If you like to wear an alluring one-piece bathing costume with good coverage and extra support, the three styles below are my top picks this season. The styles come in various solid colours and patterns so hopefully there’s a combination to your taste.

I have fitted many, many one-piece bathing costume styles on many bodies and more often than not, it comes down to one of the three silhouettes below. There is just something about the fit, fabric and cut that works.

“Sonatina” by Miraclesuit. This silhouette has been around for a couple of seasons and it’s still my top recommendation for any size and body type, both petite and regular height. Great bust support, a nice low back, enough bottom coverage and a pretty neckline.

“Escape” by Miraclesuit. This silhouette has an even more alluring neckline and the front criss-cross wrap detailing is both waist defining and camouflaging. My taller clients preferred this style because it’s longer in the body than the Sonatina, making it more comfortable all round. Definitely not as much panty plucking.

“Sweetheart” by La Blanca. This is an exciting new find! They fabric is just as weighty as the Miraclesuit collection so there is ample support. If you like exposing your décolleté, this style is for you. It’s also longer in torso length so a good pick for taller or long bodied gals. It’s pretty in all the colours but especially sophisticated in black.

Remember that bathing costume sizes in the US do not follow regular size specifications. You have to size up about two sizes. So if you usually wear a clothing size 6, you’ll need a size 10 bathing costume.

Adding a wrap, knitted skirt, board shorts or fun little slip dress to any of these costumes is a great idea. If you need a couple of costumes in rotation at one time, try to coordinate the colours and patterns for mixing and matching possibilities.

Even if the one-pieces above are not to your taste, it’s worth trying them on if you’re stuck. You’ll probably find that they look better on than you expected. I’ve also had the new Spanx swimwear range on a few bodies and it was disappointing. Although the styles look more exciting, they generally haven’t been as effective at smoothing out the silhouette.

If anyone has further swimwear recommendations that offer flattering coverage, I’m all ears.

I know, I know. It’s weird to hear me say this because for several reasons I wear flats most of the time. And when I wear heels, they’re only one to two inches high. I seldom wear really high heels, which is most unusual for my dressy style and job as a fashion stylist. I dare to be different!

But a couple of times a month, I break out my high heels, which are no higher than three inches because that’s all I can bear. And I feel fabulous. Here’s why:

• Amplified femininity: I feel extra girly in high heels and enjoy the sound that they make as I walk.
• Extra height: Some outfits look better with high heels so it’s great to take advantage of the elevation.
• Shaped calf muscles: This is my favourite reason for wearing heels. I don’t have shapely calves but I do when I wear high heels.

If you’re a high heel wearer, do these reasons resonate with you? Any further reasons to wear high heels?

Linen is a natural fabrication that creases heavily. Linens blended with synthetic fibers like nylon, acetate and polyester crease less, but they still crease. So when you purchase any linen garment, you have to commit to the creases as part of the look. And the wrinkling starts the minute you move in the clothing so by the end of the day you’re pretty creased.

Linen clothing rears it’s cool and breezy head every Summer for both men and women and is particularly popular in Europe. It’s found in all sorts of garments from dresses, scarves, trousers, shorts and skirts, to shirts, blouses, tunics and jackets. You can also get linen bags and shoes.

Linen clothing tends to denote a casual vibe, but in the right structured garments it can be interpreted in a more dressy sense too. Business casual slacks, jackets, shirts and suits are available every year and I especially see a resurgence of linen dresses. This could be another 90’s influence but I’m not sure.

It’s a given that you’re going to look creased at some point during the day no matter what. So the question is whether structured, but wrinkled linen can look professional in business settings. There are several things to consider:

• Your specific line of work
• The actual blend of the linen fabrication (some crease more than others)
• The type of garment you choose
• The rest of your ensemble

I wear structured linen button down shirts and have a few linen jackets. I wear them both in a business casual sense and smart casually with jeans. I believe that structured and tailored  linen pieces (like the ones below) can work for business casual in warm weather when dressier elements like shoes and accessories accompany the ensemble. But unstructured linen garments are best left for casual wear.

What do you think? Do you wear linen and get your head around wearing the natural fiber in business casual settings? Or is linen strictly for casual wear?

These linen items are dressy and worn in a dressy way. For me, they will work in a business casual environment that leans toward casual.

For years fashion experts have been swearing by nude or flesh-toned shoes because they visually extend the length of the leg right down to the foot without a break. So it’s as if your legs magically received ten inches of extra flattering length.

I must admit that it took me a while to get used to the idea of wearing flesh-toned shoes, for two reasons. First, I felt like I was barefoot and forgot to put on shoes. Second, they seemed a teensy weensy bit too mature. But after a bit of nude shoe soul searching, I saw the light and have several pairs.

But I still don’t fancy nude shoes that look “flat”. They must have some sort of leather texture and self-colour embellishment for me to like them. Or, they need to be sandals so that your painted toenails add visual depth to the picture. So while I vote yay, it’s with conditions.

Do you like the look of nude shoes and wear them? Or you think they look odd on the foot. Yay or still nay?