If you’re a redhead and you’ve never tried wearing purple, you are missing out. It might be the best colour for your skin and hair combination. “Red” hair is normally more a shade of orange, and nothing brings out the colour orange more than the right shade of purple. Orange/yellow shades and purple/blue shades oppose each other on the colour wheel, which means that they are “complementary”. So this wild colour combination also makes sense from a scientific point of view.

Remember that purples fall into either blue tones or pink tones and it’s a question of finding which purple is best for your particular shade of hair. I’ve found that a muted pinky-purple is an all-round fab colour for red heads. But various shades of purple from eggplant to raspberry to magenta to mauve to lilac will work too. Stunning Julianne Moore wore a muted purple dress to her movie premiere a few months ago… I rest my case.

Sometimes belted cardigans, blouses, tunics and coats can look gorgeous on the hanger, but odd when you try them on. This is often a case of incorrect belt loop positioning. Even if a garment is the right size and fit, belt loops that are positioned either too high or too low tend to look unflattering. Belted styles need to tie at the smallest part of your natural waist (unless they are specifically designed to fall low on your hips or high under the bust).

But don’t let the incorrect belt loop positioning of a garment put you off before you’ve tried the following:

• Take the belt out of it’s loops and re-position it correctly on your waist. If the garment looks flattering after this adjustment, you can either alter the belt loops, or cut them off and tie the belt without threading it through belt loops.
• Try the garment without the belt. Tailored garments don’t always need belts to give them shape, so it’s worth a try just to make sure.

I have seen people trying to make the most of unflattering belted styles by tying the knot loosely at the back (like a back tie). This is not a good look, especially when the garment is double breasted. If a belted style still doesn’t work after repositioning, don’t buy it.

Left: belts are lower then natural waist, which is not what the style intended.
Right: belts are positioned correctly at the smallest part of the model’s waist.

Imagine if the government set out to measure the nation’s height, weight and curves in order to improve the sizing of clothes in retail fashion. Well, Spain’s health ministry has taken on this mammoth task. The goal of the study is to ensure that fashion houses “promise to fit their clothes to real women, rather than the other way round”.

From a recent article in The Independent:

Last month technicians from Spain’s health ministry visited the first of 59 towns across the country to measure 10,415 Spanish women, aged between 12 and 70, to find out what size and shape the nation’s females really are. The nationwide measuring operation continues until 21 December, and results are to be announced next spring.

Women are chosen at random from the city’s census and invited to participate in an “anthropometric study”, which the state-sponsored National Consumers Institute claims to be the first in the world. The aim is to promote “a realisable image of healthy beauty – neither Rubens women nor anorexic girls”, according to the health minister, Bernat Soria. “It is our commitment that beauty and health go hand in hand.”

The results from the study will be used to standardize clothing sizes across the industry.

This step follows Spain’s leadership in banning ultra-thin models from the Madrid catwalks a year ago. And that isn’t the end of it…

The government has also extracted a promise from retailers to banish skeletal plastic mannequins from shop windows – said to encourage unrealistic ideals of beauty – and replace them over time with those sized at least 38 – a British 10 [this is roughly an American 6, where mannequin’s today typically wear an American 2] .

Regardless of your position on the government playing such an active role in consumer affairs, these are fascinating moves. Spain has tremendous clout in the fashion world because they are home to the biggest and most successful fast-fashion retail chain in the world – Zara. I’m looking forward to next Spring when the results of the study will be announced. It will be incredibly interesting to see whether they can be applied successfully, and whether other countries follow Spain’s example.

Will idealizing the skinny ever be out of fashion?

Macy’s started their huge coat sale yesterday. All coats are 30% to 40% off, and if you happen to have a 20% Macy’s coupon in your hot little hands, you’ll enjoy that discount on top of the original reduction. The coats that you’ll find online do not do the actual store range justice. There is a vast assortment in a variety of styles and sizes. Colours are typically neutral, red or checked (hound’s-tooth and tweed), so don’t bother if you have an eye-catching orange or purple winter woolen coat on your shopping list. And remember: beware the black coat if you are challenged by lint and pet hair. Nothing is more hard-wearing and camouflaging of stains and dirt than salt-and-pepper tweeds and patterned fabric.

All the coats are in one section at Macy’s during the sale, so ask a sales assistant for directions and head straight there.

Red made a huge comeback last season but red coats were few and far between. Despite the fact that jewel tones are all the rage right now, gorgeous red coats started gushing into stores a few weeks ago. And it’s about time. I haven’t been enthused by colourful coats all season. A superb coat is always a statement, and a perfect red one even more so.

Not all red coats are created equally. The wrong red coat can look cheap (just like bad patent). Apart from watching cut and fit, you’ll need to be extra discerning about fabrication, button choice and the actual shade of red. Red coats tend to look best in rich luxurious shades and better-end wools. I personally prefer the look of contrasting buttons on red coats, but buttons that are dyed to match will also work.

I am constantly surprised at how many people actually love the colour red (I’m one of them). And you have to love red if you’re going to commit to an entire coat in the colour. Remember that although red is bright, it is a basic colour and will therefore date less than many fashion colours. Red coats are classy when mixed with items in the conventional black, grey and winter white palette. But I’m liking my red coat best mixed with warm winter yellow, ink blue and cobalt this season. The combinations are fresh, new and exciting.

If it fits your shopping plan and budget, now is a good time to add a red coat to your wardrobe. There’s nothing like a bright coat to brighten up a cold Winters day.

A few red coat favourites in stores at the moment (Guess and Mango). There are also some fab styles at Banana Republic, Tulle, Benetton and J Crew.

Closets that I review often have a few items of unflattering and shapeless pieces of knitwear lurking in amongst the cherries. While some boxy knitwear pieces are beyond redemption, others can be transformed with the addition of a waist-cinching belt. Even for the small minority of people that can make boxy knitwear work for them, the belt creates a different look with the same piece of knitwear, effectively increasing its ROI.

This quick and inexpensive style tip is not going to work with chunky knits, which fail to look streamlined no matter what you do to them. I have also found that the look doesn’t work with every body and seems to be more effective as you get closer to the hourglass shape (for fuller figures too). But nothing ventured nothing gained, so give it a try if you have the items or are prepared to invest in a belt. Freshening up a boring piece of knitwear in this way can work wonders for your style and your pocket.

Eileen Fisher is well known for her expensive and impeccably made boxy knitwear. Most of us need a belt like the one on the left to make it flattering.

Lugging around gigantic totes filled with everything but the kitchen sink will wreck your back, neck and shoulders. This concerned Oprah, who recently asked New York based chiropractor Isis M. Medina how to find a handbag that won’t hurt your back. Medina suggested we follow a set of healthy handbag guidelines when choosing our bag and I found seven of her ten points particularly interesting:

• Your weight and your fate: you shouldn’t tote more than 10% of your body weight. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, your handbag and it’s contents should weigh no more than 15 pounds.
• Getting a handle: long strapped shoulder bags are bad because they tug you to one side causing your shoulders to hunch. Short handled bags that aren’t too flimsy or narrow are a better choice.
• The test drive: make sure that you can use Medina’s three approved positions for a short-handled bag:
  • Over your shoulder and tucked under your arm
  • Over your forearm (or in the crook of your elbow)
  • Held in your hand
• Compact models: shape and dimensions matter less than how the bag meshes with your body. Your bag should find “that sweet spot” on your body and be comfortable to carry.
• No feed bags: structured bags are better than slouchy ones because they keep their contents stable, which in turn keeps you balanced and your back aligned.
• Easy access: rummaging around in a handbag causes your torso to twist and distort. It’s therefore important that the contents of your handbag are organized for simple and efficient retrieval.
• Low bulk components: bags that are soft, lightweight and mold to your body are best. In this way, your arm stays by your side comfortably without having to stick out unnaturally. Bags with heavy hardware or other chunky components therefore tend to be unhealthy choices.

Medina further suggested that buying an expensive handbag is not necessarily the solution. A modestly priced handbag can be healthy and chic. It’s also important to balance the load that your body is carrying equally on both sides.

I’m pleased to announce that my handbags (plus their contents) weigh well below 10% of my body weight. When did you last put your handbag on the scale?

Some form of weatherproof coat is essential for those of us who have wet Autumns and Winters. Styles with hoods are particularly practical when small children are in tow and our hands aren’t available to hold an umbrella in addition to everything else. The good news is that our choices are less dowdy these days and rainwear seems to get more fashionable every year. Below are my top picks for this season. The stylish Mum-on-the-go never looked better.

Price points for this item will vary, but the style from Macy’s (far left) is currently on sale and looks terrific paired with a super pair of funky waterproof boots, jeans and a great handbag. Thank you Meredith for inspiring this blog entry. You looked fab yesterday as we shopped in the rain.

For more than 15 years after the horrific 80’s decade of anti-fashion, the dominant trend in the industry was body conscious. Designers celebrated our figures with sleek, tailored pieces that are fitted to our bust, waistline and hips. We, the buying public, learned the rules of dressing to this fundamental style direction.

Then, about 18 months ago, things started to change. A new artsy and roomy voluminous look started to emerge as designers introduced bold pieces with excess fabric that hide the contours of the body. Last seen in the 80’s, leggings and tapered pants also re-appeared. It seems contradictory, but these extremely tailored pieces are part of the voluminous trend. An essential part, in fact, because volume on volume doesn’t work and it makes perfect sense to pair these streamlined bottoms with billowing blouses, sack dresses and trapeze jackets.

Along with watershed change comes confusion. Having moved away from the boxy styles of the 80’s and finally getting up to speed with modern tailoring, the re-invention of volume seems to have baffled much of the consumer market. These voluminous looks are taking a lot of getting used to, especially as style gurus continue to advocate body-skimming styles. Personally, I have embraced some of the new items, but still feel that streamlined styles are universally flattering.

The struggle to assimilate the new voluminous trend is something I see often as a fashion stylist. How do you feel about the shift? Has it been easy to adopt, or are you still making sense of the new volume?

Does the fashionable weatherproof boot exist? It does and your options are greater than you think. Wellies are fun for playful and casual settings, but if you’re after something a little more sophisticated, try boot brands like La Canadienne, Aquatalia and Sudini. You’ll find that most of their collections are either weatherproof or completely waterproof. In fact, the styles are so fab (and really comfy), it’s almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, they cost a pretty penny – you’re looking at an average price of $300. The Sudini brand tends to make a more affordable range.

You’ll find a wide assortment of these practical yet stylish boot brands on Zappos.com and at most department stores. Be sure to browse on-line to find a pair that tickles your fancy because there’s lots to choose from.

An assortment of weatherproof and waterproof boot styles from La Canadienne and Aquatalia.