Packing for a trip to the USA I’m in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA for an AICI International Board planning meeting this week, plus I’m training some US based trainers in the Absolute Colour System – so if you want to learn how to do colour analysis with my system the International Image Academy is the place…
Where do you blog from? This past week has been super busy for me. My office, which is in my house, and is a pretty large room, has just had new carpet installed (the carpet that was there was 18 years old and pretty manky!). I had to pack everything in the room up and…
Reader’s question: I would be interested in your advice on the opposite of looking more mature- how to avoid look ‘mature” i.e. matronly or frumpy when you are a larger size (i.e. 16+) woman….Thanks. Love reading your posts As we age, many of us become concerned about avoiding the dreaded “frumpy” or “matronly” look. It…
Outerwear – those pieces that you wear over the top of your clothes. Jackets, cardigans and coats – depending on the season and climate. For much of the year in Melbourne, where I live, the climate is temperate and a cardigan or jacket is enough outerwear. But there are times of the year when you…
Green is a reassuring colour. Why so? Because when we see lots of green we know that plants are growing and food is abundant, nothing to worry about! True green is neither warm nor cool – as it’s made from mixing blue (cool) with yellow (warm). This makes it very balanced and calming. But…
Late last year I did a poll asking how much your wardrobe is worth – and here are the results. Now, the question to ask is how much of your wardrobe do you wear regularly? Most people wear around 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. Even if you regularly wear 50% of your…
Night, that time after dusk, when the sun has gone down, colours fade as the cones in our eyes, which are the colour receptors, can’t distinguish colour well in low light. Only the rods in our eyes work well at night and they can distinguish blue, but not other colours. So at nighttime, you can…
Imogen, what do you suggest for petite and skinny girls. As you may have guessed, I’m really tiny, and am tired of people thinking that I am still in college, while I have been working for over 6 years. Any advice on how to look more professional and less small would be great. Thanks a…
Blue is the world’s favourite colour. It surrounds us, from the sea to the sky but it is rarely found in food. A blue sky says “trust me as I will not rain on you”. A blue sky is calm, peaceful and non-threatening. It promotes relaxation (don’t we all love to look at pictures of…
How do you pick a print that is flattering for you? There are just so many prints to choose from – florals, stripes, animal, abstract, geometric, checks, paisley, ikat… the list goes on and on. So how do you make the right choices when prints and patterns come in a myriad of colours, scale, contrast…
Following on from the post on What to Wear when you’re Petite and Busty, here are some ideas on the formal end of the spectrum. From wedding dress to formal occasion styles. Should you be thinking about a cocktail type dress, just look for the same kinds of styles but that end just above the…
The other day I received an email pleading with me to help with dressing the petite and busty figure. This body shape can easily look disproportionate and unbalanced as the scale of the bust is large, but the scale of the overall body is small and petite. Too much fabric will overwhelm you, keep garments…
Much of colour psychology relates back to natures. This is why the meanings are fairly universally recognized. There are always cultural influences, but we can all related to the meanings that found in nature. Black and Dark Greys Where are they found? Night time and stormy skies are what leap to mind. Black isn’t…
I love it when packages arrive in the post, and yesterday I got one from Verily- with a Birdcage Dress which you can buy on sale now! They are so easy to wear and care for. Sizes are very true to the measurement chart provided on the site too!
The obsession with Kate Middleton post birth of Prince George abounds on each media outlet. I admire her for appearing in her first public outing with the new prince not strapped up in shapewear to give us the impression that just hours after the birth she’s snapped back to her pre-pregnancy flat stomached ways. For…
I’m so excited to let you know that as of today, you can purchase a copy of Jill Chivers and my new ebook Svelte in Style: How to Look and Feel Great While Losing Weight. It’s a fabulous resource for the many women who are currently on a weight loss journey or who are about…
Weddings these days have many dress codes. Recently a friend of mine was horrified when turning up to a wedding in a floor-length gown (the invitation dress code said “formal”) to find out that really, all the bride had wanted was for people not to wear jeans! The first point of call when figuring out…
Dresses have become the staple garment in my wardrobe. Ever since I did one of those challenges and wore a dress every day for a month I’ve become a complete convert. Why do I love them so much? Well they are just so easy to wear, plus they can halve your dressing time (you don’t…
You may have noticed that I’ve been a little quite on the blog these past 2 1/2 weeks. It’s because I’ve been so busy running our Certified Advanced Personal Colour Analysis and Personal Stylist and Image Mastery training course – a 14 day download of my brain into my students’ brains. To give you a…
It’s one of those really hot balmy summer nights where even underwear and high heels make me feel uncomfortable but I have a date with a gorgeous man at a local restaurant and of course I want him to fancy me like mad. What do I wear that’s casual, cool and comfortable but stylish and…
Imogen: I am so excited you will be talking more about color. Years ago, I was color typed as a vivid summer (light in value and cool). I remember I was very disappointed because I loved all the colors in the winter palette. As I’ve learned more about me, I realize that I enjoy the…
