A funny thing happened last week when I was in Boston for a conference. After finishing up my work as quickly as possible, I burst out of the hotel to explore the streets of one of my favorite cities. I found myself smiling at old places, mesmerized by new ones, and… shivering. Violently. My cute little jacket with the pretty lapel and two little buttons and no lining? Not really doing much of anything in the face of Beantown wind. But I pressed forward, committed to the task of reacquainting myself with my old college town, and simply walked faster to generate more body heat. Only, um, well…. my feet hurt. A lot. Of the searing pain and bursting blister variety. Those cute “so practical!” heels on my poor feet? Boston was laughing at them. Actually, between the tiny jacket and impractical shoes (with bare feet inside them, of course) that I was sporting in America’s best walking city, the natives were all but pointing at me and laughing. And I used to call myself a Bostonian…

What my wardrobe debacle brought up for me was how much I’ve gotten accustomed to the climate and way of life in Dallas. I lived in Boston for six years, but did it ever occur to me to pack a wool coat or gloves for my trip? Nope. Did I pack even a single pair of flats in my suitcase? Nope. Why this matters is that we’ve set our sights on the Northeast as our next stop on the newlywed train. That means my closet full of fun, lightweight dresses and shoes unfit for a walking city are going to start gathering some dust. Time to take a refresher course on all things boots, tights, layers, and coats. I guess that means my cold weather footwear fantasy will have to substitute these:

For these:

Tell me: How has your wardrobe adjusted with big moves over the years? What do you miss about your old look, or look forward to about your next one?

When I packed up for college - headed to North Carolina from Austin, Texas - I was looking forward to lots of things.  One of them (lame enough) was seasons!  Changing leaves and snowfall were foreign concepts to me, and I was thrilled to sport my meager winter wardrobe for months at a time, as opposed to three days out of the year.  Actually, “Boys in Sweaters” ranked pretty high up on the “Pros Column” when selecting Wake Forest University as my undergrad alma matter, if I remember correctly.

But people kept mentioning the rain.  ”Oh its rainy up there - pack your umbrella!”  ”Do you have a good raincoat?  North Carolina sees a lot of wet weather!”  Um, okay silly adults, I’m from Texas, remember?  I’ve been practicing tornado drills since kindergarten and survived some pretty severe thunderstorms… I’m pretty sure I can handle “the wet season.”  Bring it, North Carolina.

Yes, well.  By October, my foot was planted firmly in my mouth as rain - from drizzle to downpour - continued for days on end.  Some days, I felt like Forest Gump and Bubbah… hard rain, soft rain, sideways rain, upside-down rain - on and on and on!  And it was cold!  By Christmas-List-Making-Time, I was coveting the Northfaces that seemed standard fare for my South-Eastern classmates, and something nearly identical to this topped my wish-list.

Ever the practical shopper, my mom found a coat she claimed to be “the Northface’s twin!”  You won’t even know the difference, she promised.  I took the woman at her word… and subsequently walked around campus like this for several months a year for the next four years:

{source}

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I have always loved tights.  I am eternally a girly girl who wears a lot of dresses and skirts and our rainy Seattle days still do not stop me from wearing them.  My one solution is to wear tights with everything and this year I am in love with patterned and colored tights.  They are such an easy way to make an outfit go from good to FABULOUS!

I have been in love with these Chanel tights from a few seasons ago and these DKNY tights are a fab alternative!

(Style.com, DKNY Color Block Tights)

I am all over these ombre tights.  How fun and unexpected right?

(Hue Ombre Tights)

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I am not sure whether fascinators are purely an English thing but they are often worn to weddings by guests in lieu of a more traditional hat. In addition to our own wedding we attended 3 others this summer, with another to come in December and 3 more so far next year. Apart from the usual issues relating to rotating dresses and accessories so one doesn’t appear to have one ‘wedding outfit’ for all occasions, it is also useful to have a number of hats and fascinators to call upon to change one’s look.

Top {Image by Elegant & Wild} - at a traditional English church & marquee wedding. Bottom {Image by Husband} - at a more low key hotel wedding with civil ceremony.

It was therefore a pleasure to attend the monthly meeting of my local Women’s Institute and be taught by a milliner how to make a fascinator of my own.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I usually have some obsession for the week that turns on my creative juices and leads to great words of fashion wisdom.  But, this week….I’ve got nothin’.  The only thing that this week has taught me is that sometimes oldies really are the goodies.  Maybe this was the God of Fashion’s week to reconfirm a few truths in my life.    Honestly, here are my “random fashion truths for the week”

1.)  Preparation H is a great eye de-puffer and it’s okay to admit it.  If Jennifer Aniston does, it. then it should be good enough for us.  Right?

2.)  Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Blackest Black is still the best.  No contest.

3.)  If you are coloring your hair dark, just do it out of a box.  Really.  So much more convenient and cheaper.  Clairol Perfect 10 Dark Brown forever!

4.)  Double sided Scotch tape works just as well as it’s more expensive counterparts for all those don’t-need-a-wardrobe-malfunction moments.

5.)  Foot Petals.  Foot Petals.  Foot Petals.

What are your beauty and fashion never-goes-out-of-style truths?

Originally I had planned to take a shopping hiatus (at least on clothing) until the holidays. However, getting dressed for church on Sunday, I realized I don’t have a lot for a Nevada winter or fashionable, yet comfortable clothes for working from home. I’m thrilled to go shopping! I really want some versatile, colorful and layerable clothes. My mom, my favorite shopping partner, is visiting this week and I thought I’d make a short shopping list to make sure I stay somewhat on track.

1: Colorful cords. I’m digging these straight leg cords from the Gap. They will tuck into boots for winter back in the Midwest, but be lightweight enough for winter here.

Images from Gap.

2: White jeans and boyfriend jeans. White jeans are somewhat out of season, but I’m hoping to squeeze a few wears out of them and have them for next year on the cheap. These from J.Crew are no longer available, but this is a similar option. The other jean, the boyfriend jean is ubiquitous, I know. They are everywhere for a reason – they are comfy! I’m really liking this pair from Gap. These will be perfect for working at home, but still looking fashionable.

Images from J.Crew and Gap.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Darling readers, so sorry for my prolonged absence from EAD Living recently. Things have been mighty busy Chez Rachel & Husband but I hope things are settling down now. Some of the things I have been busy with include but are not limited to:

* London Fashion Week. Miele (or, the washing machine people, as like to refer to them) invited me, along with a few other bloggers, to attend the Jasper Garvida show and these are some of the photographs I have time to download and edit from the camera that Canon were kind enough to lend me:

* As some of you may know, I was made redundant just before our wedding in June. Since then I have been for many interviews but am still not in full time employment. I am however boosting my CV with various unpaid freelance projects including learning the PR ropes in a friend’s new PR business. I also spend every Sunday helping out in a beautiful vintage shop.

* Attending weddings. Aside from our own we have been to a further 4 weddings this summer with another still to come this year and another two at least next year. I do so love weddings and at some point will be writing further about this.

* Watching Gossip Girl. Series 2 suddenly appeared on our TV choice thing and I have to admit, Husband and I have spent a fair few evenings enjoying our new Sunday evening routine: roast dinner and a film/TV evening, together. Turns out GG is a good compromise.

* Cooking. We have started having our vegetables delivered from a local organic farm delivery service and have very much enjoyed the process of cooking more local and seasonal food, together, in the evenings. Turns out that I do a good line in veggie lasagne.

* Hosting birthday parties. With cupcakes and bunting and homemade pizza and pasta. It’s a fun way to host a party: make pizza dough, tomato sauce and plain homemade pasta and ask the guests to bring the toppings.

When written down like that it doesn’t seem too bad but combined with all the usual things one must fit into a week, it’s felt like I’ve barely had time to sleep recently.

I hope you are all enjoying the onset of Autumn/Fall. More to come on that note soon.

xoxo

Your answer really doesn’t matter with me.  I just ordered mine from Piperlime yesterday…   I guess I should have posted this first.   But, still I’m curious what your thoughts are on this new trend:  a welcome change or a little too “Pretty Woman”ish for you?  Here are some pics of my favorites from www.Piperlime.com.  (The last pair are the ones that I ordered.)

They’ve been seen all over the runway and are splattered in every fashion mag, but how do you think they will work for all of us “normal” people?

Melissa, aka the Lil Bee, and author of the Feather Report has just announced a new app for your iPhone!  Since she does a much better job explaining it than I ever could, I’ll let her do the honors:

Dearest friends, bloggers, and colleagues,

I have a little announcement to make…actually, a big announcement (I hope)!  Some of you have been following my blog, featherreport.blogspot.com.  It’s a site that offers daily style inspiration for NYC girls, based on the weather forecast.  Fashion + Weather = Feather Report.

After a lot of hard work, trial and error, I have launched Feather Report: the iPhone application!  So, what does this mean?  Well, if you have an iPhone, or if you’re thinking about scooping one up, you can now think of Feather Report as your personal style consultant no matter where you live or where you’re traveling.  Here is the scoop…

• Using a GPS weather tracker, Feather Report serves up a new outfit to your iPhone each day, based on your specific location.
• You can shop all of the looks directly from your phone.
• Outfits are categorized based on body types, occasions, and weather patterns.
• You can search for outfits based on your individual needs. So, let’s say you’re a Curvy Cathy, going on a Date Night, and it’s a Hot Mess outside. Plug in that info and voila! An outfit emerges, just for you.
• Plus, you can store your favorite looks, get weather forecasts for your upcoming travel plans, and score the inside scoop on deals & steals from amazing stores.

If you have an iPhone and would like to download the app, you can do so here: http://appshopper.com/lifestyle/feather-report.

If you don’t have an iPhone but want to check out Feather Report, just visit my blog, http://featherreport.blogspot.com. In the coming weeks, I’ll have giveaways and updates, so check back in regularly.

And if you love love love it?!  Tell your friends, tweet it, FB it, email it, blog about it… whatever it is you do, I would greatly appreciate it:)

Thank you so much!!  I’m a little scared to think of what a big undertaking this will be, as I will be creating all of the looks each and every day, but I’m super excited to be taking the leap and doing something I love.  I hope you’ll love it, too!

Melisa
xo

Do you have an iphone?  What are your favorite apps?

Anyone remember the SNL years ago where they had Helen Hunt and Snoop Dogg on as guests?  The trailer promoting that show was the two of them standing on the stage and they each took turns saying their names “Helen Hunt.”  ”Snoop Dogg.”  Then all it said after that was “Together again.”  I loved it!  I mean, could there be two more random, opposite people to have together?

Who knew that SNL would display so well Fall fashion.  Rocker Chic is huge again this Fall and along with it is the trend of all things feminine and becoming of a lady.  Think 1950’s.  Since our generation kind of missed the “How to be a Lady” memo (okay, hopefully we all use some discretion and have a small manners) I thought I would give you the “How to be a Lady, Even When You  Aren’t” crash course.  Or, forget the ladylike thing, “How to Look Put Together When You Really Aren’t.”

1.  Take time for a manicure.  There’s something about painted nails.  They just make you feel better.

2.  Pick a scent.  Whether in tennis shoes or a ball gown, always wear your favorite fragrance.

3.  Gloss away.  Even if you don’t have time to do a full face, always swipe on some gloss before you head out.  Chose a peach based neutral to brighten your face.

4.  Diamonds are a girls best friend.  Or CZ’s.  Or pearls.  Whatever you chose, never leave the house without earrings.

5.  Find an updo and do.  Find one good “style”  that is your go to when your in a pinch.

What are your “How to Look Put Together When You Really Aren’t” tips?