Hi everyone! I know that my blogging has been sparse in 2021. Basically it’s still winter and we are still in a pandemic. So I really haven’t had a lot of fashion inspiration in the last month or so. But every once in while something pops up on my feed that does inspire me. I recently watched a video by Kay Harms in her Video Blog of Dressed for Today. She suggested instead of trying to always be on top of Fashion for women of a certain age ( 40, 50,60,70) she suggested just to keep your look Modern.

What does that mean? Modern means staying contemporary, be fresh and what is now. And if you strictly follow the same trends as your 20 year old daughter, I guarantee it won’t make you look younger, it will in fact make you look older. Don’t try and be something you’re not. Kay has 12 tips for staying Modern as you age, let’s take a look at them:

Keep your hair healthy!

What does that mean? It doesn’t matter whether you go grey or are transitioning to grey or have decided to keep coloring. But let me remind you about one thing- Grey hair is dry and needs a lot more moisture. Colored hair needs moisture too. You can buy moisturizing shampoos and conditioners and you can try a Marula oil while styling that really puts moisture back in your hair.

A shampoo like Living Proof Restore shampoo is made specifically to fight dry hair. It’s available at local salons or at Sephora.

I use Living Proof No Frizz shampoo because I high light my hair and it makes it very frizzy if it doesn’t have enough moisture.

And I use one of the most intense conditioners Living Proof has, just because I want to protect my hair from the damage high lighting causes. Grey hair needs the same moisturizing as colored hair. Use the same kind of products. Moisturized hair is not frizzy and looks healthier!

It super important to take care of your hair! Get a regular haircut! A lot of us have grown out a style during this pandemic. Now may be the time for a salon visit to help make your grown out locks into a style you will love and will suit you. There are great hair professionals everywhere and most of the time if you tell them your life style they can recommend a great modern cut that will work! Please stay away from crazy colors, pinks, purples and blues are really not attractive on women at a certain age and natural color will always look better.

Freshen up your make up

There are a lot of things we learned when we started doing our make up in the 70’s and 80’s that we are all still doing. It’s time to freshen it up. Stay away from shimmer and glitter in your make up as you age. Don’t continue to use a heavy liner around your eyes, and please don’t underline underneath your eyes. I do still line the top of my eyelids, but I use much lighter colors like soft greys and browns instead of black.

You don’t need a ton of liner to make your eyes stand out! And have you noticed that lip liner showing looks strange around your lips, use a much lighter lip liner or a nude one before you put on lip color. And keep your lip color appropriate to your skin tone. Yes, you can still wear a dark lip color, just choose the red or dark color that works. For example if you have a peachy complexion stick to orangey reds or coral reds. If you are pale try a warm pink. Basically what Kay is suggesting is to lighten up your make up. No heavy eyes and no heavy lines around your lips. Stay away from too much shadow as well. I actually just sweep a natural shadow on my lids, I never use color anymore. And because I still have a soft line on top of my lid it works better for me. Soft colors for cheeks and lids will make you look more modern.

Nail your Manicure

Tidy nails and cuticles have always been Modern. Color is so stylish right now on nails. Whether you go for a strong color, cool white or just stick with a french manicure. Make sure your nails are tidy.

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Preview(opens in a new tab)about:blankAdd titleThe Art of Looking Ageless, Stay Modern

Hi everyone! I know that my blogging has been sparse in 2021. Basically it’s still winter and we are still in a pandemic. So I really haven’t had a lot of fashion inspiration in the last month or so. But every once in while something pops up on my feed that does inspire me. I recently watched a video by Kay Harms in her Video Blog of Dressed for Today. She suggested instead of trying to always be on top of Fashion for women of a certain age ( 40, 50,60,70) she suggested just to keep your look Modern.

What does that mean? Modern means staying contemporary, be fresh and what is now. And if you strictly follow the same trends as your 20 year old daughter, I guarantee it won’t make you look younger, it will in fact make you look older. Don’t try and be something you’re not. Kay has 12 tips for staying Modern as you age, let’s take a look at them:

Keep your hair healthy!

What does that mean? It doesn’t matter whether you go grey or are transitioning to grey or have decided to keep coloring. But let me remind you about one thing- Grey hair is dry and needs a lot more moisture. Colored hair needs moisture too. You can buy moisturizing shampoos and conditioners and you can try a Marula oil while styling that really puts moisture back in your hair.

A shampoo like Living Proof Restore shampoo is made specifically to fight dry hair. It’s available at local salons or at Sephora.

I use Living Proof No Frizz shampoo because I high light my hair and it makes it very frizzy if it doesn’t have enough moisture.

And I use one of the most intense conditioners Living Proof has, just because I want to protect my hair from the damage high lighting causes. Grey hair needs the same moisturizing as colored hair. Use the same kind of products. Moisturized hair is not frizzy and looks healthier!

It super important to take care of your hair! Get a regular haircut! A lot of us have grown out a style during this pandemic. Now may be the time for a salon visit to help make your grown out locks into a style you will love and will suit you. There are great hair professionals everywhere and most of the time if you tell them your life style they can recommend a great modern cut that will work! Please stay away from crazy colors, pinks, purples and blues are really not attractive on women at a certain age and natural color will always look better.

Freshen up your make up

There are a lot of things we learned when we started doing our make up in the 70’s and 80’s that we are all still doing. It’s time to freshen it up. Stay away from shimmer and glitter in your make up as you age. Don’t continue to use a heavy liner around your eyes, and please don’t underline underneath your eyes. I do still line the top of my eyelids, but I use much lighter colors like soft greys and browns instead of black.

You don’t need a ton of liner to make your eyes stand out! And have you noticed that lip liner showing looks strange around your lips, use a much lighter lip liner or a nude one before you put on lip color. And keep your lip color appropriate to your skin tone. Yes, you can still wear a dark lip color, just choose the red or dark color that works. For example if you have a peachy complexion stick to orangey reds or coral reds. If you are pale try a warm pink. Basically what Kay is suggesting is to lighten up your make up. No heavy eyes and no heavy lines around your lips. Stay away from too much shadow as well. I actually just sweep a natural shadow on my lids, I never use color anymore. And because I still have a soft line on top of my lid it works better for me. Soft colors for cheeks and lids will make you look more modern.

Nail your Manicure

Tidy nails and cuticles have always been Modern. Color is so stylish right now on nails. Whether you go for a strong color, cool white or just stick with a french manicure. Make sure your nails are tidy.

Short square or flat nails will look classic. Stay away from super long and very pointy. You want your hands to look good and age appropriate. But having tidy nails is modern and personally keeping my nails short and square suit my hands as they get older. It’s classic, polished and modern.

Elevate your Jewellry

Definitely keep all your good jewellry and wear the pieces as they work for you. But it’s ok to wear a little costume too. You want to look modern so buying a new piece of costume is usually easier than gold or silver every season. Our Jewellry expert Shoshana Lewis can help you find a great piece or two that will pull any outfit together. Or look online.

A delicate pendant that sits on your collar bone like this piece from Anthropologie would be fabulous with a top and denim.

I love pendant necklaces. As it is still winter and we are wearing mock and turtle necks a pendant that hangs down draws your eye down and actually makes you look a bit longer. A great necklace always polishes up any outfit and that is modern.

I tend to not mix bigger earrings with necklaces. As you age, with jewellry, less is more. So wear your big hoops and skip the necklace. Or wear a pair of dainty earrings and wear the pendant or statement necklace that you love.

Freshen up your Footwear

During this pandemic a lot of us have put our heels away. And that is fine, but take a look at the boots you are wearing or loafers. Do they need a little freshening up? I actually assess my shoes every season, I take boots to the Cobbler to be shined or re soled and the same with loafers. But right now sneakers are the shoe of the moment. You see sneakers worn with everything. So take a look at your sneaker selection, are they old and not fun to wear? If so it’s time to freshen it up.

Banana Republic shows most of their looks with sneakers right now. White sneakers need to be white, try a modern white sneaker

A white sneaker like this one from Nike will be great. It has a slightly elevated heel and footbed which is super modern. It’s almost a platform but not quite. I love a great black sneaker,

And a classic slip on sneaker, like this one from Vince, with no see them socks can work with any pant or skirt. If you have one white pair and one black pair, and you want one more. Try something in a modern print.

Camo is huge right now. So try a pair of slip on camo colored sneakers from Blondo or

try a sneaker with a print that you love. I love animal print so these would be my pick for a print sneaker. Keep your look clean and a modern silhouette.

Change how you wear your scarf

How are you wearing your scarf? Most of us in the winter are wearing scarves for warmth not style. But why not wear one for both! Make sure your scarf matches something in your outfit. I wear a lot of black, so most of my scarves have some black in the pattern or plaid. Tie that scarf in a tidy knot so it sits at your neck in your coat.

Or a fresh modern way to wear a scarf, this one is from BR, is to tie it at your neck and wear it instead of a necklace with a t-shirt, dress or sweater. Make sure it stays close to your neck. Infinity scarves are not in style right now, so put them away. Keep your scarves close to your neck or wear one on your handbag, that is also fresh and modern.

Accessorize Minimally

We talked about this earlier. Less is always more. If you put on too many accessories you look like you are trying too hard. Try a delicate necklace and smaller earrings. You don’t want to look overdone. What is modern is a more laissez faire attitude with jewellry. Sometimes one piece is enough.

Wear a modern jean

I know we are living in jeans right now. And I know you love your skinny jeans. Don’t worry they are never going out of style and will always look great tucked into boots on a cold winter day. But the modern look is a straight or wider leg. My new favorite jean is from J. Crew, it is their Vintage stright leg jean.

I love it so much I bought it in a black wash as well and will probably buy it in a lighter wash for spring.

Remember the Boy friend jean? It has a slighly wider leg as well. The modern look is not too roll the cuff and let it hit your ankle.

Or try a slim wide leg. When I say slim wide leg I mean that the leg is wider in the middle of your legs and slimmer on the outside. This one is from J. Crew, but BR has a great one too.

The darker wash of the high rise zippered pocket jean works for denim that you want to wear with dressier tops and jackets. Play with different widths and colors of washes. Elevating your denim means trying something new and fresh. A straight leg is a great place to start and go wide if you want too. Just keep the fit more relaxed.

Remember to say no to some trends

Everyone has things that flatter them and things that don’t. It’s perfectly ok to opt out of a trend that’s not for you. Crop tops, mini skirts, shorts with blazers are all trends in the last couple of years that I have just opted out of because they are not for me. I also opted out of the lingerie trend for fall. Knowing what suits you is a great way to look fresh and modern. It’s ok to say no. You look more modern when you are decisive. Confidence is modern.

Use modern style hacks

What are some that would work for you right now? One of them is the front tuck.

This Image is from BR and the model is a size 14. The front tuck works on any woman of any size. You simply tuck in the very front of your top and leave the side and back out. It is fresh and creates a great line in your clothes, it doesn’t make your waist look bigger, but in fact if makes it look smaller. Especially if you are wearing a t-shirt and a sweater.

Another great hack is to scrunch up your sleeves. Don’t roll them up. Just push them up.

Add a modern touch when wearing vintage

Are you wearing something you have owned for a long time. Do you have a favorite dress or sweater from your mother or is a classic. I do. The key to wearing your great vintage cashmere sweater or dress is to wear something modern with it. Wear a modern necklace or piece of jewellry, like an earring or bracelet. Don’t wear vintage jewellry with vintage, you will look like a grandmother. Instead wear a modern style necklace.

Something delicately layered or one of the modern pearl necklaces from Shok designs.https://www.instagram.com/p/CKpkY3hho8-/ Use this link to see how great they are!

Top your look with a Denim jacket

They really never go out of style and will make you look aware. A denim jacket is a great layering piece all year round.

I wear mine with pants, dresses, joggers etc. I even wore a denim jacket over a dress as a blazer for a video I was filming. Denim jackets look modern and elevate your bottoms.

Keep your layering t-shirts white or black

The most modern choice is a solid black or white t-shirt. It can be used a the perfect piece for your necklace and looks great under a sweater or under a jacket. I bleach my whites so they stay white. You could even throw a grey t-shirt into the mix, but not if you have grey hair, it will wash you out.

Buy a good quality white t-shirt so it’s not see through. This one is J. Crew’s Slim perfect t-shirt and it comes in black too.

Wear your Icons

We all have those Icon pieces. That classic black dress or cashmere sweater. Great to wear them, they look luxurious. Even those iconic shoes, like a great black loafer or classic black boots. Keep them in good condition and keep wearing them.

There you have it. Modern is the way to stay stylish as we get older. Kay Harms has some great videos so if you have time watch them.

I won’t be doing another blog until March when we start to go through Spring 2021. Hard to believe we have been in pandemic mode for almost a year in North America. Please continue to wear your mask, I have started to double mask at the grocery store just to stay healthy and wash your hands and keep with people in your own household. Vaccines are being rolled out but we need to stay healthy so when it’s our turn to get one we can.

Have a good February, stay warm, stay healthy and stay safe and I will be back in March!

Until next time…

Not to brag, but I am fairly good at alot of things. During this crazy pandemic I have actually become better at a few things. I can now say I am actually a good cook. I learned to put gel nails on and learned to color my own hair (not that I am actually good at either but in a pinch I can do a decent job). I have become a better cleaner, mother and I think I have developed better empathy and understanding. And I am really good at making outfits out of my closet even when I haven’t bought anything new in months. That is why I write this blog, to inspire those of you who read it to put better outfits together too.

But there are a few things I am not good at, and when I reach those things I rely on experts. In the spring/summer I posted face care and hair care blogs featuring the advice of experts. Now I am going to do the same with Jewellery. I am not a jewellery expert and don’t pretend to be. I am so lucky to know Shoshana Lewis. She is someone I can always rely on to tell me how to wear jewellery and when something I am wearing should be put away for a few years until it comes back into style. Not only that she is an amazing person, child of a Holocaust Survivor, she has taken up the mantle of Holocaust awareness and is an advocate for teaching and learning so the mistakes of the past never get repeated again.

This blog was written for me by Shoshana, owner of Shok Designs. It is our Biannual Jewellery Blog and we are so lucky to have Shosh on our team!!

To say this has been a strange time for fashion would be a huge understatement. Fashion has definitely taken a big hit during the past year with the onset of this pandemic. With nowhere to go – what and who are we dressing for?

I have to say that part of feeling normal in abnormal times is getting dressed! You don’t have to dress up but certainly throwing on a cute yet casual outfit and piece of jewelry helps us feel normal. Routine is critical in these uncertain times.

Gold had a good run:

After multiple seasons of gold toned jewelry dominating the runways and fashion magazines – silver has made a big splashy comeback.

Shokdesigns

The silver lining:

We are also seeing a trend back towards chunky jewelry. Big link chains and curb chains are all over fashion trends and they are mostly silver. I’m a lover of all things gold, but have to say I’m very happy to see something that feels fresh. Bright shiny silver is a nice change from many seasons of gold.

Covid styles – DIY:

The return of do-it-yourself has brought a resurgence of fun, creative and childlike jewelry back into our hearts and styles. Not only does it get our creative juices flowing but also provides us with some fun activities to do with our kids and friends (zoom of course).

Not your grandma’s pearls:

A new twist to an old classic – pearls! They have enjoyed a comeback in a major way these last couple of seasons with an updated even funky kind of look. Thanks to some major influential designers such as Jennifer Fisher, the Pearl has become a must have accessory again. Taking an old strand of pearls and having them remade into something more current is always a great idea.

Lock down locks 🔒 :

Carabiner Locks are still a strong trend heading into resort/Spring 2021. With jewelry designers like Marla Aaron’s signature line of locks paving the way for a look and trend that everyone wants to own. Her prices are high for her fine jewelry locks – thankfully the trend has trickled down to more affordable styles for everyone.

Marla Aaron – below silver curb chain with 14k oval lock – locked into sterling silver heart with 14k yellow gold closure

Shokdesigns

Sign of the times Mask Chains:

And as with everything in life – we are an adaptable species – so with our new normal requiring us to wear masks for a good part of our days – we have turned masks into fashionable and hopefully comfortable parts of our everyday wardrobe.

Mask chains have helped more than one of us from dropping or losing our masks 😷. They are a great way to help ensure that our kids come home each day with their masks from school.

Make it a fun and personal DIY project for you and your kids

These also make the best teacher or healthcare worker gift to show them we care and we are thankful!

I’ve been donating partial proceeds of all my mask chain sales since September to our Vancouver local food bank and will continue to do so until the end of covid.

Shok. Designs mask chains

Stay safe and accessorized!

Shoshana

So as you can see, we are truly lucky to have Shoshana walk us through what is new and what you can accessorize with. I personally love the return of silver! With how important grey is this season, most of us will be accessorizing it with silver jewellery and accessories. Don’t forget that you can also mix your silver, gold and rose gold pieces. As you can see from the bracelet and locks a mixture of colors and textures makes it more interesting and chic! I truly want to thank her for writing this blog for us!

You can buy all of these items above! They make great holiday gifting and the DIY kits are great for crafting with your loved ones while we are all stuck inside and solitary. And with the buy and support local businesses so important right now, you are not only getting something great but you are also supporting your own community. To contact Shoshana you can message her on Instagram at Shokdesigns or email her directly at shoshkrell@gmail.com. She has a great little jewellery boutique and as long as you observe Covid etiquette she’d be happy to see you.

I am not sure there is going to be another Holiday blog this year. We really don’t need to talk to much about holiday attire. Right now it’s not safe to socialize with anyone outside of your household and with Covid surging in Canada and the US, I for one cannot be one who encourages any socializing.

But here’s a thought for all of you who are lucky enough not to be going to food banks for your holiday meal. How about buying minimal presents for your loved ones and give the rest of the money you would spend to your local food bank, or school breakfast program. There are so many who have lost their jobs and food insecurity is at an all time high. Watching the long lines for food in places like Dallas and New Orleans just breakes my heart. Donate where you live and try to make a difference instead of buying someone something they don’t really need.

Most of my gifting this year is going to consist of restraurant gift cards ( so people can take out food and have a break from cooking) or grocery gift cards so they can pay for their holiday meal on me. This is the one year, in my opinion, those of us that have stability should pay it forward.

Ok that’s enough of the preaching for 2020. It’s been a tough year but we are getting to the end of it. Vaccines will be delivered to all by the end of 2021 so there is an end in sight. I wish you a very happy holiday season and wish you all a bright and healthy new year!!

Stay safe and healthy!

Unlike dresses, outerwear is a must for all of us. Winter is definitely here across most of North America and it tends to hang out until about April. So most of us need coats and jackets that will see us through.

I live in Vancouver so the challenge with outerwear in Vancouver is not only how to stay warm, but you need it to keep you dry as well. Cloth coats are for nice days here on the Wetcoast; but since November and December are wetter than they are cold, cloth doesn’t cut it. So what do you wear when you want to stay warm and dry?

A Vancouver girl heads to Aritzia or aritzia.com and grabs the tna Superpuff which now comes in a waterproof version.

It comes in 3 colors, this great blue, taupe and black. It is made with Rainstop, a wind proof and water proof fabric from Japan. It’s seams are sealed so no moisture can get in. And the best part of all is it’s has a hood and is under $400. This is the quintessential pandemic winter coat for Vancouver weather.

I can’t say enough about the Super Puff. Aritzia makes it in every length and every color. My new favorite is the Super Puff MID, I love a coat that covers my bottom and that I can still move around in. Not that I need another puffer coat but if I do this will probably be the one.

It comes in 5 different outer fabric types and each one of those comes in at least 3 different colors. Choice is not an issue.

I strongly encourage you to go to Aritzia.com and check out all the Super Puffs. They come in every length and a vest version. You will find one that works I promise. And Aritzia has 2 day delivery so you won’t have to wait long to get it!

Aritzia.com is probably the best site to get other kinds of coats and jackets as well. In last fall’s coat blog I spoke a lot about the Steadman coat

They still have it and in 9 colors but this year they have so much more as well.

This fall Babaton, by Aritzia has the Luxe Lounge Jacket, which they call more of a sweater jacket but to me it’s way more of a coat. Wear it unbelted for a casual look or belt it if you want.

Sherpa coats and faux fur are fashionable again for Fall 2020. Babaton has the Teddy Coat.

It’s a longer wool coat made with sherpa like “Teddy” fabric. It comes in 4 colors. This one is sure to keep you extra warm.

Parka’s are something else that is guaranteed to keep you warm and dry. I tend to not buy coats unless they have a hood. Something I learned I need living in Vancouver, because you never know when you might get a few showers.

The Wilfred North Star parka is one of those coats that you will grab everyday. It’s down and made with a waterproof and windproof fabric to keep you warm and dry. I love this smoky emerald green color but it comes in 4 other colors and it’s on sale right now. Aritzia also has other Parka’s in varying degrees of warmth. Go online and see which one suits where you live.

Of course there are other stores to buy coats in as well. But I do like to promote Aritzia, they do it better than anyone else and they are made right here in Vancouver.

Believe it or not another great place to get coats in Canada is Mark’s Work Wearhouse. I actually buy coats for my grown up son’s there. But they have lots of choices for women too, and usually you can get things at a great price.

Their waterproof insulated parka is onsale right now for $153 but sadly they don’t ship to the US. Most of their coats go up to a 2X and they carry brands like Columbia and Nautica.

Leather jackets and coats are on trend for Fall 2020. They aren’t true winter coats, at least not in Canada, but they are great to make a fashion statement. A place like Nordstrom Rack has lots of choice and better prices. They have stores throughout the US and Canada or take returns within 90 days by mail.

This Single breast Lamb Leather coat by Badgley Mischka is on sale for $230, the prices are in US dollars. It’s a great deal because it was originally prices at $500. Moto styled jackets are a great addition to any wardrobe and there are lots of leather and faux leather ones out there.

Faux leather has become indistinguishable from actual leather and is way better for the environment because it’s usually made from things that has been recycled. So when buying a Moto jacket try a faux one.

This Misty Faux leather jacket from Anthropologie comes in petite, regular and plus so you can find a the fit for you. Faux leather is also a bit lighter so you can wear it underneath your warm coats in the winter.

Yes, capes and caplets are still strong for Fall 2020. It just seems that people don’t really wear them when there is a pandemic and we are all getting locked down again. It is definitely a fashion statement coat and something that would be great to the office or a night out, both of which aren’t really happening.

Banana Republic has one in Navy if you feel this is the coat for you. It’s a little pricier ($400) but BR is always either 40% or 50% off, so if you really want it just wait until you see it onsale.

With the Pandemic raging everywhere in the world again right now, staying home is probably what you are doing the most. For those quick trips to the grocery store your best bet is likely a puffer or parka. And now you know where to get those.

Wear your masks, they are the law all over Canada right now and should be in the US, even if they aren’t in some states. As I watched CNN today, a very teary eyed nurse from Texas implored people to wear a mask saying “it’s better to wear a mask than have a tube down your throat.” And even if you think you don’t need one, do it for your community and all the vulnerable people who still have to go out and get groceries or medication. Be a true good human, wear a mask, socially distance where ever possible and wash your hands often. It’s the very least you can do right now.

Stay healthy and well, next week we will have our annual fall/holiday Jewelry blog from the one and only Shoshana Lewis of Shok designs. So stay tuned.

Until next time…

I write a dress blog every season but honestly is anyone wearing dresses right now? The Covid 19 pandemic is raging all over North America and if you are not under stay at home orders right now you will be soon. And let’s face it, it is really doubtful that there will be any holiday parties or dinners so why are we going to talk about dresses?

Well, one day we will be wearing dresses again. There is a vaccine on the horizon and even if most of us won’t be vaccinated until next summer, I for one, cannot live in jeans and sweats forever. And even though dressing up right now is putting on a nice top or sweater with your jeans, there are dresses that are Covid friendly and will make you feel better, look better and Zoom ready!

The Sweater Dress

If there is one dress that will work during this pandemic and is also one of the most fashionable pieces of fall it is the sweater dress. Sweater dresses are everywhere. You can dress them up for a business call or wear them with leggings and flat boots on the days you venture out to the grocery store or drug store. They come in varying degrees of warmth and weave and lots of colors and styles.

Let’s start here at home with Aritzia. They have tons of great sweater dresses and shipping only takes a day or two in Canada.

The Wilfred Montpellier Dress is cute and comfy. Yes, it looks a little shorter on the model than I usually recommend, but remember she is 5’9″ or taller and it will be likely just above your knee. It comes in 6 colors and 100% merino wool. So it will be fabulous with your tights and boots on a cold winter day! And you want this dress to be a little oversize on you, so order a size bigger than you usually wear, it goes all the way up to 1X online.

The Wilfred Cyprie dress is a bit longer but also has a turtleneck or mock neck to keep you cozy. It is also 100% merino wool and is slightly longer with a slit on one side. This dress fits large, so you can order your usual size and it comes in 7 different colors and also goes up to 1X. This dress is the perfect dress for tights and booties or great with loafers and sneakers too!

The last Aritzia dress I want to talk about is the Wilfred Cove Polo sweater dress. It’s a viscose poly blend and it comes in 6 colors. The model is 5’10” so it will come to your knee or a bit longer and it has a slight collar. It’s a little lighter than wearing a full wool dress, so if you tend to get hot choose something like this that you can open a button or two. It would also look great with skinny jeans if you leave the buttons open on the bottom.
And you can also wear it as a long sweater as well. So this dress is a great one to work around your wardrobe.

Banana Republic has a great basic sweater dress. It comes in 3 colors including black. They say online that it’s a mini length but the model is 5’10” so on you and me it is not a mini length. It’s a viscose, poly, nylon blend so you can toss it in the washing maching, which is something I don’t recommend with the 100% merino dresses above.

And I wanted to give you the view of it in an XL, I think this style of dress works whatever size you are!

Here is BR’s newest sweater dress, the Cable-Knit sweater dress. It comes in a beautiful Mulled Cranberry or this Heather Grey. I love the fact that BR shows most of their styles on plus size models so you can see how they look on real women. This dress is a tiny bit shorter and on someone who is my height 5’4″ it would come just above my knee. It’s a cotton poly blend so it’s washable and will be super warm. It would be super cute with booties and tights.

Last BR dress I want to feature is this one The Flare-Sleeve Sweater dress. It comes in this wonderful Slate Blue and a wonderful Toffee Brown

so you have two great colors. It’s a nylon, poly, wool, spandex blend so it won’t grow out of shape and will always fit the same way. They recommend hand washing or dry cleaning, so I would probably dry clean this one. But the detail of the longer length, flare sleeve and option belted waist make this dress unique and something you could dress up or down. They show this dress with sneakers but I would wear it with flat boots.

And even though sweater dresses are the key dress for fall there are lots of other dresses you could wear.

Anthropologie has a ton of great dresses online. I am going to stick with a more casual vibe with dresses for this blog but if you need a formal or business style dress BR and Aritzia have them too. I will show one great one that I love from BR

I adore this Navy plaid sheath dress at BR. This dress would be a fabulous dress for any work related event or presentation. But since most of us are still working from home, it may not be a dress you need right now.

If you aren’t a sweater dress person you may want to try something like Pilcro Lisette Corduroy shirt dress from Anthropologie. It comes in a forest green or toffee brown and is great layered over other tops and bottoms or worn on it’s own with a self belt. It is sized all the way up to size 16 so it will work for everyone.

I also love this Rosalind Velvet Tunic dress from Anthro. It comes in Teal and Berry and is available in petite, regular and plus. Velvet is a great fabric in a fun color to dress up and down your wardrobe. This tunic dress lends itself to be more casual, but you could dress it up for an online meeting if you need to.

And of course who doesn’t love a tiered maxi! Maxi is an important style for fall as well as midi. Longer dresses can be super flattering as you get older and an all over color or print can create a long line down your body. We talked about Animal pring being a great neutral for Fall 2020, so here this tiered maxi is in an animal print. And this dress nips in a bit at the waist so it will create a great shape on you. Wear it with knee length boots or booties.

As I said above, most of us are far away from wearing dresses while we are hunkered down in our homes as another wave of Coronavirus passes through our cities. But hopefully I have given you a few ideas on how to wear a dress this fall if you want to. If you want to stay current, the most important style of dress for fall is the sweater dress; that’s why I spent so much time talking about it. There is not a dress I showed in this blog that is over $200 and you can order every single one of them online.

Next week we will look at Fall Outerwear. And then we will have a visit from our Jewellery expert, Shoshana Lewis. I haven’t decided if there will be a holiday blog yet. As I said above, there is likely no holiday events to go to so perhaps and gift giving blog instead. Stay tuned for that one in December.

Please stay home, stay safe and wear a mask every time you leave your house. We seem to still have a long way to go in this pandemic and if we all scale back our activities and wear a mask everywhere hopefully our Covid cases will decrease enough that we can have a little holiday cheer with our friends and families.

Until next time…

This fall not many women are wearing suits. What with the pandemic and working from home, everything is quite a bit more casual than it has been. Since most work, meetings and events are taking place virtually we really only need to look good from the waist up. But every once in a while you need to look chic from head to toe.

Every woman needs at least one good suit in her wardrobe. It can be a pant suit or skirt suit, or preferabbly one that has both a pant and skirt that works with the jacket. But every woman needs at least one. And the very best place to buy a chic suit at a reasonable price is Aritzia. I am not saying that just because Aritzia is a local company and I want to give them some love, but because they have lots of different looks to choose from. And you will find one that works for you. Just pop into any Aritzia store or even better look at Aritzia.com and you can find almost everything you need in suiting.

Starting with the Babaton Power Blazer and Conan Pant. This blazer comes in 15 colors and the pant comes in 18 colors. Both go from size 00 to size 16. And you don’t have to stick with this pant to match this jacket. The Babaton base fabric has lots of pieces you can intermingle to make the perfect suit for you.

If you want a pant that is a little longer, high waisted and a wider leg, try the Lincoln pant with it. The wider leg elevates the jacket to a whole new level!

If you would rather do something a little newer try a cropped blazer

The Ten by Babaton Supernova Blazer would be fabulous with any wide leg pant or jean you have. Especially if you are under 5’5, wear your wider bottoms with more fitted tops, you don’t want to look like you are drowning in your suit.

Plaid is one of the key fabrics to do your suit in for Fall 2020. Or even to just have a blazer in that will go over all your solid color pants!

The Babaton Samuel double breasted blazer is just that. It is a fantastic plaid blazer to wear with everything. Wear your plaid blazers head to toe with plaid pants or a plaid skirt if you need to make a suiting statement. Or choose a plaid (Samuel comes in 5 different plaids) to work with your other solid bottoms.

The Conan pant that we talked about above comes in a longer version in plaid just to go with the Samuel blazer. The other version of the Samuel Blazer that I love and is super chic is the belted version.

Here shown with the Lincoln pant. But do this blazer in black and you can wear it with everything. It comes in 4 colors so pick the one that works with your wardrobe!

The other plaid blazer I want to talk about is the Babaton Lockwood blazer, the plaid is great and it’s single breasted as opposed to the Samuel which is double breasted. Some women with a larger chest prefer and look better in a single breasted blazer.

An option for a different plaid pant to the Conan is the Quentin pant

it comes in the same plaid as the Lockwood blazer but it doesn’t have an elastic waist like the Conan. Just a different choice if you want it.

And of course Aritzia has lots of single and double breasted solid color blazers as well.

The Wilfred Nostalgia blazer would be a great blazer for any closet, slightly oversized and single breasted to work with everything you own.

So now that we have gone through some basic suiting options, what is the newest and chicest way to wear them?

Longer skirts are what designers have been showing with all blazers. A straight or pleated midi skirt is the way to go if you want a fresh new look in suiting.

The Babaton Bramble midi skirt would be a great solid skirt to work with your blazers and sweaters. It also comes in black.

You could do a faux leather pleated skirt to work with your blazers, especially great with any cropped blazer you have. The Wilfred Ortega skirt will work with your blazers and sweaters and be perfect with boots.

Faux leather is a great look to pair with jackets and sweaters for an office like look. Ann Taylor has a great skirt.

The Faux Leather Wrap pencil skirt in this fabulous Midnight Fig color will work with tons of blazers for a modern fresh look too.

So now that we have talked about blazers, pants and skirts, what is it that we wear underneath the suits to pull them all together in 2020. Fine knits are the key to suiting for fall.

Banana Republic has their Merino knit turtleneck that is a super fine knit and comes in 5 colors if you want a long sleeve knit top under your jackets.

BR also has a short sleeve fitted Turtleneck that would be great under every jacket.

And their mock neck shell is also a great piece to wear under any jacket or sweater.

Babaton’s Caravan Turtleneck top would be great head to toe in a suit and it comes in Mauve and Charcoal.

Or you can do a crossover, v-neck or crew neck knit top as well. Just make sure the knit is super fine.

J. Crew has a short sleeved silk blend Crewneck sweater that would be a great, easy piece to wear under a blazer.

And a V-Neck sweater top like this one from BR, would be great under a longer jacket. You could even double this top as a vest with a white shirt underneath which would be great with any plaid bottom!

For fall and winter keep your shoes quite classic with your suits. A great pair of booties or high heeled loafers would work great!

A bootie like J. Crew’s Leather Block heeled ankle boot would work so well with all the pants we talked about. Either leather or suede would work.

Or add a bit of classic color to your suit with J. Crew’s Kate Loafer pumps. The general rule with pant suits are the longer and wider the pants the higher the heel. Flats work better with slimmer shorter pants in general. But see how it all looks on you.

When buying suiting you need to be your own best judge. I am short and curvy so I know that a plaid suit won’t look good on me head to toe. But I can wear a plaid pant with a solid jacket or top and vice versa, plaid on the top and solid on the bottom. I also need to keep my tops a bit shorter with longer skirts. It’s all about the proportion of your body. And remember head to toe color makes you look taller and thinner no matter what size you wear!

Take a look at the websites I talked about above. One suit in your closet in a classic color will hold you during this entire pandemic, so choose one that works for you!

Next week we will look at Fall 2020 colors. They are stunning and now is the time we are really getting into our fall wardrobes. After that it’s fall dresses and then fall coats. If you are going to check out what Aritzia has online, they also have the best coats.

Stay safe, be kind and stay fashionable!

Until next time…

So far we have looked at a few of the fall 2020 fashion trends. And we have seen a lot of variety of color. This blog is going to focus on color and what the key ones are for this fall and how to wear them.

Colors in fashion tend to follow the economy. When times are bad your will see more brights and when times are good you will see more earthy and neutral colors. I don’t know why this really happens except that way back when I started in Fashion I was told the bright colors are to take people’s mind of their troubles and the price of the clothing. Not sure if I believe that, but this year with Covid and a down turn in the economy there are a lot of bright colors in all the Fall 2020 collections.

The New Colors

Some of the newer colors we are seeing online this fall are Marigold, Rust, Chartruese, Fuschia and Royal. These are all the brights for fall.

Marigold is a bright mustard yellow. And you can see it as accents for fall.

Anthropologie has a ton of this color. This is the Melody Velvet Tunic dress. It’s a fun, casual dress that you could wear anywhere. Or if you are like me and working from home you probably just want a cozy top to wear,

try this Brynne Sherpa Pullover also from Anthro.

If you have a million Zoom meetings and want to try something a little more chic than a sweatshirt try this Auberta Ruffled blouse from Anthro that also comes in petite and plus sizes.

You can even wear this color on the bottom.

Try a pair of Pilcro slim cords from Anthro. On the top wear black or denim and you will be all set.

If you find this color intimidating try something with just a hint of it.

Anthro’s Hearts Embroidered Sweater gives you a touch of Marigold with Chartruese, Red and Periwinkle mixed in too!

Rust is one of those colors that goes with everything to me.

Banana Republic’s Satin Baloon sleeve top can take you everywhere. Wear it with denim for casual and under your black suit for work.

Or wear if from BR in a sleeveless tie blouse. With all of our holiday party plans being a lot more casual this year, a satin tie blouse may be all you need to dress up your dark denim.

And by all means grab a sweater in this lux color!

BR’s Merino turtleneck sweater will keep you cozy and chic as the weather continues to cool down.

And if you are like me and constantly cold, this Cocoon Coatigon Sweater can be just the things you need from BR to take the chill out of where you are.

Chartreuse, Fuschia and Royal are not exactly new colors but we really haven’t seen them much for Fall in a while.

Some people love Chartreues and some hate it. People who usually love this color have darker hair and wear it really well. Ann Taylor has their Essential shirt in this color and that may all you need to introduce Charteuse into your wardrobe.

You can find a ton of Fuschia around. Anthro has lots of it.

This Hannah Velvet top is the perfect way to bring it into your closet. Wear this now with your denim and dark bottoms and pull it out again for holiday with gold jewellery!

The blues for fall run from Royal to Teal. Wear the color of blue that suits you best. I am more of a Teal girl than a Royal one but there is lots out there to choose from.

Ann Taylor’s wrap trench jacket is a great way to inject a little Royal into your everyday! It’s a great bright jacket to wear on grey days.

And if you venture more teal, try something like Anthro’s Emmeline Cashmere Sweater and this top comes in plus and petites too!

All of the standard colors you would expect to be important for Fall are around this fall as well. There is still lots of Black and Camel like last fall. Olive is still around too. And this fall we are seeing more Grey and Red than we have in a while too!

Not much I can say about Black. It is my favorite color and it goes with absolutely everything and looks good on everyone. Sweater dresses are huge for all, why not try it in black.

A great black sweater dress is something you can where to anything. You don’t have to spend alot to get this look. Try this great dress by Nina Leonard at Nordstrom Rack!

Camel is probably the best color for outerwear there is. And no one makes better outerwear than Aritzia.

I am going to go into Outerwear in more detail in the coming weeks but here is a little sneak peek from Aritzia. The Wilfred Waldorf coat is perfect in Classic Camel for Fall and winter. And it has this wonderful faux fur color that just helps keep you even warmer! If you can’t wait for a coat check out everything Aritzia has online. For the money they are the best coats out there.

Olive green is another favorite of mine.

I just got this Washed Satin tunic from Banana Republic and even thought it looks brownish in the picture it is a true rich olive. Olive is a great color for blonds and works with denim and dark bottoms alike. Or try Olive on the bottom

Banana Republic’s best selling Sloan pant now comes in a higher rised flare version as well. This is a great pant to dress up your black tops and sweaters.

Grey is kind of the new black for fall. You can wear it interchangeably with anything you wear black or camel with and dark grey is a great base color for any wardrobe.

A great Charcoal Grey sweater is a nice change from always wearing black. Wilfred’s Pisa Cardigan at Aritzia will work with pants, skirts and over dresses.

This Merino Turtleneck sweater dress from BR works great in grey for a meeting or dinner! Wear it with boots and runners for a casual day doing errands.

And another sneak peek at Outerwear, Aritzia’s Princeville Coat is something you can wear everywhere!

Red is another color that works on pretty much everyone. I used to have a red sweater jacket and everytime I wore it I got compliments. I wore it so much it started to fall apart! Wear Reds with every color, it goes with black, camel, grey and olive or it can be worn on it’s own. From bright to brick there is a color of red for everyone!

Ann Taylor has a tie waist puff shoulder top in a wonderful Red and it’s an online only top in Polyester that you will love in your closet!

Aritzia’s red rust Melly sweater will brighten any fall day.

And you can Zoom cocktail with anyone wearing this Tulle Puff Sleeve top from BR.

And don’t forget about using Red as an accent color in your tops and bottoms like this Dillon plaid flannel shirt from BR.

And lastly who can resist these adorable Lillian bow loafers from Anthro. They tie in the bow trend with red and I have always wanted a great pair of red shoes!

So there you have it, a really quick overview of the fall colors. Most of us are just starting to wear our true fall clothes. Tie the colors we talked about today into all the pieces in your wardrobe. Wear them with denim if you are working from home.

Next week we will look at Fall Dresses before we round out fall finishing with Fall Outerwear the following week and then Fall Shoes and boots the middle of November. There will be one holiday attire blog, just because it is looking like there won’t be any holiday parties unless they are virtual this year and we will hopefully finish with a holiday Jewellery blog from our expert Shoshana Lewis.

It also looks like there won’t be much Halloween this year either. But if you are taking your kids or grandkids out and about please wear a mask and stay far away from everyone!

Stay safe, stay home and stay fashionable!

Until next time…

Fall 2020 is nothing if it’s not proper. Necklines are getting a bit higher and skirts are trendy a bit longer. Lace, frills and billowy sleeves are everywhere. Not to mention every Victorian era extra: bows, satin and lots of beaded trim. And this trend can mix with others, Metallics and Ivy League clothing also can have Victorian era detailing. So let’s take a look at the bits and pieces of this trend and see how it can work for you.

One of the best things about this trend are the high neck blouses.

Even a simple blouse like this one from Banana Republic can elevate a pair of pants or skirt. The neckline is a bit higher, the sleeves are billowy and it is made out of Satin. This top in your closet is definitely a nod to this trend.

Anthropologie is also getting in on the higher neck blouse trend. Their Charla Ruffled Blouse has a few more Victorian elements as well, the lace inset and ruffled neck also add to the trend. Here it’s worn with denim but this top would look just as great with a higher waist wide pant or worn loose over skinny pants tucked into boots. It’s a statement top!

You can modernize the Victorian era trend by doing your high neck top in a color other than white. The Idina Eyelet top from Anthro comes in black and white and is a great modern top because it’s little shorter which means it works perfectly with higher waist pants and skirts. And I love that the neck has a ruffle too!

And don’t be afraid of print. Ann Taylor’s Floral Ruffle Mock neck top is the perfect modernization of a Victorian top. The floral is delicate and the ruffles are a bit demure, it’s a great piece.

But this trend is more than just high neck tops. You can do the same thing with a sweater as the weather gets a bit colder.

The Puff-Sleeve Sweater top from BR has exactly the look we would want in a cozy sweater to channel the Victorian era.

And they have the same look in a long sleeve version.

A little less serious but still Victorian is Anthro’s Isadora Puff Sleeve Sweater, the color and the embroidery give it a hip vibe.

But let’s get away from the high neck tops for a minute. I think you call understand how important a high neck top is this season, you are going to see them everywhere. What other kind of tops can echo the Victorian trend?

Ann Taylor provides one of the answers with their Ruffle V-Neck Blouse, it comes in 3 colors, off-white (shown), black and pine. Do the pine if you want to modernize it a bit. Green is still super strong and will work great for fall 2020.

Or take a look at the Wilfred Trapeze Blouse from Aritzia. The higher neck has a tie which is a great option for this trend. The sleeves are still billowy and it comes in 2 great metallic shades, this silvery bark pine and shimmery navy, so it nods to the metallic trend as well.

Lace tops are another way to nod to this trend. WhitehouseBlackmarket’s Lace Sleeve Blouse is the kind of top you should be looking for.

And if you are not a high neck sweater girl try something like BR’s boatneck pointelle sweater. The delicate stitch of pointelle works really well for this trend.

Aside from tops there are other items of clothing that really echo the Victorian era as well.

The Wilfred Twirl skirt from Aritzia works so well for this trend. It comes in 13 colors including some softer colors like blush and pearl grey which really do look Victorian when work with a puff sleeve top:

You could also wear a tiered skirt like Wilfred’s Fantasy skirt which is made of tiered taffeta. Black or white this skirt would be amazing with a high neck top to echo the trend.

You could even wear a tulip hem wrap skirt with this trend, The Eleta skirt from Wilfred has this look. Any skirt that is long and has a flow to it would work, even all those satin skirts we talked about

the Babaton Slip skirt, from Aritzia, in any color with a delicate top would work and most of us already have one of these in our closets.

Even though very few Victorian women wore pants, pants are a huge part of this trend because it’s 2020 not 1898.

Banana Republic’s Logan Trouser is the perfect pant to work with a Victorian vibe. It comes in lots of colors and plaids too.

Ann Taylor’s Easy Wide Leg pant is another option. Tuck your shirt into this pant and wear a great belt or booties to make the look right.

Any high waist pant can work. A straighter or wider leg is more fashionable now, but even if the leg is skinny and you tuck it into boots with a ruffled or high neck shirt you are hitting this trend.

Dresses work here too.

WHBM has some great lace dresses like this one with the Ribbon belt that would be perfect. Or you can go longer

this soft floral print maxi dress also from WHBM can be Victorian, especially with the tie neck.

An embroidered tiered maxi dress would be perfect here as well. The Cassie Tiered Maxi dress from Anthro is perfect when worn with booties just like the Victorian ladies did.

Speaking of booties, there are a couple of options of shoes and boots that work really well with this trend.

The lace up bootie, is perfect here and you can see them all over in all price ranges.

Anthro has these Jeffery Campbell Gamine Lace up booties which would work with skirts and dresses as well as pants and denim.

Or try a suede version from Schultz, the Granny lace-up bootie is also at Anthro.

Knee high lace up boots work too, these are from Silent D also at Anthro. I am showing you the Khaki color, they also come in black and neutral beige, because it would be great to wear a softer color with some of the blushes and off whites that are prevalent in this trend. And you don’t have to stick to solid colors, the Victorian women didn’t. Try a tapestry lace up bootie

by Jeffrey Campbell at Anthro to use a current print with the Victorian era look you want. And if you want to wear a shoe with this trend choose one with a bow detail like

these Patent bow Lizard embossed flats from WHBM. Heels can work here as well, especially with wider trouser pants. Try a pair like

these Monk Heel Shooties by Jeffery Campbell at Anthro. They echo a bit more of the men’s wear Victorian look but would still work great.

Other accessories here include any hair accessories you want to wear.

A Chenille knotted hair band would work great here. Find this online at Antho.

A set of jewelled hairclips would be great, these are at WHBM online. And around your neck nothing is more important with this trend than pearls! If you have your mom’s or grandmother’s this is where you wear them. If not pick a strand that makes a more modern statement

like Ann Taylor’s Pearlized Crystal Statement necklace, it’s modern and Victorian at the same time. Wear pearls on your wrists, ears and fingers too. Pearls were the go to jewellery in the Victorian era!

Wear these Pearlized Double drop earrings also from AT for a modern vibe on this trend.

And mix pearlized bracelets with metallic ones like this set of Dannijo Brynn Bracelets from Anthro.

The accessories are the easiest part of this trend because we all have some sort of pearl jewellery we can mix and match to make this trend work for us.

Next week we are going to talk about the new Suiting Trend for Fall 2020. And all those high neck blouses we spoke about at the beginning of this blog are going to be the go to tops for the new suit. So stay tuned and we will talk about that next week.

You can play around with your fall trend looks too. Mix some of your plaids with your Victorian pieces, that would work great. If you have a baby doll dress from last season where it with lace up booties and tights, that works too. And if you want more look at all the websites from the stores I featured in this blog. It will give you great outfit ideas.

You can ask me any fashion questions you want at Suethefashionista@gmail.com I haven’t been doing any in person styling appointments but if you need me we can always Zoom or Skype. And please use that email address for any blog suggestions you have, once we are finished all the Fall trends, if you have a suggestion I can blog about it.

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay fashionable!

Until next time…

Fall 2020 is nothing if it’s not detailed. The key to most of the trends this fall is taking styles and detailing them in a way to make them current. If you didn’t buy one new article of clothing this fall, you could take all the basics in your wardrobe and detail them and they would be right in style for this season. In this blog we are going to talk about those details and show you pieces and ways to use these details in your own wardrobe.

Fringe

It’s hared to tell if Fringe detailing ever really went out of style. But it’s here this fall and all you really need is one piece with fringe detail to make the statement.

Anthropologie.com has this great Josey Fringed sweater that can make the perfect statement your wardrobe needs.

Or you can try Anthro’s Sara Fringed Kimono, a layering piece like this can be worn with everything.

Or how about adding some fringe to your jacket. Ann Taylor has some great fringed pieces that will make you look chic for every Zoom meeting you have.

Or try a dress with Fringe detail at the sleeve and hem. This dress is from Nanette Lepore and can be found at Nordstrom Rack.

And if you want some Fringe but don’t want to jump into a brand new piece of clothing why not try

a Fringed wrap or scarf. This wrap is from WhitehouseBlackmarket but you can find them everywhere.

And Aritzia has this great Lauren Fringed Scarf which comes in 7 colors and can be worn as a scarf or as a wrap. Something like this is great when there is a chill in the air.

You can Fringe your accessories too.

Loft has these great Fringed earrings.

Or you can fringe your shoes or boots. These booties are from Sam Edelman and you can find them at Nordstrom Rack.

Metallic

We talked alot about Metallic detailing in our very first blog for Fall 2020, but we will touch on it here as well. Adding a metallic detail to anything you are wearing is not only trendy on it’s own but works into 2 other trends for Fall, the Metallic trend and the Ivy League goes Punk trend.

In that first blog we showed a lot of metallic clothing and shoes and how that works as a trend for Fall 2020. Right here I am going to show you how to add one piece to what you have at home to acheive this look as part of the Detailed trend.

You could add just a top or sweater to make this look in your closet.

Loft has this great Stripped Ribbed Turtleneck top in a color called Iron Ore that you could add to denim or dark bottoms and layer underneath sweaters. Or something that’s even easier is just having a cute cardigan in a metallic that you can throw over everything

and Loft also has this great 3/4 sleeve shimmer cardi that will work great.

But the easiest way to add metallic to your look is to use an accessory.

A necklace that I think is fantastic is this Mixed Metallic Pendant necklace from Whitehouse Blackmarket. It is very trendy to mix your colored metals together, like gold and silver or rose gold and silver, so something like this would work.

Or try adding beaded metallic barettes to your hair. These are also at WHBM.

You could even do a bit of metallic detail by wearing a metallic shoe. This Brogue Oxford Mule is from Banana Republic.

I don’t want to talk too much about metallic jewelry as we are going to have a blog from Shoshana Lewis from Shok designs later in the fall to go through all our Fall jewelry trends. But anything big and metallic like a broach, necklace or bracelet will also hit this trend.

Bow Detail

I love Bow details!! And the Bow trend is so important this Fall it’s in 2 trends as well. It’s a great trend on it’s own here in Details and you will see it again in Decorum Please when we go over the Victorian Era influence on fall fashion.

My favorite way to wear bow detailing is in a shirt.

This Tie-Neck Blouse is from Banana Republic. They have lots of options for tie neck tops. To me this is the simplest way to nod to the bow trend.

Ann Taylor also has a great bow neck blouse and this one also has the puffed 3/4 sleeve that is important as well.

You could also do a dress with bow detailing at the neck or sleeve. This is a knit dress from Nina Leonard and it’s available at Nordstrom Rack.

But another way I love bows is as an accessory.

How about a set of Velvet Bow Hair Ties! These would be great if you didn’t want to do bow clothing.

Or how about a belt with bow detailing, this belt from WHBM also has to bonus of metallic details as well.

And what about these adorable Crystal Bow shoe clips. They can work on pumps and flats to make a statement (also WHBM).

Or you can just get a great pair of Jill Bow-Tied Loafers at Anthro that you can wear with everything. I love these! They come in cream as well.

Lingerie Details

Yup! Lingerie details are here again this fall. But most of us aren’t going to wear bustiers or skimpy tops. We are sophisticated. So how do you add these details to your wardrobe without looking too young or inappropriate?

Well we can use lace and satin to set this tone. Lingerie details can also mean wearing fabrics and accents that are used on fancy lingerie as well. A

Anthropologie has some great lace pieces that can work here and will work again in your Decorum please Victorian trend.

This Ivory Lisbetta Lace Blouse from Anthro can be worn casually or with a suit or dressy pants.

And this Sydney Lace Blouse is the perfect piece to peak out from under a jacket or sweater to make a Lingerie detail statement.

I tend to run cold all winter so I wear camis under everything.
Maybe this season wear a cami with a little lace peaking out as a nod to this trend. This cami is from WHBM and comes in white too.

If lace isn’t your thing maybe try wearing a satin finish shirt.

This Satin V neck Blouse from BR comes in other colors and looks great all the time. And if you want to just touch on this trend try this sweater from Ann Taylor,

it just has a touch of lace which is all you need.

And we will talk way more about lace and satin next week in Decorum Please.

Embellishments

As we’ve seen above just about anything can be an embellishment. Use patchwork pattern scarves to add a bit of detail to your winter coats.

To me a a patterned scarf like this Calliope Textured scarf from Anthro can make your outfit.

Or use a bandana print, also from Anthro, to dress up your denim.

Wear a jeweled buckle on your slide, like this slide from WHBM.

I have even been accessorizing my outfits with face masks. Wear a printed face mask to match the trend you are wearing. You have to wear them whenever you leave the house anyway so you might as well buy ones that work with your wardrobe. These are from BR.

And you can always use a statement piece of jewelry, which is the perfect embellishment to any outfit. This necklace is from Ann Taylor.

Jewellery, Belts, Scarves and hair ties can all be the embellishment you need to make the Detailed trend yours.

I didn’t talk much about broaches. But if you have an old broach from your mother or grandmother those are perfect to add embellishments to jackets and sweaters too!

Details are super important for Fall 2020. Any extra detail you can put on your outfit from a bow to a belt will make you chic.

Next week we will explore the Victorian trend for Fall 2020 in Decorum Please. Everything I posted about can be found online in both the US and in Canada. Right now with Covid 19 on the rise again in both countries do your shopping online as much as you can, you don’t want to risk getting sick to pick up a top or scarf, shop online.

And I usually never get political in my blogs but if you are a US citizen please get out and vote on Nov 3. Your democracy is hanging in a delicate balance and needs your support. I can’t tell you how to vote but if you want a change or more of the same it’s up to you to make it happen.

I can be reached at Suethefashionista@gmail.com for fashion questions and comments and please check out my new facebook page Sue the Fashionista as well!

Until next time…

Fall 2020 is a season strong on prints. Most of us love to wear prints mixed with our denim or solid bottoms. Two fall’s ago Animal print emerged as the fall print to own. Animal print is one of those prints that never really goes out of style, as a matter of fact, this fall it has become a neutral and we will talk more about that in a bit. Last fall, Plaid was all the rage and it is still as strong as ever. Two new prints or patterns in fabrics has emerged this fall. One is Patchwork which is actually a fabric detail and not so much a print and the other is Tapestry. And not forgotten is the Fall floral trend of darker florals which everyone always gravitates to. So let’s go through all the print/pattern categories one by one and see how you can wear them.

ANIMAL PRINT

I said above that Animal print has become a fall neutral. And what I mean by that is that Animal print is so everywhere now and so prevalent in a lot of women’s wardrobes it can be treated like a neutral. So like your jeans or your black pant you can pair it with almost everything.

One of my favorite fall looks in Animal print is from Ann Taylor

They are showing their Animal print long cardigan with the matching Animal print turtleneck. They have done this print in a Deep Sepia color so that it looks almost like a dark neutral and you can pair this with almost anything.

Banana Republic (which generally shows very neutral clothing) is showing this fabulous Cheetah print Midi shirt dress ( and I love that they have a picture of a model who is a real size, 14, for me to show). It can be one of those dresses you wear dressy with sandals or casually with boots. Great with a leather jacket over top too on date night. I love animal print so much I even bought from BR

these Animal print facemasks that I wear everywhere. Anthropologie does their own versions of everything so why should it be different with Animal print.

This Cheetah print back Pullover could be your go to sweater for Fall.

And I adore this Marrakech Sueded Moto Jacket in a Grey motif. Subtle enough to wear over everything!!

I wear my animal print with denim and every solid color I own. But you can also wear it with checks and other patterns as long as you keep the color tones the same.

PLAID

Plaid is something that everyone has, and wears all the time. Last fall I bought Plaid, you could say I was mad for plaid!! Plaid is a huge trend for fall. It is part of the trend we talked about last week, The Ivy League goes Punk. In that trend we wear plaid with distressed bottoms and metallic details like chains and pins etc. But Plaid can also be an entire trend on it’s own.

I love the look of Plaid being the centerpiece of your outfit. In this sweater from Ann Taylor plaid is in a different colorway than the typical and a great sweater with navy, denim and camel. Last fall I bought a plaid top at Ann Taylor and it became one of my go to pieces.

This fall you could make the same statement with Ann Taylor’s plaid smocked puff sleeve top. Wear it with everything!!

Plaid on the bottom works great too! It’s a modern and fresh alternative to denim for casual days. Try Banana Republic’s sloan skinny pant in plaid

and wear it with your tees and runners or with boots and a blazer. And a great way to add more plaid to your wardrobe is by doing a great scarf or wrap in plaid.

Anthropologie has you covered with this Piper Plaid Motif scarf. Comes in 3 different plaid colorways too.

PATCHWORK

Patchwork is the new kid on the block in fall prints. It is definitely a fashion statement to wear something Patchwork this fall. Nordstrom has a great Diane Furtstenburg jumpsuit that is all you need for this trend.

Or you can make your denim patchwork. Nordstrom has these jeans from B Sides

which take Patchwork casual to a whole new level. Or try a Cali Patchwork Peasant Blouse from Anthro

You will really only need one piece to make a statement for Fall. If you don’t want to do an item of clothing then try an accessory like your shoe or bag.

Anthro has these great See By Chloe Patchwork Ankle boots.

Or try this Medium Patchwork Tote from Akris at Nordstrom. You can easily make a statement wearing a patchwork accessory and sometimes it will work better in your closet than an item of clothing.

TAPESTRY

We all probably have something in Tapestry, maybe a scarf or wrap we have had for a while. Now is the time to pull it out again. Tapestry is a little more understated than the other prints we have talked about.

You could do it in your clothing with a great Tapestry dress by Etro at Nordstrom.

Or pick up a Tapestry Future Ex-Boyfriend Shirt by Le Superb also at Nordstrom. But what I think is the best way to make your own Tapestry statement is to do it in Boots!

Jeffrey Campbell has Tapestry ankle boots and you can find them at both Anthro and Nordstrom.

FALL FLORALS

So Fall florals never really go out of style either. Every fall we see our share of dark florals and this year is no exception.

Ann Taylor has lots of dark florals and this Floral Cinched Waist Wrap top is exactly what I am talking about. Wear it with denim or dark bottoms or wear it under your suit. Florals can liven up anything you wear.

Banana Republic is showing midi and maxi dresses with slits in dark florals these are fabulous with boots and a long coat. Aritzia has great floral tops that will go with everything.

Mix Wilfred’s Tempest Blouse with your browns, camels and dark denim.

Wilfred’s Floral Peplum blouse comes in 5 tone on tone colors and works everywhere in your closet.

And one of the best ways to wear dark florals is in fall’s newest accessory (and most important one too).

Face masks are here to stay for a while. If you love florals get some face masks in floral patterns. These are from Anthro, but Banana Republic has floral ones too and I find the BR ones fit really well. You are going to have to wear face masks for the forseeable future so buy ones that work with your wardrobe. And buy ones you like. You will wear them more if you are excited about wearing them. And everyone needs to wear one, everywhere you go.

So that’s a quick over view of what Fall 2020 prints and patterns look like. They like Metallics and Ivy League will work with a lot of the other fall trends as well.

Next week we will talk about the trend It’s all in the Details. Because if fall clothing is one thing it is detailed.

This blog is being posted in my Sue the Fashionista facebook page as well as Instagram and Twitter, so please feel free to share it with all your friends as well. And if you have fashion questions or blog suggestions please email them to me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com

until next time…

We all remember back in the 1980’s when most of us were in University exactly what the Ivy League trend looked like. Preppy was the word with loafers, chinos and polo shirts. Even the guys were into it. And when Preppy went out of style Punk and Grunge emerged. This trend kind of mixes it all together. It’s the plaids, geometric prints and preppy attire with Punk (and a tiny bit of Grunge) details. So accentuate your looks in this trend as much as you dare. If you grew up in the same era as me you are going to love this trend!

This look from Marie Claire magazine puts this trend into view. Metallic detail represents the Punk accent and the plaid represents the Preppy. This look is from the Dior show.

Women’s Wear Daily features this fabulous Buffalo Check Stella McCartney coat.

But let’s put this trend into perspective of how we are going to wear it without the designer price tag. To me J. Crew has always embodied the Preppy look. And with online shopping it is just a click away. Look for checks and plaids.

J. Crew’s Boyfriend Blazer in Plaid Checked Italian Wool is the perfect jacket for denim and Zoom meetings.

Their best selling High-Rise Peyton pant comes in a great Plaid that will work with everything, especially a great denim jacket.

You could even just do a fabulous Silk Twill Tunic in a speckled plaid to hit this trend.

Or try a great plaid pleated midi skirt, in some great unexpected colors.

But to take Plaid to the next level you need to add a punky accent or two.

I am in love with this Balmain blazer from Saks 5th Avenue. It’s preppy enough with the classic plaid and double breated front but they have added a huge chunky emblem that takes it to the next level!

Last winter I bought some great Plaid tops from Ann Taylor and Loft that I will totally pull out this fall again and just wear accessories that can add that punk detail. Plaid was everywhere last fall, if you still have it by all means wear it! This Fall Loft has a great top that would work so well under blazers and sweaters if you just wanted to insert a bit of plaid into your wardrobe

And Ann Taylor has a knit checked top that can do the same thing

I love it when the patterned piece in your outfit is the focal point. But for this trend you need to add one more. So with all these great plaid pieces what would you add to take it to the level of the Balmain blazer?

A great chunky chain gold necklace would do the trick with all the tops above. This one is from J. Crew. Or buy a two pack and layer your heavy chains

Remember with punk accents it’s ok to go a little overboard.

Anthopologie has this fab Parker chain belt that would add just enough chain detail to acheive the look you want.

Or just use a belt with a big accent on the buckle like this Aubrey belt from Anthro. Or try adding a broach to your jacket and be progressive at the same time

This proud 3 pack gender inclusive pin is at exlusive at Nordstrom.

And adding a Charm Chain Broach by Alexander McQueen to anything you wear would immediately elevate your Prep or classic look to sophisticated punk.

Geometric prints are also a big part of this trend.

The Designer shows for fall were full of Geometric prints. This look is from the Alexander McQueen show. And you won’t need a lot of this print to make a statement.

Try adding this Stripe Ruffled shell by Loft to your bottoms and give a geometric nod to your outfit.

Loft also has this cute Geo print sweater with some fringe (another big trend for fall we will get into later). Or do your Geo print on the bottom with this great knit pencil skirt

Punk this skirt from Loft up with a denim jacket and chunky jewellery.

This Spotted Shirred Raglan Sleeve top from Ann Taylor would be a great way to add one piece of a Geo print to an outfit, and it also ties in a lot of the fall colors too boot!

If your smaller like me, becareful of how big your wear the Geometric print and keep it one piece.

Accessories are huge in this Prep to Punk trend. Everyone has a plaid scarf in their closet. Here is when you pull it out and wear it with denim, chino and wool.

It doesn’t have to be Burberry but now is the time to pull out what you have.

And who wouldn’t love this Cinnamon Plaid Caplet from Anthro. They have tons of this kind of look online so check it out! http://www.anthropologie.com

And there are two quintessential styles of shoes that work with this look.

Of course, the loafer is an absolute go to shoe with this look.

J. Crew’s academy loafter in any color would work with this look.

These heeled Jeffrey Campbell Loafers from Anthro have the built in chain detail your outfit needs. And I have a great pair of embellished Paul Green black loafers that I will pull out with this trend, this year’s version would work just as well

You can find Paul Green at http://www.nordstrom.com .

The other quintessential shoe is actually a boot. The lace up bootie is a must with this look.

You can go casual and chunky like these Silent D Udana Lace-Up Boots from Anthro.

And I love these Suede Lace up boots from J. Crew. You could also wear Chelsea booties here too.

Pick ones with a stand out detail, like these ones from All Black at Anthro.

I personally think a black bootie or shoe is what you want with this trend. But if you are doing your plaid or geo print in an unexpected color, like the purple and orange above, try a color of shoe or bootie that will compliment the look.

Do your lace up bootie in this light pecan color. Or maybe wear a neutral color ballet flat

Both of these looks are from J. Crew.

As an alternative I also like a metallic loafer. This one from Donald Pliner at Nordstrom would add that Punk element to your outfit.

So that’s the look in a nutshell. The Preppy looked was based on denim and chino originally. But you can wear this with Wool bottoms in solid colors, like black and grey. Olive is a strong color for fall and so is Red, you can add both these here as basics or accents. We should all have a lot of plaid and basic colors in our wardrobes from the last few falls, so you can pull those out again and add a broach, belt or shoe to take it to this fall’s look.

Next week we will dive a bit deeper into Fall Prints and talk more about the Patchwork trend, Animal print, Fall Florals and Tapestry. And now that we are in October you should see way more fall items in your favorite stores and online. Right now everything I feature can be bought online, just because with Covid if you are like me you prefer not to go into a lot of stores right now. And of course with every trend you should still wear your face mask. You can buy a plaid face mask at almost any store. Or buy an embellished one. So far I have been sticking to solid colors but when I come across some great ones for fall I will add them into one of the blogs.

Stay safe, stay healthy and be kind.

Until next time…

Last week we finished talking about the Victorian Trend in Decorum Please. This week we are going to finish our Fall 2020 preview and cover off Suiting, Fall Colors, Fall Dresses, Fall Outerwear and finally Fall Shoes and Accessories. We will have a Fall jewellery blog from our jewellery expert, Shoshana Lewis, but that won’t happen until November. So likely I wouldn’t talk about jewellery too much before then. If you can’t wait check out Shok Designs on Instagram, Shoshana is always posting what is new and on trend there first.

The New Fall Suit

A lot of women have gone back to the office, as Covid restrictions ease up. And even if we are still working from home, most of us need to look professional for our Zoom meetings. The newest trend for suits for spring was the Bermuda short, well we have another new twist for fall. This year the midi skirt is the new go to piece with your blazers.

This is the look from Fendi’s fall show. A longer skirt with your blazer. And the other big trend in suiting is the untailored look. Everything slightly oversized.

Here is Acne Studio’s version of untailoring.

Here is a more realistic look from the Frankie Shop on Net a Porter or

this is the new Margaux Blazer from Wilfred at Aritzia. And I am really going to encourage you to shop your oversize suiting from Aritzia and support a great Canadian company. And with your suiting now just your blazer should be oversized, your pants should be too

This is the Mariposa Blazer from Wilfred and the pants are the Santos pants. This is the look of fall suiting.

And to me if you are wearing a longer skirt you need to have your blazer accentuate your waist. The Santos blazer from Babaton at Aritzia does just that, here it’s paired with the Bramble skirt.

Fall Colors

This Fall’s color palette encompasses almost everything. Metallic shades, Rust, Grey, Dark and Chartreuse Greens, Red, Dusty Pink, Royal Blue, Olive, Black and Camel. Black is back in a big way and Grey is the new black. Accents like Red, Marigold and Rusty Oranges are important especially in tops and sweaters.

The sweater jacket or coatigan is big for fall, so look for a color of gold that is a bit darker if you want to try marigold. This is the Tippi Sweater Jacket from J. Crew.

Anthropologie has this Miena Spotted Wool Sweater Coat, encompassing some of the go to fall colors.

Or the new long line Cardigans (Coatigans because they can be coats in warmer climates) in a great fall hue to accent all your grey, black and olive pants. We will talk a lot more about all the Fall colors in detail when we get to this blog. But in the meantime if you see a fall color you love you can wear it.

Fall Dresses

This season I am going to do an entire blog about Fall dresses, because dresses have become a go to item for daytime as well as evening. Dresses for Fall 2020 will have a lot of detail.

Even your plaid dresses for fall will have some detail like this dress by Thorton Bregazzi at Net a Porter.

Shirt dresses are still important but do them in a great Fall color like this Delfina shirtdress from Anthro.

Nordstrom has Etro’s Paisley Shift dress. Back to our tapestries and paisleys, if you do a simple style do it in one of the stand out prints or patterns from Fall 2020. And probably the key to a great fall dress this year is to make sure it’s midi length, a little bit oversize and either a great print or color with a higher neckline

Which is everything this dress by Sara Lanzi at Nordstrom encompasses.

And also make sure dresses have embelishments, fancy collars, pleats, etc. Or you can even try a dress with a built in necklace

Like this one from Bottega Veneta’s fall show.

I will dive into way more detail when we get to this blog.

Fall Outerwear

Fall outerwear could be 2 blogs there is so much to talk about. Outerwear is super trendy for fall and there is so much to choose from and so many trends.

Bazaar has the fur and faux fur trend as the most important. It is super strong but I don’t think it’s the most important.

The Cape trend is even stronger this Fall than last fall. This is the Shiloh knit cape from Anthro, but there are capes at every price and knit and solid fabrics too.

This Red Valentino Scalloped Edge Cape is gorgeous, you can find it on
Far Fetch.com. Puffers are still super strong, and Aritzia just go in their newest fall shipment of their Super Puff coats. Wool and cashmere are also important.

Shearling is another big trend in outerwear.

And Aritzia has you covered with a few new sherpa jackets including this Sherpa liner that you can wear under a wool coat for more warmth or on it’s own.

You can also look for 80’s styling in your coats, like big shoulders and strong lapels. And finally, one more important note about Fall outerwear is that detail on a coat is as important as the coat itself.

Fur collars, belt details, anything metallic. etc. You will want those details on your coats. We will get into much more detail later on in the coat blog. But keep these things in mind when fall coat shopping.

Fall Shoes and Accessories

Fall shoes will have all the details we talked about in last week’s blog and in this week. Patterns, metallic are both important. Color is important too. The biggest style change in boots are a lot of over the knee this year, if you can wear it.

These Seychelle’s boots are at Anthro. If you have longer legs jump on the over the knee trend, but if your like me and your legs are short, stick with boots right up to the knee and same color tights or pants. That will lengthen your leg.

Lace up boots are important too. Last week I showed a pair of tapestry lace up and this week I will show suede. These are Suki lace up boots from Anthro and do your lace ups in a great fall suede color or print.

Shoes can be square toe or pointed, both are strong. But do them with some sort of detail.

These square toe flats by Jeffrey Campbell have a great bow detail and they come in 7 fall colors including black patent. Embellish your loafers and slides

The more embellishment the better. All the above shoes you can find at anthropologie.com.

And because it’s still a pandemic and a lot of us are wearing flats instead of heels, try a pair of ballet flats like these from J. Crew to bring your fall outfit to life.

Fall bags are pretty much following what they were for Spring. Large is better. Hobos, Totes, etc.

Do them classic and elegant like these from Banana Republic or try a great satchel with some embellishments like this one from Gucci at Norstrom

Again I will go into a ton more detail when I do an entire blog about shoes and accessories.

So there you have it, your fall preview is done. Next week we will start looking into the metallic trend a little deeper. The weather is starting to change little by little but before we know it we will be looking for sweaters and boots to hold through the long winter months. If you want to shop early go for it, now you have an idea of what to look for.

Starting in October if you want to go through your wardrobe with me we can do it on Zoom. It will be by appointment only and please contact me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com for booking appointments and online rates.

If you are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, I wish you a very happy and healthy new year and for all those who don’t a very happy fall!

Until next time…

Welcome to the best fashion season there is. Fall is the chance to get back into your wardrobe and wear pieces that truly make you happy. I love summer but Fall is when I love my wardrobe.

We are going to quickly go through the Fall trends in these two introductory blogs and then in the coming weeks dive into them one at a time. Our last 3 blogs will be about Fall colors, Fall Dresses, Fall shoes and accessories and finally by the end of October or early November Fall Outerwear. Fashion is preceeding along like we are not really in a pandemic, but of course we still are. So shopping online will be your best bet for Fall 2020, I will do my best to post links to the outfits and items I show. And in our all our trends I will try and show you how to wear the trend while you are socially isolated and wearing your masks. Which are going to become fashion items all on their own too. If you have questions or comments please keep them coming and I will do my best to answer.

The Ivy Leagues go Punk

This trend takes the preppy look and turns it on it’s head.

This fall everything has a bit of an edge to it.

Harper’s Bazzar has both the Preppy and the Plaid mini trends all shown with a bit of edge. All your preppy looks will be modernized with things like punk accents and metallic details.

The last thing I want to mention as part of this trend is the look of the new Geometry prints.

This Veronica Beard Jacket featured in Marie Claire’s fall fashion preview is a great example of a geometry print. All kinds of prints and patterns are in style for Fall 2020 and the Geometry print is the newest one.

The Metallic Craze

This trend is

exactly what it says. Metallic colors in leather and suede and sequins are back for dressy and daytime.

Marie Claire magazine has the right idea with showing a fabulous Bruno Cucinelli leather jacket in a wonderful metallic. Paired with neutrals this is going to the the way to wear it for Fall 2020.

Harper Bazaar’s Putting on the Glitz trend is also a great way to show the importance of Sequins in this Fall’s attire.

Anthropologie is already showing some great metallic pieces you could add into your wardrobe. The ballet flats above and the leather jacket would be all you need to introduce this trend into your own closet.

Patchwork, Tapestry and Fall Prints

One of the newest trends this fall is the Patchwork trend. Tapestry we have seen the last couple of Falls. But this year everything is more Lux.

Vogue Magazine is showing this Alexander McQueen Patchwork suit as it’s favorite piece to illustrate this trend.

Marie Claire has this Dodo Bar Or Patchwork dress. You will see alot of Patchwork in denim and shirting for Fall and one piece would be all your wardrobe would need for a nod at this trend.

As for Tapestry we will see that more in jackets, coats and accessories. Remember the trend from last Fall where it looked like your were wearing your grandmother’s drapes. Well you can use that reference again this fall.

If you didn’t buy any, this fall you can buy something like these Jeffery Campbell booties from Anthro to add it to your wardobe.

The other fall print I want to mention is Animal Print. No it’s not going away anytime soon. But this season it has become a neutral to wear with other trends and something to add detail to.

Anthro is showing how to properly wear animal print this seaso. Here it is accenting the detailed top underneath. This season wear one piece of animal print at a time and make it not the focal point of your outfit.

It’s All In The Details

And it really is all in the details for Fall 2020. Everything will be all about the details of your outfit. There will be Lingerie details, Fringe is huge again for Fall, Bows are making a come back and any type of metallic embellishment is trendy.

Bazaar is showing a lot of Lingereie pieces and details in it’s Fall selection. If you do want to wear Lingerie styles this fall stick to neutral colors like black, off-white and beige.

Fringe could be it’s own trend for Fall 2020 but I put it here because it too should just be an accent in your outfit.

Marie Claire is showing this Eve Fringe-Trimmed Leather skirt by Stand Studio to illustrate this trend. And you will see Fringe everywhere, in sweaters, jackets and accessories. So pick the place it will work the best in your wardrobe. I personally love a fringed jacket or poncho like this one from Anthro

Bows are back and can be an accent on anything.

You could just add a t-shirt like this one from Zara. Or wear it on your ballet flat

like this Cole Haan Ballet flat from Nordstrom.

Or have it be the feature in your skirt, like this Bow front skirt from Far Fetch. I personally love bows on bags and shoes, so that is where I will be wearing this trend.

Embellishment is one of the key workds for your fall wardrobe. And your embellishment can be anything, a bow, a collar, lace or ruffles. Just make sure you have some.

It can be as simple as this bow neck and ruffle sleeve in this top by Cece at Nordstrom. It can be a metallic trimmed collar on your sweater

like this Dorothy Cardigan from Anthro.

Or find pieces that have their own embellishments like the lace details at the top of this Graciela Top from Anthro.

Decorum Please

In this last Fall 2020 trend we are going to cover this week, we are going to look at the Victorian themed trend. All the fashion that was in style in the late 1800s is making a comeback in this trend. Lace, Puffy Sleeves and Skirts, Frills, Ruffles and High-neck tops are all super strong for Fall 2020.

Bazaar is concentrating on the shape of this look in it’s fall preview.

Marie Claire is showing Coach’s Tie Neck Sleeveless Ruffle neck blouse to illustrate their version of this trend.

Anthro has farm rio’s Kelsey Blouse featuring Puffed Sleeves.

You will see lots of this style of blouse for Fall 2020. Anything high neck and smocked works in this trend. This dress is from Lafayette 148 New York at Nordstrom.

will work because of all the ruffles.

Or you can put it all together in this Isabel Marant etoile

Cotton Blouse from Nordstrom. Wear all your Ruffles and Lace with this trend as well.

Here you can see what I mean when I saw that Animal print is going to be a neutral for Fall 2020. J. Crew is showing a Tie neck Tiered Dress in Leopard Chiffon which hits this year’s Victorain trend perfectly.

Of course we will go into each of these trends in way more detail. But those are the first 5 Fall trends we are going to talk about. Next week we will cover off the rest before going into detail about each one.

Remember I love hearing from you and you can comment on this blog or ask me any questions you want at Suethefashionista@gmail.com.

Until next week…

• 

I know we are still enjoying all the summer we can. And I truly hope we get summer until the end of September. But as you know Fall is coming and the best thing you can do for your closet is get it ready. Every season I talk about cleaning out your closet, it is one of the most important things you can do.

Get rid of anything that doesn’t fit or needs repairs you won’t make. It is just wasting space. Also take a good hard look at you haven’t worn in the last year. Chances are you don’t really like it or don’t like the way it looks on you and it’s time for it to go. If you feel you need help I can do Zoom or Skype with you in your own closet. It takes about 3 hours but you will come out with new outfits and lots of closet space. Contact me to see my rates for online appointments.

So what should you keep as you are going through your closet for Fall 2020. Here is my list of what you should keep if you have it:

Baby Doll dresses

Lots of us have styles like this, dresses that are billowy and fall to your knee.

This tiered swing dress from Banana Republic is the type of dress you could wear into fall if you have it already. Anything with puffy sleeves and tiers can work with this trend for fall. So keep all your dresses that look like this, wear them now with sandals and into the fall with tights and knee high boots.

Balloon Sleeves

And not just balloon sleeves, keep all your puffy sleeved tops and dresses. Clothing will have a voluminous feel to them for Fall 2020 so any tops you have like this will still work.

Banana Republic had this balloon sleeve blouse in lots of colors last fall, if you have something like this keep it.

Anthropologie has this knit balloon sleeve top on sale, lots of us bought tops and sweaters like this. You will be wearing them again.

Everything for Fall 2020 will have some sort of detail. If you have clothing with Ruffles

keep it or if you have tops with ties at the neck

you will be wearing them with sweaters and blazers so hang onto them as well.

Colors and Prints

Keep all your Reds, Olives, Rusts and the new color is Marigold (but you can still wear mustard). If you have metallics keep those too. Green is still strong but mostly Olive and Chartreuse.

Colorful tops like this one from BR in soft satin that has good flow to it will be your go to for fall. So keep all your silky satin tops especially if they are in those colors above and of course black.

Prints are going to be really strong. If you have plaid keep it and animal print is one of the neutrals to put with other colors and we all have some animal print, so keep that too.

Plaid is going to be worn either preppy or punky, so decide which you want and if you have a plaid blazer (or a checked or glen plaid one) they will all work. Blazers will be cropped as well, so those keep for sure.

Coats and Outerwear

Last year we saw a lot of plaid in coats, you will definitely wear those and if you have coats in reds, greys, blacks and camels, keep those too. The cape look is still super strong

so if you were smart enough to buy one last fall, you will get more wear out of it. Ann Taylor had a great one and I didn’t buy it, hopefully you did and can pull it out again. If you want to get one, Anthropologie has some great ones that aren’t too pricey

This Shiloh cape comes in Olive (shown) or Navy and would be great in any wardrobe.

Puffers are going to be strong again. So keep those. Artizia has the super puff which a lot of us have. You will be wearing it again and again.

Leather jackets and all leather clothing are still in style. If you happen to have a metallic leather jacket even better. Colored leather is strong too. Keep all your leather

Seperates, skirts and suits

Yes to all of them. All your blazers you can pair with skirts. And the skirt suit, with a blazer and midi skirt is the newest suit trend. Bermuda shorts could still be worn with blazers, you just have to wear tights. Especially any tweeds and checks, those are great seperate pieces to put with a solid on the bottom or top. Use you ruffles and ties to add details.

Here is Louis Vitton’s take on putting seperates together for his fall show. We can tone it down a bit, but this should give you a good idea of what to keep.

Fringe

Yes it’s back and super strong. We all have a few fringe pieces whether it’s a jacket, shirt, skirt or bag hanging around and now is the time to pull that piece out again.

If you bought a cape or poncho with fringe, I did, then now is the time to pull it out. This is the new version from BR and it comes in camel and black.

And now is the time to pull out the fringe purse you have at the back of the closet

you will get lots of wear out of it again.

Keep anything with a Bow on it, clothes, shoes etc. If you have platform shoes, they are coming back so keep them, and your loafers and knee high boots are still important.

When you clean out your closet make a point of trying everything on. Covid-19 has made a lot of us put on some extra weight, so don’t keep things you might fit into one day. Wear things that look good on you now. Keep your wide leg jeans to wear with chunky soled shoes and your skinny ones to wear with boots. And keep all your cozy sweaters.

One thing I noticed with spring is that a lot of the trends that we talked about women weren’t really wearing because they were working from home and not really going out. Even though you might be back at your office a couple days a week, most things are still online. So hang on to things you love, that fit and are comfortable. And yes, you can buy some new fall masks to wear with your fall clothes. Looks like we will be wearing masks everywhere we go until at the minimum the end of this year.

Do you need help getting your closet ready for fall? Do you feel like you lost your style over Covid-19 and need a little refresh. I am going to move all my styling and wardrobing appointments online. I am finding that all sorts of things can work on online platforms and I can work that way too. Email me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com if you want to work that way. I have a new pricing schedule as well for online. So contact me if you want to know what it is.

Starting in September we will go over all the Fall 2020 fashion trends and then each one in depth every week. Enjoy your last few weeks of summer and get your closet ready because Fall will be here soon.

Until next time…

• 

Hi everyone! Just a quick post to let you know to get ready to shop Nordstrom Anniversary Sale! Starting today in stores and tomorrow morning online. Prices are great and now is the time to get that one piece you want for Fall 2020 on sale.

Over the years I have bought wonderful things on sale, boots, coats and sweaters. I am a Fashion advisor to the Nordstrom stores and can tell you that this year their selection of Anniversary sale clothes and shoes are excellent!

Shop at Nordstrom.com and enjoy!!

Until next time…

Summer time and the living is easy! Well, maybe not this year with the world still battling Covid-19. But now that we are in month 6 of the battle and some countries, like Canada, have gotten the upper hand, I guess we are breathing a bit easier. Not to say it’s time to take off your masks. Definitely keep wearing those until there is a vaccine. Masks have become the new normal for everyone, so wear one. Get some fun ones and match your great summer dresses to your favorite masks.

Speaking of dresses, there is no better time in the entire year to wear a dress. Dresses keep you cool and comfortable and can look incredibly chic with the right accessories. Let’s look at some of Summer’s best dresses and then see what we can pair them with.

I love a great Maxi dress for summer. I have tons of them and wear them a lot!

How about something like this Marya Maxi Dress from Anthropologie. It comes in 4 colors including this Brown motif. I love a cute print maxi for summer because all you need is a great pair of flat sandals.

These Juniper Studded Gladiator Slide Sandal from Sam Edelman at Nordstrom would be a great shoe for that dress above. Add some great bracelets from Shok Designs.

Mix and match your metallics in bracelets and layer them down your arm with this great Maxi!

Another great Anthro Maxi I have had my eye on all summer is

this stunning Marlene Tiered Maxi Dress. It comes in the sunny Orange, this gorgeous Pink and a muted Tan. But i say wear this dress bright as possible and pair it with metallic flats or patterned slides.

These Myron Slingbacks from Jeffrey Campbell also from Anthro in the pink combination would be great with the dress above. I would keep jewellery to your wrists and ears with this fantastic bright dress.

These Teardrop Hoop earrings from Trina Turk at Nordstrom Rack would be perfect and add a few of Shok Designs colored bracelets

and you have yourself a great outfit!

Some women love their summer dresses a bit shorter. A great place to get a cute summer dress reasonably priced is Loft.

They have some great dresses like this Square Neck Flounce dress, it comes in 5 colors and is only $115 Canadian. They show you on their website how to wear it too! I prefer a dress that comes to my knee if it’s short, but if you have great legs and your want to wear your sundress just above then go for it. Definitely keep your heel flatter if you are going shorter.

Pair your shorter colorful dress with metallic thong sandals also from Loft and with this dress you could wear a necklace.

Try one, not all, of Shok Designs necklaces with a dangle or pearl dangle. Keep your necklace and shoes the same metallic tone, either gold or silver or perhaps rose gold.

Nothing says summer like a great white dress. You will see white dresses featured on every website you go to this summer. Banana Republic has one of the best white dresses.

BR’s Tecel white shirt dress is perfect. It also comes in a cute blue stripe if you hate white. The skirt is lined in the white color and it’s tencel so it’s a natural fabric that breathes, so you will be cool all day long. Keep your shoes natural, white or do a contrast black sandal.

These Tasha heels from Franco Sarto at Anthro would be perfect with the shirtdress above. The black would be a great contrast. You can go either silver or gold with jewellery or do a colorful piece.

Shok designs has some fabulous multi colored bracelets you can layer or wear on their own. A nice pop of color on your wrist would work great with this dress!

For each piece you pick for summer you need to find a mask or wear PPE. I have decided to embrace the mask and have started to accumulate a few in different colors to go with all my outfits. You can find masks everywhere.

On the Anthro website you can find these Sanctuary masks in 2 colorways. They come as a set of 5 and are washable and reuseable.

Banana Republic has masks on both their Canadian and American websites and they even have some that match the fabric of their dresses.

I love a local Vancouver Brand called Protech facemasks. They have new colors and styles.

These are my 4 favorites that they make for women. I love the lace pattern and am always wearing my daisy mask. They have solid colors too. Shipping is usually one or 2 days. Protechfacemask.com

This blog is just a little shorter because I know everyone wants to be doing something other than reading a blog in the summer. Soon enough we will be getting into Fall clothing and I have a strong feeling most fall collections will include masks to match. Right now it’s probably the most important accessory you can wear. And those blue disposable masks are ok for Costco but not for making a stylish impression.

Stay safe everyone and in the next couple weeks we will talk about what to keep and what to sell from your fall wardrobe. Hopefully sometime soon I can start personal styling appointments, but right now I am not taking any in person appointments. But I would love to hear from you and answer any fashion questions you happen to have. Email me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com

Until next time…

I asked in my last few blogs during the summer if you all had any fashion questions that you wanted answered. I had lots of replies and quite a few duplicate questions. So I decided to post the top 3 questions I received and answer them to everyone. So let’s get started.

The top question I received was about skinny pants. At the beginning of Spring 2020 all the fashion experts were saying skinny pants and jeans were not going to be happening and to ditch yours for wider legs and at the very least a straight leg.

Covid 19 has changed just about everything, including all the fashion predictions for Spring 2020. Since everyone stayed home from work or worked at home, women went back to their favorites. So in reality skinny never went out of style. Wide legs are still favorable and you still see a lot of them, but skinny pants and jeans are here to stay.

Stores just marketed them a little differently.

Ann Taylor has every kind of pant you can imagine for Spring 2020, skinny, slim, straight and wide. But they are calling their slim leg pants a slim ankle pant. Still as stylish as ever. Banana Republic’s Sloan pant, their skinniest pant is their best selling pant.

And the Sloan pants come in every color and in high waisted and curvy. So BR makes skinny pants for everyone! Even Anthropologie, the most fashion forward of the 3 stores has skinny pants among their customer favorites

Their Angela Cropped Cargo pants are among their customer favorites and they are really more of a tapered leg than a true skinny pant but tapered and skinny have the same effect on your body, they lean out your legs and make them look longer. So don’t ditch your skinny jeans, I say wear them whenever and where ever you want!

The second most popular question I received was about T-Shirts and Tank tops. People wanted to know where to get them and how to wear them to look fresh and modern.

Covid 19 has certainly gotten everyone thinking about what is the most comfortable thing for them to wear. When times are tough people crave comfort food and clothing. Anything knit equals comfort. And I personally have been living in Tees and Tanks so far this summer. Some of my favorite T-Shirts are from Banana Republic. I am wearing my pants a little wider this summer (no, I haven’t thrown away my skinny’s but I find wider pants cooler and more comfortable when it’s hot) so I have been buying my T-shirts a little shorter this year.

Banana Republic has some great boxy T-shirts. I like them because none of them, not even the white ones are see through. And I am loving a boxy Tee with a wider leg bottom. This is the one I just ordered and can’t wait to start wearing

it will satisfy my jungle print need without leaning too far away from animal print (something else that was supposed to be out but we see it everywhere) which I love.

Tank tops are my go to for any layering I need to do. Summer hasn’t been exactly hot in Vancouver so far so I have been using my tanks as layering pieces. But a Tank top is a wonderful look withe a maxi skirt on a hot day. Anthropologie has the Alissa Layering Tank in 13 different colors and in petite, regular and plus sizes,

you can wear a bra with it and it seems to look good on everyone. So chances are you can find a color and size that works for you. Joe Fresh doesn’t have their basic tank that I have been wearing for years this summer, which is a shame because for $12 it was the best tank and layering piece out there.

The third most popular question I received was about accessories. A lot of women said that with the changes to their routines with Covid 19 and how much they are washing their hands they have stopped wearing rings and bracelets. How else could they accessorize if they wanted to impress over Zoom.

I am with them, I have stopped wearing rings and bracelets for that very same reason, between hand santizer, plastic gloves and constantly washing my hands I would be taking off my wedding rings over and over and probably leave them somewhere. So my only hand accessory these days is nail polish. I have been starting to wear watches again, I hated to have to pull out my phone to see the time. But what else can you do besides on your hands and wrists. Well any good Zoom meeting calls for a great necklace or a stunning pair of earrings.

I love this Enamel Clover collar bone necklace from Ann Taylor. I know necklaces are supposed to be big and bold this spring and of course you will look super cute and trendy if you wear one of them. But if you are wearing a tank top or a t-shirt a little necklace like this will immediately elevate the look. Or layer the look with this necklace

from Anthropologie, layered necklaces and any necklace with a lock is very fashionable for spring so choose something like this for your next wine date over Zoom with girlfriends.

And lets talk about the most important fashion accessory any woman can wear this spring and summer. Yes, I am talking about face masks. No one and I mean no one in the entire world should be leaving their home without one on. I am talking to you America! Wear a face mask, it protects you and everyone around you. And you don’t have to always wear the disposable blue ones, pick a face mask that makes you happy. Everyone is selling them. My favorite face masks are from Protech face masks in Vancouver.

My favorite facemask is my daisy printed one from Protech. Order their face masks online at http://www.protechfacemask.com, you won’t be sorry. They are coming up with new colors and prints all the time, so check it out. You can also find face masks everywhere. Banana Republic has them and so does Anthropologie. Even the Queen is wearing a face mask. You can make your own or support local businesses and buy one at your favorite retailer. I wear Protech to support a local Vancouver business! But don’t go out in public without one.

So those were my top 3 questions so far this summer. Please keep your comments and questions coming. I am still not doing any styling or closet wardrobing in person, and likely won’t be doing anything like that until there is a vaccine. But I am happy to chat with you over Zoom or via email or messenger if you have fashion questions. Stay safe, stay healthy and be kind to one another.

until next time…

What is it about size that confuses everyone?  Does it matter what the size says on the garment if it fits you?  Do you really care what size you wear? Now I am supposed to say that it doesn’t and that if you feel good in your own skin it doesn’t matter what size you wear.  But I don’t really believe that.  I am not saying you have to run out and starve yourself into a size 4, but size does matter.  And it makes me upset when an item that is supposed to be sized a certain way isn’t.  You know like petites that aren’t petite or plus sizes that really only fit a size 12.

Recently I have heard from some friends that they are distressed when certain stores clothes because that is the only store that had clothes to fit them.  And every woman(yes absolutely everyone) has a part of her body that she fits her clothes around, or in other word needs to find close to camouflage. Mine are my thighs, some it’s their hips, some their bums and even others it their bust.  Some women have large feet and others really small.  Everyone has something that they need to work around.  So how do you find things that really fit?

We all know clothes fit better when you are wearing the right foundations.  And since Covid has kept us in gym clothes and comfy attire, you probably haven’t tried on your bras in a while, or maybe you haven’t replaced them in a few years.  If you feel comfortable go into a store and get fitted.  I get fitted every other year when I am in Arizona at Dillards.  I think they have the best fitting staff.  Or you can go to a local lingerie boutique, like Diane’s in Vancouver.  At least go get refitted every 5 years.  Your shape does change as you mature and you may need more or less support.  Ok enough about foundation wear.  If you are really struggling reach out to me and I can help you get fitted and find somewhere to go.

What is it about certain clothes that make a fit perfect?  How do you know a certain store’s clothes will fit you, especially if you are ordering online because you want to stay home and safe.  If you aren’t going into the store and trying something on personally, read the reviews. I have had my eye on this Ripley pant from Anthropologie for a couple of days. Depending on the color I buy I can get it in Petite, Standard, Plus and Tall.  How do I know if it will fit me? I can look at the size guide on the Anthro website:

Size Guides: Apparel

Standard Sizing (Inches)

Inches

Centimeters

	XXS	XS	S	M	L	XL
US Size (Numeric)	00	0 2	4 6	8 10	12 14	16
Bust	32	33 34	35 36	37 38	39.5 41	42.5
Natural Waist	24	25 26	27 28	29 30	31.5 33	34.5
Drop Waist	26	27 28	29 30	31 32	33.5 35	36.5
Hips	34	35 36	37 38	39 40	41.5 43	44.5

This is how they fit the standard sizes, there is also one for petite and plus sizes but absolutely nothing about how much longer the tall fit is, I know I searched for it.  So one way to guarantee that these pants will fit is to measure your body and buy the corresponding size.  These pants are sized 24-32 in standard and petite and 16W to 26W in Plus.  But usually there are pictures of petite and plus ladies wearing it and this time there aren’t.  Only the good old size 2 model who makes a paper bag look chic when she’s wearing it. The other way to see if something fits like it should or has good qualities is to read the reviews.  You read the reviews before seeing a movie or going to a restaurant, so why not when buying a pair of pants.

Here is another example of how you would find a fit if you are ordering pants online.

This is the Emma Cropped Wide-Leg Pant from Anthro, it comes in the same 3 size categories Standard, Petite and Plus.  This time we can actually see what it looks like when someone with a real figure is wearing it, so always look at all the pictures of all the different ways the article of clothing is shown. I always look at the bigger model wearing it, I might not be Plus size but I am nowhere near a size 4, so for me this is a more realistic way of looking at a pair of pants.  The other thing I find really helpful is the reviews, there were 52 reviews for these pants, but I only read the top 6 or 7.  So from my reading of the reviews, pear shaped women thought the pant fit great, but hourglass shaped women (very curvy) and one round woman both thought they fit terrible.  So look at who is writing the review, are they around your size and height? If they liked it , probably you will too.  If everyone who is around your size and height hated it, it’s probably not for you.

Pants are particularly difficult to fit if you don’t know the pant already.  Read the review and look at all the pictures.  It really does help.

Dresses are way easier to fit if you are buying one online.  Again, I would never buy a dress without reading the reviews and looking at all the pictures.  The one time I did, it was a Maxi dress, so I ordered a petite and it was a horrible fit.  I should have read the reviews and sized up.

This Rachel Tunic Dress also from Anthro is probably a really easy dress to buy without trying it on.  It is a good length for women, not too mini and in the Plus sizes it’s even longer.  It is supposed to come to your knee. But still you need to read the reviews.  This dress is XXS-XL in Regular and Petite and 1X-3X in Plus.  But do you know what happened when I read the reviews?  Everyone says it fits really large, so if you are like me and would normally order a Large, what does that mean.  It means size down and order a Medium.  You can learn everything you need from just reading a few reviews.  But a Tunic dress is an easy fit, let’s take a dress that is fitted and see what we can learn. This is the Farm Rio Alyse Midi dress also from Anthro.  Looks pretty fitted doesn’t it. Normally I wouldn’t try and order a dress like this without trying it on.  But since it’s Covid-19 and I really don’t want to go to try it on, let’s see what we can learn.   I comes in Regular and Petite sizing XXS-XL.  It’s Viscose and Elastin, so it has a bit of stretch.  It’s supposed to hit mid calf and the petite size is 2″ shorter.  So far so good.  Oh and by the way the model is 5’9″ so you know it will probably be closer to a maxi length on a shorter woman.  But what happened when I read the reviews?  Well all the women who wore size large or XL loved the dress.  There was a woman from NY who weighs 175 and is 5’6″ and she said it is the best dress ever.  And most of the women loved it but a few ladies in sizes small and XS said it didn’t fit well at all.  So if you are smaller maybe this dress isn’t for you.  But if you have an hourglass figure or wear a size large, everyone loved it.  And that can help you decide what size to order (most women said true to size, one said it fit small) and if it will suit your figure.

 

Tops are pretty easy as well.  Look for tops that you know will fit you.  As you all know I love the Banana Republic tops.  I order alot of them online.  Here is their Soft Satin Tank, it comes in 5 colors and almost all BR things tend to fit the same.  So if you are a Medium in one top chances are you are a Medium in another.  And even though I know that, it doesn’t hurt to read the reviews.  Mostly everyone loved it and found it fit true to size, but a couple of other things stood out to me.  One woman complained how much it snagged and took her time to go through the rack in store to find one without snags (good to know right!) and another found it fit shorter than last year’s satin top, also good to know.  Because now you know that you can wear it with a wider pant as well. Here is another BR top, it’s their Cropped ECOVERO Button Back Tank. Tank tops are trendy right now so this one had plenty of reviews.  Again mostly favorable but a few women complained about how short it was and that it was too short.  Well I actually have this top and it’s not too short at all, it hits right below my stomach, which is perfect on me.  But you need to look at who is writing the reveiw, the women who all found it too short were quite tall.  I don’t happen to be tall so it worked for me.

 

So take you time when shopping online and read the reviews and look at the pictures of it on different size models.  If you want to order from Nordstrom, they have video’s with each piece they show online of a sales person describing the fit of the piece and how to wear it.  Want more info, call your local store and talk to a style advisor.  At Anthro they have Personal styling you can do via email and I think I have told you this before at BR on the American website they have outfits with almost every piece put together by their stylists for you to get inspiration from.  Use all the resources you can before making an online purchase.  Size does matter, because if it doesn’t fit you won’t be happy!

 

So far we are still Covid at home, but as things loosen up a bit you can go into stores and try things on.  I know I post a lot from big chain stores, but shop your local stores as well, they will need you to shop there now more than ever.  Stay safe and keep well.  I love to hear all your style questions and please feel free to keep emailing me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com and maybe you next question will be one I can that can inspire a blog post.

 

Until next time…

 

One of the things I pride myself in is my ability to curate my wardrobe.  What I mean by curate is that over the years I have bought clothes that can be worn in a mulitude of ways and over a mulitude of seasons.

Covid-19 has certainly changed the way I shop and the way I purchase clothes. I haven’t been spending the time or money this spring on clothing, I have bought a few things but they have all been online and even a seasoned shopper like myself has a few misses.  It happens to us all.   But more times than not if I see something that speaks to me and I buy it, I pull it out a week or a month later and it magically can take my outfit to the next level.

So what are the kinds of things that can magically make your outfit? Let’s go through some of my favorites and see if they can inspire you to curate your own wardrobe.

One of the pieces that I get more wear out of than I ever thought (besides pairs of jeans) is sleeveless mock neck tops that I bought at Anthropology last spring.  Mine are a knit fabric with a small pattern in the fabric and they have 3 big wood buttons at the back of my neck.  This season Anthro has something a little more delicate but similar. The Suzy mock neck tank would work in every wardrobe . The black is a must and the yellow would be great this season, it also comes in grey and cedar.  It is a poly/nylon/viscose blend so it will wash beautifully and not stretch out of shape.  You could wear this piece all year long.  It is great under a blazer for sweater in the fall and winter and in the spring and summer it looks great on it’s own.   I actually have a few other knit mock necks and I do wear them all year long.

I own many denim jackets.  I use them almost like an accessory.  Since my work style is more creative, I can even get away with using them instead of blazers.  The denim jacket I use as a blazer is one I bought at Ann Taylor a few years ago.  It’s very dark denim and has a peplum waist.  This season Ann Taylor has a fabulous belted dark denim jacket that would be a wonderful piece in any wardobe. I think a dark denim jacket works with so many things.  Because it has a defined waist it would look great with wide leg pants and maxi skirts, it would be great over sheath dresses and look excellent with any other pant, straight or skinny too.  A jacket like this could even be worn with skinny black pants, your black mock neck above and boots in the fall.  Right now you could wear it open as a topper to a t-shirt.  Every one owns a denim jacket but getting one that is more of a sophisticated style will let you wear it for   more occasions.

Black wide leg pants have become a great staple in my wardrobe.  I have 2 pairs, one pair that is knit and I wear it casually (the pair I talked about from Loft in my last blog).I wear these constantly and they are really comfortable.  I wear them with all my shorter tops and in the winter I can wear them with cardigans or cropped sweaters and ankle boots.  The other pair I bought is from Banana Republic, I have the BR Slim Wide’Leg Cropped pant  .   They are a poly/rayon and spandex combination and they fit like a dress pant while being super stylish.  I am shorter so a cropped pant hits me around my ankle, which is perfect for great sandals or slides in the spring and summer and a chunky heeled boot in the winter.  I like them so much I bought them in Splendid Green and Red as well.  To me these pants will be the kind of pants I can wear anywhere.  They look fabulous with my denim jackets and any cropped jacket or sweater I have, they work with a lot of my shorter tops and because they are slim wide leg they even work with my mid length tops.  As long as your top and pant create the same line down your body, your top can be a bit longer, it actually makes you look slimmer and taller.

I love sleeveless tops, I wear them as layering pieces in the winter and on their own in the summer.  I try and buy them when they are on sale and in a variety of fabrics, prints and colors.  Last year I fell in love with Banana Republics V-neck satin sleeveless top. I bought it in almost every color I could get my hands on once they went on sale. I have one that is black with off-white polka dots that has become my go to with denim all the time. This season you can find Soft Satin Tank in 7 colors including black and off white (which in my opinion are staple colors), and this Hula green is a great spring trend color.  This is the kind of top you can wear with skinny, straight and moderately wide pants, they wash beautifully and will become your favorite in no time!

I don’t wear a lot of sweaters in the summer but I do wear them the rest of the year and Banana Republic also has some great cardigans. My very favorite is their Washable Merino Wool Boyfriend Cardigan.  I have it in 4 colors and I am even wearing it in the summer on cool days. It’s lightweight but no too lightweight and it’s warm but not hot. This sweater is definitely one of those pieces that is an answer whenever I need one.

One more Banana Republic piece that I live in, and if you know me you have definitely seen me in this.  It’s a sandwashed black sleeves maxi dress.  I have worn it dressy and casual and it has no waist so I can belt it or leave it straight.  I liked it so much I bought it in a grey stripe too.  This year they don’t have the same dress, you can buy the jumpsuit version . The Sandwash Modal Cropped Jumpsuit is the same fabric and style as the dress and it could work the same way.  Or if you prefer a dress you could try Utility Maxi dress, it’s polyester so it will sit great and not wrinkle.  I actually bought this in Olive green, but I probably won’t wear it as much as last year’s black sheath dress.

Lastly I want to talk about shoes.  During Covid-19 I have been wearing sneakers non stop or comfy sandals on nice days.  But those aren’t the kind of shoes that are answers to any style question I have.  The kind of summer shoe that is an answer is a flat sophisticated sandal. Over the years I have bought a few that just seem to work all the time. I have heeled ones as well, but after wearing sneakers for months of Covid it is likely I won’t jump right into heeled sandals every day.  One of my favorite pairs is Louise et Cie, I liked them so much I bought them in both black and metallic.  This year they have them in white and tan. You can find them at Nordstrom Rack and they are marked down.  I have a similar black pair as well that is more of an open toe loafer I bought years ago at Gravity Pope and they are interchangeable with the black pair above depending on the occasion.  But these pseudo gladiators work with everything.  I wear them with jeans, pants, dresses and skirts, they are fantastic with a maxi dress or skirt that grazes your ankles.  And they look super with all my wide leg cropped pants above.

So there you have it, the type of pieces you could add to your wardrobe to look inside and see the answer to whatever style question you have.  Throw a few print pieces into the mix in your tops and dresses and you could create a capsule wardrobe that you can take with you when you travel or just have as a part of your overall wardrobe.

As it looks like Vancouver is slowly recovering from Covid-19 hopefully by the Fall I will be able to do in person styling and come to your home and do wardrobing with you in your own closet.  For now I am staying Covid safe and not doing anything in person at all. However if you have styling issue we could do it on Zoom or via Messenger and of course if you email me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com I will always answer.

Please stay Covid safe and until next time…

So as many of us start to increase our “bubble” from the past 2 months of strict social distancing and staying home from Covid-19.  We all have found ourselves searching for things that are truly comfortable to wear and that make us feel good.  I am no exception.  And we have all gained a little weight, I believe they are calling it the Covid 15, and let’s hope it’s not the Covid 30.  So as we emerge from our self isolating cocoons what kind of clothing are we still going to be craving.  I have been really thinking about this, especially when writing the spring blogs because I don’t think most women right now will be running out and buying the latest trends.  So how do we stay comfortable and cute.  Here are some ideas.

The first thing you need is a great pair of comfortable pants that can be worn at home and if you decide to venture out.  One of my favorite pairs of pants is from Loft.  I love the Loft Pull on Wide Leg pants so much I bought them in 2 different colors. I have both these colors and they also come in a Vivid Orange but I am not that bold. They are the most comfortable pants in my closet and look great with all my slightly shorter tops. Since I too have put on the Covid 15 I wear my shorter tops so they just hit below my stomach. I wore the Dark Caper color last night with a dark denim sleeveless top. A lighter Chambray top would work as well like this Cloth+Stone Chambray tank from Anthropologie, you just need a top that hits you at the right spot. I wear the black pair all the time too.  You can dress these pants up and down, wear them with heels or runners.  To me, they are the perfect pair of Covid-19 pants.

The other pair of pants I seem to be wearing a lot is my skinny jeans from Banana Republic. Their Mid-Rise skinny ankle jean has tons of stretch which is great right now and for some reason last year I bought a pair in a size bigger than I wear, well that worked out really well.  Banana Republic has some great jeans if you need a new pair and they are always at least 40% off. If you need a curvy cut skinny jean they have that too. You need to order curvy styles online but BR has great shipping.  I also love their High Rise Ankle length jeanbut it doesn’t have as much stretch. If you look at bananarepulic.com they even have outfit ideas put togther for each item you look at.  But if you live in Canada order at bananarepublic.ca and you won’t have to pay duty.  I actually order from BR more than I ever shop in the stores.  As long as you know your size you are good, and it’s easy returns.

The tops I seem to be gravitating to during this Covid crisis are all my knit ones.  My favorite t-shirts are from Aritzia. I live in my Foundation Crew by Babaton t-shirts.  They come in 7 colors and work under and with everything.  They are a fabulous basic t-shirt for any wardrobe and Aritzia gets them to my house within 2 days!  Another Aritzia favorite of mine is their sweatshirts.  I have never been a jeans and sweatshirt kind of girl, unless the sweatshirt has lace or some other detail on it, but for the last 2 months I live in them.

The Perfect Light Hoodie from Tna at Aritzia is the perfect spring hoodie, it comes in 4 colors and is super comfortable.  The other hoodie I live in is one from Joe Fresh, mine is solid black and I bought it a while ago, but this is the one they have online right now.  Joe Fresh actually has great ‘Lounge Wear’ and all really reasonably priced.  Another great and comfortable piece from Joe Fresh is their Soft Knit Active Jumpsuit.They have it it plus and regular and I know they also have it in store as well. They even have a pair of Stretch Culotte pants that echo the Bermuda short trend for spring , a very comfortable way to get your Bermuda on if I do say!

Tank tops are super current for Spring so you can wear all the sleeveless you like this year.  If you already have tons then you are set but if not, go for knit fabric and an easy fit style . I love the look of this Amber Asymmetrical Tank from Anthropologie and it comes in 5 colors!  I also love this Avery Muscle Tank from Anthro as well especially in this dark orange color and have had it in my basket twice online but haven’t bought it yet.  But everyone else likes it too because the black color is already sold out.  So look for tops that are also a bit thicker so they aren’t see through and buy the correct size, if you are a bit bigger right now buy a top that fits this size, lumps and bumps don’t look as good.

I am also loving the long tunic look over my skinny jeans and leggings.  A tunic top can hide a ton of sins, so make sure you have one or two in your wardrobe. The Bailee pleated tunic top from Anthro hits all the right notes.  It has soft pleating over the bust that floats over the tummy and rear, perfect for you Covid skinny bottom!

The other kind of top that works great with skinny jeans or wide pants is a loose flowy top with long or 3/4 sleeves. This Monty Babydoll top from Anthro is cotton and spandex and comes in 4 colors.  Loft also has some great long sleeve easy fit tops to wear with your easy fit pants. Try a top like this Bouquet Mixed Media top with a knit back.  And it’s a little shorter so it would look great with any wide leg bottom.  And if you want to be a little trendy while you are comfortable try a top like this from Banana Republic Their Balloon sleeve crop top comes in 6 knit colors.

Lastly most of us are staying away from heels right now. As a matter of fact I think most women are living in sneakers if they can.  So for summer pick a pair that is cotton and easy to wear like Keds Champion low top sneakers.  These are from Anthro but you can find Keds everywhere.  And a printed sneaker is in style right now and cute for summer. You can even wear these with your casual maxi dresses! Another cute pair from the Anthro site are these by Dolce Vita with the espadrille detail. Again you can find Dolce Vita at other places too.   Or try a pair of Superga in white or black, they are really comfortable. Again you can find them everywhere, even at the latestscoop.com.

We are getting into sandal season and most of us will be wearing flat more comfortable sandals as well.  One place I love in Vancouver and they also have stores in Toronto or you could order online is The Latest Scoop, great clothing, shoes and accessories at reasonable prices.  Try their online store and grab a pair of their Moxie Sandals, they look super comfortable and have lots of cushioning while being very trendy. Banana Republic also has lots of shoes online, for comfotable sandals try their Leather Buckle Slide.  And if you want just a bit of a heel to get back into wearing them they have lots of sandals with shorter stacked heels that will work with your wide leg pants, Bermuda shorts and dresses.  Try something like their Double Strp Mule Sandal.  And for the ultimate comfort try a pair of Clarks. A shoe like their Botanic slide will keep you comfy and stylish. Or try something like their Un Balsa Go Flat they are like wearing pillows on your feet.  They carry Clarks everywhere, these pictures are from Nordstrom.

Things will likely not go back to normal for a long while.  As your local stores and businesses open they need your support more than ever.  You can safely shop online if the store has a website or you can go there with a mask on and socially distance.  I wear a mask every time I leave my house. I know there are some people who don’t want to or think it’s not necessary. But my choice is to keep myself protected. Masks will be here to stay for a while and let’s not kid ourselves you need to wear one. So how do you get them?

Well believe it or not you can buy them online. Banana Republic has masks.  You can order them online but only on the US website.  Athropologie has lots too on their website like these reusable ones from Sanctuary. Or you can buy local, in Vancouver we ordered masks from Protech Face masks at  protechfacemasks.com. They have women’s, men’s and youth sizing, ear loops or around your head and completely washable.  They come in lots colors and patterns and shipping is quite quick compared to ordering from the US. What impresses me the most about Protech Face Masks is not only are they locally made but they are comfortable, washable and they come in sizing to fit your face.  They also have the best customer service.  As you know every package these days is delayed, good old Canada Post! I emailed Protech and they emailed me back right away and put together an order that I could pick up because it’s been a while and we really need them.  Customer service is pretty much dead in big box and chain stores, I was so impressed by the team at Protech Face masks that I will be wearing only their face masks until there is a vaccine. Trust me, it’s time to support local business and Protech face masks is one we can support because they have something we all need.  Order online protechfacemask.com

There are even companies in Italy that are making face mask bikini combinations but I am not suggesting you go that far.  Just buy some that are comfortable and washable because you will be wearing them for a while!

If you have comments or questions please feel free to email me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com. I would love to hear what you are doing to survive and thrive during Covid and how you are staying safe and comfortable.  I usually do a Father’s Day blog right about now, but this year I am not.  We all know in every family it is the Mother who has been the hero this very unusual spring we have had.  But if you want to get your guy a gift for Father’s day, get him something comfy to wear or even a set of his own masks, everyone needs those.

Stay safe and healthy!!

Until next time…

My Blog with Covid skincare was such a hit that I decided to write one about Hair as well. I am lucky that I know some great experts, so I interviewed the Owner and head Stylist at Pure Studio in Vancouver , Danny Barton. I have known Danny for almost 20 years and his partner, Luc Lacroix (yes the make up expert I am always talking about) for over 30.  Both of them are truly two of the best in their fields and honestly my hair has never been better since I started seeing Danny. It has been 12 weeks or about 3 months since I have been to a salon and my hair still looks amazing, as long as I blow dry it, and I don’t have easy hair.  So I felt that Danny would be the perfect person to interview for my hair blog.  And I asked him 10 questions and here are the questions and Danny’s answers:

1. What can people expect when they come back to their Salon with Covid-19?

Most Salons’ will be a lot quieter. Salons are only allowed to have 50% capacity so the hustle and bustle you are used to won’t be there.  Most Salons have sent a list of protocols that they are using to clients before they come for their first Covid-19 hair appointment. Pure Studio has sent their clients their protocols so they feel comfortable returning. Here is an example of theirs and it’s the same for most Salons: Once you arrive, stay in your car and check in by phone or text. You will be given a Covid check in interview before you enter (questions about your health and if you or anyone in your household has been travelling or is in quarantine).  You are asked to bring your own mask with year loops; they can’t do your hair if your mask goes around your head, and bring an extra mask with you.  Your mask could get wet with shampoos and colors.  You are also asked to wash your hands upon arrival. And don’t bring anything with you that doesn’t fit on your lap, that means your purse, coat or anything.  And you will be asked not to bring food or drink into the Salon as well.  Also most Salons are not taking cash, so bring your credit card or be prepared to e-transfer them after.

2. What can clients do to make sure they are being as safe as possible?

See some of the protocols above and please respect them; they are for everyone’s safety.  All appointments will be staggered, so there will be no overlapping clients.  Customers won’t be at sinks or the front desk at the same time and physical distancing will be respected in all areas.  The restrooms will be treated with a hospital grade virus disinfectant. Stylists will be disinfecting their work stations and tools after every client.  And you will be asked to wear your mask at all times in the Salon.  All your services will be guided, no getting up and walking around while processing.   If clients and stylists follow all the Salon’s protocols everyone will stay safe during their hair appointment.

3. How are you going to be handling transactions?

We are asking clients to pay us via e-transfer. Alternately we can take their Visa or Mastercard but we have to enter it manually.  So it would be like using your credit card online, the merchant only needs your number, expiry date and the 3 digit number on the back. Those are the only 2 methods; there will be no cash transactions.

4. A lot of women have not been coloring their hair during the Pandemic.  How long will their first visit back to the Salon take to get rid of all their grey?

Their appointment time shouldn’t be that different from before.  What will change is the amount of product stylist will have to use, likely they will have to use about 3 times as much as they usually use and likely they will charge more to cover the cost of more product.  Most Salons have either raised their prices or added a Covid surcharge to services, and people need to understand that if a business has survived being closed they are now operating at a deficit.  Most Salons are hoping clients will be willing to be more generous with the added things they have had to do to make the Salon safe and your hair beautiful again.   Also most stylist look at clients who have been using boxed color as a color correction.  There is no way that a boxed color can duplicate what a professional color can do for your hair, so that boxed color needs to be removed and color corrections take more time and will cost more.  Women tend to underestimate the amount of education stylists get in order to perfect your color.

5. If a client has decided to keep her transition to grey hair, what can the Salon do to ease the transition?

A good stylist will incrementally lighten your color.  For example moving from permanent color to foils, so your regrowth (which will be grey) will be more integrated into your hair and not have a linear demarcation.   If you are trying to transition blond hair to grey, your stylist can dye your hair platinum and then alternate color and your own grey seamlessly.

Don’t let a color technician talk you into bleaching your hair and then toning it with pewter toner.  The integrity of your hair needs to be maintained while transitioning to grey.  There are no quick fixes that won’t damage your hair; there is a process you will need to go through.

6. What can women do to make sure their hair is ready for color and cuts when they do return to the Salon?

If you have been isolating and your hair has had a long break from processing, most people’s hair has never been more ready!  Most people have stayed away from things like overheating and hair spray so their hair has never been in better condition.  Please don’t do anything before you come back unless you are using a root touch up spray.  If you use a root touch up spray just make sure it is all washed out because you can’t color hair on top of it.  And no need to deep condition because once the bottom inch or so of your hair is cut off it will spring back beautifully.

7. Anyone who had bangs no longer does, unless they have been cutting their bangs themselves. Can we talk about how you transition your hair out of bangs?

Bangs can be cut on an angle and blended in with other layers around your face.  People who have always had bangs and have the right face for bangs, high foreheads and longer faces, will be want to keep them. Almost everyone else gets bangs and loves them for about 2 minutes and then wants to grow them out again.  So most women have transitioned out of bangs already at least once or twice.

8. In your opinion what are the best products a women can use on her hair as she gets older?

Your hair changes as you age.  It’s a combination of receding estrogen and increasing grey hair.  Both of these can show up as dehydration and thinner brittle hair.  Lightweight smoothing creams can give hair a lightweight hydrated effect.  Danny recommends Living Proof Prime Style Extender . And Living Proof Nourishing Styling Cream .  Also if you want a great Elixir, Goldwellhas a wonderful Elixir that you can use as well.  Women want smooth hair with volume as they age.  All the above products smooth your hair, but those products should be applied mid shaft of your hair to the end, keep them off the roots for volume.  If you do wear your hair bone straight, then apply from the root down.  Danny recommends that women who are maturing wear their hair with a bit of volume around their face, so apply from mid shaft down.

One of my favorite things about Danny is that he advocates longer hair for maturing women if it suits them.  There are a couple of things about maturity and long hair everyone needs to be aware of.  Your hair should not be fuzzy and you need a bit of volume around your face.

9. Are there any styles you don’t recommend for maturing women?

As we talked about above Danny does believe mature women can wear longer hair. But he recommends that all hair as you mature needs effort.  Women need to put effort into wearing stylish hair and stylish hair makes you look younger.  As Danny says “There is never a time to get so practical that you give up on your hair.”  For shiny hair you need 3 things: good products (see the recommended products above), heat and tension .  When you give up on your hair it looks like you gave up on your hair!

10. Is there a certain age or time when women should change their color or transition into grey hair?

That is a very personal decision.  Everyone feels differently about grey hair, some women embrace it and others don’t ever want it. But there are a few things you can do as your face matures to make sure your hair suits the way you look.  Danny suggests to making your hair warmer and a bit lighter as you age. Most women have some shadow in their face as they age; dark hair makes that shadow more prominent.  If your hair is a monotone color (one color) and its dark add a bit of lighter color to soften the darkness. You can start integrating more color with foils and introducing blonds and mid brown tones into your hair. The little bit of lightness you add will decrease the amount of shadow you see in your skin.

 

There are a couple of other things Danny and I spoke about that I want to mention.  A good stylist teaches their clients how to manage their own hair, if yours is not and your hair only looks good when he or she does it maybe it’s time for a change.

Hair salons were not given strict instructions by the Government on what they needed to do to open again.  The Government simply gave BC salons a start date and very loose instructions.  All Salons had to do their own research on guidelines from other provinces to find out exactly what to do.  So if you haven’t been contacted about your Salon’s new protocols before your appointment it’s up to you to call them and investigate it yourself.

Something I love that Pure Studio is doing as they open back up is that they are seeing clients in stages.  The first clients they saw are those people who are undergoing some medical treatment or have very compromised immune systems, so they could be in the Salon with no one else around.  The next level of clients are those who desperately need a haircut, they go in pre shampooed and leave with no blow dry, that is something my son is doing.  And as they move forward they are making their Salon the safest possible environment they can. They are making all their clients get taken care of.  You stylist should care about your safety and your hair.

I want to finish with a quote Danny sent me because even though we are in a Pandemic our economy is slowly coming out of isolation and we need to support our small businesses.   To buy all the products we talked about you can reach Pure Studio at pstudio2355@gmail.com.  They will do a contactless payment and pick up of any products you would like to buy. By the way this is where you can buy Eye Envy  eyelash conditioner and mascara in Vancouver as well as Satin Smooth Lip Plump Treatment.  Both products when used daily make a huge difference and you can buy them from Pure Studio in Vancouver.

Thanks for reading this blog, I know it’s a little longer than normal but I feel this is information every woman needs.  Just like skin care, hair care is something we all need to think about.  I welcome your suggestions of whatever you want to hear about over the summer. Please email me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com. My next blog is about comfort wear during Covid-19.  And look for my posts about twice a month until we start to cover Fall 2020, then I will go back to once a week.

Stay safe and healthy!! Until next time…

 

This blog is going to be treat for all those who have been shut in ( all of us) during the last 2 months.  My friend and Skin care advisor, Jessica Berto, the West Coast Training Director for Dermapure and Project skin MD, sat down with me (not in person) and answered 10 very important skin care questions every woman over 40 should be aware of, especially while the pandemic is on.  Here are the questions I asked her and her answers below.

Everything has changed in the last 2 months, so it makes sense that your skin and skin care has as well.  Here is the best advice I could find to pass on to all of you.

1. What are the basics women should be doing to keep their skin healthy during Covi-19?

There are 2 types of women during this pandemic, both extremes.  The first is those who have stocked up on everything they could ever need for their skin (yours truly) and those who have abandoned everything they were doing.  But every woman should be doing the following:

Morning: Cleanse, Vitamin C, Moisturize and put on an SPF

Night: Cleanse and moisturize.

Those are the very basics you need to go back to if you aren’t doing anything and you want your skin to look good when this is over.

2. Most Skincare Salons are closed.  Now is the time most women switch to a summer skincare regimine.  How do women do that on their own?

First of all, quite a few places are doing virtual consultations.  Project Skin is and Jessica does about 4 per day.  Everyone’s skin has changed during Covid-19.  And it’s not just what you put on the outside that makes a difference.  What you put on the inside affects your skin as well.  Have you decreased your water intake? Most women have and that will affect the dryness of your skin.  Have you increased your alchohol intake? Almost everyone has and alchohol affects your skin as well.  Are you still taking your Vitamins and Fish oil?  Most women have drastically changed how much water and alchohol they are drinking.  Water is way down and alchohol is way up.  The inside and the outside of your body work together.  Also most of us are under more stress now than ever.  Stress increases Cortisone in your body and that affects your skin too.  If your skin has changed, then your skincare needs to change.  What happens on the inside of your body is reflected on the outside.

I am going to use one of my experiences as an example. My skin goes through periods of dryness.  Right now my intake of water is way down and I am not using my supplements daily.  It doesn’t take a skin care professional to figure out why my skin is dry.  As Jessica says, skin care starts with the inside and you need to adjust your skin care with what is happening everyday.  It changes because of everything you do daily.

3. It’s going to be a long time before people can get their eyebrows microbladed and their eyelashed put on. Are there any products they can use in the meantime to enhance those two areas?

The best thing to use is lash serums on your lashes and eyebrows.  Using a lash serum is like using a multi vitamin to boost those two areas.  There are 2 lash serums Jessica recommends: Latisse, which needs to be bought from an MD and Eye Envy (I personally use Eye Envy and it works!). Jessica says that Eye Envy gives you thicker lashes and brows and Latissse will give you length.  It takes 8 weeks to see results on your lashes and about 10 weeks to see results on your brows, and Latisse is not to be used for brows. I personally use Eye Envy and I have had to trim my eye brows because they are so thick.  My lashes are way longer and thicker as well.

4. What is the minimum SPF women should wear daily over 40 years of age? And why is it so important to wear sunscreen daily?

The absolute minimum sunscreen women should wear is SPF 50. According to Jessica it is the optimal SPF number sunscreen for maximum skin protection.  30 SPF is okay but it will still let harmful rays in, 50 SPF is the minimum number you need for protection.

Jessica absolutely recommends wearing sunscreen every day of the year, no matter the weather.  Blue light is emitted from your phone, computer screen and TV, those rays can be super damaging and are similar to the UV rays that damage skin.  Also UV rays can penetrate windows too.  It’s a good layer of all around protection.  If you invest in your skin like we all do, you should protect that investment.  If you had your car painted you would put a sealer coat on it wouldn’t you? Wearing sunscreen is the way to protect your face everyday.

5. Right now no one can get Botox or Fillers, anyone who had an appointment had it cancelled.  How do women keep their skin ready so when their skin professionals office opens again they are ready for whatever skin treatments they get?

In order to be ready for your Botox or Filler treatment keep your skin up to par. Use the correct skin care and don’t skip or skimp on products.  Your skin needs to be quenched for these procedures to get optimal results and be able better to receive the treatment.  Drink lots of water before as well, the hylauronic acid in the filler works with water and will plump up your skin even further.

6. What is the most important thing for women to be aware of with mature skin?

Everyone’s skin is aging all the time.  Mature skin is not what it used to be, some women have mature skin at age 30 and some women in their 60’s don’t have mature skin yet.  You need to adjust your skin care to your skin’s age not your actual age.  It’s very important to see a professional, even if it’s only once a year, to adjust your skin care as you get older.  And at the end of the day if you don’t feel what they are doing for you is working you need to go see someone else.  Your skin changes and you need to listen to it.

Here is a personal story of my (Sue’s) skin: I was seeing a great aesthetcian for years and everything she told me was working great and then suddenly my skin was feeling dryer and dryer.  When I asked her what to do she told me that I should just keep using the same products.  Finally I complained about my dryness so much she gave me some coconut balm to put over my moisturizer, but I couldn’t stand the smell, so I knew it was time for a change.  I asked a few people I trust and they recommended Project Skin. That is when I met Jessica.  She reassessed my skin and it was really dry.  She put me on a regime that rehydrated it and now when my skin is dryer or I have redness, she can tell me which products to switch up and use.   If you are over 40 years of age, you need to see an aesthetician that you trust.

7. No one is wearing make up right now. Are there any other products women can use to even out their skin tone? Perhaps something that is easier and more comfortable than foundation?

A tinted SPF, which is a sunscreen with a mild tint, will have some coverage and can tone down redness.  Colorscience has a few different things that you can also wear inconjuction with sunscreen to give the appearance of more coverage if you want it and don’t want to wear foundation. Sunforgettables is has a powder that is like wearing a BB cream.  It is a powder you can wear over you face everyday and it is tinted so you work with your skintone. It’s coverage with an SPF 50.  If you want different coverage or have a particular skin issue Colorscience has products that deal with that as well.  If you have redness you can use All Calmand mix it with your tinted sunscreen to get the right coverage for your skin.  They also have a Face Shield that is like a foundation and you can wear it alone or mixed with tinted sunscreen.  And a product like Even Up when used with sunscreen can cover different types of pigmentation.

All of these products can be bought at Project Skin.com

8. What is the most basic skincare routine that any woman can follow? ( I asked this question for all of you who never want to wear make up or fuss with your skin).

The most basic skincare should include a Cleanser, Vitamin C, a moisturizer and an SPF 50 sunscreen.  Most women unless they are told don’t know about Vitamin C and why it’s so important for your skin.  The research on Vitamin C started as a way to cure skin cancer and it is one of the most important things you can use for anti aging. Vitamin C also gives you one more level of filter for harmful rays when worn with SPF.  Vitamin C increases your skin’s brightness and decreases any pigmentation.  Don’t use too high a Vitamin C, high Ascorbic acid turns into exfoliation.  So you want to use an apporpriate Vitamin C for daytime.   Skinceuticals has 2 Vitamin C serums, , and. Book a virtual skin consultation to see which one is right for you.

9. Is there anything women should be avoiding doing right now to keep their skin healthy?

There are alot of retinol challenges going around virtually.  Retinol isn’t for everyone and should really only be used under supervision of a skin professional or doctor.  That being said if you are going to do something like that be very cautious.  Retinol can burn and can take a long time to heal once your skin experiences a retinol burn.  Also you need to avoid sunlight when using retinol, so this is not the time of year to experiment with it.

10. If you had to pick a favorite, what is your favorite product for aging skin?

My favorite product to advise people with aging skin to use is the AGE line from Skinceuticals.  The Interrupter cream is excellent as a night cream and the Eye Complex is the best eye cream on the market for aging skin around the eye. Both are the best things you can use on aging skin.  If I could add one more I would also highly recommend Skinceuticals HA Intensifier . It is a combination of hyaluronic acid and proxelyene which helps build the skin’s dermis and helps soften fine lines.

One more thing every woman should take daily is Collagen, Collagen is essential for your joints, nails, lashes and hair.  It is an essential supplement for everyone.

 

I want to thank Jessica Berto from Dermapure and Project skin.  Everything she spoke about except for Eye Envy can be bought at Project skin.com.  Eye Envy can be bought at Pure Studio in Vancouver, if you want it email me  and I can give you their contact information or I can get them to send you some.  All of the products that Jessica has spoken about she has used and I have used 90% or them and they really and truly do make a difference in your skin.  Personal skin consultations are key in aging gracefully and if you don’t want to go to Project skin there are other demal specialist in Vancouver who can help you the same way.  And remember your skin is an outside reflection of what is going on inside you body, so make sure you nourish and hydrate the inside as well as the outside.

Please stay safe and healthy!

Until next time…

 

 

This blog is kind of a mishmash of all the new things for Spring 2020 that we should try to make room for in our wardrobes.  Now I know that your wardrobe has changed dramatically in the last couple of months, but eventually we will all be wearing real clothes again at some point.  Even though by today’s standards a pair of jeans is dressing up, it won’t be that way forever.

As we endure the 2 true month of this pandemic we have all come to realize a few things. My new reality is having both my boys home and my house full again. Even though my oldest now has his master’s degree, he is safer and better off here with us. There is will no trips for quite a while and probably not at all in 2020 (I was supposed to be in Durham, NC right now), but the safest place for everyone is where they are until there is a vaccine. I have also realized that no matter how isolated I need to be, I can’t stand grey hair on myself.  Thank goodness my hair salon will be opening the end of May.  I also need to have gel on my nails.  I now have the ability to do that myself but likely I will go back to the nail salon if it opens up again.  I think we all have discovered certain truth’s about ourselves and it’s ok to be who you are, you do you and be proud of who you are!

OK back to fashion.

There are certain things that are Spring 2020, let’s go through them and if you like them try them in your wardrobe:

Trenchcoats with Embellishments

  Here is exactly what I am talking about.  You can embellish a trench many ways. RWT is one side with a red check pattern, and Seqinyy is showing 2 with different details.  If you have a basic trench you can add a scarf or a chain detail yourself, if not maybe try one of the newer trends either in a color or with a pattern. I bought a basic trench last spring so I am going to be wearing scarves and my own embellishments if I wear it this season. Banana Republic has a basic water resistant trench you can embellish yourself and right now it is 50% off, so it’s a great time to buy it if you need it.

Maxi Skirts and Skirts with Slits

Maxi skirts have been in style for a few springs.  But they are just getting stronger.  And they are perfect for women over 45 because mini skirts are no longer appropriate and the maxi is just as fashionable this spring.   And maxi skirts with slits in them are super trendy right now.

Aritzia has the Wilfred Free New Sheilds Skirt which is high waisted and comes in black and 2 softer colors including this great Sage Frost. Wilfred Free has the same style in Space Dyed blue and black searsucker for those hot days. Wilfred also has their Twirl skirt, chiffon and pleated in 12 colors.  This skirt is a wardrobe staple for some of us, it endures and always looks great. Aritzia.com is maxi skirt head quarters, they have every kind of maxi including this Wilfred basic A-line maxi you can wear everywhere.  If you need a new maxi skirt check out Aritzia online!

Clean Lines

When we talk about clothing with clean lines think of stream lined. Tops that blend seamlessly into bottoms.  Head to toe color is a big one for clean lines. You can acheive this simply by wearing a dress or jumpsuit.  One of my fave dresses for Spring is Banana Republic’s Utility Maxi dress head to toe color, very streamlined.  You can do the samething with a jumpsuit head to toe one color. This is BR’s Linen-Cotton Wide-Leg cropped jumpsuit.  Or you can purposely wear one color head to toe. We saw almost every color put head to toe in spring shows.  Pick what works for you and wear it head to toe.  I personally love black head to toe no matter what season. But this spring how I am going to wear head to toe is this cropped floral tank with back buttons from BR with my slim BR wide leg cropped pants and then either a black light cardigan or sheer poncho on top.  But I wear a lot of black.  You could try the same thing in Spring 2020 colorsin BR’s linen cotton cropped tank and high rise linen cotton pant. Don’t be afraid to wear any color head to toe.  Take a look at Banana Republic.com for ideas, they have tons of ways to wear head to toe pieces and colors.  Think Utility colors too, beige, olive etc. Great and trendy for head to toe right now.

Chunky Collar Necklaces

The heavy short necklaces are back for spring.  Nobody does the chunky collar necklace like J. Crew. They have so many great ones, I just am showing a quick sample of what they have online.  Pair a tone on tone chunky necklace with your streamlined looks! Or make the necklace your statement piece with a maxi dress or jumpsuit. If you buy a new necklace for spring make sure it is chunky, hits your collar and has some great detail.

Big Purses

At the very beginning of Spring fashion before the pandemic, purses were going big, big and bigger.  I don’t know about you but now if I have to go out I use a small cross body bag, no point wearing lipstick when all you are wearing is a mask right? So even though giant purses are in fashion in every shape and color, we may want to take it down a notch for ourselves right now.  What I am going to be carrying this spring is a toned down version of a tote. I bought this 12 hour leather tote from BR for myself, it is the smaller version of their larger one.  I am not tall and sometimes a huge purse can overwhelm me and what I am wearing.  So I chose a neutral color bag that I can wear with everything.   But you do you and if you want to do the giant purse trend take a look at Nordstrom.com, they have lots of large purses and totes like this great tote from Tory Burch that comes in 6 bright and neutral colors.   When I first started exploring spring the trend was that small bags were out and large were in. But with the pandemic a lot of women are carrying smaller bags, not the micro ones that were in for last spring, but just regular size ones.  It seems to me that right now there are no rules, so if you want to wear a giant bag by all means do and if you don’t then don’t.

Tank Tops

Tank tops are the ‘it’ top for Spring and Summer 2020.  They come in all fabrics.  You can stick with your cotton tanks like Nordstrom’s Caslon tank that is $19 and comes in tons of colors.  Or you can try some new versions. BR has a cropped version in viscose that comes in tons of colors and prints. They also have a soft draped one that comes in lots of colors too.  J. Crew has lots too like this cute linen tiered tank.   And of course Joe Fresh always has lots of inexpensive tanks for summer like this wavy tank.  Joe Fresh is available on line or at Superstore in Canada.

Interesting Shoes

Who What Where was showing chain detail on their spring show preview. As well as heeled loafers, Mary Janes, Minimalist, Bright Shades, Espadrilles, platforms and over the knee boots.  But right now all I see is women inventing new ways to wear their runners with everything.  So if that is what you need to do to survive this pandemic,wearing your sneaker with dresses, pants, bermuda shorts etc, then by all means do it.  And yes, it is a fashion trend to wear your sneakers right now.  Get a couple of interesting pairs and wear them all the time if you want to.

So thing brings us to the end of speaking about spring trends for 2020.  Originally I was going to take a break from blogging until August, mainly because I was going to be travelling a lot over the next few months, but like everything else in this pandemic that has changed. So I will continue to blog, but probably not every week. But at least once a month I will try and enlighten you with new things to try in either fashion or beauty.

I wish every mother out there a very happy mother’s day. You are the backbone of your family and have probably proved it over and over during this pandemic, you should be celebrated and reveered! Happy Mother’s day!

Please message me if there is anything specifically you would like to hear about and stay safe, stay home and stay healthy!!

Until next time…

Hi everyone!  I hope everyone is keeping safe and healthy.  I am sorry but the last spring blog is going to be delayed until May 13.  My other life as a wife, mother and volunteer has kept me hugely busy this week and unfortunately I haven’t had time to write my weekly blog.

This Pandemic has thrown all of us for a bit of a loop so I know you all understand. I am dealing with birthday month (everyone in my family but me has a birthday in May), a broken dishwasher and a myriad of other things that are needing my attention.

I hope you all have a safe and happy mother’s day.  This year instead of gifts my family is giving gifts of charity.  Birthday presents (other than something small) and mother’s day and father’s day this year we are donating to charities and foodbanks to help those that are not as fortunate as we are during this Pandemic.  Mother’s are the backbone of every family and no they absolutely couldn’t survive without you, but can you imagine how difficult it would be if as a mom you couldn’t put food on the table or help you struggling children.  That thought really throws me so as a family we decided to pay it forward this year instead of for ourselves.

Thank you all for understanding the delay. And the last spring blog will be up on May 13.

Until next time…

Last week we took a little break in talking about Fashion and talked about self care in beauty.  We all have to keep uo our own self care at this point.  You do what makes you feel like yourself, whether it is hair color, nails or even wearing certain clothing items that make you feel like you.   I was speaking with one of my girlfriends the other day (of course from a distance) and she had been delivering food for the foodbank, which is a wonderful thing to do.  She mentioned to me that this was the first day she had put on her jeans and not just wearing her pjs or sweats.  She said she felt so good wearing jeans again.  I think we are all falling into habits.  My habit is wearing workout wear all day.  My way of coping with this pandemic is to workout, a lot.  I am lucky that my gym, Innovative Fitness, has coaches training us online and my former trainer who moved to Toronto, the best trainer I ever had, is teaching daily classes on Zoom that I have picked up at least twice a week.  And starting on Monday I am also going to add in a Yoga class just because I am not getting any more flexible as I age.  So that has me wearing a lot of workout clothes and I tend to stay in them all day long.  Before the pandemic I would have gone to the gym or the yoga studio and come home and had a shower and gotten dressed, but since the only place I ever go is the Grocery store it seems to be easier to just keep on what I have.  Well, I put on jeans and a shirt the other day and decided I felt better too, so now the days my workouts are only in the mornings I am going to try and get on something other than gym clothes.  Everyone is has their own way of coping during this pandemic.  Please find one that helps you get through it and if it includes wearing sweats all day then by all means wear them.  Just becareful and make sure your jeans still fit too.

 

Spring Prints are one of the best parts of Spring 2020.  There are so many wonderful prints to chose from, you could wear a little of all of them or just choose the ones you like and make them your own.

Wallpaper Prints

Wall paper prints are heavy large prints that your mother used to decorate your home with.  They can be any print, just worn loudly. This is how Fashion week saw Wall Paper prints but we can make them more mainstream and wearable. Anthropologie has tons of Wallpaper prints that you could wear. The Farm Rio Tucanes Dress captures the feeling and the look of a Wallpaper print. So does the Elysees Tapered pant, great to wear with a white t-shirt! Or try the Oceane tiered midi skirt, this one really reminds me of wallpaper.  Big and bold prints are easy to find, these were all on the first page I clicked on the Anthro website. If you love them wear them.  Either wear them only in a dress or jumpsuit with muted accessories or wear one piece like a skirt, pant or bermuda short with a solid top.

Jungle Prints

Jungle prints are the other bold print we are seeing a lot of.  Mostly with a green background but sometimes with a beige one, these prints feature plants, flowers or things you would encounter in nature. Here is a pic from Dolce and Gabbana’s spring show, you can see all the different levels of jungle prints. It is easy to take Jungle prints mainstream.  Green is the new strong color for Spring so wearing it in a print may make it easier to wear for some women. Going back to Anthro, they really do well when it comes to prints. Corey Lynn Carter’s Delphine Tiered Maxi Dress at Anthro covers off your plant jungle print in one single dress. Or try the Giverny Blouse, great when worn with denim on the bottom.

Banana Republic (bananarepublic.com or .ca) has lots of new animal print styles so you don’t have to keep wearing leopard (unless you really want to). Try their Snakeprint utility jumpsuit. Or their Zebra print Slip dress.  Or one of my favorite BR dresses their Shirt dress in a Zebra print done with a green background.

BR also has these Sarongs that can double as scarves and shawls, either in a Palm print or Tropical floral print and you could just wear one of these with solids or denim and cover off the Jungle print look perfectly.

Polka Dots

One of the most popular spring prints and one you will see everywhere is the Polka dot trend.  You can wear polka dots almost any color way, which makes it even better!

Courtesy of Milan Fashion week, we can see Spring Polka dots in Black and white!

 

Loft.com has some great different looks in Polka dots for Spring.  This Polka Dot puffed sleeve top is super wearable with any bottom and very fresh looking in pastel blue. Or try their Polka Dot midi skirt, another unexpected color that could work beautifully. Banana Republic has embraced Polka dots as well their Tie Front jumpsuit is a great way to wear them head to toe. Or if the weather hasn’t warmed up where you are yet, try their cotton sweater with emboidered polka dots.

If you want to accessorize polka dots you can too. BR has scarves and socks that can cover this look for you.  Or Loft has both a card case or glasses case with the same decorative polka dot motif.

I personally love Polka dots!  I wear them a lot in the spring and summer, I am not a huge print wearer but somehow when I wear polka dots they don’t feel like I am wearing a print.

FolkLore

Modern Folklore from Fashion week can seem a bit overwhelming but it is easy to take it mainstream.

The last print group we are going to talk about in this blog is the new Folklore prints.  They all have a modern feel to them, so don’t think of prairie prints but think of modern florals instead.

One of the reasons I use Anthropologie so much on my blog is that it is so easy to find the exact thing I am looking for on their website.  They were also one of the fashion chain stores to voluntarily close to protect their staff during this pandemic, so that is another reason I am a fan. Springs new Folklore reminds us of small florals, or even slightly larger ones, but done in new colors and wearable styles like Cloth + Stone’s Classic Buttondown top. Or try this Blaise Button down top, with a Folklore print that is super modern.  I like Banana Republic because they have both a US and a Canadian website and it doesn’t take a long time to get something if you order it and you don’t have to pay duty.  So I tend to feature them as well. Try BR’s EcoVerde dress in a Romatic floral print in a yellow combination or it comes in a blue botanical print and a soft pastel blue Ikat print. Or you could try a delicate print in a balloon sleeve blouseor a darker floral in a key hold sleeveless top.  And keep your Folklore colorful for Spring 2020. Loft has some great print tops you can wear all spring and summer long. Take a look at their florals, they really have some great ones.

So that’s it for Spring Prints.  Their are a couple of others, like wearing a striped dress, this fantastic striped maxi dress is all over the J. Crew website.  Sequins for day was another trend, but times have changed and no one seems to wear sequins right now so I won’t go into detail.

Next we were going to have a Mother’s Day Jewelry blog, but unfortunately our Jewelry expert has her hands full taking her business online, so we will skip that this spring.  Instead I will cover the last Spring trend, “Things we all should Try”.  After that I was going to pause blogging until August.  But instead I will continue but with more of a lifestyle feel to the blog.  We will still talk about fashion but we can also talk about beauty and maintenance for your body and whatever else we need to while we are all going through Covid-19.  I just probably won’t be blogging weekly, more like every 2 weeks. Please keep you comments and questions coming.  They are what keeps me motivated to blog.  I have a few friends trying out other nail options besides gel, like press on, so I will let you know about that and some other things that we can discover together.

Stay safe, Stay smart and Stay healthy!

Until next time…

 

 

I have had 2 different self beauty experiments in the last week.  Yes, my nail lamp finally arrived last Monday.  So I started the huge job of removing my old gel nails.  My gel nails have only every been dremeled off but even though I have a dremel, I was too afraid to do it that way.  So soak off was the way I went.  I watched a ton of videos and got the advice of one of my friends who is an esthetician.  It was still very hard, either I didn’t leave the cotton soaked in acetone with foil around it on long enough or I didn’t seal it properly, but I found it a difficult experience and ended up using my dremel to get the last bit off.  Boy, my nails were bad.  I had the gel on for 20 years!! They were thin and papery so I put some nail strengthener and left it on over night.  The next day I took the nail strengthener off and started doing the gel.  I chose a neutral gel color, no way I was going to attempt french. I bought the and , I bought a couple of colors because I wasn’t sure what I would like.  I must have watch dozens of videos on how to do your own gel nails so with that knowledge and the equipment I began.  Putting it on was easy.  Base coat and then cure, 3 layers of color (because my sculpture gel still isn’t here and it would have made it a lot easier if it was) and cured each one at a time and then a top coat. Not terrible but not great either, never mind how dry my hands are from the constant hand washing. But like they say, things get better with practice so hopefully the next time I do them there will be less on my skin and a better result on my nails.  I think it will be better when the sculpture gel arrives and I can put that on between the base and color.  If you want to try and do your own, watch all the videos they really helped me learn the correct way to do things.

The other adventure I had was doing my own hair color.  I was able to get some hair color, premixed in biodegradeable bowls from Cabello Salons in Vancouver ( message me and I will give you her number if you want to do your own color too).  The price was reasonable and I have watched color go on my hair for years.  They have me a brush to use, so I simply layered my hair like I was about to blowdry and colored.  I have a lot of grey right in the front so I did that part first and then went to the back and worked my way forward.  The results were awesome! I feel like me again!! If you can’t live with your grey and kudos to you if you can, then I highly suggest you do your own color. It wasn’t hard or difficult.  Way easier than the gel nails that was for sure.

There are other options for both nails and hair to keep them looking good during this pandemic.  I watched a lot of videos about Press on Nails.  Those you just use with nail glue and they can last up to 2 weeks. Sally Beauty (sallybeauty.ca) has kits that you can buy. Press on could be a great option if you don’t want to order all the things you need to do your own gel.  Use a bit of nail glue with each to help them stay on, shape and cut them to fit your hands and preferred nail length. Press on nails have come a long way from when we were kids, they are actually pretty good.  Just watch a video of how to put them on so once you put them on, they stay on.

For color you can always go to London Drugs or Shoppers Drug Mart and buy a box of color.  Especially if you have an easy one color base.  Only attempt your base color, leave highlights for professionals. Pick a creme so it doesn’t run and follow the directions.

Please don’t try to cut your own hair, that really is something you need to be specially trained for.  If your style is growing out, try hair clips, bands and ponytails.  Buy nice ones online and it will look great.

Anthropologie online has some great hair accessories.  This set of Chroma Pony tail holders would work great for spring and summer with super bright colors and nice and thick to hold your growing out hair styles. If bangs are a problem and they are growing faster than you ever imagined, try and great hair band to hold them off your face. This one is also from Anthro and online they have great hair bands in tons of styles and colors. And don’t hesitate to use clips in colors to keep those flyaway pieces from annoying you.  Even your local drug store will have hair accessories for you to use .  But if you are going to use hair accessories to tame your growing mane try I suggest you use stylish ones. Banana Republic has some great pony tail holders and they have a Canadian website, as well as their US one, so it’s easy to get things delivered to your house. You could also use one of your scarves as a hair tie.  This scarf is from BR, but we all have lots in our closets. Anthro has some amazing hair scarves, specially made to work with your pony tail.

You just need to decide what is important to you.  No one will judge you.  If you are ok with your hair going grey, and this may be the excuse you need to embrace letting your color grow out, go for it.  A lot of women can rock grey hair!  Just make sure you adjust your make to your new color. You will need to put some color on your cheeks every day and use a little undereye cover because grey hair can make your complexion sallow, so pay attention to your skin during this transition.   And you can’t wear grey clothing with grey hair, keep to colors.  But if this is what you want to do, more power to you.   The same goes for your nails.  If this is your opportunity to go back to natural nails go for it! I applaud everyone for doing their own thing.  Perhaps buy a good nail strengthener like this one that is a gel nail rehab treatment from London Drugs to help things along.  You do you! Covid 19 is no time to be untrue to yourself.  I am going to do my thing so you do yours.

I know we were supposed to talk about Spring Prints this week but I got so many comments and messages about my last blog about gel nails and hair color, I decided to dedicate an entire blog to the pandemic beauty experience.  I love to hear what you are doing to make yourself feel better during this extraordinary time and any tips you want to pass along I am happy to get them and pass them on too.  That’s what made me decide to do my own color, I read something from a good friend of mine who did hers and how she did it.   So we can all help each other during this time.

Stay well and distant and next week we will be back with Spring Prints!  There are so many great spring prints there was no way I could fit both blogs into one week, you would have been reading forever.  If you are fortunate to live in Vancouver, get out and enjoy this beautiful spring weather and stay away from everyone.

 

Until next time…

Last week I told you I was going to do my own gel nails.  Well, like everything we are ordering online right now, some of my equipment is delayed.  So I can’t post about that this week, but I will as soon as my lamp and structure building gel arrive ( hopefully no later than April 20, according to Amazon).  The other thing I think I am going to be doing myself during this isolation period is my own hair color.  I thought perhaps I could make do with just some root touch up that washed out every shampoo, but what can I say, I can’t. I am not one of those women who can embrace the grey, kudos to those who can, but I simply can’t.  Right now as long as I don’t wear my hair in a pony tail or off my face it is passable but in another week I will have no choice.  If you are in the same boat as me then I bet if you get in touch with your hairdresser they may be willing to sell you some color and developer to do your base color. Don’t attempt highlights or lowlights, but base should be managable.  And even though hair salons are closed  you have some other options too .  Of course there is the boxed color in the drugstore, I hear L’Oreal is the best and the easiest to match to your color. You can go online to Sally Beauty or Amazon and buy professional color and developer, I have seen my color on Sally Beauty so chances are they have yours too.  And there are hair salons out there that will sell you color and developer, if you can’t use your usual salon, they are closed but some will do the color and mixing for you, all you have to do is pick it up. I can only recommend this option if you already know your hair color formula. It’s a lot to ask someone who has never done your color to pick a color for you.  But if you have your formula it’s a great option.   Hair Dynamix in Toronto is doing it and so is Cabello Salons in Vancouver.  And there are lots of Youtube channels where you can learn how to apply your own color too.  Please make sure you know what you are doing before you try this yourself.   You have to pick the option that works for you.  Like I said above, I am not one of those women who can let the grey grow so  I will let you know how my search goes in the coming weeks.  And of course I will update you on doing my own gel nails as soon as the rest of the supplies arrive.

 

Spring colors break down into 3 main groups: Highlighter bright colors, Pastel colors with a bit of pep, and Drab colors with style. Let’s look at how each can work in your wardrobe.

Highligher Brights

When you think of highlighter pens what do you think of?  Bright yellows, bright lime greens and really strong Fuschia pinks.  Even some sunny oranges in there as well.  This season if you love bright colors, you will be able to find them everywhere.  Loft.com has some great bright dresses that will keep you happy and cool as the weather warms. Anthropologie.com has a great Zoom meeting ready top to brighten your day.  Bright pink is a super easy bright color for most of us to wear, keep everything else including your make up neutral and you will be all set. You also may want to consider matching brighter reds and pinks together.  We will talk about prints next week, but consider keeping your prints bright too! The greens and yellows like Anthro’s Tess Cashmere sweater can be a bit harder to wear.  Women with darker skin look great in this color, also blondes can pull it off.  I love the bright top with denim! And if you are a little intimidated by bright yellow then wear it on the bottom with a neutral colored top(white or black). Bright greens can go anywhere from lime to jade to teal, you just need to find the one that works for your skin tone, limes have a more yellow tone and teals have a more blue tone. This Sacha Tiered Tunic from Anthro is the perfect bright teal green and comes in Plus sizes too. If you still need to look professional while working from home, Loft hastheir best selling Shawl collar Blazer in the a fuschia so bright they call it Razzle Dazzle and it would be great for Zoom or Skype meetings. Loft also has extended sizes like Anthro in a lot of their clothing.  So if you need a larger size they will have it for you. Banana Republic online has some great yellows.   This French terry sweatshirt is the perfect yellow to wear with denim. And if bright orange is for you, just look at Banana Republic online, these linen cotton pants are great fitting!

 

Pastels

When you normally think of pastels you think of pretty little tops and dresses.  Well this season pastel clothing is going to take a back seat to no one.  Every shade is being made in it’s pastel counterpart. Anthro’s Bette Babydoll blouse comes in pastel colors, like this gorgeous soft pink and some bright ones as well. Or the same Cathleen sweater in birght pink above is just as lovely in a softer neutral pink. And how many of us are living in t-shirts these days? How about Anthro’s Amber Assymentrical tank in a soft blue. Sherbert colors are everywhere and Loft has a great pair of Frayed girlfriend chinos to wear in a soft pink.  Stay away from Mauve’s and Purples but stay with Sherbert colored pinks like this fabulousUtility dress from BR online. Most people can wear a soft pastel pink.  Some prefer the truer pastel pink and lots of women look wonderful in this warmer sherbert pink. Soft yellows and golds are great too.  Check out Anthro online for lots of pretty gold and yellow shades, this Adorai Crochet blouse has the best of soft color and a great print.  When women wear yellows, different skin tones work with different color yellows.  The light pastel yellow (think a color of a duckling or chick) can work on fair hair and fair skin people well and well as dark skin people.  Golds look better on fair to medium skin tones with dark blond, auburn and brown hair.  Just please don’t wear the same color yellow as your hair color if you are blond, that for sure doesn’t work or look good.

Drab Colors

The newest color palette for spring color is the drab palette.  All the Olives, Beiges and Greens.  I am in love with this palette.  It looks fantastic with white and black and works with all sorts of metallic tones as well.  I could travel in the summer with denim, olive, black and white and I could wear that color palette for a month.  Olive or Khaki work because you can use it as a neutral or a color.  BR has their Sloan skinny pants in a great olive.  And they also have a great Balloon sleeve blouse in this color, or wear a great Utility jacket in this same color.

Br has 3 different shades of Olive and Green (well maybe the middle top nods to yellow as well) so you can pick the one that works for your skin tone.  Pants work great in Olive or drab green because they can work with any color top. I am also in love with BR’s Utility dress in their Cindered Olive Green color.

But drab colors doesn’t just mean green.  Think outside the box with the drab neutrals. Loft has their wide leg linen pants in a fabulous Tobbacco color.  They also have this fabulous Tie Back Swing dress in a Desert Taupe.And a wonderful neutral Balloon sleeve striped blouse that can tie it all together. And as you can see from Anthro’s Shimmer Midi dress drab color doesn’t have to mean drab style!!   One of my favorite things about these drab colors, olives, beiges and tobaccos is that they look fantastic head to toe.  And when you wear any one color head to toe you automatically look thinner.

Tie all the spring colors back to spring prints which we will talk about next week and back to black and white.  Black and white will never go away.  They can be the perfect color to wear with brights, pastels and drabs.

If you are feeling a bit blue from all the Covid 19 news then help yourself out and go for a little online shopping trip.  Every online site has lots of new spring clothing and you can either buy something new. Or if now is not the time for you to spend money, then go online and look at sites like Banana Republic.com and they have a style guide where their stylist put the looks together for you.  Chances are you have some basics in your closet that can work with some of their ideas.  So give it a try.

Sorry again that I couldn’t share my gel nail experience.  I think we are all finding things are taking longer to arrive to our homes these days.  I hope everyone had a good Easter and Passover and that you are all well and safe.  Remember everthing above works with a mask and gloves if you have to leave the house.  Stay safe and strong.

Until next time…

I had a lot of good feedback last week to adding a little coping advice to my weekly blog.  I hope you are all managing ok with staying home and away from everything.  This Pandemic is here for the long run, I am afraid, and we all need to find a way to live with it.

This week, aside from Spring Suiting, I thought I would talk about some of the ways you can do your own beauty to cope with not having professionals around to help you.  I don’t know about you but not being able to have my gel nails filled in or my hair colored on a regular basis is quite uncomfortable for me.  I just ordered the supplies on Amazon to do my own gel nails.  I have had a french gel manicure on my nails for the past 20 years, I don’t think I can live without it.  Mind you I don’t think I am going to do french but even a pale pink or off white would work for the time being.  I will let you know next week if I am successful. This is how they are supposed to look and believe me they don’t look like that right now. So next week I will let you know how my nail adventure goes.

This week’s tip from me is how to dye your own eyebrows.  Right now there is no way you can get into a salon to get microbladed and likely not for the next few months, and eventually, even if you are careful you may run out of eyebrow pencil or gel (hopefully Sephora and Amazon have lots!). But one thing I learned from my make up artist, Luc Lacroix, is how to dye my own eyebrows.  First of all I use the same Eye Envy serum on my eyebrows that I use on my lashes , it’s available at Pure Studio in Vancouver and Hair Dynamix on Queen St. in Toronto if you want to get some just email me and I will see if I can get it for you. Or you can try newskinbeuty.ca It absolutely works!  I have really long eyelashes and thick eyebrows.  But my eyebrow color is fading as I age.  So between once a week and every 2 weeks I dye them.  What you need is eyebrow dye, there is tons online and make sure you pick a semi permanent color and not a permanent one and you need a little bit of color developer.  A lot of the dye kits on line don’t need a color developer but the one I use does.  And make sure you buy the right color. Always try a lighter color first.  Next you need an angle brushyou can find them at Sephora. Then you mix it all together, in a little cup, on a piece of tin foil, or I use the lid of my Blinc mascara, it’s the perfect size. Then you take a little color and gently follow your eyebrow line and delicately place the color on all the hair.  I use a Q-tip to keep taking the color off my skin if I get any on, it’s easier to get it off now than later.  Let it sit on for the time it says on the package.  Depending on how dark you want your brows it’s usually between 15-30 minutes.  And if you are using a lighter color then it doesn’t matter if you leave it on a bit longer.  I use a medium brown, because I am fair, so 30 min is perfect for me.  Eyebrows that are filled in and the right color for your skin tone help you look younger and fresh.  Give it a try if you feel like your eyebrows are fading and not looking great.

 

Spring Suiting this season is taking us in different direction than you expect.  The biggest new thing in suits is that the bottom is a bermuda short!!! This is what Max Mara is showing in suiting for Spring. And Aritzia has lots of different short silhouettes like the Wilfred Donna short (above) or the Wilfred Limerick short here in black.  Both would pair wonderfully with their classic blazers. They even have a longer short the Babaton Serif Short that will come slighly just below your knee cap.  Pair your short with one of Babaton’s great blazers like their Power Blazer which now comes up to a size 16!! And you are set for a great and stylish suit. Personally just because I am not in my 30’s anymore, I am going to be wearing my dressy bermuda shorts a bit longer for Spring.

The other thing you will want besides a great pair of Bermuda short is a new blazer shaped like a waistcoat. A waistcoat is nipped in a bit at the waist and looks that way even when it’s worn open like this Encore blazer from Babaton. Max Mara’s Wool Twill Blazer would fit the same way.

You want to wear a waistcoat style so when you wear it open you can layer underneath. Because the other big news in Spring suiting is Vests! Maz Mara is showing this Cotton crepe gilet vest and showing it layered . Notice that the pants aren’t too fitted? The pant needs to be a little fuller, like a straight leg or trouser to work with this look. Try a look like Babaton’s Agency pant. And wear your lose pant with the Agency Blazer to get a soft flowy look.

So suiting for Spring is going to be worn a few different ways.  Either with a waistcoat blazer, vest and straight pant or bermuda short or with your boxy blazer, trouser or bermuda short.  You can also wear the vest on it’s own with either pant or bermuda short.  The last piece that is new is the knee length pleated skirt. Like this Babaton Karl Wool Cahsmere skirt. Or try the Cady skirt from Max Mara.  But really and truly pants and bermuda shorts are what they are showing more than skirts for Spring suiting.

Right now it probably doesn’t matter what you wear on the bottom, most of you meetings are online,  but hopefully we will get to see people in person again at some point this spring and summer and if you have an office or meeting to go to, you will want to have the fashionable bottoms to match the tops.

Everything I talked about today can be bought online. The Eye Envy Serum may be a little harder to find, but if you email me I will see if I can get you some from Pure Studio in Vancouver. It’s nice to shop at retailers online right now.  They are certainly suffering with everything being closed.  And if you look online at Aritzia or Max Mara you can get lots of styling ideas for yourself as well.

As you know I am not doing in person fashion consulting or wardrobing for the forseeable future but I am always happy to answer any questions you have. So just email me at Suethefashionista@gamil.com.

I will let you know how my gel nail adventure goes next week.

Until next time…

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback last week.  If you want to keep reading about Fashion, I will keep posting about it.  In this new reality, I will also try and add something I am doing either with my fashion or make up or home life that has helped me deal with this ever changing world that has been thrust upon us.

I find that less and less are we needing some of the things we needed in February.  I really miss things like going for a blowdry, meeting friends for coffee and hockey games. But in our new world I have found I am much better company than I thought I was.  I have learned to blowdry my own hair, almost as well as some of the hairdressers I have gone to, of course not as well as my current hairdresser but he is hair god and no one will ever do hair as well as him. I have found a new way to do my make up, so less is more.  After all, when you aren’t going out, you still need to look good.

What I have done with my make up is switch from Foundation to a mixture of sunscreen and a wonderful cream from Colorscience called All Calm. It is a redness corrector and works great on my skin. I mix it with Skinceuticals sunscreenwhich has a bit of color to it as well.  The next step I use is an undereye concealer, also from Colorsciencebut if you have a favorite undereye concealer it will work as well.  Next step is a neutral color shadow all over my eye lid pick a light color that goes with your skin tone.  If you have a lot of redness on your eyelids then go with a more yellow tone. Next I fill in any gaps in my eyebrows with my Kevin Aucoin Precision eyebrow pencil.  Then I am a huge fan of eyeliner, I find it just opens up my whole face. I like the Blinc Eyeliner pencil, I prefer the Grey and Brown but there are lots of colors to choose from.  Then I use one more layer on my eyeliner.  I have always found pencil fades during the day, so I top my eyeliner off with a Stila Stay all day Liquid waterproof liner I love the 2 new colors internse laborite and smoky quartz.  And last on my eyes is mascara.  I either use one by Eye Envy or if I want something water proof I use Blinc . Or sometimes if I want my lashes really strong I put the Blinc on top of the Eye Envy.  Then I sweep a very light bronzer over my cheekbones. I prefer something with a pinky hue like this one from Guerlaine.  And then a little gloss on my lipsmy favorite is the Sugar Lip balms, they come in lots of soft colors.  And that’s it.

I know it seems like a lot of steps, but when you have Zoom meetings and Zoom workouts with your trainer you will be glad you don’t look like you just rolled out of bed. And it is really not very much make up to put on.  Sunscreen is still important because we are in front of blue light all day, our computers, tablets and phones all emit a light that can affect your skin. So you might as well protect it, so when this is all over it won’t look like you didn’t take care of yourself.  Everything I posted above can be bought online.  Project Skin’s online store in Vancouver carries Colorscience and Skinceuticals.  Everything except for Eye Envy you can online at Sephora. And Eye Envy, which I buy locally at Pure Studio, you can also buy on Amazon.  So there are no excuses, you can get everything you need with just a credit card and couple of clicks.

Now back to fashion.

One of the biggest Spring 2020 trends is Crochet.  If it’s a knit piece for spring it will be crochet. A lot of the crochet pieces will have a Boho feel, like this Serenity Cardigan from Anthropologie in Pink or Lemon Yellow.  Or you can add a little Crochet detail to your topwith the Calista Crochet top at Anthro.  Or try the Crochet flutter top from Loft.  Both will look great with casual bottoms.  But you could do a crochet bottom as wellAnthro is showing the Scotch and Soda Crochet wide leg pants.  Crochet can be in the details, in the body and everywhere.  If you don’t want to wear crochet perhaps you would prefer to carry it. Nordstrom.ca (yes they have a Canadian website now!) has the Loewe Crochet tote, which will look great with everything.

Sheer Layers work better as it will get warmer.  Think of chiffon and light fabrics like that. You can make your own sheer layers by using a sheer wrap or scarf, both available at Nordstrom.  Or if you love this trend you can dive right into sheer clothing. Nordstrom has this great chiffon print floral gown, great for Spring weddings. You could also jump into Anthro’s Victoire Sheer Ruffled Blouse. Or go all out with a sheer jumpsuit. The Chiffon jumpsuit is by Vince Camuto and it’s at Whitehouse Blackmarket online. I also found this image online of layered sheer skirts.  Last year they had them at the Latest Scoop in Toronto and Vancouver, they now have an online website! Check them out for unique pieces you can only buy from them!

Leathers are colorful and soft and buttery for spring.  Anyone who has ever owned a light weight leather knows exactly the feel I am talking about.  Forget your Moto heavy jacket. J. Crew has this wonderful Collection Aviator jacket in Butter that would make you shine for Spring. Banana Republic has a great faux leather top, it also comes in Taupe, so skip black in favor of the lighter color for spring. BR also has a great Vegan Suede dress, A great vegan suede jumpsuit and Vegan shell that comes in some great colors like Ruby Rose and Nutmeg.

So choose your leather carefully.  The feel needs to be light and soft.

Feathers are going to be an add on for Spring 2020.  I am not a huge fan of feathers so I may not bother with it, but if you like them, look for feather detail on things. A feather tank could be great underneath anything. Or wear a Feather on your pendant or even wear your feathers on your handbag.  Anthro has the 3 above looks. And J. Crew has these Sophia kitten heels with feather detail that will work with all your wide and skinny pants.

Out of this group of trends for Spring, Crochet is probably the most important.  We all can wear a crochet cardi or top with crochet detail.  Remember you don’t have to wear every trend every season, pick one or two that work for you.  You can buy everything I am showing online at the websites of the companies they are from.

I hope everyone is surviving and staying at home.  The more we adhere to the stay at home guidelines the quicker this pandemic will all be over.  If you live in the US my heart goes out to you because I know Covid 19 is way worse in the US than in Canada.  But not matter what you hear, stay inside, practice proper social distancing ( 2 meters or 6 feet away from everyone) and wash you hands!

Next week will look at Spring Suiting featuring our new go to bottom for Spring the Bermuda short.  Stay healthy everyone!!

Until next time…

 

We have covered 4 of the 6 trend categories for Spring 2020.  There are two more left to cover that will cover 90% of the trends.  I will do a seperate denim blog for Spring and a Spring Occasions blog.  For Mother’s Day this year we are so lucky to have Shoshana Lewis from Shok Designs doing a jewelry blog for us!! So lot’s to look forward to!

Spring Prints

Last week we looked at how colorful spring 2020 is.  This week we are going to look at all the wonderful prints that tie into those colors.  There are so many great ones, I am sure you will find at least one to call your own this spring.

Wallpaper Prints are huge for Spring 2020.  Wallpaper prints are those prints that remind you of 1960’s are deco wallpaper, remember the wallpaper or curtains in your mother’s kitchen? That is the kind of prints we are seeing from the runway to the realway. Bazaar Magazine is featuring this Christopher Kane mini dress.  Of course we aren’t going to wear a mini dress, but I wanted to show you the idea of the print.  Nordstrom has this Wallpaper print by LaDoubleJ and this is the type of dress you will see in Wallpaper prints, something quite colorful and a little loud that you can just pop on a pair of sandals and earrings and dash out the door. If you do a great flowing silhouette in a Wallpaper print it will flatter and be very chic for Spring 2020.

Jungle Prints for Spring 2020 are kind of replacing the animal prints.  You will still see some animal prints but it is way more au courrant to wear a jungle print instead. Ports had a real mixture of color and texture when featuring it’s jungle prints in a spring show.  All the spring shows had their own variations from super colorful Tropical prints to rattan prints that remind us of nature. One of my favorite jungle print images from the Spring shows is from Valentino It’s Tropical, it’s jungle and it’s really colorful!

Do the most colorful and tropical of all jungle prints.  Think of all the colors, flowers and plants you would find in a jungle, those are the kind of prints you will see for Spring 2020. A great dress or top in a virbrant jungle print, bonus points if the print has a green tinge to it, can take you anywhere this spring.  This is the Amber Tiered Tunic from Anthropologie available in Regular, Petite and Plus sizes.

Polka Dots are probably the biggest new trend in prints for Spring 2020.  They started a bit last spring but this spring they are really coming into their own. Polka dots are for everyone and in every color, not just black and white.  We saw them in almost every runway show for Spring. The Dries Van Noten Spring 2020 Ready to Wear show featured a fabulous dot trench coat. Balenciaga took things into the blue polka dot print at their spring show. Nordstrom has a tailored 1940’s inspired silk blouse by RE/Done that will make your black suit stand out for your work look. Or for a more casual look try something like the Priscilla Dot Blazer from Anthro.  Try and make your dots pop!  A lot of black and white dots out there for Spring, but try the unexpected and do your dots in a color!

The Folklore Print is kind of an off shoot of the floral print from last spring. Think of a 1970’s vibe to your folklore and you will be set.  Folklore encompasses florals and stripes and all the other kitschy prints you will see.

I am a huge Etro fan and they really embraced the Folklore prints at their spring show. Anthropologie is a great place to find lots of Folklore prints They have this great Alessandra Maxi Dress. And prints galore in all their tops.  If you love the Folklore inspired tops try one like this Letitia Smocked Blouse.

One other thing you will see more of is long striped knit maxi dresses.  They are a mini trend for Spring 2020. A dress like this color blocked midi dress is what we are starting to see in this trend. Or you could try a Japan Exclusive Boat neck t-shirt dress also from BR. Anthro has some as well, this is the Lisanne Sweater Maxi Dress in Petite, Regular and Plus.  They were strong last spring too, so if you already have a striped maxi stick with what you own, if not it may be something worth trying.

The last print mini trend I am going to touch on is Day to Night Sequins.  We saw more of this last year, but it is still prevalent if you want to wear it. You could just touch on it by wearing a sequin cami like this Bette Sequin Cami from Anthro. Or do something like a sequin sleeve detail on your print maxi dress, also from Anthro. Or play with Sequin detail in your maxi skirt, also from Antho.  It’s a small trend, if you like it wear it, if you don’t pick one of the other print trends to make your own.

New Things That We Should All Try!

The last trend category I am going to talk about is all of the things that are important but didn’t fit with any of the other categories above. Some are going to be slightly familiar with new twists and some are brand new.

Trenchcoats with embellishment.  Last year we saw the reemergence of the trench coat.  This year we are seeing the same coat just with a new twist. Simone Rocha’s trench for spring featured ruffles. Rokh’s trench featured leather panels. JW Andersen’s trench featured open sleeves.

We can take our own trench likeBR’s, which is the same one they had last spring and add our own twist.  Replace the belt for a more colorful one, add a colorful scarf or wrap when you wear it.  Or even go bold and change the buttons or sew a piece of fabric on one side.  You can change your trench to work for this year, but if you already have one don’t run out and buy a new one.  I will likely just change the belt or add a colorful scarf on my own trench from last year.

Long skirts or maxi’s are very strong again for Spring.  If you don’t have a straight maxi skirt with a slit in it, now may be the time to try it. Slits in maxi dresses and skirts were all over the runway for Spring 2020, this dress is from Blumarine. Think of the silhouette like this one from Corey Lynn Calter at Anthro.  Wear your straight maxis with a slit and your will be super chic!

We talked a lot about prints above but head to toe clean lines are just as important for Spring 2020.  If you look back at our suiting trend, you saw one color head to toe. If you want to look long and lean this is the trend to try. Think of a head to toe look like this one from Anthro.  It’s a Citizens of Humanity cream jean with their Collins Trench coat.  Add a cream shirt and you are set. Head to toe color works.  Beige is super strong when worn head to toe for spring.  Think of the Drab colors we talked about, they all look good head to toe, as does White. Jumpsuits are continuing strong for Spring 2020.  How about using that as your head to toe look, it’s almost a no brainer.  Try and new color like this Sandwashed Modal Cropped jumpsuit in Terra Cotta Pink from BR. And remember this season everything has a slouchy feel to it.  You can make your own head to toe look like this one from Anthro.  If you shop for your head to toe look at the same store you are pretty much guaranteed it will all match, so if you buy a beige or olive pant at BR, stick with a BR top, that way you can rock the head to toe look.

Even though we are going to have a visit from our Jewelry expert in May one big jewelry trend I want to mention is the Chunky Collar Necklace.  If you only buy one necklace for Spring, make it a Gold colored Chunky collar necklace. A necklace like this Tataborello Braided necklace from Anthro would be great.  The necklace needs to be large and sit right on your collarbone.  It’s great to peak out with the wide lapels and sits perfectly on top of a round neck top. Look around and buy what’s right for you, there will be lots out there.

Small purses or last year’s trend of micro purses are all going away.  This Spring bags and are Big!  Look at the bags in all the runway pictures above, they are all big.  So stash your tiny bags for another spring and pull out your big ones. A tote bag like this Perry Leather Tote from Tory Burch, especially in green (it comes in lots of other colors too), will be your go to for Spring 2020.  We will get into more detail about bags, necklaces and shoes in their own blog later in the season.

The last trend piece I am going to talk about for Spring 2020 is the tank top.  It is replacing the t-shirt as the key piece.  You can find tanks absolutely everywhere and at every price. Joe Fresh has their essential tank in a regular fit and a relaxed fit. The Essential tank comes in 5 fresh spring colors including green.  You can find tank tops everywhere, but whey shop anywhere else for tanks when they are only $10 each at Joe Fresh, for that price you can buy one in every color! Caslon from Norstrom has knit ones too, a little pricier than Joe Fresh.  But they come in lots of colors too.

One thing about tank tops is make sure they are thick enough and not see through even in white or beige.  Go to places like Joe Fresh, Norstrom Rack and Old Navy, you don’t need to spend a lot to jump on this trend.  Wear tanks with everything, under suits, with your bermuda shorts, with maxi skirts and of course with your denim.

 

So there you have it, now you are up to date on exactly what we will be wearing Spring 2020. Starting next week we will go into each blog category in depth. So next week we will revisit Haven’t I Seen That Before and go though it completely. So each of these categories will take up the next 6 weeks.  That will take us to the end of April.  Then we will see an accessories blog, a jewelry blog, a spring denim blog and a Spring Occasions blog before we take a break.  I will be off blogging for all of June and July and back again in August to wrap up summer and get us ready for Fall 2020. If you want a styling appointment I am working up until the beginning of May and then not again until August.  So book soon if you want to get in. Email me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com to book an appointment.  In the meantime you can email me any fashion questions you have!

 

Until next time…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am taking a pause in posting about Spring 2020 Fashion to talk about what is going on in the world right how and what you can do to help.

Everyone I speak to right now can’t be too careful about contact and a lot of my friends are suddenly bringing their almost adult children home from university.   People are staying home, away from stores and restaurants.  But in this suddenly new normal there are things you can do to support your community so that you indeed have a community to go back to once this is all over.

1) Don’t stop exercising – Gyms are small businesses and every gym I know has stepped up their cleaning standards, cut down class size and is taking extra care to keep you safe.  Maybe skip hot yoga where everyone is sweating and go to a regular yoga or pilates class.  Work out with a personal trainer if you don’t want to do the class workout. But keeping up the exercise, even if you just go for a walk every day, boosts your immune system and right now everyone’s immunity needs a little boost!

2) Support your local businesses – Every community has a grocery store that is not a big box store.  Shop there, they probably need your business even more now.  Same with drug stores, shop local! Shoppers Drug Mart can probably handle you shopping at your local pharmacy for a month or so. And your local restaurants all probably will do take out if you ask them too.  Want to make sure you have a local place to go once we are over Covid-19, do your best to keep them in business.

Go get your hair colored! Every salon I know, who isn’t going on hiatus, has upped their cleaning standards and if they are a small local shop, they really need the business.  If you are uncomfortable your stylist is probably already wearing gloves and a mask just to be safe. Maybe even just go for a blow dry to support your favorite hairdresser. Dry Bar and Blow can handle a little less business but your homegrown salon can’t, use them instead.

3) Fashion doesn’t take a holiday – Even though you may not be going out for dinner, spring weather will still come and get warm.  Instead of shopping at Nordstrom or the Bay, shop at your local clothing stores, they all have spring orders coming in and will need to pay for them.  Show them some love. In Vancouver places like Coco on West 4th, Leslie Jane in West Van and Hill’s of Kerrisdale all depend on local business.   Why not shop there when you need a new pair of jeans or sweater?  If you want them to survive they will depend on you.

4) Take time to help others – If you haven’t been affected by Covid-19, now is the time to make an extra effort to be at your best.  Deliver food for the food bank, they likely have clientele who needs to stay home right now.  Share what you can. Don’t buy all the Kleenex in the store, leave a few boxes for the next person. Same with Toilet paper, if you need more than 20 rolls for 2 weeks at home, your problems are a lot bigger than Covid-19! Your nose may run with this virus, but your bum won’t.  If you aren’t working when you are home, help your friends who are by looking after their kids for an afternoon or making them a meal.  Pay it forward! Do something nice for someone and they are more likley to do something nice for someone else.

 

Well that’s pretty much all I wanted to say. Remember we are not solo, whether you are in Canada or the US, we have it pretty good.  We can weather this just like we weathered everything else.  I read something on twitter today: My grandfather was asked to leave to go fight a war in Europe, we are just asked to stay at home and minimize contact with others, everything in perspective.

Back to fashion blogging on Wednesday!

Last week we looked at two groups of trends for Spring 2020, this week we are going to preview another two and then next week we will preview the final two.  After that we will spend one blog going into each trend category in depth. This will take us into the middle of April.  So sit back and read away!!

3. The New Spring Suit

The suiting trend for spring encompasses a couple of other trends as well.  One of the biggest trends for Spring 2020 is the Bermuda Short (the is way better for us than the Hot pant, another trend).  You will see Bermuda shorts everywhere and put with everything.  But one of the best new ways to wear it is as part of a suit.  All the designers had bermuda short suits in their spring shows. Here is how Tom Ford showed it.  Highlighter colors are huge (we will talk about colors later) and this is a great way to wear the new spring suit. Here is Givenchy’s version.  Remember Green not purple for Spring. And your suit doesn’t have to be a solid color, MSGM has a spring colored plaid suit.  And you don’t have to wear the Bermuda as part of a suit, it’s a fantastic piece with everything.  Babaton from Aritzia has the Serif Short which may be all your wardrobe needs to embrace this trend. Any classic longer short works here. A simple pair of gabardine short from the Frankie Shop would pair with tons in your closet. Either long and full like these from Lafayette 148 or long and slimmerlike these from Partow, the bermuda short is what you will want to wear.  I personally love this look.  The way you wear it is knee length or slightly below, so sort of like a shorter culotte. And I love the look with a blazer and matching shoes!  You will see it everywhere for Spring.

Another huge trend for Spring 2020 is the vest.  A button front vest will be another must have for Spring 2020.  The 3 piece suit with this vest is the other big way we are seeing suiting for spring.  But don’t be fooled, vests are important on their own too. Here is what Etro showed for Spring 2020. The button up vest worn with flowy pants (we will get to pants later) and a waistcoat jacket. Or take a look at Max Mara’s version of Spring suiting, the button up vest paired with Bermuda shorts. But whether you wear your suit with pants or shorts, 3 piece is what is important

The beauty of the vest is that you can take it away from the suit and wear it with seperates too. Here is how Gucci is putting the vest look together for Spring. Look for button up vests in the coming month in stores and online.  Buy it in a spring color and wear it with everything!

Now if you aren’t a shorts person, even though the soft bermuda short from this spring will work on everybody, the newest skirt to wear in suiting is the knee length pleated skirt. They aren’t as easy to find as the soft bermuda short but they will be out there. Ann Taylor or Aritzia both have them and you can pair them with your vest and blazer too.

Waistcoat blazers

The newest trend in blazers and you can see it above, is the waistcoat blazer. A waistcoat blazer is one that accentuates your waistline.  Like this one from Veronica Beard.  And it doesn’t have to be doubled breasted, although this works great with spring’s drapey pant.  It can be single breasted as well like this one from Rag and Bone. Or this one button blazer from Ann Taylor.  Even Babaton from Aritzia has a great waistcoat shape in their Encore Blazer.  Choose any style, any color, with double or single breasted that looks good on your body, then pair it with a vest or with bermuda shorts or drapey pants and you are all set.

Let’s just talk about the new drapey pant for spring suiting before we leave this section. Try a pair that fits more like a trouser, Babaton has the Agency pant for Spring that will work with all their jackets. Ann Taylor has Button trim wide leg pants that work too. Here is an image from Burberry, remember the pant needs to be soft and flowy and have the same soft flowy feel the bermuda short does with the suit.

I can’t stress enough how important the bermuda short and vest are on their own as well as in the suiting. I am one of those women who hardly ever wear suits, but I will be wearing bermuda shorts, vests, and even the soft pant, all as seperates and you can too if you are not a suit wearing woman.

 

Spring Colors

About the only color that you won’t be seeing for Spring 2020 is purple. Been there done that. Green is going to replace purple as the new “it” color.  And every shade of green too.

There are 3 categories Spring Colors can fall into: Highlighter brights, Soft Pastels and earth tones and Drab colors of Olives and Beiges.

The Highlighter colors are as bright and vivid as possible. And I mean bright!
Marni is all over vivid pinks and blues. Even Marni jackets have a bright edge to them. Balenciaga has vivid green!  Pay attention to how much green you will see in each of these color palettes we are going to talk about.  Spring brights are going to be fun to wear, pick the right bright for you.Even Aritzia has a smatterning of brights like this bright Fushcia Babaton Bow blouse (and it has the sheer trend in it too).

Pastels are a little different for Spring 2020.  They kind of are Pastels with Pep!

We saw some of this color trend in leather for spring.  Great colors but almost a softer edge to them unless they were brights. Ann Taylor’s Spring green is in the middle of bright and pastel. Wilfred from Aritzia has this beautiful Bria blouse that comes in wonderful soft and drab colors, notice the lace detailing at the hem. Even this Michael Kors Belted waist dress at Nordstrom walks a line on the edge of pastels and something a bit stronger.  I love the brighter pastel especially in Oranges, Reds and Greens.  They are colors that everyone can wear.

The Drap colors

Drabs for Spring 2020 include all the beige family, the olive greens and even some of the earthy rusts and other tones.

When we looked at Spring suiting above we saw a lot of beige tones. Chloe resort collection included this olive colored jumpsuit. Here is a look from Tod’s Spring show. And looks like this dominated Givenchy spring show.  So if you love the earthy beighes and olives or rusts go ahead and wear them. That great Bria Blouse from Wilfred seen above in blue also comes in a drb color (truffle) for you!

Now the last color category I want to talk about is Black and White.  White is huge for Spring 2020.  Black is not as big, but it will always be a wardrobe staple.  Black and white mixed together are strong too. And if you are only going to buy one pair of bermuda shorts for spring, this is what Bazaar magazine recommends; these are by Self Portrait.  Bazaar recommends keeping your bermuda shorts dark for work and paired with button down shirts and I agree.

We talked about sleeve detail being important so if you are going to do something in black or white make it have detail Ann Taylor’s embroidered Ruffle sleeve Tee is a great way to do that. Even if you do a simple white shirt like this one from Cloth and Stone at Anthropologie, make sure it has detail, like the drawstring hem. Or how about Antho’s puff sleeve blouse which comes in both black and white.

Don’t be afraid to wear any of these colors head to toe.  White looks fantastic head to toe for spring as does any pastel color.  A head to toe color will only make you look longer and leaner.

 

I know each category seems quite large to digest.  But I promise I will go into way more detail when I talk about each one of them in their own blog. Thank you so much for continuing to read week after week.  We will finish our spring preview next week so stay tuned!

 

Until next time!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a happy new year!  Since things have been pretty static in what we are wearing and doing as this pandemic drags on and most of us won’t be vaccinated until late spring or summer, I decide until we take a look at Spring fashion for 2021, I am going to repost some of the blogs I wrote (like this one from 2016) because it is relevent today.  Let’s face it, no one is dressing up for anything so we might as well see some casual looks we can embrace. You might not find the exact pieces I feature online in stores anymore but there are definitely similar styles you can buy and work with, or find something in your own closet that works.   Enjoy the blog below!

Last fall I mentioned the trend that incorporates exercise wear into everyday.  Well that trend seems to be stronger than ever as we approach spring.  Basically right now, stores and lines of clothes that never embraced it are showing these types of pieces for a transition into spring.   My personal casual is usually jeans.  But I am starting to come around to dressed up sweat pants or joggers and leggings for everyday.  After all it really looks comfortable and now that you can have comfort and style in the same look, what is not to love?

For the past week and a half my inbox has been flooded with emails about this new way of dressing.  It comes at every price point you can imagine.  It’s like last year’s silky banded leg pant is back and stronger than ever. That doesn’t mean you have to throw away your jeans or other pants, it just means for a casual look it gives us another option. And most of the pieces will transfer back to your jeans or casual pants and skirts.

Anthropologie.com even has a section of their website dedicated to everyday active essentials.  They are showing sweatpants, tops and runners.  But they are pieces you could dress up for a casual daytime event as well.This hooded cowl pullover by Sundry looks fab going to and from the gym or yoga.  But I have one exactly like it from Eileen Fisher that I wear with jeans and boots when I am travelling and want to be comfortable on the plane. Mine is black but I love this cranberry shade as we get closer to spring.What about this shawled Vivie Cardigan by Saturday/ Sunday.  It also comes in a beautiful aqua color.  Easy to wear to the gym, as a lounging piece at home and over any casual bottom with a great shirt underneath.  It would also be fantastic belted with skinny jeans tucked into boots.  So it is very versatile and it’s heavy enough that when the weather gets a bit warmer to be your jacket on a cool morning.  How can you lose?  This is probably my favorite piece of the Anthropologie collection. It is a sweatershirt with sleeves made like a knit sweater.  Here it is shown with jeans, but I would wear it with leggings and it would be one of my favorites.

The next question is how do you layer underneath?  Well I guess that depends on what you are doing?  I am a cold person, so I wear a tank or t-shirt under every sweater or sweatshirt I own in the winter.  I have a plethora of white and black t’s just for that purpose. If you are doing something sporty than you most likely will wear a shirt or top that reflects the activity you are doing. This cute waffled t-shirt comes in a light purple as well and would be great under the jacket above. If you are going to the gym and you workout hard and will break a sweat then you need to dress accordingly.A wick away tank or t-shirt is definitlely called for.  I go to the gym almost every day and swear by the wick away tops I wear.  Most of them are Nike and a few other brands, but believe me when you are in the middle of your 2 hour workout and your trainer is timing how fast you can go through the ladder, you will be glad you have something that wicks the perspiration away.

But other than that, workout wear is so trendy right now that you could take a nicer t shirt, like the waffle one above or wear something like thiscute little ruffle t-shirt that comes in grey, black, white and mango pink and layer it underneath  the same jacket or sweat shirt. With your jeans or casual skirt on the bottom it will be a great look. I love a detailed t-shirt!  They make the ordinary extra ordinary.  And you don’t have to buy them at a place like Anthropologie either, Joe Fresh has tons of t-shirts all the time for under $20.

But really almost any kind of nicer knit shirt can work to make your workout clothes look like the trend this season.  Knit tops come in all shapes and colors. Like the peplum top, it is a huge theme running though all the new clothes out right now.  Pair this top with leggings and a great pair of boots and voila! You are both comfortable and very stylish.  Adding accessories like the long necklace pictured or a fabulous scarf does even more to take this look into day wear. Another great piece to use to make your exercise wear more day wear is a t-shirt with embroidery details.  I happen to love shirt with embroidery on them, I find them versatile.  Wear them with leggings and jeans and then you can pair them with a great dressier knit slim pant for a casual evening look with high heeled booties or even a chunky heel.

Lots of leggings and ‘sweatpants’ can make the cross over from exercise wear to day wear as well.  One of the things I am noticing is that joggers with banded bottoms are getting a bit thinner through the legs, so they look more like pants and fit more like loose leggings.  Great to wear a boot with or even a bit of a heel.  One of my go to’s and sure to become yours is a great pair of ribbed and/or ponte leggings I have a pair just like these and they are fabulous.  In very rainy Vancouver I am constantly pulling them on with different tops and sweaters and tucking them into my boots.  I liked them so much I bought 2 pair and then a pair in a grey melange as well!Here is the grey melange.  I bought them at Anthropologie ( of course) but you can find good leggings anywhere.  They need to be thick enough to a) keep you warm and b) not show every lump and bump you have.  These do the trick for me.  And yes you can even buy the Costco version or Joe Fresh version.  Just make sure they are thick enough.  I know that the Costco ones are.

I mentioned joggers that are a bit more tapered.  Here is the kind of look.  This is a great vacation or summer look for them. But right now think a wooly sweater and boots, they would look just as good. Skinny leg fleecy joggers are just perfect to put on when you leave the gym for warmth and then change to a boot or shoe and wear out to lunch with your friends. I love the bright colors.  Just make sure the color you choose is the right color for you to wear as a bottom.  Most women look better on the bottom in darker brights than whites and yellows. Two other leggings I think are adorable for casual wear.  I love the tie detail of the pair on the top, and they would be fab with a casual ballet flat and tunic top as well as cute for yoga or working out.  And even though they look horrible on me, I absolutely love a floral print legging! If your legs are thin enough ( for sure mine are not) they are adorable.  Wear them to the gym and then pair them with a solid t shirt and the jacket above.

Now what about shoes?  We talked about how you can wear this look with boots for a casual day look.  But what if you really want to embrace the comfort and the trend? Well runners that are not really athletic shoes are all huge for spring once again. You can for sure do the type of sneaker pictured above.  But what about a funky sneaker? A great floral sneaker by Stella McCartney for Adidas will make your look really playful. And I will forever be a fan of black leather and suede sneakers.  They can even be worn with skinny jeans or ponte knit skinny pants for a more casual look. A rolled over fur topped bootie is a wonderful look for now until spring.  Many of you like Ugs, I personally think they are ugly and don’t wear them, but here is where they actually would make sense.Once the weather warms a bit turn to fun colored espadrilles as an alternative to sneakers. And I always love a detailed loafer or ballet flat with leggings and a loose top. Look for flats with cute details and colors, and they will make your outfit pop.

One last thing I want to talk about is tunic tops and dressier sweatshirts to move the look to the next step.  There are many tunic tops all over the stores and web.  Think ovesized but fitted slightly shirting.Something that will fall to the middle of your thigh.  This type of shirt can totally dress up your leggings for slim joggers, especially if you add a little heel on your shoe. This look of a slim silk tunic over a print legging can take you almost anywhere depending on your shoes and accessories.

One of my favorite go to items is a dressy sweatshirt ( for lack of a better name).  I can live in them.  I love light weigh fleece with details.  This one from Nordstrom Rack with the detail can be worn with jeans to show a dressed down but nicer look. Sometimes they can masquerade as a sweater as well.  But I have a few and I can literally live in them and my jeans when I don’t have a lot going on.  Fun details like sequins, studs and crochet all make the difference in it not looking like something you just left the gym in.

One of my favorites is a grey sweatshirt with lace details.  I love the way it look and feels and once you find a piece like that you can wear it for years, I have had mine for 3 years!

All the images today were from Anthropologie except for two of the sweatshirts I have shown. Only one of them was an online only piece ( the sweatshirt with the knit sleeves).

I see more and more women all the time wearing and rocking this type of look.  It will be here to stay for the spring and likely for next fall.  If this is a trend you love, I would love to see what you put together and hear your opinions.

As always I can be reached at suethefashionista.com.  I would love to hear topics any of you would like addressed in my blogs and I am setting up appointments now for spring wardrobing and closet makeovers.

Have a good time wearing your clothes.  Remember the old Saturday Night Live line, when you look marvelous you feel marvelous and darling you are marvelous!

Party season is upon us and if your schedule is as hectic as mine has become never fear, this guide will help you put the right outfit together for the occasion you are about to attend!

This holiday season things are ramping up with shine, lace and velvet to be the most glamourous ever.  Let’s look at different occasions and put some outfits together that you can wear to them.

The Office Party

Decorum should never be thrown out the window at your office’s holiday party or at your spouse’s.  This is not the time to bear all the skin you can, keep yourself fairly classic. A beautiful understated Scalloped Lace Yoke Shift Dress from Ann Taylor can take you to any office holiday party.  Black is always the right color to wear, it is instantly more elegant and put it with a black heel and sparkly accessories and you are ready to go.

If your office party isn’t that dressy but you still need to look fairly chic try something like these fabulous High-rise Pull-on Peyton Wide-Leg Lace pants from J. Crew, they also come in Red and Jade lace if you want something different.  But Black lace pants are something you can pull out almost all year long.  I have a pair from a few years ago and I still wear them all the time, lace is timeless like that.  Pair a black top with it to be tone on tone which is totally chic right now or try this adorable Ruffle neck top in 365 Crepe also from J. Crew.  Fabulous with the lace pants or with any black pants you already own.

And if your office is a really creative one, then go all out. Try a look like this one. All from J. Crew, it’s the Collection Bow back top in metallic leaf jacquard with the matching Collection high-rise cigarette pant in metallic leaf jacquard. Shine is where it’s at this holiday season and in an outfit like this you will be poistively glowing!

 

The Holiday Ball

In Vancouver we have a Christmas time tradition called the Family Ball and it is a very formal occasion, there are other formal parties this time of year as well.  And sometimes even New Year’s eve is a formal occasion.

Traditionally this meant long dresses for women, but 2019 is a lot different and there are things you can wear formally now that you may not have been able to wear before.

How about trying a great Halter Wide-Leg Jumpsuit from Banana Republic?It comes in Ultra Red (shown) or Black and both would be as formal as a long dress.  Or check out Anthropologie for Jumpsuits, they have lots. Try a jumpsuit like this Viva Pleated one, it will sway just like a long dress would. Or pull out all the stops in a Sequined Jumpsuit that will turn every head.

There are lots of dresses that can also be formal without being maxi.  Try one of the great midi length dresses instead. This is the Presely Dress from BHLDN which is another store Anthro owns.  BHLDN has great formal dresses for a reasonable price, this Alexa Dress and Emile dress would look fabulous on a woman for a formal occasion and not cost over $300 each. So you don’t have to spend a million to look like it!

The House Party

Whether it’s a New Year’s eve, a tree trimming or a Chanukkah party there are always a lot of house parties going on. And for a house party there are no rules, you can dress up your denim or dress down you formal wear.  Most people wear something festive but still comfortable.  So how do you look your chic while still staying festive and comfortable?

Try a pair of velvet pants. J. Crew has the same Peyton pull-on pants in Velvet that they have above in Lace. They come in 4 colors including black and you could wear these pants everywhere.  To a party and even to work! Keep the top casual, like the denim shirt above.  Or reverse it, wear a dressier blouse and more casual pants . Here Anthro is showing the Sydney Lace Blouse with AGOLDE Parker high-rise Straight cropped jeans.  Both looks are dramatic and comfortable. Ann Taylor has a sequin sweater skirt that would also work instead of pants and then wear it with a white blouse as shown or do the tone on tone trend with a Soft Satin Puff Sleeve top from Banana Republic that ties at the waist.

Other fun pieces that I love that you can pair with denim on the bottom are a beautiful mock neck floral lace top from J. Crew, which comes in 5 lace colors. This Metallic Smocked Sleeve Blouse from BR that would work with any color denim on the bottom or do a Velvet Mock neck top in 3 colors including black that you could wear everywhere also from BR.  Or go all out with shine this Marie Sequin Blouse from Anthro comes in 4 colors and will work to elevate any bottom you put with it.

On the bottom try, Drapey waist cargo pants from J. Crew in 3 colors or Tartan pants that are super cute also from J. Crew.  You could also do a different velvet bottom from BR, try the Sloan skinny fit Velvet pants in 3 colors including black and dark teal (shown).You could also have some fun with BR’s Sloan skinny fit pant in metallic leopard that would certainly put you as the life of the party. And if you love skirts try a skirt like this Riley Leopard midi skirt from Anthro which will be a bit of both the leopard world and has soft chiffon layers at the sides.

Holiday parties require a lot of standing, so always remember to wear heels you can stand in. Decorated slides like Embellished slides from Anthro are perfect with cropped pants and longer skirts. Or if you need to wear a heel, try something with a block heel that isn’t too high but still looks fancy like these Olivia Bow Heels from Anthro.  And a great pair of Booties like these Ruffled Kitten heel ankle booties look good with dresses, pants and skirts.

Check out the different stores we talked about online, everyone of them has a party shop that can give you great outfit ideas for all your occasions.

I want to let you all know about something happening in Vancouver this week.  Our Jewelry expert Shoshana Lewis and some of her collegues are having a fabulous pop up shop that is not to be missed! It’s November 27 10 am to 9pm and Nov 28 10 am to 6pm at 4386 Main St. in Vancouver.   Check this pop up shop for great jewelry, clothing and even art.  It is not to be missed! 

There is only 2 more weeks of blogs left until we break for the holidays.  Next week our Jewelry expert Shoshana Lewis will give us tips and trends on glittery holiday gems and then the last blog will be a holiday gift guide of my favorite things.

I have no more styling appointments left until the new year.  I will start working again on January 15 so book early if you want a January or February appointment.  Email me at Suethefashionista@gmail.com to book an appointment.

 

until next time…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could make an entire wardrobe out of neutrals. When you are planning a travel wardrobe what do you stick to: neutrals.  What is a typical French woman’s wardrobe based on: neutrals. And the best thing about neutrals is that absolutely every woman, no matter what age or what size, looks fabulous in neutrals.

What are the New Neutrals of spring 2019? Well they are more than Khaki, Beige and Black, although they do contain that.  This season add Red, Navy, Pink and even Yellow.  Neutrals is every color for Spring 2019 that can be worn head to toe or mixed with the classic neutrals of Black, Khaki, Beige and Denim.  This really opens up a lot of possibilities if you like to stick to a fairly conservative wardrobe.  And if you are like me and prefer solid color clothing to prints, then this trend is one you can wear for the entire season.  And if you get brave you can take a print from one of the other trends and add it back in too.  That is the beauty of the New Neutrals!

One of the key features of the New Neutrals is how you put your outfit together. One of the best places to buy a neutral wardrobe is Banana Republic or Aritzia, both have so many solids in so many color options.

The key to a great neutral wardrobe is what your final top piece is, both BR and Aritzia have great options.  One of the key pieces for spring is a classic trench coat. Why not try one is a little bit of an unexpected color? These two coats are from BR. If we follow our New Neutral guide both of these colors look great head to toe, and work perfectly with Black, Khaki, Beige and Denim.  As the weather gets warmer they both look great with White too. Aritzia has softer trenches that can be worn inside as well as outside like Wilfred Pelat Trench that comes in Moroccan Spice and Soft Birch. Or go for an even softer trench look in Vancouver’s Spring Uniform coat, Babaton’s Lawson Trench coat, it’s available in 6 colors and you can wear it everywhere.

The last outerwear/indoor wear piece I want to talk about in a Neutral wardrobe is the denim jacket.  A great classic denim jacket can take you everywhere. Anthropolgie has Levi’s Ex-Boyfriend Denim Trucker Jacket, which is about as classic as you can get and I wear my denim jacket (mine is from BR) all the time.  If you already have a classic denim jacket perhaps this is the year you buy a white denim jacket, they are everywhere and will work with a neutral wardrobe as well.

Another great piece in a good neutral wardrobe is a great neutral jumpsuit you can wear anywhere.  Stick to jumpsuits that are a solid color and fit you like they were made just for you. BR has some great jumpsuits, this season wide legs are making a strong statement, especially cropped wide legs (in the right proportion everyone can wear them), so why not try BR’s Sandwash Modal Cropped Wide-Leg Jumpsuit.  It comes in 3 neutral colors and is easy care and easy wear. Or try an Anthro jumpsuit in a new neutral color of Red. Red, in the Cathy Structured Jumpsuit,  is one of my favorite new colors for spring and the key to jumpsuits for women over 40 is to make sure you can wear a bra with it. So both of these work perfectly.  One other Anthro jumpsuit I want to show is the Colleen Stitched Jumpsuit.  It’s classic enough to wear everywhere and it has a great ponte fabric that keeps its shape!

Pants and skirts in this trend are color based and trend based, so in other words it is the styles that are in fashion this Spring but done in New Neutral coloring.

One of the key pieces for new spring pants is the wide leg pant, cropped or long. Aritzia has you covered with Wilfred’s Faun Pantit comes in 7 great Neutral colors including Tuscan Sun. Or try a full length pant from Aritzia this is the Wilfred Cezanne Pant and it comes in 3 soft neutral colors.  For spring pants keep your waist a little higher, that goes for your denim too.  And if you are short-waisted like me, you can wear a high waist pant just with no belt detail, keep the waist elastic or simple.

The other new style is the tapered leg (hello 1990’s), this is the great new classic pant style and it looks great with a long jacket to the office.  Aritzia has the perfect one, Babaton’s Conen Pant Terado is a style we all know and love, and for Spring it comes in 12 mix and match neutral shades.

Dresses in this trend follow the same rules as jumpsuits, KISS, keep it simple sweetie.  Shift or Column dresses work great and so do belted shirt style dresses.  Think of your classic dress styles and use details like self belts and horned buttons. J. Crew has the perfect  Tie-Waist Shirtdress in Cotton poplin.  This dress is fab for work or play and will go with anything. If you want a casual dress think Utility, the Oona Utility dress at Anthro is perfect for warm days and vacations too. It also comes in a heathered black if you prefer that.

BR is the king of the Column dress in lots of different fabrics and colors, if you want column this is where you find it.  Or stick to a Sheath dress but one that fits this trend perfectly. This Double-breasted sleeveless Sheath dress from J. Crew comes in 4 great neutral colors and has both the horned button detail and a tie waist.

So we have talked a lot about the pieces that make up the New Neutral trend but how are we going to put it all together? Try a maxi skirt with a tank and tie waist jacket with a block heel for work and for casual switch out the tie waist jacket for denim and add flats. One of my favorite ways to wear the New Neutrals is head to toe, the new red is perfect for every business meeting you have.  Keep the accessories simple and then you can pull the suit apart and mix with other neutrals for a change. The above combination outfits are from Nordstrom.com.

Here is the way the Conan Pant Terado from Aritzia can be work to work. This look follows the keep it simple rule and you will look fabulous.  Wear it with pumps for a more serious look.  As I said above a classic trench style coat can work a lot of ways, how about dressy?Here is the Babaton Lawson trench doing double duty and being an evening coat over a dress. Or try some of the ways Instyle Magazine is showing Runway Cargo Chic, just tone it down a bit.  So easy to wear beige of khaki head to toe, try your wrap jacket or trench with a softer print pant and wear your high-waisted neutral pant with a crisp white shirt.

I could go on and on about Neutrals, they really are the base of my personal wardrobe and work so well for everyone.  Check out all the neutrals in new styles online and then hit the stores and add a couple of pieces.

Need help decoding the new spring fashions? Keep reading my blogs for more info or email me at SuetheFashionista@gmail.com with your questions. I don’t have anymore spring appointment openings until maybe June and then again not until fall, so if you need an appointment please use the above email and get a hold of me right away.

Next week we will look at the Sweet and Girlie trend for Spring, I absolutely adore the accessories in that trend so stay tuned!

Until next time…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s face it, no matter what any groundhog or rodent says we are likely to have winter weather until at least the end of February.  And even thought the stores are being flooded with Spring attire, it’s really not an option to wear it unless you live in the South. So for the rest of us, we have to figure out how we are going to muddle through the next month or so in our winter clothes without feeling like they are stale.

My motto is when in doubt wear black.  Black is a color that pairs with everything, denim on the weekends to neutrals for the work week and even out for the evening.  But as you get older you need to either change how you wear black or change how you wear your make up with black, especially if you want to wear black head to toe.

Black combinations in your 40’s:

In your 40’s it’s time to add a bit of sophistication to your wardrobe.  My best advice is to keep your black Casual and Refined.  Maybe now is the time to get out of your puffy coat and into a more refined style.Aritzia’s Babaton Steadman Coat is less than $300 and you will look elegant whenever you put it on.  You can wear this coat to the office with a suit, out for dinner with a dress and even on the weekend with your favorite jeans.This picture is from an email I got from Shoptiques.com, one of the best sites for inspiration on putting outfits together.  Jen is really looking so refined and classy the way she has put her black coat, scarf and boots together with denim.  Take a hint from her and maybe try to add a heel to your everyday boot. You don’t have to do as high a heel as Jen, but you do want some heel.  Banana Republic’s Cowboy Ankle Boot has a 2 inch heel and is only $110 on-line right now!  Want a knee-high boot to wear with denim Nordstrom has tons of their boots on sale right now, online is better than in store, less picked over.  This boot is from Sam Edelman and would look fantastic with skinny jeans tucked in. And the heel is a block 2 inch heel so you can walk all day!

Right now you will find lots of black layering pieces everywhere.  Wear black sweaters and vests to add a bit more warmth to your coat.  Banana Republic is one of my go to’s for sweaters.  I live in my washable merino wool Br Sweatersand remember BR always has a sale on.

 

Wearing Black in your 50’s:

I am in my 50’s and I wear a lot of black.  I particularly love days when I get to wear black head to toe.  A great streamlined jacket, black knit pants and a black soft blouse, paired with boots or loafers is a great look! A my favorite possession of mine is my Hugo Boss Stretch Wool Suit Jacket.  Yes it was pricey, but I bought it 3 years ago and it still looks brand new!It’s ok to invest in a piece like this because by the time you are in your 50’s you are likely not to jump on every trend, every season, and a great tailored jacket looks great with everything.

For pants I usually go back to Banana Republic, you can’t beat the price for the quality. These Logan Trouser-Fit Lightweight Wool pant is perfect to wear with your head to toe black look, or wear it more casually like shown in the above picture.

For your black blouse, choose a blouse from a company that fits you well.  I have been wearing Ann Taylor blouses for the last year.  Not super expensive and I find the fit is great. The Ann Taylor Essential shirt comes in lots of colors and it’s polyester so no wrinkling.

You can pair your low heeled boot with this look or try a lighter shoe going forward ( yes, in Canada we carry our shoes and wear our boots everywhere).  Why not try a pair of block heel slingbacks with a closed toe These are from Vanelli and at Nordstrom.com.  Slingback will take you right into spring and beyond, it’s a nice change from pumps.

When you put it all together you can rock the look our friend Julia Roberts is wearing. It’s a great refined and elegant look while still having a bit of edge to your outfit!

 

Wearing Black in your 60’s:

In your 60’s chances are your skin is a bit lighter, as you should be shunning the sun and maybe you are even transitioning to a bit of grey in your hair.  Wearing black can be for you too, just punctuate it with Gold, Metallics or even pearls. You can still rock your black coat just maybe wear a metallic scarf with it. Try one of Nordstrom’s shimmer wraps worn as a scarfthis is the dusty pink color and it also comes in a gold tone . Both of these shimmery colors will give your face the glow it needs while wearing an all black outfit.

You can also add a great necklace to break up your head to toe black.  Over a black dress try adding a necklace in a gold or metallic that will help you shine. This Something Navy 2 in 1 disc necklace works over crew neck dresses and high collars like turtlenecks too.  Do you love pearls?? Make your pearls the star of the show!This Chan Luu mixed Stone Dagger Pendant necklace will garner everyone’s attention with your head to toe black outfit.

Stick to refined styling, and simples lines like clean black pants and it doesn’t get any cleaner lines than BR’s Avery Washable wool pants.  Stick to a beautiful blouse like Ann Taylor’s Flare Sleeve top and top it all with a coat that makes you smile every time you put it on. I love Artizia’s Wilfred Cocoon coat, on sale right now and will look great for years.  Pair you metallic scarf with it and off you go!

Meryl Streep’s amazing head to toe black with a metallic scarf can be everyone’s inspiration!

 

Wearing Black in your 70’s, 80’s and Beyond:

 

If 50 is the new 30 then 70 must be the new 50.  Women are aging better than in any other time in history and that means that they look great at any age and can keep being fashionable throughout their lives.  My grandmother reverted to pull on pants and loose blouses and flat shoes by the time she was 60, no way that happens today.  So many of my friends mothers look better and better the older they get.  Of course it has a lot to do with body maintenance.  They go to the gym, get their hair colored and in general have a great time.  You can’t tell if they are 55 or 75.  So for these women they deserve to have the best.

To wear black over 70 you can luxuriate in ladylike details or up the contrast by adding stand out colors and graphic prints. Spend your money and your time in luxurious dresses like this one from Lafayette 148 New Yorkthis is their Emory Finesse Crepe dress and you can wear this everywhere! Invest in a stunning pair of Theory Straight leg stretch trousers.They will look as good as they feel.

Save the detail for your tops and accessories then pair it with an elegant back coat. This Veronica Beard stretch Silk Top will give you just the pop of color you need while having the high neck so you don’t need a scarf.And if you prefer solids, this See By Chloe Ruffled neck blouse would be perfect with black. And you are never too old for sophisticated animal print!  This great Dolce and Gabbana Leopard print top will look great with black and you can even wear it back to your denim! And why not invest in a coat with some detail on the black? This fabulous Burbury Horberie Quilted Trench will love you right back, day or evening.

I am in love with this beautiful coat, bag and boots on Helen Mirren.  Don’t be afraid to treat yourselves!

And absolutely no one rocks 80 better than Jane Fonda.

Like I said at the beginning my inspiration for this blog comes from a Website called Shoptiques.  They feature one of a kind boutiques all over the world online. Check it out a find your inspiration to rock whatever age you are at!

 

There will be a Valentine’s blog next week and then no blog on Feb 20.  The last week of Feb we will talk about what to keep and what to sell or toss for spring and in March we will go right into spring.  I am travelling a bit more than I used to so I will try to get everything in before I leave again in May.

Oh and by the way, my blogs haven’t been sharing on Facebook and Twitter, I am trying to correct that but Facebook is a bit of a pain.  If anyone asks why they can’t find it please direct them to my website Suethefashionista.com.

 

Until next time…