yfriends I just sit very still and they mistake me for a pile of laundry.So  cheap party dresses for women , today I went shopping with an open mind and a gaping wallet.I was the mark that sales commission was invented for.Despite this, my efforts were not well rewarded.My daughter insisted I check in with the shoe department, as well.Let's start with the dress debacle.These were my parameters: a colour somewhere between black and florescent orange; sleeves, not necessarily all the way to the wrists, but something that acknowledged the Canadian climate.I had hoped to bridge the divide between novitiate nun and Hooters waitress with a neckline that gave silent testimony to being female, but in a matter-of-fact manner.I was prepared to pay for fabric that went all the way to the knee.If the dressmaker would indulge me with a waistline that sat at the natural waist and not across the ribs, I'd be prepared to throw more coin at the transaction.So there you have it: not black, not flaming tangerine; not sleeveless; a demure neckline, a ladylike hemline and waistband that banded at waist.Such a garment does not exist.My findings are documented, proven and irrefutable.Next, on to the pants.This year's crop are inspired by the makers of Jolly Rancher candies.Expect quirky, chipper colours that imply that you are part of a touring production of an educational road show that teaches the alphabet.But the worst part is that pants manufacturers now make do with half their former yardage allowances.The pants of 2012 are, by law, skin-tight.Skin-tight and blindingly bright.The good news is that the six-tooth zipper has been replaced by the eight-tooth zipper, so it appears that Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has worked.Having witnessed the vagaries of fashion, I estimate the cinderblock-as-shoe craze is nearing its expiry date and lighter footwear will prevail.Albeit in unfashionable shoes.So, the remaining task was something to wear on top.And this is where the real genius in fashion retailing lurks.Was a time you bought a simple blouse or T-shirt.Now, you buy a top to wear over tanks but under a shrug/cardigan/bolero.It's all about layering, which is retailese for up-selling.I tried on several combinations.When I set out from home, the objective had been to move beyond the pile-of-laundry look I have so deftly mastered.My default setting is for twin sets.Actually  bridal party dresses , it's for pyjamas, but I overrode my inclination and came home with two new twin sets.My concession to fashion is that I got them in the mildly alarming colours so favoured this season.Feel free to drop by at a moment's notice.I'll be ever so grateful if you can work in a remark about how unlike a pile of laundry I look.Pippa Middleton gets on Time s list of influential peopleA year after Kate Middleton became a royal, the person whose life has changed the most may actually be her sister.has gone from being virtually unknown outside of Britain to one of the most photographed women on the planet.In fact, Google Canada reports that she has now surpassed Prince Harry as the most-searched royal sibling, at times even trumping Angelina Jolie and Justin Bieber in terms of online interest.The attention, however, hasn t come without a price.Time Magazine's 100 most influential people the nextPippa Middleton in hot water after car-mate waves gun at Paris photographerKate Middleton's 30th birthday 'low-key and private' The absolutely remorseless attention she s getting is extraordinary, says Catherine Mayer, Time s Europe editor.There was this feeling about Kate that she was a social climber, just out for getting the prince.But the moment she got engaged, the press that had been open in their snobbish hostility toward her immediately switched to Pippa.at their paparazzi pursuers.An editor with the U.Sun went so far as to say the incident derailed all the time, effort, money and logistics put into media-managing Kate.But even before so-called Gungate, Mayer knew the younger Middleton s inclusion on Time s Most Influential list would be controversial, if only because the culture is so hard on females who don t come to power on their own steam.Women are massively underrepresented in the media .Then, of course, when women do come to attention in public life, it s often for reasons that we may be inclined to think of as the wrong ones, says Mayer, hastening to note the double standard.Nobody would ever say we shouldn t have Kim Jong Un on the list just because he inherited North Korea.Middleton first set tongues wagging at her sister s 2011 wedding to Prince William  black lace party dress , in no small part due to a bridesmaid dress that made her more famous from the back than the front.The next 11 months would see the launch of numerous fan sites dedicated to the socialite; speculation about a romance with Prince Harry; a handbag named The Pippa her royal mocha tan dubbed the most desirable celebrity skin tone;publishing deal for a book on party-planning, due on shelves in October; and a six-figure bidding war for her first major television interview.But not every royal-watcher is swept up in Pippa mania.To be honest, I m not entirely sure what the fascination is, aside from the fact she s an attractive young woman with a connection to the royal family, says Josh Traptow, Alberta spokesman for the Monarchist League of Canada.although I m sure after this latest incident (in Paris), her sister and perhaps even Prince William will be having a little chat with her.Lynne Bell, who has been covering royal tours in Canada for nearly 20 years, says Middleton has essentially become a proxy for the Duchess of Cambridge: she s similar in age, shares the same ladylike taste in fashion, and is the antithesis of the sleazy tabloid stars familiar to North American culture vultures.People are absolutely crazy for Kate, says Bell.And, of course, the default is Pippa, who s still single.Bell, a contributor to Majesty magazine, suggests the fact Middleton speaks so little in the press is part of her allure, as it allows people .