1. Match without Being Matchy Think about how you put together your accessories. There is no need to buy a matching set (and it can look kind of contrived in this modern age), so think about matching: Shapes Colours Textures Sheen Sparkle Metal Read: Matching jewellery – sets without beings sets 2. Level of Refinement…
Reader Question: My biggest issue right now is finding age-appropriate clothes that I LOVE. I’m 55 and (based on your quiz) I’m a Classic style and I do like to always have a “put together” look, but that is getting hard to do. I don’t want to look like my 27-year-old daughter, but I also…
Many of you will have a wardrobe that has items that don’t get worn that often, and other pieces that are worn all the time. That old Pareto Principle of 80/20 rule comes in here too – that you are most likely to wear the same 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. Now…
Repeating the elements of yourself over and over in different ways in your outfit will create a really harmonious appearance. How can you do this? Repeat the texture of your hair. Repeat the texture of your skin. Repeat the element of matte/sheen or shine that you have in your hair and skin. Repeat your colouring…
Have you ever felt like your wardrobe is a puzzle, with pieces that don’t quite fit together? Or perhaps, despite your best efforts, finding clothes that truly complement your unique shape and style feels like a Herculean task? You’re not alone. Like many intelligent, professional and more mature (cough cough) women, I too have faced…
What are the keys to creating flattering outfits for the X body shape (it’s one of the two hourglass body shapes)? The X shape has similar width shoulders and hips, with a defined waist. If you want all the details grab your Body Shape Bible here. The widest part of the hip is at the…
How Do I Improve My Wardrobe When Nothing Goes with Anything? Reader question – I’ve got lots of one-off pieces in my wardrobe. I see a beautiful top; pair of shoes or a skirt but nothing goes with anything. How do I think about my wardrobe so it’s not like several jigsaws that will never…
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…
What about ‘the little black dress’? I am a ‘summer’ (cool, soft and light colouring) and therefore black is not a good colour for me, yet I would love to wear a little black dress on special occasions. Would I be able to get away with that? Wear it at night When you turn out…
Have you ever said to yourself: “I won’t wear a scarf/statement necklace/animal print because I might wear it wrong and will look foolish” “I can’t wear a hat/waistcoat/dress/skirt/pants/cardigan/jacket because I’d feel stupid” Or something along these lines? Why is it that the potential for being wrong or feeling foolish stops us from trying something new…
Colour analysis and personal colour analysis systems are a topic that many find fascinating and I get lots of questions about everything colour related. In fact, I spent a year in the development of my Absolute Colour System of 18 tonal colour directions back in 2009, as I’d been doing colour analysis for some…
Even if You Love Clothes Like Me, Shopping for More Clothes Isn’t The Answer to Your Wardrobe Woes Have you ever stood in front of your wardrobe, filled to the brim with clothes, yet felt you had absolutely nothing to wear? This paradox is one many of us face, and the intuitive solution seems to…
Style is a journey, not a destination. Click To Tweet It’s a journey that you progress through your entire life. What is stylish on an 10 year old is not stylish on a 20 year old. Your personality develops and changes. You grow, learn and evolve, as should your style too. Style is not one-size-fits-all…
The great wordsmith Oscar Wilde once wrote: One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art Why does art matter? Every culture from ancient times onwards has created art. From the unknown artists of cave paintings and all the other artists who have come afterwards, every culture enjoys art in…
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?…
What does playing it safe with your style mean to you? Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types and I discuss this in the video below and link it to personality type. Do you want to stand out or blend in? Do you naturally want to play it safe? It feels comfortable? or Do you feel…
Have you thought about the colours you prefer to wear? Whether or not you’ve had a personal colour analysis and have a palette of colours or not, you are likely to find that you are drawn more to some colours than others, even within your palette if you know which is the one that flatters…
I’ve written posts on the fashion lifecycle – fads – trends and classics, and also the expected lifespan of different fabrics and clothing. And whilst doing research on these topics, I stumbled over research on how long people actually keep their clothes – and thought it was quite fascinating and wanted to share some salient…
I have read (and heard) some people say that style is something that is innate. You either have it or you don’t. And the people who say this tend to be people who are naturally stylish and have an innate sense of style and aesthetics. I believe that because they haven’t had to work at…
2021 was a busy year, even though I spent a considerable time in lockdown (again), but it didn’t stop me from aiming to dress with style most days of the week as I know there is a relationship between mental health and self-care, and what you wear is part of your self-care routine each day.…
Recently a reader asked me if “Is it perceived as more friendly and open to blend in with others and be more toned down or to go ahead and be more unique and not from here?” This is an interesting question as there is no one right answer and really does come down to you…
