Dear Friends,

Your best accessory is your confidence.

The best part of it all, is that it can be faked.  And.  No one will know it's a knock off.  And it's free.

I can spot a fake LV purse from a mile away with it's un-centered trademark initials and the same holds true for someone lacking in confidence. They are easy to spot. The poorly centered individual with their shoulders hung down low resembling the tragic marriage of fine leather and sloppy craftsmanship. The potential is all there. However, their quivering lip reminds me of zippers gone astray with each pull comes another tug never in a harmonious way. Forced to appear real.

But some knock offs, meticulous prepared, are hard to identify and pass.

You don't need the latest styles, the prettiest heels, the best dress or the newest handbag to pull yourself together for a reunion, wedding, or BlogHer conference. The best accessory is your confidence. And. It can be faked.

Believe in yourself. Dress like yourself. Act like yourself. And do it all with confidence... because in the end the people that you want to surround yourself around, will be around. Damn you Neil for saying it much better then me. A reveal of my heels is coming, per your request. And damn you Marinka for exposing yourself as a "frowning non-hugger dressed like a ^%*@#?" Both of you ooze confidence.

The point is that you should always be confident in who you are.

Jeans or skirts. Heels or Converse. McDonalds or Burger King. Heh, I'm hungry. Whatever makes you who you are, own it with confidence.

Any classy person will admire that. Some of the best conversations I have had in my life were with people in a shady roadside oyster bar under a bridge in Florida who were not dressed in J.Crew for Sunday brunch at the country club. Those people, whom I will fondly remember to my grave, were so very real and owned it.

One of my good friends once said to me, "I could never walk into Saks, I feel so intimated after spending my life at JCPenny." Dude. I walk into Saks in sweats and pretend I own it. And you can too. Anyone can. Just pretend you own it.  Whatever the circumstances are that could intimidate you, just be true to yourself. Who would have ever guessed that the man dressed in simple jeans and an old hoodie dinning weekly at the award winning James Beard bistro I worked in throughout college turned out to be the man that owned half the real estate in the city?

So even if you are the least bit self conscious... confidently approach people at your social event this summer. Own it. Stay true to yourself and any classy person will admire your realness. Life would be so boring if we all matched, no?

So far.... this is all that I have packed for BlogHer. 2009.   My social event for the summer.  I will be wearing them with my best and cheapest accessory yet.  My confidence. 

Yours truly,

The stiletto Ho.