the art of being a dame

I came across these photographs taken by photographer Katie Lee which depict various old "lady" says. I thought they were fun so here they are followed by the caption found on Lee's flicker album:

a lady never leaves her home at night without a proper escort.

a lady always keeps her feet planted firmly on the ground.

a lady always wears white gloves on Sunday.

a lady never loses her temper.

a lady always uses the proper eating utensils. 

a lady sips never slurps.

a lady always sits with her legs crossed at the ankles.

and she Never slouches...

a lady glides gracefully across the room...

...always acutely aware of her surroundings.

a lady always knows her place... 

a lady never, Ever rests her elbows on the table.

a lady never cries over spilt milk

a lady always dresses for her body type...

...and never wears revealing clothing

a lady always practices good posture.

a lady always leaves one third of her food on her plate

a lady always keeps herself informed of popular music and plays...

...appearing cultured expands a lady's knowledge and interests, while opening doors to stimulating conversations with gentleman callers.

a lady always does whatever it takes to be a good host...

...and knows how to keep her guests entertained.

a lady always does her morning stretches...

...to help maintain a healthy body and a quiet mind.

a lady always maintains complete composure...

...even in the most chaotic situations.

Are you gelling?

I love a good manicure and pedicure.  So much in fact that if I missed your class last week it was probably because I decided a trip to the nail salon would be more appropriate and deserving. 

The massage, the pretty colors, the endless possibilities of patterns and designs –it’s a relaxation station. But the one thing that can put a damper on this great experience, a chipped nail.

Let’s face it, nothing says I don’t care about myself/ I am homeless more than sloppy, chipped nails. But one day I heard about gel manicures (the chip-free guaranteed polish) and my life changed forever.

So I hurried along to my nearest nail place, picked myself a gel color and bam! I was ready. I sat there gitty, anxious and overall excited for this manicure, which felt more like a science experiment than a manicure, to end. After inserting my nails in and out of UV lamps I had my finished product, a nice, thick, instantly dry manicure. MAGIC!

For $25 I thought it was worth it, I mean the lady promised it would remain like this for up to three weeks (with the exception of nail growth, it would be perfect).

But there I was a week later, with a hand full of chipped nails. The little manicure lady had lied!
But I decided to give them one more chance. This time I went to a nicer nail salon, and forked over an extra $5, but it was worth it. It has now been a week and 4 days and my nails are still chip free.  

So in-case you are wondering whether or not to give gel manicures a try, I have composed a Pros and Cons list to help you.

Pros:

1. Zero drying time. There’s a funky UV light that dries those puppies up making sure your nails are smudge free.

2. The finish is never dull and always a nice thick layer, even a week later.

3. PERFECT for getting before a vacation, or just need a fabulous manicure or pedicure.

        Cons:

1. 1. If you decided you want to remove your manicure, you need to soak your nails in acetone or buff the gel polish off. Peeling it off can remove the top layer of your nail (trust me on that one, it has been personally tested).

2. 2. The price. Ranging anywhere from $25 to $40 these manicures can be expensive. (Remember it lasts up to three weeks so this isn’t a weekly expense).

3. 3.Time. It takes a little bit longer than a regular manicure, maybe 10 minutes.

4. 4. Options. The colors available aren’t as varied as regular polished, but I guess that also depends on the salon you go to .

Also, while doing research I ran into some concerns about the UV lamp and the possibilities of causing aging or the risks of skin cancer. Click here for more information on that.

Here is a great video I found that takes you through the gel manicure process: 

A lady is always..

Composed

com·po·sure

/kəmˈpoʊʒər/ Show Spelled[kuhm-poh-zher] 

–noun

serene, self-controlled state of mind; calmness; tranquillity: 

Despite the hysteria and panic around him, he retained his composure.

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lady find of the week: Rent the Runway

Remember last week’s ladylicious post where we talked about the things that need to be in tack to look put-together?

… Remember: hair, make-up and clothes?

Well anyways, I know some of you ladies are convinced that looking good comes with a huge price tag so this post is for you.  Let’s say you have got a VERY important event to attend, or heck you just want to look good at the bar, but have nothing to wear. Been there.

And now let’s say you’ve been eyeing the perfect dress but its way over your budget, maybe by $400. Normally we would’ve said goodbye to our dream dress and settled for something else, something not quite as dazzling.

It's Life.

Well not anymore! Meet Rent the Runway, a website that will rent out some of the hottest dresses with price tags that run anywhere from $300 to well into the thousands.  So for 90% off of the retail price RTR will lend you your dream dress for 4 days (you can rent it for 8 days at an extra price).  After the 4 days you return your dress and RTR will take care of the dry cleaning.

It’s like your online fairy godmother.

Wait it gets better, Jennifer Hyman RTR’s CEO and her team have thought of everything. RTR lets you rent accessories, lets you rent dress two dress sizes for the price of one (in case you’ve been eating too many Valentine’s Day donuts from dunkin), and offers you insurance in case you leave your inner lady at the door and ruin the dress.

Plus they take care of the dry cleaning.

What’s not to like?

I haven’t tried it out yet, but I have a couple of dates coming up next week so ill definitely be browsing their selection.

 Let me know if you’ve used Rent the Runway.

Ladylicious

Happy Monday my fellow dames. Today’s post is a reminder that lady lessons are all around us, come in unexpected packages and when you least expect it. With that in mind, this week’s lady lesson comes buried under smokey eyes, hair extensions and acrylic nails aka from an episode of Jerseylicious.

What can I say, there was a marathon.  

Any how, on this particular episode of Jerseylicious Tracy and Olivia are sent out of Jersey and into Manhattan where they learn from NYC’s finest about how to tone down their eccentric styles. Their mentors, well none other than Edward Tricomi and Joel Warren –you know the men behind Warren-Tricomi, you can find them under the tents at fashion week. These men know ladies, literally, they’ve probably styled your idol’s locks. And I watched them school Tracy and Olivia, and take these two shames: 

Olivia before

Tracy before

and turn them into jaw-dropping dames. 

(See, there is hope.)

Besides the expected “stop tanning,” “lose the acrylic nails” preaching Ed gave the girls another lesson which I thought would be very helpful for us. The lesson: hair, makeup, and clothes must be in tack in order for one to look good.

          

So with Tricomi’s advice in mind, I propose a little challenge. Take the lady challenge and everyday before you leave your house make sure your hair, makeup and clothes are in check. Now I’m not saying you have to look like the cover of Vanity Fair every time you see daylight, I’m just saying throw on a little blush and hairspray. After all, isn’t looking good half of the battle?

….or was it showing up?

To watch this episode of Jerseylicious ("I don't want to lose my nails") click

What's holding you back

So here we are with "Lady" on our mind. What is a lady exactly you may ask, well she is a fabulous, graceful being that is ready to charm at any moment –one day that will be me. But before I start my “shame” cleanse, here are a few inner people every lady needs to say goodbye to.

1. The bitch

There’s not thing cute or graceful about being a bitch. We’ve all seen "Mean Girls," and know how the movie ends. A lady is charismatic, personable, thankful, respectful, polite, and a fun person to be around and quite frankly bitches are just rude.

2. The Slut

Samantha Jones is great in theory, not in practice.

3. The lazy blob

As amazing as sleeping till 10 am followed by re-runs of law and order sounds, there’s a life out there that is yours for discovering. A lady is interesting and cultured, and that takes time and energy.  Ladies there’s more to life than your bed.

4. The tom boy/sweat pants lover

Freshmen year of college I went through a love affair with my sweatpants, but let’s face it, if it’s the mark of a lady to always look put together, than the sweats have got to go. They do nothing for your figure and give you permission to give into the lazy, fat kid in all of us.

5. The hot-mess

I’m sure Jackie O’s professor never referred to her as a hot-mess, obviously not my greatest moment. Two words: It’s Over.

Now that my baggage is gone, I made www.emilypost.com  my homepage. It’s a great etiquette website, recommended by Vanity Fair (the bible).