How can you maintain so called “perfect fit” when your weight keeps fluctuating 5 pounds? Especially when 5 pounds sometimes means a completely different size.

Certain items are definitely more forgiving with a five pound increase or decrease in weight. Baby doll tops and dresses, A-line skirts and frocks, voluminous clothing like trapeze jackets, cascading cardigans, big soft blouses, roomy tunics and boyfriend blazers spring to mind. These items are less likely to feel too tight when your weight goes up or too loose when your weight goes down.

It is with form fitting items like jeans, trousers, pencil skirts and sheath dresses that you can see, and more importantly feel, the weight fluctuation. For many of my clients the solution is to keep two sizes for a few of their wardrobe workhorses as well as an assortment of forgiving styles. This strategy has been less stressful than trying to stay at one particular weight all the time. There is a trade off though: the duplication implies a larger clothing budget or less variety in their wardrobe.

Do you find it hard to maintain perfect fit with a constant 5 pound weight fluctuation? What’s your wardrobe strategy for dealing with this? Do you have specially designated clothing for when you are 5 pounds heavier or lighter?

You have probably noticed soft baggy tunic blouses in stores over the last while. This season they are bigger than ever and if you’re not already wearing them, I hope you’ll reconsider after reading this post! They make brilliant transitional tops for both Autumn and Spring, and are a great option for mild Winters.

I’m a big soft blouse girl in many ways. I frequently wear silky blouses, and enjoy them both in oversized silhouettes and tailored versions. Feminine, arty, easy and chic. I’m thrilled that many of my clients have caught onto big soft tunic blouses too. Pop them over the right bottom and you’re virtually done.

The beauty of a big soft tunic blouse is that you can take it from a fairly casual look to quite a dressy one depending on how it’s worn. For example:

• Casual: Pair it with faded bootcut jeans and casual ankle boots. Faded denim short shorts look sweet too. Leans, skinnies and leggings tucked into boots are another option.
• Smart Casual: Throw in a pair of dark wash straight leg jeans or bootcuts and step into pumps or heeled booties.
• Business Casual: Swap out the jeans for cigarette slacks or a short pencil skirt and add dressy shoes.

The big soft blouse can be worn both baggy and belted. I wear mine both ways and layer over a trench or cropped jacket when its chilly. For a creative business casual look, I pair one of my patterned big blouses with a black pencil skirt, cinch in the waist with a belt, pop stirrup leggings underneath the skirt and finish off the outfit with low heeled black biker booties. Classic with an edge.

At the end of the day, the big soft blouse is what YOU make of it. Wear it in a classic way, or fashion forward way depending on your mood and fashion persona. And don’t let the dry cleaning part scare you either. Many of these blouses can be laundered on the delicates cycle in your washing machine and left to air dry without ironing.

So is it a yay or nay for the big soft tunic blouse?

I’ve been getting a little desperate with necklines recently, preferring them high rather than V or scooped. I love a cowl neckline, but they too can scoop a bit low at times. I find myself turning dresses and tops with low necklines back to front, repeating to myself: “I wish the neckline looked like this instead”.

Then it dawned on me. Try wearing the item back to front. I did exactly that and in some cases it worked like a charm! For example, the cowl on the Gap tops below hung much lower on me than it did on the models. So I turned them around and voila! To my amazement they looked great. The overall fit was acceptable too, probably because it was a knit top and not a woven blouse. The low front did become a low neckline at the back, but I quite like a lowish back so it didn’t bother me.

Now I’m curious, have you ever considered wearing anything back to front? If so, has it worked? I’m a tad late with this discovery but I’m certainly going to try it again in future.

During the transition between seasons I see a lot of outfits that, for want of better terminology, I will call “top heavy” and “bottom heavy”.

• Top heavy outfits: Wearing heavy coats and trenches on the top with hot weather sandals or flip flops on the bottom. Sometimes I see scarves, hats and gloves thrown into this mix too.
• Bottom heavy outfits: Pairing lightweight summery items on top with cold weather boots on the bottom. For example, summery dresses or short shorts with boots, or a skirt and sleeveless top with boots.

Both categories seem to reflect seasonal confusion. For top heavy outfits, if it’s cold enough to wear a coat or trench – how can you pair the look with hot weather sandals? For bottom heavy outfits, if it’s warm enough to wear a breezy dress, sleeveless top or shorts – how does it make sense to wear cold weather boots?

Well, here’s the thing. I totally get and sport bottom heavy outfits. I am completely comfortable wearing a sleeveless dress with boots. I’ll also wear a sleeveless blouse with jeans and cowboy boots. These outfits look “right” to me. But somehow top heavy outfits don’t make sense and look seasonally confused to my eye.

I don’t have a good explanation for my double standard. I should be able to appreciate the look of top heavy outfits if I adore the look of bottom heavy outfits. Perhaps it’s my cold feet, and being a sucker for wearing closed shoes with socks makes me gravitate towards the look that allows me to do that.

What’s your take on top heavy and bottom heavy outfits? Can you appreciate both looks?  Does one make more sense than the other? Or do they both look seasonally confused to your eye?