really making a comeback worn underneath the sheath dress. This is a look that comes and goes but it is definitely here to stay this fall. See my photos to give you an idea on sheath style dresses that look great alone or with a turtleneck layered underneath! I like putting a pretty color like a plum, rose, or fuchsia under a grey or black sheath. The plaid dress shown would look great with a chocolate brown turtleneck or if your complexion and hair color will allow it, wear orange. How gorgeous!