Beauty & fashion » Hip to be Mom

My girls are not the only ones who heart Vans shoes. I do too. My kids only wear covered shoes when we go out, rarely flip-flops or open-toed shoes. They either wear sneakers with socks or slip-ons like these which are really great because they’re so easy to put on and take off.

We bought a few pairs of Vans when we were vacationing in CA last winter. Their designs are decidedly funky and comfy for hot weather wear. It’s a shame we didn’t see these colorful fruity slip-ons then, or we would’ve bought them all . These brilliant colors and designs are almost good enough to eat.

Watermelon Slip-On for Girls

Banana Split Slip-On for Girls

Tory for Girls

If you want to get your girls some of these cute shoes for the summer, you can enjoy free ground shipping on orders of $85 or more at Vans simply by entering the code – BTS85 – at checkout. Offer ends pretty soon, August 1, 2011.

The gift

Posted by Clairity 5 Responses »

Jul 222011

I received a gift from possibly the last person on earth I’d expect a gift from. This was a couple of months ago but I totally forgot to blog about it. How could I ?!!

Considering that this is a genuine Louis Vuitton wallet (yes, I checked) from Paris, France (no less), I must seem awfully unappreciative not to have gotten all excited and blogged about it the minute I was done swooning, dancing around the room and singing praises to the creative genius of dear old Louis.

Truth is I am… appreciative, I mean… very!!

I guess I was more bowled over by the fact that I have at least this one relative who actually took time off to unwrap herself from the bragging, showing off and one-upmanship to buy me a gift! I mean, this fact alone is worth a thousand blog posts!

And not just any old gift at that!

Don’t get me wrong. One can never have too many wallets or too much cash to fill them with. But let me be brutally honest here. This is such an ugly wallet! No offense to LV lovers, of course. It’s brown, it’s boring and it’s got someone else’s initials stamped all over it. ‘Nuff said.

Okay, here’s the other thing. I’m not sure what prompted this sudden gift. It’s neither my birthday nor am I in the habit of distributing gifts to all and sundry in the hopes of getting something back.

So I’m guessing it could be because this brand-conscious relative of mine took one look at me and thought to herself – what an utterly deprived woman, how can she live without an LV?!

I know. It must be shocking to someone like her seeing as how we are are so often judged by the cars we drive, the brand names we carry and the size of gifts we give! I can’t blame her though. She doesn’t know me for the rebel who won’t subscribe to Beemer-worshipping or praying to the Money God or judging people by the size of their bank account.

As for my shopping philosophy, if it’s an item everyone else has, chances are I will avoid it like the plague. If I happen to like the design, fine. If it’s solely for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses, forget it! So I’m different. I’m me. Why would I want to be like everyone else?

Anyhoo, to my most thoughtful relative – Thank you, it’s very sweet of you. My LV now is safely locked away in my closet till it goes out of style and time turns it into a priceless vintage .

The weather being this hot and humid, my first big thought every morning when I wake up is what to wear that isn’t going to make me sizzle. Some funky loose-fitting tops here that would be suitable for the busy mom trying to beat the heat.

Petites Fringe Embellished Tee

Crop tops are rarely as cute as this embelllished fringe top. The scalloped hem and fringe give it an element of fun. It’s not too casual, yet casual enough. Perfect for a hot day.

White Beaded Dippy Hem Crop

When I saw this, my first thought was wow, how the beaded hem brightens up an otherwise plain white top. I love how such a simple trim can be so effective. Great for zipping in and out of the house.

Green Tropical Vest

This tropical print could, on its own, cool down the temperatures outside like nothing else could. The pretty print, ruffled hem and lack of sleeves speak for themselves. Love, love, love this top!

Rust Tape Fringed Tunic

You might’ve noticed by now that I love fringes. The fringes on this loose-fitting tunic will distract the eye away from any area you deem less than perfect. This is great if you need something casual yet presentable for a day out with family or girl friends.

Here’s a heads-up. The Miss Selfridge US Sale is on now thru July 11, 2011. Yes, Miss Selfridge is shipping to the US. They have a lot of really nice, functional clothes, bags and shoes, and right now, you can save up to 50% off.

The wedding reception I attended this weekend was quite different. It was held at a downtown Italian restaurant booked entirely for the occasion.

The restaurant led outdoors to a small area overlooking a lush green golf course. Nice and thankfully there was a tent over our heads, or those 90 degrees would’ve been completely unbearable.

I got there early (as usual) and then spent the next hour sipping my red wine and helping myself to the continuous stream of trays filled with hor d’oeuvres passing right in front of me while waiting for the tardy folks to arrive.
The thing I love most about weddings is, of course, the chance to get all dressed up. Even more so now that my daughters are old enough to be clucking all over me like little mother hens, making sure my little black dress and fashion accessories are laid out.

Downstairs, my girls had my heels waiting. Would you believe it, I took a few steps out the front door and one of the heels snapped on me?! Perfect timing !

But hey, if you have daughters like mine, you won’t have a thing to worry about. Raine quickly brought out her lacey heels and went, here wear this, Mom! Those heels are brand new! She is just the sweetest.

Pretty, huh? They were a tad too big for me but I survived the evening without falling over.

And of course, my daughters didn’t stop there. I didn’t know more than a few people at the wedding reception but my girls kept me entertained all night with their witty text messages. I think people must’ve been wondering why I was smiling at myself so much .

As soon as I turn the corner to Raine’s college, the scenery changes from this

… to this, a sea of college girls with deuter backpacks and short shorts, some even shorter and tighter than these!

That’s the modern-day college kid for you. They don’t wear very much. Spaghetti and tank tops that can’t seem to keep stuff from spilling out. Skirts so short and tight you can’t even sit down. Times are bad, we need to save on fabric?!

Once my Dad came to pick me up from the college where I was teaching, and he almost flipped at what he saw. Poor Dad! He was going, is this what kids wear to school these days? Shaking his head, he went on, in my day, this is how hookers dress, are these girls here to get an education or what?

Indeed as a mom and teacher, my stand is this – anything that short and tight has no place in the classroom. Colleges may turn a blind eye but what about the parents? Shouldn’t they have a say in what their teens wear to school?

I would assume that most of us go through a thought process when deciding what’s appropriate and what’s not. Most of it is common sense really. Seems like that’s not apparent to everyone though. Worse yet, it seems kids are starting young too these days, according to this article which I totally agree with, by the way.

What do you think?

There was a time when black dominated my wardrobe. Rightly or wrongly, I was led to believe black was the magic color to appear smarter and be taken more seriously at work. More importantly though, black was the perfect camouflage for that spare tire wrapped around my middle holding 3 kids worth of mommy fat.

Don’t get me wrong. Black is beautiful. I love it. But only for evening wear. For day wear, black has long ceased to be a practical color for me in my job as taxi driver to my kids.

Let me tell you, dashing in and out of the house (and sun) every other hour of the day like I do, black is a killer at absorbing heat and firing up those sweat glands. There goes my secret to staying slim without exercise . Nah, I’m only kidding.

Truth is even if I weren’t living in this perpetual sauna, black still wouldn’t be the primary color of my wardrobe. I love color too much. I mean, what’s life without color? Not much fun, right?

I love my fuchsias, turquoises, teals, pinks, purples, greens, yellows, oranges, whites and greys. Anything bright and definitive. The darker shades, the wimpy pastels, not much at all. And browns, nah, I don’t do browns. at. all.

Your turn…