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…
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…
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…
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…
Night Life Exhibition at Rippon Lea Sequins and sparkle, bugle beads and hand painted silk are all featured in the fabulous new exhibition of divine fashion from Victoria’s 1920s and 30s. This exhibition includes over 50 divine delicate pieces, all hand made with swathes of intricate hand beading on silks and velvets. It also includes…
What are the differences between London and New York Pantone Forecasts? London has a cooler, brighter red in Flame Scarlet as compared to New York’s Grenadine. London’s Primrose Pink is a more muted pink than New York’s highly tinted Ballet Slipper. London’s Toast is a slightly cooler beige than New York’s Butterum London’s Royal Lilac is…
Fashion trends, they are something you may love or hate or just not care about. One aspect of fashion trends is how much you buy into the trend for fashion’s sake or ignore them for the sake of figure flattery. Fashion Trends vs Figure Flattery In this video with Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe,…
Online shopping is here to stay. For many it is a wonderful new way of purchasing clothing, particularly if you live in a smaller town, remote area or want a more varied wardrobe than your local stores can provide for. But there are downsides such as finding clothes that fit (and knowing the right…
What is the Fashion Trend Continuum? As with all products, and fashion is a product, there is a continuum, a growth and decline cycle. With fashion though, it can be fast (fad) which lasts 3-12 months or slow (classic) which last 5-10 years, though many fashions turn into that mid-point (trend), that last around 2-5 years.…
Before I had my breast reduction surgery, shopping was a bit of a nightmare. When it’s hard to find any clothes that actually fit (if it fit my bust it was way too large on my shoulders). For me shoes, costume jewellery and handbags have been my “go to” items when shopping for many years.…
Corporate wardrobes tend to be more expensive, yet if you are a recent university graduate or on an internship you just don’t have that kind of money to splash around. So how do you create a functional and stylish corporate wardrobe on a budget? Where to shop and what to buy? Create a Corporate Wardrobe…
I often hear from women just how frustrating shopping can be. My clients tell me when we’re on a personal shopping expedition that they normally give up really quickly, and my online community of 7 Steps to Style members has also let me know just how dissatisfying and unfruitful a shopping trip can be. My…
One of the issues I have in the cooler months, if I want to wear pants and an open top shoe – like a ballet flat or pump, even a loafer, but I don’t want to wear a pair of tights (hosiery), then my feet get cold. Now there have been the old “pop sock”…
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…
Last week I spent a day in Sydney at a dragway (yes, total glamour) learning how to become a more fuel efficient driver, as well discovering more about Ford Ecoboost technology, installed in many of their current fleet of cars including the Fiesta, Mondeo and Mustang (aka The Pony). Learning all about how small changes in how…
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…
How to Identify Your Style Cycles This is a topic about the speed of wardrobe turnover. How often you need something new. Watch this video on the topic that Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe and I made here. And afterwards we got lots of comments and thoughts from Inside Out Style readers about this…
Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe discuss the eternal question of which comes first when you’re shopping for clothes … colour or style? Why Colour is the most Important Factor when Choosing Garments We both agree that colour the most important factor when choosing a new garment. We discuss why colour is more…
I’m happy to be ageing (and I’d hate to not get the opportunity), but I have to say there are a few issues (I know, first world problems) that I’m less keen on that come with age. A couple of the side effects of aging are things nobody told me about. Yes, I know all…
My house is currently undergoing a major renovation (basically I’m getting a whole new house except for my office/studio and the front door!). This is my first renovation (it is necessary to upsize our house as we’ve gone from 2-4 kids with marriage), and my kitchen was so small you couldn’t have two people in…
One thing I’ve noticed when going through many wardrobes in my image consulting career is that so many of us forget what we own. Frequently I discover items that the owner completely forgot they’d bought. This is particularly common when there are multiple garments on hangers or great big drawers where clothes get lost under…
