1. Being influenced by the sales assistant who is paid to get you to buy clothes (whether they suit you or not). Retail sales staff are paid to sell you clothes. Some are even paid extra commissions based on how much they sell. So it’s in their interest that you buy as much as…
Following on from my post on how to interpret prints and patterns I want to talk more about different elements of prints and how they also relate to other elements of ourselves. You would be aware that not all florals are the same, just as not all animal prints, stripes or checks are the same,…
The other day I was asked about why a floral print wasn’t appropriate for a job interview. My answer is to do with how we interpret different prints and patterns, as they say different things to us. Frequently people ask me “what patterns suit me?” and the answer lies in what are your personality traits?…
Hello Imogen. I was hoping you could answer a question for me. I had the opportunity to buy a pair of lined trousers at a reduced price. I didn’t buy them because I’m a wash and wear type of person and the pants would have required going to the cleaners. Can you tell me what…
If you have a knit top that is too long, rather than take the hem up, why not ruche the sides rather than take up the hem. You can also use this method to shorten sleeves too. It’s really simple and you don’t need to know how to sew to do it. Watch this short…
Here is a short video I’ve made about the length of sleeves on jackets. It’s one of the most common fit issues I see with clothes and in people’s wardrobes, yet can have a huge impact on your appearance. Watch this short video.
Imogen I would like your opinion on the hem length of tunic type tops. I’m a knitting designer and teacher and this topic comes up in my Fit and Flatter classes. I think women slimmest when the hem hits just below the crotch so that the leg length is undetermined by the viewer and therefore…
Have you completed 7 Steps to Style or had a personal colour analysis but are unsure of how to choose a patterned garment, particularly if one or more of the colours isn’t in your colour palette? How do you know when you are choosing a pattern if the colours are right for your or not?…
Fashion trends come and go, how do you decide what is worth spending up big (for you) on and what to buy cheap? Splurge on Quality jackets and pants in great neutral colours that work with your existing wardrobe. A great bra or two. Foundations matter, a great bra will make your waist look slimmer.…
Have you ever knowingly bought a piece of clothing that doesn’t fit right now? You try it on in the store and think to yourself, sure it’s a little tight, but when I’ve lost those last 2kg (5 pounds) then it’ll be perfect. I thought I was too clever to do this, but I did,…
Yesterday I got all excited when I discovered that Berlei do a range of bras that go up to an H cup. So I decided to go and try on and see how they fit. To make a comparison I took 2 Berlei and 2 Freya bras into the change room. When fitting a bra,…
One of my readers commented on a post about common issues with fit: I’ve had problems with certain tops bunching in the back, too. What’s up with that? Most bunching comes from your body shape being not related to the shape that the garment was cut for. Too much fabric in an area that doesn’t…
I was wondering if you might address correct hem lengths in one of your future blogs. I am on the short side (5′ 4″) so almost all of my clothing needs to be shorted but I am never quite sure what the correct length is. For example, are pencil skirts and dresses hemmed at the…
All whites are not the same, and different whites suit different colouring. We can go from a very bright white which is cool and quite stark and only suits those with very cool colouring, via a soft white, through ivory to cream, which is very warm and suits those with warm colouring. Soft whites are…
There are lots of problems with the fit of commercially made garments, these are things that if you’re making the garment you can alter out of the pattern. But before you buy, make sure these are not problems built into the garment for you. There are some common issues with fit that are reasonably easy…
How the sleeve is cut and fits into a top or jacket can change the way a garment appears on your body. If you have a deeper, lower cut armhole, this will add some bulk to your chest region, so is great for women with narrower shoulders (A shapes) or smaller busts who would like…
\ Niamh was looking through some old photo albums, you know, the ones with pictures of me in my primary school classes, she was going through and picking me out of the sea of faces in each class. When I asked her how she knew it was me, she said: “see, your face is shiny…
Following on from yesterday’s post on Mad Men style and body shapes. There were some comments on the dislike of the patterns that Peggy wears. So it got me to think about why each character wears the prints and patterns chosen for them. Peggy – she’s a woman in a man’s world. She wears checks…
Patent leather can’t be polished up in the same way with shoe polish that regular leather works with, so how do you remove scuff marks? Soap and water can get some marks off. One thing you could try is to put some some non-acetone nail polish remove on a cotton pad and wipe over the…
One of the comments left on a post the other day was this: jinnan-tonnyx said… Can you explain more about why trousers pull across the crotch on X shapes? I am an X and whenever I buy a new pair of pants my husband always says they don’t fit right – and I tell him,…
Many women shy away from prints as they’ve read or been told that all prints make you look larger and are generally unflattering. Yet this is not true for all prints and patterns, in fact, many can be really wonderfully camouflaging if you know how to choose ones that flatter you. There are dimensions to…
