Your sartorial preferences can be narrow or wide. Typically they evolve over time, but every once in a while they change overnight, just because. The shift isn’t gradual nor easily explainable, but quite strong and emotional. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, your mood, perceptions and feelings about a certain colour, style, fabric, silhouette, or look are different to what they were before.

I sometimes see this type of fast and unexpected sartorial shift in my clients. Recently, a very casual client who liked faded and distressed denim for years went totally off the look. Since most of her denim was heavily distressed, it was a challenge getting dressed for a while.

Another client who liked her signature dark brown hair, decided to go blonde on a whim. It wasn’t planned, yet she felt like a drastic change. As a result, her assortment of black footwear no longer bookended her outfits. She also needed to adjust her cool colour palette to a slightly warmer one this year.

A client with a neutral wardrobe said she would never wear bright colours, until one day she bought a bright magenta top with a matching magenta and orange scarf when we were shopping. That was that. Out of the blue, her feelings about wearing a bright had changed.

And there’s my client who exclusively wore heeled, low-vamped footwear for their leg-lengthening, figure-flattering effect. One day she tried on a pair of flat slip-on oxfords and decided she liked the look. Her perception of high-vamped flat oxfords, sneakers and loafers as unflattering had changed. When she phoned to tell me, we laughed and laughed!

I remember waking up the morning I turned forty and deciding that I preferred gold to silver as a metal. I hadn’t worn gold for decades, but that’s what I was feeling and I couldn’t explain the shift. Almost eight years later and I almost exclusively bat for Team Gold. It took a while to swap out most of my jewellery, hardware and accessories to gold, but it was worth it. I love gold, which works better with my warm skin tone. I hope I don’t wake up on the morning of my 50th birthday and decide that I prefer silver.

Have you experienced any sudden and unexpected sartorial shifts?

Colour, pattern, texture and shine give an outfit depth, making it look more interesting, eye-catching and attractive. If you think your outfit is missing something, troubleshoot by assessing whether it needs the addition of one or more of these elements. 

By mixing colour, pattern, texture and shine you can create all sorts of looks that keep your style fresh and rut-free. For a maximal and complex vibe, incorporate all four elements. If you’re a simple and minimal dresser, incorporate one or two at a time.

Colour

By colour I mean non-neutrals, so not black, shades of white and tan, dark blue, grey or dark brown. Sometimes olive is thought of as a neutral too. That said, non-neutrals needn’t be bright. They can be pastel, muddy, jewel-toned, mid-toned, and even very dark like a rich Bordeaux, eggplant or forest green.

You can wear neutral clothing and bring the colour through with footwear, accessories, eyewear, make-up and fingernail polish. When your eyes are a very bright blue or green, that also effectively adds colour to your look. Body ink and dying your hair a rainbow colour can also add colour to your style.

Pattern

A pattern is a repeated decorative design. We tend to think of bold, bright patterns, but they can also be subtle. Patterns composed of low-contrast neutral colours and small motifs are the most subtle of all.

You can choose to go bold or subtle. You can also mix several patterns in one outfit. At the other extreme there are people who never wear patterns at all.

Texture

Texture is usually created through the surface interest of fabrics or from the embellishments on clothing, footwear and accessories. Texture creates tactile as well as visual interest, and is particularly popular with those who prefer to sport a neutral style.

Your hairstyle can add fab texture to your outfit. On the extreme side, long and wild curly hair that is left down and not tied back adds busloads of texture to an outfit. Long sleek and straight hair adds more subtle texture.

Shine

Shine is created by incorporating anything that shines in your outfit. You can wear shiny clothing, sport metallic footwear, belts or handbags, or pile on shiny jewellery. Adding shine to your lips is a more subtle approach. You can sport shiny nails, wear gold eyeliner, or simply dazzle people with your shiny smile.

I incorporate all four of these elements into my style, and often sport two, three or four of them in one outfit. I’m biggest on colour and shine because it positively effects my mood. I sport brights, pastels and earth tones regularly, and in all wardrobe items. I like blue mascara. I love to wear shiny lipstick, metallic anything, and bright white pearl jewellery. I adore classic patterns and pattern mixing, although most of my wardrobe is solid. I also enjoy incorporating texture like faux fur, pom-poms, suede, patent, velvet, embroidery and tassels.

The outfit below incorporates all four elements. Even if this look isn’t for you, it’s fun to admire from afar. How do you incorporate colour, pattern, texture and shine into your style?

This ensemble was inspired by my own new pair of orange pants that were reduced to $16. I’ve been wearing them quite a bit, and it feels SO good to wear jeans less frequently. I like combining them with navy, ink blue, burgundy, cream, gold accents, and a touch more orange.

Here are the exact items I have been wearing in these outfits:

I’ve read that purple is the favourite colour of women overall, and orange is our least favourite. If that’s anything to go by, few YLF readers will have a pair of orange bottoms! Even if that’s the case, perhaps you’ll appreciate the colour combinations here even if you don’t wear them yourself.

The Polyvore shows an interpretation of the items in the collection that I used to create outfits with the orange pants.

Orange and Dark Blue

I combined the orange pants with ink blue turtleneck and navy boots. I wore sheer navy knee-highs instead of socks. I semi-tucked the turtleneck and added a gold belt. I finished off the look with orange tote and ink blue military coat. For a look that combined some cream, I swapped out the blue boots and gold belt for cream belt and booties, and added the orange pom-pom. The cherry bag looks good with these outfits too.

Orange, Burgundy and Cream

I combined the orange pants with a burgundy turtleneck and burgundy boots. I wore sheer grey knee-highs instead of socks. I semi-tucked the turtleneck and added a gold belt. I finished off the look with orange or cherry bag and plaid bomber jacket. For a look that combined more cream, I swapped out the burgundy turtleneck and boots for cream pullover, belt, pearls and booties. Sometimes I added the orange pom-pom. Gold watch, pearl ring and brown specs were worn with every outfit.

These outfits are an acquired taste. I enjoy wearing non-neutrals, and some colour combinations that might clash to others are harmonious to my eye. I’m awfully happy with my orange pants.

Author Susie Boyt shares her mixed feelings about this year’s holiday windows.

I love the thought and effort that goes into putting together a magical window display, and enjoyed browsing this selection of photos from cities around the world.

Vogue explains how the season’s best holiday windows celebrate New York’s sanctuary city status.

Fab Links from Our Members

Texstyle just came across a new-to-her blog, and enjoys some of the writing. She adds: “This particular article seems relevant to the current holiday season which is often more stressful for many.”

Angie directs us to this list of 35 fair trade and ethical clothing brands betting against fast fashion.

As we head into the new year, Angie recommends reading or re-reading Sally’s great post on how to transition your style. Angie says: “The most important word here is PATIENCE.”

Fashiontern points us to the Hometown Style series that spotlights fashion-forward New Yorkers who originally hail from one of the other 49 states.

Bijou wants to share this article on the cruel truth behind some puffer coats: “I had no idea that this was even happening. I for one will be happy to pay more, and own less puffers that I know meet the Traceable Down Standard.”

Rachylou enjoyed this read about streetwear and the thriving resale market.