Here’s a summary of the posts that I’ve written about fitting pants and jeans to get all the guidelines into one place. Note that this summary does not cover lengths. I have so much to say on that topic that it has its own summary. 

These days assessing fit is more complicated because there are three broad categories of correct clothing fit, namely, tailored, body con and oversized. Add in the creative design details that affect fit and things get even worse. Even so, understanding the basics of how to fit classic dress pants is a good starting point. Don’t forget that some pocket styles can be more flattering than others, and that pant whiskering should be minimized. 

Once you’ve got a handle on how to fit a tailored pair of pants, you’ll find it easier to achieve correct fit on body con styles and roomy slouchier silhouettes. Boyfriend jeans have become mainstream and here are some guidelines on how to fit the baggier jeans option. Here’s a fit guide for wide leg trousers and how to wear them. Remember that straight length pants and jeans can be your skinnies, and that small alterations like hemming and waistband tapering can help you to achieve perfect fit.

And if white jeans and pants scare you because you think you’ll look larger than you actually are, erase that myth from your minds this instant. Follow these seven steps to wearing white jeans and trousers with panache at any size. 

If there are further fit challenges that I haven’t addressed, please raise them in the comments section and let’s get you sorted.

2012 was the year for colour and pattern. For the first time in ages, retail gave us an excellent assortment of colours. Delicate pastels, blinding brights, mild mid-tones, rich jewel tones, warm earth tones and all sorts of versatile neutrals. 2013 continues to showcase a vast assortment of colour and I couldn’t be happier about it. There is something for everyone, and long may it last. 

Our Spring season has opened up with a strong nod to pastels and mid-tones. By mid-tones I mean shades that are deeper than pastels but not as saturated as brights. I also like to call them “ice cream tones”. These lighter colours are coming through in all wardrobe items — clothing, footwear and accessories. 

To my eye, pastels and mid-tones look ultra fresh, especially when worn with shades of white, metallics, dove grey, stone and/or faded blue denim. I also love them with tonal brights (see the gelato-inspired tonal outfit formula). I like pastels a little less, but still like them when they are matched with dark neutrals or when they are patterned. And I like them matched with black, grey and white. 

My favourite pastels and mid-tones are blue and pink. I used to wear a LOT of light blue in the ’90s. I also wore peach and baby pink back then. But it all came to grinding halt and I can’t remember why. But I rekindled my love for light blue, mid-tone blue and soft pink last year and I’m enjoying how these softer shades have complemented my wardrobe of black, white and sour brights. 

I do have a few clients who wear lilac and soft pink with the best of them. In fact, we often build wardrobe capsules around these pastels because they are their best colours. But I’m having a heck of a time convincing most of my clients that pastels and mid-tones can be fab. There seem to be many bad associations with this part of the colour spectrum. Frumpy, old, prissy, twee, juvenile, Easter egg-ish, weak, boring, overly preppy, insipid, frivolous, unintelligent and unattractive. Quite the opposite to fierce, energizing, interesting, strong, intelligent and powerful. Furthermore, most of my clients feel that pastels and mid-tones are unflattering, sickly and draining against their complexion. 

I hope that pastels become more popular because I think they can be worn just beautifully, even if they are worn only as accents. Soft, yet strong. Modern, trendy and sassy. Clean, crisp and yummy. And definitely intelligent. And after seeing most of the Fall 2013 shows, pastels are also trending for Autumn and Winter. Check out this lilac and burgundy outfit. Winter white with light blue. And a pale pink coat with rich neutrals. 

What’s your verdict on the pastel and mid-tone trend? Will you be wearing these colours, or do you find them unflattering, twee and juvenile?

I am a little tired of strapless gowns and that was the look at the Academy Awards last night. Again. I’d love to see more variety at this extremely formal and glamourous event. Separates, a few more sleeved options, and more sleeveless options that are not strapless.

All that said, my two favourite looks of the evening were strapless gowns. 

Best Dressed Ladies

• Jessica Chastain and Charlize Theron: I have a tie for first place. Minimal, classic elegance from Jessica Chastain was old hollywood glamour at its best. Red lips, cascading red locks and luxurious tonal sparkle. She was spectacular in an Armani Prive strapless gown. Charlize Theron was statuesque perfection in a bright white sculptured Dior gown. Her tomboy pixie hairstyle injected a whole lot of modern spunk into this retro classic. I LOVED that juxtaposition. Both ladies took my breath away.
• Octavia Spencer: She shone in an apricot tulle Tadashi Shoji off-the-shoulder gown that beautifully highlighted her hourglass figure. Extremely attractive and radiant. 
• Halle Berry: I loved her striped Versace number with sharp shoulders and plunging V-neckline. Modern Retro Chic. A breath of fresh air amidst a sea of strapless gowns. Halle dared to be different and it worked.
• Naomi Watts: Her sci-fi Giorgio Armani gunmetal gown with asymmetrical cutouts was unique, flattering, chic and modern. It’s not easy to look stunning in this style of dress, but Naomi had it down. 
• Jennifer Hudson: Another breath of fresh air in her long sleeved, shimmering, Roberto Cavalli blue form fitting frock. Her stick straight long hair with severe fringe complemented the texture rich fabrication of the dress. 

I also liked what Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah, Jane Fonda, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Aniston, Adele, Jane Fonda and Stacy Kiebler wore, but they didn’t make my list of absolute favourites. 

Best Dressed Blokes

• Chris Pine, Jamie Foxx, Christopher Plummer, Hugh Jackman, Christoph Waltz, Robert Downey Jr. and Seth MacFarlane,

Favourite Surprise Gown:

• Helen Hunt in an H&M frock that was adorned with $750,000 worth of jewelry. 

Best Hair

• Charlize Theron, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Chastain, Halle Berry and Reese Witherspoon. 

Best Accessory

• Nine year old Quvenzhane Wallis wearing her favourite puppy purse, which happens to be a Yorkshire Terrier.  

If you didn’t catch the awards ceremony last night you can see what the stars wore on OK Magazine, Red Carpet Fashion Awards and E Online. Many of the frocks looked better in motion so you won’t see them in all their glory, but you will get a good idea. Please share your best dressed list with us in the comments section.

We diligently edit and review our wardrobes and put together a flexible shopping list, but we simply can’t afford to purchase everything at once. As a result we are forced to prioritize the items on our list. I think of shopping list priorities in terms of 3 levels. The highest priority items are at Level 1. These items are must-haves. Level 2 items are also important because they will have a big impact on the effectiveness of your wardrobe, but you can get by without them at a push. Level 3 items are not all that crucial. You may want them desperately, but in your heart of hearts you know that they are really just “nice to haves”.

Here are my thoughts on what should go at each level. Later I’ll throw in some examples of “what’s priority and what’s not” from my own shopping list. 

LEVEL 1 – Must-Have Items

• Items that satisfy a climatic need: You’ve moved from Florida to Boston and you don’t have a Winter coat. All of a sudden you need a coat capsule, and the sooner the better. 
• Items that satisfy a dress code need: You’ve started a new job and are not allowed to wear jeans to work. Your need for dressier non-denim bottoms shot up because your wardrobe of jeans and denim cutoffs will not work.
• Items that satisfy a fancy occasion need: You have nothing to wear to your friends lavish wedding next month because your normal attire won’t do. Your hunt for a formal outfit is top priority. 
• Wardrobe Essentials: Your wardrobe essentials are workhorses. Replace the ones that you frequently wear as soon as there is a wardrobe hole. 
• New bras and undies when your size has changed: Underwear is instrumental in achieving good fit. Weight loss and gain means readdressing your bra and panty sizes before you readdress the rest of your wardrobe. 
• Haircut: If you are unhappy with your do, it’s top priority to find a hair solution.
• Eyewear: If you wear specs daily, it’s top priority that they are updated and the best that you can afford. 

LEVEL 2 – High Impact Items

• Items that complete wardrobe capsules: Sometimes it’s a question of adding a few extra pieces to existing mix-and-match wardrobe capsules in order to extend their remixing potential. It might mean adding a couple of patterned tops, toppers in extra colours, light coloured bottoms, a few dresses, or a pair of two toned shoes. 
  
• Items that change up the landscape of your wardrobe: Sometimes all it takes is a few on trend pieces to elevate the rest of your wardrobe. For example, when one of my clients added a modern black leather jacket to her wardrobe, her existing skirt, trouser and dress ensembles looked instantly updated. The same can be said of a pair of new-look baggy trousers, a statement tuxedo blazer with a low stance, a pair of pointy toe ankle strap pumps, boyfriend jeans, bomber jacket, or snake skin booties. 
  
• Items that refresh your seasonal look: These are the pieces you add to your existing wardrobe within a fashion season to refresh your style.
• Comfortable Shoes: Happy feet are always a high priority when you have fussy feet. 
• Changes to or Duplication of Wardrobe Essentials: Although I listed them as Level 1 priority, they can also be next important. Sometimes, you want to change up the mix of wardrobe essentials while you continue to love and wear the ones in your wardrobe. For example, add a pair of black cigarette pants to your assortment of black essential bottoms capsule, which at the moment consists of a pencil skirt, wide leg trousers, harem pants and straight leg jeans. 

LEVEL 3 – Low Impact Items

• Elusive Items: You all have items on your list that are hard to find. You look for them every season but are out of luck, and to some extent you’ve given up looking. They are not top priority anymore, but you’d welcome them into your wardrobe if you stumbled upon them. This is precisely how I found my ink blue military coat that I bought last Autumn. It found me! 
• Items that satisfy a less important trend: There are trends that you love, so they get top purchasing priority because you want to try them right away. Then there’s the rest which moves further down the priority ladder.
• Nice to haves: They are not a necessity and often a duplication of existing items. To some extent, they are part of your signature look so you’re always interested in adding more of the same to your wardrobe. Or you have a weakness for the item and love buying that type of thing. 
• Loungewear, workout wear and wardrobe basics: Underwear requires annual replenishment unless your size has changed, in which case it’s Level 1 priority. Basics like socks, hosiery, sleepwear, camisoles, shapewear and sports gear also require annual attention, and for that reason they are usually Level 3 priority for the rest of the year. 

Replenishing my own jeans capsule this year was Level 1 priority because white jeans and faded blue jeans are wardrobe essentials and workhorses. Replacing my black and white flat oxfords with sci-fi silver darlings was Level 2 priority because the style integrity changes the landscape of my wardrobe, and my need for comfortable shoes is always high. Purchasing a white clutch, floral blazer and white moto vest are Level 2 priority because they are seasonal refreshers. Purchasing white tuxedo button down shirts as a new wardrobe essential are also Level 2 priority because I still love my basic white button downs. Items like the perfect modern classic ink blue wool blazer and low heeled knee-high dressy cream boots have been on my shopping list for years, and are at this stage Level 3 priority. As are trends like ankle strapped shoes and geek chic eyewear. 

I am continuously helping my clients to prioritize the items on their shopping list, not only because of budget constraints, but also because of time constraints. Purchasing items that are top priority first is the most effective use of time. And if top priority items become hard to find, we move onto Level 2 priority items because you just can’t purchase something that isn’t available.

Do you think explicitly about priorities in your shopping list. And if so, how do you prioritize?