As an addendum to How to Dress in an Arctic Office, I’d like to talk about layering when you’re not working in an office, but you’d still like to maintain a great presence when the temperatures vary vastly throughout the day. For example, how do you dress when you start your day starts at a cool 60°, then the temperatures swell to desert highs? Again, layering! If you haven’t had the chance to read the last post on this topic, I’d mentioned that “layering” is such a buzz word, but it seems to leave us a little baffled unless we’re heading to the mountains, and yes, we all know how to layer with long johns! To make layering in the city easiest, be sure that you have a few basic, neutral camisoles/tanks and long sleeved t-shirts in your closet. Tissue weight t-shirts are the ultimate; you know, the ones you look at and think, “I can’t wear this. It’s see through!” You’ll also need a couple of jackets that aren’t from Lucy or REI. (This is where it gets a little tricky for us Colorado girls!) And if they’re (Read more...)

Recently several clients and friends have asked me how to deal with dressing in the summer with the vastly varying temperatures either going from: -Arctic office conditions to sweltering desert heat outside or -Starting the day off at a cool 65°F in the morning with the mercury rising to 95°F in the afternoon. While we’ve all heard that layering is crucial especially in Colorado, it can often be a bit of a nebulous concept that usually brings winter sports to mind versus dressing for an office day, out and about seeing clients, or even keeping up with the kids. In this post I’ll give you a few ideas for layering in the office. In my next post, we’ll talk about layering for business casual and casual environments. If your office is extremely frigid due to air conditioning that just won’t quit, (why they can’t get a handle on this in 2010 I’ll never know,) start each day with either a camisole or tank top. These aren’t your weekend/work out pieces, because depending on how insanely hot it is outside you may be stripping down to this layer at some point. (Keeping this in mind, always be conscious of your bra straps.) Next add a cotton or (Read more...)

I'm always astounded how quickly time flies between my spring and fall trend reports, but here we are again! As with the last few seasons, we're continuing to see many classic garments. However, this fall designers have gotten extra creative with colors, textures and best of all, the way they've combined classics with trendier pieces. Since I specialize in professional dress, I always hesitate to use the word "trend." Adopting trends doesn't necessarily deem you trendy. Rather, think of it as new ways of updating your look to keep things fresh! The following is just a sampling of what awaits you in the stores. 

Colors

Purple-from amethyst to deep plum. Red-mostly a tomato red, great for blondes and brunettes with warm coloring. More colors include russet, (brown with a tinge of red,) burnt orange and of course, black.

Lace

From heavy lace garments to lace trims. If a lace blouse seems like too much for you, consider wearing it under a jacket or sweater with only the collar and cuffs peeking out.

Belts

Although all widths of belts remain popular, the newest widths are approximately 2 inches and very skinny. Look for (Read more...)