Yesterday my dear friend Linda was kind enough to host a Sabika Jewelry/Style Party at her beautiful home.  It was a great day, filled with fun and laughter and of course, lots of jewelry shopping and styling!  I would like to thank all the wonderful ladies that attended, and of course to the lovely Stacey for coming from Johnstown and showcasing the beautiful Sabika jewelry collection, and her amazing partner Pat, who coped admirably well being surrounded by all the crazy women!  In two weeks, on May 12th, I shall be going to Johnstown to another Style Party and I'm looking forward to meeting and hopefully working with some of the ladies who will be attending this event. 

At the party yesterday, one of the young ladies came so that I could do her makeup for her 'formal' that evening.  Fran is young and pretty and honestly doesn't need much help, but I did oblige and did her makeup for the event and everyone was in agreement that she looked beautiful.  Here are a couple of pictures of the lovely Fran after her makeup session.

I think we can all agree that Fran looked lovely!  And I hope she had a wonderful time!

Today I met with Stacey who is also a client, for a shopping extravaganza and styling session.  Stacey was ready to embrace some new looks and willing to step outside of her comfort zone, and I think you'll agree once looking at the photos and seeing how fabulous she looked, that she made the right decision by being ready for a style change!  It's never easy making changes, we all get comfortable with what is 'safe', and so I understand totally that it takes a lot of courage to make the transition that sometimes helps us move outside of our comfort zone.  So kudos to Stacey for embracing change and for allowing me to work with her to bring out the best of what she clearly already has.  Trust me when I say that it really wasn't hard to help her look so great!  I think I just helped make her look even lovelier than she already looks!

Stacey is not used to wearing dresses, but I wanted her to try a couple of different looks that I thought would look great on her.  The first is a navy & cream patterned maxi dress that I paired with a cropped denim jacket, and the second look is a brown and cream patterned knee length dress that I paired with a cream jacket with tiered detail.  Both outfits looked great.  Take a look!

Next I put together a different look for Stacey, with a orange & eggplant colored shell with a eggplant skirt that stopped just above the knee.  Stacey loved this look!  Then I paired a sleevless top with a ruffle neckline detail in a very pale blue, ochre & tan design with a pair of tan cropped pants.  Another hit!

The next look was another dress, this time in a solid blue with flower detail at the waist, and I matched it with pink cardigan with three quarter length sleeve and an infinity scarf that had a pop of pink color in it too.

The next look was really great and the color blue I chose really looked amazing on Stacey.  I chose a cobalt blue tiered shell paired with a relaxed black jacket with assymetrical collar detail and dark cropped pant.  What a wow look!

These next two looks were more relaxed, starting with an adorable flower print loose fit short with a blue tee with chiffon detail, and a pale lemon and blue print shell paired with a pale blue pant.

For the final two looks, Stacey just needed another couple of pairs of shorts to wear with tees for a super casual, relaxed look.  I found a rose colored short that I paired with a rose & eggplant striped colored tee, and a dark grey short with blue tee. For some reason I was remiss and didn't get a pic of this last look, so apologies for that!  But trust me, it looked great! This finished off the shopping/styling extravaganza for the day!

As you can see from the above pictures, we put a lot of different looks together.  It was a great experience working with Stacey again (this is the second shopping session we've had!), and I hope I get the opportunity to do it again sometime in the future.  Clients like Stacey are a joy to work with and make my job easy!! 

To get your style makeover call me on 412-996 5200 and get your style consultation booked now!  Or, host a style party and invite your girlfriends over for a fun day.  Remember, with Mother's Day just a couple of weeks away, think what a treat it would be to get your mum or someone special a Gift Certificate for a style package! 

To wrap up my week on style icons I'm going to talk about the lovely Grace Kelly.  She was beautiful and indeed graceful, and was the epitome of class and elegance.  Rumor has it that it was her weddng dress that was the inspiration for Kate Middleton's wedding dress, and I can certainly see the similarities.

Grace Kelly became a popular actress in the 1950s starring in movies such as Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief and the Swan.  And who could forget her in the movie High Society with Bing Crosby, one of my personal favorites? 

She was born on November 12, 1929 in Philadelphia.  Her parents were both accomplished in their own way and her father was a self-made millionaire.  The young Ms. Kelly expressed a deep love of performance at a young age, and after high school she decided to pursue an acting career in New York City despite her parents' objections. 

She was discovered by Gary Cooper on the set of her first film, Fourteen Hours (1951) when she was 22 years old.  He arranged for her to play his young wife in High Noon (1952) that put her on the path to stardom.  The movie Mogambo with Clark Gable marked a turning point in her career when she was nominated for her first Academy Award.

At the height of her career in 1955 she met Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who happened to be seeking a bride.  Within a year, their wedding date was set!  After marrying the Prince on April 19, 1956, in a very public ceremony, she abandoned her acting career in order to become Princess Consort of Monaco.  She was also required to give up her American citizenship, and Prince Rainier banned her films in Monaco.

The Royal couple had 3 children:  Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stephanie.  Despite many attempts by filmakers to lure Princess Grace back into the film industry, she resisted, embracing her role as a leader of Monaco. 

Tragedy struck on September 14, 1982, when Princess Grace and her younger daughter were driving along the steep cliffs of the Cote d'Azur region of Southern France.  She suffered a stroke and lost control of the vehicle, which spun off the cliff's edge and plunged down a 45-foot embankment.  Mother and daughter were rushed to a hospital where Princess Grace spent 24 hours in a coma before passing away at the age of 52.  Priness Stephanie survived with minor injuries.

She will be remembered for her on-screen beauty, self-confidence, style and grace.  When you watch her on the screen you cannot help but be mesmerized.  Here's to the amazing Grace....