We’ve been conditioned to hide our bras. If the straps peek out from under a top or dress our instant reaction is to push them out of sight. When the front of our bra peeks out we wear a camisole for coverage. If sections of our bras peek out from under our arms we either cover up with a camisole or discard the clothing item in favour of something with more coverage.

Personally, I don’t mind a little bit of bra exposure in casual and smart casual settings. Obviously, in professional and formal settings bra coverage is a must. And if you feel best covering every square inch of your bra at all times, than I fully support that too. But here are three scenarios where a little exposure can be acceptable:

1. Exposing straps with the right style of top or dress and the right colour bra:  For example, black bra straps peeking out from under the tops or spaghetti strap dress below are fine in my book. Red bra straps under the dress’s spaghetti straps would look great too. If the bra straps match the top, then the subtle effect of strap exposure looks like deliberate layering. But having beige bra straps peeking through wouldn’t look fab. In this case the bra would look like a bra and not a layering item.
2. Exposing small sections of bra under the arm with the right colour bra: I don’t like the look of an exposed beige bra under the arm holes of a sleeveless top or dress. But as soon you wear a bra colour that matches the colour of the top or dress you’re in business. For example wear a black bra with a black patterned top or black dress. Or, wear a black bra with a dark brown, navy or eggplant top. Sometimes a white bra works with a white top, but black bra’s generally are more effective “layering pieces”.
3. Showing off a lacy bra: This option is more risqué, but the effect can be beautiful and perfectly stylish. In France women take their lacy lingerie very seriously and showcasing part of it in an outfit is totally acceptable. So un-buttoning a blouse in the front to show parts of a lacy bra becomes part of the overall look of an outfit.

In warm weather I expose my bra straps the way I describe in the first two points above. It’s always with a black bra and with a dress or top that looks like I’m visually layering lots of pieces. I’m also fine with exposing small portions of bra under my arm as long as I’m wearing a bra colour that works with my ensemble. Again, it has to look like I’m layering and not like I’m showing my bra. Option three is not for me because I don’t have the goods to flaunt. An exposed bony chest doesn’t look great, no matter how pretty the bra.

Please don’t think that I’m encouraging bra exposure! If you don’t like the idea, then by all means do what you need to do to keep the bra completely covered. But if your bra does sometimes peek out, then these guidelines will help you to ensure that the result looks acceptable.

We all have moments when we feel like refreshing our style fast, like with one or two items instead of a whole spate of new purchases. These items are what I call quick-fix style refreshers.

For some a quick-fix style refresher means a new pair of jeans, specs, sunglasses or shoes. For others it’s a new shade of lipstick, belt, hairstyle, jacket, or a couple of colourful tops.

My quick-fix style refresher is usually a new handbag. Although a handbag is not really something that you wear unless you leave the house, I can’t tell you how refreshed my style feels when I sport a new bag. It makes all my outfits look and feel different. And even when I’m not physically wearing my new bag, just seeing it perched on the table, on the floor, or on the stairs at home lifts my style mood. Such are the musings of a bag lady.

What’s your quick-fix style refresher? I’m interested to hear the similarities and differences between us.

For the last year I’ve been really into Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. handbag collection. I didn’t always like her bags because they were often full of glitzy gold hardware, which is not my style. Now it seems that I can’t get enough of L.A.M.B.’s fun, edgy, yet sophisticated styles. And the bags are beautifully made to boot. I recently received the neon little darling on the left as a gift and I’m over the moon about it.

By knitwear I mean pullovers, jumpers and cardigans, or what are commonly known as “sweaters” in the US. Here are some ideas on how to store them effectively:

• Folded on open shelves is best: Folding knitwear is a good idea because the item holds its shape best that way. Try to put knitwear on shelves in a wardrobe or armoire so that you can see what you have with one quick look. Using shelf dividers is a great way to section off piles of knitwear so that they stay put and don’t slide around.
• If drawers are the only option, keep them shallow: It’s not so practical to keep knitwear in a chest of drawers because you can’t see what’s beneath the top layer, but I do understand that this is often the only option if space is limited. If this is the case, try to keep the drawers shallow so that rummaging through to the bottom is fairly easy.
• Break the folding rule for cardigans: Hang long tunic cardigans and basic cardigans because it’s hard to fold them. Padded hangers or foam hangers will help keep cardigans shaped especially if they’re on the chunky side.
• Store out of season knitwear to free up space: Use space bags to store away knitwear during off season if you’re short of closet space. The vacuum packed bags save space and keep your knitwear in pretty good shape. No insects, dust, moisture or musty odors. The only drawback is that the items are not easily accessible if you need to grab something quickly.

I keep basic turtle necks folded and hang up all my cardigans, both short and tunic length. I don’t use special hangers, but I need to get around to doing that. I don’t need to use space bags because I have sufficient space to keep all of my clothes in my closet throughout the year and there’s just no way you can ever pack away your knitwear in Seattle if you feel the cold like I do.

How do you organize your knitwear? Do you have any tips of your own to share?

People wear moccasin styled “boat shoes” on boats – at least I think they still do. But boat shoes are also resurfacing as a fashion statement for women (the look never left the men’s fashion footwear scene).

Boat shoes were a huge look back in the mid 80’s and I had a blue and white pair that I wore with just about everything. I remember them being very comfortable and duplicated the style in white. But that was then.

Now out of the blue I’m seeing young spunky ladies mixing preppy boat shoes into their edgy and eclectic looks and it’s unexpectedly adorable. While I don’t think I will wear boat shoes again, I can appreciate the look when worn in creative and hip ways. So I vote yay. How about you?