Actually, it does make you look fat

I went shopping the other day.

One of the coolest things about being 36 is that you know things. You know when someone is up to no good. You know how to make a fabulous meal in less than an hour (without looking and sounding as demented as Rachael Ray), and you know how to make the most of your figure, even if you're not even 5'3" and are the owner of the shortest torso known to men.


You also know when certain clothes are going to be a disaster once you get yourself in them.

I didn't want to give up on Anthropologie just yet, so despite my better judgement and the endless pages of inexplicable clothes in their many catalogs, I found myself keeping an open mind and carrying a metric ton of possible outfits into their fitting room. I tried, I really did, but all the things that I've known for ages, like: You don't want any extra fabric around your thighs, or: It's not a good idea to dress like a waist-less midget, it all proved itself right, as I was staring at my dwarfed self in the mirror and wondering how at size zero I still manage to look like I was carrying twins.

I took off the horrors, crossed the street and went into Esprit, where I purchased a cute and flattering black knit mini dress.

Now, Mandy Moore is a lovely girl. Her lack of fashion sense can probably be attributed to her very young age. She will learn, eventually.

Get your Gunn?

Tim Gunn is all grace and vocabulary, two traits not too common in the world of fashion advice (consider the difference between his "Make it work!" and Stacy London's "Shut up!"). I adored him in Project Runway and was very excited when I got to meet him in a charity event a couple of months ago. He's just as charming in person, the "taste, quality and style" radiating from his perfect skin.

I couldn't take him home with me and make him my best friend and shopping buddy, and neither can any other woman. But someone in Abrams Image realized that they could bank on this female obsession and gave him a book deal. Thus, giving us all a chance to own a little style guide with Tim Gunn's photo on the cover and quotes by Kierkegaard and Jonathan Swift.

My first problem here is with the very question of the real author behind the book. The front cover gives credit to Kate Molony, who was Tim Gunn's Assistant Chair at Parsons, and whom he calls his "spiritual partner". The blurbs inside the dust jacket, as well as the dedication and preface led me to suspect that it's not exactly a Tim Gunn original. Also, the way the book reads, despite the high-brow literary and cultural references and the several Gunnisms that are woven into it, feel somewhat hollow at places. The crisp suit is there, but the real man is missing.

I might have been more forgiving for the bait & switch trick, if the first three chapters were less boring and predictable. The first one is all about being yourself and dressing for your lifestyle. The second chapter reveals that you should wear items that (gasp!) fit your shape. Here you will learn that clothes that are too big and shapeless will make you appear even bigger. If you hear echos of Clinton and Stacy, you aren't far from the truth. The only saving grace of this chapter is that it uncovers the secret of clothes size in America (and as far as I know also in the UK): it has changed over time, and unless you've only been buying couture (which stayed the same), you need to adjust the size of your clothes accordingly, even if your waistline hasn't changed.

Chapter three is the worst: Editing one's closet. Here you'll be subjected to advice such as "don't keep items that don't fit" and get rid of clothes you never wear". If you are having a mental image of Trinny and Susannah rummaging through someone's closet and tossing out lilac colored capris circa 1989, you'd be totally right. You've heard it all before, but maybe Tim can succeed where the English ladies have apparently failed to make you finally get rid of that flannel shirt from your grunge days.

It gets better afterwards, despite having some of the usual suspects in the fashion icon chapter. I appreciated the statement regarding fashion risk takers like Sarah Jessica Parker and Chloe Sevigny: "We can admire, but we cannot endorse". The extensive discussion of good posture was great, as well as the chapter about must-haves and the importance of quality in perennial items. I could live without the obsession for ballet flats. There's a lot of other sound advice regarding accessories, such as to forget about the "It" bag and to invest in good quality scarves.

A nice surprise was the sub-chapter dealing with perfume. I'm glad to report that it is far from mainstream and from advice to wear something light and citrusy to the office. There's a real discussion of scent families, it explains what a chypre is and even endorses less conventional notes. The book doesn't go as far as to explain and recommend niche fragrances, but it's a step in the right direction.

To sum it up, the book is cute and would help you pass a nice rainy afternoon at the bookstore. But it's not the ultimate must-have that you'll find yourself cracking open year after year. Too bad, really. I expected much more than that.

Woody Floral- Parfumerie Generale Iris Taizo

My quest for spring scents is far from over. Sampling interesting florals seemed like a good way to go, therefore the one I picked from the sample stash was Iris Taizo by Parfumerie Generale. Of course, despite the image of the flower itself, the actual iris note is not really floral, as it's produced from the rhizomes of the plant, lending it a cold and earthy feel. My favorite iris fragrance is Tauer Perfumes' Orris. A scent that is dark and leathery, despite the combination of rose and iris, but is also sharp and fresh enough to feel more suited for warm weather than for mid-winter, when I first tried it. But, that's my skin. I know enough people who think of it as a black leather winter scent.

Back to the iris at hand. The opening felt cluttered. Spice? Florals? Very perfumy for the first couple of seconds, but once it settled on my skin, it was a surprising mix of dark woods and spices, somewhat reminiscent of Donna Karan's Black Cashmere, one of my all-time favorites. The iris and wood combination that followed had a similar feel to the pretty part of Zagorsk , just without the smoke. Incense isn't listed as a note, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they've used some.

The drydown is all slightly sweet, honeyed woods. It caresses the skin and stays on for several hours. The feel is soft and pretty, with maybe a hint of musk. It's not exactly a spring scent, but it's beautiful and I think that it can be worn year-round (unlike Black Cashmere and especially Zagorsk, that becomes poisonous around late May). There might be a full bottle in my future.