Cropped pants fall into two categories: walk shorts and capris. The distinction is based on length rather than silhouette:

• Walk shorts are pants that are cropped anywhere from just above the knee to the widest part of the calf. Clamdiggers, bemudas, pedal pushers and culottes are all forms of walk shorts.
• Capris are pants that are cropped below the calf and above the ankle. I am allergic to pants at this length. They are extremely leg shortening and unflattering. Models that sport capri lengths wear 4 inch heels which visually raises the hemline. I rest my case.

Retailers and magazines often refer to clamdiggers as capris, which confuses the issue. As long as cropped pants fall on, or above, the widest part of your calf, I’m in favour of them. Anything longer looks dumpy. Stacey London and Clinton Kelly from What Not To Wear are not opposed to capri-length pants (which explains why Stacey wears them throughout her book “Dress your Best”). We will agree to disagree.

Walk shorts at the perfect length (clamdiggers, culottes and bemudas)

Capris at an awfully unflattering length.

A sleeveless, wrap knitted top with wide welt is flattering. I’ve tried this style on various body types and I’m always surprised at how well it works. It starts to make sense when I break it down:

• The armholes are cut away to reveal a pretty shoulder bone. Sleeveless tops usually look better when you show your shoulder bone.
• The blouson effect is forgiving around the mid-riff area. It’s the perfect camouflage for those with a little extra around the tummy.
• The wide welt provides structure. Make sure that the welt starts below your navel and is comfortable over the belly. Its ruching effect is another plus.
• The V-neck and wrap feature are elongating and slimming. The wrap feature gives a larger bosom room, and a smaller bosom volume.
• The shawl collar is great layered under V-neck jackets.

Soft, silky knits feel heavenly against our skin, but are often clingy in the wrong places. This style offers a superb solution. Wear it with a camisole because the front opening tends to part when you move. Comfortable, versatile and chic. So much better than a T-shirt and just as easy to launder.

Ana from the forum found this particularly good example of the style, available from Bluefly.com.

Thanks to digital image manipulation techniques, models and actresses can have perfect bodies, no cellulite and flawless complexions when they are depicted in magazines. According to a recent article in the UK telegraph, the same techniques are now being used in reverse to make gaunt models look fuller-figured. Apparently “Fashion magazines are manipulating images of skinny models to make them look “fatter” than they really are”.

According to a representative from one of the popular retouching agencies:

“It is now deemed just as negative to be too thin as too fat. Everyone is scared of being highlighted as the magazine or label that promotes very thin girls, so they are being a lot more careful about the images they present.”

But Susan Ringwood, who is chief executive of eating disorder charity “Beat”, responded negatively to this practice, saying that it acknowledges the issues associated with projecting the images of very thin models, but misses the point: “They should be using naturally healthy models in the first instance, instead of having to make them look that way.”

I’d love to see a magazine filled with pictures of models and actors that have not been retouched at all. How do you feel about digital photo enhancement in magazines?

Ps. The celebrity gossip site Jossip has some hilarious reporting on the use of Photoshop to alter our favorite celebrities in print.

Dark-wash denim can rub off onto shoes, clothes and skin. This is especially annoying when you’re wearing white. You’d think that merchandise would fail quality control standards if dye bled off garments, but sadly this isn’t the case. Instead you’ll find a swing ticket attached to the garment stating something along the lines of “garment dye may stain clothing”. So what is a girl to do when we’ve painstakingly found the perfect pair of jeans?

Stephanie recently shared the answer on the forum: soak those jeans in a bucket of vinegar and water overnight. The acidity of the vinegar helps to set the dye. Wash and hang dry afterwards and you’ll notice less bleeding the next time you wear them. I tried this in January with my ink blue denim clamdiggers from Zara and it has definitely helped. The dye has set a little more, and my hands aren’t blue after a day’s wear.

I believe that you get your money’s worth when it comes to jeans. I have two pairs of ink blue Diesel jeans that were expensive. They have never rubbed off onto my clothes, shoes, handbag or skin. I suppose setting the dye is just too expensive a process for the manufacturers to use on less pricey jeans.