While you don’t need to have a bag for every outfit, using one handbag for all occasions simply does not work. Women often ask me to recommend a handbag that they can use 24/7. I disappoint them by replying that there is no such thing as “one bag fits all”. It’s easy to ruin an outfit with the wrong handbag. Heavy dark bags look super in autumn and winter with a coat or jacket, but will overwhelm a soft pretty dress. You’ll also want a change from your everyday work bag to something smaller and smarter when you go out at night or attend a fancy occasion.

For those of you that want to have style with the fewest number of bags in your wardrobe, my suggestion would be to invest in a timeless “3-bag-complement”:

• Black or brown bag for colder weather
• Metallic, white or coloured bag for warmer weather
• Small evening clutch for smarter occasions

If your lifestyle also demands a briefcase then you’ll need to add that as a fourth bag. And if bags are your very favourite thing like they are for me, you can never have enough. The right bag can pop the most mundane outfit into the next season – the only thing you’ll want to consider is your budget!

You could go more funky or designer, but these handbags from Kenneth Cole are a safe choice if you don’t want to think about handbags again for a while.

While I believe that less is more when it comes to wearing make-up, wearing nothing at all can leave you looking tired and sickly (especially if you are). There are a few exotically beautiful women in the world that can pull off “the absolutely no make-up” look, but most of us can benefit from a bit of polish.

Here’s how to do it in under 30 seconds:

• Cover the odd spot with concealer
• Pop on a bit of blusher
• End with a dab of lip gloss

If you can spare another 15 seconds, I’d throw in the mascara as well. This fast and simple make-up ritual can make the world of difference to how you look. Buy mini size cosmetics with built in applicators that you can keep in your handbag and refresh the blusher and the gloss mid day. The next time you catch yourself in a passing mirror – you’ll look fab instead of drab.

Hollywood’s swankiest event once again glittered with glamour. The night was filled with flawless designer gowns, radiant skin, bare necklines, jewel encrusted clutches, Jimmy Choo shoes, Chopard bling and lots of style. It was nice to see variety amongst the dress styles (tired Grecian-goddess looks did not reign supreme this time around). 

My favourites of the night were:

• Reese Witherspoon in Nina Ricci was a petite picture of perfection. Her form fitting strapless eggplant gown ruffled romantically into diagonal toned layers of elegance and grace. The contrast of this classic dress with her simple, super-straight modern hairstyle was genius.
• Nicole Kidman was superbly statuesque in her flaming red, catwalk couture halter gown. The neck bow on this dress was overwhelmingly delicious and wouldn’t have looked right on anyone else but Nicole Kidman. Her surreal mannequin-like presence is breathtaking and she too sported super simple straight hair (a new red carpet trend).
• Penelope Cruz in Versace was a classic Spanish beauty. Her strapless blush corset gown erupted into a train of pretty and playful tulle feathers. Her slicked back hair was timeless and complemented the drama of her dress well.
• Cate Blanchett in her metallic slate, Armani Prive off-the-shoulder sheath gown was once again the red carpet risk taker who always gets it right. Cate’s style is avant guard and I love seeing her award ceremony choices because they are so unconventionally glamorous. Anyone else would have looked like a gladiator in this dress, but Cate looked  fabulous.
• Kate Winslet was beautiful in her mint green Valentino. Her asymmetrical gown draped immaculately over her curves, and she matched it up elegantly with a side parting and pulled back hair.

This international lineup proves that redheads look stunning in red, and that milky cream, satin skin is better than bronzer. That concludes this years award season. Reese Witherspoon and Cate Blanchett get my youlookfab award for being the best dressed celebrities on the red carpet this year.

Cate, Reese and Penelope on the Oscars red carpet, courtesy of E! Online.

Footwear designer Taryn Rose loved beautiful shoes. Formally trained as an Orthopedic surgeon, she  opened her first footwear boutique 8 years ago. After constantly seeing women with serious foot problems caused predominantly by fashion footwear, Dr. Rose took it upon herself to design an exquisite collection of shoes that were actually good for your feet. The brand promises proper fit, flexibility, breathability, cushioning, wearability and timeless styling. Each shoe is hand crafted by skilled artisans in Italy (which partly explains why a pair costs between $300 and $500).

What these shoes promise sounds too good to be true. Are they worth the price? I am willing to go to great lengths to keep my fussy feet happy, but I’d love to hear your opinion on this orthopedic choice. I don’t own a pair, but I’m thinking about it – after all, beauty and pain should not go hand in hand.

Taryn Rose shoes are available at department stores and Zappos.com.

The Spring trench coat is a different animal to the trusty Autumn trench you might already have hanging in your wardrobe. While the classic long-sleeved, double or single breasted beige creature is forever fashionable, you might want to have a  bit of fun with the new styles that are in store at the moment. This cheeky version of the original is cropped in length, shorter in sleeve and definitely not beige! Tailored and belted in keeping with the true spirit of a trench, this perky update is bound to kickstart any Spring wardrobe.

If you feel that you’d rather stick to a classic trench for Spring, then you’ll still be in style. Sophisticated and elegant options are available from Ann Taylor and Banana Republic at the moment. But if you fancy freshening up that classic look - go short, flirty and bold instead. Your new mini rendition is the perfect complement to trouser jeans, slim-legged pants, flouncy skirts and walk shorts. A high ROI is guaranteed.

Cropped trenches from J. Crew, Macy’s, Anthropologie, Arden B. and Bebe.

Esprit is a German chain store and a brand known for it’s uncomplicated, sporty European style and clean-cut, crisp looking merchandise. Their fit is roomier than fellow European retailers and quality usually superior. They offer casual and smart casual clothing / accessories for men and women at affordable prices.

Esprit was a great brand to own in the ‘80’s and early 90’s, but battled a bit when giants like H&M and Zara took over most of the European contemporary fashion scene. Suddenly their look seemed expensive and basic (sound familiar?). In a world where people want more for their fashion dollar, Esprit was forced to make changes. They realized that “basic was less desirable” and are back on the map. Their casual wear is once again a strength for both the funky urbanite and modern classic.

Esprit is available all over Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. You’ll find stand alone stores in New York City, but elsewhere in the United States Nordstrom is your only option. I’ve recently added Esprit items back into my wardrobe and thoroughly recommend them. Perhaps the Gap could look to Esprit for inspiration?

Esprit are doing a great job of educating customers on their websites. These styles show how effortlessly their items can be layered and co-ordinated. Try creating similar casual combinations with the clothes you already have in your wardrobe.

With Spring only a month away, it’s time to prune those closets again before you add the sparkle of the new season. Re-evaluate each piece and be ruthless. Don’t forget about your sock, underwear, work-out and accessory drawers. You should love everything in your closet.

What can you do with the clothing and accessories that you don’t love?

• Take them to a consignment store. This is an option if your items are in pristine condition. You won’t get much for most items, but it’ll buy you and a friend a cup of tea.
• Sell them on E-bay. You need to be Internet-savvy and prepared to ship your goods to their new owner, but if your items are branded you might recoup a reasonable fraction of the original price.
• Have a clothing swap party with your friends. If that sounds like too much effort, give your friends a gift that you know they’ll love more than you did.
• Donate them to a charity or non-profit. Options include The Salvation Army, Good Will and Dress for Success. You’ll be able to claim a tax deduction and feel doubly good knowing that someone else who literally had nothing to wear will have a new outfit.

Get cracking with your closet-clean out. The sooner you pass those items along, the sooner you’ll get to replace them with goodies that update your look and make you feel fab.

My perfect pants length mantra is seldom followed by fashion models who sport the pages of catalogues, websites and magazines. The hems of their pants hardly ever skim the surface of the floor (which is what I encourage to increase your style quotient). Have you ever wondered why this is? The answer might not be what you expect.

A modeling photo shoot for a garment that the buyer has ordered for a retail store is usually done 2-4 months before the garment is available in stores, and even before the actual order has been produced or delivered. The clothing that the models wear for the shoot are the standard prototypes that the retail buyers use to approve the final order. These prototypes are made in regular lengths (32-33 inch seams) because they need to comply with store approved size specifications. Models, however, are very tall and would ordinarily buy their pants with extra length (34 to 36 inch seams).  It’s no wonder that their pant lengths fall short when they have to model prototypes that are designed for real women.

For a retailer to request an additional prototype with a longer inseam length for advertising purposes (so that the model can sport perfect pants lengths) may seem like an easy solution, but it’s virtually impossible. Clothing manufacturers operate on extremely tight budgets and timelines. They jump through many tedious and bureaucratic  hoops to get the prototype of an order approved by the buying department. To do this twice would delay production which would in turn harm store sales.

Designer fashion shows are different. Models on the runway wear garments that are customized for their bodies – which is why their pants are usually the correct length.

So it’s all about money! Hopefully sites like mine can help you to make sense of the fashion industry’s idiosyncrasies. Are there other things that puzzle you in the world of fashion retail? Let me know in the comments or privately on Ask Angie and I’ll try to address them in future blog entries.

Great pants, poor lengths. Examples from Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. 

For those of you who have spent years investing in heeled pointy-toed shoes – don’t worry! They are still in fashion and absolutely stylish. It’s true that wedges, round-toes, peep-toes and platforms are the trend this season, but your points remain perfectly timeless.

Pointy-toed heels are especially good for pretty pear shaped bodies that need the extra height. The length of the point elongates the leg, giving it that slimming effect. The “stumpy” look of round-toed shoes does exactly the opposite, making your legs look shorter and wider.

  
 
Try these updated styles from Zappos.com for a bit of variety if points are your preference. Patent, mary-janes, ankle straps and bows are all the rage for Spring.

This timeless and “of the moment” outfit can take you almost everywhere. It’s forever-fashionable, casually comfortable, effortlessly chic, unfussy and safe. It cuts across age, fashion persona and body type because it’s adaptable. It’s what I call the “flop-proof outfit” and it is based on a simple formula:

smart denim + shirt or girly top + jacket + heels + statement bag

You can adapt these components a little further to suit your style and the season:  

• Keep it classic with simpler silhouettes if you are a little older
• Add the “it” a-line jacket if you are a trendy fashionista
• Match up a boho babydoll if you like hippy chic
• Sport the collegiate look with argyles and pinstripes
• Stay avant guard if you prefer to dress in designer brands

T-shirts and sneakers are not the right items to add to this particular mix, because they take way the sophisticated element that you want to convey. This flop-proof way of dressing will take you to dinner parties, school functions, date nights, luncheons, smart casual events, less formal work days and most evenings out. Use accessories to dress the items up or down.
 
Now that smarter denim and trouser jeans have become an acceptable part of most dress codes, it’s wise to take advantage of this versatile way of dressing. Start introducing this tried and tested formula into your wardrobe and you won’t go wrong. 

Trendy

Classic

Bohemian

Sporty Avant Guard

Different variations on the “flop-proof” outfit theme.