Hola Chicas – JT has SexyBack and I’m here to give you the tips on how to get SexySummer (now if I could figure out how to make millions from my Blog like JT does from his lyrics…hmmm).

Tis the season to revel in longer days and in showing skin.  Because along with weekends at the beach, summer vacations, and the smell of sunblock (or in my case it’s Hawaiian Tropics sun tanning oil – always brings back summer vacation memories!) it’s almost obligatory to show some skin.

Below are a few of my tips on how to be Summer Sexy:

1.  Exfoliate your skin (both face and body) on a regular basis each week.  My two favorites are the NutriMin C facial scrub and the SeaSource Foaming Body scrub both from Arbonne.  Neither of them produce dryness, flakiness or rashes, which for Ms. Sensitive Skin Diva (aka me) is a very good thing.  I’m also a fan of Dermalogica’s facial scrub.  For years I used St. Ives and was fanatically loyal to it…alas I was yelled at by too many aestheticians for using it.   It’s no bueno to be yelled at in a Slavic accent when you are trying to relax while getting a facial.  Sorry St. Ives but apparently the apricot scrubs can be harmful because the granules are not even and can cause minuscule tears in your skin (oops). 

2.  Golden skin but out of the bottle my beauties.  Please stay out of the sun.  Crinkly, dry, sun-damaged skin (think of the old lady from There’s Something about Mary)…not so sexy.  So try a self tanner, I like Estee’s self tanners, Arbonne has a really nice one with sunblock in it, and I’ve been hearing rave reviews about Victoria’s Secret tint.  Note – you must exfoliate first in order for your tan to work…

3.  Take care of those gorgeous feet.  This is the time of year to go batty over sandals of all sorts and guess where everyone’s eyes go – Yep, to your feet!  Visit your manicurist for mani/pedis regularly or do them on your own.  My new foot fetish…well not really a fetish, but my new foot product fascination is the Ped Egg foot file.  This little puppy will keep your feet dead skin free!

4.  Flowing, beachey hair.  If you’ve long hair, wash it in the evening, spray on a styler (Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray is a favorite), part your hair in four sections (as you’d like to have your hair fall naturally), braid them and the next morning undo them for flowing waves.  If  you’ve naturally curly hair just use the styler and sleep on it.

5.  Skin, Skirts and Dresses.   We have approximately another 60 days of Summer left.  For that time, committ to wearing dresses and skirts whenever you can.  Not only is it fashionable but you may as well take advantage of being able to show some skin, because Fall is not that far away and we’ll be getting wrapped in tweed and plaid in no time at all.  And you may as well revel in being a woman and having the option of wearing skirts and dresses because poor men can’t.  Well, unless they are British, from an African tribe or part of the cast for La Cage aux Folle.

SexySummer it Girls!
Viviana M. Rueda
Creative Founder
Vivendi Fashionista

Hola People’s – It’s summer and that means it’s time to bare your legs.  Knobby kneed, skinny, long, short, tanned, white as can be…all legs deserve a day in shorts.  So here’s my scoop on what to wear and what to not wear.

Ladies:  It’s all about your shape, i.e. the silhoutte that you create.  Pretty much remember that and you’ll find it easier to dress. 

Petite – If you are itsey-bitsey, then you should wear shorts that are mid-thigh length.  Be careful to not wear long shorts that will overwhelm your build.  If you are really thin you can get away with “longish” shorts but always make sure they hit above the knee.  If you’ve curves, use them and go for the mid-thigh length and think of using belts and ties to emphasize your little waist.

Pear-Shaped – aka you’ve smaller shoulders in ratio to your hips.  Steer toward solid shorts in straight cuts and you can wear them at the knee or just above the knee (depending on your height).  Go for solids and then pair with flashier tops.  The idea is to draw the eye up toward your upper body.

Plus Sizes – Look for fuss-free shorts with minimal details.  Opt for knee-length and pleat-free bermudas.  The more clean cut the better.

Everyone – Unless you’ve the height of Heidi Klum, Gisele’s legs, and you are eighteen….stay clear of the trendy, trendy styles.  If you are all of the above…Woot-Woot!  Then apparently I’ve arrived because you’re an uber successful runway model and you’re reading my Blog!  Fabulous darling.  Seriously, avoid baggy pockets and for most of you, avoid pockets period, where possible, cuffed shorts should not be tight on your thighs, hem any shorts that have unflattering hemlines and make sure that a. your behind isn’t hanging out when you sit and b. if it is…cover it up por favor.

Gentlemen – Generally speaking you don’t have quite as many options on the styles of shorts.  BUT this season there seems to be a multitude of colors for you to partake of.  If you aren’t scared of color and the occasion serves, feel free to indulge in some of this Summer’s vibrant colors.

If you aren’t overly tall, I’d recommend that you steer clear of shorts with patterns (those Hawaiian-print shorts that you like to wear for volleyball…yep, you know the ones.  They probably aren’t doing your legs justice).  Opt for single-tone shorts.  Also stay clear of any fussy details and embroidery.  Alas you’ll probably want to stay clear of the brilliantly designed cargo short (aaah…the military and their fabulously utilitarian designs).  UNLESS of course you manage to find a pair that don’t make you look like a safari guide ambushed you. 

If you are tall – God bless because your girlfriend is digging the fact that she can store all of her junk in the pockets of your cargo shorts (I’m not the only one that does this right?).  You’ll need to make sure that your shorts aren’t too long because you’ll risk looking like a daddy long-legs. 

For all guys, try to keep your shorts clean cut. 

As for pairing your shorts.  For the right occasion you can count on a nicely tailored pair of shorts to work as a casual chic look by dressing them up with a beautiful long-sleeve shirt, or a summer sweater and a nice sandal.  Pair it with a fashionable braided belt and you are good to go.

If you want to wear your trendy surf t-shirt opt to pair it with casual shorts like cargos and your flip-flops.

Now go forth and wear your shorts!

Happy Hot Summer Weather
Viviana M. Rueda
Creative Founder
Vivendi Fashionista

Today is the country’s most celebrated romantic holiday.  Bringing on various levels of romantic stress, an onslaught of online Valentine’s Day cards, boxes of bad (sometimes good, mostly bad) chocolate (I by the way have been inspired by a new Chocolatier, more on that later), many rushed, pre-set dinners and probably the highest selling day for carnations and roses (that’s just a guess, but does anyone receive carnations during the rest of the year?). 

I’m not precisely sure how the holiday became a symbol for romantic love, but I hear this occurred sometime in the medieval ages when romantic love was being popularized in the royal courts of Europe.  But for those of you who don’t know, February 14th is the Saints Day for St. Valentine of Rome and St. Valentine of Terni – Two martyred Christians.  

I digress from my original theme – What makes a Woman Fabulously Sexy?  How do you like that segue, from saints to sexy?  In honor of this fabulous holiday of love and friendship, I recently spoke at a privately-hosted Vivendi Fashionista Style Salon on the topic of “What Makes a Woman Fabulously Sexy?”  The following is quick recap of the evening’s presentation and as usual I’m opting for my favorite format of quick tips.  So here we go!

My top five picks for what makes a woman sexy:
1. Hands down – CONFIDENCE.  You know when you’ve got it going on and it exudes from your pores.
2. Knowing what looks good on you.  This can take years to learn and often times it also means asking for some outside/un-biased assistance to develop this skill.
3. Always highlighting your best features.  Ever notice that there are specific features that people compliment you on?  Flaunt them…in a sophisticated fashion please.
4. Being brave and experimenting a little.  Again, this is best done while under the supervision of – me preferably – or someone who you trust and who will be kind in their honest assessment of how your fashion exploration compliments you – Or not.
5. Dressing your age.  I can’t stress this enough.  It is not sexy when a 40-year old woman wears her teenage daughter’s clothing and it’s not appropriate for a 20 year-old woman to dress like she’s 60.

Whenever a woman wants a little kick start to feeling, ergo looking sexy, I suggest a few things:
1. Choose your fabrics carefully.  Reach for the “touchable” fabrics – Silk, velvet, fur (or imitation if the real version makes you feel anything BUT sexy).  Think of anything that begs to be touched.
2. Sounds too easy but a well-cut classic white t-shirt (think James Perse, and Three Dot), fabulously fitted jeans (no, NOT the stained, torn ones that don’t fit your behind perfectly) and a baseball cap can be wonderfully sexy.
3. The “I can’t believe I’m wearing this amazingly unpractical, unbearably sexy” lacy type of lingerie.  Wearing that under a sophisticated, conservative suit can give you a “sexy boost” that can be dangerous…if that’s the effect you’re looking for.
4. The surprise outfit.  I love this because it’s such fun to watch the reaction.  Dresses or shirts that are low-cut in the back and concealed by a long jacket to be revealed just before dinner, make a stunning effect.  The same goes for the skirt with a high-cut slit or for a mini-dress.   Hide them under a fabulous jacket and then, “surprise”!
5. Delicate necklace that rests just at the collarbone, specifically resting on or around the notch where the clavicles meet the sternum.  Remember the scene in the English Patient where Ralph Fiennes is talking about his lover’s throat?  That area known as the suprasternal notch is super sexy and highlighting it with a delicate necklace draws attention to the area.
6. Your man’s shirt, spike heels and nothing much else.  Need I say more?
7. Pencil skirts.  I’ll never stop insisting that every woman should own one.  So what if you don’t have Charlize Theron’s stems – That’s what sexy boots are for darling.
8. Drapey clothing that looks likes it about to slide off but doesn’t show too much skin.  Sexy is often times not about what you see but you don’t and the mind can do the rest…
9. Sexy Shoes.  Let’s face it ladies, these are very effective.  From fabulous long boots, to impossibly tiny-almost-not-there strappy heels.  I especially adore the red flash of Christian Louboutin soles.
10. Post-workout/post-whatever flush.  Ever wonder why you get hit on after you’ve been on a run or after working out at the gym?  It could be the spandex black workout out pants too.  I won’t lie, those seem to be very effective in the “how to make you sexy” category.  But since that’s 11 points and I refuse to go over 10, it’s getting lumped in here.
 
Things to avoid for the sexy quotient:
1. Visible white bra under white shirt.  Not hot.  Please opt for a nude bra.
2. Visible thongs.  Really?  Why do people insist on continuing this?  Purchase thongs designed for this specific need, or don’t wear them at all.
3. Panty lines.  Hmmm…ever since women staritng wearing pants this has been an issue.  Rule #1 in Viviana’s book of dressing – Never leave your home without looking at your backside in the mirror.  If you see panty lines, change to a thong that won’t do this!
4. Feeling uncomfortable in what you’re wearing.  Goes back to the CONFIDENCE comment from earlier in the Blog.  It’s apparent when you don’t feel comfortable in your clothes and for that mattter, comfortable in your skin.
5. Commando malfunction.  Hi…Britney?  Need I say more?
6. Dressing in your 15-year old daughter’s clothing.  Again with the age-appropriateness.
7. Muffin-topping.  Oh-la-la.  This means your pants don’t fit or the style isn’t a complimentary one for your body.  Reassess wearing these pants.
8. Dressing in old sweats (stained, torn, bad fit).  It’s just not flattering.
9. Dressing in clothes that don’t fit, either too big or too tight.  Again, this does nothing for your image, physique or self-confidence.
10. Not taking care of yourself.  Et voila.  Your body is your temple.  Take care of it.

And that’s a wrap for now.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish you a stress-free, enjoyable and wonderful Valentine’s Day.  Ladies, use your sexy tips with care.

Tip of the Week
Recently I had the pleasure of hearing Joan Freeman, the founder of Smile Chocolatiers, speak on a StepUp Women’s Network Entrepreneurial panel.  Ms. Freeman is a classically trained gourmet French pastry chef  and has created a line of sublime chocolate.  Smile Chocolatiers blend rich Belgian chocolate with the subtle and unexpected touch of green tea.  They are well worth the indulgence.  To see where you can can purchase this fabulous chocolate, see their website, Smile Chocolatiers.

So the other day I was at a local, swanky watering hole in Los Angeles and I was doing one of my favorite things of all time – People watching.  Something that has been perfected through careful and studious training on the part of my Colombian relatives – It’s a sport to them…But I digress.  What I noticed that evening put a really big smile on my face.  About 95 percent of the women in the lounge were wearing dresses.  Hallelujah, praise the Lord!  I’d been predicting a trend away from the “cute top plus jeans” for about two years now and apparently it has now reached the Westside of Los Angeles.

It was so fabulous to see women of all styles and shapes and sizes wearing gorgeous dresses.  And so it got me to thinking about why women don’t wear dresses.  Hmmm…let’s see, there is a dress that makes EVERY woman look good.  In fact, you can hide more imperfections in a dress than you would ever realize.  So why wouldn’t women naturally reach for a dress?  Could it be because women are scared to be perceived as being too feminine?  Are they worried that they’ll be noticed too much? 

Truly, I’m confused.  The other day I was out with a client and we were discussing first dates when the topic of what to wear on a first date came up.  Now a disclaimer, obviously you dress accordingly for the activity and the occasion but in this conversation we were talking about a first dinner date and it wasn’t at McDonalds or the local Pub.  So I asked naturally, what did you wear?  And she said Jeans and a cute top…you know the drill…the standard issue uniform that’s been getting tossed around since 2001.  When I asked why she didn’t wear a dress or a skirt she looked at me like I was bonkers and said “That’s too formal”.  Hmmm…when did wearing a dress become too formal?  This, people, is evidence of the truly stellar job that the jean companies have done in the last 6 years in terms of marketing.  Jeans have become the “safe” and “fallback” solution to dressing.  By the way Ladies, looking good in a pair of jeans…harder than looking good in a dress. 

But there’s hope because this recent evening out revealed that women are reveling in a newfound freedom with dresses.  There was a time in history when dresses did indeed keep women in their “place”.  Between whalebone corsets and petticoats not only could you not breathe (which probably was very effective in keeping you quiet too), but you couldn’t be very active.

Then came the glorious 20’s.  Say bye-bye to the corset and hello to the higher hemline.  Say hello to Coco Chanel’s Little Black Dress otherwise known as the LBD. 

Ahhh…and then there were the 60’s and the mini-skirt hemline.  Now that trend has inspired a long line of Fashion Wows and Fashion Disasters!

So, while dresses started out as somewhat restrictive, these days they are liberating!  Nowadays most women are relegated to wearing Business or Business Casual so the dress actually gives you the opportunity to be creative and to savor your femininity. 

And to those who say it’s too formal.  A. Who made that rule and B. Rules are made to be broken.  So pfshaw I say!  The answer to the question, “To Dress or not to Dress?” is YES, please do! 

 Tip Of The Week
For inspiration, just look to your latest “Best Dressed List”.  Glamour women such as Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Reese Witherspoon know how to work their dresses!

Happy Dressing Ladies,

Viviana M. Rueda
Creative Founder
Vivendi Fashionista

Welcome to Vivendi Fashionista’s Blog. 

For those of you who don’t know Vivendi Fashionista, it‘s the Image Consulting and Lifestyle/Personal Styling firm of choice for discriminating professional men and women. 

The company name is a play on my name, “Viviana M. Rueda”, and the Latin Verb “to live”.  So our moniker is our mantra:  a “fashionable way of life” Vivendi Fashionista.  See our About Vivendi Fashionista page for more information.

Since the company’s launch in April 2006, I’ve steadily expanded the services that the firm provides.  One of which is a freebie, for instance this Blog. 

My goal is to provide you fashion and lifestyle tips, commentary on do’s and don’ts, and recommendations on services, people, products, etc that are appropriate to a fashionable lifestyle.

How do you subscribe to this Blog?  It’s easy!  Just sign up to receive it via email or a web-based news reader.   Look in the upper right-hand column of the Blog and you’ll see these two subscription options in the color Red. 

How do I tell a friend about this Blog?  Forward them the link!  http://vivendifashionsita.wordpress.com

How do you know if this Blog is for you?  Consider this:  Do you live in Southern California?  Do you work in a professional setting?  Are you dating, getting married, been married forever, recently divorced, back-on-the-market?  Are you a busy executive?  Are you a working parent?  Do you feel like you lack time to pay attention to the quality of your lifestyle?  Okay, so are you alive?  This Blog is for you.  And if you are the walking dead, let me know because I know people who can help with that too. 

I’m the all-around Zagat’s Guide-GenLux-Ask Abby-Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous-Live the Good Life girl.  If you need a fashionable lifestyle solution, I have it.

How do you know if the topic is for you?  Obviously I’ll try to be as descriptive as possible in the headline, but here’s a tip.  Some Blogs will be focused on Men, others on Women and others for everyone.  I’ll make note of this in the headline. 

Guys, here’s your opportunity to gain uber-knowledge into what women want (at least in the Fashionable lifestyle world…don’t go there).  So when your wife, girlfriend, aspiring-supermodel-girlfriend-to be, etc. asks “Honey, whatever am I going to wear to the Company Holiday party?!?” and you come up with a Vivendi Fashionista tip….You SO owe me.  Trust me; this will get you major brownie points. 

Ladies, you already know how valuable it is to be in the fashionable lifestyle know.  Anyone recall the scene in “The Devil Wears Prada” where Meryl Streep describes the provenance of the color cerulean?  A bit esoteric, but not if you learn how to pair the color with your wardrobe.   And you’ll score credibility points with your men, too, because doesn’t every woman know everything about fashion?  Consider this the source for your ongoing expertise –The guys don’t need to know that you got the fashion know-how from Vivendi Fashionista!  Mum’s the word.

Here’s your first insider tip:  Check out the Jamah Sample Sale this coming Saturday, October 20th, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 21 Galleon Street, Marina del Rey.  All purses, backpacks, carry-ons $20.  American Apparel t-shirts, sweats,  jackets $5-$20.  Jamah handbags run in the hundreds of dollars!!! This is an awesome deal.  Look for the tall blonde running the show, her name is Nancy and she’s the founder of Jamah.  Mention my name!

Live Well My Peoples!

Viviana M. Rueda
Creative Founder
Vivendi Fashionista

url:  www.vivendifashionista.com
blog:  http://vivendifashionsita.wordpress.com
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