Style vs. Fashion

Fashion and style, are they the same thing? Which is more important? I've been pondering these questions recently, and have come to a conclusion...

Fashion is about trends.
Style is about what really suits you.
Fashion is temporary.
Style is timeless.

I place much more importance on dressing in outfits that really suit your colouring, your body shape, your personality and your lifestyle, than in just being a slave to the "must-haves" of the season.

Every season, fashion will come out with a whole bunch of trends that apparently you “must-have”, the only thing they don’t tell you is that you have to interpret what will work for you, and what won’t. You most probably won't suit all of the fashion trends that come out each season, so you need to pick only what really works for you.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love both fashion and style. That’s why I do what I do. But I’ve also seen some things that make me go “Stop right there, fashion police!!!” You see, it’s all about working with your body shape, not against it.

Just because skinny jeans are in, doesn’t mean they’ll look good on you! Over the last few seasons, the really low hipster jeans were in, and I’d see young girls wearing them, and they would have these “muffins” of flesh hanging out over top, because their hips were too big to wear them. It’s just not a good look. They would have been better to wear a slightly higher waist jean, and then a top over top, no-one would notice.

Which is more flattering? This...

Or this?


And I see some ladies, who are a bit shorter, absolutely living in ¾ pants all summer long. Did you realise that ¾ pants actually make your legs look shorter, which, if you have short legs, is not a good look! The reason for this is that the eye stops at the bottom of the pants, and then it visually looks as if your ankle starts from there down, which makes your leg look shorter. A full length trouser actually elongates the leg, because the eye keeps going all the way to the ground. Variety is the spice of life! We are all different. We all have our favourite body assets, the things we like about ourselves, and we also all have the parts we try to disguise or camouflage. We have different body shapes. And that’s how it’s meant to be. If we all had hips as big as mine, then nobody would look good in skinny jeans!

So what are the different body shapes??

• Triangle or pear shaped, like me, where your hips are bigger that your bust and waist.
• Upside down triangle or apple shaped, where you are more top heavy, with a thicker waist, and slimmer hips and thighs.
• Hourglass shape, in which you have a balanced hip and shoulder width, with a defined smaller waist.
• Rectangle shaped, in which your hips and shoulders are balanced but your waist doesn’t go in much.

The aim is to make your figure look as balanced as possible. Colour can hugely affect how proportioned you look. Knowing your body shape helps you to know what colour to wear on what part of your body.

Here is the simple rule of thumb: Wear darker, plainer colours on your areas of figure challenge, your larger half. Wear lighter, brighter colours and patterns or texture on your smaller half. The eye will be drawn to the lighter, brighter shades, and skip over the darker shades.

Horizontal lines or stripes make you look wider, so don’t wear them on your widest area, as it will just draw attention to it.

You have to be honest with yourself and what works for you. Have fun with fashion, but don’t be a slave to it. Be creative instead. Have fun with accessories. Express your own sense of style. You don’t have to show 90% of your skin to be noticed. Don’t feel pressured to wear a skirt that actually just looks like a wide belt. You can look fantastic and be admired for your style sense without being a slave to fashion.

If you’d like some one-on-one advice on what will really suit you, some help shopping or even a whole makeover just check out our brochure and contact us.

Wardrobe Sorting

Do you ever stand staring at your wardrobe full of clothes and think “I’ve got nothing to wear!”? Is your wardrobe a mess?

We have some helpful tips for giving your wardrobe a much needed sort-out, a New Year makeover.

While you’ve probably heard that you should do this regularly, chances are that you haven’t done it. Why? Because clearing out your wardrobe isn’t as simple as just putting clothes into piles. The real skill is knowing what needs to go and what should stay. How do you know what really works on you?

Usually before I go sorting through someone’s wardrobe, I like to spend some time figuring out what colours suit them, what works on their body shape, what their lifestyle is like, and also, what their style personality is. To successfully sort out and plan a workable wardrobe, you really need to know these things. You may know all this about yourself already, or you might need some help to figure it out. Once we’ve got that sorted, we can start on the wardrobe…

Here are some tips to help you out…

1. Get out the clothes you want to sort

Start with either your hanging clothes or your folded clothes. You may not have enough room to get them all out at once. The bed is a great place to put them because it’s probably near your closet, and it’s elevated so you won’t have to keep bending over.

2. Decide how to sort your clothes

Decide what piles you are going to sort your clothes into and where you’re going to put each one.
I suggest the following piles, but you could break them down however you want:

1. Keepers: Clothes that go back into your closet because they’re awesome, ready-to-wear, and get plenty of use.
2. Storage: Clothes that are basically keepers, but don’t get worn very often (or are out of season right now) so they can be stored elsewhere to free up valuable space in your closet.
3. Repairs: Clothing that need mending, cleaning or tailoring, but would otherwise be keepers.
4. Returns: Clothes that still have tags attached because you’ve never worn them!
5. Giveaway or sell: Nice clothing that’s just not flattering on you but would be great for someone else.
6. Throwaways: Items that shouldn’t be worn by anyone — things that are worn out, badly stained or otherwise unwearable.

You can also make the piles anywhere you want, but having boxes ready for the giveaways and throwaways is a good way to keep them separate, so you don’t accidentally put a keeper in those piles.

3. Sort your clothing

Now you’re going to go through the big stack of clothing on your bed piece-by-piece and move every item to one of the other piles.

Take your time, and don’t put anything back into your closet unless you’re absolutely sure that it’s a keeper. To be sure that a garment is a keeper, ask yourself the following questions — and don’t forget to answer really honestly! An item isn’t a keeper unless you can answer all these questions with a firm “yes”.

Question 1: Is it free of stains, fading and tears?
Stained, torn or badly faded clothes should not be part of your everyday wardrobe.
You might be able to salvage clothing that’s stained but otherwise fine if you take your clothes to a professional cleaner. Likewise, some tears can be repaired by a professional, but most will mean a garment can no longer be worn.

Question 2: Does it fit perfectly?
Perfect fit is the key to looking like a million bucks even in bargain clothes. Poorly fitting clothes look cheap no matter what they cost.

If an item doesn’t fit properly now, but would be fantastic if it did, consider having it tailored. While not everything will be fixable, a good tailor can work wonders. They can alter the size, length and fit of garments and even make major alterations like removing sleeves or turning a dress into a top or skirt.

If your weight fluctuates, you might keep “skinny clothes” or items that are a little big, in case your weight changes again. It’s fine to keep these if you can reasonably expect to fit into them again, but don’t clog your closet with them. Keep them in storage instead so that everything in front of you each morning fits perfectly and you’re not tempted to wear clothes that pinch and pucker.

Question 3: Does it look great on you?
It’s a gorgeous colour, a fabulous style… but when you wear it, you look dreadful. Don’t keep it; pass it along so someone else can enjoy it.

Can’t tell if it’s flattering? Get some help to determine what actually works for your body shape and what to steer clear of. We offer a Style & Line Analysis to help you here.

You might find that you have lots of unflattering garments because your favourite colour looks terrible on you. If this is the case, try wearing small doses away from your face, in the form of shoes or a bag. Alternatively, look for different shades because a variation on your favourite colour might look a lot better. We also offer Colour Consultations to show you the colours that suit you best.

Question 4: Does it suit your lifestyle?
Clothing you don’t wear every day — like formal wear and out of season items — should be stored away from your everyday clothes.

Question 5: Does it work with your other clothes?
You may have heard me talk about “closet orphans” before. These are the items of clothing that have no family or outfit to be worn with. Every item in your closet should be part of at least one complete, practical, flattering outfit. Otherwise you’ll open your overflowing wardrobe some days and find that you have literally nothing to wear.

To see if a garment can make a great outfit, first look in your closet for things that work with it. If you don’t find anything suitable, make a list of the pieces you need and shop for them.

4. Do something with all your piles of clothing

You’ve gone through your closet and should have several piles of clothes. Now it’s time to do something with them.

First, deal with the obvious piles. Put the keepers back into your closet; find a new home for the storage pile; take the repairs pile to your tailor or shoe repairer; and put your throwaway pile in the trash. The rest you can either sell to a 2nd hand boutique, or on TradeMe. Otherwise you can give it way to an Opportunity Shop or have a fun clothes swap night with your friends.

Once all this is done, try out some new outfit combinations with your keepers. You may be surprised at some great new looks you can come up with. Get creative with accessories. Make the most of what God has given you, and have fun.

If you want an unbiased opinion and help in sorting out your wardrobe, just contact us.

Back in action for 2008

Happy New Year to you all!

I hope you've all had a great Christmas, New Years & summer holiday. We are now back into it here at Outfit. I'm so excited about 2008. It's going to be a great year!

Our Radio Style Slots start again next Thursday 17th January on both Rhema (1251 AM) at 9:40am, and Life FM (99.8FM) at 11:00am, and will continue fortnightly. We have lots of great topics coming up this year, so make sure you listen in for some helpful style tips.

Remember, if you have a style question that you'd like an answer to, just email me at tanya@outfitme.co.nz and I'll post your question and the answer you need on the blog... easy as pie! P.S. It can be on a no-name basis if requested.

Outfitting you with style,

Tanya Howie