Posts by Diana:
- Match the shape of your skirt to the shape of your lower body (A,V, H, or 8 )
- When in doubt, keep it simple. The more complicated the cut or details, the trickier it is to wear.
- The most flattering length is at the knee, or 1” above or below the knee
- The hem should be the same height all the way around (unless it’s a wrap skirt or has an asymmetrical hem); no riding up in front or back.
- Buttons and zippers should be able to close without straining.
- You should be able to comfortably insert two fingers into the waistband of your skirt when it’s fastened. If you can’t, it’s too tight.
- Submit your photo here
- Contact all your friends (by email/Twitter/Facebook/Flickr, etc.)
- Tell them to go to FashionForRealWomen.com and click on the Photo Contest Link
- Have them logon and vote for you as their favorite
- Voting ends September 22, 2010 (midnight EST)
- Space
- Economy
Skirts That Flatter A Variety of Body Shapes
September 9th, 2010Skirts can be fun, flirty, and fabulous. They can turn heads, command attention, and weaken male resolve. But if you’re not careful, they can also make you look heavier, dowdier, and older than you are if you chose the wrong style.
All bodies are created equal. Neither are all skirt styles. If you’re having trouble finding skirts that look good on you, keep these basic guidelines in mind:
With that in mind, here are some skirt styles that flatter a variety of body shapes. Some will look better on certain shapes than others, but these tend to “work” on most women:
| Slightly Gathered
A skirt that’s slightly gathered around the waist is more forgiving of the tummy and hips than a straight skirt, but be careful – it can also add bulk if there are too many gathers. |
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Straight, Gently Gathered
Again, slight gathering accommodates rounder tummies and hips, but if all that material makes you look bigger than you are, try another style. |
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Straight, Tailored
Like flat front trousers, a straight, tailored skirt offers simplicity – nothing fancy, nothing complicated. A solid neutral that works with many of the colors in your wardrobe gives you the most versatility. |
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Wrap Skirt
A wrap skirt, like a wrap top, creates an interesting, flattering diagonal that does nice things for most women. A great style if you also have nice legs. |
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Flared Skirt
A flared skirt hugs at the hips and flares near the knees – think mermaid style. This can be very flattering on some shapes, because it emphasized and/or creates curves. Just don’t get it too tight. |
As with all clothes, your goal is to find pieces that fit, flatter your figure, and showcase your best features. Great skirts can do that, particularly if you have a nice bum, legs, or feet. Just find the styles that suit you best – including some from the list above – and you can’t help but turn heads!
 Need more tips for finding skirts that fit and flatter? Download a copy of Wardrobe Magic to learn the best styles for your body shape, coloring, and lifestyle. Learn how to build a wardrobe and benefit for years to come! |
September Photo Contest – Stylish Business Transitions
August 26th, 2010
Summer’s over and it’s time to get back to work. You still have your tan from vacation, you’re not really into the new schedule yet, and to top it all off, the weather’s starting to change. It’s chilly in the morning and blazing hot by noon. What’s a gal to do?
For our September photo contest, we’re looking for great transitional business clothing, ensembles that can take you from chilly mornings to warm afternoons to nippy nights. Think layers and year ‘round fabrics.. It doesn’t have to be a business suit, but it should be business appropriate. If you’ve got a look that others envy during this weather transition, we want to see it.
Here’s how to enter:
The winner will be announced in the September 23rd issue of the Clothing Chronicles and be featured on the photo blog for September. That means tens of thousands of women could be looking at you! (Don’t be scared – they’re all nice!)
Wish you could build a wardrobe that would win contests? These image resources can help.
August Photo Contest Winner – Genevieve
August 26th, 2010
We had several beautiful entries from women of all ages and sizes for our August Photo Contest – Summer Vacation Clothes . With children on the beach and sweethearts near the shore, the variety made me smile. There were several I really liked, but the one with the most “favorite” votes was…
Genevieve from San Diego.
Here’s what she wrote with her entry:
You’re looking at my favorite piece of clothing in my entire wardrobe. It’s a simple, light, opaque, long rectangular sarong with coloring I absolutely love. I’ve had it for years, and I think every summer-vacationing woman should have one! It’s so versatile, and it goes pretty much everywhere with me – it’s a blanket on car and plane trips (and when I was in college, I brought it to campus for chilly classrooms). I can also wear it as a long wrap skirt or fold it in half into a shorter one. It can even be a scarf in a pinch. Plus it’s so light, it folds up really tiny and fits anywhere!
My absolute favorite way to wear my sarong is in my picture: all I do is tie the two top corners into a halter behind my neck. It’s the perfect beach or pool cover-up – the dark fabric and bright pattern hide wet patches quite well (and don’t become see-through when wet either), and the light material dries quickly. I also love how the pattern on the edge makes a pretty vertical line that’s slimming. And with a light little summer jacket over it, it’s definitely modest enough to go out even to a restaurant in it – I’ve done that several times after beach trips!
Genevieve’s right – a sarong IS an extremely versatile piece, which is why I have several in my wardrobe as well. Wear them as a dress, a skirt, a shawl – it’s amazing what you can do with a rectangular piece of cloth! It’s why Pacific Islanders have worn them for centuries.
Good job, Genevieve!
Want to see all the other amazing photos that were submitted? Click here.
Celebrity Fashion Brands – What It Takes to Build an Empire
August 25th, 2010What does it take to build a celebrity fashion brand – or any brand, for that matter?
Time, effort, and a MASSIVE support team.
That’s the conclusion I’ve come to watching some of these reality show divas. Lots of people say they want to be rich and famous. . . but to actually do what it takes? Way too much work!
Now granted, a lot of “reality” TV is actually staged and most of the shows that are on are just plain dumb, but I do follow a few of them, mostly about fashion. These include:
The Rachel Zoe Project (Bravo TV)
Rachel Zoe is a celebrity fashion stylist who’s become almost as famous as the people she styles. Top designers know her by name. Demi Moore knows when her anniversary is. Harper’s Bazaar has her on speed dial. The list goes on and on.
The show follows her and her team as they put together fashion shoots, fashion shows, and track down “major” dresses for awards season. Every time she travels to New York, Paris, or Milan for fashion shows, she takes a TON of luggage – she must pay a fortune in excess bags fees! When I see her pack, shop, or go through her bulging closets, I keep thinking I should send her a copy of Wardrobe Magic so she can learn how to build clothing capsules and get rid of all that excess. I mean, how much Chanel does one person really need?
But you can’t deny that she’s a hard worker.
It’s fun to watch her go to the fashion shows, chat with designers, create red carpet “moments” for her clients, and style photo shoots. The picture of Demi Moore feeding a giraffe on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar was amazing (except for the shoes). Who thinks of this stuff? It was cool!
Then there’s the brand building. Rachel’s making perfume, picks her favorites on Piperlime, launched a line on QVC, wrote a book, and has a TV show – on TOP of her day job. She doesn’t eat or sleep much…and unfortunately, it shows.
Still, if you’re addicted to fashion, you’ll really enjoy this show.
Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane (MyStyle)
Kimora Lee Simmons is a fashion model turned fashion mogul who, along with her ex-husband, music producer Russell Simmons, started the Baby Phat fashion label in 1998 (it’s the sister clothing line of Russell’s Phat Farm men’s clothing). I didn’t know much about Kimora before watching the show, other than reading a magazine article in which she seemed very spoiled, but after a watching an episode of “Fab Lane” earlier this year, I was hooked.
Kimora lives an “over the top” life, but she also works VERY hard doing it. She’s divorced from and has two young daughters by Simmons, is married actor Dijmon Hounsou and has a son with him, and now runs her New York company from her Los Angeles home.
It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen!
But somehow, she manages to find some balance. She may live in opulence and run a multi-million dollar company, but she still makes time to take her girls back to school shopping and jog while pushing her son’s stroller. She goes from nursing the baby to showing models how to walk the runway to giving live TV interviews in the span of about an hour. I was exhausted just watching her.
Her perspective is much different than Rachel Zoe’s in that Kimora’s producing a physical product. You see the meetings, the offices, the visits to suppliers, the picking the models, the creating ads, writing the books, etc. It’s all the stuff that happens before the Rachel Zoes of the world get hold of it.
The pace is unrelenting. Lots of deadlines, lots of pressure. If you’re thinking about launching a label, watch “Life in the Fab Lane.” You’ll soon realize that it involves long hours of hard work followed by short spurts of glamour and excitement. Kind of like the restaurant business.
Bethenny Getting Married? (Bravo TV)
I’ve been hooked on the “Real Housewives of New York” since Simon took Alex shopping in St. Bart’s in Season One and dropped five figures on clothes for her one afternoon while he drank champagne and watched her model. I was flabbergasted. Do those kinds of men really exist? And why didn’t they go to my school?
I started watching RHONY for the clothes, and stayed to watch Bethenny Frankel “cut to the chase” while wearing fabulous clothes. For someone who supposedly couldn’t care less about fashion, she can come up with some pretty stunning ensembles. Not every one’s a hit, mind you, but she definitely has some of the best “Kodak Moments” of the bunch.
All while she’s pregnant, planning her wedding, and building her “Skinny Girl” brand.
Again, the amount of work is staggering. Meetings, phone calls, recipes, photo shoots, books, interviews, personal appearances, TV show – when in the heck to these people sleep?! Or do laundry? Or watch TV?
Still, she’s a riot. She borrowed a beautiful red sheath from designer Michael Kors for a TV interview and book signing and wanted to wear it to her baby shower two days later, before she returned it. But it didn’t fit two days later, and running late with NO alternative on hand, she ended up wearing a sequin tunic as a dress instead. The guests at the baby shower were like, “W-h-a-a-t?” Hysterical! She brushed it off and went on to the next thing, which is why she’s having the success she is.
So, if you still think fame and fortune should be in your life, take some time to watch some of these reality TV stars build their celebrity fashion brands. It will truly give you a new perspective!
French Style Secrets Any Woman Can Use
August 19th, 2010
French style – the epitome of beautiful dressing – is easier to master than you may think. For while French women have easy access to Parisian fashion, the reality is that most of them can’t afford couture apparel any more than any middle class woman in any country can.
So how can they still look so darn good?
By following the simple rules handed down from generation to generation to achieve that elusive French style:
Start With Basics
A crisp, white shirt. A perfect pair of trousers. A well-fitting jacket. If you stock your closet with clothing staples, you build a strong foundation for a go-anywhere wardrobe. Classic styles in solid colors and simple silhouettes offer both economy and versatility, because when you can wear one piece many different ways, you can get a lot of “bang for your buck.” It’s like the difference between painting a room beige and painting a room red: to transform the beige room, you can rearrange the furniture and change the accessories; to transform a red room, you have to buy new furniture or repaint the walls.
Understand Aesthetics
When you’re surrounded by rolling countryside, centuries-old architectural marvels, world-class museums, haute cuisine and haute couture, you can’t help but develop an eye for aesthetics, for learning what’s visually appealing in terms of color, shape, and proportion. French women aren’t taught to mold themselves to a certain look; they’re taught to assess themselves and seek what pieces work best for them aesthetically. This independence and self awareness makes them fascinating, brainy, and sexy. It’s part of their mystique, their je ne sais quoi.
Opt for Quality Over Quantity
“I love America, and I love American women,” French interior designer Andrée Putman once said. “But there is one thing that deeply shocks me – American closets. I cannot believe one can dress well when you have so much.”
French women edit carefully and opt for a few good-quality pieces instead of a lot of junk for two main reasons:
France is an old country with ancient buildings and small closets. There is simply no space for a lot of stuff. So they opt for a handful of good-quality pieces that they can wear in a variety of ways. Moreover, good quality lasts longer than bad quality, so while you may pay more up front, you replace it less often down the line. A Hermes scarf may cost a fortune, but with proper care, it can be worn for decades and handed down to daughters and granddaughters.
Differentiate Through Accessories
Once you have your classic clothing foundation, you can make things interesting by getting creative with accessories. Cool shoes, wild hair decor, funky hosiery, unusual jewelry – this is where French style shines. You don’t need a lot of accessories to create a head-turning signature style; you just need to get creative with what you do have. How can wear a scarf? As a headband, around your neck, draped over your shoulders, tied as a belt, twisted around your wrist, tied on your handbag – well, you get the idea. One great piece, TONS of possibilities. French women excel at this.
Strive for Flawless Grooming
Beautiful skin and a great hair cut make you look chic at any age. French women understand this, which is why they follow their beauty regimes religiously and have a talented hair stylist on speed dial. No picking at pimples or spackling on tons of makeup. No way! Just a competent facialist and a standing salon appointment.
Stay Out of Debt
This is one of those “old country” things that got left in the old country, unfortunately. While many Americans don’t think twice about using credit cards, most Europeans shy away from debt. French women are no exception. They plan their purchases and pay cash for everything, which means they make their choices carefully. It’s an “old school” habit we should all adopt.
So what’s the bottom line?
French style essentially means knowing what looks good on you, finding clothes that suit your lifestyle, making choices wisely, living within a budget – and making everything visually appealing while doing it. You don’t have to be young, thin, or French to give off that French style vibe – you just need to master these basics to create your own je ne sais quoi.
Want some more tips in building a French style wardrobe? Download a copy of Wardrobe Magic to see how easy creating a head-turning look can be.
