The size 12 woman loves her Gap, H&M and Ann Taylor. We can always find and fit into some affordable khakis -- and have our choice of colors and leg lengths. But what if we don't want to look like the woman sitting two seats away from us on the bus? What if we're in the mood to throw some hard-earned cash at some pricey designer clothes from a cute little boutique?
Just before 2000, Dop Troutman decided that his new year's resolution would be to make a serious lifestyle change, influenced mostly by a difficult breakup. For the first time in his life, the 34-year-old Chicagoan joined a gym and vowed to get fit.
STARTING FRIDAY: Who wants designer shoes 70 percent off? Grace, 1917 N. Damen (773-384-7223), is marking down all spring and summer shoes Friday through August 15 (or until all merchandise is gone). Designers include Pucci, Celine and Givenchy.
Summer sales racks make us impossibly giddy, and with the retail market slumping this year, that enticing rack of marked-down clothes is bigger than ever. But rather than completely give in to our senses and grab hold of that $30 yellow blouse (the one that won't see more than another month of daylight), why not make your money go further by looking for clothes that can be parlayed into fall?
STARTING FRIDAY THROUGH AUG. 3: Scoop up limited-edition beauty products as part of Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale. Choose from more than 100 beauty lines, such as MAC, Chanel, Marc Jacobs and Philosophy.
"Hot tranny mess" may have been the catchphrase on Bravo's "Project Runway" last season thanks to winner Christian Siriano, but if Robbins native Terri Stevens has anything to say about it, "funkin' beautiful" will enter the pop-culture lexicon in a big way.
The devil may wear Prada — but the pope does not. According to the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, the bright red loafers that Pope Benedict XVI wears are not designed by the Milanese fashion house, as has long been rumored.
Susanna Homan: You think waking up with a bad hair day is awful -- what's worse is its ugly cousin, the bad face day. "Sometimes I wake up in the morning and say, 'Who is this?' " jokes Elaine Sauer, corporate spa director at Mario Tricoci. "It could be from having too much sodium in your food, staying up too late or just too much stress. But once you hit your 30s, your circulation gets poorer and skin starts to look a little dull."
Ditch your body lotion for eos (which stands for "evolution of smooth"), a rich new shaving cream plus moisturizer in one. Shave wet or dry -- added shea butter leaves your legs ultra-creamy and smooth. Available at Target and Drugstore.com, $4.99.
