“The closer to Jesus, the better we like it.”

Article Posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 at 1:02 pm

Southern Belles are taught several essential truths and one of those just so happens to be the art of big hair. I am very excited because this is the first holiday season that my hair has been long enough to do the classic beehive. So inspired by yesterday’s Rue cover post, and Dolly of course, I thought I’d share a little inspiration and 2 great tutorials I’ve found on getting the classic ‘do.

How to Style a Beehive on A Beautiful Mess

’60s Inspired Bouffant Updo by FoxyLocks

The Beehive is the Belle’s *quintessential* go-to ‘do for every occasion so you’d better get in some practice crafting the perfect one before all those Christmas parties next week!
XO* Hannah B.

Random Train of Thought

Article Posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 at 12:15 am

Today I flipped through the holiday issue of Rue, and one thing led to another…

First of all, I am absolutely in *love* with the cover! from the glittery title to the gorgeous bouffant & emerald dress.

Then, I saw on Lara’s blog that she actually shot the *lovely* Belle before she left Atlanta!

Which, of course, reminded me of the impeccable style of the Belle that the layout is a tribute to: Dolly! If you *love* her like I do, or you just have a thing for big hair, you must check out the style file I put together last summer!

Also if you *love* the layout, you’ll definitely want to check out more of Lara Rossignol’s photography. Her Website //  Her Blog //  The Q&A I did with Lara last year on my old blog

A Very Happy Birthday to Princess Grace!

Article Posted on Saturday, November 12th, 2011 at 9:00 am

It was on this day in 1929 that our very own American princess was born! I couldn’t resist a little bit of a celebration. Here are a few links to some Grace-filled posts from the past year…

. . . . . . . . . . .

Style File: To Catch a Thief

Wedding Inspiration from Princess Grace

Grace Kelly’s Holiday Style

. . . . . . . . . . .

She didn’t do too many films, but her magic captured the hearts of millions. I did not fall in love with her in her films, I fell in love with her in pictures, but I have to tell you her last film is one of my absolute favorites! Here’s a little trailer…

Finally, here’s one other little tidbit you may find fascinating–an interview with the Princess in 1982 on ABC’s 20/20 just a couple months before her death. This is part 1 of 6…

In lieu of today’s festivities…

Article Posted on Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 3:42 pm

Since I’ve been on a bit of a Breakfast at Tiffany’s kick, and by a bit of a kick I mean an all-out obsession, I couldn’t resist using Halloween as an excuse to post some of my favorite *glam* photos of Capote’s Black and White Ball. In November of 1966, after the success of his novel In Cold Blood, Capote decided to throw himself a little party at The Plaza. The irony was that while he invited his closest –the rich, the famous, the elite–guests were asked to wear masks, which needless to say did not go over well with the paparazzi of the day. Still, as you can see, some of the most gorgeous photographs of the stars of the era emerged from that night.

P.S. Just in case you’re still on a Candice Bergen trip from yesterday, I think the most stunning photograph from this little collection is the last one of her. She was 20 when it was taken.

Finally, a Last-Minute Costume Idea I Can Get Behind

Article Posted on Sunday, October 30th, 2011 at 9:57 pm

At my house, we didn’t celebrate Halloween. That house that handed out Jesus flyers with your Tootsie Rolls? That was us. So pardon me if I don’t really see the point in dressing up as a sexy nurse or a sexy pirate or a sexy Big Bird. Big Bird? That’s right: Big Bird. However, in thinking of what I, as a well-educated, well-read adult female in a mutually beneficial relationship, would consider dressing up as for a night filled with tricks, candy and six year-olds dressed up as prostitutes it finally came to me…

That’s right, this powerful symbol of early-90′s womanhood may just be the perfect costume for you. And what better woman to emulate? Taking charge of her life after rehab (or as Lisa taught us to call it: The New Boarding School), she is a woman with fabulous style and a great career, not to mention numerous intelligent men surrounding her. In 1992, chose to keep an illegitimate pregnancy and become a single mother prompting criticism from the then vice president. And in 1997 she battled breast cancer, sparking another controversy when she chose to smoke medical marijuana and talk about the sizes of fake breasts. What powerful She-model shouldn’t garner a little criticism in the public arena now and then? Murphy Brown was pivotal in leading women in the direction of independence, and if you want to do the same, this is your look. Lucky for you, there are only a few simple steps to find Murphy’s signature style.

Lesson 1: There is no such thing as too much teasing. Here in the South we say, “The closer to Jesus, the better we like it,” and obviously Murphy took that heart.

Lesson 2: Button that collar all the way up. Unless you’re celebrating ‘Ladies’ Night with your girlfriends, there’s no reason to show so all that decolletage.

Lesson 3: Of course, if you were up late watching reruns of Miami Vice, you could always pop that baby.

Lesson 4: Garish sweaters will ensure that you never go unnoticed at the office. Better yet? The incomparable sweater vest. I’d suggest doing as Murphy’s done in the picture above and accenting the most random color in the palette and using it in your accessories (Read: Big Earrings).

And finally, when you’re all worn out after a long day of being the most powerful woman in the room, pop your Keds up on that marble-topped table and turn on that ghetto blaster. After all, you deserve it!

I hope now you can trick-or-treat with the blessed assurance that tomorrow morning, no one will be picturing you as a sexy nurse in that 9am meeting. Happy Halloween to all! xo~ Hannah B.

Hello, Gorgeous!

Article Posted on Monday, September 26th, 2011 at 10:05 am

:: Listen ::

The latest thing to get downloaded onto my iPhone? This new album from the CSO: Chicago Symphony Brass Live. The very first piece is Crown Imperial, a favorite around the Slaugterhouse, but the rest of the album is completely goosebump-inducing as well. Each December, Husband and I make our annual trek to Chicago… it’s always a magical time as we absolutely adore being in our favorite city during the holiday season, but the highlight of every trip usually turns out to be the Chicago Symphony Brass Live concert. I feel I must admit, on Saturday I bought tickets to the concert and that’s it–no hotel reservations, no plane tickets or any other plans for that matter but, one way or another, we will be in the Chicago Symphony Center at 3 pm on December 14th.

:: Read ::

On Sunday afternoon, as on most Sunday afternoons, I found myself reading the New York Times when I came across this completely delightful article on Mindy Kaling, the writer/actress behind some of my *favorite* episodes of the office. (Which reminds me–How completely delighted are you that James Spader is back on weekly television? Because I am thrilled!) Anyway, she has a new book coming out called Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns), that I will absolutely have to get but in the meantime, I’d recommend reading this article and then following her on Twitter. She’s such a hoot!

:: Dress ::

Last week something was definitely up with my fashion-mojo. I don’t know if it was the fact that I had a couple big projects goingor the fact that I had to give a big presentation to the ‘Big Wigs.’ Either way, what better way to feel empowered than to steal something from your beau’s closet so you can wear it and think of him and  remember that, no matter what, one person on this earth thinks you’re awesome all day. So that’s just what I did. I stole his tie and sent an apology picture to him after the fact, which you can see above with the awful face I made at him mostly pinked out. And you know what? The presentation went great. And the people on the front row loved the tie!

:: Live ::

Last weekend was a cleaning extravaganza around the Slaughterhouse. We managed to remove most of the leftover dust from our A/C installation, we mopped the walls, Husband even handwashed our living room rug! (Oh how I *love* Dash and Albert!) But perhaps my favorite part of the cleaning frenzy is our bedroom. It’s so nice and calming now with 2 nice & neat dressing tables. I believe mine will grow accustomed to fresh flowers, the Egyptian alabaster jewelry tray I picked up here and a candle making everything smell cozy.

Part II: There’s a Difference Between “Don’t Give a Damn” Dress & a “Go-to-Hell” Ensemble

Article Posted on Friday, September 9th, 2011 at 8:00 am

In a world where jogging shorts and a tshirt are the norm for every female under the age of 25 despite the occasion, and those over the quarter-century mark are often not outfitted any better, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to write about intention. You see I sort of look at *Birthday Week* as a new beginning–each Autumn it’s like the whole world changes as we prepare to get back to reality after a summer of vacationing and relaxing every weekend. Fall is a great opportunity to refocus your wardrobe as we prepare for all the textures, layers and colors the season brings, which brings me to the title.

About a year ago Husband really started to get adventurous with his wardrobe. He had always been particular but never adventurous. He got braver with color and pattern and suddenly his clothes became a reflection of his inner confidence. Suddenly, he wanted to wear things that reflected who he was, his fun personality, his love of color and his eccentricities. It was also around this time that we really started to talk about living a life of intention. Why do we  do what we do? What purpose do our daily patterns serve and what do they say about our goals? Suddenly, our wardrobes started to take on a different meaning.

It makes me sad to hear women say that their wardrobe is 100% based on ‘comfort’ and has nothing to do with ‘confidence and caring’–an exchange I had with a girl in her mid-20′s just the other day. The clothes you choose are a signal to your brain about the type of person you want to become. I would direct you, as I have before, to my favorite Cary Grant quote:

I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until
I became that person.Or he became me.

“Don’t Give a Damn” dress may be comfortable, but what does it say to your inner mojo? You see a “Go-to-Hell” ensemble isn’t about wearing a certain style of clothing, it’s about wearing an attitude that says, “This is who I am and who I want to be. Take it or leave it.”

The term “Go-to-Hell” was originally paired with a description of upper-class Bostonians vacationing on Martha’s vineyard by the writer Tom Wolfe (I know, right?) in an 1976 article for Esquire:

[Bostonians on Martha's Vineyard] had on their own tribal colors. The jackets were mostly navy blazers, and the ties were mostly striped ties or ties with little jacquard emblems on them, but the pants had a go-to-hell air: checks and plaids of the loudest possible sort, madras plaids, yellow-on-orange windowpane checks, crazy-quilt plaids, giant houndstooth checks, or else they were a solid airmail red or taxi yellow or some other implausible go-to-hell color. They finished that off with loafers and white crew socks or no socks at all. The pants were their note of Haitian abandon… at the same time the jackets and ties showed they had not forgotten for a moment where the power came from.

It is this attitude of dressing with intention that is often associated with the Preppy lifestyle. Preps are known for carrying an air about them characterized by how they dress. However, please note that Prep-chic isn’t the only style that applies here. On Saturday, I saw a girl in jean shorts with messy hair that just as intrinsically exemplified the “Go-to-Hell” style. Once again I’ll say it isn’t about dressing up or down–it’s about dressing as the person you desire to be. For example, Mark Oppenheimer wrote an article in the 80′s that was a ‘Meditation on Snobbery’ and in one passage he contrasts himself, the snob, with his friend:

Somebody who truly does not care what other people think—we might call her an eccentric—is not a snob, even if she bears traces of elitism. My friend George, for example, is famous for wearing bowties and blazers everywhere, even to casual brunches. He attended all the fanciest schools, was a fencer in college, and is a partner in a white-shoe Boston law firm. But he is so clearly more interested in self-expression than in what other people think of him that nobody would dare call him a snob. He’s not trying to prove anything by how he lives; he just cannot imagine living otherwise. A man who wears a bowtie to brunch on a Sunday morning is almost inviting derision, and it is a sign of his supreme self-confidence that he persists in doing so. The snob, by contrast, can never quite forget what other people think of him.

Speaking as a Southern Belle, I would also add that a true Belle always dresses in “Go-to-Hell” fashion– though she’d probably never call it that. A Belle dresses with intention. She dresses in her own style. She wears her pearls proudly to signal that she knows where she comes from, and she plays with bright colors and bold styles to signal to her brain that life is fun and her future is bright. And most of all she’s not trying to prove anything by how she lives, she just can’t imagine living otherwise.

[ For this post Ralph Lauren's signature Go-to-Hell style seemed perfectly appropriate.
To see more examples of bold fashion visit some recent postings on my tumblr. ]

Part I: Some Things Just Have to be Said

Article Posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 at 8:00 am

Do you remember when you were little and your mama told you not to pull your skirt over your head? No? Maybe that was just me, but let’s go with it anyway. It’s not like pulling my skirt above my head was a particularly big deal. It didn’t hurt anyone. I was always wearing an adorable little crinoline underneath or, at least the very least, lacy boy shorts that I got to show off. Plus, everyone looked at me! And who doesn’t want to be the center of attention? However, a lesson my 2-year-old self quickly learned is that not all attention is good–sometimes people are just laughing at you because you’re crazy. “Bless her heart, maybe she doesn’t know any better.” “Well for Heaven’s sake, do you think she’s been working so much she doesn’t know it’s Fall?” There are rules for a reason. It may not be hurtful, it may not have consequences, but it will most definitely separate the women from the ladies–or ‘Belles’ if you will.

I was reminded of this numerous times over the past week as I walked by grown women wearing maxi dresses and cork wedges in the pouring rain on September 6th. They weren’t hurting anything––but my soul. When Lisa Birnbach tweeted this week about her desire to perform a ‘citizen’s arrest’ on a girl wearing a summer frock and espadrilles, I could hold my tongue no longer.

There are rules for a reason. In the old days the ‘No White After Labour Day’ rule may have been a clear way to segregate those that had been on summer holiday from the blue collar workers. Up North it is just a matter of practicality–white reflects the light and therefore doesn’t draw in the heat so it’s worn in the summer. However living in a region that can stay brutally hot well into the Fall, Southern Belles pack away their white shoes, linen, and seersucker (neatly with tissue paper in a sealed garment bag, of course!) for a different reason. As K. Cooper Ray pointed out earlier in the week, the fashion-literate Southerner needs a way to delineate the styles from one season to another. It may not feel like Fall when it is 95F on opening day of the SEC season, but it most certainly won’t feel like Fall if you’re wearing your white capri pants in the middle of September.

However more importantly to me, my mother always told me, “Ladies put away their white shoes the day after Labour Day and don’t get them back out ’til Easter Sunday. Who wants to be caught with a sweater while shivering in their seersucker?” So as a Belle that’s here to share her secrets with ladies far & near, I’ve made it really easy for you.

P.S. Yesterday I was tagged in a blog post as well as called out on Facebook by one of my favorite guys in high school who enjoys wearing his white shoes year round. Thus, tomorrow’s “Secrets” post will address that…

For the past 2 nights, I’ve dreamed about a cardigan…

Article Posted on Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 at 12:48 pm

That’s right. You know you’re a style-obsessed belle when you literally dream about the amazing red Anthropologie cardigan you tried on in Nashville on Saturday. I dreamed about buying it. I dreamed of all the different outfits I could wear with it. I dreamed of giving a presentation to the head of the company in it. I even dreamed of taking existing cardigans and adding the cute ribbon/button detail to them. I think I have a problem.

{ 1. THE cardigan, which would be *perfect* with this little T
2. I will have to get this book
3. Don’t you think this bracelet would look perfect with THE cardigan holding the book? Just sayin’ }

Stop the Presses…

Article Posted on Thursday, August 11th, 2011 at 9:00 am

Can we just take a minute to talk about the Anthropologie’s August catalog? *Swoon!* I mean just look at those colors–and the shoes?!

…and what are pretty overthings without pretty underthings?…