Pattern placement makes or breaks

This post will challenge you to identify the best version of a printed garment for your colouring & body shape based on how a print is placed on that garment. 

When you buy high street, usually the print pattern is placed differently within a style & within a size.

Why? Because doing it this way they use less fabric instead of waiting for the pattern to repeat on the fabric roll before cutting more units.

Expensive garments can afford to use more fabric to place the pattern in a desired spot for each size within the style and even between sizes.

Pattern placement will affect where the eye goes when you are wearing the loot. That means it will affect whether you look taller, shorter, thinner, fatter etc. 

Does the eye go to your face? your waist? your arms? your hips? your legs? north- south? east-west? diagonally? where else?

What do you want to highlight? What do you want to hide? Does the pattern work with you on this or against you?

The colours near your face should be the best colours for your complexion. This one is not negotiable. Ever.

SIA has photographed 11 of these tops with a view to having you assess which is the best for you and which is the worst.

You don't have to like the top or its pattern to do this. 

If you want, do it imagining the print in your best colour, then in your worst colour. Also consider the background colour.  You also need to consider the pattern & its placement waist down. 

Don't worry about sleeve lengths, neckline widths, hem lengths or whether it's lop sided on the hanger. Just focus on the pattern placement of the front.  

The best way to handle this is to compare the first two. The winner is then compared to the next one on the list. The winner here is compared to the next one. And so on, until an ultimate winner is found. Then do the same to find your worst pattern.

The beauty of this is that there is no copping out. Because every print placement is unique, you cant say that they are the same. There has to be a winner & a loser.

This is really important stuff - if you want to be well dressed, it's in the 101 category. 

It's all about the full length mirror.

If you love the styling tips provided by Style into Action, then you have to read this post. 

Frankly, even I was surprised at how things turned out. 

Firstly, I love linen, men's style shirts and certain shades of blue and green sing on me. 

Enter EXHIBIT A:

Target Collection women's shirt - perfect.

I didnt even try it on - just ensured the measurements havent changed since the last one from there & off I went, shirt in hand. 

As I was perusing the rest of the floor, enter EXHIBIT B:

The almost twin version from the Belle Curve range.

1. Same fabric
2. Same price
3. Same cut except, Belle Curve has 2 small 5 cm slits at the hem on each side seam AND Belle Curve has no flaps on the front pockets.

Frankly I prefer the lack of pocket flaps b/c it's easier to iron & has a cleaner line. But that is such a small difference, I didnt want to use it as sole basis of my decision.  

The ONLY answer was to TRY THEM ON in front of a FULL LENGTH MIRROR. 

Knowing that Belle Curve cuts more generously, I made sure I was comparing shirts with the same measurements rather than the same size on the tag. 

Target Collection was the winner by far.

Why? 

Target Collection's flaps were sitting just above my nipple (with well fitting bra), bringing the eye upwards & widening my upper half. For a pear shape, clothing that does that is gold.

The Belle Curve shirt's pocket started below my nipples, bringing the eye downwards toward my belly. That's the last place a pear wants the eye to go. It visibly made my upper body look smaller & my lower body look bigger. 

I was shocked at what a huge difference these two babies made. All thanks to TRYING ON & A FULL LENGTH MIRROR.

I can't emphasise those two things enough. 

Most women shop out of desperation

Target

The alternative title for this post is “But I want it because it has pockets”

Backtrack.

I go to the shops because I need an affordable cosy long line cardi with pockets for around the house. It’s getting cold after all.   

In Target I notice the AW 2015 coatigan version (above in blue) – every colour under the sun in this style. With pockets. Woo Hoo.

I try it on. It fits. The colour is nice. I buy it.

But it’s a disaster. On me.

They eye goes straight down to those pockets and my hips & thighs are the last thing I want to bring attention to.

So why did I buy it? A combination of:

It was affordable

It was functional

It was available & so reasonably on trend

It looked nice on the hanger

It had pockets

It’s late & I needed to buy something otherwise the shopping trip was wasted.

Most importantly though, I was afraid that if I didn’t buy this cardi, I won’t find anything similar within a reasonable amount if time.  

But I have options.

1.    I can buy something more expensive (but on sale) which looks better.

2.    I can buy another style which doesn't have pockets patched at the front. The pockets can be hidden in the side seams or placed vertically.

3.    I can find a colour blocked version where the pockets are almost invisible.

Witchery 

4.    I can hold off until the right thing comes along.

You always have options when you want to avoid having a closet of half baked pieces. If you have even the vaguest doubts, think of your options & pick one. If you can't imagine the possible variations, then go to option #4. Instead of the loot in front of you. 

   

Scarf tying anyone can do. Easily.

Scarves are an easy accessory to wear. But many women find them intimidating. They don't need to be. Seriously. 

For beginners, rectangle shapes are easier to style than silk squares. Those silk squares can be very intimidating & I speak from personal experience. I was buying them in droves & it took me years to start wearing them. 

TIP: The easiest way to wear a rectangle is slung over your shoulders & hanging down on either side of your neck. 

Do it in cashmere, wool, linen, cotton but please try to stay away from viscose or polyester. 

Today I tried on a blue & yellow linen rectangle at a budget chain called W Lane. I had previously noticed linen scarves in their store, so I thought a proper investigation was warranted today. 

This baby was more vivid in colour than the photo implies.
She has animal print on the narrow ends.

She is 100% line, $35 and hand washable. 

I really liked this baby and blues like me. 
But her yellows are my worst shade. On the other hand, winner winner chicken dinner, most of the yellows were on the ends. The ends were an animal print. My complexion was reasonably safe. 

Happy happy. 

Then I looked in the mirror at the overall impression. I wore her the most basic way - over my shoulders & hanging down either side of my neck. Like this. 

She's an Oscar for the best east-west eye movement by a scarf in an Alexander McQueen chiffon. She is a square but will work just as well with a rectangle. 

This way of "tying" creates lots of vertical eye movement along the wearer's torso lengthwise. That's code for talling & slimming. Too easy. Great words, huh? 

But when I tried the W Lane, my eye continued downwards. Horror of horrors, she was the ideal length for the animal print section to sit just perfectly along my hips/tummy. That meant there was east-west eye movement - shorting & fattening. Plus the yellow was the brightest colour - even more shortening & fattening.

If I had a big bust & small hips, she would have been perfect. Alas. 

Now while I have your attention, every scarf even with the most basic "tie" creates eye movement. Whether this is good or bad depends on your height & body shape. 

This scarf brings the eye upward but also makes you look you are being eaten up. By something big & plaid. It's kind of like the plaid blob eye movement look.  

This next one tends to have more east-west eye movement but it also brings the eye upward. 

Here is the best north-south eye movement which a scarf can create. The even print makes it easy on the rest of the body too. Unlike my yellow/blue W lane number. 

Here's one which is tied in a mass of knots - it's not as fancy or hard as it looks. The wearer is clever enough to tie the knots in a vertical pattern. Best for medium weight scarves like cotton or linen. 

Here is the latest scarf trend thanks to Christopher Bailey at Burberry. This will work with a large square in a fine wool or linen or cotton or a rectangle. 

Note the belt though - that's east-west if ever I've seen it. 

Make sure you stand back & look at your overall image in a full length mirror to decide what works for you. 

Here is another contender for Best East-West eye movement. It didnt win though, because it's quite a large square and the fabric around the upper body creates a bit of horizontal tango.  

Scarves are so easy to wear. But step back & look in the mirror to make sure they are behaving the way you want them to. 

Petite reader seeks bootie style advice

A girlfriend of mine asked for advice on a potential bootie purchase.

She is 4 foot, 11 inches (tiny, aka petite) and very slim (due to a very disciplined gym addiction!). In fact she runs marathons. Scary stuff.

She found this baby & asked me "what can I wear with it so that my legs dont look too short".

I am going to answer her question in 2 parts.
Firstly, this post will provide some suggestions as to how a boot shape can slim (or fatten legs/feet).

Next, I will do another post with suggestions on how to style a black suede bootie. This lady's wardrobe is about 95% black (God bless!) BTW. 

So here we go on the first part.

Let's be honest - there are about a gazillion black suede booties on the market ATM. Each high street store has a huge selection and Sammy has many many sisters.

But not all siblings are created equal in the weightloss department. 

That's why I want to point out some features in the way a shoe/boot is cut that will make significant differences to the weightloss factor.

The vamp

The main one is the length of the vamp. 

I had difficulty finding a good photo, but here, the vamp is the whole length from to tip of the toes to where the laces start (where the laces start, at the toe end, not the heel end).

In this case, the vamp includes the "toe box" and the "toe cap". 

The longer the vamp and the higher up from the narrowest part of the ankle that it extends, the more it will "cut" your leg (aka, create horizontal eye movement) & the shorter (& fatter) you will look.

Notice how Sammy has a very long vamp? hhmm...

The clothes

If you wear black tights the same shade as Sammy, the effect of a long vamp is reduced. But in practice its very hard to get an exact match for the stockings/tights & the shoe.

Samples

In terms of vamp length, something like Wittner's Perform would be the best. See how the vamp at the heel end is so much lower than the back heel of the shoe? That's what will allow her ankle silhouette to be shown off.

Wittner Perform

Why do we like showing off the silhouette of the ankle?

- because its one of the narrowest parts of our body.
Narrow = slim = tall = thin, even if you're not slim/tall/thin.

NB: While my friend is very slim, she is also very petite & any extra cm of height (or illusion of extra cm) is a good thing. So when I talk of "slimming", I also include "adding cm in height".

I am not suggesting my friend go out & buy the Perform. She is after all wanting suede (not stretch fabric) & a lower heel. But there are SO many black suede booties on the market, it wont be that hard to find something similar to Perform's cut but in suede.

Even Wittner's Trinny is a better choice weightloss wise, although not as good as Perform. See how the vamp doesnt sit up above the back of the heel? That's what we want & the lower down the vamp sits (like Perform), the more flattering it will be on her petite frame.

Wittner Trinny

If you go for a lace up, make sure the tongue of the shoe doesnt sit too high above the laces (as per the diagram above). So as far as lace ups go, Wittner Dallas is pretty good.

Wittner  Dallas

Here is another interesting one - Wittner's Faline.

Vamp wise its terrific.
Its also clever in that the narrow elastic is sewn at a front feature which moves the eye up & down the foot (not horizontally). Score!

If that elastic was really broad across the foot, then it would be a different story, weightloss wise.

Wittner Faline

Other features for weightloss

Generally, any kind of stitching or cuts in the leather which are vertical along the vamp will slim. Conversely horizontal cuts & stitches will fatten.

A pointy toe will tend to slim more than a round toe which will slim more than a square toe.

A platform will add instant height.

The higher the heel, the more slimming.

Some brands & style are cut wider than others. Unless you need that width, go for a narrower cut. Unfortunately high street brands dont state the width - the easiest way to assess width is by comparing with other shoes, side by side.

Style

This section is not anything requested by my friend. However I feel I should mention it because I cant help myself (as usual!). The overall style of the bootie also contributes to your look.

When a bootie has a masculine feel about it, I dont think it adds to the illusion of height/slimness. I am not suggesting she gets a stiletto with a pointed toe, but there may be a middle road compromise. I guess I am saying that the Sammy reminds me of a masculine bootie & my friend may want comfort, but she isnt a girl who is into masculine styling in general.

Conclusion

In the next few days I will post styling suggestions for booties, for a petite & slim frame. 

Stay tuned.

Flat shoe flattery - the vamp

 

When you buy a shoe the first things you probably look for are colour & style.

Style choice involves looking at the heel, the heel height, the back, the toe, the straps & how the whole thing is put together.

When it comes to flat shoes, there is something that can be quite subtle but makes a big difference to the look of the shoe & the flattery factor for you.

That something is the vamp.

What is the vamp?

 

Every shoe has an upper part that helps hold the shoe onto the foot. This is the vamp. 

In the simplest cases, such as sandals or flip-flops, this may be nothing more than a few straps for holding the sole in place. 

Closed footwear, such as pumps, boots, trainers and most men's shoes, will have a more complex upper. This part is often decorated or is made in a certain style to look attractive. 

Ba

Why is the vamp important?

Apart from being central to the style of the shoe, the vamp is what determines whether the shoe looks flattering to your feet, whether it makes your look feminine and whether it looks appealing worn with dresses/skirts or pants.

The easiest way to do this is with examples.

Example #1:

My oldest, most worn flatties, Fossil on the left, Florsheim on the right.

Given my feet roll out, especially at the small toe area, I am better off with the Fossil as the vamp covers that whole area.


In contrast, the Florsheim may have a tongue (see diagram above), but doesnt provide full coverage around the small toe. So the Florsheim looks less appealing from that perspective.

Example #2:

I love JP Tod's.

On the left, Tod's with white stitching and a horizontal piece closer to the tongue. 
On the right, Tod's with navy stitching & plain flat vamp.

The plain Tod's make my foot look longer as there is no breakage of the vertical line of the vamp. Small difference? I didnt notice this when I got the plain ones - and I dont want my feet to look like boats, but if I wear the plain ones with jeans, you dont notice the length.

Example #3:

On the left Tod's in plain navy calf leather & on the right the plain navy patent Tod's.


Two things here.

Firstly a patent will always look bigger as the shine reflects light.

Secondly, the patent Tod's make my foot look longer as there is no breakage of the vertical line of the vamp.

Example #4:

On the left is a Raphael D'Stella moccasin style red shoe.

On the right is the Tod's in plain calf leather.

Notice I have picked 2 shoes with some sort of interest on them & a similar shape.

However the red looks larger as it is a brighter colour. The navy shoe looks smaller - dark colours absorb light - hence look smaller.

Example #5:

On the left a G Porciani in gold tones.

On the right a Nando Muzi (Luisa Shoes)

See how the gold has a much larger vamp and its toe cap (the bright gold) is larger.


Now look at the Nando Muzi - smaller toe cap & a smaller vamp, by at least a centimeter.


The Muzi looks more feminine due to the lesser coverage. It would suit a dress or shorts more than the Porciani. But the Porciani would be OK with pants.


On the other hand if you have big feet or you are really hard on your feet, you may not be best served with the more delicate batter shoe. Maybe you should go for the Portiani or, perhaps, a loafer or moccasin?

Does that make sense?

Example #6:

These two ballet flats are similar in style and cut but different in colour.

Notice how the pink makes the foot look larger - again its that old rule that light colours reflect light and appear larger. In contrast the foot in the darker shoe looks smaller due to the absorption of light.

Example #7:

On the left, a navy ballet flat (same as ex #6)
On the right, a black ballet flat.


These are the same brand, Loriblu - I bought them from the same store, however a season apart. I bought the navy first, then the black. 

I am pretty sure that if you had asked any of the sales assistants whether they were identical, they would have said "yes". I find most sales people just dont notice the details - you have to rely on your own powers of observation and gut feelings.

During that season difference, the store changed its vamp & back then (about 8 years ago), I wasnt savvy enough to notice the difference in the vamp or bring in the navy & compare directly side by side. Silly me.

But can you see how the right shoe has a large vamp? ie: it covers more of my foot. It also has a larger toe cap - ie: the seam is further away from my toes.


Frankly I think the black ones look more blah. I think the navy ones are more flattering. Do you agree?


Luckily - both provide good coverage to my little toes so the roll out feet problem isnt exacerbated.

Example #8:

On the left, a Ralph Lauren mock croc heel.

On the right, an Antonio Barbato navy mocasin style heel (from the same store as the ballet flats in ex #7).

The Ralph shoes are slimmer, pointier & have a smaller vamp. Much more girlie than than the moccasin style, Yes?

Example #9:

On the left, Michel Vivien, mary jane with a very low strap.
On the right, Ferragamo, mary jane with a higher strap.

Two things to notice here.


Firstly, I should never have bought the Viviers due to my small toe are rolling out. The vamp just isnt cut large enough to house that area of my foot well enough. 


In contrast, the Ferragamos have a terrific fit around my foot and enclose my rolling out foot well.


Secondly, the thicker the strap and the closer it is to the narrowest part of your foot (ie: your ankle), the more your foot will be cut horizontally and the more shorter & fatter you will appear. This is REALLY important.

[PS: I am assuming you arent wearing a chunky platform, because in those cases, the straps may well need to be larger - ie: in proportion to the chunkiness of the shoe]


Now look at my photo - on the Vivier, the strap is thin & no where near the ankle. Tick.


On the Ferragamo, the strap is thicker & close to the ankle, but still below it. So it allows the thin ankles to be shown off and doesnt make me look stumpy. Unfortunately for the purposes of this blog (but lucky for me), I dont have any strappy shoes with a horizontal strap at the ankle. But when you are trying on strappy shoes, step back and look at whether the horizontal strap is sitting at the ankle. If it is, take them off & run away. There will be a better shoe for you somewhere else.

I hope you enjoyed this post - any questions - just ask. 

Now I have to go & put 15 pairs of shoes back in their boxes.....

Woman of style - bright colours & a classy bag

I have to admit, that as a resident of an outer north west suburb of Sydney, I dont see as many blog worthy "women of style" as I would like, compared to if I was people watching in the eastern suburbs or the inner city.

However the woman of style in this post lives in my suburb & I spotted her at a local bank branch - yes, some of us still do some over the counter banking. 


Her name is Dele (pronounced Del) and she is a business manager for a company that imports and wholesales African food products.

This is Del:

Notice:

1. Slim figure, hence skinny jeans

2. With dark skin, bright colours near her face will bring the eye upwards, to her face (& right where it should be)...perfect!

3. A classy bag, Louis Vuitton (Bloomies in the US)

4. Neutral mocasins that dont detract from the brights but tone in with the bag (but not in a matchy-matchy way)

Now lets take a closer look at the lovely face:

The tee is a perfect fuschia for her.

But those earrings are an astounding jewellery selection for her. She bought them from a local costume jewellery chain store (like Diva, but not Diva)....those earrings are (figuratively speaking) gold for her complextion.

This lady definitely has a knack for what looks good on her & she glows with confidence.

Now dear readers, please go back to my facebook page & click Like if you think Del is a blog worthy woman of style!

Woman of style - Neralee & her arm parties

 

A few weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon, I was driving to Hurstville. (sheepishly...) I suppose I should tell you why I was headed there as it relates to the blog...I was chasing (as you do...) a Jane Lamerton denim pencil skirt in my size - the only one left in NSW. 

Now before you start on me, I am not one of those people who spends $20 of petrol to save $10 on an item. Seriously I am not! Well, not usually....


The skirt was $28 reduced from $40 reduced from $80. Did I mention it was the last one in NSW? So naturally it was a matter of importance. Also the Myer sale which was currently 30% off at the time finished on the Sunday, so not only was it important, it was urgent, well, semi-urgent.


Driving along, thinking about the soon to be mine skirt and why the heck Hurstville was so darned far away from my home, I was rudely interrupted by a police siren. So I stopped, as you do, to determine where it was coming from so that I could figure out whether to pull over & what else to do. 

A second later, "BANG" and another car hit me from behind. Now that was ruder than the police siren, eh?. That sinking feeling of being in a car accident reared its ugly head faster than you can say "Hermes is the best brand in the world".

I got out & asked the other driver if they were insured & the answer was yes, thankfully. At their suggestion we pulled into the near by side street and got out of our cars to examine the damage and exchange details.

Well, it turns out it was a lady driver. As she got out for a split second, I got distracted by what she was wearing, then the logical part of my brain told the creative part to "stop it" and to focus on the business at hand... 


As I was writing out my details for her (her name was Neralee, oops, her name still is Neralee....) she quizzed me about the label on the pen I was using....

"I know Escada" she said.
"Yes, its a German brand that does high end womens clothing & accessories." I responded.
"I have bought it overseas" she then said.


Well, that was the first thing that officially made her a nice lady, despite the fact that she had crashed into my car.


As I continued to write, my right brain took over again and I kept one eye on this lady...its not that I didnt trust her - its that she looked really good. In short - blog worthy....


With all the paperwork and swapping of details now over, I told her about my blog/facebook page and that I wanted to take a few photos....she kept insisting she wasnt photo ready and that she was on the way to the hairdresser to get her hair done for a nite out dancing. 

Anyone watching us would have thought we were arguing about the crash - no way - we had far more important things to argue about.

I finally had to resort to the old "you do THIS to my car & you wont even let me take a few photos?" Emotional blackmail - works every time.....


Check out these photos ....

Here she is admiring her crash target - my  boot & bumper bar.....  

Notice:

1. Knit tunic top with assymetric peek-a-boo cut out - interesting. Top skims over the hips & doesnt hug in any wrong places.
2. Capri (7/8) pants
3. Black flats with interest on the vamp
4. Bracelet length sleeves which allow the showcasing of arm party on each arm.
5. Dark sunnies - glam no matter how late the previous night was.
6. Beautiful asymetric cut platinum hair which picks up well with the asymetric cut of the top.
7. Monochrome neutral outfit colour, top to toe - simple & easy. Also slimming due to the up & down eye movement it creates


Do you like her look? 

I do!

Now, let's take a close up of her arm parties!

One wrist was a whole lot of silver bangles, all different &  all bought at different times and on various trips. 


The other wrist had a whole lot of gold bangles, again different & interesting.

& the mani in lavendar!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

A truly stylish woman, totally blog worthy.

BTW, Neralee is a caterer/photographer with an eye for fashion. No surprises given the flair with which she dresses.

Go to my Facebook site & Like if think Neralee is blog worthy.