Women

Fashion Friday: The Block Heel

September 6, 2019 by Gindi Leave a Comment

Hello Fashion Friday friends! I’ve missed you. I have all these fashion posts running around in my head and no time to write them. But today we’re talking shoes. One of my favorite topics. I won’t even tell you how my daughter is growing to love shoes. Uh-oh. I can’t get her to buy clothes but shoes she is 110% there! This could be a problem.

But the shoes we’re talking about today, she doesn’t really have a need for yet.

For today’s Fashion Friday: The Block Heel. I used to hate block heels. But they are coming in with a vengeance, they even have their own category on some shoe websites, and there are some super cute ones. Not to mention they are massively easier to walk in than my old school spikey narrow heel!

I work on a corporate campus that is large and involves a lot of walking. As a result, I’ve resorted more and more to flats (sigh) and wedges. Now that the block heel is sweeping the fashion pages, I have a fun new alternative. I just purchased my first pair, a pointy snake print that I adore, and I have no problem hiking all over my campus in these nearly 3 inchers.

So what am I loving in the block? Well, it isn’t just heels. But it definitely starts with heels.

For work, I love these Tahari pumps in baby blue. I’m about to write a post on why you should be buying shoes in all colors, but this will get you off to a smashing start. If you must stick with black, then do it in a fun way. And these Adrienne Vittadini black blocks are all fun. Absolutely work appropriate but more interesting than a standard black block heel!

On the sandal front, you know I’m living in Texas where it is 101 degrees in September so you can absolutely have fall sandals here, you have OODLES of options.

These “mauve” (I can’t believe I’m recommending mauve – does anyone feel the 1980s? Not with these!) sandals are the priciest on my list, the only ones coming in over $100, but they’re Marc Jacobs and really fun. If you have a birthday gift card to DSW, this might be a fun place to spend it. And in suede, they’re CLEARLY a fall sandal! Can you believe these cognac ones are Clark’s? I really didn’t know they had cute shoes and these would be comfy to boot.

Speaking of boots, if you don’t live in a place where it is triple digits in the FALL (don’t judge me for being bitter), then there are some fabulous boot block options too.

My first offering is an ankle boot from Steve Madden in a fabulous snake print, the same print as my block heel, that will go with everything you wear and add a little spice (and not of the pumpkin variety). This rich chocolate brown Franco Sarto bootie would be a classic addition for any fall wardrobe. If you’re uncertain about the pointy toe, I love a good point, go up a half size to give you wiggle room (literally). And while I usually veto a brown flat, I love me a good brown boot.

A word of caution: if you tend to have thicker ankles and lower leg, then just be careful on the block heel. Some can result in a look that is even thicker. But certain styles definitely work – just check it out in a full length mirror. This is true for everyone trying on shoes. Don’t rely on those little foot mirrors! Find a full length mirror, and also pick up your trouser if you’re not in a skirt to get the full look.

What about you? Are you loving the block trend? How do you wear them?

Optimism

August 28, 2019 by Gindi Leave a Comment

Two good things happened this morning.

I had an early breakfast with a sweet friend. I read part of Dave Asprey’s “46 life rules” in Game Changers.

How are these two things alike?

They highlight optimism.

Whenever I breakfast with this friend, I laugh. We share similar faith and similar life ambition, and when we meet I laugh loud in a quiet breakfast spot nestled in corner of a bustling city.

And Asprey? Well, of all his 46 rules he has gathered from 450 expert ‘game changers,’ this is his biggest one: Practicing gratitude is the most profoundly transformative thing you can do.

You know something else about gratitude? It fuels optimism. If you see the silver lining and find people and actions to be grateful for, then you can feel optimistic about the future.

I am an optimist. My friend, the lovely breakfast buddy from this morning, is an optimist. She was telling me about her boyfriend who, if it’s possible, is even more of an optimist. He’ll have a rough day, but he’ll recap with “it was good even though…” He finds the silver lining even in those bad days.

But I’m well aware not everyone is an optimist. We are born with a certain set point – either more optimistic or more pessimistic. The best news about that set point: it can change. That’s right. You’re not resigned to life as a pessimist (or a realist as my hubby likes to say) if that’s where you find yourself. You can train your brain.

I was thinking about that as I read through Asprey’s book, especially coming off of this particularly delightful optimistic breakfast. How can more conversations flow like that one?

I landed back at gratitude.

Not only does gratitude grow optimism, it does a lot of other things. For example, one of the other rules was “Fear is the Mind Killer!” Yikes! Basically the rule says you have to get past fear of failure. The best way to do that? “Gratitude stops fear!” How often is fear our biggest struggle? Yet there’s actually medical evidence (a long explanation about your parasympathetic nervous system) which shows you can boost resilience and reduce stress by listing three things you’re thankful for before you go to sleep. (I guess Bobby McFerrin was on to something with his little Don’t Worry, Be Happy.)

I looked at all the rules that had an optimism or gratitude component. Tons of them. Rule 33: Happy People are Successful! Rule 3: Eliminate Words that Undermine Your Strength. Rule 32: Money Doesn’t Motivate Game Changers. How is that one linked to optimism? Just that Rule 32-ers don’t operate out of a scarcity mind set, but they focus on amassing joy not money. Joy = Optimism. Note, joy is not circumstantial. Joy exists, as does optimism, even when the circumstances around you are challenging.

As I left for a birthday dinner for a close friend Saturday night, little bit said, “mommy, just don’t laugh so loud.” Ha! (Imagine that ha in a very loud voice.) Sorry little bit, mommy is going to keep laughing loud, and probably embarrassing you more than you can count, but I’m an optimist. And a loud optimist at that. Hopefully, years from now, the sound of my loud optimistic laughter will make you smile and even laugh yourself.

Let’s practice moving our set point one more degree towards optimism. Let’s encourage our kids to move their set point to optimism. Those simple dinnertime conversations? I REQURE them to tell me something good that happened before they can tell me the bad. Just last night, one said, I don’t have anything good, it was a bad day.

Oh no bud, you ALWAYS have something good, and we’re going to start with that. Let’s all start from there.

Practice gratitude.

Choose joy.

Fashion Friday: The Do’s and Don’ts of Headshots

July 12, 2019 by Gindi 1 Comment

This week at work some colleagues and I were planning a panel discussion for a women’s event. The focus was on enhancing your social media profiles (LinkedIn, etc.) to obtain career results. Maybe you want to develop more expertise in an area or you’re looking for speaking engagements or you need to build your external network. There are ways improve your opportunities with social media.

Over the course of the conversation, one subtopic that really sparked discussion was how to get the right headshot. Oftentimes, when you’re not actually seeking a job, you forget about your career profile, and then suddenly you’re asked to speak or write and are scurrying to get a professional picture taken.

For today’s Fashion Friday, let’s discuss the do’s and don’ts of headshots.

Just this week, I received a newsletter from a large women’s organization of which I’m a member. It advertised a couple of upcoming events and the featured speakers. There were three different women’s headshots featured for the events and I was surprised by the wide disparity between them. One woman took what appeared to be a selfie on her sofa. Another one used a grainy image standing against a beige wall in rumpled clothing. The final shot was of a women smiling confidently at the camera in a dark blazer with simple jewelry in high resolution.

People make first impressions off of, well, their FIRST impression. It’s human nature. They make assumptions based on what they first see.

When we are speaking or joining a board or looking for a job, it is utterly within our control to make a strong first impression.

This is not about vanity. It is not about a beauty pageant. It’s about executive presence. Polish. Confidence.

So I went through hundreds of headshots of my connections on LinkedIn and jotted down a few takeaways.

Here Are Some Do’s:

Smile. Smiles welcome people and exude warmth. I loved staring down at a little picture which smiled back at me. I hate my teeth, always have, but a smiling picture of me is still far better than one where I look apathetic or glum.
Stick with the classics. Donning a blazer polishes a photo. For some jobs it would look utterly out of place, but even those career women with winning headshots had simple bold blouses that looked polished. Simple jewelry. Gold or silver or pearls – earrings and (or) necklaces.
Use your head. This may not be true if you have a website where you can take up more photo real estate, but in spots like LinkedIn and conference publications where you’re speaking, there is very little space for your photo. Make it an actual “head” shot.
High resolution. In an era when everything is shared and copied and snapshotted and emailed, use a high resolution image. A good picture looks less professional if it’s grainy or off-color as a result of an old or low res base photo.

I ran across a truckload of beautiful head shots, but these were some of my favorites (just screenshots from LinkedIn). You can see some went with traditional backdrops and others used outdoors. As long as the background isn’t overbright or distracting, you have flexibility with the venue (and formality) you’re most comfortable in.

(And I will tell you, these woman also look incredibly polished every time I see them in person too. So they carry their executive presence with them well beyond a headshot.)

Here are the Don’ts:

Selfies. Do not take a selfie. I don’t know what else to say.
Look like someone else. This is not the time to get a glamour shot that makes you unrecognizable. Yes, fix your hair and make up but not in a way that doesn’t look like you on a day-to-day basis.
Use it to attract a romantic relationship. There is nothing that will undercut people taking you seriously more quickly than thinking your career headshot can double as your Tinder photo. Don’t wear tight or low cut clothing, heavy make up, or pose suggestively. Women are judged particularly harshly on this but women can be the primary offenders.
Have others in your picture. This is not the time to show off your spouse or children. And it doesn’t help if you half cut them out so that it’s primarily you but you see someone’s arm in the photo.
Go bright or dark. Some of the photos I saw, while otherwise professional, were either on very bright white backdrops or in bright sunlight such that it blinded the photo, or they were black and white or very darkly lit so it was difficult to see the person clearly. Remember lighting when you decide what headshot to use.

Go look at your LinkedIn profile or Twitter account or website – whatever you use for your business. Ask a friend or colleague (or two or three) to give you honest feedback on your headshot.

Does it need to be updated?

Does it need to be more professional?

Consider investing in a photographer to really give you a couple of great images you can use for all career purposes. It will pay dividends.

Fashion Friday: The T-Shirt

June 28, 2019 by Gindi 2 Comments

The lowly t-shirt.

It doesn’t get much press.

Yet you probably have a drawer full of them. Old and new. Solid and graphic. Purchased and given.

The lowly t-shirt has the potential to become the lovely t-shirt.

For today’s Fashion Friday, I’m exploring the challenge of finding the perfect t-shirt.

If you are not from Houston, then you may not be able to fathom our weather right now. It still hasn’t hit 100 ACTUAL degrees but we have multiple days already with “feels like” numbers up to 110 degrees. Why? Because we live in a flippin’ sauna. We basically are enduring 100 percent humidity on 95 degree days which means if you have any amount of hair on your head you look like a chia pet.

I most definitely look like a chia pet.

I digress.

The other reality of living in a sauna is that Houstonians attempt to dress as cool as possible when they’re not going to work. Not cool as in “you’re a cool cat,” but cool as in “I hope my outfit doesn’t raise my temperature to such a level that I pass out walking into the grocery store.”

Enter the lowly t-shirt.

I took a hard look at my weekend baseball/swim team mom style. It wasn’t pretty. And it wasn’t actually style. It was either a pair of shorts or Athleta ‘moisture wicking’ skort with a t-shirt. An old tired t-shirt.

Yet, I realize the t-shirt has the potential to look fantastic.

Take a gander at this:

I do not look like this in a t-shirt.

So I went on a hunt. I researched articles and did some on-line shopping. I spent a ton of money on t-shirts JUST to test them out – all but two have now been returned. From the $100 t-shirt (which was going back whether I liked it or not) to the $10, I tried an assorted variety.

Here’s my review:

The big Kahuna in several fashion reviews was a t-shirt brand called Rag & Bone. I had to check it out regardless of its $90 price tag (and they had ones that were even more). I was unimpressed. The t-shirt was fine but absolutely nothing to write home about. The material was thinner than I like and it looked like a men’s undershirt.

Nordstrom’s brand, Halogen, was fine. Soft. Simple crew. But I didn’t like their scoop neck, there’s a wide variety of kinds of scoops, and I also didn’t care for how the sleeves fell on me. I also tried a Loveappella one, not pictured, but didn’t keep it because it fit like a box in the worst way.

Several friends recommended Madewell. They are still in the hunt for me. I liked how their shirt hem was designed to wear untucked and the material wasn’t too thin (though with some of their t-shirts the material is super thin so be careful). Plus they are reasonably priced. However, the sleeves fell longer than I like in a t-shirt, and these particular stripes weren’t for me. It might have made it on to the keeper list if it had been a solid color.

I absolutely adored the designs of Ted Baker’s t-shirts, and it wasn’t a icky material like I worried it might be from the website. However, is is VERY fitted. If you are carrying any weight you don’t want folks to see (like I am), then this shirt is not for you. So sad because this is only one of several clever designs. If you are slim in the torso, I definitely recommend.

My clear favorite was a brand I hadn’t heard of before, Allsaints. I do not typically wear horizontal stripes, no need to widen anything there, but I fell in love. Granted this t-shirt had some fun little ruffles on the side of the sleeves which probably put it even further in front of the pack, but the material was light but not thin and it fell straight down instead of clinging to my extra bits. I won’t shop for it again until it’s on sale because even though I want a couple of go-to tees, they shouldn’t cost more than $50!

A surprise find was a Joe’s t-shirt I got on sale at Nordstrom’s for $20. This is exactly what I was looking for. A plain gray t-shirt. No adornments. Simple. And not worn out. Half of my tees are just too worn to keep wearing. I did make myself do a drawer purge before these all arrived. But for a morning at the pool, this little gray number and a pair of flip flops is all I need.

Finally, I tried three bargain tees. One from Old Navy. One from Target. And one from Loft. The problem with most cheap tees (heck with the pricey ones too) is that they are all super thin. That means you have to wear a cami/tank underneath. In a city where you are trying to get away with wearing as few as clothes as possible in the summer, this is not ideal.

My favorite from Old Navy is the ruffled linen-blend one shoulder. It hangs loose and is thick enough to wear without an under-layer. Granted, it’s not your traditional tee because it’s an off the shoulder one, but who says you can’t play with tees in the summer? And upon review, they have this material in other designs – definitely recommend ($15). I wear my tee from Target, Universal Thread, but just around the house ($10). It is thin, though I love how it hangs, but it pills quickly. Finally, I love this vintage soft tank from Loft but DO NOT dry it ($15). It shrinks up quickly and now I’m a little hesitant about wearing it out.

So help a community out – what is your FAVORITE tee? Why? How long will it last you? Share your thoughts on finding a tee and looking polished.

Fashion Friday: Summer (Re)Freshed Face

June 14, 2019 by Gindi 5 Comments

*Courtesy of Town & Country: The Best Vitamin C Serums*

Every now and again on Fashion Friday, we talk about beauty products instead of fashion. Well, beauty products have been dominating a conversation with me and two of my best girlfriends this past week.

One of them, committed to Re-Fresh her Face, is part of a closed FB group with beauty bloggers. She sent us a “quickie” video from one of the bloggers on how to wash your face. It has SEVEN steps. That’s right ladies, SEVEN.

So I decided for today’s Fashion Friday to tackle how to have a (Re)Freshed Face.

If you are a working mom, or a working woman, or a mom who is working raising your kids, then I have a question for you: Do you have time for SEVEN steps at night?

I just do not.

Here are Nicole’s (the blogger’s) steps, echoed by other beauty writers/’experts’: first wash your face with a balm on dry skin; after wiping it off, then you wash your face with a milk cleanser; then you exfoliate your face and neck – and let it sit a few minutes; next you apply a retin oil and a Vitamin C serum by tapping into your face and neck, don’t forget behind your ears (!); now, towards the end she says, use a hydrating moisturizer; and finally, LAST step, put on a sunscreen (when doing this in the morning).

That’s right, seven steps that you are supposed to do BOTH morning and night!?!?!?

Sorry charlie, not gonna happen in my house.

So first up, how many steps are you doing? Anywhere near seven? And twice daily?

Let me take you through my routine. At night, wash my face and throw on some moisturizer. I’ve used all sorts. Occasionally I remember to dab on some eye cream too because I do love me some eye creams. In the morning, I throw a light moisturizer under my makeup (which is powder) and bonus points if it has sunscreen in it.

So after this extensive conversation with friends, I am willing to admit I might want to alter a few things. But I am nowhere near getting to a seven step process.

First problem? Apparently using a foaming face wash. They say foaming is bad. No, I do not know who they are but I’m guessing they know a little bit more than me so I’m going to go with “they.” I hate cleansing balms, too oily and I even have dry skin, so I’ll just start with their milk cleanser recommendation right off the bat. (Ha, eliminated a step already!) I did a little research. Several cleansers got high marks and in a pretty broad spectrum of price brackets – from Avene and Drunk Elephant to Neutrogena and La Roche-Posay. I bought the La Roche for $15 at Target.

Next problem? Failing to apply Vitamin C! The horror. Again apparently we’re all bananas if we’re not daily applying some form of Vitamin C to our face. How I have managed to get into my 40s with nice skin and not use Vitamin C is a beauty miracle. (Sorry – sarcasm is my first language.) This is where your skin routine is about to get super expensive. My research uncovered that SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic is far and away the most superior Vitamin C serum on the market. It has the right blend and the right percent and all sorts of other superior things that apparently I won’t get by rubbing my $10 bottle of store-bought Vitamin C tablets on my skin. Well, it just so happens that superior comes with a price tag of over $150. Yep, that’s right. So I’ll add that to my Christmas wish list (because when you get old and wrinkly, random things like pricey Vitamin C serums are what you ask Santa for), but buy something else. This little article gives you info on what to look for when you buy a serum. I ended up buying this Vichy on several “best of” lists for $26 at Target (love me some Target…). We’ll see.

Final issue: sunscreen. The beauty ‘experts’ say you cannot get a good moisturizer and sunscreen in one bottle. Seriously? Is this right? Can someone with perfect skin please weigh in on this? Today, I’m trying my La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Mineral Tinted Sunscreen that was well ranked, but I did not add an additional moisturizer. There are oodles of recommendations, you can review for yourself, but I would love to know what you do? Is this right? My little dry face needs to add another morning step of moisturizer BEFORE the sunscreen? This makes me sad if true because I am one of the most efficient get-readiers you have ever met. I have to be. I’ve got triplets and an early departure time for the office.

So now that I’ve identified my three missteps in skin care, what are yours? What are your tried and true fixes? You can see, I’m at most a three step girl. You’re never going to get me to seven steps. Sorry honey, you’ll just have to love me all wrinkly at 65 apparently.

Give me your skin tips and tricks, and if you bump into me this summer, feel free to comment on my glowing skin! Have a great weekend friends and stay cool.