Style into Action

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Tutu style for grown up girls

Tulle skirts arent just for little girls any more.

Be a black swan & pair it with a dark biker jacket & studded boots.

Be a white swan & pair it with soft knits and soft neutrals in cream, pink, grey and lavender.

Be a fashion girl & pair with back, kelly green, bottle green or oxblood.

Go preppy with tartan and short sox.

Go upper east side with layers of pearls and ribbons.

Go downtown with brightly coloured leather gloves and an animal belt with masses of cuffs.

Make sure your waist is compact & soft neutrals keep it classy rather than fairy floss

Lemon layers with unexpected dark pairings

Valentino

Scarlett in Dolce & Gabbana at a Met Ball - if you want length in the body, lower the waist line.
If your hips are full, keep the volume low & the tulle soft, so you dont look too heavy.

Rihanna in preppy mode. Keep the blazer fitted - it can hide lumps & bumps around the waist.

Chambray & tulle.

Kelly green and edgy black

Organza is the big sister of tulle.

Sweater style with tutu

Marchesa poufy tulle number

And the girl who started it all......

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The FUNKY pant now at Target

Recently popped into Target to find a duplicate pair of pant, which fit me very well. They were taupe and straight legged with a thin patent red belt (chucked the belt away).

While the SA was calling near-by stores, we found the pant in my size in a bright kelly green. I ummed & ahhed and decided not to take it because:

1. I didnt wear brights on the bottom even during the height of the colour bomb & colour blocking trends.

2. They would look weird with all my neutrals.

3. If I am umming & ahhing, the rule is to leave them & walk out.

But on my way out, I spotted something FABULOUS.

The FUNKY PANT.

Pictures in a sec...be patient....

OMG, Target had done the FUNKY PANT.

By way of background, the Winter 2012/13 collections (= southern hemisphere Winter 2013) were full of psychadelic, acid trip, saturated colour, hi contrast, loud print pant suits.....

Prada AW 2012

Miu Miu AW 2012

Miu Miu 2012

Kenzo AW 2012

Louis Vuitton AW 2012

March Jacobs AW 2012

Marc Jacobs AW 2012

Hermes AW 2012

Mary Katrantzou AW 2012

Erdem AW 2012

Get the drift?

Alot of these looks are top to toe.
That may be too much for the average Joe or Josephine.

So a smart high street retailer will do the print as separates in sell them separates.

Enter, Target with the FUNKY PANT....

Belt loops, flat front, 2 side pockets, 2 hook & bar closures & internal button.

In a Women's house brand called "Skinny, voila...

Full length with a cuffed hem. Hem can be unstitched & lowered if you dont like dust catchers.

cotton/elastene - good fabric

& its sister funky pant.....

sister funky pant

sister funky pant fabric

Then, knowing that Hot Options often repeats a style from the main Target lines, but at a cheaper price point, I toddled over to Hot Options & found it....

Cropped cotton/elastene, flat front, belt loops, side pockets, no cuffs

close up of Hot Options...an apricot/green/black/white print. The web site does this print no justice

You may also recall that recently, I also reported on a Target Limited Editions suit (sold as separates).....

The pants in that story are a blue/black brocade & remind me of this ornate saturated types of prints....

and the matching jacket is a reasonably not OTT piece too - wearable to work for sure.

So did any of these follow me home?

Yes, the navy/red circle print.

Why?

The print is small & not overwhelming (hence not creating an overwhelming bum!)
I love circles
I love red & navy, in fact navy is my black.
Its on trend & fun.

Now, which of my navy tops will work with it? probably most of them....

As for the taupe pant...well it doesnt look like that will happen....but its not a big deal...it was going to be a back up after all....

Monday, January 21, 2013

The midi generally isnt flattering

The midi is used to describe any skirt/dress hem length that finishes between the knee and the ankle.

The midi has been around on the high street for about a year now. We started to see it on the runways about a year, maybe a touch more, prior to that.

Trends are funny things - the more a trend hangs around, the more we get used to it & no matter how ugly or unflattering it was initially, the eye gets used to it. The result is that it is less unflattering & ugly as time goes by.

This is not a good thing as we get tricked into accepting trends which, well, make us look less than our best.

The midi is one such trend.

Unless you are tall, reasonably thin & have a waist, the midi hem length is not the best. Of course there are exceptions, but this rule applies to MOST women, MOST of the time.

Chanel loved the midi in the 1930s - yes, she was very thin.
Mad Men girls love the midi - but most of those girls are tall & its TV after all (hello? made to measure).
Victoria Beckham loves the midi - but then again, look at how skinny she is.

Please do not wear a trend/style which looks good on another body type, other than yours. Simple.

BTW, the most universally flattering hem length is around the knee.

Let's look at Jessica in Louis Vuitton at the recent Golden Globes.

in Louis Vuitton

Ignore the print (I love it, but its too much for some & maybe for you). If you raise Jessica's hem by 2 inches, its appeal overall flattery factor will skyrocket. If only I could prove it to you....sigh....

Try this one, also at the recent Golden Globes.

Amanda Peet in ??? a monstrosity

There are many issues with this - the engulfing sleeves, apparent shapelessness, the black tights/patent shoes......and....drumroll....the length.

Another recent one is Diana Agron.

Diana Agron in Bottega Veneta

Wearing a Bottega Veneta (for which I would need to get second mortgage), quite apart from the blah flutter sleeves (she must have got Amanda Peet's memo), the hem length is "nana city".

Doesnt help that the black horizontal beading draws the eye downwards to the calf area.

The lesson here:

Unless you want to look like the above women, dont wear a trend that looks its best on another body type, other than your own.

If in doubt, walk away.

Even though I love Quality (notice the capital "Q"?), I will look everywhere for "stuff". High street is no exception.

Last week as I was wondering through Kmart (as you do), I spotted this:

It was a cotton, summer weight hoodie in a soft yellow with fuschia pink print. It was $15.

So I tried it on and found my size. So far, so good. I love preppy style logo-d hoodies. Not only do I love them, I actually do wear them.

But slight problem - yellow (any shade) hates me. Severely.

Always has. Warm tones like cream, camel, browns, oranges and yellows near my face make me look like I should be taken to hospital.

Granted, there are some shades of these hospital colours which look better on me than other shades. but I still look bad in them. Hence the term, hospital colours.

Here's the interesting bit - I spent half an hour wandering around the store trying to decide whether to buy it.

Despite the rule I preach: If in doubt, leave it & walk away.

Go figure!

Now here is where it starts to fall into place.....

In the casual section, I found these:

These are plus size plain cotton tees, in white & in black.

I love loose fits and I love the scoop necklines. $10 each.

Now, these are way more me than a yellow sports top.

Naturally, I bought one of each.

I will slash the hips area strategically & wear them with a statement necklace & narrow dark jeans (I dont own skinnies, my legs wont fit in them...). High heels mandatory.