This week I went on Chicago Public Radio’s Eight Forty-Eight to talk about the state of fashion in Chicago–including trends, whether Chicago is really a fashion capital (no, not yet), and more. You can listen to the segment here.

I was also interviewed by AOL’s StyleList about whether it’s OK to wear white after Labor Day, and if so, how? (Hint: don’t wear white linen.) My thoughts are in this article, along with tips from Charla Krupp, author of How to Never Look Fat Again.

Hi there. It’s been a while! As you’ve probably noted from my Twitter feed, most of my blogging energy these days goes toward the fashion blog at the Chicago Reader.

However, I did notice this article over at the Wall Street Journal that I wanted to share with you. It deals with a conundrum that many of my clients face as they get older:

It is likely that I will land a job as a human-resources executive with a company where most of the other executives are fit and energetic men in their 30s and early 40s. I’m a 52-year-old woman, size 16 and 5 foot 2, and I want to exude a youthful aura; I want to avoid a matronly look yet convey “approachable authority.” I tend to wear dark slacks and silk shirts (with a thin sweater over my shoulders) or dark colored pants/jacket; I wear interesting high-end jewelry and medium heels. What do you suggest, and what should I avoid?

There’s some good advice in the answer, particularly about being too “matchy-matchy” and staid. You don’t have to change over your whole look: the answer can be found in updated details and a more contemporary fit.

What’s the deal with pantyhose? Is it still a must in the office–or anywhere else?

As it’s skirt-wearing season, this questions comes up a lot–especially since hose seems to be making a little bit of a comeback, especially patterned stockings. I’m not a big fan of pantyhose, although men seem to like it (and occasionally wear it themselves, apparently). However, what men don’t understand is that women usually dress either to please themselves or to impress other women–not for men.

I really think in this day and age are unnecessary. Unless you are older and/or prefer to have more coverage on your legs, skip ‘em.  As for the office, some workplaces are more formal than others. You may be stuck with them if you work in a conservative field such as finance (in which case I suppose having to wear hose is a small price to pay for still having a job) or the law. Hose should be either sheer (no horrible suntan shades, please), black, or navy, and you should spend a bit more for quality, i.e., don’t buy the stuff in the plastic eggs at the drugstore. I hate the fact that hose are so fragile and expensive. If I worked in an office where they were part of the dress code, I would demand that the company reimburse me. After all, men don’t have to wear items of clothing that cost at least $20 a pair and last two wearings if they’re lucky.

Times are tough. I know a lot of folks don’t have a lot of extra money for clothes, let alone wardrobe advice. However, I still think it’s worth making an investment now to save yourself money in the long run. To that end, I’m offering a new low-cost consultation and a teleseminar to help you with your wardrobe issues right now.

Mini Closet Edit: This is a compact, one-hour version of the Closet Edit. I’ll send you a list of questions to be sent back to me before the session and assign some (easy) homework. Once at your house, we’ll take a tour through your closet and figure out what the most pressing issues are for you and how you can address them. It includes:

• discussion of your tastes, lifestyle, and personal wardrobe challenges
• guidance on what to keep, what to toss, and what to buy
• insight into the best colors and styles for you

We’ll get you moving toward refining your personal style and developing an action plan. Be ready to take notes! Just $150. (The fee is a little higher if you live outside the city or nearby suburbs.) Contact me via email or by calling 773-898-3131 to schedule this service.

New teleseminar: Fashion Survival in a Recessionista World. In this one-hour seminar you’ll learn do-it-yourself techniques for cleaning out your closet and how to shop without breaking your budget.

We’ll  discuss:

• identifying what you need–and what you don’t
• how to get into a “defensive shopping” mindset
• how to avoid buying items that don’t work with your style or existing wardrobe
• when to splurge and when to save
• websites, email lists, and techniques for buying on sale

The only requirements are a phone and a computer or access to a computer and a printer, so you can follow along with a handout during the call. You’ll have access to a recording of the call for 30 days (on the phone or available for download in mp3 format) in case you have to leave early or miss it. I am keeping the group small to ensure that everyone has a chance to ask questions, so you should reserve your space early. Just $60.

When is it?

The teleseminar is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at 8pm Central time.

How do I participate?

Click the “Buy Now” button below, which will take you to a secure PayPal site to pay with a credit card. (Note that you do not always need to have a PayPal account to use this service.) I will email an 800 number for you to call and instructions for participating in the conference call in the days leading up to the teleseminar.

If you cannot use PayPal or prefer to give your credit card information over the phone, you can contact us directly at 773-898-3131.

This article in the New York Times–about how retail staff at some high-end stores have gone from haughty to helpful thanks to the recession–was interesting in itself, but I draw your attention to these two sentences:

A former employee of the Yves Saint Laurent shop on Madison Avenue once confided that it is a common and effective practice to size up a customer by looking at two simple things: his watch and his shoes. If the accessories are not expensive, he is not worth the effort of even a simple hello.

Not that you should care what some snooty clerk thinks, but this highlights the fact that shoes are an important part of an outfit. A lot of people cheap out on shoes, for the simple reason that footwear is expensive. A shoe, when you think about it, is a complicated piece of clothing that has to withstand a lot of abuse. No wonder good ones go for hundreds of dollars.

Even if you aren’t buying Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins, it’s fun to let your shoes take the lead once in a while. This is called “dressing from the shoe up.” That doesn’t mean you have to wear all black. Just start with the shoes and pull clothes that play with their texture, color, and style.

For example, a pair of flat, strappy sandals calls for the sexy, louche Mediterranean look. Think a sexy, beachy, Saint Tropez vibe–a silky halter dress or a simple white cotton tunic and stretchy skirt. Vintagey ankle boots could inspire a 30s look–short, fitted jacket, straight skirt, close-fitting hat. Edgy pumps require an all-out effort–I could see these with one of Phillip Lim’s boundary-pushing designs.

Take a look at your shoes and your clothes and don’t just think about what will “go” together–think about making an impact, telling a story. Stretch your imagination!

I am planning a trip to Paris this spring. I really want to make sure I fit in with the stylish Parisians, but comfort is an important consideration, since we’re going to be running around sightseeing. I also can’t bring a ton of clothes. Any suggestions?

Ahh, Paris! Je suis tres jalouse. I think the main thing to remember when you’re packing for a vacation, especially a destination with as much of a reputation for stylish inhabitants as Paris has, is not to try to compete with them. Unless you are Anna Wintour, you will lose. After all, they have hundreds of years of history as the center the fashion industry behind them, not to mention their entire closets at hand. Rather, you want to blend in. Please note that in Paris and other stylish capitals of the world, blending in does not mean “looking boring.” It means adding those tweaks and details that make everyday dressing so much fun.

Anyway, one of the biggest traps women get caught in when they go to Paris is wearing things they would never wear at home. You want to look like yourself, after all, not like you’re wearing a costume that’s your version of what you think French people wear. And vacation is no time to find out that the skirt you bought for the trip tends to ride up while you’re walking or that the wide-brimmed hat makes your hair sweaty and stick to your scalp. You want to be psychically and physically comfortable.

Here are some essentials that will help you blend with the natives:

1. A smart trench coat (read: not something a Wall Street banker would wear—or used to wear, when they had money). Also necessary because it can be rainy and cool in spring. Neutral colors are OK, something colorful could also be cute. You can wear it over nice dark-wash jeans, cute flats, and a scarf, et voila! Speaking of the scarf…

2. A pretty scarf or two. Maybe a long pashmina-type thing, which you also can wear over your shoulders with a sleeveless dress. An Hermes scarf can be fun to wear, either hanging loose under a trench or wound around the neck and knotted over a sweater. Don’t get too wrapped up (sorry) in how to tie them if you haven’t mastered a technique. You can always use your lack of knowledge as an excuse to ask a stylish French person for help and maybe make a new friend.

3. Good shoes. Unless you’re some sort of fashion superhero, you will probably prefer to walk around in flats. You’ll need something chic, such as a contemporary penny-loafer style or a ballet-type flat—NOT beat-up sneakers or any sort of athletic shoe. Trust me, you will be marked as a tourist immediately if you wear Keds.

4. Dark-wash, basic “dressy” jeans. Your faded 501s will not work for you here, unless you are a 22-year-old man with a two-day scruff, full lips, and a way with rolling cigarettes. It is no longer true that no one wears jeans in Paris. You will be hard-pressed to find people over 55 wearing jeans, however, and jeans worn at a nice restaurant are still a no-no. Even if French people do occasionally do this, we are under the “Ugly American” burden and so must have higher standards for ourselves.

5. A fashionable handbag, preferably leather. No cute quilted or appliqueed totes, nobackpacks, no fanny packs. This should go without saying.

If you are looking for ideas or even just the flavor of what people are wearing, take a look at the street-style blog the Sartorialist and look at the photos taken in Paris. They’ll help familiarize you with shapes and silhouettes.  One note: the photographer tends to shoot a lot of fashion people who are all decked out in short skirts and heels, but remember they most likely have a car service.

Bon voyage!

My friend Tate Gunnerson of the design blog Strange Closets came over to take some pictures of my condo, and while he was here we also took some shots of me in different outfits. I thought it was a good opportunity to show, rather than tell, how I put things together to make an outfit.

Look #1: Vintage Chanel

Classic Chanel is characterized by lots of black and white worn with loads of costume jewelry (Coco herself was partial to pearls). This is one of my favorite looks, which I do over and over again with different separates. In this case it’s a black silk tank top accessorized with a couple necklaces and a vintage cocktail hat. I could throw on a white jacket or a cream-colored knit cardigan for that snappy white-over-black look. I’d dress it up with a black skirt, or down with trouser jeans.

Here’s the inspiration:

Look #2: Mad Men

Moving ahead a few decades, here’s a look inspired by the form-fitting look of the early 60s, popularized by the TV series Mad Men. This is a black-and-white top worn beneath a magenta cardigan, accessorized with a taupe-colored patent leather belt from J. Crew. It’s paired with a pencil skirt, of course! I added a couple of vintage gold bracelets inherited from my mom, worn over the sleeve of the cardigan. It’s kind of a severe look if worn too sincerely–best to keep it fun with bright color or cool accessories. Black-and-white prints paired with bright colors is one of my favorite combinations.

The inspiration:

Look #3: Blousy top, tailored pants.

This outfit wasn’t inspired by anything, other a need for a new look with the same old clothes. The top is actually a baby-doll dress (by local designer Lindsey Boland of Superficial that I bought at her store, Habit) that I just tucked in. The tweed pants are from Banana Republic. I added a long gold necklace over the top. I could also wear a fitted jacket over the blouse, but I wouldn’t wear anything too swingy. I like the mix of colors and textures here–the silk with the tweed, the dark burgundy with the neutral brown-and-white tweed pattern–as well as the mix of proportion and tailoring. With more wide-legged pants I always prefer flats. These are an ancient pair of Chie Mihara flats in a muted lavender suede that have held up amazingly well, considering how much of a pounding they’ve taken over the years. It’s true what they say about expensive shoes.

Look #4: Dressy-casual and slightly edgy

Here I paired my new white jacket from Target with the black tank top from Look #1 underneath and skinny dark-wash jeans tucked into tall brown boots. Again, the jacket would be great for work or some other more conservative environment with a skirt or a dressy pant, but the skinny jeans make it a little more nightlife-ready. I could have also worn a printed blue-and-white top under the jacket for more color. I like to wear a bunch of charm necklaces at once with this, but one of them keeps breaking, so here I’m just wearing one I got at Forever 21.

All photographs by Tate Gunnerson.

The must-have cell-phone accessory for any self-respecting fashionista is not a faceplate encrusted with Swarovski crystals but a ringtone that intones Vogue editrix Anna Wintour’s style dictums:

ringtone_wintourm (from Cityfile)

Now if someone could explain how to actually get it onto my Nokia phone, I’d be ever so grateful.

On the other hand, I might prefer one of the great quotes from this extremely envy-inducing story about Carine Roitfeld, the innately uber-chic editor of Paris Vogue. Maybe this one: “I do not like comfortable.” Or one of design icon Diana Vreeland’s legendary mots: “Pink is the navy blue of India.”

The perfect holiday clutch is at Club Monaco.

Please excuse my amateur photo skills.

The beaded “Jen” foldover clutch comes in silver, gold, gunmetal (kind of a pewter shade, shown above), black, and burgundy. The shape is basic and elegant and goes with almost anything–from dressy casual to a cocktail dress. With two compartments (a main one and a smaller one along the side, with little pockets for a cell phone or a card case), It’s big enough to fit all the essentials and then some–a godsend to those of us who find it impossible to leave the house with just cash and a lipstick. Totally versatile, you can wear it with jeans or a cocktail dress. Best of all, it originally retailed for just $79 and is now *on sale*. Unfortunately Club Monaco does not offer online shopping, but if you’re looking for a clutch that can carry you through the season, it’s definitely worth it to stop in to a store and take a look.

Remember Carrie Bradshaw’s big flower pins in Sex and the City? Everyone was wearing them pinned to tops, jackets, and coats. I still like the look–particularly if they’re oversized or in clusters–but here are a few other ideas for your flower pins.

You can thread one through a skinny belt to make a cool on pants and jeans, or over cardigans and jackets. For more impact you could do several bunched together, perhaps of different sizes, shades, or textures.

For a quick hair ornament, thread the pin onto a narrow headband so it’s a little off-center. If you have some stray ribbons around, you could do the same thing, then put your hair up and wind the ribbon around your head a couple times for a very romantic look. If you’ve got a long neck, use the ribbon and flower as a choker. Get creative!