Spicy earth tones are trending big time at the moment. Although some are cool, they are generally warm colours. And when I was in the Netherlands last month, retail stores were packed with the new season’s warm earth tones. The Dutch customer loves their blues, so earth tones were remixed with all shades of blue, and with shades of white for good measure. It made for a delightful mix of hot and cold and inspired this post.

Some of these hot and cold combinations might make you rethink your “I can’t wear warm earth tones” point of view.

1. Mustard Bottom

Wear pumpkin mustard bottoms, like a skirt and pair of pants or jeans, and combine it with a top in a shade of white and a blue denim jacket. If denim jackets aren’t your thing, try a navy, light blue, French blue or cobalt topper. The model’s black hair bookends her boots, and adds another cool shade to the mix. The animal print bag picks up the black and the mustard.

2. Cognac Accents

Combine any top and bottom in shades of blue and white, and finish off the look with earthy cognac footwear and headgear to match. If headgear is not your thing, add a cognac bag to pull together the outfit. Combining blue jeans with a blue and white top is another way to go.

3. Cinnamon Bottom

The addition of cool-toned silver and grey is unique in this mix. Combine a navy and white top with cinnamon bottoms, and add a light grey topper. A navy and white scarf adds interest. Here the navy and white sneakers do a great job of repeating the colours in the tee. The orange in the trim of the sneakers complements the cinnamon bottoms.

4. The Clash

The clash of hot and cold colours in this cardigan is bold and different. To my eye, there is harmony because of carefully repeated colours. The dark denim is neutral. The black belt and boots create an effective complement. The camisole repeats the earthy olive and khaki of the cardigan. The cobalt of the cardigan brings out the blue in the model’s eyes. The burgundy is ever so slightly repeated in the model’s lips. Clever! Add jewellery, eyewear, and watch as desired.

It’s a style goal of mine to wear skirts, dresses, casual pants, and dressy pants more frequently, and blue jeans less frequently. I find the goal easy to achieve in mild, warm and hot weather because I wear dresses, skirts and cropped white jeans most of the time, and throw utility pants, printed jeans, red jeans, and micro check wide crops into the mix too. My style has a lot of variety, which is the point, and I barely wear blue jeans for six months of the year.

Things get harder when Fall and Winter set in. I reach for my blue jeans far too often, because they’re warm, practical and versatile. I’m not into wearing grey, olive, burgundy and black jeans, or corduroy bottoms, so that’s no solution. Thank goodness for white jeans, because I do wear those throughout the year. I have a few Fall and Winter dresses, and one skirt, but these items will only take me so far and then it’s too cold to wear them. I had a few pairs of Winter pants, but some creased too easily, some pilled, and others looked dated with a rise that’s too low.

So deliberately and patiently over the last few years, I prioritized filling this cold-weather bottoms wardrobe hole. I’ve been adding Fall and Winter bottoms to my wardrobe that are warm, practical, comfortable, crease-resistant, and NOT blue jeans.

The collection below shows the items I’ve accumulated over the last three years. I have a thing for micro checks so there are three pairs of those. You can’t see the colours clearly in the stock photos, but the neutrals are different. I have mustard velvet pants, red carpenter jeans, red cropped jeans, black and cream tuxedo stripe pants, white wide crops, cinnamon utility pants and pinstriped burgundy pants.

Boden

Malden Tweed Pants

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15

Nordstrom

Gemini Check Crop Pants

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20

Nordstrom

3.1 Phillip Lim Pleated Glen Plaid Crop Wool Pants

$475.00 $189.98

Sale

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8

Boden

Velvet Straight Leg Pants

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20

Custom Find

by Angie

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Nordstrom

DICKIES Relaxed Fit Carpenter Pants

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13

Custom Find

by Angie

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Nordstrom

HIGH Waist Crop Wide Leg Jeans

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17

Nordstrom

Sanctuary Chino Pants | Nordstrom

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23

Boden

Cambridge Ankle Skimmer Jeans

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20

It took a while, but I finally feel that I’ve filled this wardrobe hole to my satisfaction. I’m very much enjoying the refresh. I don’t have to wear blue jeans almost exclusively for the cold-weather season. I wear dressy pants when I work with clients, but also as “everyday” pants because I can dress them down with sneakers, duck boots, and flat boots. Their versatility is sublime. I’ve been wearing many of these bottoms over the last fortnight, and still haven’t pulled out my blue jeans even once.

Some commenters on the Team Midi or Team Maxi poll mentioned how unflattering and unfab they felt in a midi dress or skirt. To recap, midi hemlines finish anywhere between the bottom of the kneecap to below the calf muscle. I dress women for a living across a range of heights, ages, and body types. Trust me when I say that you do NOT need to be tall and thin to look amazing in a midi. My 4ft 10 clients wear midis as well as my 6ft clients, and their sizes run from 00P to US18.

That said, we manipulate the variables of the midi silhouette and style it in ways that create a more conventionally flattering visual effect. Here are five variables to consider when you’re wearing midis. Manipulating one or a few of the variables at a time can take you from feeling drab to fab.

1. Choose a Dress

It’s sometimes easier to feel fab in a midi dress than a midi skirt, because the single piece creates a vertical line. You don’t need to worry about finding the right top or the right level of contrast between the top and bottom. The long, lean line is there by default.

2. Choose a Tapered Silhouette

Midi dresses and skirts that are straight or tapered at the side seams are one of the easiest ways to wear a midi, especially when they’re just below the knee. Knitted tube skirts and their instantly conventionally flattering effect come to mind right away. My clients with apple and inverted triangle body types are particularly partial to wearing these types of midis.

2. Choose the Right Length

Sometimes, all you need to do is manipulate the length of a midi and Bob’s Your uncle. When you’re petite or regular height, you’ll find that wearing midis a little shorter does the visual trick. Try a length that’s just over the knee, or just above the calf muscle instead of a length that covers the calves.

3. Sport an Asymmetrical Hem

The magical effect of a diagonal line is not to be underestimated. Sporting a hi-low midi hemline gives it structure and elongates the leg line. Sporting a diagonal hemline that’s longer on the one side and shorter on the other is another way to add structure to the silhouette. This type of front diagonal hemline is particularly flattering on wider calves because it offsets the curve of the calf, whereas a straight hem across the widest part of the calf might accentuate it.

4. Add Waist Definition

Wearing a midi skirt or dress with waist definition gives it structure, which streamlines the silhouette and lengthens the leg line from the hips upward. The dress can have built-in waist definition, or you can create it with a waist-cinching wide belt. Tucking or partially tucking tops into midi skirts, or wearing a form-fitting untucked short top can add structure to a midi skirt. That’s especially effective with A-line or flared midi skirts.

5. Add Elongating Heels

And last, perhaps you’re a heels wearer and feel best in a midi when you add a low, mid or high heel to the outfit. That will lengthen the leg line, give you height, and perhaps elevate the dressy factor. But heels are not essential at all. I’m 5ft 6, only wear midi-length dresses and skirts, and never wear heels. I wear my midis with ballet flats, loafers and sneakers most of the time, and occasionally with a bootie, ankle strap pump, or shootie with a one and a quarter inch heel.

I prefer dresses and skirts with movement so I don’t wear straight or tapered hems. I also prefer dresses to skirts so I have many more midi dresses. I sport an assortment of midi lengths, some of which have asymmetrical hemlines. I define or surrender the waist of my midis, and am in flats most of the time.

Over to you. Do you wear midis, and how do you manipulate the variables to make them look flattering to your eye?

A new outfit from Daniella Robins of Style . Life . Soul by LellaVictoria, whom we introduced to YLF in July 2013.

This is a fab example of a midi skirt worn with an untucked top. Daniella is sporting a knitted mid-calf skirt with a fun swoosh factor. She’s paired it with an oversized white shirt with a subtle A-line silhouette for a fashion-forward take on the classic. The tailored fit on the shoulders provides structure as do the hip-hugging pleats on the skirt. The lowish vamp on the square-toed mules with architectural thin stack heel lengthens the leg line from the foot up. The dark rich cinnamon colour complements the dusty pink skirt brilliantly. Our blogger’s white bag bookends the shirt, while the oval resin handles make a style statement and pick up the colour of the mules. Dark toenail polish is all that’s needed to finish off this minimal look.