The Great Clothes Sort

Summer isn't officially here yet, so there's still time to spring clean your closet to make room for your new summer duds. Even better, it can be done in 3 easy steps!

Sort all clothes into the following categories:

1 - Adore

Clothes you are madly in love with and wear often

2 - Despise

Clothes that are hideous, don't fit/are poorly made, and/or you wore them during the Clinton administration (the 1st or 2nd one)

The hamburger dress seemed like a good idea at the time....

3 - Never Wear

Regardless of whether you like these pieces or not, you've forgotten about them in the bowels of your closet

ADORES - return them to your closet, and ask yourself a series of questions about them. What about each piece makes you look fabulous? Why? What colors look smashing on you? What styles flatter you the best? Perhaps a top with a wrap waist flatters your figure, or a deep v-neck. Keep these styles in mind (and maybe jot down a few notes) for your next shopping trip

DESPISES - Send them to charity for people that actually need them. Just like the adores, ask yourself why you dislike each piece. Is the cut, color, or pattern unflattering? Too big or too small? Does it represent the person that you want to be? If not, why? Jot down these thoughts for your next shopping trip.

NEVER WEARS - Try on each one, and ask yourself, "If I tried this on at the store today, would I buy it again?" If the answer is no, send it packing. Who wants a closet full of clothes that you feel lukewarm about? If you love it, back into the closet it goes!

And you're DONE!! Phew...time to get shopping for a healthier wardrobe!

Breakfast at Tiffany's Drawing Room

Tres Chic Designs

Donations for Doxies

The holidays are finally in our rear view, Christmas trees are down (hopefully), and it's time to get ready for spring! So why not get a jump on that spring cleaning? Where to start? How about deculttering your doggie drawer, and donating the excess to needy puppies?

Très Chic has teamed up with the Dachshund Rescue of Houston, for a full out “Doxie Drive”. We are currently collecting donation items such as dog food, blankets, leashes, crates, collars, etc. to go directly to the Dachshund Rescue.

As an extra bonus, if you schedule a decorating, organizing, or style consultation during the month of January, Très Chic will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Dachshund Rescue of Houston. That’s a lot of dachshund squeaky toys!

For a full list of needed puppy supplies you can visit the DROH website(dachshundrescueofhouston.org), or to arrange a pick up, please send requests to mailto:info@tcdhouston.com

How to Mix Prints

I'm "out of pocket" this week, but I've been meaning to show you this refreshing mixed print ensemble from Hello-Lucky for a while now. I'm often asked by clients for advice on how to put together "mismatched" prints, and the above is a stellar example. Many of us were taught growing up that you never mix patterns within the same outfit. It's time to totally toss that rule in the trash with pantyhose and girdles! Still stumped? Here are some of my favorite tips:

1. Stay within a coordinating color palate. Figure out which colors are dominate in each pattern. Imagine if they were solids, could you wear them together? Stick with the same color scheme, and you will be golden.

2. Match conservative traditional designs (stripes, plaids,etc.) with a slightly wilder graphic, leopard, or crafted style. I love how the graphic print above just peeks out slightly to accent the traditional plaid.

3. Choose 1 bold piece, and 1 very subdued piece that will balance the outfit.

4. Still print shy? Try adding them in gradually with accessories. Carry a floral bag while wearing a floral dress (in a different pattern of course). Pair some leopard pumps with a striped top and solid skirt. Play in your closet and have a ball!

I love mornings when...

...I get to work from home. I can wear these with reckless abandon, dance a jig around my office, take 15 minute doggie kiss breaks, and still manage to get more work done than I would on a normal day.

Belated Happy New Year!! I'm finally back from my holiday vacation, and I am seriously pumped for this upcoming year. There's some big stuff on the horizon, and I can't wait to share it with all of you.

Hope you and your families had a very safe & restful holiday!
B

Simon Fashion Now™ Winner!

The winner of our VIP tickets & Swag Bags is.....Amanda L. Congrats!!

By the way, thanks so much to the fabulous photographer Todd Parker, for the lovely blog write up (and plan to hear more about him in the near future).

Even if you didn't win the VIP tix, you don't have to miss out on the the cutting edge fashion events at the Galleria this weekend. So what makes Simon Fashion Now such a blast? Nicole Davis, director of marketing at The Galleria told us, " the beauty of Simon Fashion Now is accessibility. Every look on the runway can be immediately found at retailers within The Galleria. With fashion being presented at a variety of price points, no consumer group is excluded."

Alright guys, hope to see you all there! If you'd like to see the full schedule events click here

Vaughan Christopher Gallery

(pictured above from the left: Andrew McNevin, Holly Vogt Wilkison, Me, and Houston Hayes)

One of my absolute favorite things from this past year, was the opening of the Vaughan Christopher Gallery. It was perfectly orchestrated by A Fare Extraordinaire down to every last electric green Warhol Cocktail (I was on Warholtini #4 in the picture above...don't judge me). The gallery was filled with dozens of seasonal white flowers, to-die-for delicious catering, and brilliant orange accents sprinkled throughout (the servers even wore skinny orange ties..so mod!). Lucky for Houston's Weekly Chic, Ginger Wright, one of the gallery owners agreed to give us a very quick Q&A. Enjoy...

Why did you choose to open a gallery in Houston, as opposed to a different city?
It is where I/we live and have established my/our lives.

What is your favorite piece that you own?
My favorite piece that the gallery owns is by Matisse, Dancers. However, my favorite art piece changes on a daily basis, so that would be today's answer!

Pick one artist that you love.
That would be impossible for me.

Pick one artist that you hate.
I do not hate any artist.

What do you enjoy doing outside of spending every last minute of your day running a gallery?
Spending time with friends and family

What would you like the average Houstonian to know about Vaughan Christoper Gallery?
We have a fabulous collection of Master works that the average person can find and afford.

L+J Industrises

I am busting at the seams, because I just discovered a new, one-of-kind Houston furniture line that has me jumping for joy. L+J Industries. A couple of twin sisters named Lynne and Julia Schafer find vintage pieces, jazz them a bit, and give us striking furniture overflowing with personality. Imagine sitting on the above tuffet while putting on a pair of fancy shmancy shoes on your way to the royal ball. Ahh... heaven. Tiara and Prince Charming sold separately.

Oh Deer...so much wrapping!

Instead of buying 20 different colors/patterns of wrapping paper this year like I normally do (with at least 30 different types of ribbon), I decided to pare down and simplify. After aimlessly wandering Michaels for 20 minutes, I bought:

• white craft paper
• brown craft paper
• raffia -just plain old naturally colored raffia

Still a little bit plain for my taste, so I bought some totally adorable gift tags from Dallas and VOILA...presents that look like they came out of a magazine. My friends and family are out of luck because I'm thinking about keeping them. I don't want the gifts inside, I just want to save them to decorate my house next year.

Vaughan Christopher Gallery Grand Opening!

The art scene in Houston just got even awesome-er...in a priceless sort of way. Tonight is the grand opening of the Vaughan Christopher Gallery on South Shepherd. Even if you know zilch about art, you will definitely recognize some of these big names. Favorites such as Picasso, Warhol, Matisse and Dali are all represented. Check out their info. below for specifics. I will be there with cocktail in hand.

VAUGHAN CHRISTOPHER GALLERY
Friday, November 14, 2008
7-10 pm
1217 SOUTH SHEPHERD HOUSTON, TEXAS 77019
COCKTAIL RECEPTION

Works by Chagall, Dali, Francis, Haring, Hirst, Kaufman, Lichtenstein, Manes, Matisse, Miro, Moore, Murakami, Picasso, Quinn and Warhol are brilliantly showcased in the intimate space. “We have a large quantity of very high quality works,” said Amy King. ” Because our collection is so diverse, I think anyone could find something here that intrigued them, and I find that possibility extremely exciting.” Among the 100 pieces in inventory, we have iconic works such as Warhol’s Marilyn and Lichtenstein’s Bull Profile series to less familiar treasures like Picasso’s Picador et Chevral and Chagall’s Romeo and Juliet.