Leslie Loudon Guild Luncheon---- or "New Jacket City"

The Leslie Loudon Guild luncheon is always a good place to spot Yakima women dressed in their best. The uniform this year seemed to be black and black, topped by a really spectacular jacket. Now that's just a simple way to dress! One can put on a black top and pants and be ready to go any day this winter by just adding different jackets. Seems like that's what I've been doing lately....I get up, put on black & then try to figure out the rest later.

The luncheon also featured a fashion show by Steve & Gretchen at Haberdasher & Haberdasher Ladies. Great stuff! They've obviously gotten in some new and different brands that are adventurous, young, and fun. Kind of pricey for a bargain hunter like me, but then the good stuff usually is.

So here are just a few of the fun looks I saw that day (besides on the actual models): Janine wore a cool velvet jacket in earth tone paisley print & Judy had on a beautiful one of all-over passementarie in a beautiful charcoal/silver tone. Both with basic black, of course. "Chicos!" they both said. Nice to know Chico's is finally branching out into some fashion-forwardness after years of concentrating on those packable knits that inundated everyone's wardrobe. Not that there's anything wrong with that....

This is the aforementioned Phyllis Strother (see blog dated ), and her longtime friend Connie Bryant, both looking sharp in their pantsuits. Phyllis' was a tiny pinstripe, (sorry it doesn't show up in the pic), with a small ruffle at the neckline. Connie added a nice bright rose color to her basic black and looked fabulous. Both of these ladies were my co-workers at Nordstrom about a hundred years ago! We spent several minutes lamenting the fact that no one dresses up for anything anymore. Don't let that happen to you.

Whoa! One of the highlights of the luncheon was seeing John, the Asst. Golf Pro, dressed in white and waiting tables. I just had to get his picture. Actually a lot of the ladies were wishing John would serve them up....something. Anything. Not sure what. He just looked so dang cute.

One more great jacket: this is Linda in a beautiful brocade-with-lace number she found at Priscilla's. She looked so with it! S'all ahm sayin. I've actually never been in Priscilla's for the simple reason that I find her t.v. ads absolutely barfable and blort-worthy. Does that make me a bad person?

Hello Stiletto!

Here's another new website for you, especially you shoe fanatics: http://www.shoeclub.us/
It's titled "Hello Stiletto"; one of my friends in Atlanta told me about it as her daughter-in-law just joined a Shoe Club.
What could be better?
It's a club where women get together once a month in a bar or restaurant for the "sole" purpose of showing off their shoes. Fabulous! Like a book club except you never have to feel guilty about not reading the book!
They even give out awards every month for "Best of Shoe." There are shoe clubs in Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, and Naples, Fla.
I love the pics of all the events and seeing all the shoes, but the best part of the site is the collection of quotes that appear on every page and change with every click. Here's one from Oprah:
"I still have my feet on the ground. I just wear better shoes."
Love it. Go there. Wear great shoes when you do.

Planned Parenthood--Oktoberfest

There are lots of Oktoberfest-type celebrations in Yakima in the fall, and the blogabilities are definitely out there. I love seeing women put together a look all their own with what's in their closets, not necessarily going shopping to buy an "outfit" to wear. These ladies added lots of different elements that clicked together for fun Yakima-style casual looks that were very current and didn't come off as too matchy-matchy and premeditated.

Julie, perfectly casual in the long shirt, uber-skinny jeans tucked into the most delicious grey suede boots that zipped up the back. (Sorry they don't show up very well in the pic, but believe me, they were delicious.) Boots that beautiful could change your life. Make you brilliant. Get you all kinds of new, interesting friends. Make you tall, blonde, & beautiful like Julie. Well, maybe not...but she looked great.

Fashion Fearlessness: Black & white argyle tights with a coatdress, tonite worn as the dress by Dora. Can't see the huge patent bag, but it looked fabulous. I told her my blog was about Yakima style & she said, "But I'm not from Yakima!". Big deal, Prosser-- close enough. I'd venture to say Dora is the most stylish citizen in that town. Blogalicious. And she & her husband supplied all the wine for the event, so how cool is that?

This is Addy, PPCW's brand-new Development Director, developing some style of her own with the black pencil skirt, skinny belt, luscious satin blouse with crystal-ball necklace, and boots. Perfect combination, not too overdone. Addy just moved from Phoenix--how often can you wear black leather boots in Phoenix? She looks very chic & put-together for an autumn event like this.

Fresh Hop Ale Fest

Saturday night was the Fresh Hop Ale Fest, Allied Arts' annual fundraiser in the Millenium Plaza. The weather was cool, the bands were hot, the beer was cold and hoppy, the wine was smooth and grapey, and the crowds were dressed for an outdoor party in October. It's always a fun event and the weather can be perfect or perfectly awful. This year we lucked out, it was chilly but pleasant. So how do Yakimanians dress for a night of hops? Here ya go:

It was chilly, but she looked so cozy in this white Polar-tec type jacket. Plus perfect accessories: black beret, white fuzzy gloves, empty beer glass.....Whoa how did that happen?

All right, I just had to put this guy in. I mean, how many Hoppy Hats have you seen? He made everyone wish they had one! Let's drink to that. I believe he already had, several times.

These girls had it all goin' on: love the chunky necklace & comfy white top with the lace yoke, also a great haircut on the blonde. I thought they were girlfriends, which they are, but the brunette is actually the blonde's boyfriend's mom. (Not too confusing) They were having a great time together! The pin-stripe shirt looks very classy & casual under the argyle vest. And she looks way too young to have a kid that old. They laughed when I told them I was looking for style in Yakima. Because they're both from Seattle. Oh well.

This is Renee', who is teensy little thing but always dresses to suit her frame: pea coat that's just the right shape & not overpowering on her, (okay maybe she got it in the kid's department), Burberry bag & cute new shaggy haircut. Toasty! Might as well drink to that too.

How Did This Happen?

Does this ever happen to you? Every few seasons I look in my closet and suddenly everything I own is just plain WRONG. Where have I been, in a cave? I looked through the stores and the magazines and then I looked at my closet and my sweaters are too skinny, my jeans are too mommy, my skirts are too flowy, my shoes are too pointy, my pants are too low. Or too high. Or too tight. Or whatever.
That's how I felt this fall when I saw all the new jacket shapes, the baby-doll sweaters, the empire waist tops, the wide jeans. I needed a crash course in 2007. Suddenly everything looked so new and different and fun and cool and chic and well, almost wierd! When did it happen? I love the new jacket shapes, all the sleeves with the bell or the lantern shape, the new jeans that come up higher, and shoes with nice comfortable round toes no matter what heel height.
Sometimes one needs a total wake-up call to get to the closet and clean it out, so that's what I did. And I was ruthless. I threw out stuff that was perfectly good, maybe even never worn, because I looked at it and knew I'd never wear it. It was painful, but what's a new wardrobe without a little pain? And besides, some of those shoes I threw out had caused me enough, ouch.
So now at least I've got room for some of those hot fall items: patent leather oxford pumps! Pencil skirt! Wide pants! Lots of gray stuff! Okay, I've been resisting these for too long, I finally give up: Baby doll tops! Euueew.. never thought I'd say that. But when it comes to khaki capris, I'm still drawing the line. Not for me. Yet.

If you're cleaning out your closet this fall, remember a great place to take your old stuff is The Discovery Shop on Yakima Avenue, it's the American Cancer Society's re-sale shop. Or you could try the YWCA's Working Women's Wardrobe if you have lots of suits, blazers, or anything for a woman starting a new job for the first time. Or dump them off at the Union Gospel Mission's Lighthouse Shop on Front Street. But give them away. Sometimes it's good to just start over.

The Ladies Who Lunch

There were lots of ladies at Town Hall yesterday wearing nice proper jackets and pants but Kay stood out in this black/white tweed: new flyaway shape, lantern sleeves, round collar, giganto buttons. A new, interesting-shaped jacket like this can completely update last year's wardrobe and looks very in the moment. Plus the sweater with all the buttons on the sleeves looks perfect under it, and we all love the big red bag. (The jacket's from Ladies Haberdasher.) Also--chic new haircut AND we like the hot pink strand in it for breast cancer awareness!