I love the androgynous look.  Just men’s clothes on women, not the other way around.  I think men’s clothes on a very feminine woman enhances her femininity. There is a woman writer and humorist whose picture appears frequently in the society pages.  She’s pictured at galas and other affairs and she’s always wearing a tuxedo.  Recently I decided to buy myself a dinner jacket, too.  I suspected that I’d find what I was looking for in the boys’ department at Brooks Brothers and I was right. But as I wended my way downtown, I stopped off at other fine stores on Fifth and Madison to see what I could
find. I was shocked at what I didn’t find.  So many young salesmen have no idea what a dinner jacket is.  I guess their wardrobes are strictly limited to t-shirts and jeans.  No names to protect the guilty, but I stopped into one Fifth Avenue store and the young salesman had no idea what I was talking about.  I started to explain that it was black and he showed me black windbreakers and black denm jackets. Finally, my last stop was Brooks and they knew exactly what I was talking about.  They showed me a beautiful dinner jacket, size 12 and it fit perfectly.  Brooks, incidentally, still knows how to treat a customer. It’s a pleasure to shop there.  And the price was under $100 and was of excellent quality. Recently I decided to complete the outfit and buy the matching pants with the satin stripe down the sides. This time I went directly to Brooks and again, the size 12 fit perfectly except for the length.  Again, under $100 and they don’t charge for hemming. I’ve worn the dinner jacket with jeans and I look forward to wearing the jacket and pants to dressier events. I don’t think I’ll finish it with a bowtie, though.

So you’re ready to get back out there, you’re over your ex, you’ve rediscovered you and you are just READY.  This is a big step, venturing back into the unknown, flirting, online dating, dating services, blind dates, bad dates, first kisses but this is just the norm for a single gal.  If you’re a single mama you have even more hurdles – little people depend on you. They depend on you literally to get places and do things but emotionally as well and this can quite easily be the hardest part.

What are the new “rules”? Well now you have your mama-gut instinct to follow but just a few bits of advice:

* Don’t forget to make YOU a priority.
* Take time to “flip the switch” from mom to hot date.
* Be totally honest with the guys you date.
* Don’t introduce the kids too soon and force a “playing house” scenario.
* Stay in the present – enjoy dating and have a good time.  Try not to fast forward to your personal “Brady Bunch” scenario.

The best part about being a single mom and not just a single woman is you have things figured out the other gals don’t.  You are not battling your own biological clock. You know what you want and you know what your priorities are.

Kim Primerano President of LoveHappensHere. Visit www.lovehappenshere.com to find more about dating as a single mom.

Anyone who follows fashion knows that it is anything but predictable!  If you are traveling to the Middle East this summer (or just want to be inspired by another culture), make sure to read our Istanbul guide to the hottest trends of the summer. Instead of the arrival of futuristic fashion, 2011 saw the revival of the old with a touch of the new. Shops are now bursting with a mix of 50s, 70s, and 80s fashion: you’ll find long sweeping skirts; wide-legged, flared pants; platform shoes; one-piece swimsuits; leggings; and the infamous shoulder pads that have somehow once again found their way back into our wardrobes.

But it’s not just the old that hit the shelves this season. In addition to the rebirth of the past eras came a new wave of bohemian multiculturalism spurting with hyper prints, colorful patterns, and mystical Eastern aesthetics.

No need to get overwhelmed with all the different styles and trends blending with each other. Here are the top looks of the season, with tips on how to make them work. Now, sit back, put on your fashionista glasses, and read on.

Bohemian Grove
Hippie culture is back, minus the soft drugs and the sexual revolution, with high-waisted pants, skirts, and shorts. In line with the hippie ideal of freedom, bohemian-style clothes are ideal for women who love to combine comfort and style. Bangles and flowery headbands anyone?

If you’re not a full-time hippie, you can still embrace the comeback of this extraordinary culture—say on a Sunday barbeque or a weekend-long music festival. Try combining maxi dresses with long necklaces and John Lennon style round sunglasses. Add some movement to your outfits with feathers and fringes on accessories, bags, and shoes.

Color Me Mine
As the Judas tress blossom in Istanbul, the dark elegance of winter fashion gets exchanged for the flourishing colors of summer. But more than any other year, this year’s slogan is “Triumph of the Colors!” And the good news is that you can wear ginger yellow, hot pink, and green tones with complacency.  Even if you’re leaning on the conservative side when it comes to fashion, you can embrace the color revelry by adding colorful accessories to your outfits and turn even business clothes into fresh and fun outfits. If you’re brave enough, try contrasting colors, maybe even a red dress with blue heels!

Ballerina Swing
The impact of Black Swan is noticeable on the streets of Istanbul with fluttering skirts and dresses. Powder colored dresses and rose-colored tops have now become essentials in every shopaholic’s wardrobe.

If not for your daily wear, add a bit of ballerina effect to your evening gowns. A silky black, chic pink, or sparkly cream evening gown will definitely work wonders with high-heels. Don’t forget to add a detail of chiffon and feathers!

Look good while enjoying all the style variations and trends that Istanbul fashion has to offer!

It’s happened to many of us.  Dinnertime, and you’re itching to try some fancy, exotic new recipe to bring out the foodie in you and your spouse.  But your kids are refusing to put anything in their mouths that’s not macaroni and cheese.  So who wins?  Break out the Kraft; this battle was over before it began.

It happens to me, too.  Contrary to popular belief, cookbook authors do not make fabulous, home-cooked, gourmet meals every single night.  I try to prepare a “proper” dinner for my family several nights a week, but being the parent of a toddler can make it difficult to move away from boring staples: store-bought chicken sausages, simple roasted chicken, pasta with pesto (possibly my son’s favorite food).  Kids are picky eaters by definition, so cooking for them while still maintaining your personal culinary standards can be tough.

What I love to do is to find dishes that are familiar enough that my son is willing to try them, but interesting enough to provide him- and us- with varied taste experiences.  That’s why I would recommend this recipe to anyone in a similar situation.  It has familiar textures and flavors that appeal to kids (pasta! tomatoes!) but has the sophistication and healthiness that appeal to adults.

Roasting the cauliflower with red onions and garlic brings out the sweet, earthy flavors, and the buttery toasted breadcrumbs add a welcome crunch. Prep is a breeze—you can prepare the rest of the dish while the vegetables are in the oven. Breadcrumbs can be toasted ahead and stored, in an airtight container, in the fridge or freezer. When ready to use, let sit out on the counter until warmed to room temperature.  Also, feel free to use another pasta shape- rotelle, orechiette, or small shells would work well- if your supermarket doesn’t carry gemelli.

Photo by Andres Ramirez.  Reproductions of this photograph must be accompanied by attribution.

Gemelli with Roasted Cauliflower, Tomatoes and Crispy Breadcrumbs
From www.twolazygourmets.com and The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy by Robin Donovan and Juliana Gallin (Viva Editions, 2011)

1 head cauliflower (about 11/2 pounds florets), cut into small pieces

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2–3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2–1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound gemelli or other pasta

cups (about ounces) sourdough bread cubes

tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained (reserve juice)

1/4 cup capers, drained

1/4–1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

Preheat oven to 450°f.

In a baking dish, toss cauliflower, onion, and garlic with olive oil, coating vegetables thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper, and roast in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring once about halfway through, until cauliflower is tender and beginning to brown.

While the vegetables are in the oven, heat a large pot of salted water (large enough to hold all ingredients) over high heat and cook pasta according to the instructions on the package.

Whirl bread in a food processor to make crumbs, pulsing, until the largest pieces are roughly the size of peas. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add butter. When butter is melted and bubbling, add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

When pasta is cooked, drain and return to the pot on the stove. Add roasted vegetables, tomatoes, capers, and crushed red pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring, until just heated through. If the mixture looks too dry, add a bit of the reserved tomato juice. Stir until well combined. Serve in pasta bowls topped with breadcrumbs and generously garnished with cheese.

Serves 6 to 8.

Robin Donovan is the coauthor with Juliana Gallin of The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy, and is also the author if Campfire Cuisine: Gourmet Recipes for the Great Outdoors. She is a San Francisco-based freelance journalist, book author, blogger, and editor specializing in food, cooking, travel, and other lifestyle topics. Her food writing has appeared in Fitness, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, and many other publications. For more receipts from Robin and Julianna visit twolazygourmets.com and follow Robin on Twitter.

As a comfortably middle class Baby Boomer with a passion for fashion, I do have to exercise some frugality. Fortunately, this comes naturally to me since I was raised by parents who were children of the Depression and passed on their values to me. This blog will be a continuing commentary on my efforts to justify fashion and frugality.

I’m very ingenious, wearing things in a way that they were really not intended. For instance, i have a rather expensive sarong-type black wool skirt by Donna Karan. I’ve had it for years but it was a mistake. I never should have bought it. Every time I wore it, the big knot in the front made me look fat even though I’m actually very slim. But, as I say, it was expensive,so the thought of throwing it out bothered me. Finally, I put it in a pile to give to charity. But before I gave it away, I suddenly had an “aha” moment. Why not wear it as a shawl? I now have a beautiful luxurious black wool shawl, and no one would ever suspect it’s really a skirt. It has no zipper, buttons, or closure and is very wide.

Remember when half-slips or petticoats were part of every woman’s wardrobe? Well, I unearthed a beautiful black taffeta one with embroidery on the hem. It was buried in the back of a drawer and I forgot I had it. Into the pile marked for charity it went. And then another “aha” moment. Why not wear it as a skirt? Why not, indeed. I wear it in the summer with a tee shirt over it, belted loosely at the waist. It garners me so many compliments.

I have a very expensive Valentino black wool suit with velvet trim. Was it a mistake? No, not really, but I hardly ever wear it because it just doesn’t look young and kicky. Throw it out? How can I throw away a Valentino suit? So in desperation I separated the suit and started thinking of it as a skirt and jacket The skirt I can get a lot of use out of because it’s a plain above-the-knee pencil skirt. Just what they’re wearing now. The jacket I wear with jeans or a pair of Bermuda shorts. Sheer black hose and a white shirt complete the outfit and I get a number of compliments. When I wore it as a suit no one ever complimented me, I think because I looked so prim and proper.

Miriam Silverberg is freelance writer and president of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a boutique Manhattan publicity firm.

Since I am a matchmaker, I hear what is important to men, what turns them on and keeps them interested.  I hate to say this, but men are visual creatures and there is just no way getting around it.

Staying slim and trim is one of the most important things that you can do to attract and keep a man and also for your overall health, which should be the top priority. Did you know that high blood pressure is twice as common in overweight people? Or that your risk of arthritis increases 9-13% for every 2 pounds of weight you gain, or that gaining as little as 11-18 pounds doubles your chance of developing type 2 diabetes, or that women who gain more than 20 pounds between the age of 18 and midlife double the risk of developing breast cancer after menopause? It’s about far more than looks for vanity’s sake — the benefits of staying in shape cover all aspects of a woman’s life.  You want to enjoy a long and active relationship with your soul mate when you find him – that should be impetus enough!

You might be willing but thinking, hey, I just don’t have the time to exercise, what with my full-time job and the kids and everything else I have to do. Let me tell you, you can’t afford not to make the time.

Of course you don’t want to obsess about your weight endlessly, or beat yourself up about extra pounds. I’m sure you all know one of those women who are roughly the size of a twig but still think that they’re fat.  You know, one ones who make everybody miserable with picky ordering at restaurants and refusing to ever eat a real meal. Puh-leeeze! Looking and feeling healthy, fit, strong and sexy is the goal to aspire to.

Eating healthily can definitely be a challenge for women on the go, but you can do it! If you stick to Deepak Chopra’s advice:  “Avoid eating anything with a label on it,” you will be off to an amazing start! Here are some easy, helpful tips you should try if you’re not already doing them.

• Invest in a juicer and make wonderful fresh vegetable and fruit juices right at home.
• Drink plenty of filtered water. Sodas of any kind are terrible for your health and should be cut out of your diet.
• Drink green tea daily. Green tea has powerful antioxidants, catechins that have been shown to fight viruses, slow aging, reduce high blood pressure, lower blood sugar, and help prevent cancer. Green tea also boosts the immune system and also helps prevent tooth decay.
• Avoid eating fried foods.
• Incorporate olive oil into your diet. If you want to sweeten coffee, cereal, smoothies etc. skip the refined sugar and use stevia instead. It can be purchased at any health food store. Stevia is sweeter than sugar and it is a non-caloric herb native to Paraguay that has been used as a sweetener and flavor enhancer for centuries.
• Cut animal products out of your diet. They are loaded with saturated fats, hormones and antibiotics. If you don’t feel that you can cut them out completely, try to cut down to a couple of times per week. Your body and the animals will thank you.
• Eat Goji berries everyday. You can buy them at any health food store. The Goji berry is a complete protein loaded with 18 amino acids including all 8 essential amino acids. They contain over 20 trace minerals and vitamins including iron, zinc, copper, B complex, vitamin C and E.

Slowly making healthy and smart changes will get you and keep you on the road to looking and feeling great!

Marla Martenson is a matchmaker/speaker/life coach and author of three books, Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate Is Waiting, Good Date, Bad Date & Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker. Follow her on Twitter.

Here it is! My favorite day of the week once again: Fashion Friday! Do you find yourself thinking “I have nothing to wear!” while you stare at a closet full of clothes? Today, I’d like to share a few tips that I’m sure the recessionista in you would appreciate.

• Organize your Closet. We often have things that we don’t use anymore or we even forgot about.
• Make a List. Just like when you go grocery shopping, make a list of the things that you need to complement what you already have in your closet.
• Shop Around. Use the internet to compare prices and brands.
• Recycle. Sometimes with a small alteration you can turn an old piece of clothing into something totally new.
• Hold a Fashion Swap Party. It’s super fun and a fabulous way to refresh your wardrobe. Just gather your girlfriends —and their excess stuff, and start trading.

It’s time to be creative and make the most out of your wardrobe. Do you have any other tips to share with us? Go ahead and share in the comments!

After another week of communicating at a level of children under 4 years old, I (in desperation) asked my husband for a topic to spark some thought into my head. Surprisingly he said “Write about what kind of purse is going to come in.”

As I outlined this post I asked him where his stroke of genius had come from. He told me about a coworker that came back in after work and said “I noticed my purse seemed too light when I got to the car, then I realized I forgot my laptop.” Then she proceeded to easily drop her laptop into her magic “Mary Poppins” bag.

That was more than I needed; he had just given me everything for my post today. Thank you Seth!

The Evolution of the Purse Through 2010-2011 year.

Let’s start with a little recap of where we have been:

• Gathered “Mary Poppins” carpet bags with a leather twist

Where purses are going:

1. Gathers will turn to box pleats
2. Fold over tops
3. Shrink until reaches the size of a clutch.
4. Excess fabric will disappear and smooth sleek structures will emerge.
5. Details and emphasis will be added though: Fabric pattern, color, texture, and line.

Race Day Leather Clutch Purse in Caramel by gogovivi

Silk Lined Red and Cream Cameo Frame Kisslock Clutch by Briana Edelman Designs

Here is Why these changes will happen:

1. Spring is here with Summer right behind it. We want to lose weight, the easiest place to lose it is in our purse. Plus we don’t need to balance out all of the winter layers and Uggs
2. “Simplify, de-clutter, and don’t look excessive.” These are the themes for this year and next. The general population is tired of people who look “fake,” as if their stuff has to be brought everywhere in order to prove themselves. Minimize and you look simply secure.
3. Symbolically- “Our pocket books are shrinking” The economy is down and we don’t have excess and waste, in or on our purses. There may not be a lot of money in there, but we are secure with that. We will find that there is so much we can do with a good fabric, print or pattern, design and ingenious detailing.

As a side note for beach bags, of course you can’t fit a towel in a clutch.

Blue Lotus Collection Lined in Apricot Silk by Fiazco

So just look for simple lines and splashes in the summer favorite colors (check out the post on Spring/Summer colors).

So I have had a few questions from Cara over at The DI Denizen about how to make your body proportionate if you are petite and would like to wear modest shorts. Since this fits right into body proportions we might as well address her questions. Cara’s first question was about where the hemline should be if you are petite. Her second question was about how or if you can wear ballet shoes with short muscular calves.

Here’s some helpful tips to obtain a more balanced proportion for petite/short hips and legs (along with answering Cara’s questions):

• Don’t cut the hemline too short – that will emphasize any shortness in the thigh – best to leave it covered. (We naturally look wider where we are short in proportion, and unfortunately our short areas are where our bodies usually like to store the fat) So no daisy dukes for those short and round in the lower regions. Even though some people in fashion think the only way to lengthen the leg is by wearing a shorter hemline, this is not the solution for all women, especially those who are older (more mature), or those of us who put weight on in the thigh region, which is very common for short legged women.

Women’s Pincord Bermuda Shorts by Land’s End – $36.50

• Bring your hemlines just above the knee, before your leg starts getting wider.  This keeps the illusion of thin legs rather than legs that are getting wider up into unknown (clothed) regions, never knowing where the wideness ends.

• Think outside the box: look at the clothed section as another whole section of the body that needs to be proportioned with the golden mean. (From the top of the shirt down to the bottom of the of the shorts.) If the hem of your shirt hits right in the middle of that section, you will look like a box. So if you are petite this is going to make you look like a short box. Leave your shirt un-tucked if you are wearing longer shorts! This will create a break in the clothing that follows the golden section. The hem of the blouse should come above the crease of your leg. This is especially important to balance out longer shorts.

• Use fitting and lines that flatter your figure: Fitted or loose, but not tight shorts. Tight pants on short legs emphasize that you are wider than is proportionate for your height. Horizontal wrinkles let us know where something is too tight. Wrinkles tend to point to the problem area. Plus the horizontal wrinkles cut the length of the garment and emphasize horizontal lines all over your body, creating the image of short. So avoid jeans that have been faded on the wrinkles at the crease of your leg.

Check Bermuda Short by Banana Republic – $49.50

• Avoid any repeating of horizontal lines. Repetition is a way of emphasizing a point in clothing (just the same as when mothers repeat the same thing over and over.) So don’t wear, wide, scooped, necklines. Do wear higher and more narrow (image below) necklines or crew-neck tees.

Tuxedo Top by DownEast Basics – $12.99-19.99

• Vertical lines! On your blouse or in the style-lines of the shorts, they are only a bonus for the petite!

On & Off Hours Blouse by Anthropologie – $68.00

• Keep it simple. Try not to have many side pockets and detailing.
• Wear a looser or more flowing top, with fitted pants.  This will help create the illusion that your leg continues and is thin to an imagined point.
• Skirts are another great alternative for the short legged, if you want to wear ballet shoes.  A slight A-line or narrow skirt is a good choice.  Don’t add too much fullness around your hip and thigh region though.
• Heels are always helpful, but not a necessity if you follow the suggestions below.
• Use color to your advantage:  Neutral and subtle tones in the shorts and a flashy color up top.  This will create the visual effect of lengthening the legs, and drawing the attention up top.
• Neutral/skin-tone shoes- Are a must if you have short, muscular, calves and you want to wear ballet shoes. Visually neutral tones lengthen and carry on the vertical line that we want to emphasize, rather than breaking it with color in a horizontal line.  Contrasting colors draw the attention to the short calves.  (So as cute as yellow ballet slippers may be, they are not a good choice with shorts and a short leg combo)

Eco-chic Ballerina Flats by The Generation – $55.00

• Use monochromatic color schemes.  This will help de-emphasize breaks in clothing lines that create horizontal lines.  If you don’t want to wear all one color all the time, break the color by using a long open cardigan, this will give you variety while still continuing the vertical lines.  You can also add colorful jewelry and accessories to break up the monotony.

Exposed Seam Cardigan & Heritage Roll-up Short by Banana Republic- Though these shorts are a little too short, the concept of the outfit is good.

Cara, and the rest of our short legged readers, I hope this helps you plan your Summer wardrobe!

If you have fashion questions for me, feel free to leave a comment on this post, blog your questions like Cara did) or send them to her directly by email at antelita {at} hotmail {dot} com.  Stay tuned as we continue to discuss proportion balancing, as well as fashion trends for spring and summer 2010.

(yes, I know yesterday I wrote I may not be back for the rest of the week posting, but consider this a sporadic attempt to write and not an “I’m fully back” post… *wink*)

For those of you who know me IRL, you’ll know that I LOVE wearing comfy maxi dresses.  It’s my absolute favorite clothing item and I’m thinking I can TOTALLY get away with wearing them all through out my pregnancy, too (will just have to watch the cuts and lines in each dress to be sure I don’t look like I’m wearing a tent).  Today I was browsing Target for something else and came across the Liberty of London maxi dresses.  Let’s just say, I’M IN LOVE!!!  I’ll take one of each, please.

Check them out:

Liberty of London for Target Halter Maxi Dress – Turquoise Isis Print - $34.99

Liberty of London for Target Smocked Top Maxi Dress – Pink Mark Lg Scale Print – $34.99

Liberty of London for Target Smocked Top Maxi Dress – Blue Grand Royal Print - $34.99

Also, I was perusing DownEast Basics the other day and came across this GORGEOUS maxi dress.  I love the lines on this and especially loved how they paired it with such a heavy necklace.  It really balances the look.

Oceanfront Dress – $34.99

So there you have it: I’m obsessed with maxi dresses and would be perfectly happy to wear one every single day of my life.  For those of you looking for the modest way to do this, I recommend wearing a simple, form-fitting modest t shirt, like these from ModBod (Tip: Stick to neutral tones like black, white, cream, etc. unless you find a top that matches the print colors perfectly.  The goal of the undershirt is for it to BLEND with the dress, rather than look like two very separate pieces.):

Perfect V Neck by ModBod – $21.95 – works best and looks the nicest with any maxi dresses that also have a v neck; try to pair your under shirt to have a similar neckline as the dress to keep things looking uniform and polished (and stop people from immediately thinking, “wow! She’s wearing an undershirt!” and instead thinking, “wow!  She looks foxy!”

Perfect Cap Sleeve with Lace – $21.95 – I’d buy this one to do a double-duty by wearing it under a maxi (with a square or round neck) and then wear it under a jacket or something else later (where the lace could show)

One of the things I LOVE about maxi dresses is that they can easily look dressy or casual.  For a casual look, just toss on flip-flops and simple jewelry.  For your hair, you can keep it really simple, wearing it down, in a pony tail or a loose top-knot.  Putting a cute scarf or headband on would easily add a breezy, carefree look to it, too.

For a more dressy look, wear kitten heels or ballet flats and add bigger, snazzier jewelry.  Then, you could even add a fancier headband (like the feathered ones I love to feature here).  You know how I’m also nuts about those. *wink*

Aren’t maxi dresses fabulous?!  Ooooh, la, la!  They rock my world!  Have you worn them before?  Are you feeling daring this spring/summer to try them?  You should!

Note: There are a LOT of poorly designed maxi dresses out there that are anything but flattering on the wearer (no matter what body type you have).  Be sure to watch for nice, tight, flattering lines for your figure and don’t go for maxi dresses that have too full of a skirt (often looks like a poofy tent).  Also, not all prints are flattering on every figure and skin-tone, so don’t go crazy with your maxi dress purchases.  If you’re new to the maxi dress, try a solid black or chocolate knit fabric one first and then when you can tell how to make that flattering, you can branch into the printed fabric maxi dresses.