Toenail polish is making a more fashionable statement than ever. Like fingernail polish, these days it’s an important part of the picture and viewed as an accessory to an outfit. We paint our toenails regularly, especially during sandal season, because it adds interest to our look. It makes us smile when we stare down at our toes, and makes us feel more pulled together when our feet are exposed. 

There’s an almost infinite number of polish colours, and an enormous variety of intricate designs that you can create on your nails. How you choose to groom your toenails is a completely personal thing, and there is no right or wrong choice. Like most things in fashion, it’s all about preferences and going with what makes you feel fab. 

I wear toenail polish almost year round because I like how it adds sparkly polish to my feet. It makes me feel well-groomed and luxurious, especially when I’m without shoes and socks. I used to wear high-contrast blue or green toenail polish because I enjoyed the unusual colour. But about five years ago, I dramatically changed my preferences to a shimmery pearly white, and since then that’s ALL that I wear. I enjoy the low contrast of the colour against my skin tone, the visual softness of the white, the delicate shimmer of the pearl, and I find the subtle colour soothing.

I only recently started wearing sandals again, so my toenail polish style had little to do with how well it worked with open-toed footwear. That said, I like the way my white sandals match my white toes. It’s calming and modern to my eye.

Over to you. What’s your toenail polish style, and what’s the reason behind the colours that you choose? Do you prefer a high or low-contrast colour on your toes?

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There is no one best way to organize a closet because it depends very much on the space available and individual preferences. But I’ve seen some common strategies emerge from my work with my clients. Most of my clients tend to keep their outerwear in a coat closet near the front door, while they keep lighter jackets like blazers, vests and leather motos with the rest of their clothing. Here are the most popular ways they organize their tops, bottoms, dresses and toppers. 

Wardrobe Categories

With this option you store items from each category together with their wardrobe siblings. Your blouses in one place, your jeans, dresses, knit tops, knitwear and skirts in another, and your jackets in another. This way you can quickly target specific items when you are creating an outfit.

Colour Coding 

It’s lovely walking into a closet where the items are grouped by colour because it’s a visual feast. This option works well for a colourful closet, making it easy to head directly to a particular colour spectrum. Of course, you can also colour code your items inside their wardrobe categories.

Dress Codes

Some of my clients split their closet space into four sections: career wear, casual wear, formal attire, and workout wear. They find it much easier to dress day to day when their work clothes are in a place that isn’t cluttered by items that they can’t wear to work. Dressing on the weekends or for casual evenings out is easier too. 

Capsules 

A few of my clients organize their wardrobes into mix-and-match capsules. They hang ten to twenty items together that they know can create a range of outfits. This method tends to work best when you have a smaller wardrobe, a larger closet, and are very disciplined about maintaining your wardrobe capsules, adding only a few items at a time. 

Outfits 

This is the least common way of organizing your closet, but it suits a few of my clients down to the ground. They have small wardrobes and wear the same outfits repeatedly. They might hang two or three tops with the same jeans or pants, or just one top with a skirt. They tend to have a similar quantity of tops, bottoms and lightweight toppers, which makes the strategy work quite well. These clients do not want to think about how to create an outfit at all, nor are they interested in mixing and matching their items to create new looks. Once we’ve sorted out the outfit combinations — that’s it until the next time we shop for complete outfits. 

You can implement a few of these closet organization strategies at once to create a system that works best for you. You’re after a system that reminds you of what you have (remember: out of sight, out of mind), and that allows you to create outfits effectively and efficiently. You also want to implement a system that you can maintain as items channel through the laundry.

I share a small walk-in wardrobe with hubby Greg. I take up the lion’s share of the hanging space, while Greg takes up the lion’s share of the folded space. I keep EVERYTHING together apart from wardrobe basics that are stored in a separate chest of drawers, and coats that are in the coat closet. I hang and fold items per wardrobe category, and colour code them as far as possible. 

How do you organize your closet, and does your system work for you?

Dior hires a new artistic director, the most eco-friendly fashion brands according to Greenpeace, the Kenzo for H&M collection, and other style news that made headlines in July.

• Dior has hired Maria Grazia Chiuri as the fashion house’s new artistic director.
• New York City’s northeast corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue will be temporarily named for longtime fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who passed away last month.
• Theory is launching its first full-fledged handbag collection.
• Lane Bryant is teaming up with Prabal Gurung for its next designer collaboration.
• Greenpeace reveals the most, and least, eco-friendly fashion brands.
• In the Fall exhibit, “Masterworks: Unpacking Fashion“, the Costume Institute will showcase 60 of its most significant acquisitions made over the past decade.
• Here’s a first look at the Kenzo for H&M collection.
• ASOS has created formalwear for the British paralympic team.
• Olivier Theyskens is relaunching his namesake label, and plans to bring out two collections a year.
• For its “Denim Every Day” programme, Madewell is working with Vans and several other other brands.

Fashion Fact

Diane von Furstenberg got the idea for her bestselling wrap dress after she saw Julie Nixon Eisenhower sporting one of her wrap tops paired with one of her skirts on TV. It became an instant hit in the 1970s. Over the years, the design has undergone slight alterations, but has continued to sell out up until today.

I instinctively want to pair light blue with white in the Summertime, but some of my clients much prefer light blue with black. Black and light blue is especially effective when you have dark brown, red or black hair. My blonde hair might be why I gravitate to white rather than black because it complements the lightness of my hair.

Think of all sorts of ways to combine black with light blue. The options are endless, but here are three renditions to get you started. Note that faded denim and chambray can also function as the light blue part of the outfit. The easiest way to wear this palette is to combine faded blue jeans with a black top. But because that’s too easy, it hasn’t been represented here. 

Black Flared Crops & Trendy Top 

Combine a pair of black flared or straight cropped pants with an architectural light blue top. Finish off the look with silver, black or white footwear that works with the hemline of the flared crops. Choose a black, silver or white bag. 

Black Dress & Light Blue Scarf

Wrap a light blue cotton or linen Summer scarf over a casual black Summer dress. Finish off the look with silver or white footwear, and a white or silver bag. 

Black Skirt & Light Blue Blouse 

Combine a black pencil or tube skirt with a pretty light blue blouse. The blouse can have a subtle pattern and drape with romantic flounces, or be any other style that tickles your fancy. Finish off the look with silver, black or white footwear and a bag to match. Add jewellery, eyewear and watch as desired. 

I can combine a light blue cropped pullover with black flared crops, but it’s imperative that I add white or silver in the footwear and bag to lighten the palette of the outfit, and pick up the white in my hair. Adding black shoes and bag would feel too dark for my personal style. 

Over to you. Would you wear light blue with black, and which colour of footwear would you choose?

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