Then one day, I had a revelation. I was watching a show called “What not to Wear” (the original BBC thankyou) with Trinny and Susannah. Suddenly, as I watched them coolly dissect what was wrong with what their victims were wearing, I realised I had been making the same mistakes as the women on the show. I bought clothes without really looking at myself in the mirror and evaluating how it looked and how I looked in it; in-fact had a wardrobe of clothes like this.
After a few episodes I realised I wanted to look better as well, I wanted to look “put together” and I wanted to look that way everyday. I ruthlessly went through my wardrobe and chucked everything that didn’t flatter me, even if I really loved it. I threw out anything that was old or worn or terribly dated and I left myself with the things that actually suited me. When you only have things that suit you in your wardrobe, it’s much easier to put together an outfit that works.
I started with a basic palette of black (surprise), browns, reds and other warm colours (because they went with the colour of my hair). It’s also much easier to put together an outfit if you restrict the colours in the wardrobe. I looked much better.
After another year or two, I decided I really needed some more colours, so I invested in some cooler colours, greens, turquoises and blues (to contrast with my hair), and I still felt great. Recently I’ve even started using patterns, something I would have never dreamed of a few years ago and I still feel great.
From Trinny and Susannah’s advice and my own experience here are a few pointers:
- Try on what you own and look carefully in the mirror at yourself and cull what doesn’t work. Ask your self the hard questions, do you look any good in it, do the colours suit you, is it too small or too big. If you can’t tell, get an honest friend to help you (the best sort).
- From what’s left, work out what suits you and why. Do you have a bust, so a gently scooped top works for you, does the colour pink make your skin look great, does that slightly longer t-shirt disguise your tummy nicely?
- Shoes and other accessories are important. Make sure they match your outfit. Sure you can wear daggy sneakers with your nice jeans, but wouldn’t you look better in a pair of ballet flats?
- A good haircut (and glasses if you wear them) is essential, absolutely essential. Mostly on the plastic surgery makeover shows you look at the end result and think “she could have had that with some nice clothes and a decent haircut”.
- Make sure you can keep your nice haircut looking nice. It always looks great straight home from the hairdresser, but if you can’t keep it looking nice it’s a waste of money. I used to have long hair and the day after I got it cut it was wonderful, so sleek and straight. As soon as I washed it I lost it all, because I can’t blowdry to save my life. Don’t let it happen to you.
- A little bit of makeup is good. Some concealed maybe, or a bit of lip colour. Work out the one thing that makes you look better and then always use it. For me, I have invisible eyebrows so I always colour them in before I leave the house.
And when you master the basics:
- Work out what rules you can break. Trinny and Susannah say larger brested women should never wear crew (high) necked shirts or polos. I think they look great on me, so I ignore their advice.
- Don’t just settle for looking “put together”, work out what your own style is.
What are your tips or what influences you in the way you dress?
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6 chic comments:
I love this post! I had reached a bit of a wardrobe crisis point when I first 'met' Trinny and Susannah, and they came at just the right time.
Another thing, hon - do you have a feed url because for some reason I can't add your blog to google reader. I'd really like to as that's how I keep up with blogs, and because I can't add yours I frequently forget to check it for updates :( Let me know.
Gauri, thanks! For the feed, try the links in the last section in the sidebar (feedburner). Otherwise try http://feeds.feedburner.com/IndividualChic. Maybe I need a redesign so this is clearer...
oh i love those two. i saw new episodes and it's not them anymore. :(
Oh, that's sad. I don't think it would be the same without Trinny and Susannah!
Interesting post. The one thing that WNTW lacks, in my opinion, is a real assessment of personality. Building a capsule wardrobe is a wonderful idea, but time and again, they churn out the same sort of look on the ladies. There was one makeover (an extremely tall and thin woman) where they broke from the usual mold. I think that "style" is not just about flattering the figure, but flattering and showing the personality as well. It can be a rough road as you get older to do this without feeling or looking mutton dressed as lamb.
That is my biggest challenge -- to dress the outter me to show the world the inner me but still recognize the limits of my age.
Gina, I agree with you in that, they do often have the women wearing similar things (I think I remember the episode with the tall lady!) However, they do give them a good starting point for developing their own sense of style. I think once you know the sorts of shapes that suit, you can go from there. Thanks for stopping by ^_^
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