Modern Wife Life: October 2010

October Favorites: Fashions, Food, and Music

Halloween Costume Ideas: Groups, Singles, and Couples

8 Tips for Wearing Patterned Tights: "Cute" vs "Hooker"

I'm a girl who loves to show a lil' leg. The best way to continue this trend through the bone-chilling seasons is with tights. Plain tights can be boring, and show runs WAY too easily, so I would recommend patterned tights. Now, when it comes to patterned tights, there is a fine line between "cute" and "hooker." Far too often, I see this line crossed in the wrong context (i.e. in church or the classroom). Let me explain.

1. If your dress is too short to wear without tights, it's still too short to wear with tights.
2. If your "dress" is really a tunic "shirt"... then you bedda check yo self before you wreck yo self. Who let you out of the house like that, missy? Tights are NOT pants.
3. If your tights with holes in them do not cover at least 50% of your skin, they are more "street-corner-appropriate" than "church-pew-appropriate."
4. If you are able to fit your hands through the holes of "fish-net" tights, then they are GARBAGE. Throw them away.
5. Think about this: The more compact the pattern in the tights, the more discrete they look and the more options you are able to pair them with.
6. Black tights and brown boots look better together than brown tights and black boots. Make sense?
7. Want slimmer legs? The more transparent and the busier the pattern on your tights, the thicker your legs will look. The most slimming look comes with plain, opaque, black tights or tights with a subtle vertical line on them.
8. Remember: The more leg you show, the less pattern on the tights. If you're wearing taller boots or a longer skirt, highly "pixilated" patterns are perfect. However, if you're wearing a short skirt and ballet flats, a simpler, more subtle pattern will be easier on the eyes.

Dyl's Insider Secrets:

BEST VARIETY:  T.J. Maxx, Target, JCPenny, and Macy's
BEST BRANDS:  Designer brands have the best quality and the most unique patterns. T.J. Maxx has an amazing selection of Betsey Johnson tights. Check them out!
SIZING TIP: Look on the back of the package to find your size.  If you buy an A when you are really an A/B, the crotch of the tights will come to mid-thigh. Imagine how that would feel.
PICKING "THE" PAIR:  Take a pair from the back of the rack. They are less likely to have wear from customers handling them.

Enjoy the cuteness of fall fashion!

XOXO,

Dylan

7 comments

, by Dylan Jahraus

Lifestyle

10 Tips to Get Through a Tough Week

Some of you have asked about when a new post would be up. Truthfully, I have been dealing with some really difficult things in my life, as well as a really demanding course load at the Business School. From about 7 am to 2 am I'm doing school-related work. Here are my fashionable, beautiful, and inspiring tips to get through a difficult week.

1. Forget stuffing yourself into skinny jeans. If it's going to be a long week, there is no way in hell I would subject myself to sitting at a desk all day in my tightest, cardboard-like skinny jeans. No, thank you. I'll stick with my roomy, jersey cotton dress and leggings.

2. Buy yourself some flowers. If you don't have a man to buy them for you (I love you, Jesse), pick up a bouquet next time you're at the grocery store. While you're scanning the flower section, pick up the bouquet that "speaks to you." Make them last by changing the water every 3 days and snipping the stems 1 inch after 1 week. Remember, you're worth it.

3. Shower before bed. It will calm your anxious mind and help you fall asleep faster. I know the feeling of laying in bed, running through your mental to-do list, then looking at your phone to check the time and realizing you have to wake up in 4 hours. It's an "fml" moment.

4. As soon as you get home from school/work, change into something cozy. I'm loving the "Sweet Romeo" sweat pants from T.J. Maxx (they're super long for us long-legged girls). They're only $3 a pair and they make your butt look amazing, or so I'm told.

5. A Daily "POA" (Plan of Action) is a MUST. I write mine in this random little notebook I found at my mom's house last summer. It was ugly on the outside, so I made a collage all over it with decoupage and my favorite fashions and sayings. Add a layer of decoupage on the outside for a waterproof, glossy finish. It will make cracking open your "To-Do" list feel like cracking open your favorite fashion magazine. Totally motivating and inspiring, right?

6. Take little breaks to research something FUN online. For me that would be London, potential internships, and online magazines. One favorite website to procrastinate online is www.hercampus.com.

7. Do 1 memorable thing each day. It's so easy to fall into the black hole of school work and then, one day, realize, "What have I been doing the last 3 months? What just happened?" Make it a point to try new things. For me, I'm going to check out the live Irish music at the Starbucks in my local Barnes and Noble on Monday nights. Maybe i'll get my jig on.

8. Wash your hair every other day. Many of us don't realize the time it takes for us to wash, blow dry, and style our hair. Not only will washing every other day save you time, but it will cut down the amount of heat you're using on your hair, preventing those luscious locks from getting all dry and brittle.

9. When you just want to be held, remember this: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will hold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10.

10. No time for movies? Watch your favorite scenes on Youtube.

Hang in there :]

XOXO,
Dyl

7 comments

, by Dylan Jahraus

Fall Fashion Advice from a College Guy

1 comments

, by Dylan Jahraus

7 comments

, by Dylan Jahraus

Celebrity Hair Drama Before & After: Emma Watson, Kim Kardashian, and more!

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, by Dylan Jahraus

8 Tips for Wearing Scarves: Cute vs. Awkward

Scarves are a Godsend! They transition your favorite low-cut tops into the winter season and prevent that "vacuum-effect", where the wind seemingly gets sucked through the top of your jacket and down your back, leaving you with cold chills. As a Minnesota girl, who has tromped through 2 feet of snow in her terry bathrobe and snowboots to get the mail, believe me when I say I know those chills too well. A major problem with wearing scarves, however, is that while we understand their function, we do not understand their fashion. This results in a look that catches people's eye... in a bad way. Many of us cannot identify what it is that seems out of place, and that is why I am here. Let me explain.

1. If you are not a Catholic priest, you should not try to emulate his Clerical clothing.

I'm referring to those unneccessarily long scarves that go around your neck and hang down to your knees. There is absolutely NO need for this look, and when you walk, the length of the scarf ends up flapping behind you in the wind. It's awkward, unnecessary, and they just get in the way.

2. Match the weight of the scarf with the weight of your clothing.

If you are wearing a very heavy, cable-knit sweater, it is okay to wear a thick, chunky scarf. However, if you are wearing a thin, fitted t-shirt, pairing it with a thick, chunky scarf will look out of place and totaly mismatched.

3. Unless you are a pre-teen, try to stay away from flower power and glitter threaded through your scarf.

Floral patterns are SO in, don't get me wrong. But there is a difference between a floral pattern on a child's scarf and the floral pattern on a woman's scarf. Floral prints that appear to be drawn by your 5 year old cousin say, "I am never going to grow up." Shabby chic or refined floral prints that you would find in the womens' department say, "I have good taste, and I'm a little fun... wink." A scarf has the power to overwrite the message of an outfit. What message are you sending?

4. There is no need to choke yourself.

Why do women tie scarves super tightly around their neck and then let the excess on the ends just fly free? I don't get it. There is no functional point of wearing a scarf so tightly that it only covers 2 cm on your neck because of how taute it is pulled. And there certainly is no fashionable point to this. When people see this they often are thinking, "That looks really uncomfortable."

5. If you are not a cowgirl, you need not wear a scarf neck-tie.

There was a shortlived trend, and I emphasize "shortlived", in the early 2000's of long, skinny scarves. They look like long, thick shoelaces hanging from your neck. I'm not sure who came up with these, but they're neither functional, nor fashionable, so please, use them to tie something up, or toss them.

6. Scarves should not look like the something the cat dragged in.

This season, "ratty" scarves are everywhere. These often have fringe, unfinished edges, pills in the fabric, and chunks of string dangling randomly. Why would you pay upwards of $10 for something that looks like you stole it off a homeless person? You might as well tear up some old gym socks, tie them together, and wear it around your neck. If you are going for that "grunge" or "alternative" look, there are much more effective ways to do so. Go for an interesting pattern or texture.

7. Spend on "Classic" styles, and save on "Trendy" styles.

If you're going to buy a nice, wool scarf, go ahead and invest your money. However, if you're going to spend money on a trendy scarf, such as one in traffic-stopping, neon pink or in the new crinkled-up style, then don't invest too much, because chances are that next year, it's going to be a "don't."

8. If it looks like a dead animal, bury it.

I'm referring to those stringy hot messes that were popular in the late 1990's. You probably got one for Christmas from your grandma. You might have a pair of socks in the same material. And you probably have only worn it once. While it might provide the level of insulation equivalent to wearing a heating pad around your neck, these things are just SO ugly! I know G mama might have given it to you, but that's when you can tell yourself, "It's the thought that counted."

XOXO, Dylan