Tis the season to be sparkly - Fa-la-la-la la!

We love this time of year in no small part because it gives us a reason to dress up, but we spotted this find  from Lands' End that injects a little glam cheer on date and girls' nights throughout the long, cold winter.  It comes in the colors listed below in a bevy of sizes, including Plus (no reason for the skinny girls to have all the fun AND the cute clothes!).  And now that it's marked down to $100, you won't be left out in the cold!

Gun metal

Gold Metallic

Silver Metallic

Curvy Jeans for Curvy Genes

Hello all my Gilded Sisters!  I got a great tip from a curvy sister about jeans that are made to fit AND FLATTER those of us with curvy genes.  J-Brand jeans apparently subscribes to women with curves (and those of us who rely on food rather than air as the mainstay of our diets).  Check out the J-Brand site for styles galore.  I favor them because they are high quality sans the "jean bling" on the back pocket.  For the record, I am NOT hating on the jean bling.  I happen to prefer boring and plain back pockets.  J-Brand has FREE SHIPPING with no minimum purchase through December 15th!  If they don't have sizes galore, these jeans are available at most major department/specialty stores.  But if you want to support your local retailer, here in Baltimore, there's a place called Jean Pool that sells J-Brand denim.  The folks are pretty nice in there as well.  Let me know what you think!

THE STREET SEEN COMING SOON...

Stay tuned for a new feature I'm calling The Street Seen -- snapshots of REAL women charming us with their REAL style on the streets here in Charm City.  Think the Dos and Don'ts in Mademoiselle with only Dos highlighted by some gilded commentary on why the women are definitely Dos (in my book).  Who knows?  Maybe you'll be one of them!  See you soon...

Black Friday, A Fashionista Dream or Shoppaholic Nightmare?

I am a glass-half-full kinda sister, so I'll go with Fashionista Dream.  I've been trolling the internet for post-Thanksgiving-Christmas season deals.  Here's the initial run-down of a few of my favorites:

Ruth Shaw at Cross Keys

I really have to give the big shout-out for THE "force in fashion," Baltimore's own Ruth Shaw, which started their sale about a week before the large companies did.  This is by far the classiest, yet most down-to-Earth place I've ever shopped.  They treat everyone who walks through the door like a VIP and their client list reads of the Who's Who.  (Sorry, I'm not on that list)  And the women define chic.  Love, love, LOVE Toby who is super-model gorgeous and just a sweet-heart and my girl, Maureen, who is more worldly and tartly -- she is a class act all her own.  I love her effortless elegance.  I am working on being like them both when I grow up, only more of a fireplug version:-))).   And Ray Mitchener, the owner, lets me come in and play dress-up in all the beautiful clothes.  And God love him, he REALLY has an eye and he won't lie to you (if you don't want the truth, please don't ask).   If they let me, I'm going to post pics of the whole crew, including Louise whom I've just recently met -- just to show that Baltimore's own can keep up with Jenna Lyons of J. Crew and the Refinery 29 blogganistas.  I hope to get them to contribute regularly.  Anyway, I tend to think that the best style and fashion can be accessible as well as fun and creative.

Pretty Good Deals

I've scored some pretty amazing deals -- Net-a-Porter is having their seasonal sale with many items starting at 40% OFF!  I got a couple of coveted items from The Row (I know these girls have no need for my money, but many of the items are really well-made).  J Crew also seems to be trying to move of some their winter stock, so I'd take a good look at their site as well.   And finally, Saks has started its sale which has been online only the last couple of days.  La Garçonne was having a Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion with 10% off everything site-wide.  Am pretty sure that's run its course -- for now...

I've run my own course for now.  I'll be back very soon with more!  Stay tuned...

Gilded Sister

I know there are women just like you (and me) who share a passion for fashion and are sick of seeing these 20-somethings modeling clothes that are marketed to us 40-somethings!  So why not have a blog devoted to us -- women who love beautiful clothes and want to see women like us in beautiful clothes!  That's why I've started this blog.  More postings coming from some of our favorite style and clothing icons!  STAY TUNED...

For us 40-something women who share the same passion for fashion