Today I wore black & grey. When you have a wardrobe of similar colours, one of the advantages is that you can throw things on and everything works together pretty well by virtue of the colours toning together.
The other advantage is that you can have a few more lazy fashion days than folks who have many different colours in their wardrobe and have to think about what to pair with what.
Should I be admitting to fashion lazy days? Well, I am human after all, so I wont pretend that they never happen to yours truly.
My challenge is to make sure they dont happen too often.
This WIW showcases the one most important thing that EVERY pear & apple should have in their wardrobe.
What's a pear?
A person who carries their weight around the hips & thighs and has a defined waist.
What's an apple?
A person who carries their weight around their tummy & so doesnt have a defined waist.
That vital piece is a waterfall cardi knit.
It has an open front that falls to create a waterfall. The waterfall is formed because each side of the front is a rectangle. The waterfall disguises any tummy or hip/thigh issues.
When it is worn with a contrasting coloured top underneath, it also creates a wonderful fashion situation called "sectioning". This means that it breaks up one large section of the body in smaller sections.
The one large section is the tummy/hip area of the torso.
The smaller sections are the left side of the cardi, the middle section (the top) and the right section of the cardi.
Effectively one large part is converted into three smaller parts & the eye is tricked into thinking the overall body has reduced in size. Like this....
Sectioning works with any open jacket or cardi over a contrast print top.
The cardi
A Jane Lamerton 100% wool waterfall jacket in black from Myer. Reduced to around $90 and the knit is subjected to the boiling process - where the wool is boiled & shrunk and in the process, given a textured thicker appearance. It also has external seams adding the the texture of the cardi.
I forgot to photograph the front on its own, but here is the back.
EVERY PEAR & APPLE SHOULD OWN ONE OF THESE.
STYLE TIPS for waterfall cardis:
These typically have alot more fabric (ie: knit) than a traditional jacket or cardi. So petite pears & petite apples need to take care in selection so they dont look like they are wearing their big sister's clothes.
The same care applies to non petites if you want to ensure you dont look sloppy in a garment that is quite voluminous.
1. Look for set in sleeves.
Set in sleeves hug your arms & armpits (skim not cling).
Avoid dolman or batwing sleeves. At all costs.
Dolman & batwing sleeves just swamp your top half & unless you are very tall & thin, just make you look sloppy & bigger.
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| Avoid my sleeves if you are a pear or apple. |
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| Avoid my sleeves too if you are a pair or an apple. |
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| Avoid my sleeves too if you are a pair or an apple. |
2. Make sure the back of the knit covers the widest part of your bum.
Too many brands on the high street finish the back hem at the waist & have the front sections falling to below the bum.
They look great from the front, but the bum sticks out like nobody's business at the back. And do you think they offer a mirror in store so you can see your back? Rarely.
The reason they finish the hem at the waist is to save on cost of the yarn.
A petite MUST end their hem just below the widest part of their bum. Non petites can go a bit lower if they want as you have more height to carry it off.
I promise you there are MANY waterfall knit cardis which finish below the widest part of your bum. You just have to hold out until you find one.
Witchery has a version which currently fits the bill and it is available in many colours.
The listing even mentions the "long skinny sleeves"
Seriously, its a flattering aspect.
The only reason I personally would hesitate on this one is that the waterfall has a merino border around it & it seems to be pulling the knit at the bust area. Most of the colours show this pulling except for the charcoal grey. Weird. So I would have to see this in the store before I bought it.
Just to cover off - I mention apples & pears can wear these brilliantly. Why not the other shapes?
An hourglass can too - its just that the hourglass has more options available to it, so there isnt as much of a need to resort to "figure correcting" items such as this one.
A rectangle would be swamped by this item as it does nothing to create/highlight the waist (unless you belt it, but you can belt most tops anyway).
An inverted triangle shouldnt be wearing something that has volume around the bust - the waterfall front has that. Better to go for other style cardis.
The top
Its a Coles Mix 100% wool crew neck sweater in black. I bought this last winter - actually I bought two. It was $29 I think and its just an easy piece to throw on.
The necklace
A Lovisa for $20 worn previously on WIW.
STYLE TIP: As you age your colouring softens. Often in your younger years you could wear black near your face but you may no longer be able to. Break up the impact of a black top/jacket/cardi with a contrasting scarf or necklace.
The rings
The Martin Margiela ring & the $10 sterling Witchery ring.
Serious favourites & why do I feel guilty repeating them? Go away guilt. I am getting my cost per wear (CPW) down.
The bangle
A black rubber bangle with an industrial feel from a store in Mosman called Curve which has very cool stuff including trendy jeans & boho resort wear. Look them up.
STYLE TIP: Because this has a gold band on it, I need to be careful with the colour metal I am wearing elsewhere on the body. In this case, it picked up well with the gold in the necklace.
The pants
Guilty - the Target cotton grey pants, rolled up at the hem.
Too guilty to put a photo up. LOL!
The shoes
A high heeled pump by Patrick Cox with triangular heels. Worn in a previous WIW. Since the rest of my look was casual, wearing heels dressed the look up.
See you tomorrow when I go corporate.
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