Some of my clients, friends and family members with a fuller bust stay away from tops, dresses and jackets with breast pockets. They feel that breast pockets make their bust look larger and draw attention to their bustline, which they don’t want to do. The effect is more pronounced if the fabric is bulky and there are flaps on the pockets. Or if the pockets are ruched and gathered in some way to create volume over the bust. Some styles of breast pocket create a focal point in the outfit, like bias cut plaid breast pockets on a plaid shirt that draw the eye straight to the bustline. Or high-contrast colour blocked breast pockets that do the same thing. 

There are, however, two breast pocket designs that my clients are perfectly happy to wear even when they are concerned about emphasizing their bustline.

Invisible Pocket Placement

The breast pockets on these plaid shirts have been matched up to perfection with the front of the shirt. That way there is zero extra bulk on the bust, and the pockets are almost invisible.

High Pocket Placement

The second option is to choose styles where the breast pockets are positioned a littler higher on the chest. That way they don’t create the bulk across the fullest part of the bust, if at all. Choosing this style of pocket placement on a plaid shirt with bias cut pockets can create a visual focal point on the bust, so choose a solid top with self colour pockets if you’re uncomfortable with that visual.

For other types of breast pocket, it does help if the top or dress is fairly fluid, and the fabric of the pockets are soft rather than stiff. Then the pockets will drape over the bust in a more subtle way. Of course, if you are not at all worried about emphasizing your bust, then by all means wear pockets of any description.

Over to you. Do you wear clothing items with breast pockets? If so, do you look for specific design details?

This is the second outfit in our series about client Karen’s Summer style. To recap, graceful and elegant Karen who is in her seventies, has had a major lifestyle shift that has affected her wardrobe choices. She now lives part of the year in Seattle and part of the year in Arizona, which means that she dresses for mild weather most of the year. Be sure to take a look at her first outfit if you haven’t seen it already, and also to read about here three style epiphanies at the start of Summer: fluid fits, patterned pants, and subtle pattern mixing.

Karen’s most important style epiphany to date though concerns her preference for neutrals. She loves the idea of colour, and seeing the pieces hang in her wardrobe makes her happy, but she seldom feels like wearing them. Karen opts for a neutral outfit ninety percent of the time. This means that we have to be VERY careful with the colour that we add to her wardrobe so that the items aren’t orphaned. 

In the light of Karen’s strong preference for neutrals, this outfit is particularly notable because of the bright chartreuse top. Even more so because it is Karen’s favourite of the year! She has worn it over and over again with an exceptionally high happiness factor. HAH. We laughed about that quite a bit. Obviously, the right colour in the right item, and combined with neutrals, does work for Karen. In this case, the chartreuse brings out Karen’s stunning light green eyes, and picks up the chartreuse dot in Karen’s favourite scarf of all time.

The fluid Eileen Fisher linen knit top with high-low hemline and sleeves provides an ideal way for Karen to stay cool but covered while sporting trends. Karen is not at all comfortable baring the top part of her arms, so tops like these are brilliant for hot days. Being a lover of lightweight gauzy Summer scarves, Karen likes this top best matched with this scarf.

Karen LOVES to wear white pants and jeans and has several pairs in constant rotation. Here, she’s wearing the Roll-Up City Chino from Banana Republic, which soon became workhorses so she tripled up on the style (all in white). They are roomy, but not slouchy, and work with most Summer tops in her wardrobe (which are generally white, black, grey or ink blue). I love the way white bottoms pick up the silver grey streak in Karen’s hair. Attractive colour repetition. 

On trend Charles David pointy toe ankle strap flats add an extra modern touch to the outfit. The ankle strap was made for this length of pant, which takes Karen back to the ‘50s and ‘60s when she wore this combination too. The black bookends Karen’s hair, while the patterned strap picks up her signature grey streak. Although super cute, these ankle strap sandals are a little orphaned because Karen reaches for her black Paul Green Trisha sandals more frequently. The comfort level of the Paul Greens cannot be beat, and bookend her hair in a similar way. 

Karen prefers to wear one bag for the season, and this year it’s a studded two-toned Michael Kors satchel which I passed on to her. It was orphaned in my closet when I started to prefer less hardware a few years ago. But it’s brilliant how the wardrobe pet has received a new lease on life in Karen’s wardrobe. Earrings, wedding ring and watch are all Karen needs in the jewellery department. 

In this outfit Karen is fully embracing the concept of just enough structure. The rolled hems on the pants, bare forearm skin, tapered sleeve fit, the asymmetrical hemline, and refined footwear style provide sufficient structure to counterbalance the less tailored casual top and bottom. These details are important, and make all the difference when it comes to Karen feeling like her ultra chic and polished self.

This week’s poll covers our handbag preferences. A satchel is a handbag with short handles that you clutch with your hands or hook through one arm. A shoulder bag is a style that you carry on one shoulder, like a tote. A crossbody is a style that you wear diagonally across the body. And a clutch is a bag without handles that you clutch with your hands or under the top part of your arm. 

I’ll go first. I bat for Team Satchel and Team Clutch, and cannot decide between the two because I find them both very comfortable. I keep the contents of my handbag to a minimum, so carrying a clutch is actually quite practical. I have one old L.A.M.B shoulder bag that I love the look of, but don’t carry often because I do not like carrying bags on my shoulder. I find the style uncomfortable and end up feeling lopsided. I cannot handle wearing crossbody bags. I find them extremely uncomfortable on my neck, shoulders and hip, although I love the way they look in outfits. If comfort were not an issue, I would wear crossbody styles more frequently. 

I’m sitting this one out on the bench with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberry sauce. Over to you? Can you bat for one style of bag or are you joining me on the bench?

Denim skirts, especially in pencil silhouettes, were completely mainstream for decades, and quite a popular silhouette. As recently as seven years ago, many of my clients were wearing denim pencil skirts. It was a particular favourite during Fall weather, combined with a pair of tall boots, pullover and jacket. Since then I saw the appeal of the denim skirt diminish as my clients moved towards regular jeans. They also became a scarce commodity at retail. 

Denim skirts are making a fashionable comeback for Fall 2014, though still as a fringe trend. It’s interesting how an item that was once mainstream, but fell out of fashion, can come back years later as a fringe trend.

The styles here provide a good sense of the “new” denim skirt look. Straight and tapered pencil silhouettes that are around kneelength are the norm. Some are patched and quilted, while others are waxed. Most are in a shade of blue denim, but black, grey and burgundy are other options. 

Denim skirt fits vary from body con and tailored, to fluid. To illustrate the different fits:

• These Tess Giberson and MiH styles are body con.
• These Karen Millen and J.Crew examples are tailored.
• This Mother Easy A skirt is pretty fluid because it fits a little looser all over.

Denim skirts look great with all sorts of footwear, like peep-toe booties, booties, laceless flat oxfords, pointy toe flats, loafers, pumps and taller boots. Sandals are fab if your weather is still warm. The denim skirt is a versatile piece. 

Very few of my clients wear denim skirts at the moment, but I think that might change if we can find lengths that are suitable for a casual office and for cooler weather. My hunch is that some of my clients will enjoy the change from more dressy pencil skirts and wear them with booties. Clients who wear jeans daily might enjoy changing things up with a denim skirt and moto boots. 

I haven’t worn a denim pencil skirt in years, but really like the longer A-line from Mother. The style looks fresh to my eye, and knee-covering is how I would prefer to wear this item. I had a stretchy body con denim pencil skirt years ago that worked well as long as I didn’t move. As soon as I walked, the skirt rode up and bunched, which drove me bananas. I was constantly straightening and pulling it down. The tailored fit was better, but still not conducive to a fast walking pace. So that’s why I’m going for an A-line fit this time round. I can wear a belt so that it stays put on the waist, and walk freely without the need to pull it back into position. 

Over to you. Did you wear a denim skirt in the past? Would you wear one now, or is the vibe too Western Cowgirl?