High gloss continues to make a stylish impact. While black and red patent leather (both real and fake) were must-haves for winter, patent kicks it up a notch in colours for Spring. Designers continued to show patent accessories at Fall 2007 fashion weeks which makes me think that the trend is going to be around for at least a few more seasons. Invest in high-shine shoes while stocks are still available. This fab fad is not going fade!

Spring patent collections from Nordstrom, Macy’s and Zappos.com in both bold and sundrenched hues.

Can your wardrobe function in style with fewer than 50 pairs of shoes? Absolutely. Excluding utility shoes (slippers, work-out sneakers, wellington boots, ski boots and gardening clogs), the 6-shoe-complement is my suggestion for women who are only interested in the essentials:

• Knee high boots – in a neutral colour with some sort of heel so that they can double up for smarter occasions.
• Fashion sneakers – as your stylish walking shoe.
• Fashion flats – as a comfortable and smarter alternative to  sneakers.
• Summer sandals – for skirts and dresses.
• Pumps – to dress up anything from a suit to jeans.
• Dressy heels – to match formal attire for special occasions.

You’ll be covered if you choose these 6 pairs of shoes with care. Matching them up meticulously with your wardrobe and choosing a quality shoe is imperative if the complement is to yield a high return.

But if you are like most women and you absolutely love shoes, it is less about what you need and more about what you want. To some extent this is justified – fabulous shoes are one of the fastest ways to accomplish a stylish appearance. Enjoy shopping for shoes ladies – who’s counting?

Electric 80’s cobalt blue is back and it’s quite a challenge to wear. Cold and hard unless you have the complexion and eye-colour to complement this remarkably overpowering hue, Cobalt seems to look best on blue or brown-eyed beauties with darker skin tones. However, it can be softened successfully when matched up with:

• Neutrals like black, white, grey and silver
• Yellow for warmth and glow (my personal favourite)
• Brights like red, pink and green

Keep these colour combinations crisp and select rich, dark and intense tones of cobalt for the most flattering effect (there is something very unflattering about a watered down shade of cobalt, especially in a knit). Include this colour for Spring if it tickles your fancy and doesn’t overpower your look. I personally like it best when paired with yellow.

Cobalt blue separates from Bebe and Anthropologie.

This is a frequently asked question on youlookfab. Unless you’re off to drinks, dinner or a party straight afterwards, casual attire is perfectly fine for the cinema. The possibilities are endless, but breaking outfits down by the bottoms is a good way to summarise your options. Here are three formulas that will work in the cool weather most of us are experiencing at the moment:

• Jeans – match denim up with a longer length T or collared shirt, cropped pinstripe jacket or cardigan, and fashion sneakers or flat boots. Finish the look off with a hand held satchel and string of pearls or boho beads.
• Casual pants – match combat pants or khakis with a collared shirt, sweater, military jacket or denim jacket and converse sneakers. Accessorize with a slouchy hobo or messenger bag.
• Skirt – match a denim, corduroy or cotton twill knee-length skirt with a turtle neck, tweed jacket and tall flat riding boots. Add a waist belt and oversized tote to the ensemble for a bit of extra oomph.

Sweats are not appropriate for anything other than lounging around and working out. If you do need to be smart casual after the movies, stick to the flop-proof outfit. And remember to layer with a camisole underneath and a trench on top for extra warmth. Voila! You are stylish for the movies or any other casual event.

Khakis and sneakers (Esprit), collared shirt and jacket (Gap), cropped hooded cardigan (Anthropologie) and Isabella Fiore messenger bag (Nordstrom).

A few weeks ago Gap Inc. announced that it was shutting down it’s newest chain, Forth & Towne. The decision was taken in an effort to focus on fixing persistent problems in the company’s two largest brands, Gap and Old Navy. This is a great pity. Forth & Towne was launched 18 months ago to appeal to women over the age of 35. Their merchandise is beautiful, appropriate, affordable and desirable. But obviously not desirable enough. After a thorough analysis, Gap Inc. concluded that  Forth & Towne “would not demonstrate enough potential to deliver an acceptable long-term return on investment.”

Buy up what you can – Gap’s about to leave Towne.

I have recently started wearing Converse sneakers again. I was inspired by what I saw on the streets of Hong Kong a few months ago and had to get in on their stylish action. The All Star Converse sneaker has become an adaptable, timeless, and “of the moment” casual footwear option. Once I’d popped in my insoles, there was no looking back. They are versatile, comfortable, practical and stylish. If you love fashion sneakers like I do, Converse All Stars are the next must-have pair on your list. Funky, trendy, eclectic or classic, they’ll work in your wardrobe like a dream. At $40 for a basic pair you can’t go wrong.

Converse All Star sneakers are available at most department stores and on-line footwear stores (like Zappos.com). Be sure to look at the multitude of options (and prices) before you purchase the pair that’s perfect for you.

I’ve never seen Ann Taylor look as good as it does right now. Their March collection is unexpectedly magnificent. Both striking and sophisticated, the range sports a mod myriad of exciting black and white, op-art inspired designs in updated and commercial silhouettes. Mixing and matching these items could not be simpler. And their items are not just for the modern classics among us. Remember that you can completely change the mood of a classic garment by matching it up with an avant garde piece and funky accessories.

Ann Taylor continues to live up to it’s reputation of immaculate quality and pristine tailoring. They stock sizes 0-12 in store and 00-18 online (petites included). Be sure to give their costume jewelry counter a once-over as well – it is their best kept secret. Solid, timeless and well made  accessories at affordable prices are hard to find.

The pictures of Ann Taylor’s unusually current March range speak for themselves.

Have you heard of Cargo Cosmetics? I was recently introduced to this wonderful, earth-friendly Canadian company at Sephora. Cargo has built a brand and a product around the belief that they “need to invest in the earth and our children for the future of our planet”.

I was particularly intrigued by their botanical lipstick. Not only is it affordable and magically moist, but each case of lipstick contains:

• A 100% biodegradable tube made entirely from corn, not plastic. Corn is apparently a renewable resource that is “greenhouse gas neutral”  which prevents it from contributing to global warming.
• An outer carton made of biodegradable flower paper embedded with wildflower seeds. A bouquet of wild flowers is said to grow if you moisten and plant this carton.
• Lipstick made of environmentally friendly “Orchid Complex” (no oils or petroleum).

Cargo also donates $2 from the sale of this lipstick to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. What’s not to love about this ecologically friendly and socially responsible lipstick? (I’ll let you know whether my wild flowers actually sprout.)

It comes as no surprise that the cropped trapeze jacket is one of the “it” styles for Spring. We started seeing hints of this boxy silhouette come through last season. The public’s adoption of this fringe trend has caused it to filter down to mainstream retailers this year. This boxy 60’s-inspired style will be more flattering than you think if keep three things in mind when you re-create the look:

• Keep it snug on your shoulders. The shape that you lose on your waist (due to the A-line nature of the style) must be compensated by the shape that you gain around the shoulder area. You will loose the flattering element of this style if it does not fit your shoulders properly.
• Keep it short. Above or on the waistline is preferable especially if you are a pretty pear or petite body type.
• Keep the layer underneath long and lean. Showing your waistline is imperative if this boxy style is to work. A knitted longer length top is the perfect solution

I’ve never advocated boxy styles, because form-fitting clothing is usually more flattering. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well this style worked if I adhered to the points above. This held true when dressing several different body types. Have you tried the cropped trapeze jacket?

Cropped trapeze jackets from Sashimi and French connection, available at Nordstrom.

Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Claudia  Schiffer , Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour and Christie Turlington. Remember the rise of the 80’s and ‘90’s supermodel? These glamorous women graced the covers of fashion magazines and strutted down catwalk runways with poise, panache, personality and individuality. Each was towering and stunning in their own way and demanded nothing less than $10,000 a show. They were just as famous (or infamous) as movie stars and celebrities.

Today’s models are different. They are still stereotypically beautiful (and arguably too thin), just younger, more doll-like, less expensive to hire and with less personality on the runway. Most of this new breed of model is Eastern European or Russian and they all look the same: perfectly symmetrical faces, deeply set wide eyes, strong jaw lines, pointy noses and pouty lips. They are usually between the ages of 16 and 20 and march on and off runways like robots. The “ attitude” is deliberately no longer there.

Designers opted to evolve the fashion model so that nothing would take away from their clothing creations. The exuberant personality of a highly paid supermodel eventually became an unaffordable distraction to their garments. The qualities of fashion models therefore had to change to reflect the new needs of designers. As a result, fashion shows have become more like garment processions as opposed to a source of excitement and entertainment.

With the new breed of model being less entertaining, celebrities now often feature on the covers of fashion magazines as a more desirable source of glamour and personality. And ethereal, waif-like, youthful and nondescript fashion soldiers remain the current choice for catwalk runways. Ironically, as highly successful models like Kate Moss, Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum have proven, personality is still a pre-requisite for models who want to stay in the game for longer than 2-3 years.