I love this quote – and yesterday I heard someone on the radio say Architecture is a living being – it reflects the culture and mood of the times. We are not static beings and so our buildings are renovated and change over time. The renovations and changes to buildings relate to…
Body Proportions There are body shapes (X, A, H, I, O, V, 8) which tell us where to add detail and where to use horizontals to balance or draw attention, and where to use verticals to elongate. Then there are body proportions, which tell us where to end hems of sleeves, tops, jackets, skirts and…
I’ve been asked by one of my lovely readers to do a post to help her make the most of her long slim legs, without looking Mutton Dressed as Lamb. 1. Wear shoes with detail and ankle straps – all those gladiator shoes will work for you. Just ensure that the straps are finer…
How do you know if your back view is as attractive as your front? It’s much harder to see our back view in the mirror, without a series of mirrors. So when choosing jeans, which are the best pockets for your butt? Quick Tips for Choosing Jeans Pockets Size and placement is really important…
I’ll always remember when my daughter was a toddler it was rare for her not to have some sort of ring of food around her mouth and one day after coming back from seeing a clients, her nanny showed me a video she’d made of Niamh, and what stood out to me was her clean…
Last week after a shopping trip with a client, I was wandering back to my car through the shoe section of David Jones in Doncaster Shoppingtown, when I spied these shoes. I’ve been looking for a pair of comfortable shoes that don’t scream ‘ugly’ at me. I wanted something I can pair with jeans for…
Today I wasn’t seeing clients, so I decided not to wash my hair, I also decided to give it a rest from hot styling tools which I have to use to tame it every day, but I still have to do the school and kindy drop offs and pick ups so need to keep it…
I’ve had a few requests on how to wear leggings after my post the other week. So here are some ideas if you’re no longer in your twenties or don’t want to show off too much leg. Some Ideas: 1.A skirt that is a bit too short – leggings that go over the knees…
How to Choose an Empire Waist to Suit Your Body Shape An Empire Waist garment has a high cut waist seam that sits directly under the breasts (above your natural waistline). It’s flattering on so many body shapes because it doesn’t require a defined natural waist to work. For petites it works because it raises…
Recently I was having a conversation with someone who asked if leggings were still ‘in’ and if they were too old to wear them. My reply was that they are still around (looking at the Fall 2009 fashion shows they were everywhere on the runway) and are generally more flattering than a lot of the…
Ask your optometrist what your PD is – what’s a PD? It’s your pupillary distance – that is the distance between your two pupils. Why does it matter? Rather than try on 2000 frames and getting completely confused and overwhelmed by choice, your PD may preclude you from some frames. If you look…
Today I’m starting again working with an optometry education company doing a workshop with retail optometry staff to teach them some of the image related aspects of helping their clients choose flattering glasses frames. But before you even start trying on frames, the No. 1 factor that will affect your choice, and what you…
At the AICI conference I got to meet the fabulous image consultant and author Brenda Kinsel who shared these tips with me, so I could share them with you. I asked Brenda for 5 tips to help you improve your wardrobe and image 1. At the change of season, when you swap your wardrobe over…
I was shopping yesterday in Century City, LA with lovely blogger La Belette Rouge and she tried on a version of this top at Banana Republic. It looked great on her, but was about 2.5″ too long and hit at an unflattering point on her hips and made her looked proportionally unbalanced and a…
Here I am in LA, that’s me with Snoopy at Knotts Berry Farm yesterday, anyway, I spent some time at a local shopping centre today – The Block at Orange, near where I’m staying. Of course I don’t know all the shops and brands, so I wander into shops. The quickest way for me…
Here is my challenge, I’m packing to fly to LA to attend the AICI (Association of Image Consultants International) annual conference. What should I wear? The dress code is: Business attire is appropriate for daytime conference programs and evening events. May temperatures range from an average high of 81ºF/27ºC to an average low of 54ºF/12ºC.…
When economic times are tough, what can we do to save on our wardrobe? Here are 4 easy to follow budget fashion tips for the Recessionista Fashonista. 1. Alter You can make a garment fit properly with alterations. I spend a lot of time in wardrobes pinning garments, adding darts when it’s too boxy, taking…
Is it me or the clothes? Women, notoriously blame their bodies when it doesn’t flatter them or fit them, but in fact, if you look closely at the design of the garment, you will soon realise that it is not your body (which is perfect) that is wrong, instead, it’s a badly designed garment. How…
Why is it that when we are in a shop and we ‘must‘ buy a new piece of clothing, do we love it so much then that we are compelled to part with our hard earned money (or even worse, spend on credit), yet when we get it home, add it to the wardrobe and…
Karen asked me to give some advice on tucking – who should and who shouldn’t. Basically, if you are short through the waist (and especially if you have a medium to large bust), don’t tuck, it will make you look even shorter through the waist. This applies to H shapes, O shapes and…
Following on my series on Body Proportions – today we’re looking at the dressing challenges of those with a shorter body and longer legs. Not sure of your proportions? Then watch the video here on how to measure them. If you have a shorter body and longer legs, you may often have slimmer legs and…
