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Style Wisdom - Quote of the Day
"Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest."
-Christian Dior
Showing posts with label fashion style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion style. Show all posts
How can we use our body shapes to learn how to dress?
by Guest Writer: Georgina Kenny
My goal and my suggestion for all my clients is to emphasize their face when getting dressed, and this rule applies no matter what your body shape is. Your face is your most important body part, and if we want people to relate to you, to who you really are, you need to call attention to your face, and not just to other specific body areas.
You might have different goals, and only you can decide which parts of your body you want to highlight. In general besides dressing to call attention to the face, we also strive to emphasize those body parts or characteristics that are assets and try to de-emphasize those that you might not be so "proud" of.
We also have a shared-visual idea of what an "ideal" body should look like, and in our society, that body for women, is usually, full busted, small waisted, with square shoulders, and a perky bottom. It is what our culture has accepted as the "ideal" body.
But we not only look at current magazines or films for reference as to what a women's "ideal" body should look like. We go back in time to great works of art and we take a look at sculptures, paintings and films and photographs of women from other times.
Yes, body ideals are not "permanent", ideals are very long "trends", and as we can see ideals change with time. The ideal woman used to be curvier in the 1950's, squarer in the 1980's, slimmer in the 90's and now we see more diversity and also a more "athletic" body as an ideal for both men and women. The famous six pack is selling more magazines now more than ever! By the way, I don't think women look good with an obvious six-pack, it's too masculine for my taste.
So if ideals are not written in stone, we can also help to change them. For example, I like to focus on values instead of on ideals. "Ideals" are mostly external, they are "dictated" by somebody else. Values can also change but they come from my own internal system. I am the one that sets them up, and they are usually rooted in my own sense of self. I value health, family, community, womanhood. And I strive to show that in the way I treat my body and the way I dress it. So because I value aesthetics, femininity and balance, I have learned a great deal about women's bodies, proportions and visual harmony.
But then again we should learn to come up with our own version of the "ideal" body shape, and the more similar it is to ours, the happier we will be! That is for sure!
These are a few tips and ideas for every body shape to achieve more balance visually:
- Hourglass: Emphasize the waistline, wear clothes that hug the body to show off its curves, but not too tightly.
- Triangle-Pear: Wear items such as jackets with details in the shoulders, such as shoulder pads or studs to help create balance with the bottom half, which is bigger.
- Inverted Triangle: highlight the bottom part of the body through the use of full skirts, pants with pockets to help match the broad top, and visually create balance.
- Rectangle: show off your great arms or legs, add belts to help visually create a waist. Wear pleaded pants and skirts. Avoid wide-leg or very loose trousers, these will create a boxy image rather than a curves.
- Round or Apple: Wear the same color on top and bottom. Emphasize bust line with use of square necklines. An use the empire cut on dresses and shirts to show off the smaller part of your torso, which is right under your bust-line.
Remember these are just a few tips to visually help create balance in your figure overall. The current ideal body should not be what dictates your clothing options. Knowing yourself and dressing for your own body shape is the best tool to feeling confident in your own skin!
About the Author of this post: This post was written and illustrated by Georgina Kenny. B.A. in Advertising and Image Consultant certified by the Fashion Institute of New York City, SUNY, New York City. Georgina is a contributor at New York Fashion Week and she writes for different online media about her favorite subjects: Women's Fashion and Style, Women's Body Image, Women's Emotional Health and Self-Esteem. If you would like to contact Georgina write an email to lookbookyou@gmail.com and we will put you in touch.
How does Color Analysis work?
We have talked about The Basics of Color and The Meaning of Color in previous posts. Let's continue with the ways in which we can identify our own personal colors! This is part 4 of the # 2 The 5 Keys to Dressing Well.
So do we really need to have an "expert" tell us which are our best colors? Not really, I don't think so. When I was studying at the University to become an Image Consultant, I took a special class with a renowned Color Specialist on Color Analysis, I learned how to do it professionally, and while I was doing it, I had my own Color Analysis done. It cleared many questions I had with regards to the use of color, but again, in the end it is how we implement what we learn that counts. So, sometimes we have a big colored lens trough which we see ourselves, and that doesn't help in having an unbiased analysis! So it isn't necessary but it certainly helps a lot to be "seened" by someone else, who can give us an honest and professional answer.
The process of doing a color analysis for someone focuses on three main characteristics of color: the undertones (hues), the depth (value) and the clarity (chroma) against a person's skin, eyes and hair.In that order, making the color against the skin the most important factor in determining which colors are flattering.
There are different systems used by color analysts to classify personal coloring:
The most used ones are The Seasonal System which classify people into (Winter, Summer, Spring and Autumn) and the other one classifying someone as (Light or Deep, Warm or Cool, Clear or Soft).
These two are the most widely used systems. I recommend the use of both, since they basically complement each other and give more useful information and more color choices as a result. As such we can describe our own personal coloring within these categories.
Our personal coloring changes with time, as we change. Color in our hair changes, we don't have the same hair color now than we did ten years ago, and we probably will not have the same color in ten years from now. The same happens with skin tone, but our skin tone changes seasonally as we increase and decrease sun exposure and tanning and whitening of the skin is its result. I will say that what remains more constant in our personal coloring is eye color, although we can see in very old people a lightening due to ageing of the eye. So which ever results we get now from our personal coloring analysis are valid as long as the hues (this don't change, unless we dye our hair a complete different color, and wear color contact lenses e.g.) the chroma and the value of our colors remain the same.
What I like to do for my clients is to give two groups of color options for their wardrobe, one to be used for the warm weather and one that can be used for cooler climates and grayer skies. I recommend most people to have this two palettes, especially if you like tanning, and get highlights in your hair during Summer.
Let's see to start with some personal coloring characteristics and main divisions, so that you can start familiarizing yourslef with, and see if you can identify with any of the following:
LIGHT - (you have a light value to your coloring, e.g. natural light color hair (blond, gray) light color eyes (pale blue, grey or light green) light eyelashes and almost no eyebrows. Your skin burns easily in the sun, and is delicate, porcelain like. Think Claudia Schiffer, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts.
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| Pic courtesy of: Eva Rinaldi |
DEEP - Dark colored hair, dark eyes, dark eyebrows and lashes. Your skin an either be whitish porcelain skin all the way to very dark. Think Catherine Zeta Jones, Eva Longoria, Penelope Cruz, Frieda Pinto, Winona Ryder, Keira Knightley.
WARM - Red tones in your hair, from strawberry blond to auburn. Your skin is warm.Your eyelashes and eyebrows are reddsih. You can have freckles. Eyes can either be green, brown or blue. Think Julianne Moore, Christina Hendrix, Heather Graham, Jessica Chastain.
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COOL - Hair has ashy tones, either dark brown, blonde, white or grey. Eyes are clear brown, green, grey or blue. Your skin is cool. You have a pinkish or blueish undertone. Think Meryl Streep, Judi Dench.
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| Pic courtesy of Caroline Bonarde Ucci |
CLEAR - Dark hair. Bright striking eyes, usually green, blue or topaz. Dark eyebrows and eyelashes. Your look is very contrasting from light to dark. Your skin can be any tone, from light to dark.Think Courtney Cox, Liv Tyler, Megan Fox, Emily Blunt.
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| Pic courtesy of: Joella Marano |
SOFT - Dark blonde or light brown hair. Eyes can be any color, but are a soft shade and can change color with the weather. Little contrast between hair, skin and eye color. You can identify certain characteristics of yourself in the other five dominant types. Think Kylie Minogue, Kate Hudson, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Rachel MacAdams, Natalie Portman, Beyonce.
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| Pic courtesy of Tom Sorensen |
It is possible you don't find yourself indentified with any of these main dominant types, and you don't think your coloring is similar to any of these actresses. I think it is a very good tool to look at pictures of all these women, so you can start picturing in your mind, the characteristics of each type.
Don't fret, this doesn't end here, it is a journey and we are on it together. So why don't you go and grab a coffee a few of your favorite pictures and see if you can identify any of these characteristics on yourself.
I will tell you all about the most important thing to pay attention when it comes to your personal coloring, in the next post...
Till tomorrow!
Find or Define your Personal Style - Part 3 of The 5 Keys to Dressing Well
"Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly" - Epictetus, AD 55–135.
Epictetus is one of my favorite philosophers. He was a Greek stoic, a "practical" philosopher, he viewed the role of philosophy as the guiding light for people to lead better lives. One of his teachings is that suffering occurs from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power. Well indeed, that which was written thousands of years ago, is still relevant today. How we "adorn" ourselves, is totally within our control, then we should strive to do it as best as we can. But first, as he says, we should answer the question: "Who am I?" Let's see if I can help you answer that question when it comes to your Style personality.
Fashion can be bought, anybody can dress fashionably, and it is not a matter of economic power anymore. Nowadays you can buy fashion at very affordable prices. And that means fashion is accessible to almost everybody. Along with the concept of fast fashion, the globalization, the outsourcing of factories to third world countries, and we know how that is going...I will discuss this further on another post. But we cannot deny that fast fashion as fast food, can be detrimental to us all, on the long term.
Fashion comes and goes mainly as Trends. Trends can be a new prints, new hem lines, new silhouettes, a new vibe, a hair color, a hair style, a color, a type of handbag, a type of shoe, a certain rule...etc, etc, etc, you just have to follow them and stick to the rules of the season, and you will be fashionably “uniformed”. But Style, comes from who you are, it is unique, it has no rules but yours, and no trends of the seasons. You are expressing who you are all the time, to the outside world, so it is imperative that you can identify your own style, therefore you won’t be swept away by every trend and fad that comes along.
Every time we get dressed we are asserting parts of our personality, we are asserting our identity. When we are aware of our own style, we dress putting our own selves first, we dress to tell others the story of who we are.
In the previous post I asked you to think about any Style Icons, that you may have. What did you think about that question? Was it hard?
How many people could you think of?
What do you admire in them? Do you identify some aspect of your personality with theirs?
Usually what makes people style icons is how they portray their uniqueness, they are not afraid to show the rest of the world, who they are. And they are not afraid to NOT FOLLOW. In fact, they are Non-followers, they don’t abide by somebody else's rules! They have their own! They have learned from others who they admired what was important in defining their style. They have a great sense of taste and proportion. They have a very strong sense of self, they are self confident, because they know what makes them great and they are not afraid of showing it, in fact they have learned how to showcase successfully those parts of themselves they are most proud of to the rest of the world!
How many people could you think of?
What do you admire in them? Do you identify some aspect of your personality with theirs?
Usually what makes people style icons is how they portray their uniqueness, they are not afraid to show the rest of the world, who they are. And they are not afraid to NOT FOLLOW. In fact, they are Non-followers, they don’t abide by somebody else's rules! They have their own! They have learned from others who they admired what was important in defining their style. They have a great sense of taste and proportion. They have a very strong sense of self, they are self confident, because they know what makes them great and they are not afraid of showing it, in fact they have learned how to showcase successfully those parts of themselves they are most proud of to the rest of the world!
You don’t necessarily need to be in show-business to understand the relevance of taking care of your image. But it is true that there are certain “careers” in which people are more aware, and have a primordial need to learn about Image and to find the ways of communicating effectively their own unique Style. We are all the stars of our own lives, so no matter what your job is, or who your Style Icons are, you can and will learn to define your own unique Style.
Think also about the brands or stores where you usually buy your clothes and accessories, do you think they match your personality? Grab a lookbook from that store/s and see if you can picture yourself in it? I am not saying that you have to look like a model, maybe you do, maybe you don’t, it is irrelevant. Can you see yourself wearing the looks put together in the lookbook? If not, why are you shopping there?
Now remember I asked you to find a brand or store you “ADORE”, find their lookbook, and see if you can picture yourself there? Do you get excited just thinking about it? Wouldn’t it be glorious if you had the chance to be on their lookbook? Wouldn’t you love to be dressed like that? If don’t feel that way then maybe you don’t adore that brand after all!
Do you think that sometimes you just like some items in a store, and you would never wear others? It happens, and if it is happening to you, that is a very good sign. I will tell you about that in the following posts. But for now, stick with me here and realize that we don’t have to “marry” a brand, we are just trying to define and find our own style. To do so successfully we need to understand why we are attracted to certain brands or style icons, or stores, and why we absolutely would never wear or dare to enter others.
That is our next step.
Try to find some brands or stores, or Style Icons, that you absolutely DO NOT LIKE. Think about what it is about them that you don’t like? Do they remind you of something? Don’t you like the way they put looks together in their displays? Don’t you like that maybe they are too “androgynous” or masculine, and you are quite the feminine romantic? Maybe it is the color palette they always use, is it too muted? Gloomy? And you are a Happy go Lucky kind of girl? Just think of what is it that doesn’t resonate with you, because usually it means we value the opposite characteristic. Understanding what you don’t like at all, is a very good way to find out about your style, in case you get stuck, and can’t think of anything, this is a great tool!
I will give you another tool that will help you to realize what your style is:
Ask somebody you trust and like, and that you admire for their own style. Usually we have a girl-friend who dresses uniquely, who has a very strong sense of self, and is confident enough to wear what makes her feel and look great! You don’t necessarily have to love the way she dresses, most probably you would never dress like her, but she does so effortlessly, or so it seems, she must know a thing or two! Talk to her, and ask her, How does she perceive you, in terms of the way you dress? Can she point to you some ideas about how you dress, or characteristics of your personality that she really likes? Those can help you define your style.
Remember we are all the time communicating who we are to others, so it is a great practice to ask somebody else: "How am I coming through?" Maybe she says that you have "kind of a grungy look"…and you actually view yourself as a feminine romantic who wished to come across as "girly and polished"… Then you might be doing something wrong! You are either not that much of a feminine romantic after all, or you are not dressing according to your personality. So think about any incongruences you find along the way.
Remember we are all the time communicating who we are to others, so it is a great practice to ask somebody else: "How am I coming through?" Maybe she says that you have "kind of a grungy look"…and you actually view yourself as a feminine romantic who wished to come across as "girly and polished"… Then you might be doing something wrong! You are either not that much of a feminine romantic after all, or you are not dressing according to your personality. So think about any incongruences you find along the way.
So by now, you should have a notebook or a mental note of lots of answers. Go through them, sort them out. Do a quick calculation, does any one idea or thing come up more times than others? Maybe you realized you always shop at The Gap for your clothes, and The Gap’s brand characteristics are simple and classic. Then you talked to your friend and she said according to her you are a "classic". That is definitely giving you a clue as to how you are dressing now. Think if that is really your own style. Are you communicating what you really want to communicate? Try to come with some conclusions as to what is your style.
Are you very confused?
Do not worry, I am here to help, and let me remind you of something Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, and I always need to remind myself:
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves”
Till tomorrow…keep posted, as more on Defining your Style is coming your way…
