Short, boxy, collarless, “Chanel-esque” tweed jackets like the first two styles shown below are not an easy style to wear. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fitted the silhouette onto clients, only to return it to the rack immediately because it wasn’t that flattering. 

I have found though, that body types with short necks and broad square shoulders generally wear collarless jackets extremely well, and therefore stand a better chance at making this style of topper work. It’s harder to generalize about the bust because I’ve seen an assortment of sizes fit the bill, especially when the front of the jacket is left open. Furthermore, collarless jackets tend to work a whole lot better on a longer neck with long hair that is left down, thereby adding structure to the neck and shoulder-neck point.

If you like the idea of wearing a fairly short, collarless tweed jacket, but can’t seem to make proportions work, try a variation on the style like one of the four silhouettes below. These shapes seem to create flattering lines on many more of my clients. The silhouettes are more tailored and a little longer, which makes all the difference on most body types. Showcasing a little shape is conventionally flattering, and the increased length prevents the body from looking “chopped in half” or overly short waisted. Some of the necklines are more structured on the shoulder and around the neck, which makes the rest of the jacket drape better on the body. Wearing a column of colour underneath the topper has a further flattering effect.

I don’t mind the boxy part of this type of topper, but I look dreadful in widely cut collarless style jackets because I have a long neck, short hair and narrow shoulder line. But as soon as there is a “Mandarin collar” cut closely to my neck, the silhouette looks a whole lot better. The added coverage on my shoulder-neck point is the necessary structuring ingredient that makes all the difference. 

Do you wear boxy, collarless jackets? If you don’t like them boxy, will you wear them sans a collar? Or have you found the Chanel-esque tweed jacket hard to fit, full stop.

Nordstrom is known for its pricier labels and designer wear, but you’ll find more affordable items within most wardrobe categories. These pieces are $60 at full price. 

1. Chinese Laundry “Easy Does It” Flat: If you don’t mind wearing very flat shoes, I found this adorable pointy D’Orsay in a lovely rose gold quite comfy. The leather is not super soft, but not bad at all. 
2. Sole Society Penelope Sandal: A darling kitten heel with the on trend ankle strap. Pretty comfy and not too wobbly. Also available in cognac and tomato red. 
3. Expressions NYC Faux Leather Minaudière: A fun graphic parcel to carry for day or night. Also available in blue and pink. 
4. Jessica McClintock Zigzag Mesh Minaudiere: A patterned parcel for Team Pattern Mixing. 
5. Pleione Caliente Floral Print Sweatshirt: A fun piece to wear over a skirt or pair of shorts. Check out the back. 
6. Topshop Love Sweatshirt: Eye-catching!
7. Michael Kors Leather Belt: Dressy wide belts are a rarity at the moment, especially in colours. Here’s one in green and purple.
8. A.J. Morgan Glitz Sunglasses: A little soft sci-fi silver or gold eye candy. 
9. Kische Chiffon Peplum Top (Plus): Romantic, breezy and feminine. 
10. Sejour Three Quarter Sleeve Sweater (Plus): An Eileen Fisher-esque style sweater for a third of the price. 

Browse the end of season sale and you’ll find plenty more below $60. I can scarcely believe that Fall fashions will be upon us very soon. 

Every season, while we’re in the craziest stretch of our production schedule, we start to plan our indoor and outdoor photo shoots. 

The advertising and catalog images you see from all of your favorite brands may look deceivingly simple and lovely; truthfully, it takes a lot of work to achieve those results. For their photo shoots, the largest apparel companies employ advertising agencies, who employ production teams, who employ casting agents, prop stylists, photographers, tailors, stylists, makeup and hair stylists, art directors, models and more to work together to create striking and impactful fashion images. I’ve worked on shoots like this many times, both in-studio and on-location, with well-known stylists like Kate Young, and with photographers like Troy Word. It’s impressive that all the jobs I’ve mentioned above play such crucial roles in creating beautiful imagery.

Because we’re a startup, we don’t have the luxury (or the headache!) of having to assemble such a large crew. Our first season, we used only studio shots, but decided after that season that we needed to add in some more lively outdoor lifestyle images for our homepage and banner images, and also for advertising purposes. So now, each season, it’s a matter of prepping for both indoor and outdoor shoots that take place within days of one another.

Our indoor studio shoot this year entailed finding an indoor studio to use for the day, hiring a photographer, a hair and makeup stylist, a model, renting and buying accessories, and of course making sure that all of our samples were completed in time for the shoot. I found a great studio that I’d worked in many years ago in the Garment District. In terms of our team, we’ve been really lucky to have found and worked with the same people since we launched Dobbin.

We particularly love working with our model, Kortnie Coles, who is the face of our brand. She came for a go-see (a model audition) prior to our first season’s shoot and we just knew she was the perfect look and personality for us. Kortnie is of course gorgeous, but she’s also smart, real, kind and hilarious. All of those qualities shine through in her pictures. Kortnie is a size 6/8 and looks amazing in Dobbin.

In terms of renting props and styling, we typically take a trip to the Albright Fashion Library here in NYC, an industry-insider rental service for luxury goods that works with all the top magazines and celebrity stylists. We’re able to rent shoes from Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Prada and more, as well as sunglasses and sometimes jewelry for Kortnie to wear with our clothes. We complement the rentals with jewelry and accessories that we own and others that we buy expressly for the shoot. Prior to the shoot, Catherine and I put together the shoot’s “looks”: head-to-toe plans for each item’s styling. We take photos of each look as instructions to follow at the shoot. We ourselves also do all the on-set styling: steaming, pinning, and clipping the clothes to look as wrinkle-free as possible.

For both shoots, we need size 6 and 8 samples of each item for the line in every color that we’ll be selling, so it means major crunch time at our factory. We typically aim to have them finished a day before we start styling — which is usually a day or two before the first shoot.

Planning our outdoor shoot comprises hiring a different photographer, Kortnie and our go-to hair and makeup stylist, Stefanie. The looks are boiled down to the strongest four or five. What’s most stressful about the outdoor shoot is finding the right locations and of course, the weather! We schedule everyone to work on a certain day, for a few hours, and then start watching the weather reports non-stop. If it rains, our entire shoot and web development calendars get thrown off. We’ve been very fortunate so far to have worked on sunny days.

During the outdoor shoot, we move around looking for inspiring backdrops and good lighting. In between shots, we’re changing and styling Kortnie hurriedly in preparation for the next shot.

After both shoots, we work with our photographers to select the best images for the website and then work on pulling together hi-res versions of everything we need for launch. Everything has to happen very quickly, but with our fantastic team, we’re able to do it!

I don’t wear sandals, but I do have regular pedicures and sport toenail polish because I love the look and feeling of pretty, well groomed feet. It’s as important to me as wearing matching underwear and looking after my skin. Well groomed feet also come in handy when I’m required to take my shoes off in the homes of clients and friends. That way I’m never embarrassed about the state of my feet. 

My toenail polish style has been the same for four years. I sport sci-fi silver or pearly white because it’s low contrast against the colour of my pale skin. Before that I used to sport green and blue, but, although I like the effect on others, I’m over the effect of high contrast toenail polish for my own style. These days I enjoy a very soft toenail polish colour.

Over to you. Do you wear toenail polish and which colours are your favourites? Do you like to showcase coloured toenails when wearing sandals? Or is au natural just as fab?