Chino Clothing Is A Balance of Comfort and Style

Clino clothing is the ideal balance of casual-smart, comfort, durability, and style. Right up my alley! The retailer tends to be pricey yet short of unaffordable. You may not buy all your clothes at Chino -- Uniqlo and Old Navy rock -- but you might splurge on special pieces that will remain staples in your wardrobe for years to come.

The retailer combines classic with a degree of edginess or fun in the best possible way. Its pieces are always fashionable and on trend, without following trends.

I also appreciate Chino’s light and breathable cotton twill fabric. A merchant who began by making fabrics for the military, Chio now offers some of the most stylish and flattering pieces for women. 

You have your choice of dress lengths with ultra-tasteful necklines and attention to details that flatter women of all ages. If you buy a dress in your 20s, with good care, you’ll still have it and be able to wear it in your 50s!

If you wait for sales and special promotions, you’ll find a piece at a good value you’ll enjoy wearing time and again.

You simply can’t pick a dress on this blog post that wouldn’t look good on women of any age, and as time rolls on, none will look dated!

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Short-or-Cap-Sleeved Summer Dresses Are Back!

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Short-or-Cap-Sleeved Summer Dresses Are Back!

Style & Co at Macy's

As soon as summer weather arrives, I switch from wearing leggings to dresses. My legs don’t get covered again until autumn, when the days start to get nippy.

Style & Co and Jones New York at Macy’s

During the last decade, sleeveless dresses dominated summers. Understandably, with heat and humidity ... and yet, I missed what I mostly wore during my teenage and 20s,  short sleeves. Cap-sleeved is an abbreviated length of short-sleeved and is also perfect for summer when you just want fabric covering your shoulders and the top of your arms. 

Lands’ End

What I appreciate about short-or cap-sleeved dresses is that I rarely have to carry a cover-up, such as a cardigan or shawl. That little bit of extra material on the top of my arms gives me the warmth I need for indoor air conditioning. What’s more, it shields my shoulders and arms from too much sun. I also think short-or-cap-sleeves give a dress a little extra versatility when perhaps cloaking more skin is desired for certain occasions. Years ago, when tourists entered churches in Rome, they were required out of respect to cover their bare shoulders.

Old Navy’s Swing Dresses

There was a 10-year period when dresses with short sleeves seemed to have disappeared. You could find long-sleeved or sleeveless, but not much in between. For the versatility of having both short-sleeved and sleeveless options in a wardrobe, I'm happy to see short sleeves on summer dresses back in fashion!

Style & Co at Macy's

My fabric preferences for summer dresses are cotton, linen, or silk. I don’t mind 1 or 2 rayon dresses since rayon is light and cool, but rayon isn’t as durable as the natural fabrics. Macy’s has a variety of dresses with short sleeves, which include polyester (a fabric I don't buy). For this post, I featured cotton and linen dresses from Macy’s and Lands’ End. Old Navy’s swing dresses are rayon. I have some Old Navy rayon swing dresses from summers’ past ... yes, sleeveless!  The retailer puts their dresses on sale for $7, $10, $12 so you get enough wear out of them for the little you spend. They are machine washable, and customers look amazingly polished for $7 bucks!

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Summer Dresses At Uniqlo and Old Navy

Uniqlo

I buy all my summer dresses at Uniqlo or Old Navy. One of the two retailers always comes through for me with color and cuteness. I prefer cotton or linen, and with a tad of spandex is ok. Each merchant's dress collection can always be dressed up or down and can be machine-washed and dried, although I tend to hang-dry my dresses.  

Let’s do a quick round-up to see what they’ve launched this year.

First Up is Uniqlo:

Followed by Old Navy:

I’m featuring what I like. There are a few other styles at both retailers. Each of the dresses comes in several more colors and/or patterns, and between the 2 retailers, why shop anywhere else? Mini, midi, or maxi, sleeves or sleeveless, every summer, they’ve got us covered! No pun intended, hardy, har, har.😉😎

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Oscar Dress Picks 2026

Every year for fun, I select my favorite Oscar gowns. IMHO this year, not only are Jason Bateman and his wife, Amanda Anka, the best-dressed couple of the evening, but Amanda is wearing my overall favorite Oscar dress of the evening. I love its shimmer, the classy, revealing-yet-not-too-revealing skirt of the gown. It flatters her curves and is ultra glamorous from head to toe. 

At the Academy Awards, black dresses were worn in abundance with other neutrals and not much color. The individuality was in the details of the frocks.

Alana Haim in Louis Vuittron (most daring!), EJAE in Dior, Rose Byrne in Dior

Alana Haim’s dress from the front angle is modern and cosmopolitan sans the huge side slits, which I didn’t notice right away. I wonder if it comes with a silk underlayer? I’m thinking, brrrr, air conditioning.

Teyana Taylor in Chanel, Demi Moore in Gucci, Emma Sands in Louis Vuitton

Zoe Saldana in St. Laurent, Gwyneth Paltrow in Giorgio Armani Privè, Anna Cathcart in Jenny Packham.

The last 3 are simple yet elegant dresses. I also love Zoe Saldana’s Cartier, Gwyneth Paltrow’s and  Teyana Taylor’s Tiffany necklaces. (Click the photos to enlarge.)

The overall look of Oscar night was sophisticated and grown-up.

Photo: PEOPLE

I must add that Gwyneth has a beautiful body, but I her Oscar dress isn’t as elegant from the sides as the front. Actresses are bolder with less inhibition than regular people. At high-profile events, my sole motivation is to look my very best self. Again, I think air conditioning, brrr!

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#Shorts: Old Navy Dress Alert!

What a darling summer dress the Old Navy Fit & Flare Mini Dress is! 100% cotton in the floral pattern I like best, the dress comes in a total of 8 colors and patterns. With a sweetheart neckline, wide straps, fitted top and a flared skirt, this little number is machine washable. Oooo, look, you get side pockets too!

Although customers are reporting the length isn’t too mini, um short, I’d likely order it in tall. Love summer dresses that are above the knee, yet I’ll no longer wear super short dresses like I could get away with in my younger years. Moreover, a bit of extra length gives a summer dress more versitility.

Last year Old Navy’s mini dresses were not too short or as mini as one would think, and the only way to know about this year’s dress styles is to go into the brick-and-mortar store and try one on! If only the dress came with a lovely yet unhealthy bronze tan and a bright sunny day!

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New Year’s Eve Party Dresses I Like

As we sit home with 4 inches of snow on the ground today, I’m browsing online at Macy’s party dresses pretending I'm selecting one to wear to a fancy New Year’s Eve party.

I like the silver sequin bowes against a velvet black fabric on this top image, but after looking for it online, the dress seems to be this liquid shimmering one, which is too long for my liking and not as classic in appearance as it would be against a black velvet fabric. So initially catching my eye, it didn’t make my list.

Below are 5 dresses that did --

Why did I select these 5 styles over other choices? Because I would wish to move and have fun at the gathering, not fuss with dress length (yards of material I could trip over) or cleavage (nothing too low, revealing or unstable). Also nothing too short so I wouldn’t need to worry about where and how I sat. Classy with a bit of comfort and freedom to move around the party room spearheaded my selections!

With the 1st 4 dresses I wouldn’t have to carry a shaw either, but likely would just in case the room was not warm enough. 

Finally forget about open toe shoes in the winter months. I’ve never liked the look in winter, nor the possibility of having cold toes. I’d pair my party dress with pretty block heels for comfort.

Adorn the green dress with a tennis necklace and bracelet. Hey, we’re still dreaming aren’t we?

What are your thoughts and do you have a favorite style to wear to a dressy (though short of a gala) New Year’s Eve gathering?

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Cozy Earth Brushed Bamboo Midi Dress

The brushed bamboo midi dress by Cozy Earth is very wearable. Made of 70% bamboo viscose, 26% acrylic and 4% spandex, many of us would likely get our $105 - $128 worth of wear out of it due to its comfort, style and versatility. So yes, we could think of it as an investment piece, but if you don’t wish to spend as much, there are a number of visual matches on the internet for less.

The fit and quality of the Cozy Earth dress is a surer bet over its lookalikes, and at times I've paid the piper for the certainty of a worthwhile classic piece of clothing. Sometimes we take a risk to spend less and at other we don't! 

Another consideration is when you get it right, you just need the one dress. What I like about the Cozy Earth brand of this dress is the cut is spot on -- not too boxy, showy or sexy! The side splits for flexibility are not too high. The dress is feminine and not at all baggy.

The deliberation is: Do you spend $105 - $128 (depending on color) for a dress if it's "just right?” There is a spin the wheel discount on Cozy Earth’s website requring you to sign up for emails to make pulling the trigger less painful.

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Old Navy’s Vintage Mini T-shirt Dresses

Old Navy’s Vintage Mini T-Shirt Dresses

Nowadays when my senior mom needs new clothes I make the selections for her. The thought makes me smile because I realize what it means ... she’s beginning to dress like me.😁 When she bought her own clothes she wore lots of long pants in summer. But I wear casual dresses as soon as the hot weather hits, and I don’t return to wearing pants until the first chill💨 of fall kisses my bare legs.

I also switched my mom to soft, comfortable, easy to machine wash and dry fabrics. She was born in an era when women suffered for style, and many garments needed ironing and special handling. Let’s leave those practices in the past!

Another practice I think should be history is dressing the elderly in ugly clothes they’d never wear in their younger decades of life. No house dresses for her that resemble pajamas. In her old age she still likes fashion!

It’s going to hit 90 degrees F, and I’ve already received by mail what she’s wearing today. It’s the top image, Old Navy’s Mini T-Shirt Dress. You can dress it up or down. I have visions of her looking like a biker chick and may manage to pull the biker chick look off! Why, you may ask? I am her only child, but was never her favorite child. Ha, ha! Plus I think she’ll look adorable!😂😂😂

I ordered her several of the t-shirt dresses to carry her through the summer, all in the same teal color. If O.N. had other bright summer colors when I ordered them, I would have gotten other colors. Because the deals are so good, the dresses go very fast! 

Yesterday my mom wore the Short-Sleeve Vintage Mini-T-Shirt Dress in the pretty and bright pink color. I only ordered her one of that style since I think as soon as summer hits, she’ll be cooler in sleeveless cotton dresses.

For my readers who are interested in ordering the dresses too, they are now on sale. My mother is petite (about 5’1”) so regular in this mini style fits her perfectly. However if you normally order regular, you’ll have to order this style in tall for it to fall about an inch above your knee. Plan for some shrinkage.

The 100% cotton fabric is super soft and substantial for summer days. It’s not too thin.

Such a comfortable summer dress suitable for young or old! Right now the sale makes this t-shirt dress cheaper than the cost of a t-shirt. More fabric, more coverage for less. A fabulous value!

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Where Are All The Summer Colors?

Don't get me wrong, I love what Uniqlo calls its Lifewear apparel and mostly worship its understated and classic basics. From the seller's outerwear to underwear and everything in between, the quality and value can't be beat.

But an issue I've had for about 5 years now is wondering where all the summer colors have gone at Uniqlo (and another retailer, Old Navy). Although I tend to wear dark neutral colors in trousers, sweaters, and socks, I need pops of color in t-shirts, blouses, and summer dresses.  I like black leggings or navy pants or grey skirts, but don't wish to pair them with black, navy, grey, or even beige tops. Moreover, in the summer, I love wearing bright blue, pink, and purple dresses, or floral and fun patterns. Where have all these summer bright or pastel colorings gone? The 1st summer I noticed this subdued trend at Uniqlo and Old Navy in t-shirts, I was disappointed but thought I'd just wait until the retailers returned to blue, pink, and purple t-shirts the next summer. Well, I'm still waiting for the return of the summer bright color zeitgeist!

Old Navy is this year's retailer for a wide selection of colorful summer dresses. Here and here. Unlike yesteryear, Uniqlo's dresses have gotten very neutral in color, as well as very long and impractical for walking around New York City. Outside of Manhattan, I still don't want to drag yards of material around if casually hanging out indoors or in a park. In July or August, it's too overdressed or hot, with the potential of picking up grass and dirt stains on the bottom of a longer dress.

Uniqlo's top double knitted nylon dress (also available in navy, black, and cream) is about the length I prefer to wear in the summer. The linen dress (here in two colors) on the sides of this blog is about an inch shorter than I like. A mini length limits where you can wear the dress. It can also look too daddylongleg-ish on taller frames. 

Just like baby bear, I desire a summer dress length that's just right ... which for me is about an inch or two above the knee and in pretty summer colors. Bring colors back to t-shirts, too, please!

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