Oct 27, 2016 | Accessorize, Clothing, Fashion, Style
For anyone who knows me well, then public humiliation and ridicule is not top of my list for favourite pastimes. However, having made a decision to shape up and loose weight, I’ve had multiple people tell me I don’t need to! Great that I’m obviously doing my job properly by disguising all my wobbly bits but not great for my discerning customers who can’t visibly see my day to day “challenges” that I have with my body shape.
I therefore decided to be very honest with you all and share the less than flattering photo above to demonstrate the real me without my how to dress rules to rely on! This coupled with my statistics should help you to see that no matter how fabulous the girl next door looks, there will ALWAYS be a challenge that she’ll have to overcome, it’s just that some are more visible than others.
So here goes (deep intake of breath)……………
Stats:
Height: 6ft 4″
Weight: 14 stone 9lbs (heavier than Mr Clark since the arrival of Sam Wise 6 years ago, oh the shame)
Foot size: 10
Inside Leg: 36″
Dress size: 14 (bottoms/16-18 top depending on shop)
Swimsuit size: 22 (cringe – need the extra stretch in the fabric to stretch over my ridiculously long body)
Challenges:
Height – obviously
Buying women’s shoes without a heel
Buying clothes – unless I shop in Holland
Underarm cleavage
A belly like jelly
An inability to EVER go brown!
A lack of hips to keep trousers where they should be.
As you can see in the picture on the left, belts are not my best friends, so I avoid wearing them at all costs! Knowing what my challenges are and being totally honest with myself is the perfect place to start when dressing for success as you aren’t trying to fool anyone! I no longer covert styles and outfits that don’t flatter me because life is too short to stand in a changing room feeling depressed at what is looking back. Life is about accepting who we are and what we’ve got to celebrate.
My personal target is 13 stone which is the weight I was when I started University (my belly was still like jelly then but just in a smaller capacity! That’s the thing about your body shape – it’s to do with the shape of your skeleton so my style rules at 13 stone will be the same as the ones I follow now, just with an overall smaller dress size)! I promise to share with you my good news when I reach my personal target and perhaps a photo or two!!!
Aug 4, 2016 | Clothing, Fashion, Style, Summer
It’s that time of year again, schools have broken up and people are rushing around getting ready for their summer holidays.
In years gone by, I’ve found the process of holiday packing a really stressful experience. However, having learnt from Colour Me Beautiful’s finest I don’t even shudder at the thought now, as it’s all done for you with the help of your colour and style rules. You’ll find that once you’ve created a wardrobe around your colour palette, in styles that suit you, your wardrobe will all start to co-ordinate itself!
Above is an example of my 2 weeks holiday case both laid out for you to see and then packed and ready for the off. I hope you’ve noticed that I’ve even got room for those all important souvenirs!!!
My capsule case consists of:
2x’s swimsuits
2x’s pj’s
underwear
3x’s trousers
2x’s shorts
1x’s short skirt
2x’s dresses
2x’s cardigans
2x’s jumpers (fine knit)
Ix’s jacket
4x’s vest tops in wow colours
8x’s tops/t-shirts
3x’s scarves
accessories
1x’s pumps
1x’s evening shoe
1x’s flats
1xs trainers to wear for journey.
Wherever you’re heading this summer, have fun!
Jun 29, 2016 | Clothing, Fashion, Style
Having launched my new “Dress To Impress” workshops this week I thought it appropriate to concentrate on style this month!
We all have our own individual sense of style, some of us more creative than others who feel much happier sticking to what we’ve always done (I say this with a voice of experience as trying new things is a real challenge for me)! Knowing what your style personality is, along with how that translates to the choices you make whilst shopping, is crucial as there will be times when every one of us needs to override our style personality! For example a silk neck tie brings with it a sense of romantic, creative and even dramatic flair, however if you’ve got a short neck and bigger bust, despite “loving how it looks”, it’s better in this instance to step away from the neck tie that will simply make your neck look shorter and rounder and your bust look bigger!
Time and time again my clients will focus on being a certain dress size. It simply does not matter what dress size you are as long as you’re dressing your body shape accurately and in the right fabric. In doing so you can instantly make yourself look slimmer, fitter and healthier. Once you know your rules on how to dress for your individual body shape, height, scale and proportions you will stop focusing on the size of the garment and will instantly feel more confident in the way you look.
It’s not just the clothes that we put on our body it’s also the accessories that we wear and carry! Knowing what size, shape, colour and style suits you is crucial to adding the finishing pieces to your overall look. Be warned ladies, the oversized handbag is making an appearance in the A/W 2016 collections. If you’re below 5ft 3″ in height or have a foot size smaller than a 4 I would approach with caution! For all of my clients who are 5ft 7″ and over then next season is your time to stock up on handbags (I know I will be)!
Remember ladies….. The art of looking good and more importantly feeling good is not labelling your body shape or size, but learning how to make the most of your assets whilst disguising the areas of our bodies that we find the least appealing!
Look Good, Feel Great, Be Confident!
May 20, 2016 | Accessorize, Clothing, Fashion
Spring has well and truly sprung and it’s a great time of year to begin your annual Spring clean. why not try a different approach this year and Spring organise instead?
Being a busy mum of two with lots of things to juggle I have to be very creative with how to get the best out of my time.
Looking and feeling good are both important to me, certainly in my chosen field, but I found that post children i’d almost given up on spending time on me.
My handbags were all stored away, replaced by the Mary Poppins of all changing bags and all my accessories were parked in the back of a drawer as it avoided them being tugged on or chewed!
I stopped wearing make-up as I couldn’t possibly factor that in to my already manic schedule and my hair was lucky to see a brush let alone a trip to the hairdresser.
All of this led me to feeling a little lost as all of the above things once created my identity and without them I morphed in to Sam and Ellie’s mum (no-one really knew my name anymore either)!
Gradually coming out of the “fog” that is the first few years of parenting, I decided that I could be in control of my identity again resulting in an automatic growth in self esteem and confidence.
I got creative with storage idea’s so that all my handbags/scarves and jewellery are in one place and can be easily seen and accessed.
This makes my morning routine much more time efficient but also gives me the chance to re connect with me again.
For anyone who recognises themselves in all of my waffle above, then please do spend some time on what makes you feel good! It’s worked for me!
Mar 23, 2016 | Clothing, Fashion, Wardrobe Weeding
Many of my clients put a lot of worry in to whether or not black features in their palette. I can relate whole heartedly to this, as pre colour analysis I did not have any colour other than black in my wardrobe. It was my crutch, my confidence booster, my fat disguiser, or so I thought!
Interestingly, even though black doesn’t feature in my colour palette I still have a few key pieces in my wardrobe that are black, I just wear them in a more strategic way now to lesson the aging effect that black has on my complexion when worn next to my face!
Everyone can still have their little black dress depending on the fabric it is made from, how much flesh is on show and what accessories and make-up are worn.
Texture is crucial in being able to soften black as it will alter the way in which light is absorbed by the fabric. All types of knit as well as tweeds will have this effect. Sheer fabrics will also “lighten” black and shiny fabrics such as silk or satin will sparkle and reflect the light making it easier for our lights, softs and warms to wear it successfully.
Very few people can wear black on it’s own right next to their face. To help lessen the ageing effect leave a little flesh on show with a lower or open neckline and add a little shimmer, either golden for our warm toned clients or iridescent silver for our cooler counterparts.
Accessorise your black with scarves or jewellery to lift the overall appearance and harmonise with your natural colourings. Choose a scarf in one of your “wow” colours or team your outfit with some statement jewellery. Warmer skin tones are best in gold, copper and bronze. Cooler skin tones are best in silver, platinum and pewter. Diamonds are perfect for everyone (I actually let out a huge sigh of relief as I wrote that sentence)!
Finally, your make-up can help you to wear black more successfully. Ensure that you are wearing the right tones and shades to compliment your colour palette and avoid over dramatizing by wearing a lipstick or blusher which is too overpowering for you.
If you’re looking for a slimming effect but want an alternative to black then consider navy, charcoal or chocolate brown depending on your dominant palette.
Feb 3, 2016 | Clothing, Kids, Special Needs
I was delighted to see the new range of clothing made available at M&S this week that are suitable for children with special needs. Their extended line of all in ones and sleep suits for children up to the age of 7-8 years is a totally inspired idea for children suffering with a disability who would hugely benefit from a soft fabric which is comfortable, warm and stretchy! They even have a bodysuit that has been adapted for feeding tubes.
At last it would appear that the needs of our disabled community are finally being listened to and addressed. What a fantastic start. fingers crossed this will just be the beginning and other well known high street retailers will learn to accept all of our lovely uniqueness no matter who we might be!
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