Fashion Me Fabulous

One of our readers brought up an excellent point regarding large wardrobes. Often people who have so much complain like we have so little. Even taking into account cultural and social differences, it's difficult to pinpoint what is that line between enough and excess. becca and I, both Christians and seven year veterans of fashion blogging, are frequently asked questions about consumerism and how it affects our both our purchases and our lives. So today we're taking a break from our lighthearted content to deal with very real questions about shopping. Do you have too much? This is a relative question. We've never done a post about a "20 piece closet" or "the 10 essentials every wardrobe needs," because that varies from person to person. Almost every list I've seen says you need a pair of khaki pants, but the fact is you can get along just fine without khaki pants. These lists also lean toward a classic/preppy style, which doesn't work f

Lies. We don't sleep pretty or in makeup. We are too busy party planning, corralling children, traveling from state to state, working, chasing sleep, baking, singing, covering for other people, performing absolute freakin' magic and partying to put together any quality posts this week. Our Facebook page, however, will keep delivering stunning pictures while we try to cram too much stuff into too few days. Check back next week for our triumphant return! Or a post. Don't want to hype it too much.

Couture is our favorite season because designers can let their imaginations fly without worrying about sales. Sometimes that freedom goes wrong. Let's start with the Viktor and Rolf show, which was dedicated to all the little girls who've ever played fashion designer with mommy's towels  and blankets. The whole freaking show looked like this. How is this a demonstration of the designers' skills? Versace is always hit or miss because the house delights in the tacky. This season, they decided to experiment with what they are calling a tress -- half dress half trousers. It looks terrible. The fringe in not helping. The show also featured a bunch of random cutouts which looked poorly planned from the back. Drawing hands was always the worst part of any drawing, so I'd hide them in pockets.Sometimes my lack of planning meant the arms were at awkward or just plain impossible angles. The weirdly low pockets on Dior's gowns make me think the models have poorly

Giambattista Valli had birds, flowers, and stripes in an array of friendly colors. With this much retro infused fun in one place, for a few seconds, I felt like Pushing Daisies was back on the air. Valli sated my lust for stripes, and Armani Prive catered to my polka dot desire, from the spotted veils, to the beaded evening gowns. While this wasn't a wildly inventive show, it was still beautiful. The Schiaparelli revival is only a year old, but so far the new head designer is doing an excellent job of infusing 1930s drama with Schiaparelli's special brand of charm and playfulness. Ulyana Sergeenko favored beautiful pleating. (Love that gown on the right, but I'm afraid it would look crazy on anyone but Cate Blanchett, the clothes whisperer.) Love the romantic Grecian influence at Valentino. I'll have to make myself a wrap belt like that. Zuhair Murad used textures inspired by architecture for his collection. Love that black dress. Cout

I love Anthropologie, but I won't usually shell out quite that much money unless I'm investing in a staple and there's a sale. And a sale is just what they are having right now--a massive sale. I'm cleaning out my wardrobe (more on that soon) and replacing a lot of clothing. I love a well-styled tee, but most of mine have fallen apart. In exchange for tossing a few tops into the rag pile, I splurged on this cute clearance tee. From the front, it is a relaxed pocket tee that hangs beautifully. It drapes so nicely because of the gathering in the back. It's cute with jeans, dress pants, and skirts. The lighter colors are a bit sheer, and the top is meant to be a little oversized so buy down a size if you want a more fitted look. Also, I think some colors may be different materials--the website advertising cotton and viscose but mine is cotton and rayon. Pictured: Tessa Tee, $39.95 from $58

At least once a week, I post pictures of j ewelry to our Facebook page. While looking through that file the other day, I realized I have an Art Deco preference. The jewelry below is nearly 100 years old, but it's so simple yet detailed that you could wear it now without it screaming vintage . That's not too surprising consider that many classic jewelry styles from Chanel's pearls to Bulgari's snakes debuted at this time. Platinum, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires were popular materials during the boom of the 1920s, but I'm fond of the era's fondness for less precious materials like onyx, jade and lapis. No need to hang on to your wallet. These antique pieces by Cartier and Tiffany are out of most budgets.

It's well into sundress season, and I find I'm a bit short on suitable dresses. This summer is presenting long days of dashing from brunch to grad party to picnic to a backyard cookout to a bonfire. These days are fun, but an all-purpose dress is much more practical than trying to dash home to change between events. I like a dress with straps (and maybe even pockets!) that looks nice layered under a sweater. It gets bonus points if it looks equally cute with wedges or cute tennis shoes. Which dress best fits your summer fun? Short sleeve summer dress with pockets by ZenbClothing 70s-inspired basic midi dress by mojonet   Loose-fitting cotten sundress by Sophiaclothing Pleated drop waist dress by theclosetlover Jersey day dress with pockets by Lirola poll by twiigs.com

- A creative design student made "sketches" of dresses using flower petals . (Dose)  - Is 3D printing the answer for women who can't find makeup for their skin tone? (The Cut) - The Hairpin looks at how successful You Tube beauty channels work. - Love the menswear look? You can turn silk ties into cute headbands. (A Red Ribbon) - I love Erte's illustrations and had no idea he designed theater costumes . (Retronaut) - Could you pare your closet down to only 40 hangable items ? (Living Well, Spending Less) - Esther Honing asked people around the world to photoshop her into a "beautiful" woman . The United States one is kinda freaky.  - Makeup artist Nick Barose speaks my mind about contouring and other celebrity makeup tricks. (The Cut)