Sometimes we fancy a colour that’s unflattering on us, or we look fantastic in a colour that we don’t like to wear. I run into this challenge with clients from time to time and it’s not easy telling someone that they look drab in sage green when it’s their favourite colour. Or when magenta was made for them, but they loath it.

Of course, you also need to know which colours work for your hair colour and skin complexion. Feel free to look at posts in the YLF colour category for some guidance. Here are some recent posts where I talk about different colours and their applicability:

• Colour palette for blondes
• Brunettes in blue
• White, off-white, cream and beige
• Yellow: the unexpected star of the brights
• Citrus + Neon = Citron
• Ink blue: the new black
• Can redheads wear red?
• Mix it up with white
  

I scored with my colour palette. I’m able to wear the colours that I love and I’m happy to leave the ones that I don’t. But this is not the case for everyone. Do you wear the colours that you love despite the fact that they’re not ideal? Do you stay away from colours that look great because you don’t like them?

Summer can mean adding a more relaxed dimension to the ensemble mix. School holiday activities, park and pool settings, hot weather holidays and uber casual, run-around-town excursions call for a slip-on fashion sneaker. The vamps are low which means that they’re prefect paired with anything from casual frocks and skirts, to walk shorts, capris, casual pants and jeans.

Choose the style wisely to maintain a somewhat sophisticated edge to your look. The goal is not to look like a teenybopper but rather to be comfy, casual, age appropriate and stylish.

Slip-on fashion sneakers like these are a little more versatile than styles with big, sporty rubberized soles. The latter look best with denim and sports inspired knitted tops… and virtually nothing else.

Gladiator thong sandals are all over Paris right now. Although I can’t wear them myself, I love the look of a pretty metallic sandal with dainty straps. Add a polished pedicure and you are set for just about any Summer outfit. But the gladiator sandals below are over the top. Fine for designer cat walk appeal and Russell Crowe in “the Gladiator” (without the heels), but a little silly for every day. I’m all for adding an edge to an ensemble, but not like this. A gladiator thong sandal has got to be pretty.

This has been the season for wide-legged pants. They are the “it” pant silhouette in America and I too fell in love with high-waisted wide legged jeans. I have tried on several high-waisted wide-leg and mid-rise wide-leg styles and they look great when I wear heels and sport a slim-fitting blousy top.

But my wide-legged styles from last season are wardrobe orphans because I don’t feel fabulous when I wear them. There is a strange something about the excess fabric around my legs and feet that “gets in the way” when I’m charging around town. They feel like excess baggage. Perhaps this is why I’ve seen so few of them while in Paris over the last couple of days.

Women often look wider in wide-legged pants. It’s actually a hard silhouette to wear well and it has not been a popular style amongst my clients. Height and heels are a prerequisite and getting the silhouette of the leg line right is key. For those of you that fancy wide-legged pants and wear them well, I’m interested to know what it is about the style that appeals to you?

On the right person, I like the way wide-legged pants look. I’m probably alone, but I don’t like the way they feel.

The ‘70’s and ‘80’s fashion revival continues with white wash, acid wash and cornflower blue denim across all jean silhouettes. For most of us, it’s another blast from the past. We either wore this look ourselves, or had parents that wore the look. I’m all for retro revivals but I don’t think I can wear these blues again. I’d prefer to keep them a faded memory. How about you?

Can you imagine not buying a single new thing to add to your wardrobe for an entire year? This means no clothing, footwear, underwear, socks, jewelry or accessories. Nothing. I read an article in British Vogue (October 2007) about a woman who did just that. Her name is Anna Shepard and she likes fashion and clothing so this was indeed the ultimate wardrobe challenge.

Anna came to the realization that…

“I have enough clothing in my wardrobe to keep me clothed for a decade. And I only wear a fraction of what I own. If I spent time organizing my clothes and trying out different combinations, I rationalized, I’d be less tempted to make a beeline for the shops every time an invitation landed in the letterbox”.

Anna stayed clear of the shops for six months, but she was allowed to have clothes swapping parties and make trips to the seamstress to breathe life back into a tired wardrobe. On the odd occasion, Anna was also allowed to get items from charity shops because those clothes weren’t new but already in circulation. We don’t know how the story ends because Anna hasn’t completed the year yet, but she seems to be holding up.

“I’m not saying that I won’t be hitting the shops when my year is up, but I’d like to think that I’ll be a more discerning consumer” .

The shopping ban is less of a challenge if you start out with an organized, efficient and effective wardrobe. Flexing those creative muscles to come up with fresh ways of combining items and accessories becomes the new challenge. On the other hand, it’s difficult to ban shopping for a full year if your wardrobe is in desperate need of an update, or if your body changed to the extent that you can’t wear the clothes you have.

I have an effective wardrobe and my body has not changed, but I would find this challenge extremely hard. I thoroughly enjoy the excitement that new seasonal items bring to a landscape of monotonous clothing. I’ve been in the rag trade for 16 years and it’s my bread and butter. Fashion is a passion and I’m therefore always tempted. But it’s a very interesting challenge and I’d love to know what you think: could you do it?

It’s extremely important to sport a healthy handbag. One way of ensuring this is to carry a simple flat tote that’s no deeper than one to four inches. You’ll keep the dramatic and fashionable effect of the oversized-tote-look, but without the weight (if you’re disciplined about keeping the contents of your handbag to a minimum). Hardware, bells and whistles, slouchy styles and wide handbags tend to be bulky and heavy, especially if they’re leather.

If you stick to a slim, streamlined tote that’s no bigger than the size of your upper body, you might be pleasantly surprised at how much easier it is to stride comfortably as you go about your day. This style of tote was all over the streets of San of Francisco when I visited earlier this year. Urbanites like to keep it practical, funky and stylish. My type of handbag.

When a handbag is simple, let the colour and fabrication do the talking. Patent or cracked patent leather or faux leather adds depth to this look and are my favourite options.

Say goodbye to excessive underarm perspiration with Certain Dri Anti-Perspirant. It’s an underarm formula that is applied at night and is supposed to last for 72 hours. I haven’t tested its ability to work this long (I’m paranoid about underarm odor), but I’ve been using it for the past week and it works brilliantly over a single day. No armpit perspiration and no need for deodorant. The effectiveness of the product blows me away.

I don’t know whether it is harmful to stop underarm perspiration completely. But you might like to use Certain Dri on days when you’re wearing a top or dress that is prone to showing underarm perspiration, or on days when you expect to get a little more anxious but would like to look cool, calm and collected.

It really works Betsy. Thank you for the recommendation!

Don’t let perspiration puddles put a damper on your day. Get Certain Dri for $5.95 at any drug store

As predicted, there have been loads of floral designs on skirts, dresses, tunics and tops this season. I think there is a floral for everyone, even if you don’t like prints.

I tend to like floral patterns that are abstract or geometric. Sometimes they are nicest when the actual floral design is a little hard to discern. I don’t like florals that look like Sanderson floral upholstery, or ditsy country-flower prints. I tend to tire of this type of print quickly. I might like the freshness of the vibrant colours at first glance, but I’ve had enough of the look after two minutes.

If you prefer to keep your clothing print free, there is also the option of floral printed shoes. I like this option and last season’s Faryl Robin shoes are still going strong. Do you like floral patterns, and if so, what kinds?

These are my kind of florals, but busier and brighter designs can be just as fab and very Summery. Horses for courses!

Time and time again my conclusions are confirmed: curvy gals look better in dresses than their slim counterparts. Aesthetically, dresses look best when they are filled in the bust, hip and bottom department. This requires curves and ideally a more voluptuous body type. Straighter bodies tend to lack the curves to fill out a dress silhouette in the best way, and therefore don’t look quite as fab.

The aesthetic conclusion makes perfect sense. Dresses were originally designed for women (I’m excluding Scottish men that look sensational in a kilt). Pants and jeans were originally designed for men. There was method to this madness. Woman are curvy; men are not. Perhaps this is why women with slim, straight boyish bodies look great in jeans. But they need to step aside when it comes to dresses because curvy girls have them beat.

Pretty dresses, but even these beautiful models are too slim to truly do them justice.