I touched on how to add a new colour in a recent post about building the palette of your wardrobe, but here I’m going to elaborate in more detail. When adding an item in a new-to-you colour, it’s important to think about how you’ll wear it in outfits. 

It’s very helpful to think about your wardrobe in terms of capsules. This does NOT mean that every top and topper has to match every bottom. Not at all. Thinking in capsules merely means thinking about how your wardrobe items relate to each other so that you can create complete outfits that make you feel fab. This prevents the random purchase of items that don’t go together or don’t work for your lifestyle.

I will illustrate the four-step process with a blush jacket that we added to a client’s business casual wardrobe last season. The current palette in her wardrobe was mostly dark neutrals, earth tones, and some jewel tones. Denim was not part of the capsule because of the business casual dress code. 

Here’s the easy four-step process.

1. Scan the Contents of Your Wardrobe

My client fell in love with the blush jacket when we were refreshing her style for Spring. She really wanted to make it work because it was a wild card and a way to evolve her style. She could immediately match the jacket with a column of black or navy because she already had those neutrals in her closet. But combining the pastel with dark neutrals didn’t look sufficiently crisp to her eye, and there was room for improvement. This meant that we had to purchase more pieces to work with the blush jacket.

2. Purchase the Support Act

The absence of LIGHT neutrals in my client’s wardrobe was a glaring hole because they work particularly well with pastels like blush. So we set out to purchase a foundation of two pairs of white trousers, a white skirt and a few white tops. We also threw in a pair of taupe trousers. We finished off the outfits with taupe and gold footwear, and an off-white handbag. 

3. Build Onto the Capsule 

Now that my client had several light outfits to wear with the new blush jacket, we set out to add a few more blush items to this capsule to create even more outfits. We added a blouse in a blush, black and white pattern, a few blush pullovers, a blush tweed skirt, and a blush and taupe patterned scarf. 

4. Lay a Foundation for the Next New Colour

The purchase of the light neutral support act for the blush jacket was quite a substantial investment of time, effort and money for the addition of one new colour to my client’s wardrobe. But it’s the gift that keeps on giving because it paved the way for a much easier and cost-effective addition of the next new colours my client added to her wardrobe, which were chartreuse and light blue. Pastels and brights can be worn with black and navy, but look fresher and more Summery when combined with light neutrals in warm weather. 

Adding a new colour into your wardrobe is easier, less expensive, and becomes more of an intuitive process when: 1) you have an assortment of light, mid-tone and dark neutrals in your wardrobe already, and 2) when your affinity for colour mixing is relatively high. If my client had light neutrals in her wardrobe to start off with, she wouldn’t have needed to purchase the support act. She would have moved straight to building onto the capsule with more patterns and solids. And if her affinity for mixing colours was higher, she would be combining the next new colour — chartreuse — with the blush and white.

If you are looking for a style resolution for 2016, here are ten to consider on this New Year’s Day. 

1. Don’t “compare and despair”. Compete with the best version of your current self, and no one else. 
2. Listen to how you FEEL in an outfit. The more you are in tune with your preferences, needs and emotions, the easier it is to sport a style that is effortless, authentic and makes you feel fabulous. Don’t take the emotion out of your style.
3. Keep poison eye to a minimum because there’s a version of every trend for everyone. 
4. Dress the body you have right now.
5. Set the stylish standard and don’t let anyone make you feel bad for dressing in the ways that make you happy. 
6. Celebrate your body because it’s an incredible gift that deserves daily care and praise at any size and age. 
7. Appreciate all the different ways we can be beautiful because life would be awfully dull if we all looked the same. 
8. Judge the outfit, but not the person wearing it. 
9. There’s no such thing as “trying too hard” in fashion and style. Trying is a good thing, and having fun along the way is the best part of all.
10. Be patient and positive with your style and relax into your style journey. Pat yourself on the back every time you get it right. 
11. Have fun with fashion. Don’t take it too seriously. Experiment with new things. Be surprised at what works, and learn from what doesn’t. Laugh a lot.

As the very last post of 2015, here are some thoughts to wrap up the year of style, fashion and retail. My musings are completely subjective, so feel free to agree, disagree, or add to the list. There are no right or wrong answers and it’s all in good fun. 

My Highlight of the Year: Sam!

My Fashion Highlight of the Year: Two weeks in Hong Kong because it’s a very stylish city and part of my soul.

Best Red Carpet Outfit: Emma Stone in a strapless jumpsuit at the Golden Globes.

Buzzwords for 2015 Fashion & Style: Asymmetry, comfort, juxtaposition, personal.

Favourite Fashion Trend: Modern Retro.

Worst Fashion Trends: The ones that don’t make you happy.

The Trend I Unexpectedly Fell in Love With: Cropped Pants! YES. I know that the sky is falling down. I have learned to love this trend as long as the silhouette is paired with footwear that closes the gap, like high-shaft booties, high-vamped oxfords, and footwear with high ankle straps.

Most Impressive Quality Item of the Year: Collection Italian Stretch Turtleneck Sweater. I am wowed by its fit, fabric, cut and workmanship each time I wear it.

Retailers with the Best Customer Service: Amazon and Zappos. It’s hard to beat their (often free) next day shipping and swift processing of returns. And Amazon will credit your return BEFORE they’ve received it.

Retailer Shout-Outs: Zara’s online service is fast, free and impeccable. Gap sales assistants in the downtown Seattle store are extra friendly and helpful. A big thank you to the sales assistants I regularly work with at the Nordstrom flagship, Becky, Stephanie and Jess, for giving me and my clients the best service year round. And a big thank you to J.Crew for providing assortments that ooze with colour when the rest of the industry is drowning in a sea of neutrals. 

Most Saturated Items at Retail: Distressed and torn denim, oversized tops, overly tight skinnies, cheap cashmere and basic ankle boots. 

Biggest Missed Opportunities at Retail: Trendy items that are tailored but not overly tight, and fashion-forward silhouettes in plus sizes. 

Best New Unexpected Colours: Rust and Sea foam.

Favourite Photographer: Greg, because he creates the most beautiful images with impeccable attention to detail and a lot of heart.

Best Online Community: YLF!

Worst Reason Not to Wear a Trend: “I can’t wear that because I’m neither slim nor tall.” We can all wear ALL the trends. It’s a question of finding the version that is best suited to YOU. 

Best Blog Comment: From Caro of Oz about my navy jumpsuit: 

There was a fab blogger named Angie
Whose photos were always eye candy
What she had on this day
Really blew me away
Whoa! Somebody pass me the brandy!!!! 

The Best Part of 2015 Fashion: Its diverse assortment and commitment to comfort (especially in footwear). 

Worst Parts About Designer Wear: It seldom includes plus sizes and is obsessed with neutrals like black and grey. 

Special Designer Shout-Out: To Tadashi Shoji who ALWAYS includes plus sizes in his seasonal collections. 

Best Runway Shows: Prada, Bally and J.Crew Ready-to-Wear Fall 2015 collections.

Best Pin of the Year: Gregory Peck with his Yorkie. Old-dschool handsome with an adorable doggie cannot be beat. 

Favourite Style Tips: Assess how you FEEL in an outfit. Keep poison eye to a minimum. Be patient with your style.

Only Style Rule: Have fun with fashion at ANY age. 

We at YLF wish you a happy, fun and peaceful New Year.

I evolved my style more in 2015 than I have in a while, and it feels really good. Spending two weeks back in my favourite city Hong Kong earlier this year was the catalyst for the evolution. I came back from that trip in February wanting to change my hair, tone down the tomboy integrity of my style, and amp up the ladylike and pretty in my outfits. And so the next leg of my style journey began. 

Growing out my hair from punky spike to softer layers and sweeping fringe was a frustrating but worthwhile process. SOFT is a keyword to my style these days, and the new ‘do effectively softened my look even before I changed my outfits. My bright green specs are in their second year, and the best eyewear of my life. The colour makes me so very, very happy when I put them on every day. I’m still looking for the right white pair of specs, and hope to find them in 2016. 

I’ve changed my style moniker to Urban Pretty because it’s become increasingly important for my outfits to feel structured, refined, polished and pretty. So the five adjectives that I’ve chosen to describe my current style are Modern, Crisp, Simple, Dressy and Soft.

Fall 2015’s Ready-to-Wear collections from Prada, Bally and J.Crew also had a big effect on my style. They made me want to experiment even more with colour, think beyond blue jeans, and add a Modern Retro element back into my outfits. In some ways this feels like coming full circle because there was a retro streak to my look back when I was in my thirties. I recently wore one of my pearl necklaces, which I haven’t touched in years, and loved it. In fact, I might even change the adjective Simple to Retro. I’m thinking about it.

It’s been an absolutely brilliant shopping year and I’ve bought many, many wild cards. Now more than ever, I’m enjoying creating outfits with a subtle or deliberate ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s vibe to them. I’ll be continuing this leg of my style journey into 2016 for as long as it feels right in my head and heart.

I’m 45 years old and have never felt better about my style, my body, and creating a wardrobe that fulfills my needs. I’m relaxed about the process and enjoy every element of it. I have more fun shopping and putting together outfits with each passing year and hope that does not change. I’m going to continue to listen to my feelings and have fun with fashion till I’m a hundred and then some. Join me!

Here are my favourite outfits of the year.