Favorite Post: In Honor of Operation #boothbabe

The folks hitting the conference sessions down here at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center today and tomorrow have already stepped it up a notch or two from the government folks and contractors I met at a Large Meeting in Aberdeen, Maryland, in early 2011, but...

We've still got a looooong way to go, baby.

Maybe it's that we're in the city instead of essentially rural Maryland. Maybe it's that there's a much higher proportion of women in government accounting than there is in Army IT support, but there is a smidgen of style here and there.

There are at least a few LV purses - whether they're real or bought on a Georgetown side street - there's an attempt at purchased style. There are a few dashing gentlemen with crisp white hair and interesting specs (as befit an accountant, naturally), and a few who can hang with their decently (but not perfectly, mind you) pinstripe suits.

But there is still a proliferation of ill-fitting, double-breasted, horrendously patterned separates. Ladies, really? It's 2012. Gentlemen? You can buy a new tie. And do we really need to talk about the sportcoats again?

I said it in 2011, and I'll say it now: Style Counts. Honest.

I originally posted this in March 2011, after attending a huge meeting up at Aberdeen Proving Ground. While the govvies presenting certainly knew their stuff, and the contractors in the room were honestly a bastion of experts, well, they didn't know their style. But that's what we bloggers are for, right?

Memo to Government Workers: Style Counts. Honest.

When I started this blog, way back when, I was wading through the stereotypical sea of Government Worker Style. It was awful. It was part of the reason - part, mind you - I started to write. I knew there was more style here than met the eye, and oila! in the last few years, I've been proven right. The DC Style World is alive and kickin' - kickin' hard

[strains of "We're not gonna take it...no, we're not gonna take it...we're not gonna take it, anymooooooore" play in the background]

I've been more than encouraged.

And then, I go to a Big Government Meeting. And I lose all hope. Well, most of it. Granted, the Meeting was in Aberdeen, Maryland, and it was mostly men, but still. So, Government Workers, here's my memo to you.

To Whom It Should Concern, but Doesn't, so That's Why I'm Writing This Memo:

From: DC Celine, who has lived and worked in your midst for the better part of a decade, and understands, so listen to her

Re: Style Counts

If you don't understand what that means, here's a few pointers. Yes, they're "Don'ts," which are harder to follow than one might think, but please. Don't.

• If you dress up (i.e. put on a suit), wear your one nice coat and a scarf. Do not wear your ski jacket over your suit. If you don't own a nice coat, go buy one. Hang it in your closet next to your Funeral Suit.
• Do. Not. Wear. Stockings. Wear tights.
• Gentlemen? Buy and wear one suit. The jacket + slacks thing works on 1% of grown men. And they're European.
• Hair gel - if you need it, you need a haircut. If you must use product, gentlemen, use pomade.
• Ladies? I'm all for a fun, statement, fashion piece of jewelry, but cheap jewelry looks cheap 75% of the time. Learn Coco's rule, now, and abide by it religiously.
• Tie clips = N. O.
• Have to take notes at your Big Government Meeting? Get a nice one. For heaven's sake, they hand those suckers out at every convention known to man. Swipe one. Or spend the money and buy one for these occasions. A sprial notebook you borrowed from your tween daughter or a stack of papers falling all over the floor? Yeah. Doesn't work.

There are, I'm sure, other guidelines I could give you (like don't go all matchy-matchy on us, or no sneakers and skirts for the commute), but a) you've heard them all before, and b) you haven't listened. So I'm trying these first. Then we'll tackle the Reeboks with your Liz Claiborne knock-off.

Cc: The World. Because they think we don't do style here in DC, and you're helping to prove them right.

Hoping, Wishing, Dreaming...

...and it ain't for stuff of of your list to Santa. It's for that elusive style you desperately want to wear but just can't pull it off. When I posted earlier this week, I got these responses via all forms of social media...

• Something smaller, of course!
• Bowties [from a gentleman]
• Scarves or necklaces
• Blousey tops, I'm so pair shaped that if I don't choose something tailored, I look 20lbs heavier. [Capitol Hill Style]
• Shirtdresses don't fly with me. [ShoppingSavant]
• I wish I had the money (and legs) to get above the knee boots. I wish I could get away with sky high heels more often. [Miss Scarlet]

For me, it's almost predictable...

• Shirtdresses, like I posted earlier (anything belted at the waist cuts me in just the wrong place)
• 50s-era full skirts
• Drapey, flowy tops (like CapHillStyle, I do better in tailored. But then, doesn't most of the population, Kate Moss aside?)
• Boutique-made-and-sold clothing (I'm at the upper end of the supposed "normal" sizing right now, so a size 10, even if they have it in stock, just ain't gonna cut it)
• Anything Italian-made, unless it's leather goods (this Germanic body just doesn't fit into slim cut anything)
• Pretty little cropped blazers and jackets ("little" and "cropped" just don't work for me. Last time I wore a cropped jacket, it was Halloween circa 2001, and we were going to a Pimps&Hos party. I cropped a fur jacket I found at Value Village, threw on a mini, some gold heels, and well, let's just say that some cars slowed as I waited on the corner for the rest of my crew to get money from the ATM. A little too realistic.)

So if these are the things we won't or can't wear, what are the standbys that make us feel good, no matter how bad a closet day we're having?

To-Do List Update

Shower? Check.

Lavender-cammomile bubble bath with The Bean? Check.

Money saved by shampoo not yet used on hair? Priceless.

You Didn't.........? Really?

We all do it. There is no one on earth, not even the most stylish, put-together man or woman to whom we all aspire, that doesn't commit a fashion faux pas once in a while. They may not let it show, but it happens.

And lately, I feel like I'm a walking faux pas. Ill-fitting, untailored duds. Bikini briefs. Which in most ill-fitting clothes, don't matter, but in those 2 pair of pants that actually do fit, yield VPL. Yes. You read that right. Days without makeup of any kind (this damn heat and humidity make wearing anything but the sheerest powder a bear). Bras that don't fit, which let the girls slump. Boring color combinations of black and black. Clothes that should've been retired a long time ago for being just plain old tired. You name it, I've done it.

In solidarity, it turns out that most of you are willing to share. A few weeks back, I asked. You answered:

• Not getting my hair cut for three years
• Sometimes get too matchy-matchy with shoes, belt, bag. Gasp!
• Pantyhose in Atlanta in July. My feet would be all blisters without em.
• hmmm...i suppose my inability to accessorize is considered a fashion faux pas :)

Like my own, all of these could be chalked up to some sort of style-laziness. Yup. I said it. I'm lazy. And so are you. It's what all 25 style reality shows have taught us. We suck, and everyone should be able to put together a reasonably stylish outfit for every. single. occasion.

But reality sets in.

Real reality.

3 of the 4 women who answered are mamas, but I know that even as non-mamas, it's a daily struggle. We'd be remiss and dismissive if we didn't acknowledge everyone's challenges. It's really not that easy to get it together, and we're all envious of the woman (or man) who seems to never have a hair out of place, never forgets to zipper her skirt.

I suppose they're out there, but they probably drink blood.

Updated: To-Do List

See? I'm even forgetting things. Which is why I need a list.

Note to self: add...

See Erwin. Very soon. Brows are gross.
Pedicure. Now.
Manicure - optional, but at least remove old polish and cut.

Yes, these are things that should be done regularly. And I haven't done them. So sue me.

PS - no, I haven't washed my hair yet.
PPS - this post and its predecessor are designed to give you the freedom to relax. It's a public service. Yup, that's what it is.

To-Do List

Wash hair
See Jae for desperately needed haircut
Get new makeup to replace ancient stuff (eyeshadow already replaced with urban decay and smashbox)
Start working out
Get new clothes to replace boring ones

Yes. Wash hair. I promise I'll do it soon. Maybe even tonight. Or maybe tomorrow.

Wanted: Your Dirty Secrets

Wanted: your dirty little "style secrets." what do you do/wear/use even though you know darned well it's a fashion faux pas? Comment or email dcceline dot blogspot at gmail dot com.

Style Poll: Fashion Faux Pas

It's not even about style. It's about not flashing the world.

For those following on twitter, you know I left my skirt unbuttoned this morning. Didn't discover it until just before my 11am meeting. Thanks for speaking up, colleagues!

So what have you left unbuttoned, unsnapped, unzipped?

Oooops! Toldya...

...it might just be a forgetful person.

And I really wouldn't have minded if someone had gently stopped me the first 3 times I wore this skirt, "Miss? [or ma'am, which I seem to get more and more - it's disturbing] Your back vent is still sewn shut."

Really. Stop the next person you see with sewn together pleats or vents - it's the genteel (and kind) thing to do.

I'd put it on by the time I noticed, and didn't feel like taking it off, so asked H to snip the threads.

Now I'm perfectly presentable.

To Pleat or Not to Pleat

Apparently there's a run on women not cutting their basting.

Basting, of course, being the type of stitch used to tack together pleats or vents on new clothes so they don't get folded a wrong way before their new owner wears them - you know those wierd "X"es on your winter coats?

artlush commented on yesterday's post: "i want to help them..maybe throw some scissors in my pocketbook and attack when i see them..which i may add is a few a day"

You're clearly not the only one, artlush. There was a thread in wapo.com's Talking Fashion chat about the exact same thing. "Have you noticed how many women forget (or simply don't know) to pick the basting stitches out of suit jackets, skirts, and so on after purchasing them? For example, I saw a lady in a very cute pleated skirt, but with all the pleats sewn up! Hey, fellow office drones, those stitches are just to protect the clothes in transit -- you can take them out now!" writes Washington, D.C.

I'm with you both. It's amusing, annoying, and a fashion faux pas.

And, I'll add, as The Bean's Mommy With Little Sleep, it's entirely possible that the poor woman on the street just plain ol' forgot. Be kind. I know I've meant to clip them, and just forgot (ok, not on a whole pleated skirt, but definitely on a coat). It took until I got to work to fix - and I did.

I know I certainly wouldn't mind a nice person coming up to me and saying, "Hey, did you know your pleat/vent's still tacked?" Even better, if said nice person (ahem, artlush, ahem) were carrying a pocketknife or pair of scissors.

Just don't wield either in the Metro. Could get you in a leeetle bit of trouble nowadays.

The Perils of Fashion Blogging

All your friends are afraid of you.

I promise I don't write up my friends for their choices.

Ever.

But they think I do, and are always worried about showing up in Blogland.

Like today. A friend thought she made fashion faux pas - she didn't - and her husband joked she'd show up online.

Ha.

OK.

So she did - but not the way you think.

It's strange, this power I wield.