A few weeks ago over lunch, Ellen, my financial planner informed me that she’d just started wearing jeans again when I told her about my post on jeggings.  El said that this was the first time she’s worn jeans in she can’t remember when.  So pray-tell, what made her start wearing jeans again? Get this, my financial planner, is a singer in an 80′s cover band.  Quiet as it’s kept, she did admit that she might be going through a slight mid-life crisis.  But hey, we should all be so lucky to go through a mid-life crisis and be able to carry enough of a tune to front a band!

Anyway, she wore chinos to her first gig and her friends just about laughed her attire off of the stage.  She said it never occured to her to wear jeans to a gig because she suffers from Mrs. Howell Syndrome (her phraseology, not mine, but one I may have to swipe!).  Why had she eschewed the most versatile article of clothing there is? (Thank you very much Mr. Strauss!)  Her answer? She suffers from Mrs. Howell Syndrome.

Let me refresh your recollection.  Eunice “Lovey” Wentworth Howell, Mrs. Thurston Bailey Howell, III, played with aplomb by Natalie Schafer, and her husband were two of the castaways on Gilligan’s Island.  The show’s premise was simple: the two-man crew of the charter boat S. S. Minnow took five passengers on a “three-hour tour”, they ran into a tropical storm and they were shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Even though she was stranded on a deserted island, Mrs. Howell managed to look put together (her pearls were always in place) and ready for a cocktail party or luncheon at a moment’s notice.

Still not exactly sure what Mrs. Howell Syndrome is?  Let me put it like this, you might suffer from Mrs. Howell Syndrome if nine times out of ten your attire is nicer than that of most of the people at work, at a dinner party, at your nephew’s christening and the list goes on.  As much as I’m loathe to admit it, I think I may suffer a tad-bit from Mrs. Howell Syndrome.  I didn’t know there was a name for it until Ellen clued me in, but I have been accused of being overdressed on occassion. My husband is the one who usually points this out to me as we’re heading out the door:

Him: Do you think your outfit is a little over the top?  We’re just going to X.

Me: No.  I like my outfit.  I think it’s perfectly appropriate for tonight.

Him: Ok, I’m just saying . . . You might want to put on a lower heel or something to tone it down a bit.

Me: No, I’m good. (Then of course I begin to question my choice once we’re in the cab when it’s too late to change!)

I’m fortunate, I live in New York.  So, however over the top I might be, and I admit that there are some nights when I am definitely the Mrs. Howell in the crowd, there’s usually someone who’s right in line with me if not a few steps ahead.

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with channeling your inner Mrs. Howell every now again.  As Coco Chanel said, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous!” I couldn’t agree more.

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[image courtesy of United Artists Television]

I inherited my sense of style from my maternal grandmother, Mrs. Effie Hayes. She was one of those stylish church ladies who moved up North from the South eons ago.  When she went “out” (which was not to be mistaken with just going to the grocery store or some other mundane task), she always wore bright red lipstick, a slip and/or camisole regardless of how warm it was outside and her sensible heels. At all times, she had a pressed hankie in her pocketbook that was nestled in the crook of her arm and some sort of hat stylishly cocked on her head.  Women and men alike always talked about how stylish Mizz Hayes was.

My grandmother passed away almost 13 years ago, but she still holds a very dear spot in my heart and mind.  When I came across this book, My Mother’s Clothes, by Jeanette Montgomery Barron, I was reminded of my grandmother and her stylish ways.  The book is an homage to Ms. Barron’s mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s.  As her mother began to decline, Ms. Barron realized that the one way to bring the woman she knew back to her former self was to tag along as her mother went through her closet.  So Ms. Barron, a photographer, catalogued the garments in her mother’s closet pictorially so that her mother could easily flip through and relive precious moments.  The photographs in My Mother’s Clothes are beautiful and help to bring to mind the vibrancy of the woman who must have worn them.

While my grandmother (who maybe weighed 105 pounds soaking wet) was about far more than the clothes she wore, as I’m sure Ms. Barron’s mother was too, her commanding presence was always highlighted by the way she was dressed.

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In case it’s not patently obvious, I heart accessories!  (um, remember Brazil?) But, I especially LOVE  jewelry.  I believe more is more!  Yes, there are times when you can have too much jewelry on, but it’s better to be adorned than to walk around half-dressed.  Accessories can make or break an outfit.  For those of you who find my theory suspect — add a necklace, bracelet or a pair of earrings and stand back as the compliments start flowing your way.  If you are one of those people whose jewelry box has some empty compartments, here’s a list of 6 pieces of jewelry every woman should own courtesy of my stylist friend Monica Barnett to help jump-start your jewelry addiction.

I admit it, I have lots of jewelry (an addiction I come by naturally from the ladies on my mother’s side of the family).  But, for the most part, I manage to wear a good portion of my growing collection.  Storage, however, is becoming a problem.  I’ve been on the lookout for the perfect jewelry box for years now. Part of the problem is space.  There’s just never enough space in New York! But, the other part of the problem is finding something that will house my gems in a manner that will allow me to see what I have.  This is fashion stylist Masha O’s jewelry box, a simple filing cabinet.  Sheer genius.  I need one in white.

[image from Refinery29]