Recently I did Kibbe's quiz
http://seasonalcolor.yuku.com/.....Sp30KWzenY
to help me better define my style according to my body line and bone structure. So it turns out I am a Soft Gamine. This has helped me a great deal in crafting outfits. I have changed the way I look at clothes on me. I thought I would share a couple of examples.

First, this old pair of Talbots navy blue "marine" pants. Although the bottom hem is not the newest style, I kept them for how they fit around the waist and thighs. It is so hard for me to find pants that agree with my body type.

Pic 1: how they fit as they are, worn with loafers.

Pics 2-3: how I would have styled them before. I thought this was appropriate and "good taste": minimum of detailing, conservative flat shoes, straight jacket (literally!). But I was NOT excited about this look at all. And therefore almost never wore these.

Pic 4: Kibbe for Soft Gamine advises more details: " Your silhouette is animated and staccato, composed of clean curves with sharply tailored nips and tucks at strategic edges. Your shapes are rounded, but they are crisp and formed, kept close to the body, as opposed to softly flowing. The sharp edges are always present through the shoulders, as well as tapering at the cuff, the collar, the waist, and the knee, and in detail such as pleat, plackets, and lapels. Likewise, it's always best to keep a well-defined waist."

So I swapped the shoes for cute heels, and rolled the hems... and voilà! Although I am not 100% happy with how the hems look in these pics (I think I rolled them too large and one roll too many), I think these pants look 100% on me, and despite my short legs and long torso! The difference, I think, comes from the fact that my body contour suddenly appears. Happiness factor: 100%. Let's dress up the look:

Pic 5: With a simple flower print scarf tied like Angie, infinity style and then rolled and puffed. I notice it makes me look longer. Still happy.

Pic 6: With an emerald green jacket and my Lauren Birch bag. Happy, but I also feel I look a bit too much like my mother... may be the jacket, because she used to dress in these vibrant colours.

Pic 7: With my mustard moto jacket, leopard print scarf and navy blue heart shape bag. Happier.

Pic 8: The only bad note with this last outfit is that my jewellery is all gold and the bag's detailing is silver, and that bothers me. I need more bags!

Second, a leather skirt I bought in consignment.

Pic 9: How I would have worn it before. I thought black leather demanded black accessories. And I own LOTS of those. But I also already have a black leather skirt from Danier that I had paid full price and that I almost never wear. This one, with its motif... it's totally different. I've already worn it 4-5 times since I got it 2 weeks ago. Not bad! But not like this.

Pics 10-11: Like that. It took me some time to create this outfit, trying literally everything in my wardrobe with it until I was happy with every detail. This outfit provides me with 100% happiness. Finally I found it looks much better with accessories other than black. These Joseph Seibel brown booties make it look less severe and more fun. A grey turtle neck is more casual, but I also added the grey necklace to break up the long line a turtle neck gives to the torso, and mine already being long... I added an elastic belt to bring the waist up. And a jean jacket is also more casual, bringing it to day wear.

What do you think?

Thanks for looking!