My Journey to Chic Style

I should start this post with a disclaimer: I'm not claiming that I do have chic style and I admit that I'm still on the journey, however I think I've made a fair bit of progress over the last four years. I was prone to impulse buying, especially if I spotted something in a colour that I loved - regardless of whether the colour loved me back. I have always admired the effortless style of Frenchwoman and, judging by the number of Francophile blogs, I'm not the only one. Reading the many style blogs - one of my favourites being The Vivienne Files - I'm now more aware of what colours and styles suit me, also helped by taking part in 7 Steps to Style and having had various colour and style consultations over this period.

Me in Paris - trying to look Parisian!

An example of a dress that I loved the look of when I saw it in the sales, but on reflection it didn't really flatter me.

Too long, too dark and an unflattering shape

I've realised that I was wearing red accessories in both these photos, which I think helped to improve the overall look of the outfits, especially as it is a colour that suits me. Four years ago I was wearing mostly cooler colours, having been told that I was a "winter" or even a "jewel winter" in seasonal colour analysis. I went for a style analysis too and was told that I am a "Natural Gamine", which I definitely think describes my style. My current style recipe, developed whilst doing the 7 Steps to Style, is "Colourful Casual Chic with  a little bit quirky and a Parisian influence." Note that I said "current", as I reserve the right to change it over the next few years as my style develops.

Apart from creating my style recipe, which takes into account my lifestyle as well as my personal style, I have learnt about value and colour contrast, which helps explain why some combinations are more flattering on me than others. I am high value contrast (dark hair and eyes with pale skin), but low colour contrast. I also know that softer, warmer colours suit me more than brighter, cooler colours now that I am becoming older. While doing the 7 Steps to Style, I was told by Imogen that my colouring is warm, deep and smoky: in her system I'm an Enigmatic. This was reinforced by Maria of Looking Stylish, who said that my dominant colour family is warm, with a secondary of soft, and Karen of Colour Elements who told me that I am Earth:air.

Once I discovered the best colours and styles for me, I had to look at my existing wardrobe to see which (if any!) of my clothes met these criteria. Obviously I couldn't afford to throw everything out and replace them with more flattering choices, so how could I make the most of my wardrobe? I gradually realised that the key was to build a capsule wardrobe of clothes that suited me and went well together, plus accessories in my most flattering colours, especially when it came to necklaces and scarves worn close to my face.

I mentioned The Vivienne Files earlier and most of my inspiration came from Janice's helpful posts. The one that I linked to above is the first of a series showing how to build a capsule wardrobe from scratch. This particular capsule is perfect for someone like me, as the colours are ones that I like and that suit me, plus it's very casual whilst still looking chic. There aren't any dresses in it, however having shown a dress above that didn't suit me I thought it would be interesting to post a photo of one that is far more flattering. I may very well wear it tomorrow as we're going out for lunch and dancing: one of the few occasions when I don't necessarily wear my "uniform" of trousers and tops!

I hope this post explains how my wardrobe has evolved since I first started blogging in 2012. My journey to chic style is far from complete, and I plan to continue sharing it with you all. As always, I look forward to reading your comments.

Building my capsule wardrobe - which neutrals?

Although we are fortunate enough to still be enjoying good weather in Spain, I have started thinking about creating my capsule wardrobe for autumn (fall to my American friends!) and winter. A forthcoming trip to London next month is adding to my sense of urgency, as I should be able to buy a few clothes in petite sizes there to include in the capsule.

A quick glance at my existing wardrobe shows that I have three neutrals from last year that could form the basis of a capsule wardrobe: navy, grey and brown. I also have a few items in olive green that could be used as a neutral. I'm phasing out any black items as I realise they no longer flatter my colouring.

I've been following Project 333 for a long time now and, although I do bend the rules a bit, I try to adhere to a 33 piece capsule wardrobe for each season of the year. My Autumn 33 therefore is due to start at the beginning of October. My initial reaction to Project 333 was "Wow! 333 items of clothing!", however the idea is to restrict yourself to 33 items to cover 3 months, which for some of us is quite a challenge.

I have learnt that having a good number of neutrals in my wardrobe will give me greater flexibility than my original rainbow-coloured wardrobe did. If I choose the right accent colours and neutrals, in theory every top should go with every bottom in my capsule.

Now I'd like your help! Below I show pictures of myself wearing the different neutrals and I'd be interested in hearing which one(s) you think flatter me the most. First up is navy.

 

What I've discovered is that navy on its own is a bit dark for me, though the lighting makes these navy items look slightly darker than they are in real life. I definitely need some contrast and I think the red is probably the best contrast in the outfits above.  Next up is grey, with three (not 40) different shades of grey.

 


I also have grey trousers, however I'm looking here for the effect each neutral has when it's close to my face. The last photo is charcoal grey so may look like black.

I don't have many olive clothes, but I'm wondering if the top and cardigan in the following photos are flattering on me and whether I should consider making it one of my key neutrals.

 


The last photo above is a combination of brown top and olive trousers, which neatly takes me to the final option, which is of course brown. When I was younger brown featured in my wardrobe on a regular basis but then it went slightly out of favour when I was told I was a Jewel Winter, with no browns in my swatch.  I've re-introduced it recently, so do you think it should make my short-list of neutrals?

There are different shades of brown in the photos above so you may feel that one shade is more flattering on me than the others.

If you are unsure which neutrals look best on you, you might like to try a similar exercise. Take some photos of yourself wearing different neutrals then look at them carefully to discover which colours flatter you the most. Studying the above photos, I think two of the neutrals suit me more than the others. I'd love to hear what your thoughts are though to see if we agree!

My summer holiday capsule

We're half-way through June, though going by our recent weather here in Spain you might not think so! For many people it's time to start thinking about their summer holidays, especially if they have school age children. Being retired, John and I can choose to go on holiday any time of the year, though we tend to go away in March and September, which are our birthday months and which have the advantage of usually being a bit cheaper. 

Other bloggers have started posting their travel capsules, often with the aim of travelling with hand luggage only, and many of them are based around neutrals with very little colour to break the monotony. This is of course a very sensible, practical approach, which I commend to you.  You will look stylish and your outfits will co-ordinate beautifully plus you won't have to face that dreaded last day of the holiday where the only clean clothes left clash horribly. Yes, I've been there in the past!

I decided to share my travel capsule too. I know I should take a similar approach, but when I'm on holiday I like to wear colourful clothes. I have several navy and dark grey tops and bottoms, which could form the basis of a sensible holiday wardrobe, but my coral and teal tops will be the first items on my packing list. I plan to use dark brown and stone as my neutrals - so I am learning to be a bit more restrained - but I will throw in colourful scarves and jewellery to relieve the boredom.  

This holiday capsule is based around colours that I have now learnt (through following the 7 Steps of Style system) will flatter my colouring, with clothes that fit my style words of "Colourful casual chic".  My choices probably wouldn't be your choices - unless you're an Enigmatic with a similar style and body to me. What I'm trying to do in this blog is to encourage you all to discover your own style personality and find your best colours and shapes. Remember always: don't do as I do, do as I say!

Today I wore an outfit that won approval from other members of the 7 Steps to Style facebook group, so as well as the clothes shown above I will pack this dress for going out to dinner. The shoes are almost identical to the nude pair of ballet flats shown above and, although the bag isn't the same colour, it's a similar style. The shrug and four tops shown in the above picture are the ones I actually own, whereas the other items are the nearest I could find on Polyvore.

Do you belong to the "pack as much as you can in case you need it" brigade, or are you someone who plans carefully and manages to get away with hand luggage only?

PS (Just for Juhli!) These are the clothes that I packed for my holiday in France last year.  As you can see, the colours were brighter and cooler than the ones I've chosen here. They are close to Winter in the old seasonal colour systems, whereas Enigmatic colours are deep, soft and warm.

New Year Style Challenge: 10 pieces, 1 week of style

This mini challenge within the New Year Style Challenge is timely, as I will be flying to London a week on Saturday. The idea is to select ten items of clothing, including shoes, to create interesting outfits for the next week. Although most of the tops shown below are colourful, the trousers, shoes and shoulder bag that I will be taking are all neutral.

A couple of these tops are fairly basic, however I will pack some chunky necklaces and scarves, which will help to add some interest. The silver grey cascade cardigan will be worn with my blue three-quarter sleeved top and also with the pink short-sleeved top,

The trousers shown above are charcoal grey and the shoes are navy blue.  I now have to confess that, although these are my clothes for the week, I will also have the outfit that I plan to travel in, giving me my favourite navy denims and a pair of grey boots to add to the mix. I will check the weather forecast before I pack: if it shows cold weather in the UK, I will wear a thicker cardigan under my winter coat as well as warm gloves and a scarf.

As you can see my travel capsule is a casual one, which is consistent with my personal style of casual chic.  I would like to think I am going to look chic too - no doubt my daughters will give me their verdict on that!

Creating wardrobe clusters - clusters 3 and 4

I started so I thought I'd better finish! Here are the last two clusters, based upon my black jeans and grey pencil skirt.  In the previous post I showed you my completed form, which Janice of The Vivienne Files kindly sent to me. If you click on the above link and ask her nicely, I know she'll oblige you too.

It's interesting to look at the differences between Janice's clusters and mine.  Hers are based more heavily on neutrals (though she's not averse to a pop of colour) and ooze class and elegance. Mine are far more casual and you can see how much I love colour, though there are neutrals there too. Vive la différence!

First up is my Cluster 3, where I started with my black M&S Sculpt and Lift straight legged jeans. You must admit that is a tempting description for any over 60 woman who isn't as firm as she used to be! I selected another three tops specifically to go with these jeans, though I can wear many of the tops in the other clusters with them.

Coincidentally, when I looked at Janice's blog for the link, I spotted that she just written a post based upon a Picasso painting, though not the one above.

Finally here is Cluster 4, starting with a grey pencil skirt, which I wear for the occasional smart occasions that I attend. I've only shown a couple of accessories from each cluster - the full list is given in my previous post.

As regular readers will know, I am trying to stick to 33 items of clothing for the next three months as part of Project 333. I have used 21 garments within these 4 clusters and as you can see I could easily swap them around to form different clusters and obviously create even more outfits.

I have to admit that when I first started writing this blog my wardrobe was not as versatile as it is now.  I suspect that a year ago it would have been impossible to create one cluster from my clothes, never mind four! If you are planning to clear out your wardrobe (New Year's resolution anyone?) then this system could prove very helpful in selecting your best pieces to keep and working out which items aren't working and should be discarded. Or, like Robin, next time you are planning a holiday you can use it to assemble your travel wardrobe.

What's your fashion personality?

I was reading an on-line article this morning, in which the fashion writer described four different fashion personalities: classic, romantic, trendy and casual. I was surprised that she only described four, as having looked at several other fashion blogs I would have included vintage, quirky and dramatic if not more. Then there are some of us who have several different fashion personalities lurking in our wardrobes so schizophrenic is probably the closest match for us!

When I worked in an office most of my clothes were classic, though I generally preferred trouser suits to skirt suits, as I've always been a bit of a tomboy. Anyone who has seen my Winter wardrobe for Project 333 will have noticed that there was one winter dress, two skirts, five pairs of jeans and trousers, plus a trouser suit. Now that I don't work outside my home I have developed a distinctly more casual style, though I do like to wear smart skirts or dresses occasionally. The outfit above is what I wore in Paris when we went out for a meal on my 65th birthday.

The following outfit though is what you are more likely to see me wearing. It underlines the fact that if you had to define my current style using one of those four categories it would be casual.

I've hardly ever worn romantic fashions, as being 5'1" too many ruffles and frills would overwhelm me, plus I'm not really a girly girl. I wouldn't describe myself as a trend-setter either, though if the latest trend is one that I like I may buy into it, in small doses.

It is also worth considering the negative connotations of the four fashion personalities. Classic can easily become boring. Romantic may verge into fussy or dowdy. Trendy is in danger of becoming a fashion victim. As for my casual personality, I must take care that I don't become too sloppy, which is why I aim for casual chic.

I think it can be useful to define your own style and it certainly makes it easier when you go shopping. On the other hand you don't want to get stuck in a style rut. In "Parisian Chic", Inés de la Fressange says that she often dresses in black or navy with a white shirt, but sometimes on a whim she will surprise everyone by wearing a fuchsia pink blouse. For me, it's that surprise element that makes fashion so much fun.

Mixing it in the office

It's a long while since I worked in an office - over five years, in fact - unless you count sitting in front of the PC at home. After yesterday's fun mixing and matching in Polyvore, I thought I would continue playing today, but with an office environment in mind. I decided that the starting point would be a classic and comfortable skirt, but it took me a long while to find one that I would have been happy to wear to work. Mini-skirts? No, not even in the fairly relaxed office where I used to work. Midi-skirts? Definitely not, as they aren't a flattering look if you're 5'1". Finally, I found one that was suitable, which I decided to wear with the coral jacket that took my fancy yesterday. 

Next I looked for a classic white shirt to wear with my office outfit. I spotted one that I liked the look of, but then I discovered that it was dry clean only! Hello? Who would want to buy a white shirt that has to be dry cleaned? I was also surprised by how many white tops were cropped (another definite no!) or far too frilly for my taste. I eventually had to settle for a short-sleeved white top, and I also chose a striped top for an alternative look.

This time there are only two items that cost more than 100€. No peeping: decide which two items you think are the most expensive ones before scrolling down. 

I ruled out trainers (our office wasn't quite that casual) but ballerinas make a second appearance, albeit in a different shade. It's summer so I've included a pair of shades, though in the UK I probably wore a light jacket and bright scarf as often as I wore sun glasses even in the summer months.

The pair of kitten heels from  L.K.Bennett is the most expensive item at 185€ and the Chesca Linen Skirt from John Lewis costs 135€.  I could be tempted by those heels as they are just the right height for walking round the shops, but I would definitely need to give them a test drive first at that price! I have shown a few different accessories to illustrate how easily you can change your look, and many of the items in the previous post could also be worn with this skirt. I think we are on our way to building a capsule wardrobe!