Nina Proudman loves a long skinny scarf from David Jones

If you are interested in Nina Proudman style scarves that are:


* available locally, 
* available NOW & 
* you can play with them in store so you can make a more confident decision on whether they suit you ........


- then go no further than two brands which I found in the David Jones stores.


#1: The Two Mrs Grenvilles


#2: Lettuce (Your Scarf. Your Scene.)
http://www.lettucewear.com/about-us.html

The Two Mrs Grenvilles does plain coloured  long soft scarves every season. These are very Nina like.
I have seen them in many colours - but this was what was left at Castle Hill a few days ago. 

Normally $30, now reduced to $20.

Another view.

Lettuce scarves in vibrant florals $40

More Lettuce scarves - in particular, the three on the left with the small prints are  really boho, due to their  varying size flowers. See the close up pictures below.

Remember Nina in her butterfly (Zara) scarf?

Well, David Jones has butterfly scarves too!

The crinkly effect adds to the boho feeling.

I spent time sorting through the reduced tables & found quite alot of scarves which are bohemian florals, plain crinklies. 


Everything on these tables was $20 - $30.

The magenta one twisted into a long piece is the same as The Two Mrs Grenvilles scarves in the first couple of photos - that's how they arrive before people try them on.

More scarves I folded for my photographing pleasure. Notice the  salmony one  with the paw prints in the centre?  very Nina like colours. 

The folded scarf has gorgeous soft tones - if you have Nina colouring, it would be perfect.

Oh and these paisleys were at Sportscraft  - very boho, very Nina.

Finally, I couldnt find The Two Mrs Grenvilles web site (go figure! if you can find it, please let me know)

However I did find the Lettuce site.

Interesting thing is only one of the Lettuce scarves I saw in store was on the site...shows you how fast collection move these days - maybe you now get a gist of why we can never find Nina's clothes b/c filming is done 6-12 months before the show is screened.

On the Lettuce site, go & check out scarves:

Boho story - Boho Button 

Boho story - Boho Frill

Juju story - Sunset

Juju story - Summer Flutter

Juju story - Creme Freiche

Do you think they too are Nina like? I do!

Nina Proudman shops at Target (AGAIN!).

She's done it again.
In her usual boho feminine style, she has picked up the following pieces from Target.

All the photos were taken last weekend, so every item is still in the Target Australia stores.

Run, dont walk.

A border print skirt ($35) with a paprika base, with toning mauve cami ($9), navy cotton cardi ($35), navy cami ($9) and taupe crochet scarf.

The same skirt but only shown with the navy cardi/cami combo.

A chambray shirt with a mushroon skinny scarf & orange skirt. Add toning deep tan skinny belt (which comes with the skirt)

Maxi print skirt, tied belt & long scarf. Hip length toning soft top.

Belted prairie skirt with bottom tier and slightly dropped waist - this is flattering because the gathers arent sitting right at your waist.

Nina rarely wears a straight skirt - but this has a boho prairie feel in a stretch fabric & could easily work with her  look.
Chambray shirt, sleeves rolled up & a long skinny scarf. 

Pretty blouse  with cut outs - cut outs will be huge for next summer, so we're getting Nina into 2012.

Tank top ($9) and cotton cardi ($35) will work with her jeans or her maxis.
The tanks are available in a myriad of colours. The cardi in navy, black, red & a bright orange (which I bought).

Definitely a Nina maxi - a small neutral bohemian print, gentle A- line.

Looks great with a taupe scarf.

The crochet long skinny scarves come in many colours.

Today's Style Tip - Light colours enhance, dark colours detract.

I am sure you have heard that in order to make a room appear larger, you should paint it white (or a very light colour).


In fact, I am sure a few of you have done this...hands up please?


The same goes for clothing.


Tip: If you want to accentuate or enhance a part of your body, place a light colour near it.


Tip: If you want to detract from a particular part of your body, place a dark colour near it.


Big bum? Wear dark pants/skirt & a light top.


Small bum? Wear a dark top & light bottom.


Big boobs? Wear dark top & light bottom.


Small boobs? Wear a light top & dark bottom.


Beautiful skin/face? Wear light colours around your neck. 


Big waist? Dont wear a light coloured belt.


Get the drift? Great.


These rules are not set in stone - they are guidelines. Obviously each person has more figure issues than just a big bum or small boobs etc. Further, there are other ways to enhance or detract from big bums, small bums etc etc. But I dont want to overload you - one style tip at a time. 


See you tomorrow for another style tip.

My favourite knickers

Left bum? or Right bum?

Look carefully at the above bums.


Same woman, same day, same time, same outerwear, no styling tricks.


Which bum do you prefer, assuming you had to pick one?


I hope you said Right bum!


Why?


It has smoother lines due to invisible underwear.


Left bum has all the imprints of the knickers underneath and the knickers are grabbing her flesh making it look like a sausage.


& so here is the start of this post.......

My favourite knickers?

I am not talking about sexy, alluring gorgeous lace French and Italian sets.

I am talking about the day to day practical, these make my life easy & I can put them on & go, favourite knickers. 

In this post, Favourite = Easy & flattering.

Nor am I talking about your favourite style, such as bikini, full brief, boyleg, g string.  We'll cover those sort of choices in other posts. 

What I am talking about here is knickers that dont cause the dreaded fashion faux pas, VISIBLE PANTY LINE (cue Jaws theme please).

After all, do you want to look like this?

or this?

oh dear, besties...or this?

Eeeww....

No matter how attractive the clothes, the person, the look, VPL makes everything look icky & horrible.


Even famous (stylish) people occasionally fall guilty of this crime....

Just like a building needs a good foundation, so too your clothes need the right foundation garments.

The right foundation knickers for your clothes should be INVISIBLE.

Look at how lovely this looks....whether the bum is a size 8 or a size 20, the knickers need to be .......INVISIBLE....

Invisible knickers have two main benefits:

Firstly they creates a smooth line flush with your body - ie: they don’t detract the eye from the lines of your body and the lines of your clothes.

Secondly they avoid any grabbing of flesh (sausage effect...ew!) which visible knickers can do – this grabbing just makes you look fatter than you should - & most of us don’t don’t that!

Even if you are wearing denim, the wrong knickers will show through and lead to VPL.

So how do we find invisible knickers?

Lucky for us the manufacturers have caught onto this consumer need & most have at least one version of invisible knickers available in their range.

What you need to looks for is a no hem, no elastic, no stitching around the leg, not even overlocking, no matter how tiny it is.

This means the leg needs to be laser cut. This means cut like a scissors would cut the fabric (but the laser method means it wont fray)

Here is a Bonds version - they call it "no show".

Notice though this Bonds version has a side seam - if your clothing is fine and a light colour (eg: silk dress), you may show a small bump on the side from the side seam......they also have the Bonds elastic on the top - the seams attaching this can be visible depending on the outfit......food for thought.....

Avoid at all costs:


Anything like these.....

or these.....

You may think the leg elastic is subtle, but the VPL takes no prisoners. Stay away form these babies if you want to avoid VPL.

Definitely stay away from these.....the thick elastic reminds me of school cotton tail undies......

Stay away from these too - the elastic may look friendly - its not.

How about these?

Whilst they are designed to shape the bottom, the 1 cm inner band of similar fabric still acts as a sausage creator. A mild sausage creator, but a sausage creator nevertheless. 


In any case, they are designed as a bottom shaper, not as an invisible knicker. My suggestion though is that these would work with jeans - due to the combination of thick outer fabric & mild sausage creation.



Finally - here are my personal favourites - laser cut legs, laser cut top, no elastic, no overlocking, no edge stitching....ta-da....

From Target - the "Invisiblebody" range.....

They also have no side seams - only the back seam. Since you back curves inwards, it is unlikely that the seam will ever be visible.


Sized 8 - 18


Colours include white, light nude (shown), dark nude, black.


Styles include full brief (shown), bikini, boyleg.


They last for ages & there is never the problem of elastic disintegrating or stretching out.


If you have time, go to any discount store or department store & look at all the invisible knickers - just to get a feel for what's out there. After doing that, I came back to Tar-jay - they may not be a fancy brand, but their value for money is terrific.




My tip:


We all have "blah" knickers for that time of month or when we simply run out of our other knickers. Well invisible knickers can be worn on "blah" days too.


Get rid of all your "blahs" and replace them with invisibles. 


So you'll never have the problem of your invisibles being in the dirty laundry basket when you need them - because even the knickers in your ready to wear drawer will be invisible!


You're forcing yourself to have the right knickers on hand, because after all, even the best intentions of doing the washing on time dont get executed sometimes.


PS: Go back to the very first photo....look even closer....even the right bum has mild VPL on the lady's right bum cheek....I am sure you picked that up though & now know to avoid that look.

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.....