The Grammy Awards are for music’s brightest to showcase their talents. The 51st annual Grammy Awards did just that. As well as spotlighted fashions that were awe inspiring and not always in a good way.

Up for the Best Album of the year, Jennifer Hudson showcased a black and white short dress with a gray insert around the middle. She came back later in a black sequin dress which caressed her curves and looked classy and oh so Hollywood. With all she had gone through, she gave new meaning to the statement “the show must go on.” We love you Jennifer!

It was good to see Whitney Houston in front of the camera again. She looked healthy and quite lovely in a Grecian inspired draped dress in blue and white. Welcome back Whitney!

A vision of grace and loveliness was Miley Cyrus in a black dress that shows this young lady has grown up.

Pregnancy is hard on anyone but if you are so uncomfortable that you have to dress in the messy way that MIA did, Stay home! That blue print yards of fabric and tennis shoes left me speechless.

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Believe it or not, I do research my work. As a student I hated having to read articles to write a report. This now is a pleasure as well as enlightening. I had to chuckle yesterday when I started my research on just what the basics are and if the “experts” felt the same way I do. My finding was yes we thought the same. Articles of clothing were basic. But lord! The price they thought was good in this era of budget crunches was NOT! Let’s just take a look at what the expert thought.

Every woman needs a LBD (little black dress). This piece of clothing can take you from a casual outing to an after five occasion. You can dress it up with scarves, jewelry, or belts to make a statement. Here the experts quoted a budget price of $425 as a good price. Well rush out and buy me a dozen, LOL. I looked on line and found prices from $39.95 to $295.00.

Next was what most women know we all need, a white blouse. White blouses can be worn with anything from jeans to a silk skirt for evening and a business suite for work. The great fashion heads stated that is should be around $395.00. Oh Please! For between $39.99 to $89.99 you can get a blouse in a wide variety of materials.

Ok we all love cashmere. This soft, luxurious fabric is what dreams are made of! Well dig in your pockets for their approved price of $425.00. Cashmere can last a long time and is a good buy. I found and paid around $100.00 to $125.00 for a two ply sweater which after six years looks as good as new!

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I think if you observe children you just might get a glance of their future. I am sure my first grade teacher, Cassie Evans, is looking down smiling because she had planted the seed for my love of color. The first paying job I had was at eight or nine, coloring pictures from coloring book so she could make posters for her class. Often she would tell me how she wanted things to be colored but most of the time I had free reign. I am sure I was one of the few eight year olds with an eye and understanding for the different hues in color.

Today I love color and wonder if women pick up the subtle differences a color can make in your wardrobe. Buying clothes should not be helter skelter. Thought should be placed on: Is this the best color for my complexion? Will this fit in with what I already have? No longer if you are a woman of color or large size should you refrain from wearing some of the brighter colors.

Gone are the days when you dared not mix one of my favorite combinations blue and green. Heaven forbid if you had put pink, orange, and yellow near each other. Explore with color! Rejoice in being a woman! Go through this world not with rose colored glasses, but adorned in hues that brighten the body as well as the spirit.

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Today as I was thinking of what to post, I thought I would add in some antidotes about my travels to becoming a confident woman of style and fashion.

One true story happened on Christmas around the time I was six or seven. Living in the mountains of North Carolina, the weather is often so cold that Christmas was the time of year for a new coat. Well this time I got what my little heart perceived as the most beautiful coat in the whole world. It was chocolate brown with a striped brown and white scarf. The hood was lined in fur. As I left out for Sunday school, I admired myself in every window I passed. After church I went to put on my coat and lo and behold I had gained weight. Yes I knew that concept as I had been put on my first diet at five years old.

The walk home was so slow and hard as I cried all the way home. My poor mother could not get me to tell her what was wrong. I could not eat a bite. I just sat quietly with tears running down my face. Then there was a knock at our door. Standing there was one of my schoolmates dressed in an all too familiar coat that was at least two sizes too big for her. As our six year old brains processed what had happened, we both started to giggle. Now my tears were for joy of having MY coat back. I didn’t even care that she had one like me. My feet could hardly keep from doing the holy roller happy dance.

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Grrrrr!!! I adore animal prints and I am going to date by self. I can remember when nice girls did not wear animal prints. Well that day has past. It is ok for mom and other straight laced woman to adorn themselves in exotic prints. No longer is this left to runway models. But before you deck your self out in all over animal prints, stop and take note of a few rules that will raise your outfit to chic and not a fashion don’t.

First remember that this is one place where a little is better than a lot. Zebra prints, Cheetah prints, Giraffe prints, and leopard spots must be tempered with solids such as black, brown, beige, and crisp white.

A splash of this print in a scarf, a blouse or even a skirt makes a strong but a tasteful statement. One of my favorite things to wear is a black pants suit with animal print jewelry.

Shy about animal prints? Well then this may be a trend to skip. Because part of wearing it well, is confidence! To pull it off is to own it! If you do want to wear what was once thought of as a trend but is now a staple in our arsenal of fashion attire, Wear it and don’t let it wear you!

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