Colour isn't scary, it's never bad to be noticed.

In the last award ceremony you watched, how many black dresses did you see?  How many were in the best or worst dress lists?  The answer is not many.  There are 2 main reasons for this, the dress has to be an absolute show stopper to draw attention, making it an enormous risk. Secondly photographers are not drawn to black as it sucks light and can photograph badly.  The aim of the game on a red carpet is to get noticed, to be seen not to fade.  So unless you are a super nova level star and it doesn't matter if you turn up in burlap, every stylist worth their Spanks and boob tape will push you towards colour.

SO, what's my point, considering I do wardrobes not red carpets?

Is this the wardrobe you get up to, every morning, is this what you have to choose from?  Variations on the theme of black, grey and the occasional exciting navy piece?  I'd go back to bed.
When I look at the individual pieces of this wardrobe, they are strong, but you'd never notice, they have nothing to make them sing, no highlights or spotlights, just nice safe choices to blend.  Nothing stands out, so it's easy to think it doesn't matter what I wear - one choice is as good as another.

What a totally passive way to live, every decision you make matters and should be conscious. We all have safe options, a killer dress or suit - that you can drag out, dust off and knock 'em dead in. But why be blah every other day?

 However if you inject colour into the same wardrobe, it becomes a lot more interesting, it's easier to see items and therefore put them together in interesting ways.  I'm no scientist but I've watched people long enough to know if you wear colour well, people think you're dynamic and exciting, it tends to make them feel as if you might have something to say, worth listening to - wear it badly they think you're Barbie. (Risk = Reward)
This season is about bright colours and bold statements.  So give it a try, next time you're in a shop and you have 4 black things in your hand, pick a puce, purple, teal, emerald or cobalt blue.  You've got your clothes off anyway, try something new.

Colour will get you noticed, but it's you that they'll remember!

Somethings are just better with age, if you let them.

I really don't want this blog to become an ode to my own wardrobe, but I think some things I'm talking about need the occasional example to show my opinions stem from my own experience.  This is my favourite leather jacket it is Polo Ralph Lauren circa 2003, purchased in the sale for £185@70% off.  When I bought it, I was excited by the bargain not the actual jacket but someone who knew more than I did, back then convinced me. 

The leather was hard and because of this, it was boxy and shiny.  I'm long in the body, so as far as I was concerned there was too much space between the top of my jeans and it. (Remember that was the time of baggy combats and hipster jeans, bad days for the chubby, which I was).
However over time the leather is now butter soft and every scar and scuff has a story, the leather has moulded to my frame meaning that it is quintessentially my jacket and would fit no one else in quite the same way. Luckily jeans' rises are higher and I'm older and more inclined to cover my arse.




 This is why it is worth making an investment in your wardrobe, my wardrobe is not 100% designer but the pieces, I will continue to wear in the future are.  Partially as these are the pieces I look after, they are an investment in my image and the way I want people to perceive me. (Shallow but true)
Part of what I do is wardrobe organisation and it confuses me when I see the amount of money people spend on clothes and don't look after them, using wire hangers, I know they come free from the dry cleaners but your clothes didn't and they will not last, if you don't look after them. Without bulk to the hanger the weight of the garment will start to stretch the fabric, much like if your breasts are unsupported the tissue stretches and they droop, this can be seen quickest with knitwear but it happens with everything.  So whether you spent £100 or £10, the item will last longer if you look after it and leaving it in a ball on the floor won't protect it either.
I keep being asked why I am drawn to designer pieces, the truth is I'm not.  I'm drawn to interesting pieces - things that are a bit different.  In an interview situation I might ask a candidate what do you bring to the table?  In a funny sort of way I wonder the same thing about clothes, what will that piece add to what I have? Am I excited about wearing it?  Sometimes its worth taking a punt, like with my jacket.  However if you are just buying 9 variations of the same thing - STOP! Dullsville, try quality not quantity.  You'll spend less and the clothes will work harder for you.  I couldn't bare to walk into a situation that someone was wearing the exact same outfit as me, so I like to try and wear clothes in an unexpected way or with items from the back of my wardrobe that have been there for years.
It shouldn't be about having the biggest wardrobe but the best one for you. x

Costume or couture?

Happy Halloween!!
It's a shame that so many people wait for opportunities to get dressed up, don't get me wrong I'm not the kind of girl who is constantly dressed to impress in fact as I left the house this morning it was pointed out that it would be a long list before anyone guessed what I did for a living.  Harsh but fair my friend, skinny jeans and a jumper, which was fine except I threw on trainers, as I was running out the door.  As a note to myself a ballet flat or boots would have been much more appropriate, as I would have felt a little less like a sloppy mess, I'm still working on taking all my own advice.
Back to the point of writing today (attention span of a goldfish).  Dressing up has always been fun, an experience to enjoy, yet we wrap it up in all these completely unnecessary anxieties.  Do you remember when it didn't matter so much, when you hadn't decided who you wanted to be and made declarative decision based on that, for example, I don't wear red, I prefer to avoid structured dresses, rouching makes me look fat - as generalisations all these sentences are universally wrong.  If you want to wear red find the red that suits you, try it in different fabrics, it may not work as a flat colour, so wear silk as this will give it more movement.  If you love something and want to wear it, please do, have the confidence to believe in yourself, as you can literally carry off anything.  Maybe it won't be your best fashion moment but maybe you'll see a side of yourself you had forgotten.
Even if you try it on Halloween and pretend its a costume, try being someone else, you might find it's a little more you.

You can't build on sand.

One exclusively for the girls today, although the male gift givers might find this helpful-ish.  Lingerie can and will make or break an outfit, as it can be the most distracting thing if you get it wrong. There is nothing worse than unexpected or unnecessary lumps, bumps and rolls.  We are constantly told we wear the wrong size and blah, blah - nobody gives a clue as to how you tell the right size, so here goes.

There are 5 key places to check the fit of a bra.
1. The back should be tight on the middle hooks, this is where the majority of the support comes from, so if it arches at the back or you can pull it further than 2inches away from the skin, it's too big.  Conversely if it digs in leaving red marks it is too small.
2. The Straps should not really be supporting any weight they are there almost entirely to support the fabric of the cups not the actual breast tissue. (Except in the case of sports bras, which are padded on the shoulders to facilitate this.)  However they should be tight enough that you do not spend any part of your day involved in sleeve diving contortions to reclaim a lost one.
3. The underwire should be flush to the skin and should not move at all - especially when you raise your arms.  This wire should also not be in contact with your breast tissue - because ouch!!
4. The Cups should fit on all sides.  I always recommend taking a tight white t-shirt with you bra shopping, as this will give you the clearest visual on the fit of your bra.  If the size is right but you fall out of a plunge shape try a balconette, as it will give you the rounded look, but with a bit more stability.
5. The cup join This is often the most complicated thing as you will find some depths to be more comfortable than others, but again it must be flush to the skin.  As this completes the back support, so that the weight of your breasts is in the band not on the smaller surface area of the straps.


The way that bras are measured should only ever be taken as a starting point, as due to the differing fabrics and manufacturers - they fit very differently.  (Not to mention that women are all different.)  For example, when measured I am a 36A but I wear a 32D, this is due to the fact I'm fairly pigeon chested- strange but true.  I realise this is a bit of an over share but I doubt it'll be the last time I do that.  The other suggestion I have is go to a reputable Lingerie shop, one that specialises, to be fitted.  I promise you have nothing they have not seen before and they understand how you will be feeling and will make the process painless.  If you only buy one bra at a time, make sure you have a well fitting nude in your arsenal as it can be your best friend.

It's all part of the process

 I love my Mother, she is the ultimate in good sport!  Today I under went the ultimate test - organising a family member's wardrobe.  It is of course a process and part of the process is clearing out the past, but its always fun to take a moment to say goodbye!  It was a bit of a marathon, but we got there and it's safe to say that with no shopping at all, we were able to double the number of outfits that Mum can put her hands on.

It's fashion not brain surgery and by playing with options and getting a fresh perspective, we were able to make the items work harder.  By organising clothes into type and then a colour scale, finding specific items, becomes easier and  you will be less likely to become part of the statistic that wears 10% of their wardrobe 90% of the time.  The initial process can be difficult but also exciting as you rediscover old gems, that may have been usurped by other options.  

A term I use quite a lot is can you "shop your wardrobe".  What I mean by this is; if your wardrobe was a shop, would you buy what is on the rail?  Can you even really see, what is on the rail?  If the answer is no, maybe its time to have a sort out.  

If it's not this season's I can't/won't wear it?

We would all love to have the resources to change our wardrobe every 3 months, to go into the new season utterly refreshed and ready to embrace the style icon that lives inside us all.  I don't know about you but my biggest obstacle to this is time and I shop for a living!  Not to mention part of the joy of the changing of the seasons is the rediscovery of old favourites, the snuggly jumpers and sumptuous heavy drape of a full coat and as long as the moths have been kept at bay there is no reason why these 'big ticket' items cannot be used for many years to come.  Buy well, buy once.
This will in the long run save you money and also give your wardrobe a core from which you can build.  Adding trend pieces and items that inspire you, that ultimately make your clothes a joy rather than camouflage.  Spending the majority of your money on the pieces you wear most often just makes good sense.  If you get the balance right it will lift your entire wardrobe to the level of your strongest piece, get it wrong and you diminish the worth of all your pieces.
By buying a classic item, whenever you use it people will comment.  For example 10years ago I bought a pale pink Mulberry Bayswater bag.

So yes I spent a fortune and at the time I didn't have Mulberry money to throw around but everytime I pull it out - Joy!  Also on a cost per wear bases, I've done pretty well.  Spending the same money on countless, tops or trousers.
Short term - great, but they would have been thrown out long ago.
Choosing something exceptional will give you pleasure and no one will ever ask which season it is from.

Comfortable does not mean sloppy

Today I had lunch with a wonderful lady, I have known longer than I care to acknowledge, put it this way she bought me my first handbag.  As is prone to happen around me, we started discussing style and the way people dress.  She made a valid point that no matter what she wears, she is comfortable and as a result she looks stylish.  She doesn't try to follow fashion and yet people approach her often, to say how fabulous she looks.  It's really very frustrating to be so totally out shone by someone over twice my age.
Her secret is simply she dresses for herself, and is totally confident that it is the right choice for her.  By not trying to emulate or follow there is the opportunity to find your own fashion voice.  Don't get me wrong every so often its nice to steal a trick from someone else, but steal it and claim it as your own.  The truth is you will never get to be someone else, so why not make the very best of you.  Nobody feels fabulous in sloppy clothes, essentially because it isn't about you - you're hidden under layers of camouflage.  I'm not advocating a move towards mass nudity (I'd be out of a job).  However I am saying wear your clothes, don't let them wear you.
In my experience, those that we hold up as style icons don't follow trends - they start them.  They may own the newest jeans by Current Elliott or J Brand but those jeans only start to sell out after the 'stars' are seen wearing them.  So what I'm trying to get at is, if you see something you like find your way to wear it.  My 65 year old mother went out today in thigh high suede boots, leggings and a jumper dress, she looked a-may-zing and she was comfortable but no one would accuse her of looking sloppy.  In fact someone accused her of being in her fifties, which made her week.

First day, first piece of advice.

I've worked in the fashion industry for 10 years on and off and there is one thing I am extremely good at - showing people how to spend their hard earned money better:

So that the clothes won't sit in the wardrobe with the tags on

So that every time you get dressed in the morning it feels like the best decision you could have made.

How many times do you get dressed, look in the mirror and think, 'Oh, that'll do!'  I think you are worth more than that and if I do, you really should.  Getting dressed should not be your first war of the day, they are your clothes they're supposed to be on your side, not the enemy but an ally to help you achieve the style you want.  One of the things I look for when I'm helping a client is the "shoulder pop", they try on an item look in the mirror and their shoulders lift perceivably.  What is seen in the mirror finally matches the image they had in their head of who they wanted to be and they like it!  It can be so powerful and it is not restricted by age or size or budget.  It's finding a way to make that moment of confidence last that becomes tricky.

Which is what I'm hoping to do with a little advice and alot of encouragement.
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