Is Your Body All Wrong?

I love shopping for clothes (if you didn't already know that). Heck, there's very little I don't like shopping for, so it's just in my nature. But I know that few things can be more frustrating than going out for an afternoon with a goal in mind, such as dress for an upcoming event, and coming home empty handed. Sometimes we just don't find what we're looking for style-wise. But more times than not, we just don't find anything that fits our bodies like it should.

This can lead to not only frustration, but often women come to the conclusion that there's something wrong with their body when nothing seems to fit. When the rise of a pair of pants isn't long enough, the waistline of a dress hits too high or a pair of jeggings makes you look heavier than we are, often what happens is that we blame ourselves and curse last night's bowl of Ben and Jerry's or your expanding middle that gets bigger with age and beat ourselves up for not looking like an anorexic runway model who wears a size 2, or at least like we did in our heyday 20 years (or more) ago.

But let me ask you a question - are you dressing the body you have, or the one that you think you have? Sometimes we get used to the fact that we're a size 6 and don't like having to go a size up. So we ignore the fact and think that we'll drop a few pounds and stick with the 6's. This is never a good idea and can lead to self-sabotage in more ways than one.

Our bodies are always changing and we may not always keep up with our current size. What I'd like to ask you to do is to get in touch with your current shape. Seriously, stand naked, or scantily clad, in front of your mirror and squint. What do you see? A well-proportioned figure? A middle that's a little squishier than a few years ago? Legs that go on for days? Take note and dress yourself accordingly. Now this is where you'll want to check your pride at the door and get real with yourself. No one looks good wearing a size 6 if they are really a size 8, 10 or higher (see pic). But once you embrace your shape and dress the body you have right now you'll be on your way to looking amazing! And you just may discover that you have a gorgeous pair of legs or fabulous shoulders that take all the attention away from your hips and thighs.

One thing that easily gets in the way of a positive self-image is our ego feeding us lines like "you shouldn't eat so much", "all the other girls on the court are in great shape - what happened to you?" or "you're just a fat pig." Unfortunately, we talk to ourselves in a way that we would never talk to others. So this is where it really pays to take note and try to replace those phrases with positive ones. Accepting the body you have right now is key to looking and feeling great, and when you know you're in the right body for you and can embrace that, the effect can be magical!

So next time you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror or you're in the fitting room and want to curse yourself because you need to go up a size, try a little encouragement - "you're looking hot these days", "I am beautiful" or "I get to eat exactly what I want and don't have to starve to look this good". A positive attitude can work wonders and have you feeling the power of your beauty rather than being embarrassed because you're now in a double-digit size. Remember, it's just a number.

But whatever size you are, just remember - no one knows what that size is but you (and me, if we shop together, but I'll keep your secret!) Now go get 'em, gorgeous!

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day...and Neither is a Good Wardrobe

Are you a fan of 'What Not to Wear', 'Trinnie and Susannah' or other makeover show on TV? It's amazing how over the course of a week, a few days or even just a matter of hours women emerge with a brand new wardrobe and a brand new look. It's an amazing and dramatic process and I just love seeing the 'reveal' at the end. We the viewer are left feeling like creating a whole new look is a process that is quick and easy and can be done in no time flat.

Well ladies, let me just tell you that in real life building a great wardrobe is a process that takes time. Before you panic, though, I like to think that the time spent building a wardrobe is well worth the effort. I like to encourage my clients to build a wardrobe with the same thought and care as they would a collection of antiques. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is a good wardrobe!

Here are my best tips for building a wardrobe that's going to last a lifetime (or at least for a very long while):

1/ Shift your mindset - most of us love instant gratification, but I'd like to ask you to think about what it's costing you when it comes to your clothing. Instead of thinking what you want to wear this weekend, think about how a piece is going to serve you over the entire season and the next few years. It'll give you a whole new perspective.

2/ Shop when you don't have to - often we put off shopping until the last minute, then buy the first thing we find. This can lead to a lot of 'one hit wonders' and a lot of money down the drain. Plan a shopping trip when you don't have to have something and give yourself time to enjoy the process. Then when you have a big occasion you'll already have a great dress, the perfect suit or a a top that you love to wear!

3/ Buy only what you love - don't settle for second best. Instead of buying a lot of inexpensive clothing, but only a few pieces each season that are meant to last. If you buy 4 nice pieces of clothing each season, in a year you'll have 16 pieces that mix and match and create the foundation of a wonderful wardrobe.

4/ Know what to buy - when you go shopping, ensure you only do it with a list in hand and a clear idea of what you want. Not only will you be more focused, you'll be less tempted to purchase impulse items.

5/ View your wardrobe as an investment - women love to buy clothing (I'm no exception) and if we took all the money spent on clothing in a year and put in into a pile we'd be shocked! I'd like you to think about how much you spend on your clothing and how you're allocating it. Are you getting a good return on your investment? Do a cost per wear analysis to determine if an item is worth it's price and ask yourself if it would be better spend elsewhere.

Dresses For Every Body Type

In my opinion there is no better item to add to your wardrobe than a great dress. Dresses are so easy to pull on - there's no mixing or matching required. Just add a chic pair of shoes then adorn yourself accordingly with jewelry - dress it up with some statement making, eye-catching pieces or down with more simple styles. Having a great go-to dress in your wardrobe can be a lifesaver for those last minute invitations, and there's a lot of peace of mind that comes with having something hanging in your closet that you don't even need to think about.

Now that summer is in full swing, I strongly encourage you to add some dresses to your wardrobe in the season's hottest shades ranging from pale neutrals to eye-poppping brights. You're sure to find gorgeous dresses in all shapes and styles. But do you know which ones are right for your body type?

Take a peek at our guide to buying one that will be the most flattering on you. Once you're armed with this important information, dressing will be a breeze.

Hourglass figures are very curvy with balanced hips and shoulders. The most important thing an hourglass can do is to find a dress that has waistline emphasis. Sack dresses are not for you. You've got the curves, now go flaunt them! Show off your shoulders in this bombshell halter dress and you'll show off your assets a la Marilyn Monroe, a classic hourglass figure.

Pear Shape figures have a smaller upper body with most of their weight in the hips, thighs and buttocks. Choose a dress that visually creates balance with a sleeve or high neckline atop a full skirt that gracefully grazes the body. Avoid sleeveless dresses because they'll create a visual un-balance and can emphasize your heavy bottom half.

Apple Shape figures have a larger upper body than lower half with little waist definition. Create the illusion of a waistline with a self-belt or tie. A V-neckline draw the eye downward, creating visual balance.

Rounded body types have a large chest, a protuding tummy and fullness through hips. Choose a dress in a darker solid for a sleek, minimizing effect. An open neckline helps to elongate the body and a soft tie at the waistline gives the illusion of a defined waist.

When it comes to hemlines, forget about what's "in" and what's "out" and go with the most timeless, flattering length - knee length or slightly above. This shows off great legs and will make you appear taller. If you must go longer, take care to ensure your hemline does not hit at the widest point of your calf. It will make your legs appear shorter and heavier.

Happy dressing!

Smooth as Silk

We all know the pitfalls of hair removal. Whether you prefer shaving, waxing, tweezing, electrolysis or laser hair removal, the painful and unsightly side affects can include ingrown hairs, burns and bumps. This makes an already unpleasant experience a little harder to swallow. PFB Vanish is a gentle roll-on gel formulated to help keep skin soft and smooth following hair-removal. With three key exfoliating ingredients including salicylic, glycolic and lactic acids, it’s also enriched with moisturizing and soothing ingredients such as camphor oil. Created to exfoliate skin cells above the skin’s surface, PFB Vanish softens the hair follicle to minimize the recurrence of ingrown hair in the future. For best results, apply to affected areas immediately after shaving, and two days prior to waxing or electrolysis. After hair removal, apply daily to keep your skin as smooth as silk. PFB Vanish is $14.95 for 2 ounces and can be found at salons and spas nationwide.

Brazilian Beauty for Your Feet

If you’re familiar with Havaianas, you know just how popular they are among celebs such as Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Cameron Diaz. But did you know Christian Louboutin owns 30 – 40 pairs as well? That speaks volumes about these comfortable, buttery soft Brazilian sandals (they’re so much more than just flip-flops). Havaianas come in an array of fun and fabulous prints, as well as solids, to keep your feet looking and feeling great. Pick your favorites at just $22 and up and see just what a whimsical touch they can add to your favorite casual summer dress as well as your shorts or swimsuit.

ONE OF THE BEST INVESTMENTS YOU CAN MAKE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR IMAGE THIS SUMMER

Summer of Style Beauty Bootcamp: Transform Your Style in 28 Days

A 4-week telecourse personally taught by Michele Little of One Chic Mama, Inc.
Course Runs July 27 – August 17, 2010

** If you’ll miss the calls don’t worry, you can still sign up. You’ll gain access to the recordings to listen to at your convenience, over and over again.

With this course you’ll receive:
1. Four (4) weekly 75 – 90 minute telecourses that you can listen to from the convenience of your own home

2. Recordings of each telecourse that you can download to your iPod, iPhone or other mp3 player and listen to over and over again at your convenience

3. Step by step instructions to help you discover your personal image, face shape, personal style and best colors

4. Checklists and diagrams that you can download and print out for details and ongoing support

5. A weekly checklist of assignments, broken down into easy to handle tasks that create results quickly and get you inspired

6. Weekly motivation to stay on track and follow the program, with progress reports and check-ins

7. The opportunity for Q & A

8. An easy-to-follow and FUN program that will leave you excited about saying “YES” to yourself and have you looking and feeling fabulous

9. A clear understanding of how to build a wardrobe based on your personal criteria, lifestyle and needs

10. Secret tricks to take your clothes to new heights without spending a fortune
AND…A new look that you’ll be proud to show the world!

**BONUS You’ll receive a copy of my e-book, What to Wear: Spring/Summer 2010 ($17 value).

This program is a $1,497+ value but as my special gift to you I am offering it for a very low price of just $247 for the entire 4 week series

** BONUS Register before Midnight EST, July 15th and you’ll save $50 – just $197 for the entire 4-week course. (That’s less than $50 per week to boost your image - a bargain any way you look at it!)

Register At: http://bit.ly/stylebeautybootcamp

PLUS, we’re offering a GRAND PRIZE to one Beauty Bootcamp participant. Once you sign up to participate, you’ll be registered to win a giveaway which includes a beach tote filled with more than $300 worth of beauty products from Yves Rocher, Zoya, Hairfree and many more!

I have a special treat for you ladies located in the Raleigh, NC area, we’re going to have a “reveal” party (details to come) to celebrate your accomplishment and to share your new look with others!

Don't Get Dressed Without Reading This First!

Question for you...what's the best way to ensure you look great each and every day?

Answer...to know exactly what works for you!

That's how you'll always be able to put together outfits that fit and flatter you, and be able to do it every single time you get dressed!

But doing this with just any old thing that happens to be in your closet can pose a challenge. The trick is knowing what to purchase and how it all works together to help you look your best.

Most women have not only too many clothes, but they don't have the right clothes.

In fact it's so important for YOUR image that you know what to wear that I'm hosting a special complimentary teleseminar to give you the LATEST information on looking and dressing your best:

=====================

"Dress to Impress! The 5 Essential Elements of Style All Women MUST Know Before Getting Dressed"

Tuesday, July 13, 2010
8:00pm Eastern
Learn more and register here.

=====================

On this special no-cost call, you'll learn...

* The 5 elements that are essential in determining what works for you

* How to stop throwing money down the drain on clothes

* How to look your best no matter what your age or your size

* What items every woman MUST have in her wardrobe

* The MOST important thing to keep in mind when getting dressed

* What one color you should eliminate from your wardrobe

* How your face shape dictates the shoes you wear (yes, really!)

* Details about Michele's BRAND NEW four-part telecourse on transforming your style that she will personally be teaching this summer

So hurry...Sign up NOW to reserve your space on this complimentary call and find out what you must know to get dressed quickly and easily each day!

I'll see you on the call, ok?

Warmly,

P.S. Feel free to invite your friends and colleagues to this call, but please remember to reserve your spot here first.

Mary Michele Little

Your Signature Style Coach

One Chic Mama, Inc.

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"Like" me on Facebook

What to Wear Under White

With summer along comes a wardrobe filled with brights, pastels and whites. Looking great has never been easier than pairing a bright top with a pair of white shorts or jeans. But do you know what you wear under your white clothes to keep everything under wraps?

White clothing is cool and pretty, but it can also be very revealing. For best effect, you want to take special care in choosing your lingerie to ensure that you don’t show all the world London and France too! Here are a few tips to help keep all eyes on you for all the right reasons:

1/ Match Your Skintone – Whether you’re the palest of the pale of the deepest ebony, select lingerie that is the closest match to your skintone and it will seemingly disappear.

2/ Look for Seamless Items – Try a pair of seamless boyshorts, a thong or a seamless bra under your whites to create a sleek, smooth line and keep your undies under wraps.

3/ Go Up a Size – When you’re wearing white pants, jeans or shorts you want to buy them a little looser than bottoms of a darker color. Going up a size or just ensuring that you have plenty of wiggle room will ensure that you’re not revealing more than you’d like.

4/ Layer it Up – If you’re wearing a sheer white top you may want the added privacy of a camisole to keep you covered. Opt for either a skintone cami or a white one for best effect.

5/ Please, No White on White – When wearing white avoid wearing white lingerie. It doesn’t blend in at all but rather stands out like crazy. When your lingerie blends in it helps you to stand out!

Make a Whish

Do you ever wish your shaving cream worked flawlessly, leaving your legs silky-smooth and moisturized? How about if you had an after-shave created just for you? Well, wish no more. Now there’s Whish, a new line of shaving products created just for women and designed to fulfill one wife’s wish to have shaving products just like her husband’s, only better.

Whish's Shave Crave ($24) is an ultra moisturizing shaving cream that comes in a jar and contains essential oils to give you a freshly scented (pomegranate, anyone?) shave that’s smooth as silk. Packed with botanical goodness and designed to cure what ails you, there’s a formula created to tone, rejuvenate, moisturize, restore or fight aging, all in scents that are fresh and delicious.

Whish's Shave Savour ($26) is an after-shave gel that cools and tones the skin post-shave, and helps to soothe and heal minor shaving nicks. You can also use Shave Savour in place of a heavy moisturizer during the summer months, when you don’t need a heavy lotion. Its quick-drying formula comes in several delicious fragrances including lemongrass, almond and pomegranate.

Is Your Wardrobe Like Junk Food?

If I asked you to describe the clothing hanging in your closet right now what words would come to mind? Nourishing, fulfilling and sensual? Or would it be better described as unsatisfying, disappointing and always leaves you wanting more. Now make a mental note of these words, thoughts and feelings and notice how you feel.

Many people joke about fast food saying there's a secret ingredient that makes it addictive. While I'm not sure what goes into it, I'm pretty sure I know what's missing - real, whole foods that nourish the body and leave you feeling great. After eating a fast food meal, although we've often surpassed our daily calorie and fat quota by a stretch, we're still left wanting more because essential needs aren't being met such as vitamins, minerals and just the feel good factor of having sat down to a nourishing meal and enjoyed it with the company of friends and family.

Our wardrobes can have the same effect. There's no coincidence that cheap, mass-produced clothing is referred to as 'fast fashion'. It's quick, easy and inexpensive, much like a Happy Meal, but is too soon forgotten. It may not wash well or may pill more quickly than we'd like, leaving us to buy more clothing to replace it.

Now don't get me wrong - I tell my clients it's perfectly ok to have some 'fast fashion' in their wardobes but knowing how it fits in is key. When a wardrobe is built on good-quality core items then it can be updated seasonally by bringing in said fast fashion to give it a current look, inject some color and bring in some personality. But the differentiating factor is that these pieces are not purchased to last for several years. They're planned for, they're bought for the current season and they're discarded once they've passed their prime.

Having a wardrobe that is built on fast fashion (inexpensive items, sale items that aren't quite right or other items that were bought in the heat of the moment) will always leave us wanting more, causing us to over-buy (or overeat) because we never get what we need and are never really satisfied. Even when our closets are stuffed to the gills and we have so much clothing that we can't even get to it, we never feel that we can go to our closet, choose the perfect outfit time after time and emerge looking and feeling great. It's always a stress-filled endeavor.

So what's the remedy? Easy,my dear. A diet. But since I'm not a big fan of this four letter word I prefer to use the term 'strategy'. Here is my remedy for a junk food wardrobe:

1/ First, bust the clutter. Go through your closet and weed out anything you can part with, items you no longer wear and those pieces that pilled after the first washing. Take note of labels, how long you've owned the garment, and what attracted you to it in the first place. This will serve you well in the future.

2/ Now assess what's left. Are there some good, nourishing core items in there that you forgot about? Did you find some hidden gems in the midst of the clutter? Or will you be starting from scratch to build a wardrobe that will really serve you and leave you feeling 'satisfied' every time?

3/ Determine your needs. This can be an on-going list that you keep on hand in your closet. When you go to get dressed and have that "I wish I had a __" thought, write it down. Some of my best purchases have come from those very insights. Notice if you keep wishing for the same thing over and over (a great belt, a colorful scarf, a netural jacket, etc) and you'll begin to understand what you really desire from your wardrobe, and differentiate it from a fleeting 'craving'.

4/ Go shopping. Go alone, take your list and have a plan. You will buy what's on your list. You will only entertain buying other items if they pass this test:

1. This item fits me very well, or I can easily have it altered (and am sure I will)

2. This item goes with at least 3 items I already own

3. This item is well made of quality fabric

4. This item can be worn for more than 1 season

5. I love it and can't wait to wear it!

5/ When you return home with your new items, have fun with them. Play around and see how many outfits you can come up with, and if you need anything else to complete a look (keep a running list so you'll always have a goal when you do have time to shop). Take notes and remember those outfits that really make you feel more like you!

Taking time to build a wardrobe that's filled with both quality items and a few fast food items that were bought with intention will serve you well. You'll be assured have outfits that are ready at a moment's notice and will leave you feeling comforted, satisfied and like everything's going to be ok - much like a homecooked meal from mom.