For anyone that likes cashmere and has never been to Uniqlo, please go into your nearest bigger shop. They have got some great cashmere knits, whether you suit a shorter fit or a longer baggier style! Plus lots of colours. I actually bought a few and added some gorgeous sequinned butterflies and shoulder detailing for a knit with different. They look great and it feels good to be creative.

Oh my godness! It is actually getting cold out there now and so grey! Please my lovely ladies, can we add some more colour to our grey world. It is not that difficult and don’t you think we need it in this environment we are living in at present(do not worry I am not going into that direction)!
Okay, so how you ask me? Well, have you ever heard of block colouring. These are blocks of colour and can be various pieces of clothing, but also for those whom do not suit brights…well accessorizies. It is easy, you could wear a simple grey(boring) outfit, but add a bright red pair of shoes or what about a colour paired of tights (of course only for those with good legs, look at TABIO tights), a necklace or scarf or a fun watch(Toy Stop).
Has anyone seen the crowds of people walking through Oxford Circus, not one bite of colour. I think adding colour to grey( think orange or purple or a vibrant blue) or brown (purple or a strong green) or black (red) could really affect how we feel in ourselves and how others are attracted to us.
Why not clash colurs if you are so daring like orange with purple or blue, or red with purple!? I have to say everytime I wear these fabulous bright blue TABIO tights with an orange dress I have from COS, people really stare and I get people just talking to me, you know a nice chat sort of way. I know you do not all have the guts to put this together, but as I said it can be small pieces.
I find a lot of woman with tiny waist focus so much on their impecfections, they never realize that by highlighting their female beautiful curves, like with bright coloured stunning waisted belt. So easy and affective!!!!
Please give it a shot!
Let’s brighten up this grey winter!

My apologies for not writing, it’s not easy looking stylish in this very cold winter we are having but you can. Here are some ideas:

• wear some colourful hats, scarves, and gloves to bring colour to your face (mine is a horrid grey colour at the moment)

• wear layers like thin polo-necks under dresses, tops, knitwear (Uniqlo have a great heat tech range in a multitude of colour

• jackets that have stretch for comfort can be worn as an extra layer and hide a slightly bigger middle

• wear two pairs of tights

• wear a bright lipstick

• thick socks under boots will keep your feet worn and can look nice peeking over the top

• warm fur or fake furs can be stylish and add warmth

Well I hope that helps a little bit. Please don’t hide under those big baggy fleeces and if you do, get some fitted colourful ones from Uniqlo or American Apparel! Then looking good will make this hard time of year feel a whole lot better.

Well talking about feeling better. I love the sales for being able to purchase items I would never normally be able to buy. But one can make big mistakes, buying something one will never even wear once. Yes I have done it too. Also, because a lot of businesses will not even let you exchange your impulse purchase (very bad in my mind and I’m not going back there again).

Sales items to invest in:

1) A coat: an expensive item like a coat that will keep you warm and stylish looking. Well it hardly matters what you look like underneath if on the outside you look great.

2) Boots: a pair of well-made boots that will last season after season. Remember you will be wearing them for many months in the year in England. Worn over or under jeans/trousers with dresses, skirts. If you have tricky calves look at DUO boots or Russell and Bromley make boots with an elastic band down the centre back. Leather always lasts longer than suede, but suede boots are more flattering on a bigger calf.

3) Dresses: I am a great believer in a dress not only for the evening (isn’t it boring seeing everyone wearing jeans all the time). They will lengthen the body (slimming) and can be worn in so many different ways. For example: with a cardigan or jacket, a thin layered long-sleeved T-shirt. Different accessories like a long necklace or scarves, boots with skinny jeans or killer-heels in the evening. Belted!? Short or long whatever suits your body shape. Plus jersey dresses can be so comfortable, warm and easy to wash.

4) Cashmere jumpers/cardigans: this is because cashmere is so expensive and don’t you hate the feeling of wool when the air is dry and your skin is too. Please don’t wear twinset and pearl look, so ageing and very unflattering.

Now where are the sales still good without the horrid Boxing Day chaos. I recommend:

Matches (further reductions coming any minute), Harrods, smaller private owned boutiques like Anna’s, Austique, Feathers etc. Russell and Bromley will be putting more styles into the sales and reducing them further.

I am a great believer in, if something suits you, buy it! Fashion will always change and there will be things that just don’t suit you. For example this A/W season how many of you can wear the longer length tops with ultra-skinny leggings or jeans. The Bodycon dress (a very tight dress and super short)???? Well it is really about finding your style and fashion can be varied in one way or another to suit the individuals shape and lifestyle.

More coming soon, so stay tuned.

Catherine

I am so sorry it’s been such a long time. Thank you to you all those who have contacted me. I am so grateful for having helped some REALLY lovely special women. Also of all shapes and sizes. The response has been brilliant and so I am going to add a new Testimonial page and Gift Voucher Page to my website.

Anyway more importantly the shops are full of beautiful clothes. There is a lot of sequin, studding and velvet around ready for the Christmas Season (and yes you can now wear them during the day).

I love Warehouse’s lace dresses with lantern shaped skirts, a very flattering shape for pear shapes. There are a lot of fantastic jackets. Warehouse has a dinner jacket style with a studded collar. Very Rock Chick! Topshop has an amazing harlequin sequin jacket, beautifully cut and very unusual. Plus I never really mention the higher end of designers: Diane Von Furstenburg is a great female designer. She has a whole range of beautiful dresses – the wrap dress (her signature dress), floaty dresses, made in great jersey and interesting prints. A dress for every body shape.

French designers like Maje, Sandro and A.P.C. make beautiful clothes for those of us that like classic with a twist. Also not having those scary designer prices but really well made.

All Saints is great for its tailoring. Skirt suits are something I believe will be a big trend for next Autumn/Winter Trends. I have a beautifully cut boy-friend jacket from four seasons ago. It was £130 – and it is still in really good nick, worn too death and goes with everything.

What I do notice is how few of you own a good jacket. Jacket’s will sculpt, define and hide a million problem areas. Plus they instantly smarten from day to night. Dare I say I have about 10 jackets of different shapes and styles. I love jackets and in winter I will wear a coat on top (keeps you extra warm). Also look out for lycra in the material for extra comfort.

Have any of you heard of DUO boots. They are a web-based company that specialises in made-to-measure boots. A real problem solution for those with extremely small or big calves. And…..they make really great styles and quality boots.

I love boots they can balance a whole shoulder to hip proportion problem. Shoes can make or kill an outfit. Please look at a fantastic blogger called Scott Schuman. He has a website called The Sartorialist. Wow! what an inspiration. Here you can see what a difference the right pair of shoes make.

Well enough from me now, it’s Saturday and the day is full or errands after a very busy week. Thanks for your support for all those that have used me. I love my job.

Catherine

Imagine a beautiful woman walks into a room. Let’s be honest beauty is not that interesting. But when a confident woman walks into a room it’s entrancing. The way she moves with poise and self-possession. She is not usually the one in the plain black dress. She is the one in the interesting shirt and vintage skirt and one immediately wants to know where she got them from. Confidence is captivating, it is powerful and it does not fade – and that is endlessly more interesting than beauty.

This is from a new book I just bought called The Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia. I really especially loved this quote. How many of us stop ourselves from looking good because we wish we looked different (taller, thinner, curvier, smaller bottom etc.)?

Why can we not just improve our style by the way we look just today and feel good about ourselves. CONFIDENT!

What is stopping you? Find your Style, Love yourself a little bit more and just imagine how amazing life could be without those negative messages we give ourselves everyday. Light, fun and worth living!!!!

By the way I found some amazing Biba boots in a second-hand shop today. Bang-on-trend and never worn for £70. Go and have a look in your nearest second-hand shop. You never know what other people throw out may just be amazing on you.

Bye for now. Catherine

Photos taken today at London Fashion Week and a vintage fair….(click on photos for a closer look)

Some shopfront piccies from earlier today….

Autumn really has arrived! I have been busy putting my summer clothes away and am now getting excited about my old/new autumn/winter wardrobe. End of last season I got lucky with finding some very nice ‘Sale’ items which I hardly wore and are mixing and matching very well in a my capsule wardrobe. I love finding bargains.

I have been doing some research – well it is my job to know where to find what for all different types of women. All the collections are now slowly coming out onto the shop floors. Best time to buy (before the best pieces go) I feel is mid-October, just after LFW. But the high street design “weekly collections” so it’s a good idea to keep your eyes open.

Trends: depending on your body shape some trends may suit you others may not. This is why I prefer STYLE to FASHION! Knowing what looks good on you rather than those ridiculous mistakes we made when we were younger. Still, fashion is what is available to us now – so we’ve got to try it out.

Right now the big shoulder is back. It’s a different shoulder now-more constructed ,less wide and boxy and sometimes draped. There is a lot of it around and a style to suit anyone. Really works for giving someone a smaller waist. If you are petite do not go for a big shoulder pad, go for more of a rounded shape. Great for the typical English pear shape since it balances your bottom half. Try it !!!!

Also as I said there is a lot of black around. For those of you that don’t suit black wear it with a flash of colour eg. coloured scarf, tights, bag, shoes or bold silver jewellery.

I went to Zara and was quite impressed with some very nice cut jackets. At Warehouse I saw some great dresses. The quality is good at Warehouse  - clothes wash well and last for years. Also H&M had a cute stretchy corduroy jacket for £25 in different colours (loved the red one!) They also have some great skinny jeans as do Berschka.

Go have a look for yourself and try on. It’s the only way you find out what suits you (or CALL ME!)

Enough from me now. More coming soon!

Catherine

Hurrah, finally the moment I have been waiting for! Writing in my own personal style about the thing I am most passionate about: STYLE and FASHION. It was difficult for me to do this website because there is so much I wanted to explain about what I believe in. Like looking good does not have to be material, self -indulgent, about having a lot of money or being a small dress size.

If you think about the history of fashion for women in the 20th century – the state of our social climate and beliefs have so influenced the clothing we wear. Clothes are often the mirror of our soul. Look at now with all those shoulder pads back and black is about the only colour on the high street (lets hope that changes). 80′s all over again and I wonder why????????

Also, I really believe that if you have been so snowed under with all the stresses of life like jobs, children, maybe health etc. it’s difficult to focus on looking good but sometimes this one thing can improve a lot of other issues just by giving you confidence.

And no you do not have to lose those pounds, stones, be a size zero etc.  I will be blogging much more about this and giving advice in how to dress correctly for your body shape……whether you’re curvy, pear or apple. Don’t think I must lose weight before I start sorting my wardrobe out, don’t hide in ugly baggy clothes because you have a few pounds to lose. Style isn’t about shape it’s about confidence.

Give me a call! Don’t be shy or think things like I will be told to throw out all my clothes or dress in a way that isn’t you. No way – I love recycling and revamping old clothes. This is about finding your style not mine.

Enough from me today. I have London Fashion week coming up and I may try to blog you soon with the news from LFW.