Strands of pearls and long necklaces are ever so stylish right now. However as an image, wardrobe and style consultant, I’ve consulted with a few bigger busted women who just aren’t sure if these necklaces will complement them. Without a doubt, you can wear necklaces…use the following tips to wear necklaces to add to not only your personal style, but your professionalism to boot! When it comes to long necklaces, you need chunky styles and those with multiple strands. Single strands and delicate chains with pendants will just fall into your cleavage-not where you want attention for business. If your preference is for shorter necklaces, chunky is still the way to go. Be sure it sits well below your collar bone. (In pearls, this length is often called opera length.) Your goal with this necklace is to balance your proportions and create a V or U shape, which brings attention to the middle of your body. The eye then naturally goes up to your gorgeous face. I urge you to try these tips. Accessories are truly magical!

Butter Cream, Lavender Sorbet, Strawberry, Peach Melba—Close your eyes and envision these ice cream colors. Now open the pages of your favorite magazine or better yet, walk into your favorite store and you’ll find these sumptuous colors and more. If you’ve been yearning to add more color into your mostly neutral wardrobe, this is the year. For several recent seasons, the fashion industry told us color was back in style, but there still wasn’t much in the stores. Well, it’s finally here. Choose from the updated pastels mentioned above along with almost every bright color you can think of. Wondering how to add color into your professional wardrobe without looking like a walking Popsicle? It’s best to add color as an accent to your mostly neutral basics. Consider a soft coral blouse paired with a tan suit. Or if you’re a brave soul, tuck a bright yellow shell under a white jacket. If you work in a business casual environment, think about adding a bright jacket or two into your wardrobe. Royal blue looks sharp with either black or white! Another option? Depending on your office and industry, try a colorful dress topped with a neutral jacket or cardigan.

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...)

In my chapter from “Image Power,” How to Shop Like a Pro and Look Like a Million Bucks, I am adamant about buying complete outfits; however, today I’m going to talk about breaking that rule with accessories. It is perfectly fine to buy an accessory in your favorite color without having something to wear with it. If it’s a color you’re absolutely drawn to, chances are good you have it in your wardrobe or you’ll buy it in the future. For example, I am crazy for purple, usually a dark shade versus one that is light or muted. I once saw a pair of shoes in DSW in kind of a berry tone. They were very cool and a fantastic price. I couldn’t think of one thing I could wear them with, but I thought, “What the heck,” and took the plunge. I wear them all of the time! (Right now as a matter of fact!) I originally wore them with a printed, silk dress that had various shades of purple. The other day, I wore them with a charcoal gray dress with a border print of mauves and berries. Today, they’re sassing up a charcoal gray skirt and plaid trench (Read more...)

The Groundhog saw his shadow, so we're in for at least 6 more weeks of winter. Considering that in Colorado we can have 60 degree days in February and snowstorms in spring, that doesn't mean a lot to us. How can you dress for such crazy weather? Read below for both professional dress and casual solutions for layering. I'm a huge fan of layering, especially with jackets.  Given the shortage of long sleeved blouses and short sleeved shells in the stores, we're presented with a challenge when we want to take our jackets off. Luckily, fashion has taken a turn and given us a solution that works for everyone no matter what your personal style. We're seeing ¾ length and long sleeved, lightweight, button-up cardigans worn underneath jackets. When you get a little warm, instead of suffering, simply shed the jacket and you still have a layered look that's appropriate without losing your authority and credibility. The following are a few ideas to try: * A lightweight printed cardigan over a collared blouse worn under a suit jacket. It's a great way to add life to a basic suit. * A lightweight, round necked, cardigan buttoned to the neck over a camisole worn with (Read more...)

As a wardrobe and image consultant, I specialize in professional dress, but I almost always work with my clients on their casual wardrobes once we’ve gotten their work clothes in order. Here’s a trend I’ve been seeing  a lot in the magazines lately—shirt dresses worn open over a top and pants all topped by a cute casual jacket. I love the idea of this casual shirt dress; it can be worn so many ways: -Duster style as mentioned above. -Belted and buttoned over a camisole and leggings with or without a jacket. -As a tunic over jeans or cropped pants or -Simply as a cute spring dress with sandals. I'd love to hear what you think of this trend. How would you wear this shirt dress? (Please post comments below, thanks!)

You might read the title Delish Demure and wonder what in the world I’m talking about. Well, Delish Demure is a world of all things womanly, girly and absolutely fabulous! It’s a new (2008) Greenwood Village, boutique I visited with a client on Saturday. Walking in the front door you’re immediately taken in by the hot pink walls, the very cool crystal chandeliers and the sparkling white marble floor. And although the shop isn’t huge, you’ll want to stay there all day. Along with the inviting interior, the clothes are fabulous, too! Even in post holiday sale mode, there was plenty to choose. As a wardrobe consultant, I try to encourage my clients from wearing all black, and here there is far more color than I have seen in almost any store recently. What also sets this boutique apart is the range of sizes-they don't stop at size 4 like so many local boutiques. Owner, Lauren Metz, has her finger on the pulse of what women want. She told me she buys for women, 40-60; however, her high school aged helper modeled pieces that she couldn’t wait to buy. There’s something for all categories of your life: work, play, evenings out, relaxing and (Read more...)

The other day I read a blog post where the blogger was talking about how she’s tired of the old New Year’s adage, “New Year, New You,” and the term “make-over.” She proposed, “New Year, Better You,” and “make-better.” I couldn’t agree with her more. Isn’t our goal to continually improve ourselves or freshen up an aspect of our appearance? As an image/wardrobe consultant, I never aim to completely change someone’s look, rather I help them enhance and make the absolute most of what they have. Then I read a great article in the January issue of Harper’s Bazaar, Reinvent Yourself by Teri Agins. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the article: “But most of us just want to polish and maximize who we already are, and what better time than the present? With all its visual impact, fashion is always a good place for a new start.” “When you are well dressed and fierce, it's life enhancing for you and all the people around you," declares Simon Doonan, creative director at Barneys New York. She goes on to suggest taking your personal style and pumping up the volume. For example, if you love dressing glamorously for evening, (Read more...)