Team Red, Team White or Team Blue

We’re keeping it short, sweet and simple on this American Day of Independence. Which of these colours is your favourite? Note that any shade of red, white or blue counts. For example, think burgundy, cherry, fire engine or tomato for red. White, bone, off-white or cream for white. And ink blue, cobalt, navy or sky blue for blue. Absolutely NO batting for more than one team. 

Tomato red has been a favourite colour for as long as I can remember. White, in all its shades, is my favourite neutral. Ink blue is my black. I adore a clear French blue, Tiffany blue, crisp turquoise, and pretty light blue. I wear all three colours throughout the year, across all sorts of wardrobe items, and sometimes in one outfit. I can’t possibly pick a side, so I’m sitting this one out on the bench with cold cucumber soup, fresh lobster rolls from Maine, coleslaw, crisps, and strawberry pavlova. Join me if you can’t pick a side. 

Over to you. Do you bat for Team Red, Team White or Team Blue? Tell us why, and no batting for more than one side. I bet Team Blue will win this race. Prove me wrong.

Red-White-Blue

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Fab Finds: Magic Suits

I was blown away by how stunning my clients looked in these swimsuits. The tankini is extremely well suited to a petite apple shape with a larger bust and shorter neck. The full piece is particularly brilliant on a curvy pear-shaped or hourglass body type. Chic, comfortable, flattering and alluring. I wish that they came in a wider assortment of colours and sizes. 

  • Magic Suit Sophie Shelf Bra Tankini Top: A tankini that drapes around an apple-shaped midsection to PERFECTION. Camouflages lumps and bumps without being overly voluminous. Forgiving, contouring, and not clingy. The under bra is surprisingly supportive. Sublimely flattering and alluring neckline - even when you thought you couldn't wear a halter neck. Works for all lengths of waist. It poofs out a bit when you swim, but drapes back in a structured way as you get out of the water. Works with a matched or mismatched tankini bottom.
  • Magic Suit Sophie Shelf Bra Tankini Top: The tankini is perfectly suited to an apple-shaped body type with a larger bust. Incredible drape and neckline. Forgiving, contouring, and not clingy. The under bra is surprisingly supportive. Works extremely well on petite apples. Pair it with black bottoms.
  • Magic Suit Ruched Bikini Bottoms: Tankini bottoms that work well at concealing midsection extra bits. Works well with the matching tankini tops.
  • Magic Suit 'Yvonne' Halter One-Piece Swimsuit: An especially fabulous suit for Team Curvy with a defined waist and small/regular size bust. The ruching smoothes out the silhouette and is forgiving and comfortable. The neckline is alluring and stays put. The skirted front and back add a little coverage to the thigh area if you're shy about showcasing your thighs. Visually the curved skirted design feature streamlines the shape of the thighs - clever design.

Remember that swimsuits are sized differently to clothing, and that they run two sizes smaller. So a size US8 is the same as a size US4. Swimsuits can also be altered to fit perfectly.

Fashion News Roundup: June 2017

A sustainable clothing capsule collection from Banana Republic, Thredup ventures out into the brick-and-mortar world, Mickey Drexler is leaving J.Crew, and other news from the June style trenches.

Fun Fashion Fact

Did you know that Virginia Woolf coined the phrase “frock consciousness.” In general, it means being aware that how you dress is part of the image you present to the world. Virginia Woolf “used it to refer to the way she employed clothing to denote character, and changes in character, particularly as they applied to her book “Mrs. Dalloway.” This is just one of the topics discussed in Terry Newman’s book “Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore“, which “examines how the sartorial choices authors make are deeply connected to the narrative choices they make.” I’m putting it on my Summer reading list right now.

Roundups

Simpler Items

This week's list of top picks list is about basic pieces.

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Assorted Items

Items for Summer, both in and out of air conditioning.

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Casual Summer Vibes

This week's top picks are good for a casual Summer vibe.

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Summery Earth Tones

These items are for those who like to wear casual earth tones in warm and hot weather.

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Hints of Spring

Some tried-and-tested winning items to refresh your style for Spring.

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Dressier Items

An assortment of dressier top picks might be just what the doctor ordered.

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Ensemble: Fab Summer Dress

I’d love to have three months of non-stop warm weather. A dry and sunny 28 to 33 degrees Celsius would be ideal, but that’s unusual in Seattle. That’s why I don’t wear dresses all that frequently, and often sport them over cropped pants and jeans, with some sort of topper and closed-toe shoes. 

But I LOVE dresses. So this ensemble was inspired by my fantasy Summer style in which I would wear a breezy and pretty dress every day and avoid arctic air conditioning. Some styles would be dressy and some casual. At best, I would need a denim jacket when it’s a little fresh in the morning and evening, but nothing heavier than that. I’d wear the dresses with flats like fashion sneakers, sandals, loafers or ballet flats. I’d wear neutrals, brights and pastels and enjoy every minute of having what I call a proper Summer. 

Here are the components of the ensemble:

Fab Frock: Choose a dress that makes you feel fabulous. It works with your body type, lifestyle and sartorial preferences. Go solid, patterned, bright, neutral, pastel, muted, jewel-toned or earth-toned. Long or short. Sleeved or sleeveless. Fitted, fluid or oversized. Dressy or casual.

Optional Topper: I like a short and fitted denim jacket over some of my dressier Summer dresses, but enjoy them best unlayered. Clients enjoy layering cardigans over sleeveless dresses. Or fitted blazers, big wraps, and kimono jackets over dresses with sleeves. 

Footwear: Think sneakers, loafers, sandals, mules, sandal booties, ankle strap pumps and flats, thong sandals, ballet flats or wrapped styles. You do NOT need to wear heels with a dress, especially when it’s a casual style (which to my eye tends to look more fashionable with flats). Remember that dressy flats do exist, if you want to pair dressy shoes with a dressier frock. 

Accessories: Choose a dressy or casual bag that works with the outfit. Finish off the look with scarf, jewellery, headgear, watch and eyewear as desired. 

I hope to see lots of fabulous Summer dresses on the forum.

Ensemble: Fab Summer Dress

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The Difference Between Shirts and Blouses

I regularly refer to shirts and blouses on YLF assuming that the differences are commonly known. But the two are often mixed up or used interchangeably, which is problematic because they are very different. It doesn’t help that retailers are sloppy in the way they categorize and describe their products. 

Being deliberate and careful about describing wardrobe items correctly is a habit I learned as a retail buyer. So when I say “shirt” – I don’t mean blouse or T-shirt!

Here are the differences with some examples.

Shirts

A shirt is a button-through or button-down silhouette with a collar, just like a classic men’s shirt (which makes it easy to remember). Sleeves and hems can be any length. Fits are tailored, fluid or oversized. Fabrics are woven. The integrity of the shirt is for the most part crisp, a little stiff, dressy and Tomboy. That said, some cotton, silk and plaid shirts are soft and casual. And details like flounces and ruffles make a shirt far less masculine. 

Shirts are easier to fit on a straighter body type with a smaller bust and regular width shoulder line. They also work well on a longer neck. A curvy body type with a larger bust is harder to fit into a shirt, unless it’s very fluid or oversized and more of a tunic. Broad shoulders can be hard to fit into shirts too. Gaping at the bust is a common challenge with shirts.

Here are some examples:

Blouses

A blouse doesn’t button through in front like a shirt. It seldom has a shirt collar, and is generally a lot softer and more drapey. That said, blouses can be made of stiffer fabrics. Sleeves and hems can be any length. Fabrics are woven. Fits are tailored, fluid or oversized. Blouses come in just about any silhouette, creating a larger assortment than what we typically see in shirts. 

Blouses are more forgiving than shirts, and easier to fit on a range of body types because they are soft and drapey. In my experience with dressing clients, blouses look best on those who can fill them out on the shoulders and in the bust. They are also forgiving of muffin top. Blouses are amazing on curvy body types, and look a lot less Tomboy than shirts.

Here are some examples:

Shopbop
Joie Orla Blouse
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Top Pick
2
Shopbop
Redken Sophie Blouse
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Top Pick
8
Shopbop
3x1 Moxy Wrap Shirt
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Top Pick
3

A shirt or blouse made of knitted fabric is a knitted top, and I will absolutely split hairs about that. 

I find shirts very easy to fit because I’m a slam dunk for the body type guideline. For that reason, simple shirts used to be a wardrobe essential that I wore very regularly. But over the years, my sartorial preferences have moved away from shirts and on to blouses because I’m craving a soft, pretty and romantic vibe in my outfits. Unfortunately, I’m harder to fit into blouses because I battle to fill them out. I have to restrain myself from purchasing a shirt instead of a blouse because that’s not what I want on this leg of my style journey (unless the shirt is flouncy or ruffled.)

Patience is key. I do eventually find blouses that fit well and make me feel fab. Here is my current blouse collection: 

What’s your preference between shirts and blouses, and has it changed over the years?