You're In Luck: The Best Of Fabulously Green Fashion + Beauty

Happy St. Patrick's Day my fabulous friends!

I love the color green. Green can mean so many things - money, envy, eco-friendly and, of course, St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. On this day everyone is merrily Irish and the holiday has the happiest of all traditions and symbols - from lucky leprechauns, shamrocks, rainbows and pots of gold.

The streets of New York are a sea of green today. Green is such a pretty, flattering color on everyone. So whether you are going to soak up the holiday with some green beer, green beauty products or you want to wear your colors to the parade, here are some fabulous picks to channel in your inner leprechaun.

Just add your lucky gold bangles and clutch and you'll be ready for your close up in this vibrantCatherine Malandrino silk-blend dress.

Catherine Malandrino

I love the texture of the leaves climbing the neckline of this cotton/cashmere cardigan from Anthropologie.

Anthropologie

Be the lucky lady in this soft, stretch camisole with colorful foil graphics from Old Navy.

Old Navy

I love the draped neckline on this silk Stella McCartney dress. I would wear it all year with neutral pumps and armloads of golden bangles.

Stella McCartney

I love this sweet, romantic tunic in a green floral print from one of my favorite warm-weather shops Calypso.

Calypso

As stunning as they appear on your monitors, these Susan Earrings by gem queen Wendy Brandes are breathtaking in person. They make the most beautiful jewelry accessory to any look.

Wendy Brandes

Green is the most colorful of all the neutral shades. That's why adding green components to your look is always a smart choice. I totally want this Faridah Totally leather bag by Marc by Marc Jacobs to wear with everything.

Marc by Marc Jacobs

This green fig candle from Diptyque will warm any home with its woodsy, fruity scent of fig trees. I've always wanted a candle from Diptyque, the scent fills the room with such an amazing scent.

Diptyque

I like to play with color on my nails and I'm so excited there are so many shades of green to pick from this Spring. I'm going to try this OPI nail polish in Green-wich-Village for sure. It's a medium green jelly shade that looks outstanding.

OPI

If you're looking to get lucky, why not go for these flirty leaf green mid-rise thongs from Hanky Panky. They're festive and sexy and prevents you from getting pinched on St. Patrick's Day. With these though, I'm pretty sure the pinching will only turn into kissing later on. Personally, I never heard of the pinching business on St. Patrick's Day and I can't track down the origin, so if you know what it is, I would love to learn more about it.

Hanky Panky

Of course, if you're up late and your eyes are not adjusting to the morning light, you might want to try Up You Gets from Lush. You'll love the lime, grapefruit and lemon scents. It will awaken your senses, help your brain be more alert and make your morning more bearable.

Lush

Have a happy and fabulous St. Patrick's Day! Just be sure to bring your Lucky Charms with you! I'm going to try something daring, something new and going to cook corned beef and cabbage tonight. Let me know in the comments how you plan on celebrating.

How To Dress With Style, Without Looking Trendy

One of the better benefits of turning the big 4-oh is our new found confidence and sophistication we have rightly earned. Through the trials and tribulations of life, we’ve lived long enough to know what we want and who we are. We’re smart and sassy and want to invest well in ourselves but without having to submit to a fashion trend.

While I want to stay stylish, I definitely don’t feel I have to be fashionable anymore. I want to find clothes that fit, that make me look well put together, but I’m certainly not ready to dress like my mother nor do I want to wear clothes that I have to stuff myself into. And I definitely am not embracing the trends (hello neon, padded shoulders and leggings) that I wore back in high school. I know there are plenty of chic options out there.

I asked style expert and author of Style Rx: Dressing The Body You Have To Create The Body You Want, Bridgette Raes, how women in their 40s can take the trends today and make them suitable for us.

“It’s all in the accents,” Bridgette said. “It’s the best way to go after a trend and how to finish your look.”

Style expert and author Bridgette Raes:

Bridgette said while it is essential to keep the core of your outfit classic, accessories are the key to keeping your look fresh and up-to-date. One of the ways to incorporate fall’s trends into your wardrobe is by adding a little accent piece. For example, a green-hued necklace or cuff bracelet with rock n’ roll flair, a fun, colorful jacket or a pair of nude shoes can easily be added and take a blah look and make it fresh and exciting.

“What I’ve found is women tend to get dressed 75% of the way,” Bridgette said. “Who’s not bored with black pants and a colored top. Don’t forget to add personality and finish it.”

Bridgette refers to this style, or lack of, as a chicken outfit. “Chicken in pot of boiling water is only as good as what you do to it,” she said. “Most women get dressed like a chicken, bland, and don’t add any flavor.”

To avoid this, a woman can add some spice to her look by changing the component she adds to her base outfit. She can wear an interesting shoe, add a pop of color or don unusual jewelry versus wear the uniform of black pant suit and a string of pearls.

“It’s the best way to liven up an outfit and it’s the one place where we don’t have to worry about fit,” Bridgette said.

It is also the one place that’s all about you and adding your personality to the outfit.

“What is great about accessories is they can make an outfit look five different ways, saving you money and what is going to separate you from everyone else,” Bridgette said.

To pick the best accessories, Bridgette said to think about what colors are in your wardrobe and find colors that work with it. When in doubt, the stylist said to go green. “Green is a colored neutral, meaning it goes with every color” she said. Other style solutions to create interest for classic dressing include metallic and nude shoes, leopard prints and fishnet stockings.

The leopard print on these classic ballet flats from Lauren Ralph Lauren adds chic style when wearing either jeans or pants.

I love the tailored shaping of this jacket from Nanette Lepore. Plus the forest green plaid can be worn with jeans and black pants and a great pair of boots.

This whimsical skull necklace with white sapphires by Wendy Brandes adds the right amount of rock 'n roll edginess to any look.

The rich green hue on this leather satchel from Valentino will add interest to all your great classics.

These nude pumps from Kate Spade are so versatile and will look great with any outfit.

“If you’re wearing black pants, go for an interesting shoe,” Bridgette said. “It’s a much more elegant look and can elevate the look of black pants from the cubicle to the corner office.”

One of the key differences to dressing your age is achieving a look that is youthful, but not young. “If she dresses too young, she looks older,” Bridgette said. “If she is wearing a short, tight skirt, leggings or a tight top, she’s going to look older. If you modify the look so it is youthful, you’ll actually look younger.”

At this point in our lives, we have really hit our stride. While there are so many things that are more important than clothing, we still want to look good. We have reached a point where we want to put ourselves front and center, and that shouldn’t be about clothing. We need to emphasize this in our style, and to separate ourselves from our younger sisters. We are women who are seasoned and one of the best ways is by dressing for ourselves. It’s a real confidence booster.

It almost seems silly to worry if something is trendy or to wonder if you’re wearing something right. This is your life and it’s looking good.

More importantly, I think it is wise to invest in really good classic pieces that you can mix and match and build off it.

According to Bridgette, a good classic wardrobe should include the following: A good pair of basic pants in neutral shades, including black, brown, camel, olive and charcoal, a few great blazers, that have some personality, that you can wear as an outerwear piece in the spring and fall and as a jacket in the winter. She also says one good “go to” dress that is basic. It doesn’t necessarily have to be black, but a neutral shade is smart because the look can change easily with an outfit change. She also mentions you should have in your classic closet good basic knit tops that be be worn as layering pieces in basic colors. Other items your closet needs is one good handbag, preferably in a camel shade that can be worn with either black or brown shades, one pair of tall boots that can be worn with skirts or pants, in either black or brown and one good scarf, pashmina in size, that be be worn as a wrap when it’s cold.