Fashion

Is it just me or everywhere I turn there is Rihanna with her inseparable shoulder pads? Seriously, every magazine, newspaper… every time I Rihanna she’s wearing an outfit with bold shoulders.

Now, is it just me or shoulder pads are one of those trends that should’ve stayed in the 80’s? I was talking to a friend makeup artist one of these days and I remember I said “Oh, God! I remember when I was a kid and my mom wore those huge should pads” and he said “Oh, my mom looked like a medieval warrior with such big shoulders”. That made me laugh hard (you should have seen his gestures while saying that).

I can enumerate many trends that should have stayed in the past… And shoulder pads are on the top of my list for now!

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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Hello girls!

I’ve been seeing so much excitement over a few posts that talk about the coming season’s trends. Everyone is commenting and sharing their opinions. That’s terrific! We certainly appreciate that -keep the comments coming.

But some comments made me think… How much is it worth to spend for a trendy item? Let’s pick boots, for example. This fall (2009) we have the over the knee boots. I LOVE boots and I’m thinking of giving them a try (although I think I’m too short – 5′ 3″, and would look like a hooker). Well, what if I go and pay $150 on a pair of boots that I won’t like? On the other hand, what if you buy a pair of similar boots for only $30 and they are extremely uncomfortable, but you really like them? Third option: You buy a cheap boot to see if you like it. You do! Yay! Then you go buy a good quality one, that most likely won’t hurt you, for about $150. Total= $180.

Are YOU willing to spend all that money for a “one season thing”? Of course, there’s always the chance the trend will last for many seasons to come. But most times they don’t.

This is not only for boots, but for everything coming this fall (knee-padded leggings, furs, matte nail poiish, etc, etc…)

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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I have recently been introduced to the wonderful world of makeup. I was never a girl who loved makeup. In fact, I recall all those times I had to go to a sweet sixteen or wedding and my mom was always telling me to use some lipstick. I guess I always had in my mind that makeup was either for old or ugly people (laughing hard). What a mistake to think like this! Although I still believe that you should start using tons of makeup if you are too young (let’s say before 19 or so). Most girls just need to learn how to work with their natural beauty.

I’ve been working at one of the best Makeup and Cosmetology schools in NYC. And the short time I’ve been there, I’ve learned so much about makeup! Not only makeup, but makeup, skin, beauty, trends…

The one thing I’ve come to admire is the “Natural Makeup”. It’s wonderful. Doesn’t make you look like you have makeup on, it basically enhances your God’s given beauty. A good example:

And this extremely cute makeup to the left is great to use during the day!

Of course, me being a fashion designer, amateur photographer and aspiring makeup artist, love the “Couture Makeup”. This is our chance to make art on pretty faces. But don’t think of Couture Makeup as a runway thing only. This is an example of Couture inspired makeup:

So, what kind of makeup do you like? Do you like it at all? Share your thoughts and opinions via comments. They are always welcome and appreciated.

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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Ok, that may sound weird at first. But I got into this very nice group called “Fashionable Girlfriends” at meetup.com a while ago. They have had one clothes swapping event that I missed. But I’m planning to attend the next one. Sounds like lot of fun: girls, music, drinks, food, clothes, shoes! Do we need anything more than that to have a good time?

I certainly believe that in this time of economical difficulties, holding a clothes swapping party can be a win-win situation! You can save about $300-500 in one party (of course, that depends on the amount of clothes you pick).

Searching online, I found some really cool tips to hold a swap party!

How to Hold a Fashion Swap Party (10 steps with Video) – Wikihow


How to Hold a Clothes Swap Party – eHow

Swap Clothes Online – Swapstyle.com

Have fun, girls! And let me know if you have a clothes swapping party and how it went.

Jackie – jackieayres@aim.com

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So this fall we have fur. So many trends that I’m really lost! I don’t really like furry clothes. For some reason, I think they make us look big and like a big, hairy animal. Ok, of course that sometimes nothing looks as chi5c and elegant as fur. But, oh well. It’s not my “thing”.

This is actually very cute and I’d certainly use this. I do think this might make me look like I’m 10 lb over my actual weight, but ok. It is very cute.

On the other hand, I don’t think I’d use such thing. This lady (who is a model, and for that, certainly much taller than I am)  looks like King Kong in those -and the gloves just helps the look. Imagine me, being such a short woman wearing something like that? No, thanks.

Well, it’s just a question of opinion. If you like fur, go for it! Use it well and look adorable! And please, use fake fur!

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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I know that for women who work, take care of the house, kids, and much more is hard to find time for work out. But if you want to lose weight in a healthy way, you should try to work out. Believe me, I was never much a fan of working out – although I always loved to practice sports like Kickboxing, boxing, jogging, swimming, and many others. During my pregnancy I got about 65lb heavier. Can you imagine that!? Not even moms of twins get that much weight. But I got too comfortable, just eating and watching tv all day. I decided that if I was going to get fat anyway, then the heck with it! I’d get fat and happy.

The problem was to drop all that weight off after the baby was born. But one day I was watching the tv (one of those infomercials really early in the weekend morning ) and saw the P90X commercial. And I thought “I’m gonna give it a try”. I made my research online and loved what I read. So I went ahead and got me the P90X dvd’s.

Believe me when I say “It works like magic!”. All those people in the commercials where, indeed, telling the truth. This is the most amazing workout I’ve seen -and I’ve tried Hip Hop Abs and many others. Nothing gets even close to P90X. I lost over 40lb in less than 3 months. My body had a beautiful definition and the muscle definition was so perfect as I’ve never seen on my body before.

Today I don’t work out anymore, but I can’t wait to go back to P90X. No diet pill worked 1/10 of this workout. Plus, it teaches you discipline and to eat healthy.

Give it a try! Or if you’ve tried it already, let me know the results.

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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I’m a person who likes original and unique designs. We know we only find one-of-a-kind items when they are handmade (if not always, most of the time). So today I’m here to share some of my favorite places for handmade items.

Do you know Etsy? No? Etsy is a place where we can buy and sell all things handmade. It is perfect for those who craft or like to buy unique (or at least handmade) items. You should give it a try. You can have a free account and browse a sea of infite items!

ArtFire

ArtFire is pretty much like Etsy. They just made this new look for their website and it looks fantastic! It’s easy to browse and you’ll certainly find amazing items there.

And for those of us who love Giveaways, there’s Etsy Giveaways. This wonderful blog has lots of daily giveaways from Etsy sellers. It’s so easy and fun that I’m sure you’ll be there daily and you’ll sure win an item soon! There are sooooo many items to choose from. I know you’ll love it!

Hope you all have fun visiting this websites!

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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As I am a person who loves crafting and recycling, I thought it would be a great idea to share with you some places I visit and some ideas for recycling clothes. Sometimes we use a dress or shirt for a couple of times and we just do not like them anymore for whatever reason -they do not fit well, do not look nice, etc…

Take a look at this shirt:

Can you believe this is a man’s shirt recycled? This shirt looks adorable!!! So creative.

And this Necklace? How fashionable is this? You can totally use one like this during any season of the year. And you can make one yourself out of old shirts.

In times when the economy is tough, recycling clothes sure sounds like a good idea. Plus, it’s a lot of fun for those who love crafting!

A few sites I like:

http://thisolddress.blogspot.com

http://dollarstorecrafts.com

http://threadbanger.com

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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After reading Amanda’s post about Payless shoes, I was inspired to go to the Payless ShoeSource© store close to my house and see what they to offer.

I got there and saw this amazing Alice + Olivia shoes!

They are simply adorable, aren’t they? And the quality is pretty good! This is, I believe, part of Alicia + Olivia collection for Payless. How wonderful is that?  The start price was $38.00 and I got them for $20.00.

There are many other shoes, in all styles and colors you can imagine! I’m very happy with my new shoes. =) Shop Payless.com and Get Free In-Store Shipping to your Local Store Anytime!

Jackie Ayres  – jackieayres@aim.com

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Ok, I was sure the 80’s and 90’s were back. But this is aggressive! I believe we will all feel about 15 years younger by the fall.

Image from Elle Magazine website

Do you remember the single-sleeve shirts? What about the strong shoulder jackets? Well, they are back!  Designers have been focusing on single-sleeve clothes since April of this year or before. And now, for Fall 2009, many designers are focusing on strong shoulders on jackets, blazers, dresses…

Particularly, I’m not a big fan of single-sleeves. But who knows? Maybe I find something interesting during one of my walks in NYC.

Image from Fashion Allure

Image from Style.com

I remember when my mom made me these really nice blazer and then she added shoulder pads. Oh, my! Those pads destroyed the blazer (in my teenage mind). I used to think that clothes with strong shoulders looked terrible. But now, there are some really cool things out there. And that’s one of the many things I love about fashion: recycling!

What about mixing the single-sleeve and strong shoulders? Yeah… This year designers got really creative and the clothes are very wearable -one thing that matters to me.

Jackie Ayres

jackieayres@aim.com

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Hippie-Chic, here we go again!  The movie “Taking Woodstock” will sure remind many of us from those great Hip days (which I can only imagine and wonder I have experienced). I’m a big fan of the Hippie-Chic style, as I’m a fan of the Boho style. But how much are you willing to pay to be fashionable?

This leather vest costs U$660,96 at mytheresa.com. Personally, I think that this price is way too much for a vest (even being in leather). Well… personal opinion. I’m sure that the old hip days fan will love the leather vest and the movie!

This is a great way to hear this vest:

Jackie Ayres – jackieayres@aim.com

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Oh, oh… look out fall, here we come with all these new trends! This is sure going to be an interesting fall.

After Sarah’s post informing us about the matte nail polish trend, I’m here to talk about the knee-padded leggings. Now… is that interesting or what? I know that it sounds a bit unusual and maybe even weird, but check out this photo:

Knee-padded leggings image posted on CultIndie by Kirby Marzec

I do think they look adorable and complete the look on these models. The way I see it, you have to know what’s your style and go for it!

Kling by Kling Knee Patch Leggings

I probably would never go for a look like this, with the Kling Leggings.  It just isn’t me.

But I do like the Hansel ones (below).

Hansel from Basel Knee Pad Stockings

If you, like me, like to be playful and add some colors to the fall fashion, I believe this new knee-padded leggings trend is right you!

Jackie

jackieayres@aim.com | jackie-ayres.blogspot.com

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I’ve been seeing many copies of the Necklush out there. But it’s always important to give credit to the people who created this terrific accessory.

The Necklush is a handmade accessory created by Stephano Diaz and Troy Mattison Hicks. They started selling their innovative accessory on the streets of NYC, then opened up a store on Etsy and now they are everywhere! Good job, guys!

There were blogs out there teaching you how to make your own version of the Necklush. And although I understand that not everyone will have $40,00 to pay for the Necklush and that it is, in fact, pretty easy to make one yourself, we have to give the creators their well deserved credit. So, if you can, go ahead and buy the Necklush from it’s original creators here. You can also find their accesory at the Supermarket, Oak and Pixie Market.

If you, like myself, love accessories, the Necklush is a must have!

To know more about the Necklush, visit http://necklush.com

Jackie Ayres

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When I was younger I was never really into skirts. I’m not sure if I was worried about having to sit “like a lady” or if I knew I couldn’t sit “like a lady”. But we change throughout life and today I love skirts. They bring this flexibility and possibility of using them with different types of shoes and shirts, in different seasons and occasions.

(SSense Pencil Skirt)

The high waist skirt have been around for a while now and I don’t think they’re going anywhere any time soon. The pencil skirt is beautiful and you can use it with high or low heel shoes, boots and sandals.

Grab your high waist skirt! Be feminine, fashionable and look adorable!

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