Before you take that garment into the change room, understanding the illusion of line really helps you choose clothes that flatter your figure. Lines are used in clothing design in a number of ways: As part of the silhouette – that’s the outline of the garment In the construction – that’s all the seams that…
Active wear design is something that you may not have thought a lot about whether or not it’s something that is going to create harmony with your body or not. So what should you consider when choosing your active wear tops? There are some fairly common colour blocking options that you’ll find on a lot…
Given the number of people who contact me asking about identifying their body shape (if you’re not sure what body shape you have, do the Body Shape Quiz to find out!), it’s obviously something that is considered to be an important factor in the whole “finding flattering clothing” issue that many women face. I’m here…
With winter approaching way faster than I’d like, I noticed that puffer jackets were available and they’ve become such a great staple in so many wardrobes because they are both lightweight and warm. That said, because they are puffy and voluminous in their style, they do add visual bulk to your frame, so it’s worth…
What size are you? That’s a loaded question. I can tell you that I’m not a size. It’s not how I define myself and defining your self worth on a size is a very negative thing to do for your psychological health. I wear clothing that has size labels inside, and I van tell you…
Why should you care about the size of your clothes? Yet I see again and again women judge themselves, their value, their worth on the number that sits on a label inside their clothes. That’s it, it’s just a number. A number that has no value. You are worth so much more than any number…
Want to look taller and or slimmer? You are not alone as many of my clients have told me that either or both of these is one of their style goals! As there are many illusion tricks I can teach you, so that you can become your own clothing magician, here you’ll discover how to…
While out and about in my local mall the other day I walked past this display in one of our high street fashion stores. It struck me that the designers paid no attention to the wishes and desires of many of their customers when choosing to create this skirt. So often we hear in the…
I was alerted to this study done at the University of Yorkby one of my lovely blog readers. Apparently some scientists have found that horizontal stripes are slimming and verticals are fattening. This is true, but horizontal stripes can also be fattening and verticals slimming, the study is flawed. The participants were asked to look…
Before I purchase anything (in fact before I even bother to try it on, as I don’t get naked if it’s not got some chance of working), I always, always, always check the label on the clothes for: Fibre content Care instructions Why is this? Well I know that some fabrics pill easily (you know…
This is a loaded question, as taste, is very personal. One person’s beautiful is someone else’s ugly. That said, there are some overarching design principles that have been shown to aid in more people finding an outfit or garment aesthetically pleasing, and that’s what we’ll be looking at here. Did you know that something that…
Reader question – What is your view on wearing blouses or tops that are longer than the sweater or jacket over the top? Doesn’t it draw attention to the hips? That Depends … As with all matters of fashion and style, women’s bodies are all different so certain styles will be more flattering on…
How do your features impact on your jewellery choices? In this chat with YouTube video creator and 7 Steps to Style sister Carol Karl we talk about how to find balance with your features using the concepts of Yin and Yang. If you missed our first chat all about personality and choosing clothes and jewellery…
Given that there is no standard sizing, we all have garments in our wardrobes that range between 2-4 sizes (or at least have found when trying clothes on that in some stores we are one size and in another we are apparently ‘larger’ or ‘smaller’), so why are we so hung up on that number…
1. Being influenced by the sales assistant who is paid to get you to buy clothes (whether they suit you or not). Retail sales staff are paid to sell you clothes. Some are even paid extra commissions based on how much they sell. So it’s in their interest that you buy as much as…
The H shape body guide is making sense to me. The one piece of advice I find confusing is to avoid anything at the waist. I though if you don’t have much waist definition you can fool the eye by adding a belt or using contrasting colors where your waist should be (in my case,…
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…
aka What You Wear Matters I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from people over the years things like: “Why does it matter what I wear? It’s what I create or produce at work that matters!” “Women shouldn’t need to have to dress a certain way to be considered accomplished and capable! I…
Balance is the concept of visual equilibrium. When we talk about dressing for your body shape and body proportions, what we are trying to do create visual balance. There are 4 main principles of co-ordination that influences how you achieve balance with your outfits. These are: Levels of Refinement Principle of Volume Related Shapes Related Lines When…
Many people talk about horizontal stripes as the work of the devil. It’s true they can be widening, but some can also be lengthening. It’s all in the detail, the scale and your shape and scale and how you wear them. The wider the horizontal, the more your eye will slow down and focus on…
Deja Pseu of Une femme d’un certain age recently asked if horizontal lines could ever be worn by a fuller figure. So what do you think? Horizontal lines – good or bad? Most of us just steer clear of horizontal stripes as they’re fattening – which they are in general, but there are ways you…
