Traveling Light: How to Look Fantastical, While Still Being Practical!

Working the deal!

And the beat goes on.......summer isn't over, and we are still gallivanting!  Living out of a suitcase gets old very quickly, and lugging that thing around can be even more treacherous.  After reading this week's tutorial, however, you will have mastered the art of roving cloudlessly and looking radiant, so much so, that the gypsies will be envious!

When on the go, keep two things in mind:  versatility and comfort!  I see sooooo many women at the airport trying to look chic with their stiletto spikes and sky scraping wedges; and let me tell you, prima swankies, one word:  Desigual.....doesn't work!  They look uncomfortable and stupid, especially trying to drag their massive, overstuffed carry-ons!  It's totally impossible for a woman to look fashionable and fierce when she can't even walk in her shoes!


Of course you could do what I do, and bring the basics and one "emergency dress and heels" in an otherwise empty suitcase, and just buy whatever you need once you arrive at your destination.  However, this is not economical nor always feasible.  

Easy switch for fun at night!

There are three possible occasions for which to dress during your trip:  A.) Fun excursions (this includes casual visits with friends and family), B.)Dressy events (weddings or dinner engagements), and C.) Business meetings. The first thing to do, is make a list of the necessary nitty gritties, which I have already provided for you here......aren't I wonderful?

1.)  Jeans.......Glorious Jeans!!  If you are not a "jeans person," ok for you, but jeans are not only ambidextrous in the fashion world, but also wearable for a few episodes without having to wash them immediately, like you would, with other pants and shorts.  Who cares if they wrinkle?  Some already come that way.  Jeans are so wonderful because you can wear them casually during the day, and just magically transform your entire look into neatly social for the evening, with just the change of shirt and shoes!

2.)  Polo shirts and tank tops.......lightweight, lightweight, lightweight.........and YES more room in the suitcase for shopping later!!  Just hanging around or casual excursioining is your time to relax and be comfortable.  Stay away from T shirts unless you are using them as night shirts.  Or else T shirts are fitted, they are so boring!  Polo shirts still allow you to look regal, and today's tank will be tomorrow's workout shirt!

3.)  Black Pants (for business):  it may be hot, but most offices and meeting places are air conditioned.  Black trousers are fantastic because now, if you are meeting for dinner/drinks after, all you have to do, is take off your blazer, and voila, you have on one of your fancy tanks, and boom, done, let's go, where's the party!  

4.)  Shoes.........only 3......and one of those pair you will wear to the airport!  How do you like those apples?  You only need one pair of dress shoes, sneakers (if you work out), and flip flops:  if you are venturing to someplace warm, boots:  if you are going someplace cold.  If you never want to be caught off guard, I recommend flip flop wedges with a heel........yes, they make them now.  You can wear them anytime, including a dressy Caribbean dinner celebration, especially if you pick a metallic color!!

5.)  Handbags, including evening clutches:  one of each.......here, one size fits all!  All you have to do is sport a trendy tote during the day, and this will be one of your carry-ons to the plane!! At night, the evening clutch will match your elegant shoes, and they will go with every dress you have!  As an extra tip, I use my evening wristlet as my wallet in my daily handbag, so I don't need an extra one at night.  Besides, it saves time, because I only have to grab it and go, no transferring credit cards and lipstick!

6.)  Dresses:  one for each occasion.  I recommend wearing dresses at night, especially in hot weather.  They look nicer, are easier to store in luggage, and only one piece to match!

7.)  Makeup and skincare:  if you can,  ask your beauty consultant for travel samples or transfer all you can into FSA-approved containers.  Believe it or not, if you have a full Arsenal like I do, these products add up and can get amazingly heavy!  Store them in clear makeup bags and carry them on your person.  One thing I do not want the airlines to lose, is my skincare and makeup!  Depending on where you are going, you may not be able to find the lines that you use.  You can replace clothes and undergarments, but you will be in deep do-do if these items are gone!  Also, if you store them in clear makeup bags, you just reach into your tote and throw them on the airport x-ray conveyor.....tres facile!  To make things even easier, only bring what you know looks best on you!  Chances are, pictures will be taken, and we want to look spotlight-ready, as usual!  This means, again, one eye shadow palette, one blush, two eyeliners (one for the day, and one for the night for a more intense look).  You may bring different lipsticks, and that alone, will change up your presentation.  I suggest lipsticks from different color genres if you can wear them:  warm and cool.  You may be in the cool color family, but if you happen to get a tan, the warm family can look outstanding on you, come sunset!


Dressing for the airport:  If you plan to get some exercise on your trip, wear your sneakers!  Yes, you can still be a stunner in your "tennis."  I usually wear white jeans and a black turtleneck with sporty sunglasses, and let me tell you, this stylish diction is HAUGHT!  It's a sporty, functional look.  Remember, airports and planes are cold!!  If you tend to be going through menopause and/or are one of those lovelies that are always hot (yes we know you are by nature; I'm talking about your body temperature), again, this is where one of your tanks come in, and throw on a button-up or zip sweater.  You can always take the sweater off and tie it around your waist.  This stylish slant is true cooperation with sneakers.  Refer back to our essentials:  polos work with this outfit too.  You see how uncomplicated it is to pull this all together?  One last tip:  whatever you do, do NOT wear sweatpants.......not even nice ones.  Those are for the gym or bed!

 

From Business to Pleasure:

    TO:      

Just remove the blazer!!

Having a Bad Handbag Day?

No fretting allowed, starlets:  La Puma is here to cure all of your fashion ailments!!  For those of us who just don't want to look all put together before we leave the safe cavern of home, but NEED to look impeccably polished before stepping out to the scene, this article is for you! 

How many times have you gotten all decked out, shoes, earrings and all, only to find that you have not one handbag in that mound of accouterments, to match!!  Whatever you do, DO NOT go out and buy another expensive handbag......no no NO, bad fashionistas!!  Remember, true talent in style is all about improvising!  

Let's start by defining and discussing La Puma's three basic styles.  There is a time and a place for each one:

1.)  Too Matchy-Matchy:  when you have the same pattern on your shirt, trousers, and/or handbag.  The only time you ever want to be too matchy matchy, is a when you are scheduling a breakup date!  Too matchy-matchy is a big no no when taking pride in your appearance.  The reason for this is because you don't want to come off like you are trying too hard!  Do I need to remind you, bebe chicas, fashion is a talent that should come naturally, not "worked at."  When our attire looks like we put too much effort into it, it gives off the air that we are trying aimlessly to impress.  That is clearly NOT the image that we want to project.  We want to appear confident and KNOW that we look unstoppable!

2.)  Safe:  well, is just that!  It's ok to remain safe during any kind of interview or business meeting.  Overwhelming your potential boss or client may cost you the deal if he/she assumes your personality is just as intense as your suit!  You always know you are safe when you stick with the basics and the classics.  Solid colored dress shirts, black slacks, pearls, and cashmere are all examples of safe bets.

3.)  Fierce:  a look that OTHERS have to work at in order to duplicate.  A fierce look usually produces head-turning, eye bulging, neck craning responses from your audience!  As Ke$ha says, the party don't start until I walk in; and when you have a reputation of being fierce, everyone will be waiting in anticipation, to see what type of smashing getup you'll be adorned in for the evening!

Now, let's look at examples of each, below.  First let's start with the blouse:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Handbags that would be Too Matchy-Matchy:

GORGEOUS bags, but not an option with this shirt!

Here, we have a "Safe" representation: 

Now for the Demonstration (the fierce way):

Here's the shirt again:

Choose your handbag:  

CLEARLY, THIS DOES NOT MATCH!

Now for the MAGIC: add a cheap matching scarf:

SEE HOW EASY?

 

BOOM!

                                                                                                                                            

ALMOST DONE....

                                   

ADD SHOES

See how painless and fast that was?  Metallic goes with everything, and the silver shoes pick up the silver in the handbag ever so nicely!  My advice to you to make things even faster and accessible, is to phase out your "scarf drawer" if you have one.  Instead, hang all your scarves around the matching chosen attire in your closet.  This way, you won't need more time to have to go hunting for a shirt and then your scarf.  Besides, you probably won't be matching that handbag with the same scarf all the time, since the scarf doesn't match everything in your wardrobe.

Now you only have to look for one article, not two

Twine it through a belt loop
                                                                                   

  

    

It is much cheaper and stylish to go this route, rather than running out to buy yet, another expensive purse.  There are plenty of places to shop for inexpensive scarves.  Feel free to add sparkles and pendants too!  Use your imagination and you will surprise yourself as to how creative you can become!  Get really "fierce" and share your ideas!  

                                                                    HappyFashion Fixing!

                                                                         La Puma~!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Lions, Tigers and Bears.......How Chic!!

......and zebras, and cheetahs, and pumas.....and all the animals of the fashion kingdom (faux of course).....OH MY!!!  Yes, that's what your audience will be saying when you step out in these styles (and oh how you WILL be seen)!  Many bombshells will shy away from animal print because they they think it's too daring, not "safe," or will be a victim to some fashion criticism.  Remember, with La Puma's rules, it DOES NOT have to match, it just has to feel right.  Ok, so now, how do we go about feeling right?  One word for you, my fellow fashionistas: COLOR!   We start with color; and just like makeup, just like decorating a house, we blend, blend, blend!!  When we learn how to blend color, we can even mix TWO animal prints.  I know what you are thinking:  "La Puma, are you crazy........MIX animal prints in the same outfit?"  But as Cher used to say, "Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great."  How do you think fads are started?  Yes, today, I will show you how to wear animal print, whether you want to project attitude, regality, or subtlety......even if you work for Wall Street!  Enough chatter.......let's begin!

Rule 1:  pick 3 colors (three neutral, or two neutral and one loud).  Luckily, most animal prints are all neutral colors, right?  The problem becomes when we mix two prints that don't match because the colors don't blend, or there is one color in there that is too loud.  Here, we have red, white, and black.  

              

                                                                                                                         

Whoah.....4 colors, but they BLEND!

Rule 2:  Pick a solid color pant.  If you're sporting an animal color pant, then pick a solid shirt.  You don't want to overwhelm your audience with too much.  One conversation piece at a time, please!  Here, I would pick white or black pants.  If you happen to find a pair of red pants, ok fine, but the tone of the pants has to the exact red of the shoes or the bag, or it will throw off your entire look.                                                                                                                                                          

Rule 3:  Here comes my favorite:  Accessorize!!  Shoes, handbags, and jewelry.......ready?  This is where you can remain safe or go nuts.  Do you think you could wear pearls with this style?  Absolutely, you can!  How about a plain, black blazer and black pants with pearls, perfect for work, yes?  YES!!  When accessorizing, let's revert back to rule #1, and pick one of those 3 colors you chose for your daily wardrobe.  Here, we got lucky because in the handbag (forgive me for jumping too far ahead),  we were fortunate to find all three colors.  Now, you see how it's not really about the animal print, per se, but again, lovelies, COLOR.......n'est pas?   If you want to respect the traditional rule of matching your shoes with your handbag, in this case, you can choose any of our three primary colors and rock it.  Depending on your scene, you can just switch up your shoes.  If you're at work, pumps, like in the immediate photo above, are fine.  Just out and about?  The red wedges posted here are comfortable, yet statement-minded.  Cribbing with the girls at the club: add strappy heels.........voila!!  

Three neutral colors:  white, black, and brown:  leopard AND zebra!

As you learn to dress in your own animal skin, you can get more and more daring, one step at a time.  For example,  let me draw your attention to the necklace, back in the first picture above.  I added this here, to show you how, if the colors are adjacent, even if there is a slight deviation to the primary 3 that we originally chose, it will work, because they are touching.  For example, when you pick colors for the walls in your house, you stand in one room, and look to see which rooms you can see, from the one in which you are standing.  Those colors must BLEND!! Same rule here.  if the "rooms are adjacent," they must blend.  Here we have some goldish brown and black in the shirt and also the necklace.....again, more about color, less about print, even though we have both white cheetah and brown cheetah in this style!!  

Simple, yet dramatic!!

Blue, brown, and white.....white pants will look FABULOUS!

  

Now, its YOUR turn!!  You will be surprised, with these three rules, how you now look so differently at your wardrobe!  Doesn't this make you want to go run in your closet and see how you can design a new world of style?  Do it, and post your ideas here, with me!!  I encourage you to be as daring as you want!  Wear your new finds with the utmost confidence..........and soon, you will see everyone copying you!!

Happy Fashion Fixing,

~La Puma~!

Welcome.....WELCOME!!!!

........to Youth Arsenal.....where Fashion and Anti Aging are our Passion!!  I can't tell you how EXCITED I am to launch and share this site with all of you!!  Youth Arsenal offers "a LOT of bit" to everyone, from the Queen Bee Fashionista on the hunt for the latest trend, to the Modern Housewife seeking to look and feel the best she can, armed with the latest weaponry in Anti Aging.  Here, at Youth Arsenal, we make YOU the focus.  We share, learn, experience, and grow into our most FIERCE, hottest, and stylish selves, no matter your couture du jour!!  Again, fashion of the millennium is not about strict rules of matching anymore!  Quite, the contrary!  It's about feeling hot and looking fierce in your own self-righteous skin!  

Happy Fashion Fixing!!

~La Puma~!