Three Halloween Ideas

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. (My history of costumes is here.) I love dressing up in costumes — and for the last several years, I’ve resisted buying a costume from the store in favor of cobbling together a look from my closet or the thrift store. Normally, I’d prefer to do a Halloween post […]

A Derby Hat for Less Than $30

This past weekend seemed to divide the sports-watching public into two distinct camps — horses vs. boxing. (I got stuck in the latter category and fell asleep in the middle of a fight-watching party, I was so bored.) But over the weekend, my sister, Chelsea, attended to her third Kentucky Derby. When I spotted the festive […]

Can You Really Eliminate Static?

The first time I got a taste of static was in 1999. It was during my first visit to NYC, and true to form, the city greeted me not with open arms, but pulses of electricity. Everything zapped me — the hotel key card, cab doors, clothes hangers. For some, static is merely an annoyance. For wimpy […]

The New Closet is Revealed

Two weeks ago, I shared some photos of our super-crammed, over-crowded closet. The tiny alcove was so squeezed, our hangers regularly broke and our clothes seemed permanently squashed and creased. (The “before” photos are here.) The first wave of renovations are complete, and I’ve learned some important lessons along the way. Here are 5 things I wish I […]

The Easy Peplum: A New Sew Solution

Recently, my friend Rhiannon McClintock approached me with a challenge. Rhiannon, an actress with a bevy of theater credits to her name, had a treasure trove of old vintage costumes she had purchased from theaters around the city. The problem? Vintage costumes look… well, costume-y. She needed to reinvent these theatrical pieces as modern outfits for for […]

The Sack Dress: A No-Sew Solution

Nowadays, over-sized EVERYTHING is the biggest trend out there. (The obvious pun? Intended.) The options range from enormous overcoats to baggy blazers and scarves that could swaddle an elephant. This trend can be tricky. Frankly, I’m wary of the whole thing. There may be many women who are supernaturally blessed with the figures that look fantastic in enormous sacks of fabric. […]

What I Wore: Halloween 2014

This year, Halloween snuck up on me. Typically, most parties fall on a Saturday, giving me an uninterrupted day to plan a look. No such luck in 2014. On Friday, I worked a full day before scrambling to pull something together in less than 45 minutes. Timing was crucial — I was heading to the West […]

My History of Ad-Hoc Halloween Costumes

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year — a sentiment that seems common for millennials. Most of us born in the 80s and afterward still make the annual pilgrimage to the costume pop-up shops and subsequently stay up all night to celebrate the holiday. If this New York Times article is accurate, this kind of […]

Altering A Blazer: The No-Sew Solution

Roughly 60% of my wardrobe is second-hand, hunted in the wilds of consignment and thrift stores. And there are many instances when I find something I love… but it isn’t my size. If something is too small, it’s a done deal — nearly nothing can save it. But if the potential purchase is too big, I start rationalizing, […]

An S.O.S. for Wet Suede Shoes

If you’re a style pragmatist, you make an effort to maintain your clothes’ quality. Your dry cleaning bill is huge. You know how to polish your shoes. You actually USE the dust bags that came with your handbags. These precautions are a MUST to prolong your wardrobe in Manhattan. After all, sweater-eating insects run rampant here. Freak snowstorms stink-ify wool coats. Subway grates shred stilettos. […]