A few people recently have commented to me that they feel bored with their style. They like what they wear, they think it flatters them (and follows their guidelines) but they feel bored. So why has boredom crept in? I think there can be a few reasons (and the answer may require some soul searching).…
A memory I’ll never forget… … it was back in the 1990s and I was working at Penguin Books Australia. Walking to my office through reception, I was stopped by the receptionist to answer a query by someone who was waiting there. When this man spoke to me, my eyes began to water as his…
Shopping professionally for a living (and having done it as a hobby since I was a teenager) I’ve got a lot of experience in this area. There are many “high street” or “chain stores” that you can find at every mall. And sure they are useful to find some basics, it’s often much harder to…
All colours (apart from the orange spectrum) have a warm and cool undertone version so a colour that we may call “red”, “burgundy” or “maroon” could be either warm or cool. Red is a colour that has many permutations, from baby pink to coral, magenta and burgundy. Unlike blue or green, that when we add…
Style guidelines give you boundaries There are no style rules, just guidelines to give you a framework based on principles of line, design, harmony, colour and co-ordination. Style guidelines help you understand: What shapes of clothes flatter your figure given your body shape and proportions What kinds of fabrics flatter your figure What scale of…
Recently whilst dropping my daughter and her friend to dancing class, her friend said “you really like blue don’t you, as you’re always wearing it?“. I answered in the affirmative as I do love blue as I have blue eyes and blue is a signature colour for me as it is an eye enhancer. Blue…
One of the delights to enjoy on a trip to Mexico City is a visit to Coyoacán, what was once a village outside of the city, but is now an outer suburb. In Coyoacán you will find La Casa Azul (The Blue House) the family home of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, where she lived with…
Catwalk shows can be full of unwearable clothes on bodies that are unrelatable to many of us. Here is a catwalk show with a difference. Not a professional model in the show. The fashions come from designers around the globe. It’s the AICI Conference Fashion Show 2017 which was recently held in Mexico City. To…
Some people feel at odds with the colour palette that flatters. For example, a bold or dramatic personality (loving bright colours) whilst the colours that flatter may be softer and smokier and lack that obvious drama. Ideally you want to create balance between the inner you, your personality, and the outer you, your appearance and…
I recently found this Colour Matching Guide and think it’s a nifty tool to help you find the value of a colour. In fact, using it will make you an expert in finding the value of a colour and then putting together the right value contrast for you. How to Use the Colour Matching Guide…
Accessories are great for adding interest and a hero to your outfit. They can provide additional colours and contrast to an outfit really easily. Plus, accessories don’t care what size you are. And who doesn’t love that about them? As I’ve discussed before, I’m a cold person (not cold in an unfriendly way, but cold…
When you think about choosing a pair of shoes, you want the shoe to work with your outfit as whole. When deciding which pair of shoes to wear, it’s worthwhile being able to quickly interpret the formality of the shoes. For example, if choosing a pair of oxfords (brogues) there are different elements that…
In this video discussion with Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe we delve into a reader’s question on the topic of wardrobing and budgeting for “control people”. Jill relates to being a “control person” (aka control freak) in having a sense of stability in knowing exactly where everything is and exactly But you don’t need…
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll have come across the idea of a Style Statement or Style Recipe. These are words that help you define who you are on the inside and how you want to be perceived by the outside world. They are an authentic reflection of your inner…
Say “Aye!” if you are frustrated by shopping because what looks great on a hanger doesn’t look great when you get it into the change rooms and try it on your body? We are led to believe that all women LOVE shopping. That all we want to do is shop til we drop, day…
Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz says “Clothes should match a woman’s presence – her figure and colouring – and when you discover a shade that works well for you, wear it! The right colour gives you power, no matter what it is.” It’s great to see a designer understand that clothes should be about flattering you…
Is All Fashion Frippery? Is fashion shallow? Is caring about what you wear unimportant? Is buying clothes wasteful? We have to wear clothes as we don’t live in a nudist society. There is so much diversity in the human race and in cultures, yet we all wear clothes. So why is fashion demonised so…
One of the properties of colour is undertone (sometimes called temperature). When we think about colour undertone (or temperature) warm relates to yellow (the sun), cool to blue (water). If you want to make a colour warmer in undertone, add a little yellow – which is why a yellow-green is warmer than a blue-green…
No matter the print, whether it’s florals, animal, abstract, ikat, check, geometrics or stripes, finding prints that relate to your value and value contrast will make your outfit look so much better on you. Just as with colours where you should wear the colour rather than the colour wearing you. You should be the one…
The ageing process changes many aspects of your life, from body, to lifestyle and how you approach style. And then of course there is colouring too, which is the topic of the video in this post as Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe and I discuss how colouring changes with the ageing process (and show…
There are a couple of things to consider when choosing a metallic accessory such as jewellery or metallic garments. 1. Undertone (or temperature) of your colouring 2. Brightness of your palette and sheen of your skin Let’s look at each individually. Undertone or Temperature Whether you have a cool or warm undertone will make a…
