If your have marks on light coloured leather or patent shoes, try cleaning them with acetone (nail polish remover). Soak a piece of cotton wool in the acetone and rub it over the mark. I haven’t found a need to be gentle with my patent shoes, but am a dash more careful with soft leather (I haven’t tried this with metallic leather).

This method works wonders. The colour of the shoe somehow remains intact, and in most cases the marks either disappear or are substantially reduced. It’s particularly effective for removing dark blue stains that end up on the top, or at the back of your shoes after wearing dark blue wash jeans. My yellow and cream patent heels continue to look new because of this easy trick.

Apart from a handful of ultra-high fashion and cutting edge styles, it’s all about 3 mainstream denim silhouettes this season:

1. Wide-legs: also known as “un-skinnies”, these jeans are dramatic and elegant. They’re good for tall pretty pears and are best worn with a heel if you don’t have height. Trouser versions of wide-legged jeans are particularly classy and versatile. They’re most flattering when they’re slim on the thigh and flared at the hem. Ultra-wide styles that are wide on the thigh tend to make you look wider. Remember that you need to keep it fitted on top if you add volume on the bottom. If you don’t, you’ll loose that long lean line.
2. Skinnies: stove pipes and straighter legs remain a favourite for tunics and longer length tops. They’re the best option when adding volume on top with sack dresses and trapeze silhouettes.
3. Bootcuts: this forever flattering denim style has become a classic. You’ll still look fab wearing a great pair of bootcuts if skinnies and wide-legs don’t tickle your fancy. Don’t believe what the magazines tell you, bootcuts aren’t out.

Pick and choose the jeans that work best for your body type and look. If you’re a denim girl at heart, you’ll enjoy the different moods that all 3 denim styles provide.

Wide-legs, skinnies and bootcuts. The perfect complement for denim girls this season.

Television’s biggest award ceremony made for a stylish red carpet event last night. To my surprise, most of the dresses were long and colourful. From fuchsia to watermelon, aqua to teal, and crimson to eggplant, neutrals were not the order of the evening.

Yet my favourite looks were neutrally toned. These were my top 4:

• Portia De Rossi glistened in a long midnight blue strapless number that was “held up” at the neck (halter style) by a bejeweled snake. The gown was amazing and unique and my absolute best.
• Kyra Sedgwick wore a long black work of art that looked sculptured both from the front and from the back. The gothic and dramatic appeal of this dress might have been an over the top choice for the Emmy’s, but I loved it all the same.
• Eva Longoria was a perfect little princess in her sparkly short, gold cut-away sheath. Sassy, smart and immaculate as only ultra petite Eva Longoria could pull off.
• Ali Larter wore a long red voluminous strapless gown and makes my list not because I thought the dress was particularly fabulous, but because it looked so comfortable.

If you managed to catch a glimpse of the show, I’d love to hear about your favourites.

Garments, shoes and accessories have different names in different parts of the English-speaking world. Here in the USA I have learned to either use the American English, or receive blank stares from my clients and retail store staff. Still, many British terms and colloquialisms slip through. The blog is no exception, so I thought I’d list the ones I can think of. Let me know if you discover others hidden in my posts.

I’ve drawn the words above from memory so they almost certainly include some idiosyncrasies (the result of a British education in Hong Kong and many years living in South Africa).

There are some fab books on this topic. We find that British English A to Zed is hilarious (and great for proving to our American friends that we aren’t just making words up). Cassell’s Dictionary of English Idioms goes beyond individual words, explaining the many obscure expressions in the English language.