the black jacket, times two

DSC01436Okay, letting you know I honestly stress about this blogging stuff, especially the grammar and spelling, so had to put up a new post quick since the last one that went out to subscribers had both a spelling and grammar error and once that publish button is hit, even after editing, there’s no taking it back. So sorry subscribers, that kind of thing keeps me awake at night.

Here goes: when something in your wardrobe works for you, why not consider two? For last trip to Europe brought two black jackets, wore one or the other most of the time and the other was packed, ready to go. Sometimes you just want to change it up. Men do it, how many jackets do they pack?

DSC01469

For road trip and travel wore the standard blue jeans and black sleeveless shirt and boots, dressed it up with a black jacket. Once checked in changed into the second black jacket, wanted something fresh and since we were keeping the packing light couldn’t really change the entire outfit. When doing the daily every day dress runaround a sweater would probably be seen here but the jacket kind of gives the blue jeans a bit more credibility.

Black jacket times two means you always have a back-up. Back-ups are good.

DSC01444DSC01450DSC01449DSC01452DSC01461DSC01490DSC01479

Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Elciego, Spain? Beyond….

 

in a clutch

DSC02797

Like most women, days have been way too busy. Have been wanting to post since last week and each day seems to be kind of like in a clutch. So, tying in the fashion piece, the clutch bag is all over the place. Here’s what I’m carrying: Worth New York’s Black Tyler Clutch from Fall 2013, with all the best colors, black, white, blue, red and brown. Has a separate compartment inside to hold an iPad and finishes any outfit fast.

To get out the door put on a simple winter white dress and new flat Dior quilted black boots. Purchased the boots in France a month and a half ago, fell in love with a pair of Dior heels and they are totally on the wish list.

DSC02800DSC02812

When in a clutch dress bag boots makes it easy. White and black make it quick.

Dress and Bag | Worth New York

Boots | Christian Dior

Every day dress, even in a clutch.

fall in fashion – three items

Three items that would increase the real estate of any woman’s closet and make it a happier place: Marcus Lupfer T-shirt, Hermès scarf, Chanel necklace.

Marcus Lupfer T-shirt would be so much fun to wear and would probably do just as net-a-porter says paired with jeans and heels, when worn out of the house, jeans and low-heeled boots when doing the runaround. Jeans for the heeled look would have to be a dark wash at this age, only if I could get my hands on it. Thirteen year old daughter took the blue spray photos and she loves this thing.

DSC05149DSC05151

386992_ou_sl

Orange box, brown ribbon, red silk scarf? Sounds like Fall to me.

DSC05137DSC05166

 

Thinking if I won this would totally do the head-wrap, keeping it modern.001920S22

And, since you can’t get anything Chanel online, only makeup, fragrance, and skin care, this piece is sure to draw lots of action. Women love most anything Chanel and Chanel goes with most anything. Wear this anytime, anywhere, and forever.

DSC05154DSC05159DSC05138

These are just three of the about fifty fashion items that will be raffled off next week Friday at the 10th annual Fall in Fashion luncheon to raise funds for the WNY Women’s Foundation.

The mission of the Foundation is to remove roadblocks and provide opportunities to enable women and girls to become self-sufficient. Those doing this work believe that when women and girls are secure, entire communities are stronger. How can you not get behind that?

Near Buffalo NY next week Friday November 1? To get your ticket or for more information contact Lindsay at lindsay@wnywfdn.org.

If you love fashion and love to feel good about loving fashion, Fall in Fashion is an event not to be missed. With the idea of supporting women and girls at the heart of the luncheon and auction items like these, it will be a sell-out.

can’t get enough

 

louis-vuitton-michelle-williams-02michelle-williams-louis-vuitton-2

Can’t get enough of the latest Louis Vuitton ad campaign featuring beautiful Michelle Williams. Every image is drop dead gorgeous and makes me wish I was blonde and fifteen years younger. Would totally get that hair cut, right? Or in a perfect world simply buy the bag, or have those eyebrows, or the red mouth…

it’s getting close

DSC01498

It’s getting close to that time of year when time is not your own. When things get crazy busy, actually when are they not, and you need to be dressed. What are you wearing?

Here’s a look I have at the ready: black high-waisted wide-legged trousers with one shoulder fitted silk sweater. Single white shirt cuff is detachable. This look will take most women anywhere. Kind of like an updated tuxedo.

If you too feel like it’s getting close, that panic time of year, and you are wondering what you’ll be wearing, come see me, I’ll help get you dressed.

Winter 2013 Trunk Show

Saturday October 19th through the morning of Thursday October 24th

rebecca@everydaydress.com

716-445-3033

feed the blog

IMG_5034

When you love clothes and food, what comes first? Both necessities, right?

Here’s what we’ve been up to at every day dress: cooking, baking, feeding:

For bacon egg cheese cups pre-cooked 6 lbs of bacon before coiling them into a lightly sprayed muffin pan. Filled the muffin cups with scrambled eggs, 8 dozen total, and grated cheddar cheese, 3 bricks, three-quarters of the way full. Baked them off in batches in a 350 degree oven and placed them all on two sheet pans to deliver to daughter’s freshman homecoming class breakfast. We love donuts and bagels but protein in the morning is a very good thing.

baconwith cheesein ovenon sheets

For small ski town Fall Fest weekend with endless kids and house-guests, we had a ball, started things off last Thursday night by pre-browning 20 lbs of beef short-ribs. Used every pan in site. 🙂 Added to that mixture red onion, garlic, etc. but the kicker was the 96 ounces or 4 large bottles of stout. I never really buy beer and decided to go local and seasonal, therefore the pumking and warlock, couldn’t decide between the two so simply bought both and mixed. Cooked that all up and Friday did 8 lbs of parsnips with cream and butter for the puree. Ran out of heavy cream to get the consistency I wanted and did not want to go back to the grocery so smartly reserved some of the cooking water to thin the mixture out with good flavor.

IMG_5022IMG_5023IMG_5024IMG_5026IMG_5027IMG_5028IMG_5030IMG_5029IMG_5032

We had a good mix-up of kids and adults so added the party standard double batch of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Mac & Cheese. My tip here: when needing a double batch to accommodate a large group, prepare each batch separately and place one into your large oven proof serving piece and then after preparing the second batch dump that directly on top. Finish it all off with sliced tomatoes, and this you can double for sure in one swoop, the pan-fried buttered bread crumbs.

Knowing that one of our  guests does not eat beef and is a total health nut did a dozen organic South Beach Rosemary Balsamic Chicken Breasts. Simple green salad with mustard vinaigrette, bruschetta, and sliced fresh baguettes rounded things out.

IMG_5040IMG_5041

Put two daughters and one friend to work on peeling coring and slicing 10 lbs of apples for the oatmeal apple crisp. No photos of that, everyone was way too occupied. 4 cups old-fashioned oats, 4 cups brown sugar, 4 sticks butter, sugar and cinnamon, and with all those apples baked off and served warm with vanilla ice cream there was love in the room.

Friday night was the ribs, Saturday night turned into adult kids grilling burgers with sweet potatoes, salad, and home-made peanut butter cookies kid you not. For some pretty great tasting burgers put the ground beef, ground lamb, and ground pork that were really for meatballs into a big bowl and added some salt pepper and stuff. Put that mixture into a rectangular pan and cut it in rows and then shaped 16 equal burgers. Also roasted two organic chickens for picking and casual Caesar Salad for and then there were four for Monday night dinner home city-side. Oh, Sunday morning, more eggs, more bacon, and this time added pancakes. Sunday night dinner out in local ski town. Exhaustion, hands have burns, no manicure. Slightly manic, totally worth it all.

IMG_5042IMG_5044with candles

panorama

chicken caesar

Yesterday, and today, back to fashion. Tomorrow, Thursday, off to Rochester NY for Fashion Week of Rochester, super excited, and Friday October 18th Fall Winter Trunk Show begins. Let’s go.

xoxo

The blog is fed. 🙂 Every day dress…

Beef Short Ribs and Parsnip Puree | adapted from The Lucky Penny Blog adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Mac & Cheese | adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Balsamic Chicken | adapted from The South Beach Diet

erin, we found your coat

WNYFA13_03

wny_007

Met a client at the tailor yesterday to deliver her new leopard coat. Had her try it on, small button adjustment needed, and couldn’t stop thinking about blogger Erin Gates of Elements of Style.

Been super slow to the game of commenting, linking back, and all that kind of thing on other blogs. Totally self-taught here, tutor, mentor, helper, please apply.

Erin posts every single day, Monday through Friday, all interesting, love her style and discipline. Her main thing is interiors, Friday she writes about fashion. Since reading her last one on the leopard trend, been thinking of jumping in and it’s taken four days to do so. Check out her post Fashion Friday: Fall Staple-Leopard Coat here by clicking on all these words. You’ll get to see Kate wearing leopard like no one else can. Erin has a great way of styling, interiors and fashion, and an easy, engaging style of writing that makes you want to stay for a while.

Erin, we found your coat. Know you are looking all over the web, consider this luxurious option: Camel and Black Leopard Faux Fur Coat. 49% Cotton 34% Viscose 17% Modal for a modern, easy, light-weight look and feel. Shown here over a black dress and long leather gloves, simply elegant, and chic and sporty with black, red, and boots. How can we resist?

When above said client tried hers on she wanted to wear it so badly she stood and waited while the super busy tailor made the button adjustments on the spot, this coat is that good. He knew she had to go home with it and could not wait. Thank you, tailor.

Erin, thank you for your blog. You make me feel like I have a friend in Boston MA. Wishing you much continued success.

professional photos | Worth New York

carry-on

 

DSC01608_7061038For recent ten-day European travel packed two carry-on size bags only. Checked one, carried one, both together with a handbag were easy to deal with. Fashion minded and as she says packing challenged colleague has asked what was inside those two bags, that will have to be another post, for the record there was only one pair of heels, and that pair was only a mid-height.

The single pair that made the packing edit was the Valentino Rockstud. Some may say they’ve had their moment but when shoes are a little sexy, super comfortable, have a bit of an edge and you can walk for miles in them, that kind of style will always have a spot in the carry-on. These packed up small, left room for boots, and if truth be told by packing only one pair with a heel there was room for new friends.

One day or ten, the carry-on is the way to go. For long trips pack two and stack them.

Every day dress in Paris France in the lobby of Hotel Lutetia wearing Valentino Rockstud shoes, the only pair of heels that made the trip. Two pair came back, it was Paris after all.

the small stuff

fish pumpkin kalethree pots

hydran

Sometimes when the world feels a little overwhelming it’s good to get back to the small stuff. Making dinner, planting mums, simple fresh cut flowers for the kitchen table, all help with the centering thing. Lifestyle, baby, lifestyle.

All photos from the iPhone, all taken quickly. Swordfish is from last week Thursday, Barefoot Contessa, mums were planted on Sunday, really thought it was too late in the season and kind of wanted to skip it, husband gently insisted, funny how when you do those things they are expected, and hydrangeas bought at the grocery about forty-five minutes ago.

Fashion news has been all over the place and with that gorgeous women with incredibly long thin legs in loose jeans and fabulous shoes.

Here’s to all that and the small stuff.

Every day dress. 🙂

 

the quick fix

IMG_5010DSC01824 DSC01825 DSC01826 DSC01827

Thinking that the most comfortable outfit ever would be a tee, jeans, and a cashmere v-neck sweater. Works for both men and women.

Thinking that the classic combination of grey and camel is always comforting.

When you are in need of the quick wardrobe fix, fall back on the above.

While traveling home from Europe after eight or nine days, can’t really even remember, needed/wanted a quick comfortable wardrobe fix. Nothing quite like airport shopping. Really wanted to pay 35 pounds or 50 euros or whatever it was for the deluxe lounge with the bedroom and shower to change into the new stuff but ran out of time. Picked up three new quick pieces at London Heathrow Zara. Have been living in them ever since. Put them on, take them off, put them on.

Black short-sleeved v-neck tee, you can never have enough of those. Jeans, how many pair do you all own, this time in black-coated cotton. Kind of the look and feel of leather yet machine washable and way less expensive. Grey cashmere v-neck sweater, never go wrong with that. Zara, you made it easy and how do you do it at those prices?

While we love and lust for our real deal luxury items, sometimes we need/want the quick fix.

Tee, jeans, and sweater, the quick fix. Strong classic accessories always a good idea.

Tee Jeans Sweater | Zara

Boots Handbag | Chanel

Cashmere Blanket Wrap | Worth New York