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.

Lanvin pearl layered necklace

The black & white with accessories is far more me. 

& I love that I can change the accessories & have a new outfit each time.

The lessons here:

1. If you cant decide, decide to leave it.

2. Know thyself and dress accordingly.

So simple, yet so crucial, I cant believe I almost forgot them.

Shoe Envy

We envy Fendi

We envy Lanvin

We envy Roger Vivier

We envy Nicholas Kirkwood

We envy Christian Louboutin

We envy Sophia Webster

We envy Charlotte Olympia

We envy Acne

We envy Manolos

Hair style

Photos from random places.

My new favourite things from Target

I am a big believer in "you get what you pay for".

So generally I would rather go naked than buy super chap stuff.

Occasionally there are exceptions. 

My bumming around the house clothes are one of these exceptions - but ONLY when they meet all the "Valerie criteria". the Valerie criteria means they have to tick all the boxes in most respects.

Case in point: Target Hot Options tank.

Why does this work for me?

1. Despite being Hot Options, it is made in large sizing (woo, hoo)

2. The white is stark white, not off white

3. The pink is a cool pink (even though it looks like peach in the photo)

4. The contrast in mint is cute and not too much (since mint doesnt suit me).

5. It has slimming side features - via the diagonal side insets and the  way the vertical overlocked seams at the sides comes in toward the centre front (rather than being completely vertical).

6. Its 100% cotton - I love natural fibres.

7. I love it, I love it, I love it.

I hate the green glitter buttons with the gold bezel, but I can change those. 

This was new stock, it fit well, but they didnt have it in any other colours. Hint: Good piece = buy multiples.

Next case in point:

Target chiffon navy peasant style top with flower & bird prints.
This is old stock which sold well.
I finally succumbed.

Why does this work for me?

1. I love complementary prints

2. I love navy. If it was widely available, navy would be my black.

3. The neckline was low & flattering - this can be tricky especially with a kaftan/peasant top.

4. Its 100% poly & I am hoping it doent pull like crazy.

5. If it does pull, it's cheap as chips, so be it.

6. It was my size...hahah...that helps.

7. I love it, I love it, I love it.

Moral of this post: 

Everything you buy needs to flatter your figure & flatter your complexion. That's a given. 

It must also be your NEW FAVOURITE THING. If you arent wanting to wear it everywhere you go, put it back on the rack & go home. Fast. 

Fitted for Work Sale shop - Bargains

As some of you know, I volunteer at Fitted for Work every week.

FFW is an NFP organisation which helps disadvantaged women find and keep employment.

My main responsibility is to match our clothing donations to the women who come in and are looking for work. This involves clothing, bags, shoes, jewellery, scarves, even hosiery and lingerie. I teach women how to look their best for their interviews. 

The sale shop sideline

A side line of FFW at the Parramatta office is their sale boutique. Some clothing donations are not suitable business attire and we sell them through the boutique.

Items sold in the boutique are fresh and clean. Most of the prices are $5 per piece and that includes brands like Witchery, Cue, Ralph Lauren, Review, Zara and many more.

We also have designer items priced b/w $10 - $30. They include European imports and local designer brands like Alannah Hill, Simona, Carla Zampatti, DKNY, Leona Edmiston, sass & bide etc.

I purchased two items a few days ago, each for $5.

First, a Blue Juice black cotton dress, fully lined with a bubble hem and a side zip.

It also have patch pockets at the hips.

Great number to hide lumps & bumps yet stay cool in the hot Aussie climate.

I will wear this with a large cotton scarf or a long chunky necklace. High heels mandatory.

  

Confession: I think I already have this identical dress.
Liz, our boss asked me how could I knot know whether I already had it. My response: You dont want me to answer that.

They say we gravitate toward the same things - that's definitely true for me. I have a gazillion black fitted/flare dresses and one more (for $5) will live happily with all the others. Naturally.

RRP was approx $130.


The next item was a TS loose vest top. Black base with white/navy/grey and neon accents.

Loved the stark white (I hate cream or off white).
Love the dark base.
Love the navy highlights (navy & black are my fave colours).
Love the pops of colour.

It also has two side pockets that are attached by buttons and are removeable. Too cute.

RRP approx $130

Did I mention that I am pretty sure neither of these two babies have been worn? Way more than $10 worth of happy!

BTW - we have loads of plus sizes. 

If you are in the vicinity, pop into the FFW sale shop.

It's open 5 days a week - Mon to Friday.

Suite 37, 70 Phillip St Parramatta, 2150

Pop in & snag a bargain.

Click the link to see some piccies of previous shop bargains.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.418119708253829.96324.145520518847084&type=3

Stylish New Years resolutions - or not?

If there's one thing guaranteed to bring a damper to the New Year, it seems to be New Year resolutions.

If you make them, then you break them and feel guilty or if you dont make them, you also feel guilty. 

Now let's get clear here - I am not talking about finding a cure for cancer or solving world peace. When I talk of NY resolutions I am talking about the realm of Style into Action.

Thats things like streamlining & simplifying your wardrobe/accessories/beauty routine, only wearing your best colours, never buying on sale unless its the only thing you want to wear that night, looking after your clothes, never letting your heels wear down to nothing, never putting dirty clothes back in the wardrobe, mixing prints, wearing more colour & making BFF with a tailor, cobbler & dry cleaner.  Stuff like that. I am sure you get it.

Superficial?

Maybe.

But if it's important to you (& me), then go for it.
Dont care a fig what anyone else thinks. 
All that is important is what you think.

Assuming you want to make NY resolutions, there's three things to bear in mind.

1. Make them as specific as possible; and
2. Include time frames.

eg: "I plan to lose 1 kg per week by going to the gym 3 times per week & using a personal trainer twice a week" is more likely to get you there than "Lose weight".

Thirdly, dont make them huge - cos it'll reduce the possibility of you keeping them. The go hard or go home rule doesnt apply with resolutions.

eg: If your list reads "lose weight, wardrobe overhaul, get organised, buy a house, drop crappy friends, learn to say "no"", then I'll put money on the fact that you wont keep most of them. Why? Cos there's to much on that "to do" list - & it covers everything, you may as well put solving world peace in there too - cos you wont keep that one either!

Take some baby steps. Create a smaller list of the stuff that you really want to achieve - the stuff you are most motivated to achieve - put that list on your fridge door.

Now about me - I dont make NY resolutions.
Well, more specifically, I dont make NY resolutions of the traditional kind.
I havent done this for close to 20 years.

Why? Because I realised I just dont keep them. And that set me up for disappointment. 

Anything I really wanted to achieve, I would achieve during the year, irrespective of the NY list.

The "Valerie" resolutions I have been making however, started with this book, which I bought many years ago: Wear More Cashmere.

I realised at the time that for a fashionista like me (cough, cough, splutter, splutter), who loved winter woolies, I had almost no cashmere and all my knits were wool. So my resolution was to buy more cashmere. Interestingly, I was super motivated with that one - so much so, that I nailed it good & hard. By the end of the year I had acquired loads & loads of cashmere...

My other resolutions I have made have included:

Buy more shoes (I'd have to be dead not to nail this one!)
Buy more Armani
Buy more Hermes bangles, scarves
Buy a yellow handbag & hold out until I find the perfect one
(this one was huge considering 90% of my bags are black or navy)
Sell 2 things a week on ebay

Dont laugh - I dont joke about these things.

I'll tell you, I've kept these too. 

Other peoples' may include:

Go on an o/s holiday each year
Create a theatre room at home
Ramp up the cellar
Buy those super duper golf clubs
Renovate the bathroom
Get the kids private school account going
Join the gym & go 4 times per week

I have also given up trying to explain my concept of NY resolutions to friends. 
They dont get it & they never will.
So I tell people if they ask & leave it at that.
The fact they dont understand is their problem, not mine.

So my advice to you is dont be swayed by what other people think - give yourself the luxury of time & space to figure out what YOU need & make a plan. Whether you do it at new year's or any other time during the year isnt important. As long as you do it within a time frame that works for you.