1. Sometimes one strong statement is all you need.
Simply. Gorgeous.
2. Don’t look for the wrong kind of attention.
Did Charlize and her stylists really think this kind of weird risk would work for the Oscars? Check out its, er, "inspiration."
3. Throw them a curve.
We are used to edgy red carpet fashion from Cameron Diaz. Last night, it was elegant classic Hollywood style, from head to toe.
4. You can look beautiful at any size.
So stop hiding.
5. Color can make all the difference.
(I never did care for that pale pink dress)
6. You can look sexy and age-appropriate at the same time.
Meryl finally hit the fashion bulls eye!
7. Horizontal lines are not our friend.
Especially if they look like they are strangling us, SJP.
8. If it works for you, stick with it
Maggie Gyllenhaal (lt) in the color palette (black & blue) of a past Oscar gown (rt).
9. Darker skin looks gorgeous in pastel shades.
I swear the Queen has never looked better.
10. When in doubt, go all out.
Vera Farmiga in a bright and wildly ruffled gown. She has the coloring and the stature to carry off such a dramatic dress. Plus she's a nominee! This may be the only chance she has to make a splash!
Stay tuned for my official Oscar gown recap! Muppets will be involved. That's a promise!
I have found repeatedly that both men and women are prone to color ruts. I see it in nearly every closet I enter. The most common color offender is the ubiquitous black, of course, but I also see gray and the beige/oatmeal family catching up these days. And do you know what people tell me? "Well, at least I'm not wearing black all the time." True. And what do I tell them? "You're color choice is probably even less flattering than basic black!"
People in my industry aren't going to love this post. Where I was trained, in the image consulting world, there is only one way to wear the right colors - and that is by having your undertone, hair color and eye color analyzed and obtaining a palette of your own personal best colors to choose from.
While I still believe this is the right remedy because of the results I have seen over the years, the truth is that not everyone is going to invest in color analysis. Sometimes they invite me into their closet and out to shop with them and that is the extent of our work together.
I felt like unless I was the one hand-picking colors for them in the store and choosing from colors they already owned, they would go right back to their 'safe' choices.
Regardless of people's coloring, I have found myself recommending the same five colors to them year after year. I picked these colors because wearing a pop of color is better than dreary black, gray or beige. At least three of them can be found in the stores regardless of the season's trends.
These colors are better for the workplace and interpersonal interactions as well as better for the spirit. Wearing color is an immediate shot of energy for you and makes you visually more attractive to others.
These colors work on brunettes, blondes and redheads for different reasons. But they work.
So if you are stuck in a color rut, the first way to climb out is by adding some new "safe" colors to your closet. If you already own some of these colors but aren't wearing them, you will get extra points if you dig them out and add them to your clothing rotation. You will feel a difference!
Winter has hit the Midwest with a vengeance. While some of us
are lucky enough to live in warmer climates, frosty temps and gray skies are a
bleak reality for a lot of us.
I live in a cold climate.
Cleveland, Ohio, to be exact. I hate winter and all that comes along with it.
Snow, ice, dirty slush, biting cold, frozen hands, runny nose, chapped lips,
chapped face, melting icicles impaling me when I enter a building (am I the
only one terrified of this?).
Hey, I could probably write a song based on
all the things I don’t enjoy about winter. It just know it would become an
instant classic!
But there is a little good news at least!
Having the essentials to look great during the cold weather will undoubtedly
make you feel more confident, uplifted, and ready to take on the world, even if
you would rather stay toasty warm at home in your comfy sweats.
Grab Your Coat
If you are only going to have one coat, the most versatile is
knee-length, single-breasted, and made from a natural fiber like wool or
cashmere. This basic style can work for the most casual of outfits like jeans
and boots, but you can also wear it on more dressy occasions.
Make sure it is a color that you commonly
wear so it fits in with the rest of your wardrobe. Black is what most women
would usually select, but beware - black coats attract copious amounts of lint
and animal hair. It’s never attractive to be seen picking stray fibers
off yourself like a monkey (although I still find that I do it to myself and
others – eek!).
I recommend in lieu of black, going with a
dark, heathered charcoal. It will be much less forgiving with lint.
Let it skim your body. Extra points if it
tapers at the waist or has a belt. This will help to define your waist and make
you look slimmer.
When selecting a coat, make sure it’s
large enough to fit a bulky sweater or a jacket underneath in case you need to
stay extra warm!
This is my favorite part of winter style! Accessorize your
outerwear just as you would the rest of your wardrobe.
Do you have a favorite color or
a color you receive a lot of compliments in? (Ladies, I do not mean
black.) Buy five accessories in that color – a turtleneck, long-sleeve
T-shirt, gloves, a scarf, and a purse or boots. Wear three matching
pieces – maximum – at one time. The idea is that having pieces that match
and work together makes you look like you put a lot of thought into what you’re
wearing - even though you really didn’t!
At the minimum, when I buy a turtleneck, I
am in the habit of buying a pair of gloves to match it.
My fabulous friend
Dee, modeling for a Fox 8 shoot with me
If you wear a few key colors a lot of the
time, look for winter scarves that incorporate those colors. I love
bright colors, and my favorite scarf this year is teal, rust, lime and orange.
It looks great with my brown coat and many of my brightly-colored turtlenecks.
Plus, if I take my coat off, I can leave the scarf on as an accessory!
Add a cute pair of boots and trust me - you
will find that trudging through winter is not quite such a chore!
Did you know that a change on the outside can serve as a catalyst for changing what we want to change on the inside? It can be tough to alter certain aspects of our lives when the proof that we are changing (what is on the outside) remains the same.
It doesn't have to be a dramatic before and after makeover, but a visible change can put you in a positive frame of mind to reach your goals in 2010.
It is never good to become complacent. Far too many of us get stuck with a style that we are comfortable with and it becomes an all too-familiar rut. Whether we’ve had the same hairstyle for 5 years, wear a daily “uniform”, or put our makeup on exactly the same way every single day.
Don’t get me wrong – there isn’t anything wrong with comfort. Many of us like our comfort zones and they work well for us. But sometimes we can become too attached to a routine, style or method and before we realize it, we have become quite resistant to change. One rut can lead to another, which can snowball into our whole lives becoming one big forgettable routine. Even those who bask in their blandness (I know several of you – and I know you are eagerly reading this!) can benefit from mixing it up once in awhile.
Many of my clients tell me they are stuck in a style and don’t know why. Their goal is to look “more interesting” but they don’t know exactly what that means to them – or how to get there.
Here are four ways I recommend to my clients to help pull them out of their fashion ruts. The best part is that you can apply them TODAY!
Get ready to make your New Year more stylish – one step at a time.
1. Expand your reading material
If you’re stuck in a Redbook, Good Housekeeping or Real Simple frame of mind, pick up a few magazines you normally wouldn't read. The aforementioned magazines generally recycle the same style advice month after month and it will do nothing to make your clothing selection more exciting.
Think more along the lines of my personal fave, InStyle – but also look at Elle, Vogue, Lucky, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, or even – gasp – Cosmo! Yes, some of the fashion can be "out there", but don’t lose heart - it's more important to see what’s happening in the fashion world and get ideas.
New Year's Challenge: Start a “look book” of pictures of what you feel fits your style and what you would be comfortable wearing, plus some accessorizing ideas you can use in your own wardrobe.
2. Try a few new stores
Go to the mall and look around at Express, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, Arden B., H&M, or other retailers you normally wouldn't frequent if you're stuck in a “department store” mentality. Or try a smaller step - venture out of your favorite section of the department store and explore the more trendy parts of the store.
Try clothes on! Even if you always gravitate toward the same styles, you are missing out on a lot if you just look and don't try anything on.
Find a couple of hours this month to go out by yourself or with a friend (not a hubby or boyfriend) and explore the mall in a way you've never done before or haven't done in years. Report back to me. What did you discover about what's out there? What were you attracted to? What did you try on? How did it make you feel?
New Year's Challenge: Buy something totally unexpected that you love but would never buy “in a million years” – AND WEAR IT!
3. Explore Color
What colors are you attracted to? For most people, their color preferences change based on their mood and the time of year.
Most of us have the basics we need – navy, black, gray and brown. But they need to be punched up with accent colors to be more exciting.
By wearing colors you love, you will not only look updated but you will feel a definite lift in your spirits! Wearing color has been proven time and again to be extremely powerful mood enhancer.
New Year's Challenge:Find an accent color or two that you like and buy a few pieces in the same shade (i.e., berry red, fuchsia, forest green, etc). Try a turtle neck, a winter scarf, gloves, hat, long-sleeve tee, purse, or even a camisole in your shade.
(Please only wear a couple pieces at the same time or the matchy-matchy police will arrest you.)
4. Update your Accessories, Shoes, and Hair
The easiest and most budget-friendly way to update your wardrobe is with accessories. Try a funky necklace or bracelet. Or look for a hot new handbag (ask the sales associate what's in and they will point you in the right direction).
I tend to buy a lot of my fun accessories at Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe.
Or buy a colorful pair of boots!
Another place many people get stuck is with their eyeglasses – only changing when their prescription changes. Don’t do this! Invest in new eyeglasses (stores always have deals!) even if your prescription still works for you. Or change your hair a little - get highlights or lowlights if you've never tried them before. Or change your hairstyle – if only slightly.
New Year's Challenge:Buy one new accessory or make one makeup or hair tweak every week. Write these down in a small notebook. Over the year, you will see how you’ve evolved. It’s really rewarding and will set the stage for further change and style (and life) victories!
***
Remember that just as you change and evolve as a person, your style should grow and change right along with you. Don't use this as a one-time fix. Make time for yourself at least once every season and give yourself time to explore what the stores are offering and decide what the next version of YOU should look like.
Gentle steps out of your comfort zone will not only help you break free from your style rut, but will set the stage for success in other facets of your life as well!
Wishing you a happy and stylish 2010!!!
Monday, November 30, 2009
For me, two things are guaranteed every holiday season:
One, I will buy a ton of pretty wrapping paper and ribbons, even though I already have enough in the basement to wrap Christmas gifts from now until I am 80.
And two, I will gain a sleighful of new clients who call or email me in the midst of a major party-related wardrobe meltdown.
Inexplicably, average women who otherwise have their closets in order, who know how to shop and put outfits together, seem to be the ones most prone to this seasonal phenomenon.
Holiday fashion freakouts can reveal themselves in many forms. Time and again, I see women panicking from a year’s worth of weight gain and the discovery that their standard go-to party clothes no longer fit. Others feel puzzled about unusual (and sometimes downright bizarre) dress code recommendations for holiday parties. And some need an overwhelming number of different outfits to attend a variety of events, from their kids’ Christmas pageants to their own and their spouse’s work parties, plus casual clothing for home parties and a glitzy New Years Eve out.
Indeed, holiday parties can be the gift that keeps on giving, and sometimes not in a good way.
Anytime a client of mine has a wardrobe meltdown – whether related to the holidays or not - it is my goal to make sure it never happens again. As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” (Although I wonder if old Ben could have imagined his advice would one day relate to a battery-powered light-up cowboy Santa lassoing a cactus sweater.)
And you thought I was joking
As we’re getting ready for the year’s biggest party season, here are a few ways that we can all avoid celebration-induced trauma in our own closets.
1.Know what you have
There is no time like the present (ooh, presents! ok, I need to focus here) to take stock of what you already own. Try on each piece of your holiday wardrobe. A few questions to ask yourself:
Does each piece fit?
Is the outfit appropriate for the event?
And most importantly, is it consistent with my current style?
If you answered “no” to any of the above, you may want to re-evaluate that item of clothing or the outfit as a whole.
Additional questions include:
Who is going to see me in it?
Who has already seen me in it?
Some women are highly sensitive to being seen in the same outfit twice or more. Others are not. You will have to answer that question for yourself. While some women focus on having a lot of different clothing options, others prefer to have a few quality pieces. It’s a matter of preference.
2. Resist the temptation to take the easy way out
I have been to many Christmas parties that are filled with women wearing a festive red sweater and black pants. Sometimes the path of least resistance ends in Boringtown, ladies. Even if the sweater is sparkly and embellished, it can still be considered a “uniform.” Change it up a little – even if you pair that same sweater with a black skirt and patterned tights.
3. Be like Santa – Make a List
If you are very social or have a lot of activities happening around the holidays, make a list of all the events you will be attending. Next to each event, make a general note about what you plan to wear. This can mean anything from a sweater and jeans for a party at a friend’s house to an evening gown for New Years. And then put a check next to any event that you are entirely prepared to attend. As you prepare outfits, hang them together in your closet. You may even want to hang your accessories in a freezer bag over the hanger, so all the elements of your outfit are in one spot when you need them.
4. Learn todecipher the dress code
I get an unbelievable number of calls, emails and even tweets from people all year long asking what various dress codes mean. I will give you my secret for knowing what to tell everyone: If the dress code is new to me, I google it. At least it gives me an idea of what is intended. And if that doesn’t work (I am still wondering what “warehouse chic” is), simply call the party’s host or hostess and ask. That way, you will never feel uncomfortable at an event because you are over- or underdressed.
5. Don’t run out and buy something new!
This is the ultimate fashion freakout, and trust me, we’ve all been there. If you know what you have and what you need early enough, you won’t have any reason to panic. Some of the basics I keep on hand are a black cocktail dress, a navy cocktail dress, long black tiered skirt and a new skirt (top left) I bought the other day at Target, of all places!
I was imagining all the different ways I can wear it:
With a red cardigan or a black tuxedo jacket, or a ruffled white shirt or a blazer if I am attending a business function. I know it’s a piece I will be able to wear for years and I can’t wait to have fun with it!
If you have a number of basic pieces, sometimes all you need are chandelier earrings or a fabulous necklace or brooch to look both festive AND fashionable! And isn’t that more sensible and far less expensive than buying a whole new ensemble?
*
And finally, I know all of you know this, but please leave the tacky Santa, reindeer and snowman sweaters to people attending kitschy ugly sweater parties. We all have far too much self-respect to wear them in the real world!
Unless, of course, your name is Mark Darcy. In that case, you have my permission to wear them all you want.
When it's chilly outside, I tend to wear skirts with tall boots quite a bit. I'm not a huge fan of tights. If it were up to me, I would just run around with bare legs all fall and winter (and flip-flops too!). But that would be silly and I would get sick.
Over the last few years, the unexpected solution to this dilemma has been fishnet stockings.
In the past, if I couldn't find a pair of tights that matched a skirt or boots perfectly, I wouldn't wear the outfit. For instance, I have a plum corduroy skirt that I love and wanted desperately to wear. Good luck finding a matching shade of tights though. I hunted all over the U.S. and part of Canada and found none. The other usual go-to shades, black or brown, also weren't quite right. Neither were 'just a little off' colors like purple or burgundy. The only answer that made sense was nude-colored fishnets and tan boots.
They worked so perfectly that I had an epiphany: When nothing else works, fishnets are sometimes the answer. They increase one's cold weather dressing options immensely.
I know that they have a questionable past. Most people think of ladies of the evening. To me, they have always brought to mind misfits from midnight showings of Rocky Horror.
Just a sweet transvestite...
But that has all changed as they've become so readily available in so many shapes, colors, styles and sizes. Fishnet stockings don’t have to match your skirt or boot precisely, but they should work to blend the two together so that your legs are covered and they don’t attract unwanted attention. Think of them more as a finishing point (working in unison with the other pieces you’re wearing to complete your outfit) than as focal point to draw the eye down to your legs. Unless you want that, of course ;)
Here are a few pointers: 1. They work best with a skirt that ends just at or right above the knee. They are also fine with long skirts. Wear fishnets with a miniskirt at your own risk.
2. I prefer to wear them with knee-high boots - pairing with pumps is okay too. I'm not a big fan of wearing fishnets with sandals for dressy occasions, but with peeptoes, they are fine.
3. If your outfit is “busy”, go for plain tights. If you want to wear fishnets, the more basic the outfit, the better. If you want to wear them with a print, see #4.
4. The tighter the fishnet weave , the more they look like a solid from far away. Smaller patterns are also dressier.
5. Try to match either your hemline color or boot as well as possible for a seamless transition
And a few words of warning: * Make sure they don’t have a seam up the back for obvious reasons. * Medium or small sized patterns work best. * If they get a hole in them, they must be discarded. No holey fishnets. * Don’t opt for thigh-highs. * And NEVER buy your fishnets in a Halloween store!
A couple of years ago, I realized how boring my wardrobe had become. I had precious few patterns in my closet, but those that I had, I wore quite often.
Several patterns I didn't feel were "right" and they quickly wrote their own ticket out of my closet. I looked at the patterns I wore the most to see what they all had in common and tried to figure out why I felt great and looked good in them.
I realized all the patterns shared one trait - they all contained beige or yellow. They worked with my coloring because I am a champagne blonde. It's all about harmony - my hair color was repeated in the patterns I wore.
I started using this new tactic, and you know what? I started buying (and more importantly, wearing) interesting patterns! My closet isn't boring anymore!!
Most of us appreciate a rule of thumb so we are assured that what we buy will look great on us. Fortunately, this concept works for everyone - whether male or female, and regardless of hair color - brown, red, black, gray, or blonde.
A pattern will generally work on you if your hair color is repeated in it. I think that's why leopard print is perpetually 'in'. It contains so many of our hair colors - blonde, light and dark brown, white, and black. And redheads can wear it because it's in their color palette! A few more tricks for wearing prints: The 80/20 Rule This is for anyone who has attended one of my color events. For best results, when you buy prints, make sure 80% of the colors in the print are from your own palette. The other 20% can be any color in the spectrum. Remember, it's all about creating harmony!
Filling Your Closet The easiest way to incorporate prints is to use the following list in descending order: 1. Stripes 2. Plaids 3. Checks 4. Dots 5. Abstracts 6. Florals* *A quick note - be careful with florals in the professional world - they can undermine your credibility Mimic your face and body shape If your facial features are on the angular side with dramatic high cheekbones, a square jawline, or thin lips, and you are tall and/or slender, opt for bold, geometric patterns.
If you have softer features and are more curvy, choose soft or rounded prints, like paisley, swirls, and abstract florals.
A mishmash of prints from my very own closet:clothes, bags, shoes, scarves
I'm on the softer, curvier side, so I select patterns that are more rounded, leafy, or swirly - nothing too angular or with hard edges.
Mixing Patterns Guys do it all the time - a pinstripe suit, striped shirt, polka dot tie. Women, on the other hand, are generally afraid to mix patterns for fear of looking silly, I suppose. I do it quite a bit and I can assure you I don't look silly. I will pair striped or plaid pants with abstract print shirts or jackets. A few tricks to making this look work:
1. Don't combine more than 2 patterns - unless you are going for a very fashion forward look
2. Items must have at least 2 colors in common
3. Make sure the prints are different proportions - for instance, herringbone (a very tight pattern) and a large print brocade jacket can work well together if you follow all the other rules
