It’s finally time to start packing away those flimsy summer bits after a hot and glorious summer. I’m going to dive straight into something that I think is absolutely wonderful – mascara. As we age, mascara gives back a wonderful bit of life to the eye area, especially if you are like me and have zero interest in botox-ing or needling and so on. With more and more women developing an intolerance to mascaras and even foundations as they age, many of us are looking for more natural products. I would never share something with you unless I’ve tried it myself and I think that I have hit the jackpot. Did you know that you can mix organic castor oil and activated charcoal in a little glass jar and make your own mascara? The glass jar is also really important, organic products tire and lose their ‘goodness’ in plastic! All you need is a mascara brush and you are good to go. You will find that your lashes lengthen thanks to the castor oil. This is my gift to anyone whose eyes get easily irritated and have, alas, given up on wearing mascara. Please give me some feedback on this because I absolutely love my homemade organic mascara and I hope that you will love it too!
If I have heard it once, I have heard it a million times – ‘What can I do about my belly and what should I wear?’ Most women with a fuller stomach make the same mistake, they choose the baggiest, most shapeless top they can find, thinking that it will hide everything. You need to know which tops, pants and dresses highlight your best features and create more balanced proportions. It’s not about hiding your body, it’s about directing the eye to the right places. You want the focus to be on your face, neckline and legs, not on your stomach. That’s why v-neck tops work so well; they create a vertical line, open up your neckline and visually lengthen your upper body. Wrap tops or wrap dresses are another great option, they create diagonal lines and gently define your figure. Styles with soft draping or ruching around the stomach skim over your body without clinging to it. High-waisted straight leg pants create a smoother silhouette and visually lengthen your legs. An open structured blazer creates two vertical lines down the centre of your body making your entire shape appear longer and more balanced.
So what should you avoid? Very thin clingy fabrics that highlight every line of your body, Low rise pants that cut across your stomach, tops that end exactly at the widest part of your belly and extremely over-sized clothes that completely hide your shape and make your figure appear heavier.
Choose fabrics that hold their shape without looking stiff, soft knits, medium weight cotton and gently structured fabrics are usually especially flattering. Try monochromatic outfits or combine similar shades on the top and bottom. This creates one continuous vertical line and visually lengthens your silhouette. Add an interesting neckline, statement earrings or a bold neck piece, these features naturally draw attention towards your face.
Here is the real secret… The most beautiful women are not the ones with perfectly flat stomachs, they are the ones who understand their proportions, choose the right clothes and don’t allow one part of their body to control or affect their confidence.
I know that you will all say ‘I know my body shape’ but do you really know your proportions? The most stylish women that I know are not a perfect size or shape, they just really understand their proportions and, once you understand this, everything changes.
Familiarise yourself with where your ‘middle’ sits. Not everyone’s waist is at the same place and, dressing as if it is, is where most women go wrong.
Find yours and define it. Everything else follows from there. A defined middle creates an hourglass illusion on every body shape – it’s the foundation all great outfits are built on.
Always think ‘volume on one, fitted on the other’! Full on top means that you streamline the bottom and wide-leg trousers mean a fitted or tucked-in top. This works because the eyes need a place to rest. Too much volume everywhere and the outfit overwhelms you, especially if you are petite. A taller person can get away with it, on occasion. Too fitted everywhere and there is no movement or interest because balance creates harmony.
Hem length is everything because where a skirt or trouser ends changes the entire look of your leg – too long and you lose height, too short and you lose elegance. The magic spot is just below the knee or at the ankle, both create a clean unbroken line and this makes legs look longer.
Make vertical lines your ‘Bestie!’ Wear a v-neck, a long open coat, a column of colour from top to toe. These work because the eye naturally follows a line. Vertical lines draw the gaze up and down, rather than across, creating length and balance on every body shape without changing a single thing about you.
Shopping and styling becomes a completely different process when you ‘stop thinking in pieces’ and ‘start thinking in silhouette’.
Stand in front of a full length mirror, step back and blur your eyes slightly. What shape are you making? That shape, not the individual items, is what other people see. Designers call this the ‘total look’ and it’s the difference between an outfit that works and one that almost does.
Proportion isn’t about having the right body, it’s about understanding the one you have!
Olive green is the absolute bomb and you will be seeing a lot of it this coming season. Here are a few colours that add even more elegance to this rich and glorious shade of green, navy (unexpected but sensational with a pop of white), light grey, burgundy, tonal – as in different shades or textures of olive on olive and a crisp white over an olive leather skirt or trousers! Any shade of blue denim works incredibly well too.
Clothes should be fun. If you have lost the joy of styling, have a quiet word with yourself and be willing to do a little research, let go of a few core debilitating beliefs and don’t keep anything for ‘good wear’ – every day is a wonderful occasion to celebrate something or other. Google your body shape for advice, hire a stylist as a treat but don’t stay stuck.
