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.