Have you ever thought about print placement when you’re choosing a garment with a print or pattern? What do I mean by this? Well when you look at the garment, where does the print draw your eye? What stands out and grabs attention? Is the placement of the print flattering you or drawing attention to…
How do you select prints and patterns that work well with your personal value contrast? If you’re new to the subject of value contrast, it’s worth reading these posts first, so you can discover your value contrast and see how it’s important when putting outfits together. Value is the technical colour word that means how…
Ideally, choosing prints and patterns that are within your ideal colour contrast level is the best solution to looking in harmony with your outfit. But should you choose to go outside of those levels, how to pull off the look so you wear the pattern rather than the pattern wearing you? We all have favourite…
Animal prints are classic prints. They may become more and slightly less popular, but never really go out of style. These days leopard print is almost considered to be a neutral! I’ve noticed in my work as an image consultant that animal print divides my clients. They either love it or hate it. There are…
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?…
If you’ve read my recommendations on how to dress the hourglass shapes – the X Shape and A shape, that have the wider lower hip area, you may have noticed that the instructions are to keep the bottom of your body more boring, plain and free of detail. Details to Avoid Below the Waist for…
Dresses and skirts are great alternatives to jeans and shorts (and athleisure wear) for in relaxed environments, yet so many women worry that they will be overdressed if they choose to wear these as dresses and skirts are often associated more with more formal attire. What to Look for When Choosing Dresses and Skirts for…
I spend quite a bit of time out shopping with clients and so I notice what the major trends the stores are showing, rather than just what the magazines tell us we’ll see. So I took some quick photos with my phone and thought I’d share a few of these Summer 2012/2013 fashion trends with…
Many people are a bit scared of prints, as they’ve been told that prints will make them look larger. This is not always the case, it really depends on the type of print. There are two main types of prints, sparse and dense. Sparse prints have the elements spread further apart, these are the ‘fattening’…
I’ve shared the most popular and most commented on posts this year here, and now I thought I’d share the posts that I like the best and ones that can make a significant difference to your style. I’ve discovered that many of my favourite posts of the years are chats I had with Jill Chivers…
I’ve been working as an image consultant (personal stylist) for well over a decade now and I realised in my training that personality would be an important factor in dressing, but probably not the full extent to how important it is when choosing clothes to flatter a client (or for yourself). Like many of you,…
In This Video 0.09 How do you get your own taste in clothing to offer helpful advice to others? How can you distinguish personal preference from style faux pas? 7.53 – Do muted colours on sheen fabrics read as lighter or darker? Will they advance or recede? 9.02 – Can you define mental and emotional…
The Dramatic Personality Dressing Style is one that you may see as bold and attention seeking. Commonly it includes larger scale patterns, details or accessories, sharp angles in design and bold colours. It’s a style that suits a stronger personality, one who is not interested in blending-in with the crowd, but instead wants to stand…
Relaxed Outerwear – Blanket Coats, Ponchos, Ruanas When it comes to layering up, ponchos and ruanas are an ideal choice. They are an alternative to jackets and coats. They’re lightweight enough to work as a cover-up and cozy enough for the cooler weather. So what is the difference between a poncho, blanket wrap, cape and…
In this Video 0.10 What colour wrap to wear over a coral pink dress when you have dark Exotic/Autumn colouring? 2.24 How to enhance my multi-tonal grey hair when I’m larger and don’t want to wear light colours as they don’t suit my lifestyle? 7.27 Tips on finding denim without whiskers and distressing? What…
We live in a coloured world, and studies have shown that we remember a ‘coloured experience’ vs a neutral or black and white one 70% more. So how can you bring a little more colour into your world (get out of all that black) and communicate more effectively? In fact, if you want more joy…
Reader Question: You have posts and information on light values wanting to wear dark colours to appear more authority from authoritative and professional. What are your suggestions for dark value girls who want to lighten up to look more in tune with summer and appear more feminine and approachable? Summer can be a tricky time…
There are always new fashion trends appearing in store. So I’ve rounded up a variety here and will share with you what to consider if you’re looking at including this trend in your wardrobe and how to do it to best flatter you. I’ll start with some of the easier trends to wear and then…
I’ve been making some Facebook Live videos over on my Inside Out Style page (join me there if you want to watch them live) and wanted to share them with you here too – and I’m also linking here to some useful blog posts that help answer these questions! Here I’ve compiled a few videos…
Reader’s question: “How to get the best fabric mixes when shopping for durability and comfort” There are a number of elements to fabric – texture, drape, sheen, pattern, dimension – and all need to be taken into consideration when being chosen for a garment. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – it’s…
