We’re keeping it short, sweet and simple on this American Day of Independence. Which of these colours is your favourite? Note that any shade of red, white or blue counts. For example, think burgundy, cherry, fire engine or tomato for red. White, bone, off-white or cream for white. And ink blue, cobalt, navy or sky blue for blue. Absolutely NO batting for more than one team. 

Tomato red has been a favourite colour for as long as I can remember. White, in all its shades, is my favourite neutral. Ink blue is my black. I adore a clear French blue, Tiffany blue, crisp turquoise, and pretty light blue. I wear all three colours throughout the year, across all sorts of wardrobe items, and sometimes in one outfit. I can’t possibly pick a side, so I’m sitting this one out on the bench with cold cucumber soup, fresh lobster rolls from Maine, coleslaw, crisps, and strawberry pavlova. Join me if you can’t pick a side. 

Over to you. Do you bat for Team Red, Team White or Team Blue? Tell us why, and no batting for more than one side. I bet Team Blue will win this race. Prove me wrong.

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I was blown away by how stunning my clients looked in these swimsuits. The tankini is extremely well suited to a petite apple shape with a larger bust and shorter neck. The full piece is particularly brilliant on a curvy pear-shaped or hourglass body type. Chic, comfortable, flattering and alluring. I wish that they came in a wider assortment of colours and sizes. 

• Magic Suit Sophie Shelf Bra Tankini Top: A tankini that drapes around an apple-shaped midsection to PERFECTION. Camouflages lumps and bumps without being overly voluminous. Forgiving, contouring, and not clingy. The under bra is surprisingly supportive. Sublimely flattering and alluring neckline - even when you thought you couldn't wear a halter neck. Works for all lengths of waist. It poofs out a bit when you swim, but drapes back in a structured way as you get out of the water. Works with a matched or mismatched tankini bottom.
• Magic Suit Sophie Shelf Bra Tankini Top: The tankini is perfectly suited to an apple-shaped body type with a larger bust. Incredible drape and neckline. Forgiving, contouring, and not clingy. The under bra is surprisingly supportive. Works extremely well on petite apples. Pair it with black bottoms.
• Magic Suit Ruched Bikini Bottoms: Tankini bottoms that work well at concealing midsection extra bits. Works well with the matching tankini tops.
• Magic Suit 'Yvonne' Halter One-Piece Swimsuit: An especially fabulous suit for Team Curvy with a defined waist and small/regular size bust. The ruching smoothes out the silhouette and is forgiving and comfortable. The neckline is alluring and stays put. The skirted front and back add a little coverage to the thigh area if you're shy about showcasing your thighs. Visually the curved skirted design feature streamlines the shape of the thighs - clever design.

Remember that swimsuits are sized differently to clothing, and that they run two sizes smaller. So a size US8 is the same as a size US4. Swimsuits can also be altered to fit perfectly.

A sustainable clothing capsule collection from Banana Republic, Thredup ventures out into the brick-and-mortar world, Mickey Drexler is leaving J.Crew, and other news from the June style trenches.

• With Prime Wardrobe, Amazon is launching a try-before-you-buy clothing service.
• Mickey Drexler is stepping down as CEO of J.Crew after 14 years.
• Banana Republic has teamed up with Piece & Co — a company that creates socially and environmentally-sustainable fabrics — for a limited-edition Summer capsule collection.
• Anita Pallenberg, style icon and rock ‘n’ roll muse, has passed away at age 73.
• Less than a year after Condé Nast relaunched Style.com as a fashion e-commerce site, the company is closing the business and forging a new strategic partnership with Farfetch.
• Online resale site Thredup is planning to open five brick-and-mortar stores by the end of the year.
• According to digital marketing firm SEMRush, ASOS is the world’s most popular e-commerce fashion site.
• The Yoox Net-a-Porter Group has announced it’s adopting a fur-free policy.
• At the 2017 CFDA Awards, Raf Simons won both Menswear and Womenswear Designer of the Year. He’s the first designer to receive both honours in one night since Calvin Klein took home the titles in 1993.

Fun Fashion Fact

Did you know that Virginia Woolf coined the phrase “frock consciousness.” In general, it means being aware that how you dress is part of the image you present to the world. Virginia Woolf “used it to refer to the way she employed clothing to denote character, and changes in character, particularly as they applied to her book “Mrs. Dalloway.” This is just one of the topics discussed in Terry Newman’s book “Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore“, which “examines how the sartorial choices authors make are deeply connected to the narrative choices they make.” I’m putting it on my Summer reading list right now.

I’d love to have three months of non-stop warm weather. A dry and sunny 28 to 33 degrees Celsius would be ideal, but that’s unusual in Seattle. That’s why I don’t wear dresses all that frequently, and often sport them over cropped pants and jeans, with some sort of topper and closed-toe shoes. 

But I LOVE dresses. So this ensemble was inspired by my fantasy Summer style in which I would wear a breezy and pretty dress every day and avoid arctic air conditioning. Some styles would be dressy and some casual. At best, I would need a denim jacket when it’s a little fresh in the morning and evening, but nothing heavier than that. I’d wear the dresses with flats like fashion sneakers, sandals, loafers or ballet flats. I’d wear neutrals, brights and pastels and enjoy every minute of having what I call a proper Summer. 

Here are the components of the ensemble:

Fab Frock: Choose a dress that makes you feel fabulous. It works with your body type, lifestyle and sartorial preferences. Go solid, patterned, bright, neutral, pastel, muted, jewel-toned or earth-toned. Long or short. Sleeved or sleeveless. Fitted, fluid or oversized. Dressy or casual.

Optional Topper: I like a short and fitted denim jacket over some of my dressier Summer dresses, but enjoy them best unlayered. Clients enjoy layering cardigans over sleeveless dresses. Or fitted blazers, big wraps, and kimono jackets over dresses with sleeves. 

Footwear: Think sneakers, loafers, sandals, mules, sandal booties, ankle strap pumps and flats, thong sandals, ballet flats or wrapped styles. You do NOT need to wear heels with a dress, especially when it’s a casual style (which to my eye tends to look more fashionable with flats). Remember that dressy flats do exist, if you want to pair dressy shoes with a dressier frock. 

Accessories: Choose a dressy or casual bag that works with the outfit. Finish off the look with scarf, jewellery, headgear, watch and eyewear as desired. 

I hope to see lots of fabulous Summer dresses on the forum.

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