Spring in Melbourne is a period of unstable weather. 30C /86F one day, then 17C/62F the next. This makes dressing a little trickier, plus you get those cooler mornings with warmer days. This week for my Frocktober post I’m sharing how to layer summer dresses for spring and autumn, those often more temperamental seasons that…
Yesterday I asked where confidence in appearance comes from – and many commented that lack of confidence can stem from negative comments made during childhood. These comments seem to burn right into us and are often very hard to shake off as we grow up – we take them as gospel truth, rather than just…
I’ve just spent a few days shopping with clients and noticing all the new fashion trends coming through the stores. So I took out my trusty phone and snapped some photos of store windows to give you a picture of what you can expect to see in a store near you. Colour blocking is a…
I’m delighted to be sharing the Stylish Thoughts of Dayle who Instagrams at Artful City Style. Based in Manhattan, New York she shares her unique take on style regularly with her followers. Photos taken by Denton Taylor What is the secret to great style? Style is all about personal expression. As opposed to fashion, which…
I’m excited about bringing Omega’s Stylish Thoughts to you today. Omega writes the fatshion blog Fashion Adjacent and has a really unique and interesting take on style. What is the secret to great style? My blog is called “Fashion Adjacent”, and there’s a bit of a story attached to that – I truly believe that…
White is ethereal, it’s the colour of clouds, snow and seafoam. It says: clean and hygenic, fresh and new. It’s often associated with winter in cooler climates, because of the snow. A fresh new piece of paper – a blank page, ready to be written on. In the Western world it’s the colour of…
The Wardrobe Problem Nobody Warned You About Nobody tells you, when you are building a career, that you will spend a significant portion of your professional life trying to solve a problem that has no official name. It sits somewhere between “what should I wear to work?” and something considerably more complicated, something closer to:…
Colour Is Not a Matter of Opinion. It’s a Matter of Science In the top 10 Google searches on personal style, colour is a hot topic, and searches by people wanting to know which colours match their skin tone have risen exponentially over the past few years. With the rise of AI tools, people have…
An A shape or Pear shape body has narrower shoulders than hips. If you’re not sure if this is your body shape, why not do my body shape calculator quiz here and then download your free Body Shape Bible which is full of tips on how to dress your shape. If you’re an A (otherwise…
1. We all need a hero Every outfit needs a hero. Whether it’s an accessory or a garment that has a pattern or detail that makes it the feature of what you’re wearing. It creates a focal point for the eye to linger on. 2. Your shoes matter They finish your outfit and need to…
And from a style dilemma from Facebook – Coloured shoes and… What colour tights? I never seem to get it right! Well, the answer to this depends on who you are and what you want to express. For a more conservative environment, I’d choose nude tights with colour shoes. For a more creative environment, you could…
The other day there was a conversation over on the 7 Steps for Style private Facebook forum about breaking style rules and I loved this quote supplied by one of the members. There was a question about how many rules can you break and how far you can push them. How far can you go…
This summer in Melbourne (so far) has been hot, but not what I’d call ‘stupid hot’ where it’s over 35C for 10 days – 3 weeks at a time. It’s mostly in the 23C – 33C which is easy to enjoy. Some mornings are cooler which ask for a light sleeve or sometimes a lightweight…
Ever found yourself wandering the shops, feeling completely uninspired by what’s on offer? You know your colours, you’ve done the work – but suddenly everything on the racks is beige, black, or bright orange. None of it suits you, and all of it feels like a compromise. This was exactly Helen’s dilemma: “My challenge is…
What are the best winter fashion trends worth adding to your wardrobe as they are both functional and stylish? Updating your wardrobe for autumn and winter means adding some fresh layers and current fashion trends that are sure to last a few years, to keep out the winter chill. Depending on where you live, and…
Skin flare-ups can feel like a spotlight you never asked for, especially when acne or rosacea seems to draw attention before anything else. But the truth is, what you wear has the power to redirect the eye. With a few smart choices in colour and pattern, you can distract from pimples and other skin conditions.…
Following on from my post on undertones, here are some more examples of the differences between warm and cool undertones of colours. When picking undertones, you want to look at what the colour is made of, as if you were painting it, and think about what colours you’d mix together to create it. If…
I’m often asked if there is such a thing as Universal Colours – the colours that suit everyone. People ask me if black is one – sadly it is not as it’s colour properties are – cool, deep and bright – so if you are warm, light or muted in your colouring, black is really…
Do you love animal print (like my lovely friend Jill of 16 Style Types does)? Is it a staple in your wardrobe? As Jill has mentioned, leopard print, in particular, works with her naturally patterned skin and makes her look less freckly. I was not a fan of animal prints for a long time, but…
Mixing patterns is one of the bigger trends on the catwalk at present. It’s not something for everyone and tends to be something that is only for those with more creative or dramatic personality styles. These images are from the Marc Jacobs Spring 2016 and Gucci Spring 2016 catwalk shows and show examples of successful…
Putting together a stylish outfit everyday doesn’t have to be tricky. In fact I’ve come up with a simple formula that you can use over and over for all different kinds of outfits. When choosing clothes for an outfit you will want to take into consideration things like: Level of Refinement Principle of Volume Body…
