I posted an assortment of sleeved dresses last week, but I am still marveling at the availability and variety of gloriously sleeved dresses in stores at the moment and need to post 14 more. I’ve seen most of these dresses on my clients and can vouch for their fit. Lengths and price points vary, as does sleeve styling, colour and fabrication. Some of the styles are available in petites and in a few different colours. 

• Muse Peek-A-Boo Colorblock Dress: I looked really curvy in this dress, and it hit me just above the knee (I stand at regular height). The asymmetrical inset adds a fun and firty feature to the “Star Trek” design. It’s also available at Macys stores. 
• Evan Picone Short Sleeved Striped Cowl Neck Dress: The texture rich knitted fabrication is divine. It does run short, although lovely on petites. The silhouette adds curvature to a straighter frame, yet accentuates a curvy frame. It’s form fitting in a non-clingy way and looks good worn as a tunic with leggings or skinnies. Machine Washable. 
• INC Printed Three Quarter Sleeve A-Line Printed Dress: Bohemian fab in bright blue. The broad black line down the centre front is vertically attractive. It’s an easy go-to item with hose and black boots. Machine Washable. 
• Chaus Wrap Front Dress: If you love wrap styles, this one is for you. Hourglass-y deluxe and very comfortable. Machine Washable. 
• Adrianna Papell Pleated Jersey Sheath Dress: This is the type of dress my clients look for when it comes to covered yet alluring, easy and flattering holiday attire. Adrianna Papell does a version of this dress each year and it’s a winner. It’s made of a substantial knit that feels streamlined, luxurious and tailored. It’s also available in black. 
• Tahari by Arthur S. Levine Button Tab Ponte Knit Dress: Nice tulip skirt silhouette. I can see this on a black haired lady with black opaques and black heeled booties. 
• Presley Skye Butterfly Print Silk Crêpe de Chine Dress: I love this dress, which is why I recently featured it in a work wear ensemble. I felt elegant and on trend in the silhouette and urge all taller ladies to try the style (I would have to hem it a little shorter). It’s ’70s glam and looks amazing with a cropped furry waistcoat and heeled knee-high boots. 
• Maggy London Draped Jersey Dress: The front ruffle lies quite flat so don’t let it put you off. A lovely length for taller gals and a delicious colour to boot. 
• ASOS Motel Indiana Silhouette Rose Chiffon Knee Dress: Playful, youthful and pretty. It moves in a graceful and fun way as you stride (watch the video). 
• ASOS Printed Midi Dress with Twist Front: Another great ’70s inspired dress for ladies who like soft fabrics, earth tones, and dainty patterns. Retro and lovely. 
• Ann Taylor Sequin Shoulder 3/4 Sleeve Dress: This one is fab in a “Mad Max” kind of a way. It’s a body conscious style, but the ruching helps make the frock feel more substantial. It’s sold out online, but you might have luck in stores. 
• Maggy London Palm Print Jersey Dress: Fabulous print, but surrenders the waistline so be warned. Super with knee-high boots and a swing coat.  
• Marc by Marc Jacobs Michaela Silk Shirtdress: This style is very fashion forward and drapes like nobody’s business. Watch it in motion on the video. It also looks fab belted at the waist. Sublime.  
• Target Convertible Shirt Dress: You might need to size up here, and the fabric is thin. But great for mild Autumn days and available in assorted colours. I was quite impressed with the fit. Machine washable.

I can’t stress this point enough: you will completely change up the vibes of these dresses with different footwear, jewelry, handbags, hosiery, headgear and hairstyles. It looks like we are having a good dress season so far. Long may it last.

A mini skirt or dress finishes at least 3 inches above the top of the knee. Many minis hit women mid thigh, and styles shorter than that are called “micro minis”. Midi skirts and dresses finish below the knee, either just covering the knee or calf length. Lengths that finish between the mini and midi are “knee-length”.

I have one A-line mod mini dress that I wear with hose on fancy occasions. I also have a polka dot bubble dress that doesn’t quite qualify as mini, but it’s short compared to the rest of my skirts and dresses. Personally, I’m not fond of short, tight mini skirts or dresses. I love to see a women’s gorgeous legs but much prefer the vibe of flared mini skirts, either with flats, heels or boots. As for micro minis, I bat for Team Short Shorts, although I do not wear them.

I have many midis. Even before the mainstream trend I had three in my wardrobe. I enjoy both form fitting and very flared midis, keeping them an inch or two below the knee. If I wear a three inch heel, I can wear longer midis. I find this length extremely elegant and retro, especially when worn with modern and edgy outfit touches. I am Team Midi all the way.  

Over to you. Are you Team Mini or Team Midi? Tell us why. No batting for both Teams, and Team Knee Length is sitting out the game today.

Reader Steph recently made a comment about one of my outfits that resonated with me. When I said that, to my eye, my outfit worked in an interesting and fashion forward way, if not in a form fitting and flattering way, Steph responded by saying: 

IMO, the pear is the most feminine and womanly of all figure types. Outfits that accentuate the hips a little, especially while defining the waist as you do here, seem really lovely to me. I’m kind of sad that womanly hips get such a bum rap these days (oh lord, i completely did not do that horrendous pun on purpose!! sorry.) In the end, it’s to each his or her own. But i’m so happy to see this beautiful take on a feminine figure!”

Like Steph, I enjoy seeing outfits that accentuate the hips, especially when the waistline is defined. At the same time, my guidelines on dressing the pear shaped body type revolve around balancing the difference between the top and bottom parts of the body. This is because the dressing goal for most women is to create a symmetrical hourglass figure with a long leg line. How do I reconcile this contradiction? 

In the ’80s and early ’90s, our fashion goal was to look like an inverted triangle. I was right there with the rest of them narrowing my hips and broadening my shoulders with oversized tops and shoulder pads. In the mid ’90s, I began to appreciate the beauty of the female form with its hourglass silhouette, softer shoulder lines and rounder hips and bottoms. 

At this time I was also working as a fashion buyer in South Africa, where the African perception of feminine beauty was all about filling out the lower half of the body. Relatively larger hips, thighs and bottom were the characteristics of a very desirable body type, and I often bought in women’s clothing for retail stores that accentuated the pear shaped silhouette. 

Larger hips, thighs and bottom often gets a “bum rap” because the so called ideal in mainstream fashion culture is to balance out proportions. So if you’re pear shaped, best you wear clothing that streamlines your lower half, or does not draw attention to it. I’ll admit that many years ago, I did not think it was desirable to accentuate the pear shape. But as I got older and wiser, my perceptions changed dramatically. Living and working within an African fashion culture, and dressing countless ladies with larger bottom halves has made me adore the pear shaped body type. It is child bearing and beautiful, so why not accentuate its curvy integrity?

So while my general guidelines suggest balancing out the proportions, this is not a rule. The guidelines are only a starting point. In many respects, balancing proportions is the low risk option, but as you get more adventurous there is definitely room to create stylish outfits that celebrate whatever shape you happen to be. It is harder to do, because mainstream fashion is assuming we want to balance proportions, but when successful it can often be the best style of all.

Style is NOT a particular figure shape, dress size, or budget. As a fashion and style professional, I would like nothing more than to operate in a fashion and style world that is accepting and complimentary of ALL body types and ages. A fashion world that encourages us to always have fun with fashion, and to thoroughly enjoy each leg of our style journey. Life is stressful enough as it is — make dressing the part of our day that constantly reaffirms our good spirits. 

A special shout out to all ladies who have a larger lower half. I love your womanly curves and hope that you enjoy accentuating your hips, thighs and bottom at least half as much as the lovely African ladies in our beloved Cape Town.

It was 9am on a mild autumn Saturday morning in NYC, when five fashionable ladies gathered around a small table in the corner of a restaurant for tea and pastries.  Angie, Tarzy (Tara), Maya, April and Lisa (me) haven’t seen each other in quite a while.  For some of us, it’s been a full year.  For others, it was meeting for the first time.  The conversation ranged from–catching up on experiences from the past year–to YLF’s revised approach to NYFW this year–to why Angie was wearing an adorable monkey pendant necklace (homage to hubby Greg). As is often the case when dining with distant friends, our time together was too short and Tara left to catch her flight home.

The remaining group of four pushed onward to the shopping, first stopping in the MoMA store and then Uniqlo where, on Maya’s recommendation, April, Angie and myself stocked up on heattech tops and pants in anticipation of cooler days ahead.  After hearing Zara is looking quite nice right now from Angie, we stopped inside to see what new gems awaited us.  On our way we received a delightful phone call from forum member Michelle, who sounds as sweet and kind on the phone as she does in her forum posts.  At this point, our time with April ended as she had to leave for her next commitment, leaving just us three ladies to shop. 

Maya tried on an adorable pair of zebra striped ballet flats with a flattering green trim and bow and Angie tried on a striking cream blazer that fit her perfectly.  After asking Angie how I can break out of my 95% blue wardrobe rut, she quickly pulled garments in multiple colors that I could incorporate into my wardrobe.  Then I tried on a black blazer with a navy trimmed lapel with fine workmanship that Angie selected for me.  I purchased the blazer and a printed ‘NYorker Magazine’ T-Shirt. As we were finishing up in Zara, Modgrl (Rita) joined us and we were off to the next store, Club Monaco. 

Within the walls of Club Monaco Angie showed us how to tie an Obi belt (which is quite comfortable and waist slimming) and Rita picked one up in black.  Next stop was Mango where nothing struck our eyes and a white sweater left a considerable amount of lint on the arm of Rita’s black blazer.  Angie quickly took command and after applying a few pieces of scotch tape there were no more traces of lint.  We proceeded into Miz Mooz where Rita tried on a stunning pair of light colored boots that ended underneath the knee and fit her five foot frame perfectly.  I was so delighted with her find after hearing of her lack of success during prior shopping trips to find beauties such as these.  Angie tried them on and gave her seal of approval, marking what I consider to be the purchase of the day. 

Our pleasant autumn day was interrupted by rain showers along the way to meet the rest of our party for lunch.  But we were in NYC where there is no shortage of drug stores, and it wasn’t long before we ducked into a Walgreens to purchase umbrellas.  At lunch our group grew in size to 11 people with Janet, Sheila and her hubby, my hubby, and Greg meeting us at the restaurant.  The husband’s gathered together while the ladies discussed the purchases thus far this day and various other topics.  The rain showers did not last and by the end of lunch we were greeted to the sun and much warmer weather.  

Following some photography by Greg, we said our farewells to Sheila and her husband. We pushed along to Nordstrom Rack where Greg joined my husband for some conversation, leaving me to enjoy one last round of shopping with the ladies before we departed!  Inside Maya found a pair of premium denim jeans that fit her perfectly, Rita snagged a lovely watch with a purple band for her niece, Janet purchased a gorgeous teal colored handbag and fun wool hat in dark gray, and I picked up a red poncho with a cowl neckline.  Angie tried on a gorgeous white L.A.M.B. leather jacket that she photographed for future reference. 

By now it was after 4pm and my long, fun filled day was drawing to a close.  But not before the lovely Auburn joined our group.  As my husband and I walked away hand in hand I glanced over my shoulder to view the ladies walking into a Starbucks, no doubt to refuel and grab their second wind – after all, Auburn had some shopping to catch up on.

It was a delight to spend the day shopping and dining with ladies from YLF.  This was my 5^th YLF gathering and I plan to keep attending both the shopping days and the swap meets in the future.  The ladies are always so kind and fun to spend the day with, and I highly encourage you to consider attending a YLF gathering if one is ever near your area.