The Telegraph reports that pearls are making a comeback. This time around it’s all about pearl jewellery with sleek and simple lines.

With A Fresh Take on Pearl Jewelry, InStyle shows us more key pieces to nail the look.

While searching for a new pair of simple pearl stud earrings, I’ve found several online stores that are doing interesting pearls right now: Net-a-Porter, Shopbop, ASOS, Misaki.

Fab Links from Our Members

Deb found a great PDF from Oregon State University that has visuals and descriptions of clothing parts.

UmmLila didn’t think she was ever going to have a style moniker but now she is tempted by “flâneur“.

Recently Marlene has been shocked at the tone of comments about “older” celebrities that attempt to conform to society’s standards of how they should look. So she found The Taboo That Still Surrounds The Aging Woman an interesting read.

Angie directs us to Sally’s post on the subject of age-appropriate dressing. Sally believes that you should trust your gut because there are no hard and fast rules.

Gardenchick thought this article about gray hair becoming the hallmark of coolness fit right into our forum discussions about going grey versus colouring one’s hair.

Ingunn likes the concept of a gender neutral shoe line, and thinks it is very well executed in this example.

Season 3 of Netflix’s House of Cards starts this week, and Ann in New England came across this great analysis of main character Claire Underwood’s powerful style.

These outfits reminded Joy of white-out looks. She wants to wear the second one with the light grey trousers.

Annagybe always thought that bags and shoes are the most lucrative for design houses, but according to this article outerwear, pants, and travel-inspired items now hold the most commercial promise.

I feel for those living in places where the Winter has been particularly harsh in recent years. Below freezing temperatures, snowfall after snowfall, bitterly icy commutes, and far too much driveway shoveling. Not to mention the dangers of the extreme weather and the inconvenience of services and power outages. Much less important, but still top of mind because personal style is a passion of mine, is how I would continue to have fun with fashion if I wasn’t living in mild Seattle and had to contend with the deep freeze.

Here are some ideas that come to mind. Many of them involve spending money, so in practice I would have to prioritize these ideas and reduce my style budget in other places to accommodate the purchases. But for fun, I’m not going to worry about that aspect for now.

1. A capsule of puffer coats

I find heavyweight puffer coats much warmer than even the thickest of wool coats, which means that I would wear a puffer all Winter long. That means I’d need a few of them to combat the boredom of wearing the same coat for four months at a time. I already have a black puffer, so I’d add one in white, and perhaps others in colours. 

2. A capsule of weatherproof boots

I’m assuming that my life would be urban and city-centered. So I wouldn’t need a collection of snow boots for deep snow, but rather a collection of fashionable styles in different neutrals. I would look at brands like Aquatalia, La Canadienne, Blondo, and the white duck boots from L.L. Bean. Impractical in white I know, but I would want them anyway. 

3. More chunky warm knitwear across many colours 

I already have a large knitwear collection, but I’d need heavier and warmer knitwear. I’d make sure that colour — both bright and pastel — was adequately represented. 

4. Scarves and hats

I tend to wear scarves and hats for practical reasons and not decorative ones. They really do help to keep you warm. So out of practical necessity I’d build a capsule of woolly scarves in happy colours to complement my puffer coats. I’d also find a few more insulating hats that work on my relatively tiny head. 

5. More make-up variety

Changing up the colour of your lipstick, which I wear daily, is one way to subtly change the look of an outfit. I wear two shades of lipstick regularly at the moment. I expect that I’d add a few more shades to my beauty routine to increase my daily outfit variety. Perhaps I’d throw in a little finger nail polish too. 

6. Alternative pairs of brightly coloured specs

This would be a very expensive exercise, but worth it because I wear specs daily. I have enjoyed my bright apple green specs more than any other pair, so any additional pairs would be brightly coloured too. Three extra pairs — in white, blue and pink — would be ideal. But that would be a tall order for my budget.

7. A more dramatic hairstyle

Maybe I’d become a redhead or brunette with blue streaks in Winter. Who knows, but I think a little more hair drama would really help to create outfit excitement in the depths of Winter. 

I’d also expect to have an extensive collection of thermal undies and knee-high socks, swap out my snow boots for fashionable footwear if I worked in an office, wear tapered wool trousers in patterns and colours, and drink even more piping hot tea than I already do. 

Of course, I’m not speaking from experience. So I’m very interested to hear from those who are experiencing the deep freeze. How do you express your personal style and stay content with your fashion during the harsh winter months?

I happened to see several nice lilac pieces at J.Crew and it inspired me to make a roundup of items in the colour. Lilac and lavender are quite similar and I tend to use them interchangeably. Both are a pastel shade of purple. Some shades are more blue, and others more pink. Some lilacs are washed out and light, and some are mid-toned and saturated. 

• J.Crew Metallic side-slit sweater: A metallic lilac pullover is a rare find. This one is rich, casual and fashionable.
• J.Crew Pre-order Metallic petal sweater: Combining lilac with yellow gold or rose gold is unexpected. Warm and vibrant.
• J.Crew Vans for J.Crew classic slip-on sneakers in suede: A suede slip-on sneaker that works for a wider foot. Soft and comfortable. Size down half a size.
• J.Crew Crackle leather d'Orsay flats: I could eat up this d'orsay flat the colour is THAT delicious, and my favourite shade of lilac. Size down half a size.
• J.Crew Embossed python clutch: A cool, crisp and modern clutch.
• NYDJ Fit Solution Wrap Front Blouse: A shaped lilac mock-wrap shirt that's good over straight or skinny bottoms. Good on a curvy body.
• Boden Button Back Cashmere Sweater: The back button, vent and colour block detailing make this piece more interesting.
• Mirrored Aviator Sunglasses: A classic in an unexpected colour.
• J.Crew Downing bucket bag: Mint green works well with lilac, and bucket bags look fresh for 2015. Good quality and size. Crisp and dressy.

I like lilac matched with faded blue denim, all shades of white, light grey and mint green. It’s also quite nice with citron, or with toffee and white.

J.Crew

Metallic side-slit sweater

$128.00 $34.99

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11

J.Crew

Pre-order Metallic petal sweater

$89.50 $59.99

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4

J.Crew

Vans for J.Crew classic slip-on sneakers in suede

$60.00 $39.99

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6

J.Crew

Crackle leather d'Orsay flats

$158.00 $124.99

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11

J.Crew

Embossed python clutch

$198.00 $99.99

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4

Nordstrom

NYDJ Fit Solution Wrap Front Blouse

$98.00 $44.10

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8

Boden

Button Back Cashmere Sweater

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5

Shopbop

Mirrored Aviator Sunglasses

$170.00

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2

J.Crew

Downing bucket bag

$138.00 $94.99

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4

This past Saturday Greg and I attended a Lunar New Year celebration at Westfield Southcenter near Seattle. The weather angels cooperated with the sun streaming in through the skylights and making the traditional Chinese attire a colourful feast for the eyes. It was a super event.

Things got off to a festive start with a captivating lion dance parade performed by members of a local school of martial arts. The head of the lion weighs a heavy 25 pounds, so the people in front switched frequently to prevent overly tired arms. Many people in the audience touched the lion for good luck. 

Next up was a performance by three young ladies from the Seattle Guzheng Studio. The guzheng is a Chinese musical instrument that sounds a little like a mixture of a cello and harp, and is quite soothing. Colourful Chinese opera and folk dances followed. And although we don’t understand Chinese, the attire was beautiful and the performances were fun to watch. 

During one of the breaks we went to check out make-up demonstrations by Shiseido at Macy’s. Local ladies were getting the full treatment and then given the opportunity to have their picture taken by a professional photographer. 

Back at the LNY stage, a group of children dazzled us with their taekwondo demonstration. My word, their high kicks were impressive, and of course, they were adorable. Following that, an equally impressive demonstration of the Chinese yo-yo.

Then an amazing vocal performance by a young singer. She sang in both Chinese and English, and much to the delight of four little girls in the row in front of us, one of the English songs was “Let it Go” from the movie Frozen.  

Last up was a fashion show of women, men and children in traditional Chinese attire. The clothing was rich and very ornate. The hairstyles and make-up of the women was intricate, and they all looked quite beautiful. 

Forum member Aida joined us for the event. We coincidently colour matched our outfits, which were red, black and neutral, (red of course, being the appropriate colour of good luck to wear for Chinese New Year). Aida’s outfit was ‘80s inspired, while mine was ‘70s inspired. It was fun to catch up.

We had returned from Hong Kong only a day before, but the bright colours and wonderful performances soon made us forget our jet lag. It felt like a continuation of our travels and was the perfect way to return to Seattle.