Here's a funny story for you: years ago, I decided that I needed new bras, or at least bras that weren't meant for jogging.  I'm essentially flat chested, and for most of my adult life, I had been winging it with sports bras and camisoles, but when I got into graduate school and started teaching, I began to feel like I might need to wear a bra to class, you know, as part of being Grown Up.  Or at least as part of not looking like I was an undergrad any more.  

Style. It seems like such a frivolous thing - hardly worth a mention, really. Who cares about something as superficial as style? It’s become increasingly common to belittle style and any discussion of it - maybe we think that we’ve evolved beyond it, or perhaps we hope that if we ignore it it will go away? Well, it won’t. How you present yourself sends a message, whether intentional or not. I believe that you should be in control of the message you send out into the world - that you should nurture and develop your authentic personal style.

I absolutely loathe shopping for bras. I'm telling you, I hate it. I read those articles in magazines about bra fittings, I get several bra catalogues, I see Oprah talking about bras and I roll my eyes and pretend not to care. I've probably been six different bra sizes over the course of my life, between my teenage years (34b), my pre-baby years (34c), three pregnancies (36dd) and breastfeeding (oh, I don't know, do the sizes go to f?). 

It all started in elementary school. Catholic elementary school to be exact. The uniforms were the kind that, as a kid, I didn't really mind all that much. My taste in fashion was born out of detesting the thought of wearing the same thing every day. Something must be said for the ability to actually thank the nuns for forcing this upon us and opening up a world of fashion to me.  Many moons later, I'm still in love with dresses. All they require are shoes and accessories and poof! You're done! 

I once fell in love in the vintage section in the back of American Rag in San Francisco.  The dress that called to me was sweet and simple; 1950's, red velvet, short sleeves, slightly full skirt.  Even though it was red - a perfect red, in fact - most shoppers might have passed it by because it wasn't looking for attention with anything fancy or showoffish. 

Comedian Amy Poehler is one busy lady these days.  She just gave birth to a baby boy, is developing a sitcom for NBC to debut this spring, is still raking in kudos for her impressions of Hillary Clinton on her former show, "Saturday Night Live," and now she's working on becoming an internet star.  Amy and two of her friends, Meredith Walker and Amy Miles, have teamed up to produce eight webisodes called "Smart Girls at the Party."

You may recall an earlier post on my denim difficulties -- finding jeans that fit my big ol' bootie and thighs and are also the right length isn't easy, especially when I have a particular style in mind. So, when Joe's Jeans contacted me and asked if I'd be willing to review a pair of their jeans, I said, "Sure, why not?" Worst case scenario, I hate them and make a friend's day by giving them away, right?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am the least likely person in the world to own or wear a "holiday sweater."  Anyone who reads my blog (and you should definitely go do that) surely realizes that no garment could ever be more out of character for me. 

Here's my recurring winter coat dilemma: I live in a place where the winters are fairly mild, except for about three weeks in February when it's so cold and windy that going to the grocery starts to feel like an Arctic expedition.  When my kids were little, I could put off the grocery run for days and just hunker down in the nice warm house, but now that they're in school I am compelled to go outside every single day (because homeschooling is NOT an option around here).  And so I need a winter coat that is casual but not schleppy, warm but not bulky, well made but not expensive. 

Since I've already ruined the ending let's start from the beginning when I purchased what I still believe are The Best Shoes Ever: Patent leather ballet flats (worn at almost every holiday party I've attended in the five years since purchasing because they are perfect) from Stuart Weitzman for a price that at the time I laughed off since it was my parent's card anyway but then I realized that money doesn't come from the heavens and replenish my wallet each day so then I cringed when I remembered the price.

The office party offers a chance to break out of your workaday rut and get to know the folks in the other cubicles, but keep in mind that this is still a work function; after the party is over, you'll have to go back to the office.  Save your sexy party clothes for date night or that girls' cocktail hour, and spiff up your office wear for the office party.  Here are four simple tips to get you party ready without doing anything that you'll regret in the Tuesday morning staff meeting.

The election is over… and hopefully we’re on our way to an economic recovery. But, even if it takes Obama and his advisers a few years to resolve the economic malaise, at least we have the burgeoning category of online sample sales as our savior.