I called my blog Inside Out Style because I’ve found when you align your outside with your personality – who you are on the inside – you feel your most comfortable and confident. That said, not every day do we feel like the best version of ourselves which led me to think about Outside In…
Reader Question – I live on a farm and my lifestyle has always needed comfortable and practical clothing. I am 70 and recently retired. I still want my clothes to be comfortable and practical but want to wear pretty and smart things as well. My personal style quiz results say that Relaxed is the best…
How do you express yourself through your clothing? In this podcast with Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types, we discuss how personality influences clothing choices, and how we can use the personality dressing styles to express who we are. There are a variety of well-known personality dressing styles: Classic Relaxed/Casual/Natural Feminine/Romantic Creative/Innovative/Eclectic Dramatic/Bold Rebellious Elegant…
Reader question – When answering style quizzes or determining a personal style, should one do that based on living in an ideal world and make adjustments for our real world? In other words if physical time and budget restraints were not an issue, should we select our preferred style and go from there. I’ve had…
Your Questions Answered in this video: 0.15 Why do all my waistbands roll down? What can I do about it? 5.10 Can you chat about Uniform dressing? I’m thinking it could be useful 12.04 How can I tell if a shoulder seam needs to be right on the shoulders or dropped? Fit Issues How to…
One of the big life changes many women go through is having kids. And adjusting to life with young children is difficult. Even more so if you have come from a professional workplace and you have a preference for the Classic personality dressing style, one that loves a crisp button-up shirt and a smart blazer…
There are two main things to consider when deciding on whether you are a fan of simple outfits and patterns or complex ones. The first and most important one is your personality and values The second and only marginally less important is your physicality. So let’s look at both these aspects. Personality and Values Who…
How do you create a stylish outfit? What are some criteria you can use to decide if your outfit is fabulous (or even just good enough for you)? How do you know? Here in this video Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types and I discuss this reader question. What are your criteria for feeling great…
Could you also clarify monochrome? I know it’s technically different shades of the one colour but so many magazines and websites are calling black and white together monochrome, so I’m wondering how it works with two neutrals together. Monochromatic Means Mono = One Chromatic = Colour So is just means One Colour it could be…
One of the most important and integral parts of choosing prints and patterns is to make sure that the print is one you love. Prints, more than any other aspect of style and clothing choices, are based on personality. Body shape and figure flattery are important elements of the style puzzle, but if you don’t…
Spring and Autumn are two seasons that often have more temperature variation than winter and summer. This can make dressing tricky. For many of us we live in places that have trans-seasonal seasons that can go for a while and dressing can be tricky. Melbourne can easily have a 20C temperature variation from morning to…
I was asked by a reader who is petite but has long legs for tips on dressing. Now more often than not, petite (5’4″/162cm or under) women are petite because their legs are proportionally short. But not all petite’s have short legs so some advice needs to be altered to dress well for the long…
One of my lovely commenters asked if I could do a post on age-appropriate dressing, as she’s one of the many over 40s who would like some help. So What is Age Appropriate Dressing? I think that as we age, rather than being really trendy, and following the latest fashion, no matter how…
Reader Question: My lifestyle is very casual and my personal style is relaxed, romantic and classic. How do I add romantic and classical elements to my outfits? We are all combination of dressing styles. Nobody is one style. Different situations may require us to rely more heavily on one dressing style than others. So often…
What is trans-seasonal dressing anyway? Simply, it’s wearing the same garments the whole year around, through each of the seasons. It’s also particularly useful when the seasons are changing, from winter to spring, and summer to autumn. When the mornings are chilly but the days are warm, as it relies on layering garments that can…
I’ve been following the discussion in the 7 Steps to Style group about different types of feminine dressing. I identify with the ethereal dressing with its long lines floaty gossamer-like fabrics. How would you suggest adapting your style to a business casual work setting? The definition of Ethereal is to be extremely delicate and light…
Hi Imogen, I was wondering if you could give me some advice, as my problem is the opposite of one you have dealt with several times regarding “mutton dressed as lamb”. I’m 38 but look a lot younger (people generally guess my age at 25-28). Should I dress my age or the age I look?…
Reader question – I like comfortable clothes so tend to put on jeans or jeggings and a plain V-neck sweater but really I want to feel more feminine. Sometimes you just want to be warm and comfortable so you throw on jeans and a sweater. After a while, this can make you feel bland and…
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, often includes Classic dressing style elements as part of her outfit. Her take on Classic is modern and often with a Dramatic twist. It’s a fashion-forward version of Classic dressing, a style that can too easily become stuffy, old-fashioned or just plain boring. So what does she do differently?…
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…
