In Honor of Mother's Day, Forget MOTB-- My Mom Looks Hot!

I've been having issues lately with the fact that I'm about to turn forty, but seeing my mother the other day in the gown she bought for my sister's wedding swept all my worries away! Shopping for a mother-of-the-bride dress is hard. The styles tend to veer towards two extremes-- short and skimpy for women who hope to be mistaken for their daughter's teenaged sister, or long, heavy and voluminous (I would call it grandmother of the bride but my grandmother had way more style than that!).

My mom found a gown by Junnie Leigh that is a true knockout while still being classic and elegant. It's a navy-blue hourglass shape with a halter bodice and discreet silver sun blast detailing on the front. It comes with a bolero jacket for upper-arm coverage, but I'm still trying to convince her she doesn't need the jacket; the gown is amazing with or without. She's a modest person so when she asked me what I thought I told her she was beautiful in it, but my honest gut response was, "Wow, Mom, you look hot!" Her gown isn't pictured on the site, but I promise to post pictures of the real thing after the wedding. In the meantime, check out this similar look in silk shantung with beaded v-neck bodice.

Screamer of the Week : It's A Skirt! No, It's A Top! No, It's Both!

I like Newport News, I really do. I went to a Redken hair showcase on Park Avenue yesterday and I wore these wide-legged jeans from them, which got me a lot of compliments (mine were in a dark rinse, of course). In fact, I'd venture to say that 1/3 of my wardrobe is from there, with the other two thirds being from Nordstrom and designer sample sales/consignment stores/outlets at Woodbury Common (contrary to popular belief, there's no "s" on the end of that name). But sometimes they go really, really wrong, and today is one of those days. Yup, it's Screamer of the Week time.

When I was a little girl (bear with me, it's relevant) my cousin Dana and I used to play Barbies for hours on end with elaborate melodramatic story lines that usually revolved around rich women who had maids that they slapped around, verbally abused and made sleep in the basement on a concrete floor. The maids would have their day in the end when it was revealed that they were having affairs with the rich Barbies' husbands. (I have no idea where we got such ideas from, except maybe that our mothers let us stay up late and watch Dallas.)

Since virtually all Barbies looked identical back then, how could you tell which one was the maid? Easy...they had bad haircuts (the maids were the dolls we'd experimented on), and their sole uniform was a longish Barbie skirt pulled up around the bust line to make a pathetic strapless dress.

Imagine my hysteria when I found out that Newport News actually makes such a garment! There it is above shown as a top and if you click on the large photo on their website you can see it as a skirt too. It features smocking and a handkerchief hemline and is on sale for $39.00. I have to admit, it doesn't look terrible as a skirt, although the picture is so tiny you really can't tell, but the mere existence of this item has me screaming this week.

Ladylike Croc-Look Tote From Bloomie's-- over $100 off!

I've been craving a good everyday bag that doesn't cost a fortune but looks expensive-- I stopped carrying my Louis around on a daily basis since my five year old took to chewing gum and doesn't understand yet that you have to wrap it up before throwing it away! This tote fits the bill perfectly, is marked down to $159.99 from $268.00, and comes in a number of different colors so you can buy a few to go with different outfits. I'm so glad there's a red one, as I have a killer pair of red Stuart Weitzman shoes that needs a red bag to go with. (Yes, I know that's matchy-matchy and stylists frown on it, but I don't care, I like matchy-matchy!) The Bloomingdales store line is always good for quality bargain accessories like this.

The Chocolate Path: Treats For the Discriminating Chocolate Palate

I'm lucky enough to live a short drive from this store, but good news for the rest of the world: The Chocolate Path now has a website where you can order the world's best dark chocolate in every format imaginable. Their mission statement is "to provide dark chocolate lovers with a wide selection of pure products from the best small manufacturers," and fulfill that mission they do! Chocolate Path's wares include premium exotic dark chocolate bars, artisan hot chocolate, and a variety of unbelievable truffles. I can't wait to try the Chocolate Moderne Caramel Caresse bistro bar, filled with soft pear and caramel, but you may want to start with one of their gift assortments that allows you to sample their fine chocolate fare. Oh, I hope someone gets me one for Mother's Day!

Cino Polka Dot Summer Dress From Willow St. On Sale

This metallic polka dot empire waist dress from Cino is ingenious because the straps are bare enough to be sexy but wide enough to cover bra straps. The cut flatters many different body types and the dress is versatile, going from day to evening with a change of accessories. It's on sale for $136.50, marked down from $182.00, at Willow St., one of Summit, New Jersey's most fashionable boutiques.

The Blog Carnival Continues with More Unique Vintage!

A week or two ago we featured a girlfriend shopping trip to Unique Vintage, one of the best vintage and vintage-inspired retailers on the web. Stella from Well Above Average picked a modern-looking but vintage-inspired top with a splashy pattern that's perfect for lunch at a 5 star hotel, and my pick was a vintage-inspired 30's style gown that's now on the home page of Unique Vintage.

Today we catch up with Stevie of L.A. Story, Sandra of Debutante Clothing and Tami of fête à fête to see what's in their virtual shopping carts.

Stevie's keen editorial eye managed to look past the dresses, as gorgeous as they are, to find some hot red-carpet worthy shoes. I'm thanking her from the bottom of my heart for this because my spring, summer and fall are full of black-tie weddings and the parties surrounding them. I can totally see those leopard print shoes on her and I'm going to have to buy the red ones for myself for all the rehearsal dinners in my future.

Sandra, our resident vintage guru, picked out a hot LBD that will bring out the Dita Von Teese in all of us, and Tami found this 1920's style flapper dress that will break hearts on the dance floor. Thanks once again to Stevie to turning us on to this amazing store, and stay tuned for the next installment of the blog carnival, which features jewelry at eye-dropping prices from World Market!

Congratulations to Contest Winner Agatha Craxie

The first "Screamer of the Week" contest is now officially over, and congratulations to winner Agatha Craxie. She correctly identified the phrase as coming from WLIR, the East Coast's greatest independent radio station. I'm jumping for joy today because while the station's frequency was sold back in 2004, I just found out it's streaming on the internet at www.wlir.com. Long live Larry the Duck, Donna Donna and Malibu Sue, and congratulations to Agatha once again.