As you can probably guess, one of my favorite television shows is TLC’s What Not to Wear. One of Stacy and Clinton’s favorite mantras is when you wear clothes that fit your body, you look smaller. In other words, wearing loose or baggy clothes will make you look larger than you are. Within the realm of “clothes that fit your body” there are many variations. One of the fits that flatters most bodies is semi-fitted. For today’s post, I want to sing the virtues of the semi-fitted top. “Semi-fitted” is just what it sounds like. It’s not tight and it’s not loose, a.k.a. baggy. These tops hint at your body shape without showing it off or flaunting it. Hence, this is a great style for business, too. Semi-fitted tops best flatter women with a straighter waistline and women who have a tiny bit of a tummy. No matter what physical shape you’re in, if you have a boyish waist line, wearing tops that are tight or hug your torso only emphasizes your lack of curves. Likewise, wearing a tight top over your belly emphasizes the curve of your stomach. Alternatively, semi-fitted tops, as you can see (Read more...)

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I got an e-mail the other day from Anthropologie and even after going to the web site haven’t been able to delete it. I absolutely love this look!  With this next statement, you'll think I'm crazy, but I could never wear the sweater (wrong green-wrong pattern-too bulky,) and I’m not crazy about plaid. What I like is the color combination, black/white/green. (I typically wear more of a lime or apple green over the grass green.) It’s a classic color combo and can be worn year round; And it’s perfectly professional (business casual) to boot!

The skirt? While I don’t love plaid, I again like the color combo—on the bottom. We so often see prints on the upper body-more difficult for us inverted triangles, (bigger on top than on bottom.) The other aspect of the whole look that I love is that it’s a touch retro. We’re going to be seeing a lot more skirt silhouettes for fall. This skirt is a cross between an A-Line and a Full

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Anyone who has lived in Colorado for very long knows that the weather changes nearly every day in March. As optimistic as we want to be, we also know that it will likely snow at least a few more times—in between our 60 degree days. All of these changes make it very difficult to plan our spring wardrobes and to know exactly when to shop for spring. As a wardrobe consultant and personal stylist, I work with professional women who need both professional clothing and business casual clothing. For both of these categories, I highly recommend shopping early in the spring season, March though April. You’ll notice that many of this season’s trends seem to be casual or business casual. If you have a business casual dress code at your office, now is the time to find some great upgrades to your wardrobe. Business professional updates require a little more creativity and caution this season. Update with color, dresses and accessories. In the market for a new spring suit? I encourage you to get it now. As early as it is in the spring season, I’m noticing the great suits are flying out the doors. Once they’re gone and we get closer to (Read more...)