Here's an exercise I do while leafing through magazines and catalogs to see what’s new in the stores and what might work in my own wardrobe. It helps me avoid impulse buys that can end up hanging in my closet unworn because they don't go with anything else.
This is how it works: If I see something I like, I look at it for a minute — keeping in mind the color, cut, trim details and proportions. Then, I look at myself in the mirror. [. . .]
You want to stay true to yourself in fashion, particularly when it comes to your colors. But sometimes you just gotta break—or temporarily bend—the rules a bit. Here’s an example.
Many years ago a woman I know had an important business meeting with a group of potential investors for a TV series she was pitching. They were known to be extremely hard bargainers, notoriously sexist and profoundly stingy. She found out ahead of time that everyone in their executive office, particularly during negotiations, dressed in white. It set their ‘tone’ as being members of a lofty pantheon of power and authority. She wore white that day. She got the sale. (Hopefully she was wearing her version of white…)
Knowing the culture of your potential client/employer or partner is an important part of establishing equal footing with and gaining respect from them. In the above example, the power of color was a significant subliminal component that helped make a positive first impression. [. . .]
While packing for a trip to New York for my niece’s wedding, which just so happened to coincide with Fashion Week, I read the following amusing (sort of) quote on designer Mondo Guerra’s Facebook page: “Every year women in New York City put the past behind them and look toward the future: it’s called Fashion Week.”
I’m sure that’s a delightful concept for designers and retailers who make a living by inspiring some level of insecurity in their customers: “If I don’t buy the latest I’ll […]
In the book I describe some of what are considered the classic wardrobe staples that every woman should own. I always have to qualify this concept with a little dose of reality and this caveat: depending upon your lifestyle and coloring, the strictly “classic” version of these may not work for you.
Still, they have stood the test of time (at least for the past 100 years or so—in the larger scheme of things these too may pass) for a reason. Here are some of the reasons why classics are sexy and appropriate […]