This is a very impractical outfit to wear in a dirty city, but I can’t help it. I LOVE wearing shades of white, and seeing as it’s one of my style goals to wear more white this year, I’m walking my talk. The visual effect of wearing so much white is clean and crisp, while the feeling is luxurious. There’s also something magical about the juxtaposition of bright white against the urban grit of city life. 

This outfit is almost Winter white from head to toe. I wanted to wear a Winter white and gold form fitting turtleneck, but I didn’t have one when I shopped my closet (note to self: add this item to the shopping list.) So I went with my indispensable wardrobe essential, a fine gauge black merino wool turtleneck, instead. Form fitting black turtlenecks make me look curvier and larger in the bust, which is my small nod to the Kingdom of Bombshell.

I’ve had a pair of drapey and lined Winter white trousers with narrow hems on my list for ages, and was pleased to find these Modern Sporty Twill Straight Leg Pants at Ann Taylor last year. Mine aren’t as fitted as they are on the model, which suits me just fine because I generally prefer looser fits. Soft, lined trousers like these are so comfortable that it sometimes makes me wonder why I wear jeans at all. And then I remember that we live in an age of casualization. Yup, jeans just work better in certain settings.

It’s been cold in Seattle so that means that I layer a jacket under a coat to keep toasty warm, and keep my jacket on indoors when my coat comes off. The leather jacket, a sentimental and favourite piece because Greg bought it for me, is five years old and still going strong. I travel with it, wear it frequently, and it hasn’t been professionally cleaned once. I firmly believe that if you’re careful and look after your white items, they look good for a long time. The coat I’ve also had for years, but that goes to the cleaners at the end of the season. 

I finished off the outfit with a plaid belt, small black clutch and off white patent booties. I originally paired my cream snake skin booties with the outfit, which worked well. Then I thought it would be fun to extend the line of the leg with the same colour booties as the trousers. I was torn which option to wear, so I asked my in-house fashion stylist Greg what he thought. He preferred the dramatic sci-fi vibe of the solid cream booties, so that was that. As usual, I sport no jewelry apart from a watch, wedding ring and specs.

It was fun to run into our friend Ruth who was walking their sweet little Spaniel Eddie downtown while we were prepping this photo shoot. Eddie is a bundle of happy, wagging, warm, loving energy and we had to say hello. I’m polished but not precious. Sharing cuddles with a gorgeous doggie is top priority, with or without a Winter white outfit.

We won’t be attending New York Fashion Week in February, but if we were, I’d have worn this outfit on the first day. In a sea of ultra trendy, spunky, creative and avant-garde outfits, I enjoy making a statement with graphic modern classics.

This is less straightforward than it might seem. In the USA plus size departments start their size range at 14/16, 14W, or 1X. Regular or “Missy” departments often go up to a size 16, sometimes even a size 18 (or XXL). So if you wear a US size 14, 16 or 18, chances are high that you shop in both Missy and Plus in order to find a garment that fits. 

I see this first hand with my clients who wear sizes 14 to 18. They shop all over the show. Sometimes they can wear the largest size in Missy, or the smallest size in Plus, which is great because it gives them a larger assortment of merchandise to choose from. But sometimes the opposite holds true when they are “between” departments. Size 14 and 16 gals often find that the largest size in Missy is too small but the smallest size in Plus is too large. Intuitively, you’d expect that the smallest size in Plus would be cut a size up from the largest size in Missy. But it’s actually cut wider and larger everywhere, and is not just an even size up. So things don’t end up fitting at all.

It’s very frustrating when you are in-between department sizes. The solution is to keep on searching and fitting all sorts of clothing brands until you find Missy size garments that are cut larger and Plus size garments that are cut smaller. I also sometimes suggest having slightly too large Plus size items altered to fit. It’s a time-consuming process, but we end up finding great items eventually.

If I were in a position to design and manufacture a clothing line, I would make a range from sizes 14 to 18 across petite, regular and tall lengths my specialty. Seeing as the average American woman wears a size 14 dress, it would make sense for someone in retail to tackle this HUGE gap in the market right away.

Most of us keep a seasonal shopping list as we update and replenish our wardrobe, and evolve our style. Perhaps it is a formal shopping list that you write down somewhere, or maybe you keep it in your head and mentally tick things off as you go. Whichever way works for you, you’ll find that each item on your list probably fits into one of these four categories. 

Wardrobe Holes

These are the items that complete outfits and capsules. Or they are stand-alone items like coats, dresses and evening wear. For example, you might be in desperate need of a puffer coat now that you’ve moved to a colder climate. Or, heeled oxfords would complete your Winter frock and skirt outfits, which you don’t wear at the moment because you lack the right footwear to complete the looks. Or, you keep on wearing the same black sheath to dressy functions and it’s uncomfortably cold. What you really need is a versatile le Smoking that you can mix and match with different tops as well as keep you warm.  

New Trends

These are new silhouettes that tickle your fancy. For example, you have plenty of blue skinny jeans which you like to wear with boots or booties, so patterned skinnies have piqued your interest. Or you fancy the new bomber jacket and daytime clutch trend. Or you’re sick of the dark colours in your wardrobe, which makes you like all things pastel. These aren’t necessarily wardrobe holes because your outfits are adequately complete without them. But you can fill a wardrobe hole with a trendy piece. For example, you are short on jeans, so instead of adding another pair of straight legs, you added a “new for you” slouchy boyfriend style instead. 

Replenishment Items

These are wardrobe essentials or basics that often need replacing because they get a LOT of wear. Wardrobe Essentials are the indispensable staples without which your wardrobe would not function. Wardrobe Basics are things like underwear, shape wear, socks, hosiery, sleepwear and loungewear. 

Unexpected Delights

This is the extra fun part of your shopping list that is entirely spontaneous. After all, the element of surprise can be magical. You might have an inkling of what these unplanned purchases will be, but often you don’t know the item is on your list until you see it, fall in love with it, and have to have it.

It might seem strange to have unexpected items as a category on your list, but I believe it helps to  view them this way. First, it is a reality that these will pop up and consume some of your shopping budget. You may even want to set aside a certain portion of your budget for this. And second, it legitimizes some spontaneity. It is impossible to effectively plan every wardrobe purchase because you don’t know what you’ll run into, or how your style preferences will change. Sometimes it’s these unplanned items that end up becoming your favourite pieces and wardrobe work horses of the future. 

On my Spring shopping list are several new trends and some wardrobe essentials that need replenishing. I don’t have any wardrobe holes at the moment, and I’m covered with basics (although I’m often looking for the right socks). Black booties were a wardrobe hole in Winter, but I’ve taken them off my shopping list for now because I know that in six weeks I’m going to be much more interested in white booties. 

Keeping your wardrobe purchases focused and in line with your needs and wants is the reason we take the trouble of keeping a seasonal shopping list in the first place. As fun as it is to make all our purchases “unexpected delights”, that’s often how we end up with a closet full of stuff and nothing to wear. Or too many options to choose from. Or a shortage of items that you wear day to day. Or unnecessary duplications. Or a wardrobe for your imaginary lifestyle. 

Keeping a seasonal shopping list that is flexible, but not vague, will help to create a balance between wardrobe discipline and having fun with fashion. 

You are on Team ’70s if you prefer ’70s fashion or ’70s inspired fashion. You are on Team ’90s if you prefer ’90s fashion or ’90s inspired fashion. Note that today’s fashion that is inspired by the decade but not actually of that decade counts towards your preference. 

Neither of these decades is close to my heart because I’m an ’80s and ’60s gal. But I do enjoy aspects of both. The glam trouser suits and fitted blazers of the ’70s were divine, as were the tailored and tucked shirts with pointy collars, huge sunglasses, belted leather trench coats, pussy bow blouses and disco fever. The early ’90s brings back fantastic memories of wearing grungy plaid flannel shirts, workwear boots, rugged belts with big buckles, distressed denim and Levis 501s. I’m also grateful that the ’90s toned down hectic big ’80s hair and clownish makeup.

Although I was a child back then, I fondly remember the amazing outfits my Mum and her friends wore, and I so wanted to be grown up and wear them too. I LOVED watching Charlie’s Angels in the ’70s and thought that Jacqueline Smith was a goddess. There’s a glamourous aspect of that decade that wasn’t hippie and bohemian, and that’s why I’m batting for Team ’70s. 

Over to you. Are you Team ’70s or Team ’90s? Tell us why and no batting for both teams.