Nothing says "Classic and Preppy" more than monograms and madras. Both are must-haves for the prepster. This is the time of year I love to wear madras. Take a look at some of the pieces I wore recently...lunching and shopping.
The skirt and light blue cardi are by Lilly and the white tee is monogrammed in light blue.
I wore my Lilly blue thong sandals and carried a white Bermuda Bag. Along with my pearl necklace and stud earrings, I wore my Cartier rollring wedding band. My nail polish was 'Lovie Dovie' by Essie and my lipstick was 'Laser Pink' by Chanel. My ponytail was adorned with a white grosgrain ribbon bow and my fragrance of choice for the day was 'Wink' by Lilly.
These madras capris are by Ralph Lauren and the pink button down oxford cloth shirt is also by Ralph Lauren.
I wore the 'Loopy 50th Jubilee Pool Party' flip flops by Lilly and a blue pony cap by Lacoste. My earrings are gold script monogrammed drop style and I wore my 'Oyster Perpetual' Rolex watch along with my rollring wedding band by Cartier. My ponytail was adorned with a pink grosgrain ribbon bow and I carried my pink monogrammed Bermuda Bag by Lilly. Lipstick--'Laser Pink' by Chanel...nail polish 'Lovie Dovie' by Essie. I've now developed another obsession y'all...my beverage containers simply must coordinate with my outfits!!! Love this white tumbler with my monogram in blue...too cute!!!
These madras capris and the white polo shirt are both by Ralph Lauren...comfortable and cool!
I wore my blue Polo flips flops, a navy pony cap monogrammed in white, and a white grosgrain ribbon bow adorned my ponytail. I wore these cute silver monogrammed earrings with the matching ring, my rollring wedding band by Cartier, and my 'Oyster Perpetual' watch by Rolex. My lipstick...'Star Red' by Chanel and my fragrance of choice for the day--'Lauren', by Ralph Lauren.
Southerners love to monogram their stuff! We put our own initials on everything in sight! I'll admit, I probably need to enter a Monograms Anonymous program, but who has the time? Showing off your monogram is a darling way to make your clothes, dinnerware, linens, stationery, jewelry, and almost anything personal.Here's a few of my monogramming rules:
~Monograms may be used with the first/last initial only. I am not a fan of the single letter monogram because I don't think it is as personal as the full monogram.
~For a single lady--Janice Kay Sessums would use the first initial of her given, middle, and
family surname; i.e., Janice Kay Sessums---jSk.
~In the South, after Janice Kay Sessums marries Kenneth Craig Gibson, she drops her middle name Kay. Sessums would then become her middle name and Gibson would be her surname. Her name would then be Janice Sessums Gibson and her monogram would be jGs. (This Southern tradition of dropping your middle name after you have married and using your maiden surname as your new middle name, allows people to recognize your name throughout your life.)
~If Janice uses a joint married monogram for items such as crystal, china, linens, et cetera, she would use the first letter of her given name, the first letter of her husband's surname, and the first letter of her husband's given name--jGk.
It's important to remember that Janice Kay Sessums may still use the initials of her maiden throughout her life, even if she marries. I still have jewelry from my single days, with my maiden monogram.
~When monogramming clothes, men's monograms are usually small and women's are larger. A man's monogram is always on the left side of the shirt or the left cuff, in small block letters in the order of the names; i.e., Kenneth Craig Gibson--KCG.
A traditional monogram consists of three initials. Your surname is in the middle and larger. For example: Janice Sessums Gibson is jGs.
~In the South, after Janice Kay Sessums marries Kenneth Craig Gibson, she drops her middle name Kay. Sessums would then become her middle name and Gibson would be her surname. Her name would then be Janice Sessums Gibson and her monogram would be jGs. (This Southern tradition of dropping your middle name after you have married and using your maiden surname as your new middle name, allows people to recognize your name throughout your life.)
~If Janice uses a joint married monogram for items such as crystal, china, linens, et cetera, she would use the first letter of her given name, the first letter of her husband's surname, and the first letter of her husband's given name--jGk.
It's important to remember that Janice Kay Sessums may still use the initials of her maiden throughout her life, even if she marries. I still have jewelry from my single days, with my maiden monogram.
~When monogramming clothes, men's monograms are usually small and women's are larger. A man's monogram is always on the left side of the shirt or the left cuff, in small block letters in the order of the names; i.e., Kenneth Craig Gibson--KCG.
A traditional monogram consists of three initials. Your surname is in the middle and larger. For example: Janice Sessums Gibson is jGs.
The interlocking font...
The circle font...
The diamond font...
Is there anything you should NOT monogram? Right off hand, I can't think of a thing! I'm getting ready to have a window valance monogrammed! Can you every wear too many monogrammed items at the same time? Probably so and I'm certainly guilty of this all the time.
Make it personal y'all. Monogram it!
Make it personal y'all. Monogram it!
I carried a pink Lilly Bermuda bag, monogrammed of course, and wore my pink Lilly mules. I wore my pearl necklace & studs, my rollring wedding band by Cartier, and my 'Oyster Perpetual' watch by Rolex. My iPhone cover is monogrammed in pink and my fragrance of choice for the day was Burberry.
The silk monogrammed sash sealed the deal on this dress for me!
I carried a 'Bosom Buddy Bag' available from 
I first saw these precious pocketbooks in the March/April issue of Southern Lady Magazine and just knew I had to have one...the 'Bosom Buddy Bag' from 
The polka dot dessert plates are by 
Feathered party hats scattered around...on the head after a couple of glasses of champagne!!!
I started with this cute pink & green Lilly mailing label...with an elephant motif.
The Lilly elephant sticker makes a cute statement on the front corner of the envelope. Remember that your return address should be on the back flap of an envelope for personal mail and on the upper left-hand corner of the front of the envelope for business correspondence.
Since this is personal correspondence, I placed this cute Lilly-fied 'Taboo' print address label on the back flap. You can find these darling labels 
Love this book of Lilly mailing labels, stickers, book labels, and just fun & preppy decals! You can buy the book 
