Maine Girl

I LOVE this outfit by Nanette Lepore, who is one of my all time favorite designers. If I could design clothes for myself, I couldn't do it better than Nanette Lepore. Just look at how feminine this plaid skirt is!! Normally I think of wearing plaid in a more tailored form. But this skirt is so flirty and fun! The jacket being a little more structured balances out this look. I just have one more thing to say. I LOVE FALL!

I remember when I was young and there was NO WAY I would ever wear a hat. I would freeze before a hat would go on my head. Well now that I am older and I have to do my own shoveling, hats and I, we are friends now!! I won't leave the house in the winter without one on when the temp goes below 40 degrees. Not only are they practical, but they are actually very stylish and there are so many to choose from. I love my brown wool fedora and my black newsboy cap. Of course those styles won't do during the gnarliest of snowstorms. Only my husband's wool beanie with ear flaps works for those times. Those styles are kind of cute too! They just don't really work with my classic look that I usually have going on, but sometimes I have to make the exception. This hat pictured here is by Reinhard and is available at Free People.com. It is 100% rabbit fur and is an extremely soft bucket hat that can be molded into various shapes to fit your every mood.

I was actually early for work this morning! Believe it or not this happens to me quite often only because I have to get my son to school by 8:00am and I am usually all ready for the day by then. Today I decided to waist some time in Target. I always love what Target has to offer. They have all the latest trends and it is always so cheap! Today I started in the accessory section and I never made it past the jewelry. I discovered that jewelry designer Anna Sheffield had made some pieces exclusively for Target! To be totally honest, I had never even heard of her until now. I am a little embarrassed to say that. I immediately Googled her when I got home from work and discovered that she actually has a website dedicated to all of her original jewelry pieces. I am soooo in love! Her pieces are so very unique and they totally reflect who she is. But I also see me in her pieces, and my sisters, and my friends, and even my mom:-) She actually has a video on her website that actually starts play...

What a great day for a scarf! This one is so cool from Chocosho by Mike and Chris. It's called the Kyle Scarf. I am loving the two buttons. Really unique. You may want to check out the Chocosho.com website too. Some really cool clothes and some ...really great gift ideas. And they have men's clothing too!

I am a huge fan of the smokey eye. These girls in the photo look FABULOUS sporting this look. However, when a make up artist tells you how to apply this style of makeup they never tell you that you need a great concealer first. If you don't have the right concealer, this smokey eye look can make you look exhausted!!! The right concealer will have a pinkish undertone which hides the bluish purplish tone of your dark circles. This is crucial to getting the fabulous smokey eye look that these two girls have! Bobbi Brown has a great concealer which she actually calls a corrector. Bisque is my shade, but light/medium bisque is great if your skin is extremely fair. The mistake a lot of people make is getting a concealer with too much yellow in it. This actually makes your dark circles worse, but it is great for hiding any facial redness you may have. It may take lots of experimenting to get the right shade of concealer, but I think Bobbi Brown's Bisque Corrector is a great place to s...

I just love the look of a classy jumpsuit. To me they have always been in style, but for a while there they were hard to find! They are so simple and would look great with a ribbon necklace! You could put just about any style jacket with it and you would look great! Throw a denim jacket on to be a bit more casual (great for a date:-), put on a tuxedo jacket or a velvet jacket to be more elegant (like when you go to the ballet) You will feel like one of Charlie's Angels! I've always wanted to be one........:-)

Ribbon necklaces are soooo pretty! They look great worn with a very plain top with no collar such as a scoop neck, v-neck, or ballet neck. They also are fabulous with a top or dress with an open back. The ribbon looks so elegant flowing behind you. I am also a fan of the ribbon necklace worn with a turtleneck in the winter. I don't know exactly what it is that draws me to the ribbon necklace. I think it could be the bow itself after you tie it on. It almost has a vintage feeling. I also think that a ribbon necklace would be fairly easy to make yourself! If it involves beading I might ask my artistic pals Sarah, Bobbi, or Maria to do that part. But I was thinking that I might just try to make a bib necklace with a ribbon tie. No beading required! I will post pictures if it actually comes out good:-) Stay tuned!

Fame Premier Night! by LauraLy featuring J Brand jeans

A tall lady with a long torso would look fabulous in this cropped cardigan when it is worn with the longer style baby doll top as pictured on the right! This model is tall but she looks even taller wearing this long boyfriend style cardigan! Just think about what it could do for a petite lady! Look at how pretty this curvy lady looks in this dress that fits close to her body rather than something over sized! Ladies, ladies, ladies. What am I gonna do with you!!!!! I run into so many women that think just because they are short they can't wear anything too long, or tall ladies who think they can't wear a cropped jacket, or larger ladies who think they can't wear anything too close to their body, or a skinny minnie who thinks she can't wear..... well, I don't know what you skinny minnies can't wear but anyway, you get what I am saying I hope. I am so tired of ladies thinking these thoughts without even trying! Yes, you might be short and you think you can'...

I am still obsessing over Bobbi Original!!!! Bobbi Young makes the prettiest jewelry. Her pieces are so whimsical! They make you feel so girly:-)

Check out my latest sets that I made on Polyvore! Polyvore.com is a really neat website where you can create sets and put outfit ideas together, or you can do a little interior design. It's kind of the same idea as when you are flipping through a magazine and you come to a page where they give you outfit ideas, make up ideas, or decorating ideas, and the page looks so nice because everything kind of goes together. It's kind of like visual merchandising on the computer. I love it! I will be creating more sets in the future. This might perhaps give you ideas for when you are putting outfits together from your own closet! Find me on Polyvore

I just love the vintagey look of those pearl necklaces with the enamel flower like this one from Talbots. It looks like something your grandmother might have worn with her Donna Reed dress to a garden party. Nowadays we would could wear a necklace like this with a scoop neck tee, a boyfriend cardigan, and some skinny jeans and look totally cool! I wanted to purchase this necklace last week, but I thought to myself, "I have pearls and I have a beautiful flower brooch!" So I attached the pin to my freshwater pearl necklace that I got from Silpada last fall and VOILA! Even prettier than the one from Talbots! Or at least just as pretty:-)

We have seen the military jacket in fashion for decades now. They seem to never go out of style. The fabrics change from season to season but the style is always wearable. I own the navy jacket with the gold buttons by Juicy Couture. I bought it two years ago and have had no regrets! It is so cool, cute, and unique. I get compliments everywhere I go! I am also LOVING this new style in black by INC that I saw when flipping through my September issue of Lucky Magazine. It is a ponte knit and it has a full sleeve so it's a bit warmer. I love the long style and the asymmetrical look of this one. It's totally different than the cropped style of my Juicy Couture jacket and it will look great with this seasons skinny jeans, pants and booties that I am thinking I need! Make sure you look up my Laura's Style fan page on Facebook to see more fabulous military jacket styles for fall!

These are the pieces I am obsessing over at the moment. I LOVE the skinny pants with a LONG cardigan and ankle BOOTIES!

Now that the weather is getting a little cooler it is time to dig out that classic trench that you so cherish, love and depend on. You don't have a classic trench you say??!!!!! Well, let me tell you that now is the perfect time to invest in one. Here's to that traditional Burberry trench that we all know and love. That khaki color just goes with everything and you can put any color scarf with it and out the door you go! But if you feel a like you want to be a little less traditional with your trench, there are many different color choices out there as well as a little bit of a puffed sleeve for extra femininity. My FAVORITE right now is this adorable Juicy Couture Trench in black. To me the black is soooo chic and also very practical. Take my advice. Look into getting a trench this year and you won't be sorry. It's a no brainer as you walk out your door! And who has time to think?! You just want to look great:-)

Ok, so I am still questioning why Bangor Mainers didn't celebrate Fashion's Night Out on Thursday Sept 10th. But at least Orono Mainers did something fabulous this week to support local vendors and designers! Today was Orono Festival Day and I was really impressed with the turnout! I am sure it takes a lot of planning and preparation to get something like this going and this was a hit! Of course my favorite part of the festival was all the jewelry designers. I LOVE unique jewelry and I LOVE the inspiration it gives me. It really is the jewelry that makes or breaks an outfit. You are NEVER ready to go out your door until you fully accessorized, at least in my book. Today I was totally inspired by two young designers, Maria Weinberger, and Sarah Skoniecki. WOW, these girls have got it going on! Maria's jewelry is quirky yet classic and oh so classy. Sarah's pieces make you feel like you have visited a time that has past. They are both so different, yet they play well toge...

I am loving the gorgeous jewel tones I am seeing for fall! What are jewel tones you ask? They would be colors like emerald green, ruby red, amethyst purple, topaz yellow, tourmaline green, turquoise blue, and sapphire blue. They are all so gorgeous and I don't know another color palette that looks as great on almost everyone! Colors can be difficult though. They come in so many different shades and it is so hard to tell with the lighting in the stores what looks best on you. I typically don't go by the seasons to determine my best colors colors. I go by the try it on and see what makes you all of a sudden look and feel happy theory! You won't be able to fully determine if the color is right for you by just holding it up. Make sure you go in the dressing room where the lighting in stores is typically better than on the sales floor and TRY IT ON! You will just know that when you put it on and your skin is GLOWING and your eyes are just POPPING that it's the color for you....

I have seen a lot of fashion DON'TS in my lifetime. I however, do not see anything wrong with wearing white after labor day. Just as long as you pay attention to your fabrics. White linen and lightweight cottons are of course out of the question. But what is more fabulous than white wool flannel or white wool crepe??!! Of course you should pick a dry day to wear your whites in the fall and winter months. I don't recommend wearing them during mud season in Maine. YUCK. Even as far back as the 1920's Coco Chanel made white a year-round staple!

As we all know boots are really hip this fall and the higher the boot the better. Last year we saw that the trend in boots was over the knee with a flat heel. This year it's back but with a heel. I am a huge fan of this style. I feel like this is something us Mainers could really pull off! Just think how warm our legs would be! This is such a great look when worn with a skirt and tights this fall. I love the way they look in a brown suede with brown tights like the model in the middle photo. Not everyone will find this trend suitable for their lifestyle though. It also will not suit all body types. I may adore this trend, but I think I will be sticking to my knee high Cole Haan microfiber stretch boots this fall for two reasons. One is that I already own them and they are in great condition since I NEVER wear them in the actual snow, and two because I am not sure that my lifestyle really will allow the thigh high boots. Maybe if I worked at VOGUE:-)..........................I will ...

There was a time when I swore that I would never wear a cardigan. I would only relate it to something my grandmother wore. I would opt for a cute cropped jacket instead thinking that the cardigan looked too "old fashioned" for my taste. Well, times have changed!!! Cardigans are back in a big way. For those women that have always considered them a staple in their wardrobes, you are in luck! You may just need to update your cardigan styles a bit or just change how you wear them. For those of us who thought cardigans were so "uncool" it's time to start thinking the opposite! There are so many fantastic styles and so many modern ways to wear them now. I love the boyfriend style belted with an ultra feminine top layered underneath like the one pictured here from Ann Taylor. I also adore the cardigans I am seeing in the Boden catalog this fall. Boden is a company out of the UK and they have some great fun with their styles. Always so colorful and full of joy. It kind...

I love this look from JCrew. These are three easy pieces that you can just throw on and look great! I am a sucker for a cute hat and I just love the embellished tee. You don't even need any jewelry:-) The scarf is something that would be perfect for a morning like today. Just a little chill to the air, but otherwise a very beautiful day!

I thought that this blush by Chanel, inspired her signature tweed, was so beautiful! It comes in four gorgeous shades at NeimanMarcus.com. Pink, coral, rose, and ambre.

What a gorgeous look for an evening out. I would wear this outfit to a ballet or to see the symphony. It almost looks ballerina like to me. The sleeves are just so flowing and graceful looking. It camouflages any arm troubles that ladies may have (since the complaint I hear the most working in retail is that the women want their arms covered.) Well these sleeves cover just enough, but it still looks very sexy and feminine. It is made of a beautiful silk georgette fabric. The pants are a very skinny stretch style that may not be for everyone. I would still go with straight if you feel you can't go with skinny. The top has enough volume. You don't need any more volume on the bottom.

As fall approaches we all start thinking about changing our wardrobe. We want to incorporate a few "must have" pieces of the season. We also know that it is time to hang up the linens and break out the corduroys and wools. I look forward to wearing more hats, like my wool fedora and my tweed newsboy cap. I also have a very cool beret that is just fabulous. A client actually gave it to me after I complimented her on how great it looked on her! Very sweet of her, I know. We begin to dust off our wool coats (or get them dry cleaned, which should have been done BEFORE we hung them up after that long 2008/2009 winter:-) But, there is something else that changes along with the season and that issssssss...............YOUR FRAGRANCE. I love love love the smell of the more woody, spicy, florals that are out there. And they scream FALL! I just love the way a fragrance can represent the woman who is wearing it. Fragrances are so interesting that way. I have come across a few new fragran...

Lets face it. Pencil skirts are everywhere this fall! There is a style out there made just for you.....trust me;-) The pear shape lady may think that the pencil skirt is not for her. Wrong! You just have to choose the right style that is cut for you. The photo at the top shows a gorgeous style from Talbots . It is a straight style and has a really nice little flounce with some pleating at the bottom. This will help balance out your pear shape. The key to getting a pencil skirt to look great on a pear shape is to make sure that the bottom of the skirt does not taper in. This will only accentuate your hips, which is what we need to balance out:-) The straight boyish figure looks best in something that will add volume to the hips. The second photo shows a great style for a straight figure from Ann Taylor. The layers add the volume you need to get you the curves you want! Also a straight figure looks so fabulous in a hip hugging pencil skirt that tapers in a bit at the bottom. This style w...