The New Spring Trends and Colors!

The biggest thing influencing Spring Fashion this year is the EARTH. With our daily lives in turmoil, there is an underlying commonality among all; the desire to save the planet. Seems like everyone wants to contribute, in some way, to be "eco-friendly". Now while there is a movement in apparel for eco friendly fabric and clothes, in this blog we talk FASHION not recycling. So my approach is how does this feeling we have inside for wanting to "do good" and wanting to "be happy" and "be earthy" reflect in our choice of fashion.

1. The first and Easy answer is GREEN as a color in fashion. As spring moves into summer, look for the infusion of a SOFT sage like green to be prevalent as a fashion color, an earthly green that reminds you of eco and that is accented with brown tones of the earth. Also, OLIVE will be strong as a bottom color, beautiful mixed back to turquoise and all shades of lighter green.

2. The Second influence is WATER as a direction for color, AQUA, TURQUOISE, DEEP BLUES. Clean water colors make us feel cool and fresh and cleansed from all the dirty nonsense of the world. I call it the Mermaid trend, be sexy and beautiful and re-newed in water colors.




3. The Third Trend I call "Gerber Daisy" that brings CORAL as a key color for this Spring. A color that's fresh and HAPPY. Seems like when ladies go out to buy something new to wear it's for a specific purpose like a Date, or meeting the girlfriends for lunch, or heading to a BBQ or a weekend get-a-way. They want to present themselves as happy and cheerful and glowing, and CORAL is the perfect color for that.




4. The Forth trend is a change in the direction of screen prints on tee shirts. While the Ed Hardy tattoo look continues to be be strong, that's more relevant in juniors, and men's fashion. The COOL CHICKS, will have the confidence to move into a more feminine type of print. It pairs scroll stencil art with flowers and soft colors. Add to that, BUTTERFLIES and BIRDS as important accents and Fleur de Lis motifs continue to be strong as well.


So leap forth into spring with a smile and fresh look. Love your earth, the ocean the sky and the flowers. Let your fashion bring a sprig of happiness into your day and ENJOY the moment!!

Cheers,
Jacq

Confidence!

There's nothing that will boost your fashion look more than Confidence! Being Confident in yourself, Confident in your look and your style. Part of this requires ACCEPTANCE of your body with all its flaws. Let's face it, we've all got a couple of body parts we like and we've all got a couple of body areas we loathe.

Accentuate the positive and skim over the negative!

Buy things that are going to flatter your best parts, from a great color, to a great neckline and a flattering fit.

I can't tell you what a difference it makes when a woman who has accepted who she is trys on clothes and stands tall and feels good with a new fresh look. Compare that to the woman who constantly complains about her body (and usually these are not big women). It's much harder to make her look good with her slumped over shoulders, as she critizies herself from every angle and walks out dejected.

Even if you plan on addressing those not so good parts in the future, this is who you are today; to look your BEST, just go with it, enjoy your new outfit today and tackle the challenges another day. We all need that boost that we can only get with acceptance of ourselves. When we present a confident look, we look beautiful to others whatever our size.

Look at these two pictures of Sommer and Meilee', their sheer confidence and acceptance of themselves, makes them beautiful! And of course the great outfits from Minx don't hurt!





On a related note, I saw a gal being interviewed on TV, who had just lost her job and was trying to interview for new ones. She was expressing how, you feel so low, cuz you just lost your job, but you have to put on this strong confident face when you interview. "You have to SELL yourself" she said, "and inside you're a mess". So if you find yourself in this position, for that day or half day, find a way to set aside your insecurities, remember what you're good at, and remember how it feels when you're at your best. Put on a smashing outfit that shows your unique style of professionalism and dazzle them with all that is the BEST OF YOU!
Show them your CONFIDENCE in YOU and they will believe it too!

Be Strong Girl!
Jacq

What to Wear to a Christmas Party!

This weekend is probably the busiest weekend for HOLIDAY PARTIES!!!

What to wear?

Well, there are three kind of parties and each require a different type of outfit.....

First.....is the Office Christmas party....or more importantly the Hubby's office Christmas Party.

For this event you want to look, Subtle, Slightly Sexy and Classy.
Basically "the little Black Dress"

This year's little black dress though is updated with new fabrics like mesh or stretch lace...both comfortable and elegant....




If you want to be a little more daring....you could try a sexy red dress for the office christmas party....


SECOND....is the Home Christmas Party....a group of friends gathered at a friends house for drinks and holiday cheer.....
For this event, you want to be FESTIVE, and comfortable as you'll most likely end up sitting cross legged at the coffee table playing games or sitting out on the patio by the fire pit sipping spiced cider.

A CUTE TOP with jeans or easy black knit pants is the way to go here....



THIRD....is the Holiday FUN, GIRLS NITE OUT!!! you all put on your sexy best and hit the town for dinner and drinks in search of the mistletoe and the cute boys.
Here you want to be Sexy, comfortable and HIP!

a FUN tunic with TALL BLACK BOOTS is a MUST!!


As you can see, all the looks I've referenced, work at ANY SIZE...the most important thing is to put on a happy face, Have GOOD HAIR (always a must), and HAVE FUN!!!

Happy Holidays!!

Jacqueline

Find your Inner Creative Girl!

With the holidays fast approaching, somebody asked "what do the holidays mean to you?" Of course the standard answer is usually, "time to spend with friends and family." And while that's all true and wonderful, for me, the holiday spirit is about CREATIVITY.

I challenge you this year to apply CREATIVITY to:
- Your Holiday Decor
- Your Style
- Your Gift Giving
- and Your Relationships

1. Creative Holiday Decor. Now we all have those boxes of Holiday Decorations that we haul out year to year and set them up with the same old pattern. This year, not many of us can afford to go out and buy the new items to spruce up the selection, so look at that box in a whole new way. Try to come up with a new way of displaying your old favorites. Like maybe instead of plopping your ornaments on a tree, hang them all over the house at varying heights to sparkle every corner. Or take the bolt of old ribbon and tie a pretty bow to every standing item in your house.

If you're feeling really adventurous, maybe do a new small project that's inexpensive, that will add that signature piece. As for me, I'm having a blast building a Miniature CANDY LAND replica of my store Minx Fashion Shoppe, for a local holiday contest. It will be the centerpiece of my store holiday decor before heading off for judging. Just taking on this little project, inspiried me for the whole season, and I'm thankful to a new friend Paula, who suggested it and got my creative juices flowing.

2. Creative Holiday Style. Now more than ever before, I challenge you to BE BOLD, and TAKE RISKS with your style. Seems like everything we deal with on a daily basis is about being cautious, about our spending and about our lives, in these times of uncertainty. But when that evening finally comes that you're heading out to a Holiday Party or a Dinner with Friends, SPLURGE a little on your look and take a risk. PURPLE and TEAL are the hottest colors of the season, so maybe incorporate that for a fresh look. Add a little SPARKLE where you can, and if you find yourself saying...."this isn't what I would normally wear," then Wear IT!



3. Creative GIFT Giving. With everyone's budget woes, there's never been a better time to be creative with your gift giving. Go back to a gentler time and supplement a small gift with something from the heart. Add homemade cookies, or fudge or your favorite recipe for soup. Maybe give your overwhelmed friend a "coupon" for a FREE afternoon of babysitting, so she can go get her nails done in peace.

And as far as a store bought gift, there's new and creative choices there too. Some of our most popular small items are, Inspirational bracelets, Purse Note Pads, business card holders, Travel Jewelry packs and personal journals. You can combine a small, well thought out gift, with your homemade personal touch for a delightful surprise for those you love.

4. Creative Relationships. I think the most important thing you can contribute to any relationship you have, be it, your spouse, your family, or your friends is ENCOURAGEMENT.

I don't know a single person who does not have a bit of uneasiness right now. We're all worried about the economy, the new direction our country is taking, the job market, and our home values to name a few. Put your arm around the person you care about and tell them that you love them, no matter what, that together we'll get through this. Maybe remind them about the things that they are good at and compliment them when they least expect it.

Be creative and express yourself in unexpected ways and maybe you'll be lucky enough to have someone tell you that they love you too, no matter what!

So I hope I've inspired your CREATIVITY now as you embark on this holiday season. When you're sitting there asking yourself, "what should I do?" Remember to do something creatively DIFFERENT than you've done before!

Happy Holidays!

Jacqueline

"But I wanna be sexy...."

Gosh how many times did I hear that the last couple of weeks when helping the girls with their Halloween Costumes? Long gone is the goulishness of Halloween and it seems like it's more of an opportunity for gals to let down their inhibitions and go all out, with an outlandish look, and it seems SEXY is the key ingredient.

First I'll confess my Halloween aspirations before I tell on my friends' desire for SEXY. You may need a little background....My husband Rick and I post daily on a website called FISHLORE about our now extensive aquatic habbit. My user name on there is MinxMermaid. One day while looking for a new Mermaid avatar, I came across a magnificant picture of a Mermaid costume, and I just HAD to have some version of that. Now, frivolous costumes are out of the budget right now, so I decided to make one. Off to the fabric mart I went and found the most glorious Mint Green Sequins for $2 per yard. But now that I had come up with this FINE FASHION CONCOCTION, where was I to GO in it?

Of course I made my little Dog Spike, My Partner in Crime! Every year there is the Haute Dog Howl o'ween parade just right across the street from my house! So....I made Spike a little Goldfish costume and we'll be a pair, Mermaid and Fish in the Howl Parade! Now lets just hope my mermaid boob doesn't pop out of the top of my blue mermaid bra when I bend over to pick up Spike! YIKES! I'll try to post pics when the whole affair is over. And by the way...I tried and tried to make Rick dress like Neptune and walk with us....to no avail!

Now for the rest of the girls....Nuvia's having a big PARTY, her annual combined Birthday / Halloween Party. geeze we went round and round on what Nuvia should be. Above all, she wanted to be SEXY, but comfortable too! At Last, Tino, her husband, solved our problem by announcing that he was going to be Hercules and wanted her to "Match". And so was created Princess Nuvia of Egypt. Back to the fabric mart we went and 6 hours later, I must admit, with scissors, Velcro, a sharpie, and a measuring tape, I took the magnificant fabric and notions we found and created and GREEK GODDESS MASTERPIECE!!! It was Short, Sexy, Classy, and comfortable.

I tried to help Katie who was sure she didn't wanted to be the female SASHQUASH her boyfriend wanted her to be...again came the innocent little cry of, "I wanna be SEXY....not a hot furry monster!!" Turns out my idea for her of Pebbles in a shimmering little cheetah material I found, she had done last year. So lets see what SEXY she comes up with on her own!

Jenna had a doubly difficult challenge...she wanted to be SEXY and EARTHY...(insert confused face here) and on top of that she wanted TWO costumes!! One for Nuvia's party nite and one for actual Haloween nite. After bouncing a thousand ideas with her, I finally left her to her own devices, cuz she wanted to "show her stomach AND her legs, but be EARTHY" huh? Well she called me today and said she was going to be a Shimmering Autumn for the party and I think she's still gonna be LeeLou for her halloween nite. (noting earthy about LeeLou, but Jenna said SEXY was more important for that nite)

So what's the moral of the story here....deep down, girls have the desire to be SEEN, and percieved as SEXY, no matter what their AGE or SIZE. Halloween just provides a safe opportunity to go for it, without social stigma or self inhibitions.
We can have a nite of "DRAMA" and still have FUN!! and tomorrow we can put our real clothes back on.

I encourage you all to tap into that desire more often and be a little daring when picking an outfit for that next date nite, or party or other occasion. There's a bit of an adrenaline rush when you Look Good and you feel Sexy! And with all the negativity in the world right now, who couldn't use a little Sexy Rush!

Tell me about your Halloween sexy!
xoxo
Jacq

Like Playing Dress Up!

WOW! Last weekend we did an in store photo shoot to show some of the new fall looks on our web site and our new EBAY store.

It was SO FUN!!! like playing DRESS UP when you're a kid. I could have played with the clothes and the models ALL DAY!! (well, i think i did!)

We had two new models, Anna, did our regular sizes and even though she's never modeled before, she was a NATURAL. I was so impressed with her natural beauty and ease and grace, and every photograph was better than the last. (I added some to the previous blog entry.)

And Gaby, modeled our plus sizes, here's one of her best shots:

This has been an amazing top for us with all the girls wearing it for a night out on the town.

She was a glamour girl all the way! can you spell G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S, I could just hear Fergie ringing in my head.....G-L....

Gaby came fully chaperoned, which was a unique experience for me, and I think it made her a little nervous in the beginning of the shoot. But once we got over the leering chaperone, she eased up and the shoot went great.

I wish I had better lighting, but hey, budget cuts dictate that we had to do our own amature shoot and we did the best we could. The most important thing is for you to get the flavor of the season, classic, and comfortable yet dynamic. That's what Minx is all about.

On a side note, I want to thank all of you who come into the store gushing with compliments, on how we have such good taste and great product! It really makes me feel good, that you GET IT!! And I love it when you bring your friends in and "show off" your little boutique find. When I can overhear you telling them, "see....didn't I tell you they have great stuff...and great prices!" I can hear the pride in your voice and honestly it warms my heart. So THANK YOU!!!

Stick with us, we've got alot in store for you and your friends!

xoxo
Jacq
Look for an update to our website soon with all the new fall photos.

Our website is www.minxshoppe.com
and our new EBAY store is Minx-Fashion-Shoppe, look for it under EBAY stores....more to come there soon!

Welcome to my Fashion Blog!

Hello Minx Fashionistas!

First I want to say Thank You! to all our loyal customers over the last Two Years!! And I want to WELCOME those of you to come in the future!

It's so rewarding to me and the staff when you tell us that you GET IT! You get our store concept of Modern Looks for Real Women and you LOVE IT!!

Fashion that fits and fashion that's affordable!

We've evolved so much and it's a constant, learning and growing process.

With the economic struggles that we are all experiencing we try to think about your wardrobe needs first and foremost. Not many people can go out and buy a whole fall wardrobe any more; so what do you need, and what do we offer you right now:

1. You need a Cute new top that will fit right into your wardrobe, one that can be worn with Jeans for dinner or dancing or can be worn with trousers for a day at the office.

2. A TOPPER COAT is essential this season. Just a medium weight, finger-tip length, cute as a button, coat. The shapes and textures are AMAZING!


3. One new pair of Jeans - EASY - CLEAN and DARK WASH. We can fit almost any body in some great jeans.

4. A FASHION SCARF! choose one that's your personality and make it your signature piece for the season.


5. A whimisical Dress. A great dress can do so much to bring out your flirty, Minxy, Girly side.
They're flattering on every shape. We've gotten girls into dresses who "haven't worn a dress in years..." and they LOVE IT! Bring out the fun girly girl in you with a striking dress.

Fall's a comin' ladies....start with this Minx Fashion Infusion to your wardrobe to shake away the end of summer blues!