Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types and I were asked to discuss the topic of style and aesthetics and how they relate to fashion trends (particularly if you’re not a keen follower of the trends but still love attractive and beautiful clothing and enjoy style and dressing. In this podcast, we reference The Lost Art…
Let me lead you through this divine exhibition of fashion. From a rare suite of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s iconic little black dresses to voluminous Dior 1950s ballgowns descending a sweeping staircase, The Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift exhibition showcases more than 150 superb garments from Parisien haute couture and international fashion houses. Generously gifted to…
If you want to make your getting dressed process faster and easier each morning, you could create your own personal fashion formula, one that works with your style guidelines and personality, and that takes away some of the mental load. Let’s take a moment to talk about mental load… I see references to it everywhere…
Following on in our deep dive into the most commonly Googled style questions is “What are the latest fashion trends and how do I wear them?” It’s an interesting question: as fashion trends change, the older we get, the less aware we often are of them. Yet how we are perceived can be influenced by…
There is so much out here on the internet about wardrobe capsules. When I started writing about them six years ago, it wasn’t something that people talked much about. Now, they are everywhere and there are hundreds (if not thousands) of blog posts giving advice on how to create your ideal capsule. But what I…
Fads, Trends and Classics in Fashion What is a fashion classic? How do you figure out what is going to be a fashion fad vs a fashion trend? How long do fads, trends and classic really last? Fashion Classics Not to be confused with the Classic personality dressing style, fashion classics are garments that…
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.…
The era of disposable fashion is coming to a close (well I really hope so), that buy it, wear it once or twice, then throw it out fashion that has been rampant in what is known as the “junior market” (that is the young women’s fashion 16 – 25 age market). And I believe that…
Unleashing Your Inner Style Maven As women age, our relationship with style can evolve. While some embrace their newfound confidence and sartorial freedom, others may find themselves feeling lost or unsure of how to express themselves through their wardrobe. Do you feel that you’re stuck in a style rut and are not sure how to…
With current lockdowns we’re all spending a lot of time at home, so if you are looking for some fashion and style content to inspire you while you wait out the crisis, here are some to put on your watch list! Documentaries Iris (2014) Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has…
One of my Southern Hemisphere readers asked me to do a post on key trends for Autumn/Winter 2010, so after looking at plenty of magazines and forecasts these are the key looks I’ve noticed that I think will be an integral part of the fashions these coming months. Leather – whether it’s in an over…
Traditionally, the “Autumn” seasonal colours are warm – both in the seasonal colour system, and often what is presented during this season each year by clothing retailers. If you feel that wearing colours that really relate to the season is important to you, here are some tips on feeling seasonally appropriate whilst still working with…
We’ve all heard them—those so-called “fashion rules” that claim to dictate what we should and shouldn’t wear. “Don’t mix black and navy.” “Only wear certain colours at certain ages.” “Avoid horizontal stripes if you’re not a size 8.” But as fashion continues to evolve, so too should our approach to these outdated style limitations. After…
200 Years of Australian fashion is a celebration of over 90 designers and makers, from early dressmaking establishments, through the mid-century salons of the “Paris End” of Collins Street to contemporary fashion designers of today. The exhibition starts with a series of images projected onto curtains all set on the beach. Paola di Troccio the…
Do you ever feel limited by your age or height when it comes to fashion? Age and height are just numbers, not fashion sentences. While the fashion industry might skew towards the younger and taller demographic, there’s no rule stating that age dictates your style choices. So, let’s banish the notion that you’re confined to…
“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable we have to alter it every six months”, so said Oscar Wilde Fashion is an industry, designed to make money. Nothing wrong with that. We all have to make money to live, feed ourselves and kids, keep a roof over our heads…. but the fashion industry…
What do you do when you receive a fashion gift that isn’t quite right for you? So, what are your options? Do you wear it anyway? Do you try to upstyle it? Do you shove it in your wardrobe and let it languish? According to research, fashion gifts are often the items that stay in…
A client once told me she’d been typed as a “Romantic Ingénue.” The words sounded beautiful – delicate, feminine, soft – but she didn’t recognise herself in them. She was warm, confident, decisive, and loved clean lines. The label had left her more puzzled than empowered. That conversation reminded me how easily systems like Kitchener’s…
I’ve been asked recently to chat more about how to identify the undertone of colours… Look at the Colour Wheel Overtone vs Undertone The overtone is the overt colour you see – we label warm overtone colours (yellow, orange, red, pink) as warm because they remind us of things that are warm such as…
One of the comments left on a post the other day was this: jinnan-tonnyx said… Can you explain more about why trousers pull across the crotch on X shapes? I am an X and whenever I buy a new pair of pants my husband always says they don’t fit right – and I tell him,…
Have you ever found yourself caught up in the whirlwind of ever-changing trends, only to wonder if they truly resonate with who you are? It’s easy to get swept away by fashion, with its constant evolution and fleeting nature. But style is something altogether different. It’s the essence of who you are, your expression of…
