French dressing

Like many bloggers, I do love a good pun, so what does French dressing mean to you? Something you put on your salads - or the way that French people dress? After my recent birthday holiday in France, I guess that this post could refer to either.

First of all salads, preferably with home-made French dressing rather than shop-bought mayonnaise, can be delicious if you use your imagination when creating them. Don't worry, I haven't suddenly turned into a cookery blogger. I'm just saying. One of the important things I noticed in France though was that, as well as seeing lots of interesting, tempting salads on the menus, the portion sizes were quite small. Is this the reason why French women don't get fat? Having read several books about this phenomenon, including the best-seller by Mireille Guiliano, I've realised that the common factor does seem to be portion control. You can drink wine and eats lots of delicious cheeses and even chocolate, but moderation is the key.

Back to fashion and my observations on the way that French women dressed in Toulouse and Bordeaux, assuming of course that the majority of the women I saw were French! I was a bit surprised at the lack of colour in French women's (and men's) outfits.  Yes I was visiting cities rather than coastal resorts but, although this was towards the end of summer, we had lots of sunshine and warm weather and we are after all talking about the south of France, not the northern city of Paris. Neutrals obviously rule in France - unless anyone has experiences elsewhere in France to say differently?

I can't recollect seeing any fat French women, although they weren't all skinny by any means. No doubt that was down to healthy eating and portion control, as mentioned earlier. I suspect that the dark neutrals helped a bit in this respect too.

Fashion-wise, I noticed lots of women including "femmes d'un certain âge" wearing skinny jeans plus stylish flats that looked really chic on them. As well as not wearing bright colours, most women seemed to wear a maximum of two different colours.  They also wore few accessories, although the scarf was omnipresent and I regretted not packing one. I felt slightly naked in comparison! The look of the French women that I saw walking about could best be summed up as "chic plus simplicity". The fact that I saw so many French women who were walking everywhere could of course be another clue to why they don't get fat!

Evolve Your Style

I just love a challenge, so when I read about Imogen's latest style challenge, Evolve Your Style,  I didn't hesitate to sign up for it. It costs $5US to take part and you will receive a daily email from Imogen, plus you can join a closed facebook group where you can post photos of your daily outfit for comments and advice from the other participants. They're a lovely, helpful bunch, I can assure you!

I'm not quite half-way (I've received 14 emails so far) and already there are people who are way ahead of me plus a few that have only just started.It's fine to go at your own pace.

These are the challenges so far, with a few of the outfits that I have worn.

Day 1: wear a Statement necklace.  Day 2: wear something you've had for a long time
Day 3: wear a scarf all day.  Day 4: wear something pink.

Wear a scarf all day

Wear something pink

Day 5: wear a dress.  Day 6: sparkle today

Day 7: mix textures.  Day 8: double up on necklaces

Day 9: wear a bold lipstick.  Day 10: wear 2 prints or patterns

Day 11: wear arm candy.  Day 12: change your hair

Double up on necklaces

Day 13: Be blue.  Day 14: wear coloured shoes.

I'll post more of the challenges plus some of the outfits I wore on particular days in a future post.  In the meantime, even if you don't officially join the Evolve your Style group, why not try a few of the challenges yourself?

Share in Style: Skirts or Pants?

I spotted this question on Une Femme's blog and couldn't resist joining in.  I'm sure that any regular readers will know my answer to the question: skirts or trousers? Pants is the American version of trousers by the way, and I used it above to make the title a bit snappier! Yes, my choice is definitely pants, trousers, jeans etc rather than skirts. I occasionally wear a dress and I do have a few skirts in my wardrobe but most times when I open my wardrobe I automatically reach for a pair of trousers.

There are several reasons why I opt for trousers. My style is natural gamine, so I tend to look more like me when I wear pants and jeans. My lifestyle is pretty casual, which again makes them the obvious choice. I am short and I think that wearing trousers gives me a longer leaner line than if I wore a skirt, which is why I will opt for a dress rather than a skirt on smarter occasions, as it has a similar effect.

I took a look at the photos that I've posted on here and, not surprisingly, there were very few of me wearing a skirt, so here's one hot off the press as it was only taken yesterday.

Featuring the lovely Lisa

Here's one that was taken over a year ago, showing how often skirts feature in my daily outfits!

The first thing I noticed was that I appeared slimmer in the more recent photo, in spite of over indulging with delicious food and wine on my recent holiday in France. I think that's because the top is more flattering on me.  I love stripes but vertical stripes (or hoops as my OH insists on calling them!) make me look broader rather than taller, plus I think the contrast between the pale top and darker skirt cuts me in half.

Here I am wearing a bright pink top with black linen trousers  - I'm not sure why my arms are like that! - which I think makes me look taller and slimmer than in the photo above it. Yes, there is still a contrast, but between two darker colours this time.

Finally, in the photo below I'm showing off my recent purchase, the patterned trousers, and trying to look slim with the help of a long scarf. I think I need a professional photographer though, or perhaps I should take more care with my posture, as my top half looks a lot bigger than my bottom half. However in my view this is the most flattering outfit.  I wonder if you will agree!

 What is your verdict? Skirts or trousers?

Time to shop or time to stop?

No doubt you've heard the expression: don't do as I do, do as I SAY! I try to give you good advice on this blog, but that doesn't mean that I'm perfect myself - far from it. The message I hope to get across is that you don't need to constantly buy new clothes, however that doesn't stop me from spending money on my wardrobe, though nowadays I always consider how any new purchases will fit in with my existing items of clothing. Believe me, that is a huge improvement!

Most of the summer sales are over now, so did you manage to resist temptation? I have to confess to a few additions to my wardrobe, but some of them were birthday presents, so they don't count do they? Being petite, I have problems finding clothes that fit me well. I know that I can turn up trouser legs and shorten sleeves, but that doesn't mean that the clothes look as good on me as if I buy from petite ranges, where the proportions are right for shorter women.

We were in Alicante on the first day of our holiday and it was two days' before my birthday, so John persuaded me to look in El Corte Ingles department store, as they stock Jones New York Petite and Zendra Petite ranges. It was the last day of their summer sales and he had no idea what I wanted for my birthday, so it was a desperate ploy! John bought me a striped top (I know I have several already, but not in this colour) and a pair of navy trousers, so he was relieved (especially at sale prices) and I was happy.

Here I am, wearing the new top with black linen trousers, when we went out walking on my birthday.

While walking around Toulouse city centre I spotted Jacqueline Riu, one of my favourite French stores, so we popped in for a quick look (OK, I dragged John in!)  I still wear a red sleeveless top that I bought in one of their Paris stores around 10 years ago, so I know that their clothes are well made and good value.  I found a black and white cropped cardigan, which John insisted on buying as an extra present, because the top and trousers had been such good bargains. The photo below is from their website, but as I'm petite and not a tall, slender model it doesn't look so cropped when I'm wearing it. I must admit that it's very convenient having a birthday just after the summer sales.....!

We also visited Monoprix where I made my final purchases: a blue long-sleeved top (similar to the blues in the Pantone palette below) and a blue and black patterned scarf.

If you didn't buy anything in the sales, are you being tempted by the new clothes arriving in your local shops for autumn and winter? Don't worry - I'm not going to tell you not to shop, however I'm going to advise you to look carefully at your existing wardrobe before making any purchases.

If you have warm deep colouring, autumnal colours in general will flatter you so it's a good time to make additions to your wardrobe. However I have been looking at Pantone's Autumn palette and it appears that those of us who suit cooler shades may find some of the new season's colours are suitable for us, though there are warmer shades there too and even a couple of lighter colours.

So to answer my original question: is it time to shop or time to stop? You are the only one who can answer that question. I've been trying to encourage you to build a capsule wardrobe and only to buy clothes and accessories that fit in with your current wardrobe and that also suit your personality and lifestyle. If any of the new arrivals in your local shops meet those guidelines, then who am I to tell you not to shop?