Tis the Season for a Holiday Party

Good friends step in when they know you need help.  And my dear friends Sally and Jamie of The Style Lobby noticed that Zoe's blog was, well, not very bloggy lately.  When they asked if I'd like for them to do a guest post for me, I think I said "Yes" before they even finished the question!  Jamie styled some of Zoe's favorite holiday pieces and Sally applied her excellent photography skills.  I may turn over Zoe's blog to them full time! :)  Read on:

It’s nearly that time of year again. I love the excitement of upcoming holiday parties, but I’m usually longing for a night at home by the fire place by mid-December. Part of the stress comes from uncertainty over what to wear, so it helps if I have a few pieces in my wardrobe to make at least that part easy.

A few years ago, I had a friend who was invited to the White House Christmas Party. She was looking for something to wear, but any of the more formal dresses I could loan her were sleeveless, and she needed something with sleeves for the party.  (Knowing Mrs. Obama’s penchant for baring her buff arms, I wonder if that restriction went out with the previous administration.)  This Renee Arnez dress would fit the bill perfectly—completely covered up but still alluring and beautiful. Better than that, it was on the sale rack! (I’m not entirely sure it will still be on the sale rack, I’m thinking I might need to own this one!)  Even though it’s a fairly simple black dress, I feel like the drape of this piece is the true statement, so a small, sparkly pair of John Wind earrings was really the only accessory it needed.

Sadly, I don’t have an event requiring a floor length gown, so even though I might need this beautiful sale rack find in my closet, it’s not going to meet my holiday party needs.  I tend to choose something more versatile when I’m holiday party shopping.  While it’s totally appropriate for the office, this red Trina Turk dress has enough presence to be a standout after hours, too.  A golden Alexandra Satine clutch takes it from professional to party, and a bracelet, also from Trina Turk, and a pair of ADMK earrings add just enough sparkle.

While the red dress is a versatile party piece for someone who works in a corporate environment, I usually choose to go with separates that I can use in my (not so corporate) everyday life.  These black rosette jeans from Red Engine are a staple piece with a little added flair, and I am in love with this aubergine blouse from Rebecca Taylor.  I have a feeling that I’d have to put this one on a schedule so that I didn’t wear it all the time!  Throwing on this furry blazer from Velvet makes the outfit extra special. Finished off with some more ADMK earrings and a deep lip gloss from Haughty, I’m ready to head to the party.

Tee It Up

College Football season kicked off tonight and I could not be more excited!  Probably my favorite sport, it combines optimism, hard work, joy, passion, and an all around good time.  But what does this have to do with fashion?

You won't find much in the way of University of Georgia fashions in the DC area.  When it comes to football, we are mostly an NFL town.  Virginia Tech, UVA, and Maryland battle it out for college prominence but with no major concentration in the Alexandria area.  I may occasionally see something for Zoe and think "Oh, I'll bet a Maryland grad would love that."  But we don't get a lot of requests for school color clothing.

A boutique in a college town, however, must do their buying with the local University in mind!  Two of my favorite boutiques, Duo in Charlottesville and Sonia Says in Athens, GA make sure to have plenty of school color merchandise on hand, especially in the Fall.  As I scrolled through my Facebook News Feed yesterday, I saw this adorable Bulldog scarf at Sonia Says.

I immediately asked in the comments if they took phone orders and they confirmed that they did and would ship to me!  When I called today, they quickly processed my order over the phone with the promise to send it out tomorrow!  I will be fashionably adorned in time for next weekend's game.

Like Sonia Says, Zoe does phone orders too!  We even did one in response to our trunk show this past weekend!  It is not at all unusual for a customer to ask us to take pictures to send them them and then decide to place an order.  And of course, it is very easy to see our new arrivals (and sale items) on our Facebook Store (and purchase from there also!)

I hope your team wins this weekend (unless you are playing UGA, of course!)

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

Some of you may remember when magazines had quizzes.  Your answers to these 10 questions might tell you anything from what type of prom dress you should buy to the type of man who was your ideal mate to the sort of home you prefer.  They were affirming and, even more so, entertaining.

If I were to write one of these quizzes, I would write one to ask "What kind of shopper are you?"  My first question would be "Who do you prefer to go shopping with?"

As you can imagine, I have the opportunity to observe lots of different shopping styles.  And while shopping is intensely personal and each person approaches it in her own unique way, there are some trends.

1) With a partner or friend - This is probably about 45% of our shoppers.  Spouses, a significant other, a good friend, a co-worker, or even a son/daughter!  This shopper is then split again by those who value the opinions of the person with them and those who are secretly wishing the other half of their party would go on down the street to Ben & Jerry's!

2) On her own - We probably have another 45% fit this category.  She might be enjoying a leisurely hour to herself, be on a mission for a special piece, or simply prefer her own feedback to someone else's.  I must confess that I am this type of shopper.  If I feel comfortable with the salesperson, I might interact with her and discuss possibilities regarding shoes or accessories but if not, I will keep to myself.  That's why we like to give each customer their "space" at Zoe.  If we feel you'd like interaction, we love to work with you.  If not, we understand that you'd like to browse or try on in peace!

3) With a group of friends - If I had to guess, I'd say our remaining 10% falls into this category.  In some cases, everyone is trying things on and modeling for each other and in others, maybe 2 or 3 are shopping seriously while the others are providing moral support and opinions! Shopping is a social activity and they consider it a great day out with friends.

What kind of shopper are you? And why?

The Things We Say To Ourselves

My mother knows that I love to hear about the experiences and philosophies of other locally-owned businesses.  And she likes to give me the "lay of the land" so that when I do visit her home in Athens, GA, I'll know if there are any new places that I'd like to eat or shop.  So she frequently shares articles on new businesses from the local newspaper, the Athens Banner-Herald.  She is old school with her sharing so I get an envelope full of clippings about once a week, including the local Police Blotter.  (Don't judge).

Recently, she sent me an article about a new store opening and the owner's approach and philosophy.  The title of the article was "Watkinsville Boutique Works To Raise Women's Self Esteem".  (You can read the whole article here if you desire).  One of the key themes is that the owner doesn't like for women to say negative things about themselves.  Each time they do, she gives them a warning.  And when they do it a third time, they she makes them sit on a couch in store until they say something positive. 

While I can't quite imagine putting my customers in "self esteem time out", it is amazing to me what I do hear women say about themselves.  Just over the weekend, I heard a woman criticizing her bony knees.  She said it with such vehemence that I had to look!  And what I saw was nothing unattractive at all! 

We all have things about ourselves that we would probably like to be different.  It's human nature.  But it really makes me sad to hear the things that women tell themselves.  My counselor said to me a few years ago "How would you feel if your little niece felt about herself the way you feel about yourself?"  What a wake-up call that was!  Of course I didn't want her to view herself that way!  And it was a lesson to me to stop viewing myself in negative terms.

If you've seen my bio on Alexandria Stylebook, you know that I believe that every woman is a beautiful work of art.  I love the opportunity to help women find clothing and accessories that enhance their look (and if there are things you are uncomfortable with, allows us to present those assets in the best light!)  I encourage you to love and embrace the body that God gave you.  And be kind and gentle with yourself.  Your inner voice can be very powerful (in both positive and negative ways).

Run.Lipstick.Chemo

Do you know my friend Jamie?  If not, I'd love to introduce you to her.  She describes herself on her blog as:

Wife. Mother. Daughter. Friend.

Runner. Lipstick addict.

Researcher. Patient. “Survivor.”

(Photo by Sally Brewer Photography)

She describes herself perfectly in her "About" section on her blog - A breast cancer researcher turned stay at home mom turned breast cancer patient, I'm navigating my way through cancer treatments and my quest for normalcy in its aftermath. Sometimes normal is hard, and sometimes it's as simple as going for a run, throwing on some lipstick, and heading out to chemo.


I've known Jamie for a number of years now - we first met through out church.  I have watched her bring two beautiful children into our world and admired her creativity and her sewing skills.  She and daughter Emma Clare have been Zoe cheerleaders and supporters since the day we opened our doors.  So you can imagine it was a shock to learn that my friend had breast cancer.

The grace with which she and her husband, Clay, navigated this difficult time was truly inspiring.  Whether she realized it or not, her determination and perseverance touched and encouraged everyone around her.  She is an amazing person and I am so thrilled she has decided to blog about her experiences - I know that countless others will be uplifted by her experiences.

In early September, Jamie had attended the Fashion's Night Out event at Zoe.  As part of the store's swag bags (given with each purchase that night), we included an infinity scarf from customer favorite brand Velvet.  As she started to go through chemo, Jamie needed a scarf for her head for warmth and style!  She used a seam ripper to transform the Velvet Infinity Scarf into the gorgeous head scarf you see in the picture above.  It became her favorite "go to" headgear!  When I told my Velvet rep about it during my visit to their showroom in May, she actually teared up!  I can't wait to share these pictures with her.

I hope you'll continue to follow Jamie on her journey.  I know I can't wait to do so!

http://runlipstickchemo.com/