Business Chic

What’s a stay-at-home mom to wear & not look dumpy?

Nagore Aramburu with daughter Ane in Madrid;
I totally get where this reader is coming from as I remember this dressing predicament from when my son was little. What's a stay-at-home mom to wear can be frustrating, if not a bit sticky. Let's help her out with some stylist tips.... they work to for a solo-entrepreneur who works from home with a virtual staff. Dear Sharon:  I am a stay-at-home mom and I never know what to put on. Most days I exercise and go to the store or run errands. On the days I don't leave the house I just put on T-shirts and yoga pants. When I go shopping for clothes I never know what to buy. Can you help? I just don't want to look so dumpy all the

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Stylist Advice- What to wear to a black tie optional event with the boss? Try an evening wrap!

If a black tie optional event is mostly business men, can this reader dare to bare with a backless dress? Dear Sharon:  I would sincerely appreciate your input on an issue I am having with a business black tie optional event.  I am attending a "black tie optional" awards ceremony anddinner for a builders' association in Western NY (near Canada). My completely platonic date is my boss. The builders' association is pretty male dominated, but I'm sure most will bring their wives/girlfriends to this particular event. I have this gorgeous vintage Ann Taylor black suede dress that comes to just above the knee, has bracelet-length sleeves, and is backless almost to the waist but a little higher. I am dying to wear it! Would that be

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How to Glam Up Everyday Clothes? Look at Kate Hudson Wearing Ann Taylor

Just out: Ann Taylor’s Holiday 2012 ad campaign starring actress Kate Hudson What makes my morning soar is to see everyday, real world clothes look glam and gorgeous. Not the red carpet fabulouso outfits that are totally aspirational and inaccessible to our real lives- but real clothes designed for regular women, and that they happen to be worn by a gorgeous actress. Marketing genius, yes.  Style strategy to think about-- you bet. Kate Hudson (okay, we won't think about the rumor that she worked out for SIX hours a day to get her post baby figure back in shape) looks marvelous in the clean cut and sophisticated styling of Ann Taylor. What makes these looks pop is Kate's effortless yet styled

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Work It: Style Guidelines for Women Entrepreneurs- my guest post on thenextwomen.com

Guest Post on thenextwomen.com- Style Guidelines for Female Entrepreneurs
  Guest Post on thenextwomen.com- Style Guidelines for Female Entrepreneurs After my interview about how I run FocusOnStyle on thenextwomen.com, I was delighted when they asked me to share some style guidelines for women entrepreneurs about what modern business women should wear for a variety of occasions, like pitching for funding, attending networking events, social media photos, and speaking at large events in this guest post on their site. >> ORIGINAL: Source           >> MORE: Media Mentions   STYLE GUIDELINES FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS The NextWomen September Food & Fashion Theme. You've practised the pitch a thousand times, but what on earth should you wear on the big day?? After we spoke with Sharon Haver, style expert and Founder of FocusOnStyle.com, earlier this

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Sharon Haver Interview on the The Next Women Business Magazine

Sharon Haver interview on The Next Women business magazine
>> ORIGINAL: Source here            >> MORE: Media Mentions Sharon Haver interview on The Next Women business magazine Web Entrepreneur Sharon Haver, Founder, FocusOnStyle: Bringing Celebrity Fashion Tips to Everyday Women >> ORIGINAL: Source here            >> MORE: Media Mentions The NextWomen September Food & Fashion Theme. Sharon Haver founded FocusOnStyle, an independently operated online fashion, beauty and style magazine, in 1999. FocusOnStyle is a guide to can-do chic, offering fashion tips, beauty hints, and shopping advice from fashion expert Sharon and her team of contributing experts. Prior to founding FocusOnStyle, Sharon had an expansive career in New York, working as a photography fashion stylist, columnist, contributing editor, lecturer and on-air television/radio fashion expert. Sharon first revealed her fashion

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Stylish and Versatile Options for the Office – Yes Please!

Stylish Office Wardrobe, YES, that can happen! With the end of summer and back-to-school time coming around, step up this season with an advance on style to look your best at the office as we'll be spending the next few days considering top, attainable options to get you ready If you've been reading FoS, by now you may have scored a series of in-the-know notes on how to look chic any time with any budget, and with a quick visit to Macy's, (and, there's a Labor Day SALE too!) your work wardrobe is soon to be revitalized. >>DISCOVER: The never-ending versatility of a classic silk blouse From essential tailoring to on-trend dresses chic enough for cocktail hour to versatile separates that look

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Stylist Advice: When Can I Wear Nude Stockings?

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has made wearing pantyhose mainstream, and even chic!
Can I wear stockings in beginning of September or is there a time of year when I can wear nude stockings? My legs are horrific... I am 58 and have a lot of marks and spider veins. I had a housecleaning business for 18 years, so my knees are discolored. What is the best shade of hosiery to wear? Is it nude or  should the hose color to match dress--- with closed shoes, of course?  (via Fashion Advice) >>MORE: Stylist Advice and Pantyhose  Trends may come and go but what looks best on the wearer is ALWAYS the most important, regardless of the season. While nude pantyhose has been off the charts for a while, Kate Middleton's penchant for properness put nude hose back in

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Balenciaga Wear It Now! The New Summer Suit- Resort 2013 Highlights for a spin on Business Chic

The Summer Suit... still relaxed yet sleek from Balenciaga Resort 2013... Just in time for the first scorching hot days of summer here in NYC comes the perfect refresher course on attainable chic from the Resort 2013 collections. >>MORE: FASHION SHOWS AND RUNWAY REVIEWS Day three of our look at extracting the trends from next season for now has our attention on Balenciaga's directional outing. Full of ultra-smart, forever chic options with a real-world appeal, Nicolas Ghesquiere worked the working-girl ease of his stellar Fall 2012 collection into an airy and distinctively re-appropriated series of desirable looks. >>MORE: Business Chic Amidst the selection of references were a mix of smart separates like this natty suit in a rich paper bag brown hue. While

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Can A Midi Dress Look Chic & Not Matronly? Yes, Look At Gwyneth Paltrow

I'll Have What She's Having: An elegant midi dress that doesn't scream old lady frumpy AND you can wear it to work! Here's some stylist advice on how to make a forever-chic statement like actress Gwyneth Paltrow in a knee-length number and not look matronly. Gwyneth Paltrow wearing AW12 Burberry Prorsum Pre-Collection look 10 and carrying a Victoria Beckham Fall 2012 Two Tone Shoulder Bag in Moonstone / Black with her Turning head's for over a decade with her innate sense of style that remains forever-chic, actress Gwyneth Paltrow's recent appearance in a minimal Burberry textured dress should work for you as a source of inspiration when considering alternative skirt lengths. >>Need help figuring out how to wear it? Discover

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French Chic at a Certain Age: The power of black a la Juliette Binoche… not so basic!

Basic black becomes beautiful black when it's worn in the right French Chic way... It's funny how there are photos of us that almost instantly look dated and others that have timeless perfection. What we are wearing plays a huge part in what sustains looking chic and vital rather than overdone and garish. Take for instance, the style power and endurance of perennially black clad Juliette Binoche and Malgorzarta Szumowska pictured here. >> Day One of the three-part FoS series Ageless & Age-Appropriate French Chic At A Certain Age Let's think about this: every season there is a trend color; something eye-catching to refuel your need to buy something new. You wear that color. Like this season's trendy shade of coralish-roseish-tangerine formerly rightly reserved

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Senior Style: 65 Things to Do When You Retire, My Essay On How To Master Your Look (book excerpt)

When editor Mark Evan Chimsky asked me to write a 'Master Your Look' essay for the anthology 65 Things to Do When You Retire, 65 Notable Achievers on How to Make the Most of the Rest of Your Life (Sellers Publishing), I couldn't refuse. Besides having the opportunity to share my senior style tips for a time in your life when coveting the latest it thing is not as relevant as revitalizing your most age-appropriate personal best, my essay would be in the book along such esteemed notables as my feminist idol Gloria Steinem, former President Jimmy Carter, Jane Fonda, John E. Nelson, (What Color Is Your Parachute?), and a host of other experts and achievers on how to make the most of the rest of

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Trend Tuesday – Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron in Top Spring Business ChicTrends

Why do we tip off what works about these two political ladies? Because both Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron have mastered sophisticated business chic, and here's how you can add polish to your workwear wardrobe  too! Call it a double-impact dose of top Spring cool when Michelle Obama & Samantha Cameron are paired together... MORE: Michelle Obama Style and Samantha Cameron The duo looked easy- business chic last week meeting in D.C in a natty white skirt suit with a sculptural peplum flair and a daytime elegant color-blocked belted shift dress that leaves no debate on who wore it better as both style mavens made quite a beautiful set of polished statements. >>More: Latest Trends On Obama, Zac Posen's monochromatic skirt suit

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Exploring Style: Alison Levine’s Expert Packing Tips For Business Chic

Alison Levine completed the Adventure Grand Slam, May 2010 (Climbed the highest peak on each continent and skied to both Poles) and can work a Dolce & Gabbana workwear suit too!
How does she do it? From climbing the Seven Summits to expertly packing a Carven dress for a business trip, Alison Levine is no ordinary traveler. As a matter of fact, she is pretty darn extraordinary. An adventurer, explorer and mountaineer who has climbed the Seven Summits being the highest peak on every continent, Alison was the Team Captain of the First American Women’s Everest Expedition, skied to both the North and South Poles, and is an Adjunct Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. >>RELATED: Travel Posts If that's not enough, Alison had a successful Wall Street investment banking career that she left to serve as deputy finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his bid to become Governor of California, is the Founder of the consulting

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