The magical world of darts. It’s likely you’ve heard the word and possibly know what one is, but what exactly do they do? Darts are those lovely seams near the bust or waist line that either bring in extra fabric or let out fabric to make your garments fit properly to your curves. Here are a few examples of darts and how they can make or break an outfit.

French Darts: Oo La la, the French Dart. I have a love/ hate relationship with this dart. On one hand it gives your garment a beautiful retro feel, a flashback to the 50’s in a modern way. On the other hand there are so many things that can go wrong with this dart if not tailored properly. It is the dart that begins at the waistline side seam and runs diagonally to the apex of the bust. The main problem that occurs with these darts is that they seem to run straight up to the apex instead of falling slightly lower than the apex (½ inch to an inch.) This in turn creates what we will call the Madonna effect, making the bust slightly pointier then we’d like. So when trying on a garment with French darts make sure they are properly fitted.

Side and Waist Dart: These darts can make for a wonderful sheath dress when elongated into the lower portion. This can be a timeless dress to add to your wardrobe. Because there are both side and waist darts it will be extra fitted in the torso area leaving it open to either a pencil skirt bottom or an A-line bottom. These dresses are great for hourglass figures because it accentuates the curves, most importantly the smallest part of the body, the waist.

Gathered Shoulder Darts: Gathered Should Darts tend to add attention directly in that area so it stands to reason that if you have broad shoulders and wish to diminish them, shirts and dresses of this style should be avoided. In the contrary, if you have slight shoulders this tailoring will add some balance to this area.

There is your designer tip for the week, and remember, don’t be afraid to have your store bought garments tailored. No one has the same exact body so why would we all fit into the same exact dress? Now you can go into your tailor with a little more knowledge and a little less fear!

By: Brooke Brazil, assistant New York Image Consultant for My Image Expert

Honey, sweet heart, pumpkin… you can do aaaaannnnnything you want and I’ll never stop trusting you. Never! This is the kind of trust that is needed in building a 50 year marriage.  Without Trust, the level of love in a marriage does not grow in depth; it just stays fragile hovering on the surface. In a marriage; love will come and go. Each year our feelings for each other will fade and return, just as the seasons change. The love that all married couples seek,can be found in Trust.
Look at trust the way you look at an insurance
policy. Making monthly installments is not that hard, for some it feels automatic; hardly giving it a second thought. Trust is also quite effortless when all is going well.  Now imagine a crisis happens and you need to make  an insurance claim and your broker says, “We’re not going to cover you. We don’t think you deserve it.” Trust is the insurance policy guaranteed to cover you when you need it most. When things go wrong and we want to pull the trust away; is precisely when we need to trust the most. Honey, sweetheart, pumpkin… You can do aaaannnnything you want and I’ll never stop trusting you. Never. This kind of trust will set your marriage back on track if it has fallen off, and will heal all wounds caused by an ever recovering broken heart.  Trust is what moves marriages to a deeper level of love.  Trust is what teaches our children how to be responsible, is what builds character and is what transforms lives.  Trust is a gift we give.

Do you think you have what it takes to succeed in a 50 year marriage? Because, really, this is it. Being married is hard. Being happily married takes work. Work normally isn’t always fun. Work takes commitment, and discipline and being responsible.  Then once you are in the groove of success and have figured out how to bounce back from stuff that randomly happens, you will have more and more fun as the years go on.          
          Get through several dozen trials and character building challenges; that’s what builds a relationship into something magical.

Written by Andrea MacLeod, Vancouver BC

Womensville – A Social Networking Site For Women – Looking for Love, Divorce Alternatives, Women’s Studies, Marriage Advice, Dating and Relationship — WordPress

The best way for a woman to reduce her own personal problems is to find a cause bigger than herself and contribute to it.

There is nothing more inspiring than seeing a woman give of herself, to a cause that resonates with what makes her heart sing.

When a woman has a project at work or in her community or family that is bigger than she thinks she can handle is when she gets to see just how capable she is. It’s a pleasant surprise.

Womensville encourages women to step outside their comfort zone and give of them self.

We think you’ll like who you are when you are giving of yourself to needy charities or projects in your own back yard.

Self-doubt and depression are your own personal villains. If Low Self Esteem is all about acting and feeling needy, the opposite of that must be feeling and acting generous.

No matter how low a woman’s life can be, the minute she performs a generous act of kindness her entire day can be filled with joy. I know a woman who goes to the drive through for coffee on her way to work, just so that she can secretly pay for the person behind her and then carry those feelings of goodness into her day. I realize it is incredibly hard to get out of the darkness of doubt and depression sometimes, especially if your life is in that pit more than you wish it were.

Womensville – A Social Networking Site For Women – Looking for Love, Divorce Alternatives, Women’s Studies, Marriage Advice, Dating and Relationship — WordPress

Womenville shares tips and tricks on how to go about promoting your company or product online.
Womensville~ a social networking site for women looking for love, divorce alternatives, dating and relationship tips.

Listen to Andrea’s story about how she wrote and published her first book, “Sister We Need to Talk.” Womenville believes all women should have the opportunity to write a book. Find out why.

Womensville~ A social networking site for women looking for love, divorce alternatives, dating and relationship tips

We are all on a path towards the things that make our hearts sing. Indeed I wouldn’t be the woman I am today if I didn’t keep seeking answers to the questions that were ringing deep inside my own heart. One day I discovered the Alpha Course and I would like to share with you my oppinion of it. Thanks for listening. May peace and joy be with you.

Womensville is a social networking site for women looking for love, divorse alternatives, dating and relationship advice.

…because you have to watch it.

Womensville~A social Networking Site-Looking for love, divorce alternatives, dating and relationship tips.

From Princess Leah to Little Annie Oakly braids have always been around but it was just that, they were particular to movies and childhood memories. Now however, they’ve become a hot commodity. They’re no longer tied with pigtails in the play yard but can now be worn as a chic and sophisticated up-do. Here are a few ways to achieve these twisted wonders and a few variations to keep things up in the air:

1. A simple and always easy style is the double braids on top. To achieve this look part your hair in the center (or off to the side if you prefer the asymmetrical look). Take about an inch of hair from the very front of your head, on each side of your part and braid it back regularly. Not a French braid but a regular. This allows you to play with the form of the braid a bit more. When finished braiding, pin both braids in the back of your head with bobby pins. Crossing them in an X shape is always a classy alternative. Allow the braids to droop just a little bit to give them some natural form. Afterwards give your hair a soft curl or light tousle with a curling iron and you’re good to go!

2. Not only did they give us wonderful fries and yummy bread, but the French also gave us braids. Or their version anyway. A French braid is a very classy version of the American braid and it tends to stay in place much better. You’re less likely to have fly away hairs. You begin with three pieces of hair a little lower than the very top of your head. Start braiding like a regular braid and as you move down keep adding hair to the outside piece before you pull it into the center. By the time you get to the nape of the neck you will have used up all of the hair and you can braid the rest regularly.

3. The fish bone braid can be slightly tricky if you’ve never done it before but when you master it, it is oh so worth it! Begin by splitting your hair into right and left portions. Those portions will then be split into two pieces, leaving you with for equal pieces.  The outside right piece will come in the middle of the two left pieces and then the outside left piece will come in between the two new right pieces. Continue this until you are at the end of the rope. Then tie it up, throw it to the side and roughen it up a bit if you want more of a bed head look.

4. Thus far we’ve gone from easy to difficult on the braid scale. So let’s end it off with an easier twist to the braid. An actual twist! Part your hair on the top, down the middle. Split your hair into right, left and back portions. Throw your back portion into a loose and messy bun. On each side of the part grab about an inch of hair and start twisting it. As you go along add a little bit of hair into the twist. When you eventually run out of hair to add just keep twisting it to the end. Cross the two twists above the bun, wrap it under the bun and pin it.

Whether your hair is long, short, or in between you should find something on this list that works for you! And yes, you can wear it at any age.

By: Brooke Brazil Assistant NYC Personal Stylist for My Image Expert

Womensville – A Social Networking Site For Women – Looking for Love, Divorce Alternatives, Women’s Studies, Marriage Advice, Dating and Relationship — WordPress

Let’s face it, lace makes us feel sexy. It’s delicate and feminine and whether or not you adhere to that mantra in your everyday life, every once in a while it’s fun to play a little dress up, whether it’s outside or in the bedroom. So the image experts are to help you find a few ways to wear lace age-appropriately:

1. Lace Tights: The lace tights are back and bigger than ever.  Another flashback to the eighties with a few upgrades. As you all know, I’m not the biggest fan of eighties fashion but with every fashion faux pas comes a silver lining. The proper lace tights can be an amazing statement piece but it should stay as that, a statement piece.  Pair it with a solid color dress and solid color shoes. It’s a lot of pattern on a large amount of your body; you don’t want to overpower your viewers with too much. One of the first things you learn in art school is to help the viewer follow a line of direction, ending in the focal point. In this case that would be your legs. So they better be prepared for all that attention. Because it’s a much edgier and sexier look I would leave these dames to the twenty year olds. And make sure to watch the patterns you choose because too intricate can make you look like you have a disease on your leg.

1. Lace Undergarments: Lace undergarments are something that can be worn at any age as well. Let me rephrase that…lace undergarments are something that can be worn at any age, if worn under the proper clothing.  Sometimes its nice to feel a little sexy knowing your wearing a black lace bra underneath your top, but the rest of your co-workers do not need to know the same. NO black lace under white, or low cut tops.  It’s very unprofessional and could highly affect your working environment in a negative way. Now for that special someone feel free to wear that white top…..or not.

1. Lace Dress: The lace dress only really works as a mini to knee length dress, because the moment you lengthen it, you begin to attract 17^th century roll players, which of course is completely suitable if that is what your in to. If not, I would suggest keeping a very modern cut. I would also suggest minimal accessories because the dress is bold enough as it is and right smack dab in the middle of your body. Black lace will be a very, very sexy choice of dress; if you’re not quite ready for that I would suggest more of a baby doll look with a cream or white colored dress depending on your skin tone.

1. Lace Bolero Jacket: Aaahh. The lace jacket. This is such a sexy sophisticated garment. It’s the perfect thing to amp up a drab outfit. It transcends age and screams class. A nice thin tank and a pair of skinny jeans and you should be off and ready to go! My only suggestion with the Lace Jacket is to wear your hair down or in a pony tail/ braid because the moment you fully put it up you’ll be referencing the 17^th century damsels. I would recommend this to all age groups from eighteen to eighty-eight.

1. Lace Bag: Lace bags are something that I generally avoid for the mere fact that it’s an object that is very hard to modernize. They generally come in a hippie knitted lace or a flower girls white and beaded box bag.  No and no. There are a few exceptions including the Valentino duffle but it’ll cost you! If you do happen to find a nice and delicate clutch it’s a piece that can stand the test of closet time.

By: Brooke Brazil Assistant NYC Personal Stylist for My Image Expert

Womensville – A Social Networking Site For Women – Looking for Love, Divorce Alternatives, Women’s Studies, Marriage Advice, Dating and Relationship — WordPress