Staying warm in winter requires bulky clothes that focus more on functionality than fashion. The importance of staying warm should outweigh the need to look great. Or at least that’s what you’ve always been told! Nowadays, there is no need to look ugly while staying warm. Fashion oriented winter clothing has become big business. These clothes are designed to help keep you warm while also letting you look great. There are various brands and styles of fashionable winter clothing that you can integrate into your daily life. Pick the brands and styles that go best with your own unique style.

Five Pieces of Winter Clothing that are Fashionable but Functional

Scarf

Scarves are fashionable and functional: They look great with a variety of styles but they also keep your neck warm. Start by picking a scarf that you think is longer than necessary. A scarf that is too short will be hard to style. It will also leave areas of your neck exposed to the cold. Avoid picking scarves with intricate patterns or designs. These can sometime appear tacky and are often hard to integrate into your style. Instead, get several different one color scarves. Pick colors that go well with your wardrobe. Wear different scarves based on your style for the day. This will help you look good while keeping your neck warm.

Gloves or Mittens

Ski gloves and insulated work gloves are very warm. However, they’re a complete fashion faux pas. You don’t have to wear these bulky, ugly gloves to keep your hands warm. Buy a pair of top brand leather gloves. These gloves are designed for warmth and style. Try them on before purchasing to find which brand you like best. Wear leather gloves to create a no-nonsense, business oriented look. Thread or felt based mittens also work well with a style that integrates a lot of fur or felt. Buy multiple pairs of mittens to help coordinate individual pairs with different sets of clothing in your wardrobe. Mittens are great for a more “fun loving” look.

Felt Hat and Earmuffs

A single color felt hat is a fashionable way to keep your head warm. Single color hats make it easier to integrate the hats into your style and wardrobe selection. Avoid buying hats with logos, intricate patterns or God help us, pom-poms. These types of hats are great…for little kids. You’re an adult now: dress like one.  On that note, don’t be ashamed to wear earmuffs! They may look “kiddy” but they are actually a very functional way to keep your wears warm. Again, focus on simple, single color earmuffs. These are much easier to integrate into your rapidly growing winter wardrobe.

Boots

Don’t forget to buy a great set of boots this winter! You may resist buying boots: rubber boots may keep your feet dry and warm but they can look so ungainly and ugly. Don’t suffer in inappropriate shoes for the sake of fashion! Instead, go to a great shoe store and look through the boots. There are plenty of fashionable boots available that will still keep your feet warm. Be a bit more “extravagant” with your boot style. Few people will really take the time to notice your boots unless they clash with your wardrobe or compliment it perfectly.

Coat

A great winter coat should be the central focus of a functional but fashionable winter wardrobe. Avoid oversized, bulky coats. Instead, use coats like a fitted pea coat. A fitted pea coat is designed specifically for you. It is designed for comfort, warmth and style. Fur coats and double breasted coats are also comfortable, warm and fashionable.

Shop for Winter Fashions at Nordstrom

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Vegan Fashion’s Night Out in NYC While thousands of fashionistas were swarming the streets of New York City for the 3rd annual Fashion’s Night Out last week, with popular destinations like the Kardashian’s store Dash in Soho, Bloomingdales on Upper East Side, or chi chi boutiques in the meat-packing district, vegan style mavens spent the evening in the chill Lower East Side at NYC’s only all vegan shoe and accessories store Moo Shoes.

Vegan Handbag, photo via Flickr Creative Commons, by Perfecto Insecto

Moo Shoes’ Fashion’s Night Out celebration featured hot vegan clothing and accessories designers including Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart of Vaute Couture, Gina Ferraraccio and Julie Dicterow of Cri De Coeur, and representing men’s vegan fashion Joshua Katcher, a.k.a. The Discerning Brute with his line Brave Gentle Man. Of course no vegan event would be complete without some vegan fare. There was vegan wine from The Vegan Vine, vegan s’mores from Sweet & Sara’s and little mini cakes from Sherry’s Short Cakes.

So what’s not vegan when it comes to clothing and apparel? Leather, fur, wool, feathers, and silk to name a few.

When most people think of vegan clothing, shoes or handbags, they think hemp, plastic and fugly fabics. Yet many vegan designers today are turning out stunningly gorgeous work and using innovation to create eco-friendly, cruelty-free materials out of things like recycled TV sets and the string from the soybean pod. With this ingenuity, they’ve managed to achieve functional and aesthetically beautiful products that any fashionista or style-conscious guy would be proud to wear. V

Vegan Fashion’s Night Out at Moo Shoes was a glorious celebration of vegan style, food and fashion.

Author Bio: Sharon is a vegan lifestyle advocate who shares tons of vegan information on her website, BigCityVegan.com. You can get vegan recipes and shop vegan fashion including Cri de Coeur shoes and Big Buddha Handbags.

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Guest Post: Look Slim with Layers, Prints and Fashion Accessories

If the diet isn’t going to plan or there isn’t enough time to reach your ideal weight before the big event don’t give up just yet. Carry on the good work but turn to plan B for some instant tricks to flatter your shape. Here’s five fab tips on how to shrink yourself slim with busy prints, big handbags, bold jewelry and nifty footwear.

Grab a Supersize Handbag

Ditch the dainty clutch bag and go for an oversized handbag and still stay the centre of attention. Nothing says more about your style personality than a luxe handbag. Think Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy for 1950’s fashion inspiration and monster size handbags. Princess Grace of Monaco made famous the big bag look when she was seen carrying a  large tote to conceal her pregnancy. The Hermes Kelly Handbag was named after her and still has the longest waiting list in the world!

The luxury looking tote is still as popular today as back then and guaranteed to make you the envy of them all. Investing in a classic accessory will appeal to chic and stylish women who know how to tap into their inner style guru. Clever positioning of a super size bag can camouflage any trouble spots making you feel more confident with your appearance. However, holding a small purse-like bag will have the reverse effect.

Lay on the Layers

Accentuate your assets with softly draped layers, loose fitting kimonos, jersey cardigans and sheer over blouses. Slim your body and wear layers over a pair of slinky tailored trousers for a smoother silhouette. Wearing layers doesn’t mean adding bulk, work the latest sheer trend for some slim busting styles. For special occasions and daytime events like weddings try an elegant waterfall jacket over a bias cut dress or floaty skirt.

Delicate fabrics, chiffon and lightweight georgette are perfect for a summer wardrobe. Discover how to streamline your figure for the best look on the beach. A demi sheer sarong over a flower print swimsuit is a chic way to cover up and will get you from poolside to bar in true style.

Divert the Eye with Punchy Prints

Dress yourself slim in eye-catching prints, look leggy in the latest maxis or flash your booty in rainbow brights. A touch of style wizardry works wonders for a womanly shape. Curves in all the right places, long and lean looks plus a flattering derriere is yours with the right outfit for your shape. A medley of floral delights, graphic and paisley prints is a sure way to divert the eye and brighten your look.

Black has always been known for its slimming qualities but head to toe in black is not for everyone. Instead opt for a mix of prints and black, wearing the darker shade at your heaviest part. Focus on your best bits and use catwalk trends of dazzling prints and vibrant pops of colour to your advantage.

Walk Tall in Strappy Shoes

Create the perfect long legged look and trim down in a pair of strappy high heels. If you struggle in heels keep your balance in the latest wedge shoes or platforms to give you extra height without the wobble. It’s not always heel height that makes you appear thinner, the shape of the heel and straps have a lot to say too.  Different features work in various ways which can accentuate a trim ankle or lengthen the leg.

A low fronted shoe and T-bar elongates the leg and shows off a slender ankle whereas ankle straps do no favours for a thicker ankle. The ankle strap cuts off the leg and draws the eye to the least flattering part of the leg. Whereas sling-backs with a narrow heel as high as your comfort level will go, is a winning style that works well for most people.

Make Accessories Work for You

In addition to shoes and bags other key items can be used to trim your appearance and balance your proportions. Accessories are a great way to update a look and can be used to introduce colour and shape to your wardrobe. Belts, scarves, hats and jewelry all have their part to play in the slimming game.

Belts worn cleverly can help add shape where needed and also balance the upper and lower body’s appearance. Wide statement belts can be worn low to give the illusion of a longer body and petite frames can use the same trick but with narrower belts. Wear large earrings to draw the eye to your face and long layered chains and necklaces to give the body a leaner line alternatively try a long scarf tied loosely around the neck to make your body appear taller.

Remember, no matter how long it takes to lose those pounds you can still look great by dressing yourself slim with clever use of fashion and accessories.

Sally Cooke writes for Mother of the Bride Outfits and has a keen interest in ladies fashion and helping ladies choose what to wear to a wedding or other special occasion event.

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Fashion week has began! I love LAMB and always rush first to see what Gwen Stefani has new for us. For fall 2010 LAMB has some lovely pieces in various fall shades of gray, brown and black. Just in the first day’s material so far I have seen a trend among the shows toward mixing brown with gray and utilizing thigh high boots and stockings—a look that I really like.

I think the below combo of leather pants and interesting shirt is my favorite from the collection.  I also love the dress and high boots.

Here is a group shot that gives a good look at much of the LAMB fall collection as a whole:

MAC Cosmetics did the makeup for the LAMB fashion show. The look featured heavy, smoky eyes with a bright fuchsia red lip. The look was very dramatic. I’m a fan! the face chart for the makeup look is below:

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Know a person with a shoe shopping problem? On this must read page for a bit of daily amusement, you will see that you can now pay Zappos $50,000 to permanently disable your significant other’s account. The deal also comes with a T-shirt and few other nifty bonuses, such as a personal representative to break the news and provide a shoulder to cry on for one hour. Additional time is available at $3.99/minute.

Too bad I don’t have an affilliate link for this one! LOL!

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This is sure to be a blockbuster. Can we get in line now? Jimmy Choo is teaming up with H&M. Slated for November 14, 2009, the line will include shoes, bags and women’s clothing.

Footwear will be in the $99 to $129 price bracket with perhaps a few more expensive items. Ballet flats will run in the $59 range. Handbags will run from $59 to $299. The news so far is that markets will be limited and the stores have not yet been announced.

There might be women fighting in the aisles over this one!

Pictured: Singer Anastacia with a Jimmy Choo bag.

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Marshalls sent me a gift card to go check out their in store Marshalls Cube. If you are not familiar with Marshalls it is a retailer that stocks a multitude of brands at discount prices. Stores such as this usually obtain overstocks and such from top names at greatly reduced prices and then sell them at a discount over what you would find in a regular department store.

The Cube is Marshalls’  “in store boutique.”  Essentially, it is an area set aside in the store for more young, trendy, and hip types of items. When I visited, I found that the cube did indeed have a nice selection of items and it was a good way to locate a variety of trendier items instead of having to locate them in the general store racks.  A large amount of the clothing was sized for teens, although there were some misses sizing in there as well.

Brands ranged from a large selection of Baby Phat, to Calvin Klein, to a few pairs of Seven for all Mankind jeans priced at an incredible $39.  I spotted a very nice yellow/orange coat, that I considered purchasing, and also took a look at the wide selection of handbags and sunglasses in the Cube. With those, the store again did a nice job of sorting out the trendier items. There were also a selection of shoes, but since Marshalls also has its own monstrous shoe department that tends to be pretty well organized, I’m not sure that the Cube is the first place in the store that you want to check for shoes.

Ultimately, I hung onto my gift card because I’m hoping to find some of those Seven for all Mankind jeans in stock in my size on a return trip. That is hardly a sure thing, but you never know!

Overall, if you are looking for some trendy bargains, stop by a Marshalls and check out the Cube. They also have a nicely laid out Facebook Page that you can join.

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Profoot Care Slik Stik, Anti-Blister Stick is a fairly new product marketed as a “miracle” anti-blister stick. It generally lives up to its name!

The stick looks and feels quite a bit like a deodorant stick. Rub it on your feet where your shoes rub, and the product leaves a moisturizing barrier that helps prevent excessive rubbing and chaffing. The product goes on clear and has no scent that I could notice.

The anti-blister stick also works pretty well. I tried some on a pair of heels that I have been unable to wear for any length of time because the strap was rubbing too much. With use of the Profoot Slik Stik, I was able to actually wear the shoes. I still would not take a lengthy walk in them, but the stick allowed me to wear them to work for a day with no real problems. So it saved a pair of cute shoes that were otherwise destined for Goodwill.

Another similar product is Band-Aid Active Flex Blister Block Stick. I haven’t tried the Band-aid product, but it appears to be essentially the same thing.

Shop for ProFoot Products

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A friend pointed these out to me. Are you an outdoorsy woman? Need some comfortable shoes to shop in that you can also use to carry your credit card? Want to easily carry and hide an extra key at the beach? Check out Reef Stash Flip Flops. The flip flop shoes have a storage compartment in the sole. At $46 for a pair, they are a bit pricey, but it is an interesting concept!

reef stash sandals

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The Chicago Fox News ran a report the other night about “high heel injections,” which involves injecting collagen into the balls of the feet in order to make wearing thin soled, high heel shoes more comfortable. The video came complete with graphic shots of needles entering feet, which I really don’t recommend watching while suffering from a migraine. It also drew some “ewwws” and “icks” from my boyfriend.

I became curious about it and checked into it more today. I was rather surprised at what I found. Not only are some women injecting their feet, but some are amputating parts of their toes in order to wear, or improve the toe cleavage on, pointy toe shoes such as those from Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo. The New York Times initially reported on it and I found some in depth commentary on both procedures at an interesting web site devoted to the wearing of high heels: 2heels.com.

Now I am fairly vain, and I am willing to bet that cosmetic procedures are in my future. But cosmetic foot surgery involving partial amputations???? I’m just not seeing that! The injection idea, while not for me, is somewhat interesting, but I cannot imagine amputating body parts just to be able to wear a certain shoe. Do people who have had this done admit to it? It seems outside of the realm of general social (and likely medical) acceptance to me, but perhaps I am just naive?

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