Everyone nowadays makes super-thin fabric shirts that rip almost immediately. For me, the tiny holes always form right around my waistline. It took me nearly a year to find out that the holes were caused by a tiny splinter of wood digging into my waist every time I washed dishes.

Lesson? Do not do dishes.

I'm kidding, of course. We all have to wash dishes and go to work and live our lives. Clothes should allow for that. Which is, of course, why I'm so fond of Splendid and their line of basic shirts. I could have a closet full of their clothes and wear virtually nothing else.

Yes - some of their summer shirts are thin, but the fabric is baby soft, so it's worth it. For winter, I love their waffle-knit shirts. They stand up to all kinds of abuse.

Best of all, when I go to Nordstrom Rack, I always find Splendid shirts on sale. I have quite a collection, but when you love a brand as much as I love Splendid, you can never own enough!

Photo above from Splendid.com.

"Sometimes Ralph Lauren does exactly what he always does: throws a tweed frock coat over a floral georgette skirt, and for some reason you choose that moment to go absolutely bananas for the tweed coat and swear this year it will be your look." So says a recent Fashion Week review in The New York Times.

Lauren has been around seemingly forever (forty years, according to their website), making classic and beautiful clothes.

I've always been fascinated by the designer - hardly a surprise since he and I share a name in common. In college I sported blazers and copied "the look" - very East Coast, very Connecticut.

"His genius, frequently noted, lies in his ability to exploit a longing most of us feel to elevate our ordinary bourgeois existence and adapt it, at least superficially, to resemble the more seductive contours of our social betters," says The New York Times.

I think it speaks worlds of me that I like his fashion, but my WASPish roots yearn for riding crops and saddle messenger handbags. Perhaps, as the quote implies, I'm simply a poser.

Mr. Lauren re-upped his contract to keep designing for Polo Ralph Lauren for another three years, when he turns 73.

This is great news for him and for his empire but, truth be told, "the look" he's created will be with us forever. He (and I) will never go out of style.

Photo above is from The New York Times.

When people ask what I am up to right now, I let them know that I'm up to my eye balls in Fashion Week. That means going to shows not only in the tents but all around town, doing some waiting and meeting up with friends. It's hectic and in Feb it's super cold! Of course you get to see fab shows and I love sharing the content on here and on Kitten Lounge. One of the questions I get asked is, "What do you wear to Fashion Week"? Well that's an easy answer it has to be something fashionable while being comfortable. Although I know where I am scheduled to be, I never know when a ticket opens up or I run into PR who walks me into a show backstage. Of course in the tents there are always photographers so I need to make sure that I have something that I don't have to keep playing with! I love easy clothes. In the winter, it's all about layers so that I can adjust as needed and in the summer it's all about a cute tank!

Do I wear a lot of brands? Well that falls into my normal sense of style. I wear a collection of items that could be indie or mainstream lines. As opposed to going for a certain name, I tend to shop at places online or in store that have various designer clothes so that I am exposed to a stable of people at one time! It keeps a lot of variety in my closet. I find out about a lot of places by reading blogs or just browsing as I never want to look like I'm wearing an entire look that came off a mannequin and it keeps people guessing! Style is really about you being the primary focus and seeing your personality and that is what I hope to present when people see me! Happy Fashion Week as I head back into the tents and thank you for asking me how I prepare my looks when I'm at the shows!

Alexander McQueen's death this week rocked the fashion world. It's a terrible loss. Funny, me saying this, when I'm a J. Crew basics kind of dresser. I would never be caught dead in a pair of armadillo shoes, and I'm far too practical to buy anything resembling the outlandish fashions McQueen designed.

But what I'll miss about McQueen is that he treated fashion as akin to performance art and used his own fame as a platform to comment on the fashion world as a whole.

Though I love clothes, I've always found the high fashion world completely ridiculous. What I like least is the seriousness with which fashion is always treated. Ridiculously high heeled shoes (Herve Leger was the cause of more than one spill on the catwalk last year) and equally outlandish clothes are treated with grim seriousness.

Still, the concepts that start in the pages of Vogue are the same ones I'm reaching for when shopping at Nordstroms, even if they've been whittled down to a bare whisper of the original. So I recognize the need for the designers, if I don't always appreciate their approach.

McQueen brought something fresh to the fashion world. It's no wonder Lady Gaga sported his clothes in her fantastic video Bad Romance. They both have great talent and a sense of humor. So let's raise a glass to Alexander McQueen. May his memory live on.

Photo above is from MyFashionLife.com.

You can't take it all with you. That's the first thing that you should know when you're thinking of purchasing a minaudiere. In a world where too much is never a bad thing, this kind of clutch reminds us that it's ok to keep it simple. Although various designers have made versions of these that have caught my eye, none other than this one by Oscar de la Renta has continued to remind me of how amazing it would be to have one in my collection. I'm just slightly accessories obsessed as the Editor in Chief of Kitten Lounge and an accessories stylist! I could spend hours thinking of the perfect accessory but this Darjeeling Minaudiere in red is perfect for this Valentine's Day whether you're out with a special someone or friends OR you're hitting the tents at Fashion Week!

In a world of hobos and cute over sized bags, this is the clutch that is adorned by birds and easily clasps together. Only your bare necessities will head out with you and you won't have to dig around the bottom of your bag to find whatever item you are looking for. This ensures that your bag isn't hiding an amazing detail of your outfit and it allows people to comment on your sense of style and how you came about finding such a piece to highlight the entire look. This is not only important for the day of love but any day where the focus needs to be on you!