As a fashion stylist with training in both psychology and fashion design, I found myself marrying both directions in a discipline I call “fashion therapy”. I stumbled across an article in Psychology Today that really resonates with this philosophy. My views on the true meaning of style are captured perfectly by the author:

“style is a life-affirming expression of your character and spirit, a conviction that you are worth knowing, worth looking at and can present yourself well”.

I believe that personal style has two aspects: the internal and the external. Your personality and attitude towards life makes up the internal part; and how you physically present yourself to the world makes up the external part. They are inextricably linked. Time and time again, I’ve seen what a little magic on the outside can do to bring out the magic on the inside. I see this happening with my own clients, forum members and my underprivileged clients at Dress For Success (where I work as a volunteer dresser).

In a world of varying body types, countless retailers and overwhelming clothing choices, it’s no wonder that many of us are lost when it comes to dressing and grooming our bodies in the best way. So, in an effort to create clarity within this fashion chaos, we started youlookfab.com. Dressing well and the ability to express a great sense of style through clothing are things that can be learned. As the author in the article states:

“Fashion is in the clothes. Style is in the wearer”.

This is why we question the latest fashions and discuss how they can be worn with style. Even though I talk about fashion every day, YLF is more a style blog than a fashion blog.

Yves Saint Laurent said “fashion fades but style is eternal”. Coco Chanel said “Beauty is no guarantee for happiness, strive instead for elegance, grace and style”. When we look good we feel fabulous, but by the same token, feeling good is an essential ingredient of good style.

When the distance between your shoulders and natural waist is longer than average, you are long-waisted. Gals who fit this description should wear clothing that shortens the torso, raises the waistline and lengthens the legs. Here are a few guidelines:

• Wear a waist-cinching belt in a contrasting colour. This breaks up the length of the torso. Belts that match the colour of your bottoms are particularly effective.
• Wear high belted style jackets, coats and blouses. Wrap blouses are especially good.
• Layer with contrasting top colours to visually break up the torso.
• Wear tops that taper above the natural waist like empire lines.
• Wear tops tucked into pants and skirts with mid to high rises to raise the waistline.
• Look for tops with horizontal detailing like stripes, yokes and exaggerated collars. This raises the eye upward and the waistline too.
• Wear skirts at the knee and with a heel to balance out the leg line.
• Wear pants extra long and with heels (my PPL theory).
• Avoid pants with cuffs. They shorten the leg line and draw the eye downwards.

As usual, this is about restoring balance by putting the emphasis in the right place.

Left: An empire blue top with waist-cinching white belt over a pair of white pants shortens the torso beautifully. Middle: A top tucked into a high-waisted pair of pants or skirt does the same. Right: The empire line shortens the length of the torso by focusing above the natural waist.

Clamdiggers are the warm weather alternative to skinny and straight leg jeans. They are a capri that fits snugly through the thigh and knee, finishing somewhere just below the knee, or on the widest part of the calf. They’re worn in the same way as skinnies but at a ventilating cropped length.

Dress clamdiggers up or down with heels or flats and a top that works for your body type. They are an obvious choice for rectangles and inverted triangles, but don’t think that you can’t wear the look if you’re a little curvier at the bottom. My hot hourglass and pretty pear shaped clients sport clamdiggers with style when they wear the right combination of top and shoe. Sleek shirt dresses, tunics, baby dolls, voluminous tops, welted tops, knitted tops and wrap tops work beautifully. Add a jacket for a sophisticated edge and Bob’s your uncle. I love a smart casual look with an unexpected twist.

I can’t wait to haul out my clamdiggers. An arctic Seattle Spring has left them hibernating for longer than usual. But a clamdigger-friendly heat wave is supposed to be on the way. On the other hand, I might want to haul out my orphan dress. Oh no. Which should I wear?

Clamdiggers are my favourite style of cropped pant because I prefer a streamlined look. I get loads of mileage out of my dark denim pair because they look great with knee high boots in Autumn. No tucking!

This look is in its second season. We’re talking about a soaring three-inch-plus chunky heel with wide foot straps. It’s the high fashion look to wear with raised hemlines, clamdiggers and skinnies. I can appreciate the 70’s inspired sandal style, on someone else. I’m never sporting strappy sandals again, let alone a style with soaring heel heights (although chunky heels are my preference because I find them extra stable). But if you can walk comfortably in shoes like these, then by all means give them a bash. They add a high fashion edge to an outfit that is modern and appealing.

Establishing a general colour palette for blondes is a little trickier than the no-brainer reality that brunettes look great in blue. There are several variables that factor into the equation. The first one to consider: what kind of blonde are you? Tow-head, ash blonde, dark blonde or strawberry blonde? Complexion and eye colour are next.

Over the years, I’ve drawn the following conclusions:

• Strawberry blondes and tow-heads wear muted brights, ice-cream tones and dirty colours better than ash blondes
• Olive skinned dark blondes get way with wearing pastels and look particularly good in white and brights
• Ash blondes wear clean, cold and warm colours equally well, but tend to get washed out by insipid shades
• Most blondes look good in black, but occasionally dark slate grey or ink blue is a softer and more flattering choice
• Pale skinned blondes can look super in white if it’s appropriately contrasted with a strong colour like black or a bright
• Cream is a good choice for blondes that have cream strands running through their hair
• Blondes with blue eyes wear blue well and blondes with green eyes wear green well

I’m a rosy cheeked, short-haired ash blonde with creamy complexion and green eyes. I partially highlight my hair with ultra-blonde streaks, which is why I wear cream well. I look best in strong, sour bright colours like fiery red, canary yellow, citron, lime green, emerald green, fuchsia, cobalt blue, and bright turquoise. I look equally good in black and white combinations, ink blue and a dark olive green. I look a little blah in brown, but it comes alive when I add red, yellow, cream, white or black into the mix. I look dreadful in pastels, beige, light grey, muted brights and antique colours and avoid them like the plague. What type of blonde are you and which colours do you wear best?

As an ash blonde, these are some of the colours that work well on me.

Our mothers probably have more impact on our style and dress sense than we would care to admit. Here are some aspects of my late Mother’s style that I was grateful to learn:

• Good style starts with the best bra and I cannot stress this point enough.
• Perfect polish goes a long way. Styling your hair, wearing a scent and grooming your brows are easy ways to increase your style quotient. Mum was big on polish and I had this drummed into me at an early age.
• My Mother had good posture because her Mother made her walk around with a book on her head. When I do catch myself slouching on the odd occasion I can hear my mother telling me to STAND UP STRAIGHT.
• Dress up instead of dressing down because you’ll make a good impression that way.
• Don’t overdo make-up. Hallelujah. I especially love this one. Overly made-up faces are unsightly at any age.
• Black and white is a winning combination. I wear a lot of black and white and continue to love it’s dramatic effect.

There are also aspects of my Mom’s style that I would have liked her to change:

• Not wearing real fur. Mum did it freely in a time when the awareness was very different to what it is today. I am very opposed to fur and would have definitely gotten her to see things my way.
• Embracing denim. Wearing jeans was hard for my Mum. She thought denim looked un-ladylike and overly casual. But she eventually got her head around a pair of white jeans because they’re smarter. With encouragement, she would have eventually embraced smart casual dressing because she looked superbly elegant in jeans.
• Painting the toes red. My Mum was convinced that red toenail polish made her feet look like they were dipped in blood. Hilarious. Red looked so much better than the brown, earthy tones she chose instead.
• Adding silver to the mix. Gold was Mum’s only choice of metal, because she felt that she didn’t look good in white gold and silver. This was not true and she’d have enjoyed mixing metals.

Has your Mother’s personal style influenced your own? Would you like to change anything about your Mother’s style?

And for all the Moms out there: Happy Mother’s Day!

This post is dedicated to all mothers, and in particular to my late mother, who loved fashion and was an extremely stylish lady. She died eight years ago this month and would have turned 67 in September. I am proud to say that her style is alive in me.

A very stylish German friend 10 years my senior wears an oversized white ceramic Chanel watch that I have admired the day it was gifted to her. She wears it every day instead of a wedding ring and it’s very much part of her signature style.

I never thought I could wear bulky watches, let alone white ones, because I have dainty wrists and pale skin. But then another friend of mine with equally dainty wrists got herself a funky white and titanium watch and it looked great. I was inspired and bought a more refined, less sporty version (alas, not the porcelain Chanel watch that I covet).

It’s my everyday watch and I love it. My retro silver watches are resting as I enjoy the crisp and modern elements of this new accessory. It makes my outfits feel extra Summery and matches my pearl necklaces. It’s like wearing an iPod on your wrist. Good arm candy.

I’m glad I saw past my preconceived ideas and gave the white-watch-look a chance. I thank my friends for the inspiration.

Wearing tunics and dresses over jeans or pants is my favourite look. I’m all for outfit variety, but when it comes to a uniform, this is mine. I was first inspired by the look when my late mother sported the trend in the ‘70’s. There’s something extremely elegant AND funky about this ensemble combination and I’ve been besotted with it ever since. I started incorporating this look into my wardrobe 10 years ago and I haven’t looked back.

You don’t need to be tall or tiny to wear tunics and dresses over pants with style. It’s a question of getting the components and proportions right. You’ll need to pair slim boot cuts, straight legs, skinnies, leggings or clamdiggers with the right tunic or dress. Here’s how:

• The correct length: The shorter you are, the shorter you’ll need to go on the tunic or dress. You’re looking at a length somewhere between mid-thigh and a few inches above the knee. Go shorter or longer and you’ve lost that long lean line. Regular height and taller gals can shop in petites for this item as it often brings the hemline up to the correct place.
• The correct silhouette: Pear-shaped and apple-shaped gals need structured A-line silhouettes like shift dresses and baby dolls. Hourglasses, inverted triangles and rectangles get away with straighter and more fitted styles like shirt dresses and sheaths.
• Heels or flats: The trend is especially good with some sort of heel if you’re petite or pear-shaped, but it’s not a necessity. Judge the overall look once the ensemble is complete.

Chances are high you’ll need to commit a tunic or dress to wear over jeans or pants. It’s seldom that a dress will work over pants and on its own. It’s either too short to wear as a dress, or too long to wear over pants. Sometimes dress and tunic lengths work out perfectly and you get the biggest bang for your fashion buck by wearing them both ways, but it’s no guarantee.

Pairing tunics and dresses over pants is comfortable. And the right style tunic or dress is particularly forgiving around the tummy and thigh area if those are spots you’re self conscious about. Don’t be afraid to try something new. You can be a modern-classic that pushes the fashion envelope once in a while.

Tunics of varying lengths worn over pants, jeans and clamdiggers.

These are the types of dresses that work well over pants provided they are the correct length. From left to right: Sheath, shift, shirtdress and baby doll.

It’s become increasingly clear that brown haired girls with blue, brown or green eyes look stunning in the right shade of blue. It’s possibly one of their best colours. I’m talking light blue, cobalt blue, French blue, ink blue, dusty blue, sea blue, teal blue, royal blue and turquoise. Any one or all of the above, so take your pick.

Are you a brunette and do you wear blue? If so, what shade of blue do you wear and how do you mix it up with other colours?

Brunettes in beautiful blues.

I see closets full of beautiful skirts and the tags are still attached. These skirts are often closet orphans because their owners don’t have tops to accompany them. As a result I end up doing a lot of “skirt-top-matching” when I shop with my clients.

So I am proposing a new rule: Don’t purchase a skirt unless you purchase the accompanying top at the same time, or you already have a top that will work in your closet.

Retailers are also at fault. They don’t seem to offer sufficient top options alongside their skirts. Unless they are belted and blouson’ed, tops must be shorter and more fitted to work well with skirts. Retailers often cheat on mannequins by pinning, tucking and layering the wrong type of top with skirts to create an attractive ensemble. We’re lured to the outfit, try it on, love the skirt and loath the top because it’s not a “skirt top”, but leave with the skirt and welcome another orphan into our wardrobe. Sound familiar?

Stop this from happening by following the skirt rule. Do not be tempted by gorgeous skirts unless you know how you’re going to complete the ensemble by the time you get home. If you don’t, chances are high you’ve wasted your money.

This top is available in regular and petites and has just gone on sale at Banana Republic for $29.99. It looks pretty good with skirts and is better in the flesh, so don’t judge it too harshly from these pictures. It’s very short and fitted, but not too clingy (look at how short it is on the pant-wearing model). It might be your solution for an orphan skirt.