Gindi Vincent

The Dish on Career, Fashion, Faith, and Family

Women

Fashion Friday: The T-Shirt

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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

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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.

Net-Work or Connect-For?

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Every year for the past several years, I’ve had the great fun of speaking at a leadership academy in San Antonio that’s the brain child of a cool woman who’s become a dear friend.

Today, we were talking about important relationships for leaderships and developing networks.

Lately, I’ve spoken a lot about networks and why I think networking is a misnomer. Think about it. Who wants to “network?” It makes you imagine a large net with trapped fish and, well, WORK!

And the reality is, if you are networking to build your career “just” to network, then it isn’t likely to bring you much value. It’s purposeless and therefore unlikely to yield strategic results.

But if instead, we make it about connecting, it starts to become a little less intimidating. I brand this exercise, “Connect-For.” When we look at what we’re connecting FOR, then we become a lot more likely to want to do it and to enjoy it once we’re in an environment with new people.

So how do we figure out how to connect purposefully and build that, dare we say, ‘network?’

Let’s look at four questions we should answer before connecting: Why, Who, Where, and How?

First up, WHY? What’s the point? Well, there really is a point. Have you ever moved to a new city and need connections there? Are you passionate about something (animals, children’s education, gardening) and you want to learn more or find like-minded people? Do you want to move into a new industry and need to learn more about it? Are you trying to grow in your career in your company and want to understand how things work?

There are lots of reasons WHY you need to expand your connections. But unless you sit down with a paper and pen and write down what’s important to you and where you have gaps in your connections, you’ll never know. Without knowing the motivation for your action, you won’t be focused, know who to look for, or where to start looking.

Once you know the why, you need to ask WHO you should be connecting with. There are three broad categories: within your company, within your industry but outside your company, and within your area of passion (e.g., running, sports, arts, food, etc.). Make a chart. Put these areas on the left column. Then, across the top row, put these three categories: Senior, Peer, and Junior.

Do you have folks names in each of those buckets? Are you building up someone junior to you in your company? Are you connecting with an executive in your industry? Do you have friends that like the same things you like? You don’t need a dozen folks for each of these categories. In fact, you probably shouldn’t have that many because heavens know you can’t keep up with them all. But if you have no one’s name in one of these categories, then you have identified a hole in your connections. One you can strategically set out to fill.

Once you know the why and who of connecting, it’s time to figure out the where and how. The WHERE depends entirely on who you are: a planner or last minute actor, a goal setter or activist, the life of the party or quiet conversationalist. I love getting to know someone. Poor co-workers who travel with me get pulled into the deep end fast. I find out about their relationships, their background, their family, their interests, etc. No light-hearted weather conversation for me. No sirree. So bopping from person to person with cocktail conversation in a crowded room is not a good fit for me. But it may be perfect for you.

When you have figured out the forums that are most comfortable to you, then cast a broad net over where you find new connections. Industry associations, professional groups, alumni associations, faith or community organizations, kid sporting events, etc. The list is endless. Identify places that play well to your strengths (volunteering) at a place you’ll encounter folks who could fill in your connection gaps.

Finally, that gets us to the HOW. First things first, DO IT. If you’ve taken the time to strategize about how to build a more powerful connection base, then you need to do it. Set goals. Put smaller target goals on your calendar and also calendar activities.

I keep a standing “lunch with friends” on my outlook calendar on Fridays from 11:30 to 1. I don’t always take it but this enables me to keep the time open for connection activities. These connection activities are the first things to fall off our priority list otherwise. Find ways to support, help, or otherwise connect new people you meet. Set out to find commonalities you have with new connections. You absolutely have them, and you usually can find them when you’re looking.

Most of all, be patient. Relationships take a long time to build. In a Twitter, cell phone, high-speed Internet era, we expect everything to happen fast. Relationships don’t. They take time to build. Time to develop trust and reliability. Most research says it takes seven to ten independent connection points to actually cement a relationship. So hang in there. And be intentional. It will pay off.

Fashion Friday: Springing Up Your Workwear

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Spring has sprung! Well, most places it has sprung. I realize a few of you still have melting snow. I have nothing for you. Maybe wear one of these items under your puffer coat.

So for today’s Fashion Friday: let’s look at ways to SPRING UP our work wardrobe.

If you’re a total color lover like me, then you’re pulling out your greens and yellows for work. But beyond simply color, there’s more that can be done.

In order to achieve some of these springy looks, I am seriously considering trying Rent the Runway. The last few colleagues I complimented on their fabulous dresses, each said they were from Rent the Runway. And when I started scanning there options, I got lots of fresh ideas for a spring-a-rific work upgrade.

Option One: Dots and Stripes

I think polka dots and starkly contrasting stripes seriously read spring. Check out this killer Badgley Mischka navy striped sheath, this fresh polka dot Ralph Lauren belted dress, or this Trina Turk inverted stripe pencil skirt. They read utterly fresh and clean and read for the season. Plus, uber successful professional.

Option Two: Different Patterns

Maybe you avoid patterned dresses or blouses as a rule. Or maybe you’re all for patterns but you have gotten stuck in a rut with the handful you already have in your closet. Think of some different types of patterns than those you’ve used or currently have. Step way out with this pink hued leopard wrap dress by Leota. Or throw your favorite blazer over this lavender Diane Von Furstenberg midi dress. Even bigger patterned than either of these is this oversized floral Tory Burch sheath.

Option Three: Single solid BOLD color

Find one item with a super flattering cut for your figure. A-line. Sheath. Full. Whatever you know works and you feel confident in. Then go ALL in with a crazy solid bold color. It’s critically important you find a cut you know is flattering because no one will miss you walking into the board room. What’s it going to be? Trina Turk orange? Alexia Admor blue? Valentino red? Jason Wu green? (Seriously y’all, is this fantastic or WHAT!?!?)

What say you? How do you Spring Up your work wardrobe now that the season is here? And what’s you’re biggest work fashion dilemma?

Fashion Friday: Stars and Stripes Forever, Part 2

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I’m back with the second installment of Fashion Friday’s Stars and Stripes Forever!!

Two weeks ago I introduced a trend I’m seeing – stripes and red, white and blue. 

It’s in all the store windows. 

I’m a huge fan of stripes, as we discussed with all the cute trends last Fashion Friday.

But I’m a little more skeptical of red and blue together.  It can feel a little too Fourth-of-July-y.

Until it doesn’t. 

There are some fun, bright ways to wear it that make it feel more classic and less holiday-ish. 

I first spotted the trend in the Michael Kors shop windows. 

You all know my ongoing debate with jumpsuits, but they are here to stay, and they’re blue at MK.  Dresses are red and pencil skirts are blue and “scarlet.”  They even have fabulous oversized red sunglasses.  (These are all on-line.)

He manages to make it feel less campy (except for the print tee) by selecting the blue or red as a primary and only accenting with the alternating color.

Next, I popped over to Macy’s to pick up my eyeliner. 

More red and blue.

Not just for fun weekend wear, but it’s gala dresses and work clothes.  This blue and white striped blazer from Tommy Hilfiger sucked me in because of its super cute elbow patches. They had paired it with a super “American-y” red, white and blue floral shell which I actually liked because the blazer toned down the bottom layers bold color mash.  Of course dresses were red and blue everywhere – from this gorgeous evening number from Jessica Howard to a fun red, white, and teal dress for a summer weekend (clever twist throwing teal in that palette!). 

Head anywhere.  Drop by Loft’s website.  This is the first picture that pops up on the screen.  Red skirt.  Shell with red and blue.  Red espadrilles.  Red tee.  They have red and blue in stripes and florals and solids.  I could spend all my money on their blouses. 

So what does this tell us about the red and blue trend?  Do it.  But don’t overdo it.  No red and blue all together without cutting through it with a topper.  Or opt for one of these bold colors on its own and accessorize with the alternating accent – shoes, handbags, scarves… 

It’s a fresh look for a bright spring.  And as an added bonus, you’ll be ready for the 4th of July and Memorial Day in advance.