Celebrate International Women's Day

Monday 8th March is the day to celebrate women - all of our qualities, capabilities and achievements. It's International Women's Day.

Today also seems appropriate and timely as the day to acknowledge the success of Kathryn Bigelow, who won the Oscar for Best Director and also for Best Picture at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Amazingly it's the first time that a woman has won in either of these categories. So - much to celebrate but also a reminder of how far women still have to go when it comes to being equally recognised for their talents and skills.

The recent research into pay equality in the UK revealed that the gap between men and women's pay isn't closing. It's not right; it's not fair but it's how it is. I have a wide range of amazingly talented clients for whom my mantra is 'success is a combination of style and substance'. Being good enough for a role isn't actually always enough; you've got to consistently look, behave and communicate in a way that says to others: 'I'm the one for the new job opportunity/pay rise/project responsibility'.

Women everywhere take note: it's not about style over substance...........you need both to succeed. Enjoy International Women's Day and always remember - stand out from the crowd for the right reasons and never blend in with everyone else for the wrong ones.

Blue Is The Colour

Did you know that colours evoke different emotions and associations with all of us? We speak a language of colour (e.g. seeing red; feeling blue; green with envy; yellow-bellied etc.) which connect colour to emotion - and it's everywhere.

I read an article recently which talked about the colour BLUE. Although scientists believe we associate it with being calm; research now suggests it makes us more creative and imaginative. Who'd have thought that?

A Canadian study found that volunteers who had blue walls and furniture took more risks and were more creative - whilst RED helped concentration. Interior designers have long used colour to influence our mood through the use of pale, muted tones.

Interesting, but who cares you might say? Well, think about it in the context of your hair, clothing and accessories. I have clients who 'feel pretty' in certain colours - or more confident or more sexy.....and I believe them. For sure you will have colours which you don't like with a vengeance (Yellow anyone?) Some colours we just don't 'do' - and it's different for everyone. I'm not a fan of grey - but that's just on me. On others it can look gorgeous.

The point is this: yet again it shows that when we wear something which we positively emotionally connect to then we feel better/more confident/more like ourselves. So, whether it's blue, green, red, yellow, purple, brown, black, white, orange, cream or any other colour under the sun - go wear it - enjoy it and feel better and more like the real you.

Should We Be A Slave To Fashion?

It was extremely sad news to hear of the death of Alexander (Lee) McQueen last week. 40 years old and in his prime. Much has been written about his work - his was a huge talent and yes, we all know he was the bad boy of British fashion. But the reality is that he knew how to dress for women's shapes, cut fabric exquisitely and experiemented with pattern, texture and detail to wonderful effect.

The question I'm often asked by my clients when it comes to designers 'though is: 'but what about the outfits which appeared on the catwalk?' You can't wear that!! It's true of course - but catwalks are a theatre of expression - a place to be creative, frivolous, expressive, joyous, mischievous and sometime shocking with a 'look'. The themes, trends and ideas are interpreted in cuts, shapes, details for clothes which subsequently do appeal and can sell by the bucket load.

So what about the fashion shows and seasonal trends when it comes to the 'Stylish Woman'? Should we all rush out and buy 'luxe sportswear' for Spring/Summer 2010 for example? Hmmm. The reality of most women's lives (and wardrobes) is that they do not have the money, time or energy to continually change their closets to suit the 'trend'. And the good news is that you don't have to.

As the fabulous Coco Chanel said: 'Fashion comes and goes; style is forever'. Have 'fashion items' in your wardrobes by all means - experiment with pieces that are 'on trend'. You may find they become old friends; but you may also find that they do their duty and then need to be retired at the end of the season. So - don't feel obliged to spend vast sums of money on very fashionable pieces, and know that the good news is you don't have to - there are plenty of high quality fashion pieces in shopping malls the world over. Having between 10-15% of your wardrobe for high fashion is plenty, plenty, plenty.

Enjoy and experiment with fashion; have fun with it; see how it can transform an outfit. But don't be a slave to fashion - remember that not all trends will suit you anyway (no matter how hard you try). Finding your style - loving and living that through your clothes is always the best way to go.

Can Women Wear Black?

What is it with all this talk of wearing black? Spring is supposed to be around the corner and we should all be reaching for that jaunty nautical sailor look soon (er - not actually). Maybe it's because the catwalk shows are upon us again....who knows.......but real life women don't tend to respond well to being repeatedly told what they 'can't' do. I keep opening the paper to articles screaming 'Don't wear black past the age of 40!' For goodness sake. What nonsense.

When it comes to colour; we can have emotional as well as physcial reactions to it and one of the most common questions I'm asked by my clients is: can I wear black?

Given that I work with women of all ages; leading busy, challenging lives let me offer the short answer: 'YES'.

• Any woman can wear black on the lower half of her body - skirts, trousers, shoes, boots, hosiery, knits. Knock yourself out and have fun with it.
• Black is a 'receding' colour. This means it appears 'further away' when we look at it and it's why we reach for black when we're having an 'I feel fat' day. We feel slimmer and we look slimmer. Fact.

But here's the slightly longer answer to the question 'can I wear black?'. 'YES - WITH SOME CONSIDERATION'. Read on if you want to know how to wear black (and ESPECIALLY if you thought that you couldn't).

• Go see a professional who has been trained in colour analysis and get your colours analysed. It will give you lots of ideas for hair, glasses, make-up and clothing colours. (Oh come on - of course I'll recommend that). Your colouring changes as you get older. Get over it. When you can see that wearing colours that compliment your natural colouring make you look younger, more refreshed, less haggard and with a more defined jawline - with not a hint of Botox or surgery in sight - you'll think, "what's not to love about that?"
• Back to black again - it all depends on if you want to wear black near your face (in jewellery; hair colour; glasses; tops; knits; shirts; jackets; dresses; coats etc.) Because if you do - your skin/hair and eye colour are important.
• If you have high contrast colour between your hair and skin (e.g. dark hair; pale skin) - you can wear black with gusto. You can also wear black if you have very bright colouring or as a woman of colour - black will look gorgeous on you.
• But what about red heads? Grey hair? Blondes? If you know you don't look your perky best wearing black usually - then the chances are you need to 'lift' the impact of wearing black. What do I mean? You need to offset the downside of the black. You can do that by:
• Well applied make-up with colours that suit you
• Wearing the collar of a shirt of blouse outside of a black jacket or coat
• Wearing a scarf which matches your eye colour
• Gorgeous jewellery (necklaces, ear-rings) which matches your eye or hair colour (or one of the other colours which a fabulous colour consultant will advise you to wear as a 'basic'.
• Breaking up the black by having it in a pattern - with a colour that works for you. It's less overwhelming that way

Let's go back to black. Wear it when you want; with pride and with a twist if you know you need to 'lift' it.

Black is back. Enjoy it.

What Goes On Inside The Fitting Room?

This weekend I went shopping with a very dear friend who I have known for 20 years. She is also a client of mine. During our gloriously precious time together, I was reminded of what happens when women get into fitting rooms inside shops. We become the most critical, intolerant, harsh -sometimes even cruel - observers of ourselves and our perceived physical flaws.

No amount of cheerleading by a loyal friend will do the trick - we're on a "my bum looks the side of a house" kind of a roll and nothing is going to stop us. We lose perspective, patience, enthusiasm and often head home feeling frustrated and fed up...........as well as fat. It seems that as women, we're really good at beating ourselves up and really bad at being objective about our appearance. I've seen it so often with my clients.

It's time to stop this, and here are some practical tips to help you avoid a depressing slump in morale inside the fitting room:

1. Never come out clothes shopping and venture into a store's changing room without doing your hair and putting on some make-up. Why? Because the lights and mirrors are harsh. That's not our fault; that's the store. But don't put yourself through that kind of trauma. It's entirely avoidable.

2. Take whatever shoes with which you want to wear your new clothes. You can't 'imagine' what the outfit will look like on you as easily without your footwear - so think ahead and plan to bring it with you.

3. Always have a compact or small hand mirror in your purse. You want to see what's going on behind you there. The back view is important.

4. Forget the 'communal fitting room' scenario. Past the age of 24 who wants that whole scene? I guarantee that if you do have the guts to undress in public; a very svelte lady will come in who clearly doesn't have any cellulite anywhere and looks fabulous wandering around in her undies. Personally, any shop that still wants to do that to their customers is not a favourite of mine.

5. On the topic of undies - wear nice ones when you go shopping. You'll spend quite alot of time looking at yourself in the mirror wearing just these items, so make sure they're ones that you feel good in - pretty and feminine - rather than big grey knickers that have starting pilling. That's not good for morale. And forget the 'magic-knickers' on shopping days. You'll be in a sweat and and in a state trying to rock and roll in and out of those that's for sure.

6. Keep in mind that your weight isn't important when it comes to looking gorgeous in clothes - but your shape is. The key to successful shopping is all about finding cuts and shapes of clothing that work for your body shape. And staying well away from those garments which are never, ever, ever going to work for you.

Finally - and most importantly - always remember this. When you're inside that fitting room and you look in the mirror and don't like what you see - it's the clothes that are wrong - not the body. Remember that.

Top Ten Tips to Style in 2010

At this time of year, many women face up to the dreaded 'D' word - 'DIET'. A festive season of eating and drinking whatever we want finally catches up with us, and as we breathe in to squeeze into those dresses, jeans, skirts and tops which used fit beautifully, a New Year means a New (Smaller) You and we head for those low fat meals, the gym and a sense of self loathing at some speed.

What's the point? Well, if it makes sense to lose a pound or two, then I'm all for it BUT - many women use this activity as an excuse or a rationale to not look good NOW. This I simply do not subscribe to as a view.

Looking good in your clothes is a matter of creating optical illusions. Women need to understand how to draw the eye to our best features, and away from a wobbly bottom or bloated tummy.

So, here are my top tips:

1. Decide if you want to draw the eye VERTICALLY or HORIZONTALLY with your outfit.

2. If we're trying to appear slimmer, then we want to draw the eye VERTICALLY because this will automatically lengthen and slim our silhouette. Continuity of colour on top and bottom, vertical stripes and darker colours are all slimming and lengthening.

3. Draw the eye horizontally where we have an asset we want to emphasize e.g. a great waist needs a belt; a full tummy can be ignored by an eye-catching necklace or great lipstick to draw the eye upwards.

4. Your size doesn't matter; your shape does. What do I mean? Look at where you carry your weight. Women tend to carry it either IN FRONT (i.e boobs, mid-riff, tummy) of them or BEHIND THEM (bottom, hips and thighs). When you gain weight; it's usually where you least want to; and when you lose weight, it's always where you least want to.

5. If you want to look great in your clothes - they should follow and fit your silhouette. Fit is king. I'm so tired of seeing women in poorly fitting clothes. Get them altered or tweaked to take them from 'blah' to 'wow!'

6. Wearer darker colours where you want to slim and lighter brighter colours where you want to draw the eye.

7. Never underestimate the effect of a great haircut (and keep your colour looking good if you wear any).

8. Always do your make-up and look after your skin and nails.

9. Indulge in the world of accessories - great costume jewellery, bags, scarves, hosiery and shoes litter the high street and shopping mall. Don't shop for new clothes when you're dieting - shop for accessories; which are cheaper and can completely change the look of any outfit.

10. Walk tall - shuffling along and looking miserable is now a good look. Head up; shoulders back; deep breath; smile and off you go.