What are your Colour Elements?

No, I didn't know mine either - until I went to Stylist Live in London recently! I discovered the Colour Elements stand when I went to the Lead the Walk stand to buy our dog Lisa a stylish collar, although I had already made a note to look for it, as I was intrigued by the name.

I had a very enjoyable and enlightening chat with Karen from Colour Elements as she increased my knowledge of how colour works, as well as identifying my element of Earth:Air. I particularly like her aim of helping us to create a Lean Colour Wardrobe where clothes work together, which is what I hope to achieve in my own wardrobe.

The clothes that I was wearing were definitely right for my Earth element however Karen showed me how adding a touch of Air would look even more flattering. I loved the silk scarves that she had on display: the one in Earth colours is now on my Christmas present list (Santa, please note!)

Air

Earth

Fire

Water

Aren't these scarves lovely? Do you feel drawn to one in particular? The chances are that it is in the colours of your individual element.

Colour Elements have a free app that you can use if you have an iphone or ipad (sadly my smartphone uses android, though I have an ipad at the top of my birthday present list. Family, please note!) 

Don't despair though as there are still lots of ways for the rest of us to enjoy Colour Elements. I already have my colour script and have recently downloaded my colour profile, which is packed with helpful information. Every two weeks I will receive Instant Outfits for my element, which will provide me with inspiration for creating outfits in the colours that flatter me, plus the opportunity to click and buy. I will need to resist temptation most of the time though if I aim to keep my wardrobe "lean"!

Getting the most out of your wardrobe

After watching the Stylist Live Catwalk show - with all its tempting new clothes! - it seemed sensible to attend this talk: "The secret to getting the most out of your wardrobe". We were in the capable hands of Stylist's Fashion director Alexandra Fullerton and Candice Fragis, the Buying and merchandising director of Farfetch.com, both of whom I have to say looked very stylish.

Image courtesy of Stylist Live.

The first point that they made was that most of us wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, so how can we change this so that we wear most if not all of our clothes?

1.  Edit your wardrobe. Remove things that you don't wear.  Arrange it so that all your clothes are visible. Every three months pull out your favourite clothes and build a capsule around them. Three months is ideal as you will be moving into a different season. Note: most of my summer clothes are being put away as it is cold and raining in Spain! 

2.  Have a method: you might like to hang up all of your shirts together, all of your skirts and trousers, all of your winter tops. Alternatively, you might like to organise it by colour. Make sure there is method to your madness though!

3.  Think in terms of your outfits. Shop for your outfits: when you buy something new make sure that it will go with several existing items to make new outfits. Hang up in outfits (unless you have gone for a different method as described above). Definitely pack in outfits, and have at least two tops for every bottom when you go on holiday. 

4.  Invest in timeless classics, such as white shirts, a good blazer or biker jacket, plus quality jeans. They made the point that these aren't necessarily the classics that bloggers tell you must be in your capsule wardrobe! Candice's classics include cowboy boots, so create your own classics. Spend less on trends, though they are useful to make your classics look up-to-date. 

5.  Look after your clothes. Wear something till it wears out and then replace it, instead of being tempted to buy more of the same just because you love it. 

6. Choose quality over quantity. It's worth spending money on a good pair of jeans that will last longer than a pair of ripped jeans, or whatever the latest trend is. 

7. If it doesn't fit now, it probably never will! Harsh words, but true. If you haven't worn something over the last six months, you should either put it in a "holding pen" if you love it and it fits you, or discard it. 

8. When it comes to sales "bargains", ask yourself if you would still buy it if it was full price. Do you have anything in your wardrobe that it will go with? Do you really love it or are you contemplating buying it just because it's in the sales?

9. Their core essentials for working in an office are: a good pair of trousers; a pencil or midi skirt; a classic shirt, which doesn't have to be white if you don't look good in white; a blazer; a trouser suit that can be mixed and matched separately; a shift dress that you can wear with different accessories if going out after work: a crew neck jumper and a selection of blouses or tops. If you don't work in an office environment or, like me, are retired, then you might have different core essentials in your wardrobe.

10. Remember that you can be both practical and stylish! Buy a bag that can hold all your essentials, though you can also choose it in a colour that will update your outfits. Flats work well from day to night, so you can be comfortable as well as looking stylish.

I thoroughly enjoyed the talk and thought that Alexandra and Candice gave some excellent advice. Now all I have to do is put it into practice!

Latest trends: Stylist Live Catwalk

Stop press! Hold the front page! I've just returned from a flying visit to the UK to help my brother celebrate his 65th birthday. While I was in London I managed to visit Stylist Live, in order to discover the latest trends to share with my readers. The trends were: intergalactic, velvet goldmine, sportswear, the navy coat and spice world and all outfits are available on the high street plus on-line.

You may feel that over 60 women shouldn't be bothered about looking trendy - and I certainly don't recommend wearing the latest trends head to toe - however a nod to fashion can liven up your basics and (dare I say it?) stop you looking boring.

The catwalk show presented the trends in reverse order, so the first photos show Trend 5: Spice World. I wondered if the clothes were going to be outfits from the Spice Girls (Victoria Beckham?) however they turned out to be spicy colours. This is a great opportunity for those of us who have warmer colouring to go shopping.

 

 

Trend 4: The Navy Coat is good for those over 60s who are finding black a bit too harsh for their complexions. I'm the first one to put my hand up and admit to this! In some of the photos below you can see the navy coats being worn with accessories in warm colours, as navy looks good on people with warm colouring as well as cool colouring.

 

 

Trend 3: Sportswear is one that will appeal to those of us who like wearing casual, comfortable clothes. You probably wouldn't wear these outfits to the office or for going out to dinner, unless it was somewhere very casual, and it might not appeal to everyone. I'm tempted by the Adidas trousers, though knowing my luck they probably won't have them in petite sizes.

 

 

Trend 2: Velvet Goldmine is perfect timing with Christmas only a couple of months away! Why o why did I throw out that green velvet jacket? I'm trying to console myself with the thought that it was probably the wrong shade of green..... Wait! I do have a pair of burgundy velvet trousers, so I can still look trendy at any Christmas parties that I attend. You don't have to buy a velvet trouser suit to look on trend, as there are velvet bags in the shops that add a trendy touch to your outfits without spending too much.

 

Trend 1: Intergalactic isn't one that I'm likely to follow, as it's a bit too shiny for me. I don't need my wrinkles highlighting, thank you very much! I'd be surprised if many women of a certain age will be buying into this trend, though shiny bags and shoes are a good way to add a touch of silver to your outfits.

 

 

     

What about you? Do any of these trends appeal to you? Are you likely to be purchasing any of these outfits? As I've said before, even if you're not particularly interested in looking fashionable and prefer to just look stylish, it is useful to know what the latest trends are, as it provides clues to what you'll find in the shops. If a colour that suits you is trendy, then look for classic styles in that colour so that your clothes don't look outdated the following season. Don't spend a lot of money on something that may look out of date in a year's time.