How do you feel about your style? Â Do you feel fabulous, ok or not great? Â How do you feel about what you wear? Â Do you own your style? In this (20 minute) video Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe and I discuss some of our own feelings about these questions and where the answers and…
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. Â That all we want to do is shop til we drop, day…
There are just so many lists of essentials that “every woman should own” out there on the internet. If you’ve been reading Inside Out Style for a while you’ll realise that I don’t believe in such prescriptive lists. Why not? Well I know from the experience of working with thousands of clients is that we…
Just like with skirts, different shoe styles suit different trouser styles. When you think about how to choose a shoe and heel style to work with your pants, you will want to take into consideration a few aspects. 1. Trouser Shape and Shoe Selection From the widest palazzo pant to your skinny leg pant,…
How does magic work? We’re smart people, we should be able to see the tricks of a magician? Yet, how often have you seen a magic trick and been perplexed at it how fools your eye? The art of the magician is in illusion and distraction. The magician distracts you away from the trick, at the…
Dear Imogen, Thank you so much for creating Inside Out Style. Many of the style blogs I find are designed for models or teens, at least that’s how it seems to me. Most of your articles are for more mature women, with children. And you don’t pretend to have a perfect figure, you teach us…
As I discussed in this post on my Three Rules of Horizontal Lines, line in clothing design creates optical illusions depending on the direction of the line. Verticals lengthen. Partly because they go up and down (giving height) but also becasue our eyes move along them more quickly than they do on horizontal or…
Before you take that garment into the change room, understanding the illusion of line really helps you choose clothes that flatter your figure. Lines are used in clothing design in a number of ways: As part of the silhouette – that’s the outline of the garment In the construction – that’s all the seams that…
Online Busty Retailers Overview- Part II Review by Ms SmartandBusty These busty retailer are more casual, but some of them still produce many items that is suitable for professional office wear. BiuBiu ($-$$) BiuBiu is a Polish company with a single brick and mortar store in Lodz. Sizing: 2 dimensional sizing with the same structure…
Looking for office attire to flatter your big bust? Need to find smart clothes that fit over your bust (would you like to be able to get that jacket buttoned up?). Then look no further. Canadian large busted reader Orsi is sharing her review of some of the online busty retailers to help all…
This weekend’s style challenge is about having fun and experimenting with the scale of your accessories and details. To find out more about choosing scale of details and accessories read these posts: Choosing scale based on personality style How to flatter larger facial features S is for Scale How to choose a necklace How to make…
If you’ve been reading this blog for more than a nanosecond, you’ll know that I truly believe that personality is the most important factor when choosing clothes and accessories. I listed 10 ways personality is more important than body shape here. And you may be aware (but if you’re new, maybe not) that body shape,…
It would be interesting if you had some things about what to do when you are NOT petite or “regular” but are a*TALL Woman* and *long limbed*. For example, you had a blog post recently about getting things tailored that was all about how to make things smaller. You didn’t have anything about what to…
Belts are an accessory that can add interest and detail to your outfit. They can add definition or highlight your waist or hips (depending where you’re wearing them). But they can also draw an unflattering horizontal line (which is broadening as I’ve explained in the illusion of horizontal lines here) if you already have a…
Hey, Imogen, I’ve got a reader question for your data banks, perhaps you’ll have a slow month over the holiday season or something. 🙂 …I’ve searched your blog and found very little joy for the long-torsos amongst us. (though the blog’s fantastic, and I’ve really learned a ton!). Here’s the sitch: I’ve got a very…
And how that can help you discover your personal style, let go of clothes that don’t suit and build a better wardrobe This morning I was having a conversation with one of my lovely image consultant (personal stylist) graduates and she mentioned that she has great difficulty throwing out clothes and makeup that don’t work,…
Answering another reader’s question about choosing underwear (aka foundation garments) Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe and I tackle this subject in this video blog post. The Most Important Aspects of Choosing Great Foundation Garments Choosing the right shape of bra for what you’re wearing – tips here. Your underpants may need to be a…
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Just because you’re petite doesn’t mean you can break your style rules. You just have to do it in a knowledgeable way. You can read up lots of rules (which are of course just guidelines) here on the blog. Some of the petite style rules that I find matter the most are: Scale – don’t…
I was asked by a reader who is petite but has long legs for tips on dressing. Now more often than not, petite (5’4″/162cm or under) women are petite because their legs are proportionally short. But not all petite’s have short legs so some advice needs to be altered to dress well for the long…
Many X, 8 and A shapes ask me how to make their hips look slimmer, and with jeans being such a staple of so many wardrobes it’s useful to know what kind of details to avoid when choosing a pair. 3 Simple Tips for Choosing Jeans Styles to Make Your Hips Look Slimmer It’s pretty simple…
