Ladies and gents, if you wear spectacles it is imperative that they are the absolute best pair of frames for your face and eyes. If you have little interest in updating your wardrobe, at the very least set aside time to purchase a new pair of glasses every year. It’s best to have your eyes tested annually anyway, so treat yourself to a new pair of specs when you go. Your specs are the most important accessory that you own. My husband and I wear specs most of time as we can’t get our minds around contact lenses. Over the years we’ve learned a thing or two about buying and wearing specs which you might find useful:

• Spare no expense – sacrifice something else if you have to. You need to have the best when it comes to your eyes and you are worth it.
• Shop around – it doesn’t matter where you buy your frames; you just need the correct guidance whilst doing so and specialty stores are usually best. There is tremendous variety out there and you’ll want to have lots of options even if you do end up going back to the first pair that you tried on.
• Make the statement – a pair of fabulous specs will always make a statement. Your style quotient will increase instantly when you have them.
• Accessorize correctly – this is something that ladies need to bear in mind. There is a tendency to “over accessorize” when wearing specs. You want people to focus on your face alone. Having too many things around your face draws people’s attention away from your eyes.
• Earrings: limit them to a dainty stud/hoop or refrain from wearing any at all. I never wear earrings – my specs are enough of statement.
• Necklaces: limit them to one around your neck, as opposed to multiple
• Brooches: one on your coat or jacket is enough
• Hair: keep hair bands discreet
• Consider having multiple pairs – having a few pairs to select from is a good idea. That way you won’t get bored and you’ll have a spare.

Make your specs spectacular. Not only will you see the world better; the world will see the better you!

Update: there is a more recent post that updates these guidelines for 2007. 

The pear shape is common amongst women. Good news – it is easy to streamline and you have lots of options!  You’ll want to create the longest looking line with everything that you wear in order to balance the difference between the top and bottom part of your body.

Drawing attention upwards:

• Always wear slim fitting tops, sweaters, cardigans and button down shirts. Choose styles that define your waist and show off your torso – never opt for anything boxy.
• Select styles with wide cuffs and bell sleeves. Choose embellishment, rushing, seaming detail, large collar/lapels and princess lines. This automatically balances out the wider bottom part of you by drawing attention upwards.
• The length of your tops should always catch you on your hipbone. Avoid lengths that finish straight over your bottom. Avoid tops that stop just on or above your waist. This emphasizes your disproportionate top to bottom ratio.
• LAYER your garments. The layers create a visual balance between the top and bottom half of your body
• You are the girl that looks best in shirts, girly blouses, and jackets. You look fabulous in jackets and coats and your wardrobe should be plentiful of these!
• Wear A-line wrap tops & dresses – they emphasize your upper body, and accentuate your feminine décolletage, while slimming down the wider part of you. Look for dresses that have top detail. Avoid sheath dresses at all costs.
• Accessorize the top part of your body well eg. necklaces, specs, earrings, hair clips (but not all together!)

“De-emphasizing” the bottom and elongating your legs:

• Keep your bottom choices plain and simple thereby saving all the visual interest for your tops.
• Keep the hems of your pants wide, boot cut or flared. Pants that just skim along the contour of your thighs always work best and back pockets are essential. Simple rule:  the curvier your bottom, the longer and wider you’ll need to wear your pants and the higher you’ll need to wear your heel to balance out your silhouette.
• Keep all your bottoms structured – no drawstrings, no front pleats and no elastic.
• Keep the top front part of your pants free of detail .You do not want to attract attention to an area that is not your best. Side entry pockets are fine, and so is detail at the bottom of your pants e.g., turn ups, embroidery and slits. Stay away from combat pants or anything with cargo pockets on them.
• If your pants fit you perfectly everywhere else but not on your waistline, have them altered.
• A-line skirts are best. They should be knee-length or just below. Stay clear of bias-cut skirts and pencil skirts.
• Wear pointy toe shoes with pants that are wide at the hem – this will make your legs look longer and slimmer.
• Wear heels whenever you can as this will help your legs look longer and create balance. Wear enough heel height to elongate the vertical line you are trying to create. If you wear boots with  skirts, they should always be long and emphasize your slim ankle.

Enjoy your ultra-feminine body!

If you are going to buy anything to update your wardrobe this Spring, consider the following suggestions:

The absolute “must haves” for everyone, irrespective of body type, age, and lifestyle”:

• Crisp white fitted shirt – to tuck in, belt at the waist or layer with a t-shirt, jacket or piece of knitwear
• Metallic bag – in gold, silver or any metallic shade in between
• Metallic shoes – in either a stacked heel, pretty ballet flat or strappy Grecian thong
• Fitted cropped jacket in a neutral tone – in either white, black, cream, tan, khaki or all of the above
• Knitted wrap dress – the ones that Diane von Furstenberg made famous. Don’t think that you can’t wear one – you’ll be surprised. Try one on and discover how flattering and forgiving they are!
• Long strand of beads – in wood, plastic, metal or pearls… or a combination of these 

For the more adventurous among us, feel free to add:

• Fitted knee length trouser shorts – in denim or any neutral stretch fabric
• White pants – fully lined and fairly wide legged
• Vintage ruffle blouse – in a neutral tone, soft flouncy fabric and perhaps made of stretch lace
• Crocheted shrug – finely knitted versions are smarter (we don’t want a repeat last season’s bo-ho chic look)
• Spotted anything – usually best in a blouse, skirt or dress 

And for the ultra fashionista:

• Horizontal “jailbird” stripe top – in black/white, brown/white, black/grey
• Short shorts – high on the thigh and worn best with heels
• Wide waist belt – preferably in some sort of stretch fabric for comfort
• High waisted pencil skirt – also best in a neutral tone
• Patent shoes – in a primary colour

Whether you’re a cutting edge girl, or prefer to remain currently classic – it’s important to update your wardrobe every season.

The season’s biggest fashion colour is white, but what does that mean for those of us that don’t tan and aren’t dark skinned? You might hold out even less hope if you are blonde. This is how I felt when I first heard about the new trends for Spring. Well ladies, I am thrilled to announce that it can be done! With some attention to detail – we can all look fab wearing white.

The trick is to create contrast.

• Layer underneath your white jacket – by wearing a black or colourful collared shirt or fancy t-shirt underneath your white jacket, you’ll have a flattering tone right up against your face
• Adjust your make-up – darken your lipstick, emphasize your eyebrow colour and add rosy cheeks if you don’t naturally have them
• Embellish your white shirt – layer onto your white shirt with black or another colour either in the form of a piece of knitwear or even a fancy t-shirt
• White pants only – wear white pants on their own (as opposed to an entire suit) and contrast them with preferably a black or brown top and add in metallic shoes and bag
• Wear chunky beads – liven up any white top with a colorful or metallic strand of short chunky beads against your face
• Contrast your white bag – wear a strong colour on top so that your white bag can contrast against it eg. black, brown, red or bright yellow jacket/blouse/t-shirt
• Contrast your white shoes – white shoes are not best against a fair skin, however, wear them underneath long denim jeans and you have your contrast

There are countless different ways in which we can create a striking contrast with all this ultra-trendy white merchandise in stores.  We may not all be able to wear white from top to bottom as trends forecast, but carefully selecting key white pieces will help us to update our look.