What to wear to a cocktail party

When it comes to cocktail parties there are as many different types as there are hosts and hostesses. When deciding what to wear to a cocktail party, you need to consider several factors, the type of invitation you receive, the location of the party and the number of other guests. Cocktail parties run the gamut from very casual to very formal, all are acceptable and you want to make sure that you are dressed for the type of party you are attending.

If you receive a formal invitation on vellum this is a formal party if it is an email, it is likely casual or dressy. Assume that if it is a charity event that it is most likely to be formal.

Casual

You get a phone call from some good friends that they are having a cocktail party in their backyard on a Saturday. You can be quite sure that this will be a casual affair if in doubt don’t hesitate to ask your host or hostess.

For a casual cocktail party, the dress can also be casual. Your best skinny jeans, preferably in black will do well with a dressy top or blouse. Go for a girly look with perhaps a striking piece of silver jewelry to dress it up a notch. For those who prefer a skirt, a pencil skirt can be casual and easily dressed up with a feminine blouse or top. For men, casual slacks or dark jeans are appropriate with a nice shorts shirt or any top with a collar. Ties are not required at casual events. 

Dressy

When you receive an invitation to a dressy cocktail party, you can’t go wrong with your favorite “little black dress”. Keep the accessories simple and tasteful you want to be noticed but not for the wrong reasons. you should opt for that little black dress and some simple but tasteful accessories. Dressy does not mean “formal” so you don’t need to wear a cocktail dress, overdressing is just as bad as underdressing. Dressy slacks with the correct top and accessories can work well. No jeans, however, even dressy ones. For the men, a suit or sports jacket with a tie is the correct way to go. No tuxes, however.

Formal

When you are invited to a formal cocktail party which may be work related this is your chance to shine. This is where your shiny and glitzy cocktail dress can really make a statement. Get out those spike heels and that chunky gold necklace, earrings, and bracelet and really sparkle. A formal cocktail party is a place to wear sequins and dressing to the nines. If you own any real jewels don’t be afraid to show them off. A pair of chandelier earring can finish off a perfect look.

For men, the formal cocktail party is a black-tie affair and a tuxedo or dark suit is de rigueur. Especially when these are work related you want to make the right impression.

Receiving an invitation to a cocktail should not worry you. They are great opportunities to meet new people and if business related, make connections that are good for your career.  You want to mix and mingle and make a good impression. If you have any doubt about what to wear, opt for overdressing slightly or just call the host or hostess for confirmation.

Continuing allure of Titanic

April 15, 2018, marked the 106th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Titanic was the pride of the White Star Line and when she departed on her maiden voyage was the largest, most luxurious ship on the seas. Constructed in the shipyards of Belfast, she sailed to Southampton, England for the boarding of the majority of the passengers. One of the big selling points of Titanic was the fact that she was unsinkable.

The allure of the Titanic has continued to fascinate and intrigue people the world over ever since the tragedy. Part of the allure is the number of wealthy and famous people who were on board the vessel. There are amazing stories of heroism and also stories of greed and cowardice. It is the stories that have continued to surface over the years that have kept alive the fascination with this one tragic ship. In more recent times, the search for and discovery of the liner has rekindled the interest. More and more artifacts have been recovered and more stories of the passengers, especially those who didn’t survive have come to light.

More than 2,200 people were on board the doomed liner when it left Cobh, Ireland for New York to great fanfare on April 10, 1912. While most of the first class passengers boarded in Southampton, in Cobh it was almost entirely third class passengers who got on. Of the 100 people who boarded, 94 were Third Class and of those 100, 79 would perish when the ship sank.

Of the 900 crew members, 600 were from Southampton. In total, more than 500 people from this one city lost their life and of those, only one was a paying passenger. In the face of this great tragedy, White Star Line charged the families of those crewmen lost in the sinking to ship the bodies home. Since they were no longer being paid, most of the families were unable to afford to have their loved ones returned to England, another tragedy heaped on top of an already great one. Halifax, Nova Scotia has become the final resting place for many of those lost whose bodies were recovered.

The richest passenger to perish was John Jacob Astor IV. His 18-year-old pregnant wife made it onto a lifeboat. Benjamin Guggenheim procured a seat on a lifeboat for his mistress and her maid and then went down with the ship. He was later quoted as saying "No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward." Among the not so brave was J. Bruce Ismay, the director of the White Star Line, who managed to slip onto one of the lifeboats. Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon also was reviled for not only saving his own life but refusing to allow freezing passengers in the water to be rescued by the almost empty lifeboat he was in.

Among the over 1,500 souls who lost their lives were men, women, children and even infants. A particularly poignant love story which is portrayed in the movie Titanic is the story of Isidor and Ida Straus. When the 67-year-old Isidor refused to get on a lifeboat, his wife Ida remained on the ship with him and is quoted as saying, “Where you go, I go”.

While the 1985 discovery of the ship refueled the allure of Titanic, it was the 1997 release of the James Cameron epic movie, “Titanic,” which made the tragedy universally known around the world. The release of the film in 3-D, for the 100th anniversary, brought the story to a whole new generation who were too young to remember the original release.

The number of deaths pales when compared to more recent tragedies, however, there is romance and allure about the sinking of the Titanic that has captured the interest and hearts of millions of people and appears poised to continue to capture the attention of the world for a long time to come.

Conserving energy in your home

You may want to conserve energy in your home for a variety of reasons.  It will save money and of course, that is something that is very important in today’s weak economy but beyond that, conserving energy helps to minimize your carbon footprint and that is a very good thing. There are many simple ways that you can do to conserve energy, you just have to look around you.

For many people, the biggest obstacle is knowing where to begin. Mom wasn’t far off the mark, it is important to turn off any electric lights and appliances when not in use. You should even unplug anything you are not using because it requires electricity just to stay ready to use. Referred to as vampires, these appliances are sucking electricity and raising your electric bill.

Check the energy rating of your major appliances. If they need to be replaced, look for the energy star rating. What about older appliances? With the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer only operate when you have a full load. If you have a freezer, it should be full enough to justify the cost of keeping it operating. Another suggestion is, don’t stand in front of the refrigerator with the door open making up your mind, especially in the warm weather. This wastes electricity.

With the rising cost of fuel, you may want to reconsider a few of the old ways of doing household chores. Why not wash dishes in the sink once or twice a week. Electric clothes dryers are a wonderful convenience but if you want to conserve energy and save money, it is worth considering drying the laundry on a line like your mothers and grandmothers did. It does make the laundry smell really good and it doesn’t have to be every load to save money.

Have your furnace cleaned yearly so that it is running at maximum efficiency. Check your windows for any leaks and caulk and repair any windows that are allowing heat or cold to escape. If your windows aren’t thermal panes, cover them with plastic over the winter. These are easy to apply and inexpensive.

Cooking on the gas or charcoal grill not only keeps the house cooler during the summer but saves money to boot. Everything from pizza to steak can be cooked on the grill. Using a toaster oven or a crock pot can also result in big savings on electricity and the heat produced by the oven.

One big way to save is to convert your light bulbs to compact florescent bulbs. They use 75 percent less energy than normal light bulbs. When you consider your whole house, the saving can be quite significant.

Most of all, get the whole family involved in the effort to conserve energy in your home. This is something that everyone can do together to improve not only your own lives but the lives of all those who will be coming after you. The legacy that you are leaving to your children can be a small carbon footprint.

Creating a basic woman's underwear wardrobe

Every woman has a wardrobe. It starts off basic and grows from there. A woman's wardrobe consists of more than just skirts, dresses, slacks and blouses. Underwear is very important.  Once upon a time,  one piece of undergarment may have fit every woman and every occasion but that day is long gone. A basic woman's underwear wardrobe is the foundation of the well-dressed woman.

Today’s well-dressed woman has an underwear wardrobe just as extensive as her outerwear wardrobe. It has to start with a few basic pieces and from that, a wardrobe can be built.

~Bras

The bra is a basic of any woman’s underwear wardrobe. White and black are the core colors for woman’s bras but flesh color is necessary to wear under blouses and shirts that are sheer. The type of bra will be determined by the breast size of the woman. At least one bra needs to be of a material that will provide the coverage necessary to wear under a tee shirt, no matter what the temperature. A bra with extra support works well for large breasted women and a demi-cup or push up bra is the perfect basic for a smaller chested woman.

The basic bra wardrobe should start with at least four bras.

A tee shirt bra

A dress bra

A sports bra

An adjustable strap bra

~Panties

Panties are another staple of a basic underwear wardrobe. First be sure your panties fit correctly. Ill fitting panties will show through clothing and the look is not attractive. It doesn’t matter if you like thongs, bikinis, hipsters or full panties, if you see the panty line, it is wrong.

White and black are the basic panty colors. Flesh color is also a good choice since it is not visible through even the sheerest material. The basic panty wardrobe should include:

A pair of white and or black

A pair of flesh color

A pair of support panties

A pair of no line panties

~Spanx

With the new sheer and clinging fabrics, Spanx is a woman’s best friend. These are underwear but they go over your traditional underwear to keep everything together and to avoid the jiggle that any extra flesh can provide. It isn’t just for heavier woman, every woman has some curves that can take away from that perfect sleek and polished look and Spanx provides a tiny bit of extra support.

~Camisole

A camisole is a light weight undergarment that is worn underneath a sheer blouse or shirt. The basic wardrobe will have at least one and the color will be determined by the blouse it is to be worn with.

~Slip

A slip is the perfect undergarment to wear with a shirt or a dress especially if the skirt or dress is made of a sheer or clinging material. The basic colors are white, black and flesh colored. The basic slip wardrobe consists of:

A full slip

A half slip

A basic woman's underwear wardrobe for the modern woman is not all that basic and if you happen to enjoy fashion colors, you can end up with quite a collection of beautiful and way beyond basic underwear. Whether you are a Victoria’s Secret angel or a Walmart gal, you can have your basics and much more at prices that the average woman can afford.