The other day, I read the advice that to keep your closet fresh, your clothes should be 70% classic and 30% trendy. I thought this made sense, but I have a couple of tweaks. Thirty percent trendy is a pretty big chunk of your closet. Trendy clothing is extreme and won't last more that a season or two. It could be expensive to replace 30% of your wardrobe every year! Instead, I recommend 10% trendy and 20% fashion forward. Fashion forward clothing is interesting and fun. These pieces are not necessarily classics, but you won't look out of date wearing them a few years down the line. That brings us to the classics, styles that will be fashionable for at least 5-10 years. Some classics can be worn even longer, but truly, there is no classic that can be worn "forever." Silhouettes and fabrics change over the years, and it's important for your image to wear updated, modern silhouettes. I also like to advise my clients to make sure that most of their classics are also basics. Basics are pieces that are relatively simple without a lot of design details. They combine easily with the highly styled garments and allow you to (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...)