LaPointe's Feather Coat Is Fun

Photo courtesy of Town & Country

As a Manhattanite living in a small apartment, I don’t buy clothes like the coat that comedian Sandra Bernhard is wearing in the March 2026 issue of Town & Country. Although guests to my home think I have good-sized closets, to avoid clutter, I must organize ... plus limit my wardrobe to classic outerwear, jackets, sweaters, and shoes that go with everything else I own. All my coats and many of my shoes are black! Why? For their versatility. They go with everything!

Still, what a fabulous piece this feathered coat is from LaPointe’s Spring 2026 Collection! I love the beautiful purplish-blue color! The bit of silvery glitter on the ends of its sleeves. The shape is full yet not overwhelming, and the midi length is perfect for showing off Sandra's stylish pumps. Classic, old-style, showbiz glamour!

Oh, what fun to borrow it for a night out on the town!

Above are other pieces I like from LaPointe's feather collection. With the jackets, we must also sport the matching purse. They go together like Rodgers and Hammerstein. Do you agree? Have you ever worn feathers?

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A Burberry Trench Coach Is A True Investment Piece

When it comes to buying investment wardrobe pieces we can’t go wrong with a trench coat, the most iconic perhaps is British luxury brand, Burberry. As it turns out, they go on sale this time of the year, so now is the time to browse the department stores which carry them.

The company was founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856. Originally Burberry designed his iconic trench coats for military officers and outdoor exploration. 

Even today a Blurberry Trench Coat is known for its intricate stitcking and functional details. A nova check pattern is the tradmark of the coat, as well as, its scarves and apparel. As we would expect, the trench coat doubles as a raincoat: Thomas Burberry invented garbardine fabric in 1879, a tightly woven, breathable, and waterproof cotton. 

While steep in British heritage, the trench coat has become globally iconic as functional and practical luxury outerwear. What makes it an investment piece is an owner would likely wear it all the decades of his or her adult life.

To be transparent, although I’ve long admired and have tried on Burberry Trench Coats at Borgdoff Goodman, I don’t own one. But if I were to pay the piper, IMHO, this coat would be the luxury item well worth the cost especially if you need it for work or travel. Had I bought one in my early 20s, I’d still be wearing it. Nowadays my life is casual smart in style. I own a London Fog trench coat and a Uniqlo water-resistant coat, also stylish and functional pieces for less than luxury brand Burberry. It’s fine for Savvy Shoppers to use Burberry, the Holy Grail of quality, as our inspiration to find a good enough trench coat to fit our lifestyles. 

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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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What Is A Shacket?

Photo: ShortStoryBox

It’s a new word I recently heard uttered by Willie Geist, the NBC News anchor, and it’s trending. The word is shacket for shirt-jacket.

A shacket combines the lightweight, relaxed style of a button-up shirt with the heavier fabric and functionality of a jacket. Often featuring larger pockets and made from sturdy materials like wool, denim, or cotton twill, shackets work as a versatile, casual-smart layering piece that can be worn in 3 ways (1) solo or (2) as an outer layer or (3) under a heavier coat, ideal for transitional weather.

Here is a peek into my closet. 

As it turns out I have 8 shackets in my closet: 4 are wool, 2 are denim, 1 is cotton and 1 is cotton/modal, all bought years ago (Shhh!, I’m not telling how many:) before the word came into existence. Without knowing, I was trending before the trend! I wear mine in the fall or spring when you need warmth but a coat is too warm. Because I wear leggings in the fall, winter and spring, I like the longer length of a shacket to balance the skinny fit of leggings (or skinny jeans). 

A shacket can also bump up a comfortable relaxed look to casual-smart by pulling together all the pieces of an outfit and covering up your butt. A longer length complements long legs also.

Although a shacket can be worn alone, I always wear a color coordinated t-shirt under mine. That way all I need to wash frequently is the t-shirt, and if I get too hot, I can remove the shacket and not have to leave it on for decency. Outside of the home with leggings though, I tend to leave my shacket on so I don’t look like a turtle that popped out of its shell! :)

So a shacket is a smart layering piece, and proof that everything old is renamed and new again!

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Put The Laundry Book On Your Shelf

Do you know using too much laundry detergent gets your clothes less clean? Too much laundry detergent will also wear out your washing machine faster. So how much laundry detergent should you use to clean a normally soiled, medium load of laundry? According to 3rd and 4th generation, father and son laundry experts, Jerry and Zach Pozniak, the amount to add is only 2 tablespoons. It’s much less than most people use or what manufactures suggest. Moreover, if your clothes are not heavily soiled washing them in warm over hot water, not only gets them cleaner, but preserves the colors in your clothing.

Jerry and Zach Pozniak are the owners of a luxury dry cleaner located at 1318 Madison Avenue at 94th Street (the Carnegie Hill neighborhood) in New York City called Jeevers New York. It’s a small family run business which caters to celebrities and fashion types. 

Zach Pozniak has a YouTube channel where he doesn’t hold back on giving viewers free cleaning advise and reviewing best to worst laundry detergents and cleaning solvents. Kirkland and Purex liquid detergents top Zak’s list -- go to his channel for the complete details. Like a scientist he explains what ingredients make a detergent or solution most effective for different types of stains. Detergents containing OxiClean are recommended.

In addition to the above tips, I leaned to apply hydrogen peroxide to remove stains from a shirt after I wash but omit drying it. Let the hydrogen peroxide dry on the fabric. IMHO, The Laundry Book would make a great addition to a home. BTW: Know that my blogs are not sponsored. I give my honest opinions. The Laundry Book is a valuable reference book to help us keep our clothes in tip-top shape by squeaky cleaning them without damage. Jerry Pozniak recommends not buying clothes you can only spot clean since you can’t really clean them.

Father and son are committed to passing their 4 generations of cleaning hacks onto the public, and they run a prestige small family business customers can feel good about supporting.

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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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What do I love about summer? Long days of sunshine, no socks or layers, and summer dresses! Sometimes you can find an attractive summer dress in the most unexpected places. The hot pink Time and Tru Dress from Walmart caught my eye. Who would have thought you could find a stylish double cotton dress at Walmart? This one is a best seller with many good customer reviews. It comes in green and black too. If you need another summer dress, you can't beat its price!

Old Navy is a retailer where I expect and find lovely summer dresses to wear. I repeatedly write about the store because of it. Moreover, this year the merchant is stepping up its active and casual-smart style a notch by offering a new collection of special dresses called Occasion by Old Navy.

The crisp, smooth, silk-like taffeta fabric holds its shape, and once again, you can't beat the price for adorable style! Who would have thought to look at Old Navy for prom, party, or fancy date night dresses? A taffeta fabric is ideal for formal and structured garments like wedding dresses and christening gowns. You can't help but take a 2nd look! This is Old Navy? Why, yes, it is.

While the price points of Old Navy dresses are budget-friendly, they last longer than fast-fashion dresses. With the classic lines in this collection, you can wear them for years to come!

What are your favorites?

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My Favorite Oscar Dresses 2025

All photos courtesy of Getty

Here are my very quick picks of favorite Oscar dresses for 2025. I want to publish them this year before the award winners are selected. I went with the classics.

A few attendees not on my list of favs wore gowns that fashion editors might choose because they are look-at-me different, but I'm sticking with timeless.

There's nothing wrong with an actress having quirky fun with fashion, but I'd always want to look beautiful if walking across a world stage. Sometimes you can't have both, fun and glamour, so the latter would be my ideal. 

Some of the gowns which appear black on television are dark blue or dark green. Now perhaps you'd like to share your Oscar gown likes too? 

🎥 🎭  🎭  🎭  🎭  🎭 🎭  🎭🎥

Since it's so early I'll give you my predictions on who'll win.

Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown
Best Actress: Cynthina Erivo in Wicked

Why? Impeccable acting combined with their ability to sing (and sing so well!) as their characters gives them the edge to win.

10:41 Update: Oh, the Academy didn't agree with me. I have no doubt these talented and deserving young actors will win in the future.

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Come Meet Halara

Halara portrays itself as women's activewear inspired by everyday clothing, an accurate description backed up by a browse on its website. Definitely, customers can wear the versatile pieces outside of the gym and every day. Although casual wear, many of the dresses, pants, leggings, and denim clothing can be dressed up or down. 

The attire is comfortable, well-made, and durable at super affordable prices, mostly around $39.

The fabrics are designed to move with "activewear-inspired functionality" that feels good "blending performance and comfort in every piece." You get fashion and practical bells and whistles such as built-in bras, pockets, micro-weaves, soft thermos, and airy fabrics.

Consumers can scan by activity, fabric, or type of clothing they desire. Without painful prices, an encounter with Halara is comfortable for you and your wallet. Her wares are made to style and move with you throughout the day.

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