Ask Dear Gaby

Hourglass shaped women have a well-defined waistline and fuller hips and bust (shoulders and hips are equal in width). Women with hourglass shapes can look sultry classy and elegant, depending on what they wear and by dressing in the most flattering way for their particular shape. Maryilyn Monroe is an example of a well known woman with a hourglass figure.

Since hourglass shapes typically have well-defined waists, drawing attention to your waist with a belt or a top with a fitted waist will accentuate this.A top or blouse with either a v-neck or scoop neckline looks great on women with hourglass shapes. Both styles slim the neck and chest and will you appear smaller and slimmer. Belted jackets, cardigans and wrap style coats work well for hourglass shaped women

The pant styles that work well for women with an hourglass shape are flat front trousers, boot cut jeans, high waisted jeans (see picture below),  pants or jeans with flared bottoms. Pants that fit properly will give a slim look that will enhance the figure.

There are many styles of skirts and dresses that work for hourglass shapes. Curvier women should choose skirts that accentuate the curves and flatter the legs such as Pencil skirts, A-line cut skirts and dresses, Wrap skirts and dresses. The pencil skirt pictured below on Scarlett Johansson is a great look for her hourglass figure.

Wear a darker bottoms and lighter colored tops to emphasize the waistline and to minimize curves. However, a monochromatic outfit with a slim belt will slim the figure and balance the body. Lighter weight fabrics without extra bulk will give a leaner look.

Are you under dressed, over dressed or dressed appropriately? Read about the 14 point system for dressing.

          

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In these tough economic times, we are no longer shopping simply for the fun of it.  Everywhere you look, retail sales are down.  However, we still must look fabulous in spite of having less money to spend on our wardrobe.  So what should you do?

1.Take an Inventory

Go through your wardrobe and remove the pieces that look worn or no longer fit. Donate them to charity if you’d like. Consider selling the items that still look new but just don’t fit on eBay or swap clothes with your friends.

2. Review your  “must haves” and see what is missing.

The “must haves” in your basic wardrobe  should include the following items:

• A Classic 3 piece Suit- Black (if you are cool) or Brown (If you are warm)
• A pair of  black dress pants
• Pencil, A line, or full Skirt – Be sure to chose one that flatters your figure.
• LBD – A classic; the little black dress that will never go out of style.
• White Blouse (or creme/ecru colored if you are warm) that you can wear with anything.
• Well fitting Cashmere Sweater
• A Sheath Dress (which could be your LBD).  A dress you can wear during the day and also in the evening.
• Jeans.  These need to fit you perfectly and flatter your figure.
• Pair of black pumps.  Need I say more?
• Black Leather Purse-  (or brown if you are warm).  I have a purse large enough to hold my laptop.
• Classic Clutch Purse- For evenings and dressing up.
• A Silver Necklace ( or gold if you are warm)
• A Scarf to add  color.
• A classic trench coat.

Not sure if you are are cool or warm? Check out my post Wearing the Right Colors.

3. Investment Purchase items that you may need to complete your basic  “must haves” wardrobe

Investment shopping is the way to go in 2009.  Basically you want to buy the best quality you can afford. Make sure the items are classic, ones that you can wear over and over again, and they fit you properly. These items will last you a long time and in the long run be more cost effective because the CPW (cost per wear) of a wardrobe item, goes down the more you wear the item.

So for example, Let’s say you purchase a LBD for $300 and you wear it 12 x/year.  After owning the dress for three years, the CPW is $8.33.  So it cost you $8.33 every time you put on the dress.  Now let’s say you purchased a very trendy dress for $75 and you wore it only 3 times.   The CPW is $25.00.  The trendy dress cost you $25.00 every time you wore the dress.   As you can see from this example, you will save money by investment shopping for items that you will wear over and over again.  Even though you paid more for the LBD that for the trendy dress, you wore it more often than the trendy dress.  So the LBD actually cost you less than the trendy dress since you got more use out of it.  So when you are adding pieces to your “must haves” basic wardrobe, I recommend you buy the best quality you can afford so you can keep wearing it for years.

4. Consider creating wardrobe capsules.  A wardrobe capsule is a subset of wardrobe pieces that you can mix and match to create many outfits.  It saves you  time getting dressed everyday since everything goes together and you don’t need to think about what you are going to wear.  It is fantastic if you travel.  With the airlines charging to check in baggage, with a wardrobe capsule, you only need to pack a few items to create several outfits for your trip.  More on Wardrobe Capsules next week.

Happy Blogging!

DG

          

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People with blue undertones will have a cool look to their eyes, hair and skin. These undertones are considered “cool”. People with cool coloring will look their best when they wear cool colors. The seasons summer and winter are cool.

People with yellow or gold undertones will have a warm look to their eyes, hair and skin.  These undertones are considered “warm”.  People with warm coloring will look best in warm colors (think colors of a desert; yellow, gold,etc.).  The seasons spring and autumn are warm.

However, we are now moving away from seasonal colors.  Unfortunately, the fashion experts are either not aware of the seasonal color concept or they simply ignore it because they continue to mix cool, warm and neutral colors into a single article of clothing.  Please remember everyone can wear any color.  What makes the difference in how you look  is the tone, hue and texture.

You can enhance your image by wearing the right colors because when you wear the right color it will make your skin glow and be radiant.  It can even make you look younger. Because we all have different skin tones, not all colors look best on everyone.  So how do you determine which colors are in harmony with your skin tone? You can have a honest friend drape color swatches over you and the ones that are the most flattering are often good colors for you.  Otherwise you can have a professional image consultant, such as myself,  perform a color analysis on you.

So now you’ve determined which colors look great on you and which are not as flattering. Let us assume that the color black makes you appear washed out.  Does this mean you can no longer wear your LBD? Of course not. All you need to do is to add an accessory such as a scarf,  necklace or a great pair of earrings in a color that compliments your skin tone.

By wearing the right colors, you will look and feel confident no matter what size, shape or age you are.

          

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Are you over dressing, under dressing or dressing appropriately?  If you are not sure, why not use the 14 point system?  So how does the 14 point system work?  It is very easy.  You give yourself a point for every visible item of clothing you are wearing.  If you accumulate 16 points or more you are overdressed and should remove some of  your visible articles.  If you find you have less than 11 points you are under dressed so you should keep on dressing!

To determine your score, give yourself a point for each visible item you put on and two points for very ornate or dressy items you wear such a fancy ornament on a shoe or a second color on a print, etc.  So remember the keyword here is visible.  So let’s begin the tally.  Give yourself 1 point for:

• Hat
• a Hair ornament
• Makeup
• Earrings
• Each necklace
• Blouse
• Dress
• belt
• Pin
• Each bracelet
• Watch
• Each ring
• Gloves
• Pin
• Suit
• Colored nail polish
• Purse
• Briefcase
• Belt
• Scarf or pocket hankie
• Skirt
• Pants
• Eyeglasses
• Socks or hosiery
• Shoes

Now give yourself an extra point for  a buckle on your  shoes, second color on a print, dressy buttons,  textured tights, and bows and trims. Now you get the idea. How did you do?

Ideally, you want to have a total of 11-14 points. Is your total over 16 points?  Start taking something off – you are way overdressed. If your total is 10 points or less you need to continue dressing.

Questions on using the 14 points system,  just ask DearGaby.

          

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We all want to look our best.  However, people see us differently than we see ourselves.  It is important that we dress to show off our advantages and de-emphasize the areas we would like to improve.  In other words, you need to dress according to your body figure type.  There are different types of figure types but today we will talk about the hourglass figure.  This is the most desireable figure woman would like to have.  Several well known women such as Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch have a hourglass figure shape.  To read more about what clothes looks great on your Hourglass figure click here.

You don’t have a hourglass shape?  Don’t worry I will post other information on other figure type shortly.  So stay tuned.

Gaby

Your Personal Image Consultant and Stylist

          

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