Ever think about if you could know everything about something what would that be?

I would love to know everything there is to know about music. To me, music is the answer no matter what the question.

Every mood, every emotion, every memory can relate to music. You hear a tune and you can immediately place yourself in the moment you first heard it. You can think of all of the different stages of your life and how that particular piece of music resonates with you.

Music has been a constant presence in my life. There was always music playing in our house. I was drawn to all kinds of music and fortunately for me my parents introduced us to a wide selection of music. Big band standards were always there- Vaughn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Robert Goulet and I can still remember my dad bringing home the first Elvis Presley album!! In addition to all of that, my parents also enjoyed opera and the love of that continues for me now. My first opera was in the early 60’s The Met’s La Sonnambula. Wow…I thought I was such a sophisticate! I can even remember the outfit I wore…It was a pant suit with a matching knee length coat…Hilary Clinton would have been envious!!

Between 1962 and 1966 Lincoln Center came into being.  I am a regular visitor to this day. I had the most outrageous honor of being given a Lincoln Center Student Award. I think it was in 1966. It consisted of tickets to a variety of events at Lincoln Center. A good part of the fun was traveling into NYC on the train with Mike Masone and John Savage (back in the day he was John Youngs to all of us at POBHS). I could understand how both Mike (I believe he was a clarinet player) and John (a vocalist) were chosen, but I just lucked out being the one who was active in student government and chorus!! Speaking of John…at our high school no one would ever be ale to forget his rendition of “Climb Every Mountain”-I could probably start to cry just thinking back to him singing that at graduation.

As I age, my taste in music remains eclectic. I love rock as well as popular music and I still cry at every opera that my friend Julie and I have attended over the years. I have introduced my husband Tom to opera and he has enjoyed it.  Many of the tunes are familiar to everyone, he tells me, because we all grew up hearing them as background music on cartoons!! It is true!! My favorite is anything Puccini has ever done…as ELO says in Rockaria, “…she loves the way Puccini lays down a tune…” That’s me.

I have been lucky to have musicians in my life who afford me opportunities to experience a lot of different things. My friend Al Regni is a fantastic and well known sax player. He has played with the best from Broadway to the New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony and scores of other things. Al’s daughter Marissa is a violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra. My niece, Alison Crossley ( I thank my first husband for sharing his family with me!) is an up and coming flutist. It is so wonderful keeping up with their careers and being able to share in some wonderful moments.

Music is a universal language…it affects a person’s blood pressure and instills calmness. For those with dementia is has even been studied how it opens up the arteries increasing the blood flow and adds to one’s well being. I often feel the need to sing which opens up your chakras!!

OK…back to how does this relate to fashion….Have you ever seen a fashion show that would be presented without music? I rest my case.

This weekend is the official transition to summer. I thought this week would be a good time to share some ideas to update your look for the season. I think most of us would like to be “on trend” and but leave “trendy” to someone else!! Nothing worse than looking like you are trying too hard to be someone you are not.

My post-career wardrobe did not need too many adjustments since I was in the fashion business. Those of you coming out of very corporate environments may have a greater adjustment to make. You need to have a balance in your closet to be able to get a casual look and also use those pieces for soft suiting for dressier occasions. The best way I have found to do this is deciding on the look you are comfortable in and then add a piece or two of what is on trend. This can be done with fabric and color. This season we see the continuance of chiffon and sheer fabrics. I have loved this trend that has been building for a couple of seasons. There are so many great looks you can get by adding chiffon open front cardigans to your wardrobe. They are so figure flattering with the cascading fronts. Chiffon has also been big in scarf tops, tunic length tops and this season the kimono style “jackets” have been introduced. The two top places to get this look is either at CHICO’S or the SUSAN GRAVER line at QVC. The prints have been so beautiful and the color palettes have been very friendly this season. JCPenney has also had a great selection of these tops this year. When I was in retail buying I bought this category under accessories (which is the department you will find these items in stores). Back then we called the category “cover ups” which was a catch all for styles that were fashion items that were not blouses, shirts or sweaters. Buying accessories was my favor of all areas in my lengthy career (of course it helped that my boss was one to encourage her associates to test their wings and let their creativity grow. Thank you to Joanne for that!). I found a fabulous kimono style jacket at JCPenney in a chambray blue and ivory print with fringe at the hem. Fringe is also a big trend right now. Just make sure that you don’t look like you have put on a vintage lampshade to achieve the look!!! I also have found other printed kimonos there with high/low hems that can be used either dressed up or down with jeans or crop pants.  The best selection of printed chiffon vests is also found at SUSAN GRAVER at QVC. An additional tip that I got is that you can take the vest, fold it to put the armholes together, wrap it around your neck and pull the ends through the armholes as you would when doing a European tie with a scarf. The look is quite nice!! Also gives you a couple of looks with the same item when you are on vacation!

Another look that is everywhere right now is stripes. Looks particularly good in black and white…and that look is oh so French!!

As far as seasonal bottoms go, I love a skort! You can find them at QVC. This one piece short-with-attached skirt is really great! It gives you a more finished look than a pair of shorts and gives you the freedom to be on the floor with your grandkids…or stand over a subway grate in Manhattan without feeling like you are in competition with the iconic photo of Marilyn Monroe!!

So, go ahead and enjoy your summer fashions, and as Coco Chanel said…”Fashion in not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

I think that fragrance is such an important addition for everyone. I feel bad for anyone with allergies because I think fragrance communicates something to those around you. Of course, one has to be careful that  your fragrance does not enter a room before you do!!

I started to wear fragrance in junior high. For anyone growing up in the 60’s  I bet you can guess that it was Ambush!! After that, in high school, I graduated to Shalimar by Guerlain and that became my signature through college. After graduation I started to experiment with a variety of fragrances. I kicked it up a notch with  Opium (Yves St Laurent), Dune (Dior), Pheromone (Marilyn Miglin) and Sublime (Jean Patou) This was when I started to pay attention to top notes, mid notes and base notes. I found my preference ran to scents containing Bergamot, Vanilla, Lavender, Mandarin Orange, Sandalwood and Amber. Knowing this made it easier to make decisions on fragrance and not buy something that would wind up giving me  headache! If you ever have an opportunity to go to a perfumerie the one on Capri in Italy and one in Paris are both worth checking out.

In the early 90’s while traveling in London I discovered the Jo Malone fragrance line.That company was not yet in the United States (since 1999 they are an Estee Lauder company). My friend Jane and I spent a lot of time at Harrods checking out all of the very different scents offered…Cassis and Wild fig, Lime and basil, Nectarine and Honey!!. This is when I discovered the fig scent and it was added to my list of favorites.  I was really happy when the line finally got to the US.

For the past few years my scent has been Donna Karan’s Cashmere. I was wearing it when I met my husband and it is his favorite. The best way to get the most mileage out of a fragrance is to layer it…shower gel, lotion and then a spritz!! This sure can get expensive, but it is worth it!!

A great discovery for daytime, in particular, is the Philosophy line. My favorite place to purchase it is at QVC because they offer sensational pricing for duos and sets that include additional products. You can purchase super sizes on your favorites when they run promos or specials. Right now I am crazy for Sweet Vanilla Fig. Fresh Cream is another nice scent as is Pure Grace. All Philosophy products are  so clean smelling. People standing behind me on line have asked what the scent  is!!

Experimenting with fragrance can be a lot of fun. It brings out your individuality, makes you feel great and keeps you feeling young!!

We all know that life is one big transition. I think one of the biggest passages is when parents become your children.

Tom and I were married in 2012 (16 months after we met). It was a wonderful celebration- church wedding and all with both of my parents walking me down the isle. So many people were Wow…look at her parents!!! They were a striking couple with high energy. Dad and I had a father-daughter dance to “Unforgettable” and people were amazed watching a 90 year old twirl me around the dance floor. Three months later (almost to the day) he was diagnosed with cancer. So began a 2 year (almost to the day) journey to his life’s end. We were there just about every weekend and all vacation days through 2 surgeries, taking care of medication, appointments, fixing meals et al. During this time my mom started to loose short term memory which was probably God’s way of getting her through losing the love of her life since 1945.  I try to see something good coming out of tough times. Through all of this, my brother Bob and I have become closer than we ever were. I now consider him right up there in the best friend category and I have also gained a new appreciation for my sister-in-law Joyce. Things are starting to get back to normal now…a new normal. I retired 6 weeks before my Dad passed away. Mom is now settled in assisted living and enjoying all the activities which is so much better for her than hanging out with us all day!! She is living one town over from us and we visit several times during the week. And now we get to have dinner with my brother once a week when he comes to NJ to see Mom!!

You are probably saying, Elaine I thought this blog was going to be about style…I’m getting to it!!

My mantra is Get up…Dress up…Show up. When there are times that you feel like your energy is running out, one way to help yourself out is to care about what you are wearing!  Sound shallow? Try it!! It works. See how much better you feel when someone compliments you. When we moved mom into assisted living she was not exactly thrilled with the arrangement. But I kept arranging her closet for her and suggesting she wear outfits she always enjoyed wearing…and you know what? She started a trend among the women at her residence to pull their outfits together! I started seeing more scarfs and jewelry!! One of the people there said if Ralph Lauren ever needed a 90 year old model it would be my mom!!

So…my point is that fashion plays an important part in every day living.  As Bill Blass said, “When in doubt, wear red”.