Even shopping at these “custom” bra stores that do fittings, I always feel it’s a search for the perfect underwear. And when I find it, I feel compelled to buy a lot! I have found that the fit of the panties at VS is inconsistent. Undergarments of the same style and labeled the same size don’t always fit exactly the same, especially if you’re buying in January 09 and then again in August 09. And of course, as I’m always in a rush, I never think to try them on. And when they’re on sale, they’re just so easy to pick up – like Tic Tacs. But I love the Biofit bras, and as of last week, I have found the perfect panties!

Last week, I found some undewear that seemed to be made with one piece of fabric (only one seam total! on the backside). Super smooth. I liked! They were pretty, slightly on the delicate side (I questioned whether they were too delicate for the gym), but there was this awesome shade of lavender that I just had to get. No matching bra, but I figured I could wear them for an easy work out (with a workout top). Well, I put them on yesterday, and I had to immediately go back to VS for more! And yes, they’re tough enough for the hardest gym workouts!

Not one single VPL! Not one. They are so smooth, so thin – it’s like going commando! Unfortunately for you, I can’t find them online. If you want them, go quickly to the store nearest you because at the one I went to on 58th and Lexington (NYC), there was one small table left with minimal sizes. I grabbed whatever I could, knowing that I could just stash them away for the future (who knows if VS will have them again).

* VIB has no financial interest in Victoria’s Secret.

The theme of this years gifts – are items high on luxury and beauty but low on cost. VIB’s list for the recession. Women are giving beings. Just because 2009 is a lean year does not mean that we have to hide out, trying not to run into our nearest and dearest. Don’t cut your gift list. Just cut your costs… Here are a few of our favorite things – whiskers on kittens were out of stock this year!

As you now know VIB loves fitness, wellness, beauty, luxury, reading and taking care of ones self. Here are some gift ideas that encompass all things Venus.

• Fit Flop Clogs/Boots: You know those cult hit flip-flops (FitFlops)? Well we love them, and they now have clogs and boots! Both are on our holiday lists. We get sad when we have to take ours off in September and now we can wear these fitness shoes all year long. Created in the UK by Bliss spa-entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore and Biomechanist Dr. David Cook, FitFlops were initially designed to help modern women squeeze a little more exercise into their increasingly hectic schedules. The shoes challenge your muscles more every time you step – to deliver a workout while you walk. Gogh (named after Vincent since the biochemist is Dutch – love that) are $80.00, and the boots are $140.00 for the short ones and $200 for the tall ones.
• Cashmere Socks: What goes with your new FitFlop boots and this cold weather? Cashmere socks. Once you experience cashmere socks you will never be able to wear wool again. Sorry but you won’t. Just put a pair on, and it is like nothing you have ever experienced before. They have gotten pricy but we found the deal of the year. Garnet Hill (the catalog company) is having a special – six pairs for $120.00!!! That’s right $120.00. Most cashmere socks are almost $100 a pair. I hope they still have some left. We’ve sent them to everyone on our list this year – shouldn’t the feet that hold up your amazing body and get you moving have the best? 1.800.622.6216.
• J. Crew sequin cardigan: There are so many parties this season. What to wear and how to look elegant and stay warm? We found the perfect solution. The  J. Crew sequin cardigan. It has a shrunken modern fit, a smattering of sequins on the lapels to give it a subtle dose of sparkle. Wear this over a sexy tank and a pencil skirt, or with fitted black velvet pants and no top under (just belt it) or with a t-shirt and jeans for a more casual party. For $138.00 this is a timeless modern piece that you will wear again and again. We were shocked at the low price tag!
• Patagonia’s Women’s Downtown Loft Jacket: $250.00. We love this jacket because it has a slim-fit and fashionable collar. A street-smart down jacket with a chic city attitude.
• Patagonia Women’s Down Sweater Full-Zip Hoody: $250.00. If you want MORE sport and less fashion, then this Patagonia Hoody is for you. This down sweater full-zip hoody is ultra-light with down insulation for cold mountain sports or just walking around cold city streets!
• Ralph Lauren Mitered Cashmere VNECK: Price $475.00 – certain colors ON SALE $299.00! This chic, modern cashmere sweater is the height of luxury. It is 100% high quality cashmere and has a deep-V for a more flattering look. So beautiful that you can wear it with a fitted sequin skirt to a holiday party, with slacks on Christmas Day, with skinny jeans on weekends; and if you buy it in winter white you can wear this all year long. This is an investment piece that you will have for years to come.
• Ralph Lauren suede-patch plaid camp shirt: Price: $198.00. We don’t usually recommend trendy pieces but this shirt is so fantastic we have to add it to our list. A tartan-plaid flannel shirt cut for a slim, sexy fit with a point collar and suede patches at the elbows! It is sexy yet elegant, sporty yet chic. You can wear this with winter white fitted pants on Christmas eve, with a black satin floor length skirt to a black tie affair (with sequin belt), with jeans on weekends. Did we mention we love this shirt?

Happy warming!

* VIB has no financial interest in promoting any of these products.

If there’s one thing I know women are concerned about pretty much across the board, it’s how their butts look… “Do I look fat in these jeans/shorts/skirt/pants?” Have you ever said that out loud? I try never to. It’s a hard question to answer – your poor spouse/partner needs to have all modes of communication spot on perfect – immediate reaction, body language, eye contact, actual words, degree of smile, you know what I mean? – in order to reach the right response. Pressure! In any event, we’ve picked a couple of brands/styles that so many women seem to adore (because they look good in them), so we thought we’d share them with you.

• J Brand Jeans: This doesn’t totally go with our recession theme of reasonably priced items, but J Brand makes jeans that look good on so many different shapes and sizes. Whether Scarlett Curvy or Skinny, J Brand makes it easy for us to fit into the latest jeans styles. So J Brand may be worth putting on your own holiday list! I personally LOVE my wide-legged jeans and get compliments on them all the time. I may have to get this one pair that they’re featuring right now.
• Be Present Yoga Pants: If there is a clothing article that I absolutely cannot live without, they are the yoga pants from Be Present. Again, flattering to all shapes and sizes (I have seen it all at the yoga studio, and it all looks great!), these pants are fit to be lived, sun-saluting, cruised around the mall, slept and exercising in! I do all of the above! And they really look great. Like my J Brand jeans, I get compliments on these all the time, and many a friend/gym colleague has gone to get their own Be Present pants after checking mine out!

Happy lookin’ fierce in your J Brand jeans and Be Present yoga pants!

* VIB has no financial interest in promoting any of these products.

We spoke about lightening up in marriage. So here are a few choices to really help you lighten up, what you wear, that is…

We enjoy giving our children new pajamas on Christmas Eve. I have a tradition that I would like to share with you. Each Christmas Eve, after my son opens his new pajamas and has gone to bed, I give my husband a little box with a big satin ribbon on it and inside it are my new “pajamas.” Everyone gets a gift! Try it. You may be a little chilly at first but I promise you will love this tradition.

The theme of this year’s gifts are items high on luxury and beauty but low on cost. If I am to be truthful I am (was) a lingerie snob. Since this is definitely not a La Perla year, we went shopping and decided to test out some Victoria’s Secret pieces. They have come a long, long way, and we found a few pieces just perfect for this holiday season. Some of them naughty but most are nice.

• If you are with family on Christmas morning and want to look elegant we love the Dreamer Satin Pajamas. More fitted than the usual men’s pajamas. Red silk pajamas? Who knew waking up at 5:30am could feel so luxurious. Style 249-381 $49.50.
• Mesh and Lace nightgown: This black lace gown is so feminine and pretty and it covers belly and thighs while still looking ultra-sexy. You can wear this one all year round. Style 250-771 $58.00.
• So maybe you haven’t worked out as much as you promised (we will get to that in January) but you’ve still got it. You can be completely sexy in this fantastic find – it covers arms, belly and top of thighs! No, it isn’t a beekeeper’s uniform – it is a gorgeous black lace boatneck tunic that will make you feel beautiful. Style 246-624 $38.00 – you’re welcome!
• Halter baby doll in black stretch lace. My favorite. This is piece is just so feminine, pretty and reminds me of a French-inspired piece. Style 241-619 $35.00.
• Ok this is the one you’ll be wrapping for Christmas Eve! New Demi Bra in lace and velvet. Team it with matching v-string, hey does that stand for Venus? Red, of course! He’ll never know it isn’t La Perla, and if he’s looking at the tags, we have other issues to help you with! Demi Bra Style 255-901 $48/Vstring Style 245-037 $18.00.

Happy Holidays!

* VIB has no financial interest in promoting any of these products.

What does fashion have to do with nutrition, you ask? At VIB, we want you to be completely in balance. To free up energy that you will ultimately use towards your life’s passion. We understand that women often fret about not feeling comfortable with their clothing choices or are confused about what fashions are appropriate for them at work, for their age, or for certain events.

On our Venus Style page, it’s about finding your individual style. Ultimately, fashion is more about your personal style than it is about trends. It’s about feeling good and maximizing confidence at every curve.

I’ve loved fashion for my entire life. My mother was a seamstress, and I would “touch” fabrics with her for as long as I can remember. She taught me about fabric being more important than a color or a pattern, and through her, I learned to “feel” the fabric. To this day, I walk up to a beautiful rack of clothing and first drape my hands across it before ever pulling out a piece to take a full look. Of course, I’ve had many fashion disasters too. One that comes to mind is the red leather jacket a la Michael Jackson’s Thriller! Truth be told, I loved that jacket at the time so maybe it was worth it!

Fashion faux pas aside, I somehow was hired in the New York corporate headquarters of several fashion houses, most recently with Donna Karan. Donna loves fabric in the same way that my mother did. Working with her felt like I was at home again! I watched her for hours at the fabric mills in Milan, during buying trips in Paris, and mostly during very late nights, in the Collection design room all through fashion season. Donna would touch, look, drape, and really want to make pieces real women would wear – she knows a woman’s body. This is the secret of fashion… Knowing your own body – what flatters, looks best and is your own style.

What’s your style? Does the thought of fashion make you cringe, or do you embrace it with every fiber of your being?

We want you to feel confident in your skin and great in your clothes. We want to help you know your body type and know what flatters your body. For me, I am petite. As much as I wanted to wear the big, oversized boyfriend sweaters, slouchy jeans and ballet flats, these looks would never work on my body. We want to help show you how important “fit” is to having long-lasting investment pieces.

Often, when we aren’t feeling our best, our urge is to buy something to make us look better. This strategy never works. It’s what I call an impulse buy. To avoid the impulse buy, if I see something I really want, I make myself wait 24 hours. If I think about the piece often in that 24 hours, it usually means it is a worthwhile purchase. If I leave the store and never give it a second thought, I’ll know it was impulse.

Did you know that most women go on these impulse shopping trips within the ten days leading up to their periods? This reinforces findings that it is an emotional habit. Our hormones are out of balance, we feel bad about ourselves, and we go for the impulse buy, hoping it will lift our spirits.

The studies also reveal that the spending is a reaction directly linked to emotions. We are feeling sad, stressed, bad about the way we think we look and hope the purchase will cheer us up.

At VIB, we help you get in balance! When you manage your hormones, your PMS, your sleep and your nutrition, you just make better choices all around – and spend less! So let’s figure out where you can spend more and where you can skimp! And what are the wonderful current pieces that flatter and fit and let YOUR style shine through?

You need a lot less than you think you do. Everything you end up keeping will fit and flatter, and those that don’t can be given away to charity or sold on Ebay or a consignment shop so that you can use your newfound dollars on wonderful organic food and new clothes!

Comfort is a big part of confidence, and you can weave comfort and fashion together to maximize yours! Susan talks about knowing and being true to your own style, and I agree. That’s incredibly important. In order to be confident about your style – and really, about anything – you’ve got to be comfortable in your own skin as well as in the clothes you don.

Imagine this. You’ve got a big interview for a job that you have been dreaming of! You prepare for the big day. You do your Google sweep. You’ve got your mantras down pat. (More on these later!) You know everything there is to know about this company and more! As you get ready for your big day, you reach for that conservative navy power suit that hasn’t been touched in months (hey! no one’s interviewing in this economy – this interview is a big deal!). As you zip up your zipper and button that last button, you are feeling pretty darn good about yourself.

You walk into the interview. You look around, and for some reason, you are soooo inappropriately dressed. Everyone around you is styled up, all seeming like they’ve tumbled out of the pages of a Barneys catalog. And they’re a lot more casual than you’d expected. Uh-oh. You look down at what you  now view as your stodgy combo. Yuck. “I won’t fit in here,” you think to yourself, all the while knowing that in your closet, you have plenty of apparel that belongs in this office. On that woman over there!

Because you’re so uncomfortable with what you’re wearing, you are distracted during your interview. Your “I won’t fit in here” sentiment manages to betray the confidence you’d built up, and the interviewer can feel that energy. You are mentally berating yourself for not doing the research to see what was appropriate attire in this office. You feel like a sore thumb…

This is so unnecessary and highly avoidable! I suggest instead… Comfort. Knowing what people might wear where you want to be working contributes to that comfort. Knowing that what you’re wearing jives with your own personal style AND is appropriate for the environment really enhances your confidence. It’s not about comparing yourself to others. In an interview setting, it’s about feeling comfortable and making it very easy for the people interviewing you to imagine you right alongside them. Comfort does = confidence.