Wearing wide leg pants with flat slides is a casual and fun throwback to the ’90s. The vibe is breezy, quite elegant, reasonably dressy, practical, and very comfortable. I wore the combination back then, and I’d do so again if I found the right white slides. 

Both outfits below showcase the look well, with one important difference. The wide legs in the first outfit are longer with hems that almost skim the surface of the ground. Visually, I prefer the look of the longer length wide leg pants because it’s somehow luxurious, and lengthens the leg line. But wearing flat slides with the pants is treacherous because the hems get caught under your open heels as you walk. Shoes with closed heels — which in my case are ballet flats, sneakers, or loafers — are a safer, more practical option.

If I sport this combination again, I’ll wear the wide legs a little shorter. The leg line doesn’t look as long, but I’d wear a short top and low-contrast footwear to offset the leg-shortening proportions. In the example below the model is sporting a more practical and short wide leg pant length, where the hems cover the ankle bone but do not touch the shoes. The hems are too short to catch under the open heels of the slides so you can stride comfortably and safely.

Last time we talked about hair DIY at home. Today, let’s look at how you can keep up with nail maintenance during lockdown:

• One of the most asked questions it seems, is how to remove acrylic nails at home. The Huffington Post, Allure, and The Cut have tips.
• StyleCaster shows us 3 ways to remove a gel manicure.
• Once that’s sorted, have a look at these tips for growing strong, healthy nails after removing the gel manicure.
• Allure also asked experts how to remove dip nails without wrecking your natural nail underneath.
• The hashtag #quarantinenails is trending on Instagram. Have a peek at how people are practising their nail-art skills while social distancing.
• And last but not least, here are some suggestions on how you can support your local nail artists, hairstylists, and other beauty professionals impacted by the pandemic.

Fab Links from Our Members

Fashion and COVID meet in honour of one of Canada’s brilliant health officers and to benefit food banks. Suz reports that John Fluevog Shoes is launching a limited-edition shoe called “The Dr. Henry,” inspired by Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Nuancedream loves these “Instagrans” and their wisdom and zest for living their best life. Talk about ageless!

How to use birds to inspire your outfit. Vildy thought Imogen’s style challenge was the most charming style challenge ever.

Jenn directs us to this article about how L.A. sweatshops remain open and are now making masks.

Roberta found this interesting: Should masks be a fashion statement?

While in lockdown, photographer Julia Keil turns the camera on herself, making self-portraits inspired by paintings, the cinema or other photographs. Slim cat finds them quite inspirational.

Laura felt better after reading this NYTimes article in which experts answer whether or not the Coronavirus lurks on your clothes, in your hair or on your shoes.

She also thought this was an interesting view into the future of fast fashion. She adds: “I work with college students, and this is the quote that grabbed me the most: ‘I’m not really inclined to buy anything for the future,’ she says. ‘I’m 19; I don’t have a job right now, and there’s a lot of talk about the lockdown being extended.'”

The more regularly I edit my closet, the easier the subsequent edits become. So I edit and review quite regularly. It helps me to keep a clear picture of my wardrobe in mind, with fresh opinions of all the items and how I feel wearing them. This sharpens my outfit creation process, and helps me to make better shopping decisions as I refresh my wardrobe over time. 

Unlike most fashion professionals, I own and wear a relatively small capsule of footwear. I like shoes, but I am not overly passionate about them. They are an important part of my style, but by no means the most important component. I walk a lot, and have zero tolerance for footwear discomfort. Since my feet are particular and quite hard to fit, I keep my footwear practical, very polished, and quite simple. All of these things influence my footwear capsule.

In this particular edit I passed on six pairs of shoes.

1. Mustard Hi-Tops

Five months ago I slipped and fell badly on my back while wearing these. I am still recovering from the fall. I haven’t worn them since, due to the bad association. They are in mint condition and were new last year.

2. Navy Chelsea Boots

These were very comfortable when I bought them three years ago, but became less comfortable over time. The balls of my feet ache after fifteen minutes of wearing them, and cushioning insoles have not helped.

3. Burgundy Chelsea Boots

These were great, and are still very comfortable. But they are trashed after three years of regular wear. I’m also over their stud detailing, and not sad about passing them on.

4. White Flat Booties

These are my second pair of exactly the same flat white boots. They fit like a glove and are very comfortable. I’ve had them for five years, and they are finished. Tatty, scuffed, stained, and beyond cleaning. I wish I had a third pair.

5. Glitzy Bow Sneakers

I loved the festive and fun glitz of these Christmas sneakers. They were new, and I wore them three times over the holidays with great pleasure. But the beaded bows unravelled and there were beads everywhere. Impossible to repair. I managed to return them to Macy’s as a quality issue.

6. White Ballet Flats

These were great, very comfy, and fab with my Summer dresses. I completely wore away the points on the toe box after one season. I guess they’re too delicate for regular city walking. I have a brand new duplicated pair that I will whip out in a couple of months, which makes me happy. This time round though, I shan’t pound the pavements with them. I’ll keep them for shorter walking distances and wear them less frequently.

I have five pairs of shoes that will probably only last one more season before they become too tatty and worn to wear, and are beyond cleaning or repair. I seem to be hard on my shoes. Generally, my footwear lasts one to six years, determined mostly by the amount of wear they get. The shoes I wear the most have one to three years in them.

Over to you. Have you edited your footwear capsules recently? Are you as hard on footwear as I am?

I bat for Team Naked Nails and don’t wear nail polish. But I do though keep a bottle of nail polish remover in the house, because it’s an excellent remover of very specific stains on very specific wardrobe items. 

I saturate a ball of cotton wool with nail polish remover, and gently use it to take the stains and scuffs off footwear and other items that are made of leather, patent leather, and silicone.

Patent Leather Footwear

I have red and cream patent boots that are wardrobe workhorses. They are surprisingly robust, yet every so often scuff marks appear on the leather. Nail polish remover magically removes them, and they once again look polished and new.

White Leather Footwear and Bags

Removing scuff marks from white footwear and bags generally works magically, but you have to be cautious and gentle. Sometimes you remove the white of the leather, so test a little area first and continue if things seem okay. But use a damp cloth to try to remove scuffs first. If that doesn’t work, haul out the big guns.

Nail polish remover can also remove, or at least take the edge off, blue stains caused by denim dye. You need to rub those pesky stains a little more rigourously, and sometimes it takes a couple of tries.

Silicone Apple Watch Strap and iPhone Cases

My white Apple Watch strap and iPhone case get a little grimy, but nail polish remover cleans things right up. They effectively sparkle like new, and do not turn yellow.

Is there anything in your wardrobe that you clean with nail polish remover?