Thank you for your electric response to last week's message, Refuse to be Dumbed Down. I am inspired by your passion to elevate society by cultivating your mind and seeking out the arts! I could have picked every single comment submitted to be the comment of the week. If you have time, scroll through and read some of the comments as you will get even more motivated.



This week I am answering reader questions:

Le No Makeup Look Over 50

Amy asks about women over 50 and if they need more coverage than the le no makeup look provides. Le no makeup look is not about the amount of makeup worn, it is about the effect. The effect we are going for is a natural look that highlights our best features. If you need more coverage to even out your skin tone or make the eyes stand out, you can still do this and produce a natural effect.

Chic Weddings
Xandra from Heroine Training asks about my advice for chic wedding planning. My number one bit of advice is to not get carried away with the wedding planning/ Bridezilla culture that seems to have eclipsed the true meaning of the day. Let's not be pressured by people to have the latest, biggest and most extravagant weddings but to forget what's popular in society and have a wedding that is special and won't put us into debt.

Quality Clothes
Katrina asks about how to spot quality clothes that are not necessarily pricey. No matter what the price is, you have to look at the garment and see if it's high quality. If it looks like it could shrink, it probably will shrink. If you are concerned about the quality at all (shrinking, potential for frayed hems or holes) then it is probably a lesser quality garment. Over time you will be able to hone in on a quality item quite easily. You will also be able to compile a list of brands that consistently produce quality clothes that you will become loyal to.

Please watch this week's video for my extended thoughts on each of these subjects. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur (and don't forget to subscribe!)

Since I am not able to individually respond to all of your messages, I always keep your questions compiled in my notes and refer to them for these videos. If you would like to submit a question for a reader questions answered segment, be sure to leave me a comment below, on my video or on social media.

News
The Daily Connoisseur blog and videos will now be posted every Monday (previously Sunday). Thanks for your understanding!

Diva and the Divine and The Shull Family blog loved Lessons from Madame Chic.


Comment of the Week

On YouTube, Mili P writes:
You're right, it's important to learn from our bad purchases. I started to write down every lesson learned from bad purchases in a notepad app on my iPad, so I can refer to it before going shopping. For instance, I bought a beige sweater a few months ago but it has yellow undertones and it doesn't work at all with my complexion, I look sick when I wear it. So no more yellow-beige clothes for me. No more dresses that will shrink and end up being too short. No more coloured work pants, because I always feel better in black pants - skinny black pants, not straight leg, not bootcut. I also realized that I'm never fully satisfied with clothes from certain brands, so I stopped going to these stores altogether. Last September I donated 12 garbage bags full of clothes. Now I'm down to 30-40 pieces I really like.

Mili, I love how thoughtful you are with your purchases! It's a great idea to reflect on what doesn't work for us in our wardrobes so we can get ever closer to embracing our true style in a workable way.

Question of the Week
On YouTube Adorabelle writes:

I am stuck and overwhelmed with my wardrobe right now. I started a new job that requires a more corporate wardrobe, whereas I used to dress business casually. I don't know if I should put work clothes in one half of my closet and casual in the other?

Thank you for your question! If you have a job that requires corporate dress that does not fit into your everyday life outside of work, you can create two capsule wardrobes- one for work life and one for downtime. You'll find that many of your extras and even core items will cross over and work and over time you will come up with a great fit for you. For my work, I often do fun events such as book signings or appearances and because of this I have a few more special occasion dresses in my extras, for example. Best of luck and let us know how it goes!


Be sure to stop by the blog and YouTube channel this Thursday for a very special giveaway from Christy Linens.

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My eldest daughter and I both celebrated birthdays last week. Thank you for all of your kind messages on social media! We had a really fun week, which also explains why this blog post is a little late... Thank you for your patience!

Ah, another year older...

Investment Shopping 101

Yes, I'm another year older. This, combined with our recent discussions on the blog, all got me thinking about investment pieces in our wardrobe. As we grow older we are becoming more mature and sophisticated. Is our wardrobe keeping up? Or are we still purchasing low-quality, practically disposable pieces of clothing that are nowhere near as dignified as we are?

So many people have posed questions to me about investment shopping and I'm giving you my answers in this week's video: Investment Shopping 101. I made the commitment in my 20s to stop buying junk clothes and to put some thought into my purchases for long-term satisfaction. If I can do it, you can too!

To get started with investment shopping you need three things:

Commitment- You must commit to a new lifestyle of seeking out higher quality clothes and accessories. This commitment will be tested regularly! You must commit to stop the cycle of compulsive shopping in order to save for the larger purchases.

Discipline- Oh, we need discipline for so many things... It takes discipline to break old habits (like compulsive spending). It takes discipline to save money for your investment piece. Once you buy your high-quality item, it takes discipline to learn to be content with what you have and not immediately set your sights on the next shopping conquest.

Vision- If you're going to invest in your wardrobe you need a vision of what is right for you and your style. A high-quality piece could last several years, if not a lifetime, so you can't make hasty purchases. Think about the entirety of your wardrobe and think long and hard (and save!) before making any purchases.

Check out this week's video to hear the entire discussion and a tale of the first time I decided to go for quality over quantity. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur


Delancey Giveaway


Our summer of book giveaways continues as we explore Delancey by Molly Wizenberg.

In this funny, frank, tender memoir and New York Times bestseller, the author of A Homemade Life and the blog Orangette recounts how opening a restaurant sparked the first crisis of her young marriage.

When Molly Wizenberg married Brandon Pettit, he was a trained composer with a handful of offbeat interests: espresso machines, wooden boats, violin-building, and ice cream–making. So when Brandon decided to open a pizza restaurant, Molly was supportive—not because she wanted him to do it, but because the idea was so far-fetched that she didn’t think he would. Before she knew it, he’d signed a lease on a space. The restaurant, Delancey, was going to be a reality, and all of Molly’s assumptions about her marriage were about to change.

Together they built Delancey: gutting and renovating the space on a cobbled-together budget, developing a menu, hiring staff, and passing inspections. Delancey became a success, and Molly tried to convince herself that she was happy in their new life until—in the heat and pressure of the restaurant kitchen—she realized that she hadn’t been honest with herself or Brandon.

With evocative photos by Molly and twenty new recipes for the kind of simple, delicious food that chefs eat at home, Delancey is a moving and honest account of two young people learning to give in and let go in order to grow together.

Simon & Schuster are kindly offering to give away 5 copies of Delancey to a reader of the Daily Connoisseur. Please enter via the rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway is open to US residents only (terms set by Simon & Schuster). The winners will be announced on the widget and contacted once the giveaway is over. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


and be sure to visit Molly's award winning blog, Orangette here.

Madame Chic Inspiring Thought
Just like one can be addicted to junk food, you can also be addicted to junk clothes. When you make the commitment to eat healthful foods and cut out the junk food, you are aiming to better your life. The same can be said for clothes. This doesn't mean that we never eat junk food (or buy low-quality clothes) again, but it does mean that we no longer exist on only junk food, because that is a recipe for disaster! Break the cycle today and start to make thoughtful purchases. You'll find you save money this way and have much more long-term satisfaction.

This week I would love to know... What was the first investment purchase you ever made? What investment purchases do you plan to make for the future? Are you tired of disposable clothes that only last one season? What are your thoughts on investment shopping?

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