We all know a great white shirt is a crucial wardrobe basic. However in staying with the theme of my confessions, I think every true fashionista needs several white shirts. At the moment, not including tees (Majestic of course), I have 5 1/2. I will explain the 1/2 later.

Confession continued… I got into the tuxedo shirt look last Fall when I purchased my first one. It is a simple white long sleeve button down shirt with tuxedo pleating. Of course, I bought it to coordinate with a feminine black velvet swing jacket with a ribbon tie. I loved the juxtaposition of the masculine and feminine elements.

Now, here comes the  1/2. I purchased a sleek black patent leather cropped jacket from one of my favorite designers, Cino, and bought the killer tuxedo style top that she showed underneath. It has simple black trim details, hence the 1/2. These will soon be featured on Artfulwears.com.

Then a few days ago, I found the perfect white, sexy, sleeveless button down shirt that was the perfect match for my black sequined mini. How can one resist? The cut is amazing and again is a stylish combination of the feminine and masculine.

Last, I happened to run into a beautiful Vivenne Tam short sleeve button down shirt with a little of the tuxedo look that is fuller cut and really a completely different look. It is more vintage.

So while, yes, I officially have 4 tuxedo inspired white shirts, they are all different and work with different things.

Now to the other two white shirts, which I consider the basics. One is short sleeve, very fitted, with great seaming. It’s perfect on it’s own or underneath a jacket. Then there is the more flowing white shirt to add a little volume when necessary.

Perhaps one doesn’t need as many white shirts as I have, but I assure you at least 2 are a necessity and I think 4 is completely civilized. Now all I need to is find someone to iron them for me!

XCVI has some great items for the Resort 2008 season. Here are a few of our favorite things…

First we have the Long Road Skirt. Available in two great neutral colors, Leaf or Sand, this skirt has a great a-line cut and creates a very slimming look on the body.

Next, we have the Chemisier Dress. Also available in two colors, Seahorse & Mink, we think this is a wardrobe essential. A shirt dress looks crisp and clean and can easily be accessorized.

For a more relaxed look, check out the Jasmine Dress in cotton/modal fleece. You can throw a jacket it over it or put a tee shirt under it. It’s comfy and cute. We love the purple!

Having just gone on and on about why every girl needs a little black dress, or two, or five, I felt compelled to let you know about the two great black dresses that just arrived at Artfulwears.com from Veronica M.

First is the Manhattan Dress. You can easily dress this up for a night on the town or cocktails or make it a little more casual. It’s an easy fit and adorable on. We love the black matte jersey fabric.

Second is the Deep V-Neck Dress. This is a little bit longer and has a great tie in the back. You can wear it with or with out a camisole underneath.

Both dresses are extremely versatile! Somehow my wardrobe has been in inundated with black this season but it sure is fabulous.

XCVI’s featured fabric this fall is their illustrious stretch baby corduroy. Forget the corduroy you had as a kid that was hot and stiff. This fabric is breathable, soft, and great to wear.

My favorite piece from this collection is the Waterfall Skirt. It love the a-line cut, the drawstring knit waist, and the subtle pin tuck details.

XCVI’s Fall 2008 collection has arrived at Artfulwears.com. Some of your favorite styles like the Double Shirred Panel Skirt, Scrunch Leg Pants, and the Side Tier Palazzo Pants are all available in corduroy. We also have some great jackets, tops, pants, coats, and more. Check back tomorrow for featured items for the new collection.

Chan Luu is well known for creating an “it” item and this season will be no exception. The Infinity Loop Scarf is her “it’ thing of the season. Artfulwears shoppers have already started indulging in this great piece. You can wear it as a scarf, shrug, or wrap. We have a shown a few of the ways to wear it but we assure you there are many more. It’s made of a 100% viscose which is luxuriously soft and eco-friendly. The hardest decision to make is what color to get!

The Majestic Boutique at Artfulwears.com is now open. We are truly ecstatic about our great new arrivals from Majestic, so this will be the first installment of our favorite items for Fall.

A quick note for those of you not familiar with Majestic. Majestic makes simply the best tee shirts we have ever worn, touch, or seen. The fit is fantastic and the fabric is pure bliss. They have a number of fiber blends but the two most popular are the viscose & elasthane (eco-friendly) and the cotton & cashmere. All of their fabric is made in Paris. We assure you that once you have worn Majestic, you will never buy another tee shirt.

Favorite item #1 is the Cotton/Cashmere V-Neck Dress in Purple. We love the simplicity of this design. The faux-wrap top and ompier seam are very slimming. The solid color gives you a lot of great options of jewelry, shoes, and accessories. Dress it up with some great heels for a night on the town or throw a jacket over it for work.

We are delighted for the arrival of our Artfulwears.com XCVI Fall Preview. This collection features a new fabric from XCVI, a Bedford cotton, which is available in the Canopy Cargo Pants. The Bedford fabric has s slightly heavier weight and a bit of texture. The Canopy Pants are a simple, easy to wear pant.

The other transitional fabric from XCVI is a brushed twill. It’s perfect for Fall. We love the Terraced Pants, a more streamlined and very chic approach to the Side Tier Palazzo Pants. Our other new favorite is the Snapper Skirt. The Snapper Skirt features the A-Line cut you love with lots of great snap details.

Last but  not least, we finally have XCVI Jackets!  The Brooklyn Jacket is ultra-cool. It features a snap inset that gives it the layered look all in one piece.

Check out all the great new styles at the Artfulwears XCVI Boutique!

Rumor has it that Majestic has started to ship their Fall 2008 collection. I don’t know about anybody else but I am SO EXCITED! In addition to the great fabric blends they had before, they have new equally decadent ones. Artfulwears.com will be featuring items in cotton/cashmere, viscose/elasthane, cotton/pashmina, viscose/cashmere, crinkled cotton/cashmere, and Fall weight linen.

The color palette is exquisite. Look for purple, raspberry, petrol (blue/teal), chocolate, ivory, black, ultra-marine, ecru and more.

You will find a wide variety of basic styles in our Fall delivery (v-neck tee shirts, crewneck tee shirts, tank tops, turtlenecks( in addition to some slightly more fashion oriented styles. We love the Crinkled Cotton/Cashmere items: V-Neck Tee Shirt, Turtleneck, and Scarf. We will also have a Cowl Neck Dress and a Faux Wrap Dress in Cotton/Cashmere.

Check back soon!

It’s hard to think about Fall in the middle of Summer, but as you know, the fashion industry has been thinking about it since last year! One trend you will definitely want to embrace is the new Tuxedo Top with a twist. Designers are creating all sort of fabulous tops inspired by Tuxedo Shirts. From polished cotton button down shirts to tee shirts, Tuxedo Tops are everywhere. Don’t expect conventional though.

We love the Nicolette Top by XCVI, which is soon to arrive at Artfulwears.com. The body of this top is cotton jersey with the puckering detail in cotton voile. It’s fitted and snaps down the front. While sexy enough for night time with denim, you can easily wear this with a great skirt or pants for work and put it under a jacket.