“In the Mix”
Between stuffing the bird, sautéing the green beans, whipping the potatoes and glazing the pies, you are one busy hostess! You spend most of your time in the heart of the house during the season. Your look needs to be polished, yet functional with practicality in mind. You need something that can be easily wiped off and moves with you while you are rushing about making everything look “effortless”.  Focus of fabrics that are easy in their shape and drape. Also, select loosely fitted or shorter sleeves to avoid accidentally dipping fabric into the food preparations!

Look to our Ponte two piece knit dressing with diamond cutout detail at the neckline traced in black patent leather; easy and chic! A fabulous blouse or jacket with interesting details such as the sleeve treatment on our blue silk jacket offers interest and allows for a simple black bottom.

“The Season’s Supervisor”
Your home hosts a bevy of guests and your presence is critical as they enter. You are the belle of the ball bringing friends and family together during the most important days of the year. You may supervise in the kitchen but you leave the cooking preparations to the professionals. Your hands need to be free for the hugs and handshakes, so the serving is best left to those that can best navigate a room without interruption. Your look needs to reflect your personality, sparkling and fabulous!

Color and shine are what you have in mind during the Holidays! It could be head-to-toe or just a pop, whichever you choose!

“Have Turkey, Will Travel!”
Home for the Holidays is not in your vocabulary this year. You are on the move. This season is about relaxation and spending time with those nearest and dearest, in a new setting for creating treasured memories – whether swooshing down the slopes or sitting by the fire.  Your look is casual chic to easy elegance.

You are keeping it simple, fun and fabulous! One way to go is a great knit with subtle detail and a paisley tonal jacquard pant that can be slipped into a boot or worn with a sparkly flat. The other, travel worthy and easy on the eyes, is a simple black dress in viscose jersey with pleating detail at the waist!

Topic Description: “Fashion Trends” tend to wax and wane with the times, however, your personal style and persona remains constant. So, how can you incorporate the current trends into your wardrobe without outlaying money for a “fad” that you wear only short term and discard? How can you avoid purchasing a “trendy” item that  hangs in your closet unworn, because it doesn’t seem to fit your personality or go with anything else in your wardrobe? How do you build a timeless wardrobe that is still in keeping with modern trends? Join us to find out!

Topic Highlights:

*  Identifying the latest fashion trends

*  Defining your individual style persona & relating it to the latest modern trends

*  Key ingredients to building a long term wardrobe

*  Incorporating current trends and your style persona into a long term wardrobe building plan

…. Stay tuned, more details to follow……

Like everything else, time marched on and with it came an entire generation of synthetics that have many of the biggest names in fashion singing their praises. So important are these fabrics that even the esteemed Wall Street Journal saw fit to write an article entitled “Gasp! Polyester Is The New Name In Paris Fashion” in which designers such as Narciso Rodriquez, Nina Ricci, Olivier Theyskens and Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz extolled the properties of the synthetic fabric with such words as silky, light and delicate.

Technological innovation has bolstered an influx of new synthetics. Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani began blending microfiber with cottons and wools to endow them with water/wrinkle resistant properties in the mid 90’s and they have not looked back since. Armani enjoys blends of synthetics with cashmere and linens because it provides better fit and elasticity without losing the hand of the natural fiber. A small percentage of synthetic in your clothing, especially wools and cottons,  helps extend the life of the garment by retaining its shape while reinforcing the natural fibers.

Help unravel the synthetic mystery by testing your knowledge matching the fabric with its definition.  Don’t worry, you won’t have to go to the dictionary if you aren’t sure. The answers are below.

Conservative Glamour. The re-emergence of luxury on the runways was approached from a smarter, leaner, savvier vantage for fall 2010. There were no overt, in-your-face riches but a more subtle return to quality and classic style.

Urban Warrior. Designers have had a longtime fascination with the strong woman. For fall 2010 this is translated into elevated suiting, rich leather and modern tech fabrications. Outerwear has strong architectural and sculptural details and sophisticated trenches will have a sleek spirit.

Eclectic yet Ladylike. She likes mixing her patterns, prints and textures- though she keeps them within a color story so they make sense and still look stylish. She knows how to wear color and she layers selectively, making a look all her own.

Neutrals. Designers showed many variations of neutrals on the runway ranging from white and ivory to rich blacks and grays to camel tones. These shades are often employed as backdrops to allow the detailing to be the focal point confirming what so many of us have known for quite some time, neutrals truly are the foundation of fine dressing.

All items in this article are found in the Doncaster Fall 2010 line. Visit: http://www.doncaster.com/jrabiner
]]> http://doncasterfashionistas.com/2010/09/28/fashion-to-fall-in-love-with/feed/ 0 http://doncasterfashionistas.com/2010/09/28/attention-doncaster-private-line-clientele/ http://doncasterfashionistas.com/2010/09/28/attention-doncaster-private-line-clientele/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:30:45 +0000 Doncaster Fashionistas http://doncasterfashionistas.com/?p=708 Just in time for our new Fall/Winter Collection introduction at the Cincinnati Studio, I have exciting news about your Doncaster Private Line account. Effective now through December 31, 2010, we will be offering 6 months deferred interest on all Doncaster Private Line purchases. Shop and select your new clothing pieces to add to your Fall and Winter wardrobe, take 6 months to pay, and escape the monthly interest as long as the minimum payment on your statement that arrives each month is paid.

If you are not yet a Doncaster Private Line client and interested in learning more, please contact me for additional information!

Admit it, you just throw your bras in the washing machine and hope they don’t get too tangled in with everything else. Who has the time for hand washing? You may think that hand washing care tag was put there because the bra companies used cheap material or dye and are trying to cover their butts in case the bra falls apart. Well, actually there is a good scientific reason for those directions.

Elastic in the fabric, straps, and back is the magical component in bras that fights gravity’s pull. Just like certain body parts, elastic stretches and droops with age. Heat speeds up this process by breaking down the elastic fibers, which in turn drives your breasts groundward. The two ways that bras are exposed to heat is from being next to your body and from washing/drying. Since you aren’t going to stop wearing your bras just to make them last longer, we thought we’d tell you how to be nicer to them during cleaning.

1. Hand wash

Washing machines and hot water are a big no-no!

Hand washing in cold water for ten minutes cleans out all the dirt without stressing the elastic that is key to the lifting and separating that bras do. A light soap will do the job without leaving residue behind and making you a slave to the sink while you rinse your bras.

For those of you who think we’re insane for recommending this, gentle cleaning without all that twisting and turning that comes in the washing machine will make your bras last significantly longer.   Just think of all that bra shopping you’re avoiding with a few minutes of work.

2. Drip dry

The dryer is the biggest enemy your bra has. Not only does it speed the decay of the elastic in your bra, but it can warp the underwires that provide the structure. If there is only one thing that you will do to take better care of your bras, make it this one.

3. Give your bras a break

Between body heat and being stretched to wrap around you, the materials in your bra undergo a lot of stress over the course of a day. So, give them some time to relax and recover in between wearings. Give your bra at least a 24-hour break before you wear it again.

These steps will make your bras last longer and that keeps you looking good for longer. Of course, you still need to get re-measured every six months or five pounds of weight change to make sure that you are wearing a bra that still fits. For the bras you wear daily, consider them to have a six-month expiration date before the fabric and elastic stop doing their job. Your bras work hard everyday and six months of frequent use is about the limit of how long they can keep you up.

* There is a cool technical reason for this having to do with the chemical structure of elastics, but I won’t bore you with it. If you want to learn more, I recommend a textile textbook such as Textiles by Sara J. Kadolph

~ Article Source: Zyrra Custom Bras website; Image Source: Mirror.co.uk website

Does your bra fit?

Since it’s commonly believed that 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra, most likely not. If your bra is uncomfortable, it’s a clear sign that it isn’t the right size or shape for your body.  To access how well your bras perform, see if you have any of the following problems.

1. Does the bra back ride up?

Your bra band should always be horizontal on your back. The majority of the support for the cups comes from the band around your body, not the straps. So, if the back rides up over the course of the day, your breasts will droop down. A band that is tight enough will stop this from happening. Try a smaller band size to get the right fit.

To test the fit of your bra band, put your hand behind your back and try to pull the center of the band away from your body. (Feel free to get help if you aren’t this flexible!)  If the band moves more than two inches out from your back, it is too loose to provide good support.   A smaller band size should fix this problem.

If the band is sufficiently tight but still rides up, it is not made to provide the support that you need. A taller band will distribute the forces more evenly around your body. In order to avoid the 5 hook look in the back, boning can be used under the arms to provide the same support with a much shorter back. If you are more buxom than a D cup and want to have 3 or fewer hooks, look for a bra with something like underarm boning to ensure that you will get enough uplift.

2. Do you feel the underwires in your bra?

Feeling your underwires at all is an indication that they are an incorrect shape or size. There are no underwire standards, so you can be wearing the correct volume cup and still be uncomfortable. Pinching on the sides means that the wire isn’t wide enough. Rubbing against your rib cage at the bottom of the cups means that the U of the wire is too deep. The tip of the wire digging in to your armpit at the top of the band indicates that you are “high-chested” and that the wires are too long for you. You will have the most difficulty finding bras in stores that do not do this. Try a different manufacturer or style to get a more comfortable fit.

3. Do your straps dig in or fall off your shoulders?

Red marks on your shoulders are a clear sign that the bra straps are doing too much of the lifting work. Remember that the band should bear most of the weight, so digging straps means that the bra band is too large or that the bra is poorly designed. If your straps slip off your shoulder, try a different bra style or a smaller band size. While the straps don’t do most of the heavy lifting, they are an important part of uplift and can’t do their job if they fall off your shoulders.

4. Are the cups overflowing or wrinkling?

Overflowing cups give that quad-boob look when the top seam of the cup or the arm seam digs into the breast. This is a clear sign that you need a larger cup size. When there is enough extra volume for the cup fabric to wrinkle, you need to move to a smaller cup size.

5. Does the bridge lean away from your chest?

If the bridge leans away from your chest wall or is lifted entirely off, your bra cups are too small. You will be more comfortable and get better support if you get a bra where the bridge sits against your body. The underwires provide the most support when they are anchored against your body. Really, why have them there if you aren’t going to let them do their job?

A bra is like a well-engineered machine. In order to do its job correctly, it needs to fit well and be taken care of. If one part of the bra is off, the whole rest of it will under-perform and you will end up uncomfortable and looking less than your best. And how many of us can really afford that?

Bras are designed to fit average dimensions, so don’t be surprised if you have a hard time finding a bra that fits you in all of the ways necessary to make a bra comfortable.

~ Article and Images Source: Infusion of Style website

I highly recommend that every woman be professionally fitted for the proper bra(s).  Having the right bra provides proper support, creates an ideal body silhouette, helps clothing drape properly on the body, and produces a desired comfort level. Most department and lingerie specialty stores offer this service for free.

Please browse throughout the site and provide feedback. Also, let me know if there are particular things that you would like to see covered on the site, especially the blog…. this site is for YOU!

Please share with others that you think would gain benefit from this site as well. (Don’t forget my referral program, see post: Referral Reward Program)

Thank you to all my great clients … and new potential ones – you make this fun!

Best,

J. Lee