Reader Request: Wide Calf Boots

(1) Ros Hommerson  (2) J. Crew  (3) Aerosoles
(4) Fitzwell  (5) Anne Klein  (6) VANELi

I recently received a reader email requesting some help in finding wide calf flat boots. She said she was having trouble finding them in stores. She didn't mention where she was from, but I looked in both the Huntington Mall and the Charleston Town Center to see what I could find. There wasn't much. At both malls, Macy's, Sears, JC Penney, and The Shoe Dept. all had wide calf selections. The Shoe Dept. had the largest selection that I saw.

The most important rule of shopping for wide calf boots is to know your calf measurements. You can do this easily with a tape measure, just measure the widest part of your calf. The measurement you want to take note of is the circumference. Each brand is going to be different so if you do go online to buy boots, you'll be saving time and money by knowing your size. 

Wide calf boots still too tight? Ros Hommerson and Fitzwell both make boots with extra wide calf measurements. 6pm.com carries a decent selection of Fitzwell boots in the extra wide calf at really good prices. 

If you need help trying to track down something, just email me:
wvfashionologist {@} gmail .com

Warming Up to Winter with Talbot's

Jersey Wrap Dress  |  Fair Isle Dress (plus sizes only)  |  Fur Collar Coat
Shetland Blazer  |  Cable Cardigan  |  Leather Pencil Skirt

When I first jumped onto Twitter and Facebook this morning, I saw pictures people were starting to post pictures of snow. My friend who works at Snowshow had a respectable dusting on his porch and my best friend in Chicago had to shovel her walkway. With snow being this dangerously close, I'm thinking I may want to revamp my plans for my autumn wardrobe. I was truly hoping to get some additional wear out of those summer-to-fall transitional pieces but it's probably not going to happen.

Since I'm in desperate need of work clothes for winter, I thought I'd start out with Talbot's. Talbot's is one of those stores I had always thought wasn't my style until I randomly ended up on their site one night and have been hooked ever since.

Everything I pictured here would work well in a business casual office, not to mention great for the weekend. If I had to pick out a favorite piece, I'd lean towards the fur collar coat or the Fair Isle sweaterdress. It's only available in plus size but I love it enough to try to figure out a way to make it work.

Oh, and yes, everything on this page is available in plus size with many in petite sizes, too.

Not only do these pieces work well in the fall, they won't stop working until next spring. If you've been like me and have always considered Talbot's to be that place where your grandma likes to shop, it's time to give it another look.

Warby Parker Is Changing How You Buy Glasses

For the past two decades or so, it's been possible to buy almost anything on the internet. Jeans, sweaters, kayaks, bagpipes, etc. However, there were a handful of items that had a hard time making the jump on to the World Wide Web. Glasses remained one of those things where you still had to jump in the car and head on down to Lenscrafters. Luckily for those who enjoy shopping in their Underoos, buying your spectacles online has become easy thanks to companies such as Warby Parker.

What makes Warby Parker (and its competitors Bon Look and Lookmatic) successful is the ability to try frames on at home for free. With all three brands, you can select up to five different frames and have them sent to you. Try them on, ask for opinions, take funny pictures, they're yours for the week. If you don't like anything, you can always just send them back and try some more frames. 

I probably went through at least 15 different pairs of frames before settling on the Bensen model (in Olivewood) from Warby Parker:

For $95, I was able to get the frames, lenses with my prescription, and an anti-glare coating. The cost for something similar from my optometrist's office was going to be a few hundred dollars with insurance. I placed my order on a Friday and had them within a week.

Warby Parker also sells sunglasses with and without prescription lenses for $150.

I am mostly happy with my glasses. There are a few points that I'm not satisfied with:

• My glasses smudge almost instantaneously due to the anti-glare coating. Also due to the coating I can't wash them if they get dirty. You have to use a special microfiber cloth to rub the smudges out which it seems like I have to do once an hour if not more.
• If you do wash your glasses or use a lens cleaning wipe the anti-glare coating develops an iridescent pink tint which is almost impossible to get rid of with the microfiber cloth. 
• If you need wide frames, you may be out of luck. There are some frames with the spring temples, but if you're looking for a traditional tortoiseshell frames the Bensen is the widest size offered. Bon Look and Lookmatic don't offer anything near as wide as the oft-mentioned Bensen.

I'd also like to mention that none of these outfits accept insurance payments. Depending on your insurance company you may be eligible for a reimbursement. 

I highly suggest giving Warby Parker, Bon Look, and Lookmatic a look-see if you wear glasses.

Off Week

Friday Reading Room: October 11

 

In the depths of my laptop lie the graphic remains of when this blog was called The Mountaineer Fashionologist. When I can break out the Photoshop this weekend I'll update post header to reflect on my new branding (which I'm a little too excited about).

 

As posted on Instagram yesterday //  I bought this absolutely adorable key chain by Elizabeth McKay because I'm tired of not being able to find my keys in my cavernous purse. I think he'll do the job quite nicely, don't you think? Don't follow me on Instagram? You should: @wvfashion

 

Here's some of the stuff I've been reading this week:

 

Capitol Hill Style // Belle tries out Alterna's Anti-Aging hair line.

 

Design Darling // Pointy toe shoes are making a comeback, thankfully.

 

A Lovely Being // Love to drool over home interiors? Check out this lovely picture set of French writer Jean Cocteau's safari-inspired home.

 

Atlantic-Pacific // Normally, I think Blair Eadie looks like she got dressed in the dark, using clothes from a Goodwill in Mogadishu. However, she's really done well with these two looks in
black and white:

 90s inspired look // elegant

 

coco + kelley // If you're not feeling the black and white love, why not try something a bit unexpected like olive green and bright red?

 

Also...

 

It's Columbus Day weekend so there should be some pretty decent sales going on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Smokey Eye from The Body Shop

 mascara // eye definer // shimmer cube

I love The Body Shop for many reasons, but probably the thing I love about it the most is how unintimidating the products are. You can look it at and know exactly how to use it.  If you like a simple makeup routine than you really need to check out The Body Shop.

Over the weekend while stuck at the Atlanta airport (my version of Hell), I wondered into The Body Shop on the F Terminal and walked out with these three products. In a rush to make the plane, I had grabbed my travel makeup bag so I could do my makeup mid-flight. Halfway from CRW to ATL, it turns out I only had some foundation. No mascara, no lipstick, just foundation.

With less than an hour before my flight started to board, I grabbed these products and pretty much did my makeup on the Plane Train. I used the soft pinkish-tan all over my lid to my brow bone. I used the copper on just the lid, with the rich brown in the crease. Using the dark chocolate brown I outlined my outer corner in that trendy thing where it looks like a V laying on its side. Added a little eyeliner which I winged out  (I did NOT do that on the Plane Train) and two coats of mascara. It took me less than three minutes and my friend told me I looked fantastic when she picked me up in Newport News, VA.

With these products, I didn't have to think about what color to use where. I really think that makeup is getting too complicated. It's supposed to be used to help you look like yourself, not David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust days. I  hate when makeup comes with a freaking map to tell me how to apply it.

Anyways, this makeup line is super simple to use and has excellent pigment payout. Worth a look if you're into natural beauty or simple beauty products.


Check out the widget below to see more of my favorites from The Body Shop!

The Body Shop

Spend or Save: Skinny Jeans

NYDJ Alina Skinnies  |  Old Navy Rockstar Skinnies

I've been a long time fan of Old Navy Jeans. They've always fit me well, I can get them in trendy colors or prints, and the price is always right. Recently, I've been reading several fashion blogs that focus on a minimal wardrobe. Their main argument is that buy purchasing items of better quality, they can reduce the size of their wardrobe and spend less on having to replace items. In other words, they spend a lot less time trying to decide what to wear in the morning because they know everything works well together. While in the "minimalist" spirit to to speak, I broke down and bought a pair of NYDJ skinny jeans, despite having bought a pair of the ON Rockstars less than a month ago. 

Judging criteria: I wore each pair on my weekly errand day. I wore them to the grocery store, bank, and a few other odd places. 

Fit | The Rockstars say their low rise, but I found them to have a mid-rise. The NYDJ has a majorly high rise. I'm pretty tall (5'11") with an average sized torso and the rise came up to damn near the bottom band of my bra . Remember Urkel and his highwaters from from Family Matters? Yeah, it was like that. I also found them to run rather large in the hips and rear. On the Rockstars, they aren't nearly as baggy in the hips nor rear and they stretch out as well (I do recommend getting the Rockstars in your size). The legs in the Rockstars are very skinny, like legging-skinny. The legs for NYDJ are skinny, but not clingy-skinny.

Craftsmanship | Both pairs are made of very stretchy denim. They seem very similar and both pairs are holding up quite nicely after washing (inside out in cold water, air dry). I know with just about any other pair of ON jeans I've bought, they look good for about a year or slightly longer, and then they almost immediately fall apart and look like crap. I really think the NYDJ jeans will last much longer.

Overall |  If your hips and rear are a concern area for you, the NYDJ Alina skinnies are perfect for you. I really do like them and aside from the super-high rise, they're comfortable as hell. If you're like me and have an average size butt and hip measurement, the Rockstars will fit better. 

Verdict | It's a draw. For me, the Rockstars win because I can get them in different colors and even prints at a great price. If you're into classic denim and don't need colors or prints (and don't sneeze at the $130 price) the NYDJ will work great for you.

Introducing Tory Burch's Beauty Line

Since the recession, beauty has been one of the highest-grossing sections of the fashion industry, if it's not sitting on top of the list. Outselling handbags, shoes, and jeans, high-end designers and brands are jumping on the lipstick bandwagon. Burberry, Tom Ford, Michael Kors and now Tory Burch have all recently released beauty lines that are doing quite well.

Tory's beauty line is currently pretty small. What I have featured here is most of the collection, minus a bottle or two of lotion and a candle. There's only one color choice for the lipstick, the creamy cheek/eye color (pictured at the bottom right), and the blush/bronzer duo. Simply put, this is a color collection that will look good on 99% of people. 

The packaging is the best I've seen for any cosmetics:

I recieved a sample of Tory's new fragrance last week and I was so excited to try it. The Tory Burch website describes the notes:

Floral peony and tuberose blend with crisp citrus notes of grapefruit and neroli — anchored by earthy vetiver. A bright and complex mix in a super-chic glass bottle with a signature fretwork top.

 To me, at first whiff this smelled just like Clinque's Happy, a perfume I wouldn't exactly consider my favorite. I really smelled grapefruit and an unidentifiable floral. After the first spritz I thought I wouldn't be too crazy about this scent but then came the middle notes and the dry down. The middle notes had peony and other soft florals with just a hint of the grapefruit. Not bad. The dry down is the best part. I could smell jasmine--one of my favorite scents--with a hint of vanilla and vetiver. The perfume goes from being energetic and bright and dries down to soft and elegant. This is really a fantastic scent and would be perfect if you're looking to replace your everyday perfume.

My birthday is in a few weeks, and I've been thinking over what to get myself. I've looked at getting a new bag, an expensive pair of heels I'll never wear, etc., but I'm really thinking that this collection would be a nice gift to myself.