Hubby Greg knew that I wouldn’t be married to my original wedding ring. So over the last 14 years of marriage, I’ve changed my wedding ring style several times. I hope that doesn’t shock you.

When we got engaged in 1996, Greg selected a gold and white gold wedding ring with a few small, centered diamonds. I was never into the idea of wearing an engagement ring AND a wedding band, so I had two gold wedding bands fused to either side of the engagement ring so that it became a single chunky piece. I absolutely loved it and wore it for a few years with a mixed metallic watch. I have this thing that my wedding ring and watch need to match.

When simple platinum jewelry became all the range in the late 90’s I changed my wedding ring look to a plain, platinum wedding band. I got the same ring for Greg and wore that for a few years. I also changed my watch look to just silver.

My Mum passed away in 2000 and at that moment I really wanted to wear her wedding ring, which is an engraved gold wedding band. I did that for a year or so and wore a mixed metallic watch to match the gold ring. After a while I went back to wearing my plain platinum wedding band with silver watches.

In 2003 I stumbled across a ring that stole my heart. It’s a 1938 vintage estate piece, white gold, pave in design with microscopic scattered diamonds. I’ve been wearing this wedding ring for the longest time and it’s been the favourite so far. And it works well with my white and silver watches.

I am still on the lookout for a chunky brushed gold watch. When I find it, I’ll both wear it with my Mum’s gold wedding ring or the original gold and white gold wedding ring that Greg gave me.

It might seem odd that over the years I’ve changed my wedding ring style and that I am now in a position where I can swap out wedding rings and watches with the rest of my ensemble. But I guess that’s my wedding ring persona! I don’t want to swap out my husband but I do want to swap out the ring.

I’ve already been thinking about my next wedding ring, although I won’t be adding it to my collection any time soon. It will be a Mikimoto pearl and probably in white gold.

Just when you think you’ve found a great pair of tailored trousers or jeans, the front pocket positioning breaks the deal. Front pocket styles on trousers and jeans can be wildly frustrating when they gape, bunch up on the hips and thighs, or when you can see the pocket linings through the fabric of the pants.

Spring 2011 is a pants season and now is the time to stock up on trousers and jeans in all sorts of silhouettes. To help you minimize unflattering front pockets I have summarized the front pocket shapes and positions that generally look fab.

The key is to find trousers and jeans with pocket openings that are positioned away from the side seam:

1. Five pocket style: This type of pocket design is found on most jeans. Two patch pockets in the back, two curved pockets in the front plus the tiny money pocket. The deep curve of the front pockets coupled with the stiffness of denim is a winning combination if the pocket linings aren’t too deep. See photo 1.
2. Slanted front pockets: These pockets are a little closer to the side seams, but are still far enough away so that they don’t interfere with the shape of the pants on the hip and thigh area. The pocket linings are usually shallow which prevents them from showing through. Photo 2 shows slanted pockets on tailored trousers, while photo 3 shows slanted pockets on slouchy pleated trousers.
3. Welt pockets: Welt pockets are great for the same reasons that slanted pockets are great. Shallow pocket linings and no side seam interference. See photo 4.

On-seam pockets and side entry pockets like the ones you see in photos 5 and 6 are often tricky to wear, especially with curvy thighs and hips. They tend to work well on curveless men but not nearly as well on most women. The pocket openings are too close to the side seams, which often causes fit distortion.

Sometimes I just wish they’d leave all pockets off tailored trousers, like you see in photo 7. No gaping, bunching or pocket linings to deal with. What a pleasure.

Note that the photos above have affiliate links to YLF partners.

I usually spend most of Sunday preparing blog posts for the next few days because I run out of time during my busy work week. I always write on my desktop PC in our upstairs home office, which is where I am in this photo.

It was Sunday morning and I had just finished writing the blog post for Tuesday afternoon. I’m dressed casually in a pair of faded Seven For All Mankind bootcut jeans, white button down shirt, preppy argyle pullover, socks and house slippers. I’m nearsighted, so the specs are off, but the watch and wedding ring are on.

Even when Greg is not at his desk (which is just to the left of mine), I’m not alone in our home office. There is always a puppy or two at my feet, lying in one of the several doggie beds we have in this tiny space! Yorkies Jasmine and Rosie provide lots of warmth and inspiration and regularly jump onto my lap and hang out on my chair with me while I type. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m not always dressed casually when I write, since what I wear depends on what else I have planned for the day. So during the week when I have client appointments and business engagements, my computer sees me dressed in business or smart casual. But if you’ve ever wondered what I wear when I’m writing on a casual Sunday – this is it.

You’ll hear the following mantra repeated in all style guides: Dress to accentuate the best parts of your body; camouflage the parts that aren’t as great.

This makes sense, right? We are confident about our best features, so highlighting them is a no brainer. Our so called worst features, or the areas of our body that we are self-conscious about, shouldn’t be highlighted as frequently. This way we will look and feel our best.

Well, as much as I believe in helpful guidelines, I believe even more that we shouldn’t be ruled by them. And I break the “accentuate the positive, diminish the negative” rule on a regular basis.

Here are few examples:

1. Neck: I consider my neck to be my best feature, yet it’s often covered with a high-ish neckline, popped collar, or scarf.
2. Waistline: I have a dainty and defined waistline, yet I adore wearing voluminous styles that hide it.
3. Eyelashes: I have long thick eyelashes that are especially noticeable when I wear mascara, yet nobody sees them because I choose to wear specs instead of contact lenses.
4. Legs: I consider my legs to be my worst feature for two reasons. They aren’t shapely and they are covered in spots and veins (nothing harmful, just unsightly). Yet I often show them off, with and without hose, because I love to wear skirts and dresses!

I don’t feel bad playing up my worst feature when I wear skirts and dresses because the overall effect of the outfits is still flattering to my eye. The veins and spots might be unsightly to others, but I’m not bothered by what others think about this. My legs work hard and they deserve to be highlighted. Plus, I love knee-length dresses and nothing will stop me from wearing them.

I define my waistline as much as I surrender it so things even out with that one. But I won’t entertain contact lenses and I enjoy the look and comfort of a covered neck. So I don’t see those parts of my body being showcased more any time soon.

I only have one hard and fast rule about fashion and style: it should be fun. There are also many guidelines that really help us to look our best, but sometimes what you love should win out over other rules, guidelines and conventional wisdom. If that means accentuating the negative and hiding the positive, so be it!