With these super soft and extremely comfortable knitted pieces you will feel like you’re wearing pajamas as daywear. Wear them together as a casual alternative to shorts and a tee. If you’re short in the torso, you might need to partially tuck the draped part of the tee into the waistband of the skirt to create a little more structure. 

• Trouve Pointed Hem Tube Skirt: The photo does not do the colours justice. They are a harmony of muted pink, olive and brown, creating a uniquely rich earthy palette for Summer. It’s one of the most flattering tube skirts I’ve seen on my clients because of the rounded hem, longer length, tapered fit, and pointed centre that does not ride up too high. Also available in black. 

• Bobeau Twisted Hem Short Sleeve Tee: A good tee for tall gals, or for those with long torsos. Best on broad shoulders and/or a larger bust in order to fill out the style. Fab diagonal sleeves and comes in three colours. Equally great over skinnies, straight legs, or slim-fit boyfriend jeans. 

Add casual sandals to the outfit and Bob’s your uncle. A breezy, pulled together relaxed look that does not require a third piece to make it look fab.

I covered this topic last year, but the tips bear repeating and elaboration in the context of fluid and oversized fits, which are both extremely fashionable and completely mainstream. And judging by what’s coming down the runways during fashion week, they are here to stay for a while. Although larger fits are fabulous and interesting, sometimes they need to be reined in a little to make an outfit feel fabulous. That’s where structure comes in. 

To recap, structure is about two main things. First, it’s about accentuating the actual shape of your body, like defining the waist and hips, the shape of your arms and legs, or the shape of your shoulders. And second, it’s about accentuating those details. Like a sharp shouldered jacket that creates an extra strong shoulder line. Or the princess seams and welted pocket positions on a jacket that draw attention to a defined waist. Structured items are often tailored and formfitting. 

Here are twelve ways to add clearly defined or subtle structure to an unstructured outfit. Use one of these trouble shooting tips to make the look just flattering enough, or use them in combination for a more conventionally flattering silhouette. 

1. Pair a fitted top with a voluminous bottom or vice versa: Wear an oversized top with slim-fit bottoms like skinnies, straight legs, cigarette pants or a pencil skirt. Conversely, match wide-leg trousers and flared skirts with a fitted top or topper.
2. Add a structured jacket to an unstructured top or dress: Tailored toppers successfully rein in the volume of the layers underneath. So layer a structured blazer or jacket over a voluminous top or dress. The jacket needn’t be strictly waist defining, but simply structured on the shoulders and the top part of the chest. 
3. Scrunch the sleeves: I mention that “showcasing skin creates structure” because it reveals the natural contour of the body. Baring forearms is one way of showcasing skin, and an effective way of adding a tailored element to either a dressy or casual outfit. 
4. Wear a V-neck: A V-neck is another way of showcasing skin to create structure, and especially effective on a shorter neck, larger bust, or a broader shoulder line. Note that on some body types — like mine — a V-neck does the opposite of creating structure. My narrow shoulders, long neck and regular size bust need coverage to create structure, which is why turtlenecks, crew necks, boat necks, shirt collars, and slash necks are my friend. 
5. Tuck or partially tuck the top: Fully tucking or partially tucking a fluid or oversized top provides a little or a lot of waist and hip definition. It’s amazing how a partially tucked top is all you need to create structure when pairing a roomy top with a roomy bottom. 
6. Wear welted tops: The welt is the band on the hem of a pullover or top that tapers the silhouette to fit more closely to the waist and hips, thereby providing structure. It does wonders to create structure for untucked tops, and works just as well faux tucked in front. 
7. Wear high-low hemlines: Hemlines on tops, skirts and dresses that are shorter in front and longer in the back create structure by showcasing more of the natural shape of the waist and hips, or the legs. High-low hemlines on tops that taper at the hem provide even more structure.
8. Roll or cuff jeans and pants: Rolling up the hems of jeans and casual trousers showcases skin and creates a more tapered fit on the hem, both of which create effective structure. Roll and cuff pants before taking them to be tailored. It’s less expensive and often looks better too. 
9. Add a belt: Rein in the volume of a voluminous top by adding a waist cinching belt to create a lot of structure. Or create a more subtle effect by adding a hip slung belt to a loose top to showcase the contour of your hips. 
10. Wear tailored footwear: Wear sandals, booties, pumps, tall boots or loafers that are sleek and fit closely to the foot or leg. Tailored refined footwear — that means footwear that is not chunky — does an even better job of adding structure to a voluminous outfit. 
11. Wear a voluminous piece at a shorter length: Unstructured dresses are best at a shorter length because they expose more of the leg, and showcasing skin creates structure. Oversized tops without welts often look best cropped because they showcase the waist and hip. Voluminous sleeves that are cropped to showcase some forearm create a more structured look than voluminous sleeves that cover the entire arm. 
12. Wear a longer voluminous dress that tapers at the hems: Longer voluminous sack dresses that taper at the hem provide just enough structure despite their length and oversized fit. Although they cover more of the leg, they do showcase the shape of the thighs and lower legs, thereby preventing the unshapely sack look. 

Feel free to use some of these tips in conjunction with the strategies for elongating an outfit when you don’t want to sport conventionally flattering proportions that are structured from head to toe. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find it practical and liberating to wear, and feel great wearing, both structured outfits and outfits with just enough structure. This flexibility is what makes today’s fashion particularly empowering and fabulous.

Selfridges elected as best department store in the world, COS launches its US e-commerce site, Nordstrom Rack also starts selling online, and more fashion news.

• The Row is opening its first brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles. The flagship store will house the full collection, plus all upcoming capsule collections.
• Luxury outerwear brand Mackage has plans to open free-standing stores in a number of Canadian cities. Up until now the brand only had a shop in New York City’s Soho district.
• On Tuesday, COS, H&M’s sister label, launched its long-awaited US e-commerce website. 
• For the third time British department store Selfridges has been elected best department store in the world.
• Good news for bargain hunters who like to get their shopping fix online: Nordstrom Rack has launched its own e-commerce site. 

Fun Fashion Fact

It is said that the red star on the Macy’s logo was inspired by a tattoo that Rowland Hussey Macy, the founder of the department store, got as a teenager while working on a Nantucket whaling ship, the Emily Morgan. The story goes that he was once lost at sea, but found a star to guide him to shore. The tattoo was a tribute to that day.

These outfits were inspired by recent shopping and outfit creation sessions with clients who need extra casual, breezy and comfy outfits for Summer that feature pants, jeans and shorts. The idea is that with the right assortment of casual bottoms and tops, you can mix and match the pieces to create many outfits that do the same job but look sufficiently different to keep things interesting. 

Here are the components of the outfits. Choose any colour palette. 

Bottoms

Choose four styles of bottom: lightweight cropped pants that taper at the hems, boyfriend jeans cropped shorter or ankle length, denim shorts, and cotton shorts. All styles are ROOMY, which is part of what makes them cool and comfortable. I chose three versatile neutrals, one of which is white, and there is also a bright to mix things up. Choose linen, silk and cotton rich fabrications for extra breathability. 

Tops

Three tops to one bottom is a good ratio, which means that you can add up to eight more tops, in addition to the ones I’ve pictured, to create more combinations. Keep the tops fluid or oversized, and choose patterns as well as solids.

Choose at least four different styles of top to keep things interesting: a drapey blouse, a tee in a graphic stripe, a printed knitted top with diagonal sleeves, and a silky shell top or tank top. Choose styles with curved hems or high-low hemlines if you want to wear the tops untucked. Partially tucking tops adds effective structure, and I highly recommend that route with roomy fits. 

Footwear

Choose four styles of shoe: A sneaker, a closed shoe like a loafer or ballet flat, and a few pairs of casual sandals. I kept all the colours neutral, but by all means throw in a colour. 

Accessories

Choose one casual bag if you don’t like to swap them out throughout the season. I chose a fashionable backpack because it’s fun, comfortable and hands-free. But a small crossbody bag or casual tote are other ways to go. Neutral or colourful, it’s all good.

A casual belt or two are great additions if you partially or fully tuck tops. Choose one in the same colour as the footwear as an easy way to pull the outfit together, but by all means also wear the belt with shoes that don’t match. Add jewellery, watch and eyewear as desired.