Your Summer Wardrobe Saver

I am regularly convinced when I am in wardrobe crisis mode that I will open my closet and something perfect that I have never seen before will be casually lounging on my closet door, waiting for me. This has yet to happen, but I still fervently believe it will. The closest I have come to this coming true is when I pulled out my skinny clothes that were in storage and found items I had forgotten I owned. While I am waiting for my wardrobe Prince Charming to appear, I can always count on a dress to do the job for me. Women who do not wear dresses are missing out. I believe a great, casual dress is the singularly most important piece you can own for summer. A dress multitasks like your boss on Starbucks. As I write this, I am wearing an animal print jersey dress that is hiding the fact that I am beyond tired due to insomnia not induced by the tiny one. It is allowing me to be dressed for the day, but the jersey fabric feels like the pajamas I wore less than an hour ago.
The perfect dress is a jersey fabrication or extremely soft woven. It is not form fitting, but follows the line of your body. The simple silhouette guarantees years of wear in style. It hits right above your knee, or right below. You should be able to easily dress it up or wear it casually. It should be a second skin for whatever occasion you need it.

Here are some that I recommend:

What 1 Moment in 1999 Taught Me

Karen Kane tank

Soon after I moved to Manhattan, my best friend and I were invited to the opening of a big deal restaurant.  I was certain that I was on my way up in the town.  I wore a sheer top in a fabrication that is best described as panty hose in oxblood (for any men reading, this is the color of barbeque sauce, roughly).  Underneath this, I wore a pink tube top.  (This was 1999 after all)  The night was fantastic.  Minor celebrities such as a soap stars were there.  Oysters AND champagne were consumed, and all of this within a beautiful setting.  My boyfriend of the time came to pick me up and said, “I can see through your shirt.”  I was way too full of myself after a night of glamour and replied, “Yes, that is the point.”   Really, someone who only wears Brooks Brothers could not understand my forward fashion statement.  I sashayed one more time through the fabulousness to get my coat.  Standing in front of the mirror to put it on, I realized what he was saying.  My tube top had fallen down and my girls were out in full view with only oxblood panty hose over them.   It was certainly a moment.

What I would wear today underneath that top is a Karen Kane super soft tank.  It would have been dressy enough and never would have left me hanging, literally.  These tanks are fantastic.  They are nylon with a smooth sheen.  This means they never stick to whatever is on top of them.  While pregnant, I wore them in the hundred degrees plus weather at night to feel cool and to avoid arm chafing.  Post-pregnancy, they are tight enough to fake my old stomach without the crunch of an actual shaper garment.  People who have tried them are cultish in their praise.  Karen Kane makes them in every color, but I do find myself gravitating to the black and white the most.  They are 100% made in America and the company is a major leader in the Los Angeles garment business.  They run great deals at different times off of their website too, www.karenkane.com.  It is $40 worth spending!