Style Clinic: How to Look Fabulous All the Time, at Any Age, for Any Occasion

275 Pages·2009·12.67 MB·English

by  Paula Reed

S TY L E
C L IN I C
HOW TO LOOK
FABULOUS ALL THE TIME,
AT ANY AGE,
FOR ANY OCCASION
PAULA REED
FOR CHLOE, MARGOT, AND PATRICIA
THREE VERY STYLISH GIRLS
vi INTRODUCTION
HOW THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU: A STYLE PRIMER
1 1 • WARDROBE REHAB
What to Keep and What to Ditch
Know Your Style
11 2 • WARDROBE BASICS
What Every Wardrobe Needs
How to Take on a Trend
Reasons to Renew
Fashion’s Fab Four: How to Get More Bang for Your Basics
33 3 • FASHION’S ALL-TIME FAVORITE WARDROBE FIXERS
The Classics
A Quick Color Fix
55 4 • FIGURE FLATTERY
First Things First: Know What Is Fabulous for You
S
How to Find the Best Fit
T Top-to-Toe Troubleshooting
83 5 • DRESSING YOUR AGE
N
The New Rules
E Some Thorny Issues Solved
The Generation Trap
T
109 6 • SECRETS OF THE SUCCESSFUL SHOPPER
N Some Useful Lists
What You Need to Know Before You Spend
O
The A to Z of a Savvy Shopper
C
127 7 • HOW TO CHOOSE A COAT
The Perfect Coat Capsule Wardrobe
Figure Warnings
A Perfect Coat for Every Occasion
151 8 • HOW TO CHOOSE A SUIT
Suit Strategy for Every Situation
161 9 • ESSENTIALS: THE PERFECT PANTS
Ten Undeniable Trouser Truths (Regardless of Your Shape)
Tricky Trouser Shapes
181 10 • ESSENTIALS: THE IDEAL DRESS
The Right Dress: For Work, for the Weekend, and for Evening
Choosing the Best Dress for Your Figure
The Little Black Dress
201 11 • ESSENTIALS: THE SKIRT FOR ALL SEASONS
The Right Skirt: For Work, for the Weekend, and for Evening
How to Choose the Best Skirt for Your Figure
215 12 • ACCESSORIES
Shoes
Handbags
Jewelry
Hats
Belts
Gloves
Hosiery
The Last Word
257 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CREDITS
COVER
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
I N T R O D U C T I O N
HOW THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU: A STYLE PRIMER
I’VE BEEN A FASHION EDITOR for twenty In all the red-carpet, backstage, and front-
years now. I’ve worked in London and New York, row comings and goings in all that time, the
zigzagged the world over at the merest hint of women who made a splash in their seasonal
a hot trend, used planes like buses in pursuit big-ticket items blend into a blur of fashion
of the latest style icons, and spent more hours blah. The stylish standouts are memorable still:
than I care to count waiting for the unveiling of the sixty-year-old Frenchwoman in tuxedo suit
the coolest fashion happening. I was there for and heels making the rest of us in puffy dresses
John Galliano’s first show and shed a tear at Yves feel overdressed at a party in Paris; somebody’s
Saint Laurent’s last. And, after years of front- assistant looking so cool in jeans and her
row fashion show action and privileged access, I grandmother’s jewelry when the rest of us were
can tell you, ladies, that in a world of “it” bags, having our gothic Japanese moment; the coltish
must-haves, and seasonal waiting lists, one thing gatecrasher bouncing into one of those trophy
I know for sure is true: Fashion is a fleeting store openings on Madison in ballerina shoes and
pleasure. Style is like an enduring affair with bright orange Birkin bag when power suits and
someone who loves you back. heels were the uniform du jour.
Real style, the kind that stops you in your
tracks, is a thing some baby girls are just blessed
with. It’s in their DNA. Like flawless skin or
a high-speed metabolism, they can take for
granted what the rest of us have to work at. The
good news, for those of us who have to work
at it, is that style is an achievable goal. And
before we go any further, let’s get one major
misconception straight: You don’t need a lottery
win to have it. In fact, a big budget often leads
only to that tragic codependency that makes own rule book is what stands between you and
fashion conglomerates Fortune 500 companies another fashion mistake. Remember: True fashion
and turns otherwise fabulous females into fabulousness lies in your own personal style.
label victims. This is not a textbook. You don’t become
Diana Vreeland, legendary editor of Harper’s perfectly dressed when you get to the last page. A
Bazaar and American Vogue, once said “Elegance few shopping lists and bullet points will give you
is refusal.” In simple terms, success is about is ideas where to start. But don’t lose heart. No one
knowing what works for you and what would is born with an instinct about how to dress for
look better on someone else (maybe someone every occasion. Even for the innately stylish, this
with another body, or just another life). Unless is a skill that evolves over time, a confidence that
you can learn this, fashion will always fail you. comes from a constant process of trial and error.
And, no matter how many clothes you have, your Throughout that process, this book will be your
wardrobe will have the last laugh in a fashion guide: a friendly insider who won’t freak you out
crisis. On the other hand, with a little basic skill, by speaking fashion gobbledygook. No one is
deftly applied, you can have the confidence that going to insist you shoulder up to Kate Moss on
comes with knowing that what you put on in the the style grid. But every woman owes herself the
morning looks great and, regardless of what your simple pleasure of dressing well. Surrendering to
day might bring, need never be given another frumpery is not an option.
moment’s thought. So, if your wardrobe is a throwback to
This book is about helping you to get to the another time in your life (pre-baby, weight loss/
point where looking great is easy. It will offer tips gain, new job, relationship), or it’s a muddle
and guidelines to help you find your way through of old favorites, or you find yourself saying it’s
the acres of choice. It’ll reacquaint you with some worked so far, why change it, step up for an
simple fashion rules that somehow are forgotten overhaul. Beyond fashion there is a style that will
in the rush to bag a big new trend. Having your do your uniqueness justice.
“STYLE IS VERY
FROM
ONCE YOU FIND
THAT WORKS,