Perfectly Disgraceful

Products I like

I will admit that I bought this mascara based on the packaging, even though the name is embarrassing. And you know what? It it the best mascara I've used in 25 years. I used to use that pink and green stuff. I thought it smudged all over the place because my eyes water a lot. You know what? It wasn't me, it was the crappy mascara. The first time I used this Buxom stuff, someone thought I was wearing fake eyelashes. Yes, I was blessed with long eyelashes, but still, this stuff is amazing.

Booties

I think I need a pair of booties to complete my fall wardrobe. Not that any wardrobe is ever complete, but you know what I mean. I'm thinking a very low ankle boot with a medium heel, possibly in an interesting color. I'd love to do a high heel, but I need something I can walk in, and unfortunately, wishful thinking does not make four inch heels any less debilitating.

Maybe these.

2009 Emmys - bad hair and boring dresses

I don't want to disappoint my two fans who checked in here this morning for my all-important opinions on Emmy fashion, but I am just not feeling the love for anything I saw last night. Change of seasons crabbiness maybe, but still. Yawn. Other than some truly beautiful colors, I'm feeling pretty meh about the dresses.

I loves me some Mary Louise Parker and think it's great that she went short and in a fab color, but this look requires a major shoe. It should have been totteringly high, big and bold.

Sleek bob with short bangs

I got bored with my hair and decided four inches needed to disappear. Four inches that were behaving quite unreasonably in the humid Philly late summer.

Birthday party

There were calla lilies. I didn't even know I liked calla lilies until I saw them at Whole Foods and thought it would be amusing to have a vase of them. Now I love them, they're so over the top.

 

Dress dithering

I still haven't decided whether to keep the maxi-dress or not. I really like it, but it may not be all that flattering to crucial parts of my body. I might try another size to see if that helps. I know certain people who live in my house think that it's too fancy for anything but a wedding. However, I want to live in the kind of world where one can wear a dress like that just about anywhere.

 

But the real dithering is about what to wear to the party this weekend. Have you not heard? I'm turning 40 and celebrating with a big party featuring prosecco and pâté. Darling, you should come! Anyway, it occurred to me, along about the time I decided to invest in a few cases of prosecco, that the black sequined shift I purchased from the Banana (for about 10% of its original price) would be the perfect over-the-top dress for what I hope will be an over-the-top occasion. Reader, you can imagine my disappointment when I tried it on this week and realized that it's a little too big. I may wear it anyway, but one of my rules to live by is that clothes should fit well and if they don't, they should not be worn. Granted, I break this rule pretty often as my budget does not afford all the tailoring I would like.

 

In the other corner we have the recently purchased H&M low-cut cocktail dress that seems to me to be a knock-off of a cross between Nicole Miller and BCBG. It fits well, shows off my figure, it's cute, but it features a sort of Hawaiian-y fabric, green with hot pink and purple flowers, that I'm not quite sure is very Disgraceful. Also, the fabric is sadly cheap, but what can you expect from H&M?

 

Luckily, thanks to my investments from my last two big occasions, I have the perfect shoes to wear with either dress.

 

I have gone on several shopping expeditions to find the Perfect Dress for this Very Big Occasion, but I've returned empty-handed. And really, is there anything more depressing than not having the opportunity to go further into debt when purchasing a gorgeous new dress? No, there isn't.

 

P.S. I'm not posting any pictures until after the event because I would like this to be a surprise.

Dress questions

My darlings, I apologize for the extended absence. I blame faulty brain wiring. Chemical help seems to be working.

But that is entirely trivial. The important issue is: do I want a maxi dress? Also, why must they be called maxi dresses? The name is off-putting. Also also, where would I wear a maxi dress? The one I am considering is on the dressy side.

The pitiful state of my summer wardrobe forced me into a break-the-budget visit to H&M today where I found a beautiful floral maxi dress for the low low sum of $50. This is the dress in question.

When searching for a pic of the dress, I was stymied by H&M's entirely useless flash-requiring website. For shame, H&M. Google to the rescue! A Danish beauty is also enamored of the dress and supplied handy photos (note that my petite bosom will not fill the dress like Miss Jeanette's does).

My shamefully vain question about the dress has to do with the length. Reader, I think I have nice legs, do I really want to cover them up in the summer? Even with such a cute dress? I await your answers.

More Easter

After services and tea sandwiches at Christ Church, we visited the magnolia garden at 5th & Locust. It was 40 degrees. The Older Child insisted on flip flops and the Younger Child wouldn't (never will) wear a coat. The Older Child had a coat, but a bird pooped on it, so off it came.

In the garden there was a woman, clearly not homeless, lying on a bench, pretending to be asleep. As we walked around admiring the magnolias, we noticed foil-wrapped chocolate eggs placed, not hidden, around the garden. As soon as we started talking about the eggs, the woman popped up and told the girls, in heavily accented English, they were permitted to take one of each color.

Michelle conquers Europe, by request

I had a special request to opine on Michelle's European outfits. I cannot resist a special request.

I love the bangs, so flattering. She looks really youthful in this picture. She should always wear bangs.

See what I mean? I like that she mixes up the hair styles, something I, personally, have trouble with, but the no bangs look is a no-no on her. And the Queen? Good lord, she looks like my Granny Richardson. I wonder if she talks as much?

So much better than a Snuggie

It's still cold here. I need one of these.