Friday 12 April 2019

21 Steps to a More Stylish You

Regular readers will know how much I enjoy doing style courses in the hope that one day I will become super stylish! My latest attempt has been the most intensive yet, as it contains 21 steps. At the time of writing I'm on step 15: prints and texture.

The topics covered so far include style personality, lifestyle and age, colour, levels of refinement, style goals, the golden ratio and the ideal silhouette. The on-line course is being run by Sylvia of 40+ Style along with Ruth, who is a UK based stylist. If you click on the link you will find many helpful articles as well as information about joining the Style Club.

Most of us know about colour analysis and have some idea whether we have warm or cool, soft or bright and deep or light colouring. Or do we? Having been told in the past that I was a Winter, more recently the consensus has been that I have warm colouring! I won't mention the make-up consultation that I had on a recent trip to London though, where I was told that I have cool colouring....! Putting that on one side (I'm guessing that I'm a border-line case) my lifestyle is clear, as is my age and body shape. My style personality when I did a style analysis was Natural Gamine, and my own interpretation is colourful casual chic. I think the photo below sums me up well: definitely colourful, obviously casual and hopefully chic.


My lifestyle is very casual as I'm retired, plus I spend a lot of time walking my dog Lisa, going to exercise classes and sitting at my PC writing blog posts, as well as reading other blogs. I do go to the theatre sometimes, as well as dining out with friends, so occasionally I dress up a bit more. I found the step on levels of refinement very helpful, as it described the types of clothes that fit into the five levels. Most of my wardrobe is level two (very casual or sports clothing) and level three (casual or smart casual), with a smattering of level four (very smart daywear or evening wear). 

Another helpful topic was the golden ratio, which is particularly relevant to those of us who are vertically challenged! Even when I buy petite tops, I have to take care that they don't cut me in half, giving me a 50-50 ratio, which can make me look wider and shorter. I often resort to wearing long cardigans or waistcoats (vests) to give me a more flattering silhouette.

Image may contain: Sue Walker, smiling, standing, shoes and indoor

The above photo highlights the use of a longer cardigan, plus a column of colour, to create a more flattering shape. I am also using a touch of my favourite red in the scarf plus my bag.

I am in the process of going through my spring and summer wardrobe and already it has become apparent that I have lots of colourful tops and mainly neutral trousers. Not exactly a surprise to those who know me. At the same time, I will be going back to step 13 (closet edit) and step 14 (what's missing?).  All of this has to be completed over the next few weeks, ready for a trip to Paris and London at the beginning of May, with the aim of blending in with all those super stylish Parisians and Londoners!

10 comments:

  1. Good to see you posting again! Our style journeys are ongoing aren't they. You look great in both outfits.

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  2. Good to see you on your own 'turf', Sue. An amazing journey all this styling is and it seems I/we need to double back more than once. I don't have your colouring but I do identify with a lot of your challenges!

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    1. Thanks Ellen. It's amazing how much there is to learn!

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  3. Great to see your post and the two outfits you show suit you very well. What an ongoing process this styling lark is!

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    1. Thanks Caryll. As you say, it's definitely an ongoing process!

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  4. I think I sort of found an even keel and decided what I had was "good enough." I did purge my closet a little, but your comments about levels of refinement--that is what trips me up. What I love are pieces in the higher levels. Like you, I am retired and simply don't need or wear them with a few exceptions. I need to work on being a little more chic at Levels 2 and 3. Glad to see you posting.

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  5. Thanks Robin. I am trying to purge my closet at the moment, particularly my summer clothes. The "remove what you haven't worn during the last 12 months" rule is fine, until it comes to dresses. I have several level four dresses that I hardly wear, however they are useful when it comes to weddings, for example, so they're going to stay there!

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    1. Also great to see you posting again. With the "12 month rule" if someone lives in a seasonal climate I wonder if it should be a "15 month" rule to see if you wear item in a year's time in the same season. Carol S

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    2. Thanks Carol. That's a very good point! There are a couple of items that I'm hesitating over now that I'm going through my summer wardrobe - I might include them this time, however if I don't actually wear them they will go out at the end of the season!

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