Paula's Petite Fashion Blog

My dog's in fashion. Well, not my dog specifically, but his breed seems to be making a hit in fashion photos, both advertising and editorial, in the September issue of Vogue. I saw several yellow Labrador retrievers in an English-countryside-themed Dolce and Gabbana ad, a yellow Lab in the middle of a Lord & Taylor ad featuring fashionistas playing musical instruments, and a big yellow Lab posing with Lauren Remington Platt, who's wearing a Ralph Lauren floral dress, in an editorial photo.

OK, there were some also-rans – a lone King Charles spaniel, a Dalmatian, and a few others, but the yellow Labs outnumbered the rest.

I'm not going to tell my dog Teddy that he's trendy though. It might go to his head. Anyway, I'm sparing him from long, grueling days on location with gorgeous models. It's the least I can do.

Pictured: Teddy, blissfully unaware that he's become trendy, playing with his ball
Photo © 2008 Paula Darnell

Petite 4'11" Teresa Le launched TLE Designs, her clothing line for petites out of frustration at the difficulty of finding hip clothing that suited her age and style. Focusing on tops and dresses, Teresa uses colorful print fabrics in her designs, which also include an accessories line of headbands and belts. All clothing and accessories in the TLE lines are contructed by hand in the U.S. Learn more about TLE in our Petite Fashion Forum. .

Teresa Le is currently busy designing new styles for Fall/Winter 2008/2009 and Spring/Summer 2009. You can see available TLE styles online (Vendor's Site).

Pictured: TLE Halter Top and TLE Confetti Belt

Images Courtesy of TLE Designs.

The US Olympic team marched in Ralph Lauren outfits especially designed for them to wear at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, August 8, 2008. According to the Norman Bellingham, Chief Operating Officer of the USOC, Ralph Lauren was chosen as the US Olympic team's official outfitter for the opening and closing ceremonies because "Polo Ralph Lauren is a quintessential American brand that represents a timeless and classic look which we believe our athletes will be excited to wear."

Inspiration for the team's outfits came from the 1920s and 1930s, when sporty elegance was in vogue. The team's outfits consist of a white pants, shirt, shoes, and sporty jockey cap topped by a navy blazer. The only red color in the ensemble is a stripe in the tie for the team's men and a stripe in the scarf worn by the team's women.

Much of the sportswear designed for the Olympics is also available online at the Ralph Lauren website. (Vendor's Site)

Photo Credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Sometimes we tend to take fashion a bit too seriously. But fashion should be fun too. A good way to make a fun fashion statement is with costume jewelry, and at two inches in diameter, this Kenneth Jay Lane black and white flower ring (Buy Direct) from Shopbop is sure to be noticed. Free ground shipping is available. (Photo Credit: Shopbop)

If you'd prefer a ring in a single color rather than black and white, Nordstrom offers the same Kenneth Jay Lane style in four different colors - aqua, hot pink, green, and orange. The ring (Buy Direct) from Nordstrom is on sale now at 40% off. (Photo Credit: Nordstrom)

Why are neutral colors important? A couple reasons come to mind. First, neutrals go with anything, so you don't have to worry about whether or not you're making poor color choices when you wear a neutral with another neutral or any other color. Second, you can stretch your wardrobe quite a bit with the addition of some key neutral pieces.

For example, one pair of tan pants can go to the office with a jacket, to the park with a casual top, to dinner with a silk blouse. And you'll never have to worry about whether or not the top you've chosen will match or coordinate with the pants, because they're a neutral color. A top, such as this AK Anne Klein silk blouse, with a neutral and fall's popular purple would go perfectly with neutral tan pants.

Pictured: AK Anne Klein Silk Print Blouse (Buy Direct) from Nordstrom
Image Courtesy of Nordstrom

The name says it all -- Not Your Daughter's Jeans are made for women who are no longer teenagers and are tired of trying to fit into jeans made for a teenager's body. With its patented Tummy Tuck technology, NYDJ claims that their jeans will flatten the tummy, lift the bottom, and make women look a size smaller. Women who've tried them must agree because the jeans have been a top seller at Nordstrom, according to California Apparel News and the manufacturer.

So often popular jean styles aren't available in petites, but the NYDJ is an exception. Not Your Daughter's Jeans are available in petite sizes 2P-16P, as well as in misses and plus sizes.

Because the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (Buy Direct) is still in progress, some of the new styles of jeans are marked down through August 3, after which the price goes back up to the regular retail price.

Pictured: Not Your Daughter's Jeans Tummy Tuck Straight Leg Stretch Jeans for Petites (Buy Direct) priced at $78.90 during the sale and $118 after the sale ends
Image Courtesy of Nordstrom

What's petite celebrity Sarah Jessica Parker doing now that the excitement over the release of her popular movie Sex and the City has died down?

The future of Bitten, SJP's low-cost clothing line, sold exclusively at Steve & Barry's, is up in the air due to the retailer's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing earlier this month. In a statement released on July 9, the store's founders blamed their financial woes on the current weak economy, but praised Sarah Jessica Parker's low-cost clothing line Bitten, which they said "transformed our stores overnight into a destination for women shoppers."

Given SJP's popularity, I'm speculating that we may be seeing Bitten offered by a different retailer sometime in the future.

Another project in the works for SJP? People reported last month that Sarah Jessica Parker is "in discussions with Warner Bros. about a screen version" of The Ivy Chronicles. When the book's author Karen Quinn heard the news, she blogged that she was "so excited" about the possibility the Sarah Jessica Parker might star in the movie version of her book.

Another of Sarah Jessica Parker's ventures, which has been in the works for a while, is a new show American Artist from her production company Pretty Matches. According to James Hibberd writing for The Hollywood Reporter, the reality show will air on Bravo and feature artists in a Project Runway type of competition. Although Sarah Jessica Parker's role will be that of producer, it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that she might appear on the show.

Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker
Photo Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale (Buy Direct) is in progress now through August 3. New fall items are offered at sale prices prior to August 4, when they'll be sold at higher regular retail prices. Of special interest to petites are new fall dresses and separates in some of fall's trendy colors. Lots of stylish new pumps in basic black and purplish berry hues especially caught my attention in the shoe department.

Black is back in a big way for this fall. Of course, black never really left at all, but not so infrequently we hear some stylist opine that navy is the "new black" or that "red is the new black." Not this year. Black will be one of the top colors for this fall.

Many designers draped their runway models with black for the new fall season. Here are some ways designers styled their black creations:

• Balenciaga - dress with a black skirt and a white top
• Ralph Lauren - plaids with black and either white or strong color
• Calvin Klein -
black everything - suits, coats, dresses, pants
• Betsey Johnson - black and red dresses
• Narciso Rodriquez - black dresses, coats, and jackets

Wearing an all-black ensemble is a good way for petites to look taller. For the leanest, tallest look, select shoes that flatter petites - in this case, classic black pumps will do the trick.

Pictured: Jennifer Connelly in black and white Balenciaga dress from the fall 2008 collection
Photo Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

What's the easiest way to save money when you're shopping online? Simple answer - don't spend more than you originally planned on spending because adding items to your order to take advantage of a special deal is frequently not such a special deal after all.

There are many ways shoppers become tempted to up their spending when shopping online. I'm just as swayed by some of these offers as anyone else. Last month I order two jackets from Chadwick's instead of the one lightweight summer jacket I needed. Why? Well, if I ordered two jackets, I could buy each one for $10 less. But instead of saving $20, I ended up spending an extra $39.95. And then it turned out I didn't even need one jacket because my summer classroom was changed from the usual ice cold room to a room that's warm. So the transaction didn't turn out to be one of my best bargain hunting moments, after all.