Game time: help me choose the right colors

I said I was going to get personal and I meant it! ;)

Here are for your viewing pleasure (!) about 20 pictures of me, wearing all different colors T-shirts (photoshopped of course).

I won't give you my opinion yet, but I would love to hear yours: Which colors do you think fit me best?

You can pick as many as you wish.

I really want to simplify my life and especially my shopping, and knowing which colors work best for me it's going to save me time. If I know to focus on just four colors, it will be so much easier to skip the other ones, and I will avoid buying something unflattering and that I will eventually stop wearing and give away. I will save money and look better. Win/win.

At one point, I thought that having a closet with only few colors in it was restrictive and boring, but I've finally realized that there isn't a faster way to a wardrobe malfunction than wearing unflattering colors.

So, what are you waiting for?  Let's pick these colors!

Orange or Mauve?

Fluo Mint or Red?

Bright Orange or Pink?

Lavender or Baby Blue?

Navy or Brown?

Black or Powder Pink?

White or Green?

Fluo Green or Acid Green?

Purple or Plum?

Bluish or Salmon?

Teal or Light blue/green?

Forest Green or Mustard?

Grey or Bright Pink?

Dark Grey or Green/Grey?

To start the journey, you need new shoes...

I've fallen in love with these Juicy Couture "Gillian" shoes, but unfortunately they seem sold out in my size 7. :(

I have now been looking for something similar, and this is the closest I've found by Steven Madden:

Harryy Ankle Strap

But I'm not convinced yet. I think the Juicy ones are so perfect! If anybody finds them, please buy me a pair! ;)
.

dear ny spender reader...

I've been meaning to write this letter for a while now, but I wanted to make sure I had my ideas clear about what I wanted to say.

I've been blogging here since 2006, and a lot of changes have occurred in my life since then, the biggest one, of course, the birth of my daughter.

The birth of a child, especially of the first child, changes you so much, you almost turn into a new person (a mother). And with the role of mother come so many new responsibilities and transformations.

I've always written this blog with pleasure and interest for the next fashion item and beauty secret out there. Today, I feel different.

I won't go as far as saying that I think the fashion world is too shallow, but to keep writing about fashion from an admirer's point of view is not what I want anymore. Things have changed, my life has changed, I'm changed and this blog needs to change as well.

What are the changes, you might ask?

For starters, NY Spender is going to get more personal, more about me and my journey as a new mom with nothing to wear (yes, you read that right!)

Since having the baby, I've lost a lot of interest in getting myself all dressed up, or even half-way dressed up (my clothes are just a big napkin for Kaitlin), and after almost a year, I feel it's time for me to snap out of it and turn my sense of style back on. One of the problems I'm having is that my body is shaped differently now, and I need to fix my waist line (among other things) before it's too late.

This summer I am not going to be caught dead in a bikini, but the goal is to be able to wear one by next summer. Stay tuned for the beginning of a new exercise routine and healthier lifestyle.

I've also completely forgot which colors look good on me, so I need to experiment with the color wheel for a while, and find clothes that fit better, and that reflect the fact that I am now a mom, but without making me look any "older or outdated". Sharing my results here will help me get motivated and hopefully help someone else as well.

There will also be a "frugal shopping" section, since I now spend most of my money on baby clothes, there isn't much left for costly "shallow" shopping. ;)

Finally, I need more humor, so the fashion disasters will stay, but something else is also needed, and I would love it to involve my readers more, too. Maybe y'all can start snapping pictures too!

So this is it for now, let's see how it turns out. Thanks for understanding.

.

sunscreen warnings

It was only a matter of time before they started claiming that sunscreen can be toxic and actually accelerate skin cancer... and having just returned from a beach vacation where we all slathered ourselves, especially baby Kaitlin, with sunscreen, I have to say that I am not happy!

Just like I shared with you this cosmetic database back in 2007, today I ask you to check if your sunscreen is one of the more toxic ones (I would hope for you that it isn't, but don't get your hopes up, since it looks like that the more popular a sunscreen is, the more toxic. And most of the safer options are products I've never even heard of before.)

This is the website: EWG's Sunscreen Guide

madewell is finally online!

There are some clothing names out there that still don't have an online presence, meaning you can only buy their stuff if you walk in one of their stores. Benetton is one of my favorite stores, and I can't wait for them to open up shop on the internet, but so far no idea when they will do that.

Another store that didn't give me the chance to buy from the comfort of my couch was Madewell, but luckily things have changed and Madewell is finally online!

I first found out about Madewell a year ago, or maybe two and I own a couple of their t-shirts which I love! Great quality! So obviously when I went to their online store the first things I looked up were t-shirts and boy do I know what I want already!

This oh-so-comfy looking artisan tee: it comes in a bunch of different colors and it only costs $29.50!

Thank you Madewell, and welcome to the internet! :)

.

fashion success: every little detail counts

This lady was sitting in front of me yesterday morning, and I couldn't help but notice how nice she looked. Every little detail was taken care of.

A crisp summery suit, with short sleeves and shorts (and I give her double credit for being able to pull it off so effortlessly).

Matching light colored bag and shoes. Light colored blouse. Light colored rocks on necklace and earrings. Just perfect.

You can't see it in the picture, but she also had her blond hair in a soft half-braid, and very light makeup.

It would have been easy to mess up the whole harmony with just one wrong detail, like wearing black shoes for example, but this lady knows her fashion, and got nothing wrong. She even had a nice light pink nail polish on her toes, and a darker shade on her hands (which was the splash of color that added just the right amount of contrast).

This goes to show that to achieve a perfectly balanced look you need to take care of all the details and can't leave anything to chance.