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Legacy of Pearl

Daily musings of an academic mother on personal style, fashion finds, books, motherhood and more...

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LUV: Lovely Unique Vintage

February 05, 2010

Very Intelligent Pocket

Click on the picture for addiitonal information at the Neiman Marcus site. It is a bit steep in price, but if you're looking for something that works to organize your handbag, this works wonders!
If you are a handbag lover like me, you probably change your bag often. I used to change mine daily until a couple of years ago. Nowadays, I use one to three bags a week, but with a busy schedule, even that was not feasible most of the time. I tried different bags and pockets to organize my small essentials like make up, keys, computer parts, cell phones, etc. Everything I tired had zippers and just weren't practical. I stopped looking for a solution after I got the VIP Bag. It is the solution!

First of all it is really made of really high quality stitching and has a huge capacity. The many pockets and side compartments make it really easy to organize different items. I never have to get anything out of my bag to reach my hand moisturizer or lipstick anymore. I know exactly where my keys and cell phones are. I even carry little toys and trash bags for my sons little spills in it and I can get them exactly from the place they are when I need to! With all the little things I carry these days, changing bags would have been a far dream. Thanks to the VIP pocket, I have to only move my VIP bag, my wallet and the case for my glasses between bags and I'm out the door in about 10 seconds!

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December 07, 2009

No more ironing for hours for me... What are your favorite appliances?

Washing and pressing you own clothes could be rewarding in different ways. In addition to being economical compared to bringing them to the dry cleaner, I find it self-fulfilling to be able to take care of my own clothes. I'm also more careful with my clothes when I have to keep them in shape myself. Washing and ironing is a good Friday night activity as it gives me a closure with the work week and makes me feel ready to have a fun weekend.

I don't love ironing, but I love ironed clothes including jeans and tees. I like seeing my son wear nicely pressed clothes. So I do it for myself and the rest of the family. As a result I used to spend couple of hours ironing.

I recently switched to a Singer steam press form Amazon.com after a friend's recommendation. I think it was one of the best things I purchased in a long time. Not only it cut my ironing time to a third of the time, but also it is more gentle on the clothes while making them smoother. I can put couple of my son's tees together and press them all at once. Same with my own shirts and my husband's polo shirts. They get done in a breeze. I'm still trying to get faster and better with dress shirts, but it seems to do a reasonable job with them as well. It is ideal for ironing sheets and curtains. I'm really happy with my purchase.

My second most favorite appliance is the Kitchen Aid Mixer. I love being hands-free and be able to do other things when things are mixing.  It is also a good tool for making dough, pasta and ground beef. However, I don't like the orange juicer that I purchased as an attachment. It's not a natural way of squeezing oranges. We were back to a separate juicer in no time after trying it once or twice.

How about you? Now that I discovered things can actually be easier with the right appliances, I'm curious to learn more about your favorites and not so favorites. I have a friend who owns six vacuum cleaners because he loves a good vacuum cleaner. It's funny how we get really attached to good tools.

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November 23, 2009

Shoe Organization Made Easy

It is that time of the year where I organize my closets. I went through my closet couple of weeks ago and decided I needed to do something about how I organize my shoes. I'm pretty sure that the solution I found will work for many years to come.

In the past I tried over the door, under the bed, a special shoe closet with racks and many other option. I even tried to hold on to the boxes and putting the pictures of the shoes on the boxes. Nothing worked as well as I wanted it to until I tried Container Store's clear shoe and boot boxes.

At first look, it seems excessive to have a clear container for every shoe, but the convenience of being able to stack them and see what's in box without opening the box is priceless. It makes it so much easier to find the right pair of shoes and I love looking at the top shelves of my closet these days. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a show organizing solution.

How do you organize your shoes?

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November 20, 2009

The Real "Legacy" of Pearl

I get asked about where the name for my blog comes from a lot. Although I love pearls, it doesn't have much to do with them. "Pearl" is the translation of my late Mother's name to English. My Mother was a women with personal style, but also had a sense of elegance and confidence to her that made her stand out. She was a living example of how you can do it effortlessly by applying a few simple principles. Even as a six-year-old girl, I was expected to choose, care for and organize my clothes which made the same principles a part of my personality. So since most of what I know about my style comes from her, I decided to name this blog "Legacy of Pearl".

Recently, a friend asked me about what the real legacy was. What could she have taught me 20+ years ago that made into my adult life? Here are some of them. Most of what I summarized below are so carved in me that I find myself automatically doing them. Hope these tips help you as mush as they helped me all my life.

The Basics: With these in place, you'll feel more confident. Confidence will show itself in all areas of life improving your quality of life in return.

  1. A genuine heartfelt smile
  2. A good haircut
  3. Posture
  4. Manicured nails
  5. Clean wrinkle-free clothes

 

On Styling:

  1. Dress for yourself and to show your respect for an occasion.
  2. Make sure you're comfortable in your clothes before you leave the house.
  3. Think vertically when you dress to create a sleek slim line.
  4. Don't be scared of color and mix them according to your visual appeal.
  5. Don't change your make up routine unless it is a special occasion.
  6. Mix a few timeless pieces in your outfit with one or two trendy pieces to refresh your look and look yourself at the same time.
  7. Make sure your clothes make no sound when you move.
  8. The longer the skirt, the lower the heels should be. This might sound old-fashioned but I'm always reminded of it when I see a maxi skirt with very high heels.
  9. A scarf is a versatile piece. It can go in your head, neck, waist, bag... you name it.
  10. Putting a pin on a blazer jacket's collar or pockets can dress it down or up significantly.

 

On Taking Care of Your Clothes:

  1. Keep your knees close when you sit. This is more elegant and also helps you keep a good sitting posture.
  2. Pull up your pants above the knees just a bit as you sit. You won't have big knee stretches on the pants after wearing them.
  3. Similar to #2, pull your skirt up just a bit as you sit to avoid wrinkle lines and stretching around the hip.
  4. Hang your clothes right after you take them off and air them outside of your closet before deciding if they need to be cleaned. This saves energy in all kinds of ways.
  5. Make sure what goes in your closet is ready to wear. After airing, decide if clothes need to be re-steamed, washed or dry-cleaned.
  6. Take care of  spill on your clothes before it dries completely.

 

This is not a complete list in a particular order. None of these have any links to fashion, but they increase one's style quotient significantly. They are not coming from a styling professional and they are only meant as a summary of the principals I learned and apply daily.

I would love to hear your tips and thoughts. What would you add to this list?

 

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March 14, 2009

Organizing Your Closet: How often do you get rid of what you don't like?

It's spring cleaning time. I clean my closet every Spring and Fall to see what I have and how I can modify my closet to refresh my looks. I mostly own high-quality timeless pieces (cardigans, black pants, jeans, etc.) that I can wear every season. I add economical new and trendy items that go for a season or two to what I already have and feel like I have a new closet. Every once in a while I have to trade one of my timeless pieces to a new one because of size change or wear, but then the old piece has to get out of my closet.  So how do I do my closet cleaning?

To have an idea on what is trendy that season, I go through some magazines and websites on current style&fashion. I do my laundry/dry cleaning and make sure that everything in my closet is clean and my hamper is empty. Then it is time to organize my closet.

I start by going emptying one of the hanging racks in my closet. This rack will hold questionable items while I go through my clothes. I order what I go through depending on what is timeless and what is trendy. I start by timeless pieces like jackets, cardigans and dress pants/skirts. I go through everything else rapidly. The last should be accessories. If you have to think whether to keep a piece more than a few second, transfer it to the questionable item rack.

The last step is to decide what to do with the questionable items. This is the most important step. Make use of the four corners of your bed and label them (in your head) as keep, give, sell and re-purpose. You'll also need a trash bag to throw away the really old stuff.

So how do I decide what to keep? For each item, I try to keep it by pairing it with other things in my closet. Now that  I just skipped through my clothes, it is easy to guess what I have to pair. I also think of my accessories and the new trendy pieces I planned to shop for. If the problem with the piece you're holding is the fit and you like it, think of ways to  fix it or make it fit. If it is not fixable, don't even think about it twice. You never know when it will fit and if it will still like it then. Re-purposing is another option if you can sew. I used to make all kinds of new clothes out of my old clothes. Too little time now, so I generally skip this step. :)

Once I decide there's no way to wear an item for me, it has to leave the house. I mean out of the whole house, not the garage. In this way, you give what you have a second life by donating or exchanging them.

Many people skip the selling step and directly donate their old clothes to a good cause. Please think of donating if you have the means for it.  There's no better way to make use of your old clothes! You can also exchange your unwanted new-ish clothes for better fitting items. You can even get cash back for it! I sometimes exchange my unwanted clothes at a consignment store and sometimes donate them.

When you went through everything, you'll probably have items on all four corners and your trash bag. Take the appropriate action for each corner as soon as possible to finish your cleaning and have fun.

This process can take a really short time if you do it twice a year. This will help you shop your closet and as well as save money. I heard a lot from my friends that they fell like they don't have anything because their closet is messy. Give it a try if you don't do it already.  You can even invite your friends and turn the whole thing into a closet party. Follow Legacy of Pearl on coming soon ideas to have a fun closet party.

I would love to hear your ideas on how you select what to give away and what to keep. What do you do with what you don't want?

 

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March 04, 2009

Functional and Stylish Jewelry Organization

Combining a couple of these beautiful trees from Urban Outfitters on a narrow high table close to your closet will create a unique forest of beautiful jewelry.
These artsy trees to organize your trend jewelry makes you get out of the house auicker inthe morning in addition to looking good. Why hide those beautiful pieces in cluttery closets and drawers when you can display them in a unique way that staples your style.

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Your Requests

Looking for something that looks like something? Looking for a budget item for a special purpose? Would you like to discuss something on motherhood? Legacy of Pearl is happy to open your questions like these and more to discussion here.

Please contact me through the Contacts Page and come back to see the blog post dedicated to your question. You can also just email legacyofpearl AT yahoo DOT com.

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Press Row theme designed by Chris Pearson