Inspired by Color

Remember my post on my colleague, June, who wore green and orange that day?  Well, the colors really inspired me and when I came across a similar-colored green dress, I bought it straight away!  I wore that dress today, combined it with my orange-stacked bangles, orange beaded necklace and my orange sling-back pumps.  I love this look and it really perked me up today!

Dress: Sjaherman's Daughter, Shoes: Enzo Angeolini, Necklace & Rings: from my grandma, Bangles: Diva, Watch: Cartier tank.

Resurrecting The Dead

Yup, that's what it is.

I was sitting in the train on the way home yesterday looking at my dress and it struck me.   For some odd reason, I was reminded of this black dress I had in the 90s.  I remembered I bought it and only wore it once.  Then I just kept it and it followed me wherever I went, whichever house or place I moved to, and I never even thought of giving it away.  I remember it was thick and granny looking.  I didn't like the feel, and it had a very odd flare to it.  Anyway, I immediately text my helper to look for it in my closet.  She found it.  I got home and put it on and I loved it!  Really odd.  What happened??

Well, old pieces buried in your closet can be a treasure many years after.  Yes, I did say that if you haven't worn something in 2 years, chances are you will never wear it again.  But if you happen to find it, try it on.  And I did.  I tried to hypothesize why I didn't like it before, and I think it was because of the cut which is really not too flattering.  Back then, I did not wear 4 inch heels, I was way skinnier and didn't like anything falling right at the knee.  I also did not know how to accessorize.  Well, that all has changed and I am glad I kept this dress.

Dress: Emporio Armani. Necklace & Earrings: Tiffany.  Shoes: Charles & Keith.

Colors and More Colors

Just a quick one on an example of wearing clashing colors in a great way.

June is a colleague of mine at work and she just has such a great sense of style.  She would wear clashing colors but always looking pulled together.  As you can see here, her green dress by itself is soo cute.  The style is great,  falls nicely right above the knee, and the flower accent on the right is just perfect.  Then she combined this with orange shoes - which none of us would think about.  If you take a closer look, her orange shoes has black trimming and also, she wears a simple little black bolero.  The black "calms" down the green and the orange, pulling the colors together and makes is compliment one another.  In addition, green and orange are opposites in the color wheel, making it perfect for combination.  I don't think June theorizes it before she wears it, but she always looks cute anyway!  And I know you can't see this, but I just love the blue nailpolish peaking from her toes and the neon green nailpolish on her fingers.  Very very nice touch!  Way to go, June :-)

Wardrobe Fatigue

Even being so organized and having a 4-week schedule, I sometimes still struggle with what to wear.  Not that I don't have anything in my closet, it's just that I get tired with the same thing or the same combination or rotating the same schedule from a few months ago.  There are just days where I would feel like wearing black but seems like there are no blacks that I like in my closet.  I call this "wardrobe fatigue".  Like this week, I think I have a serious case of wardrobe fatigue on my hands.  I don't feel like wearing anything I have scheduled and I have been having my closet open for the past few days already to see what I can whip out of it.   So what to do in this case and you are desperate for ideas (other than raiding Orchard Rd.)?  Here are a few thoughts:

1. Browse the News
Pick up a magazine, browse fashion sites or look for celeb news.  I find Her World magazine particularly helpful in mixing and matching.  Glamour magazine also has good fashion ideas.  Browse the fashion sites like Shine or Style, or find celeb news for inspiration.  Not all tacky celebs are tacky all the time, nor are stylish celebs stylish all the time.  Everyone has their off days. I like the styles of Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez.  They have big hips like me and they (or their stylist for that matter) can manage to camouflage it well.  Angelina Jolie also has great style on the red carpet.

2. Accessorize Differently
Wear the same outfit with different shoes/bag combination and different accessories.  Instead of your usual silver on black, try gold.  Instead of wearing those black shoes, wear pink.  Or, instead of wearing the usual black trousers with that top, wear it with white pants.  New combinations will perk up a tired outfit and lift your spirits too.

3. Look Out for Inspiration
This could be people on the train, in the office or in the coffee shop.  They may have a nice blouse which reminds you that you have a similar one, and from there you can think about what to wear.

What's In Your Closet...?

I love watching Tim Gunn.  For those of you who don't know him, he is the Creative Chief Officer for Liz Claiborne and also in Heidi Klum's Project Runaway.  I love his style and his fashion advice, and he is my "virtual mentor" when it comes that. 


The most noticeable thing I learned from watching Tim is taking note of the items in your closet and ensuring you have the 10 basic necessities for a good wardrobe.  Not all may be applicable to us living in this all-round Summer weather, but the key is to understand the concept.  Below are my rendition of Tim Gunn's "10 Essential Elements"


Tim Gunn's 10 Essential Elements


Dresses

1. The LBD: I have to admit, I have more than my fair share of LBDs in my closet.  I love them, they are timeless, and you can use them for every occassion - dress them up, dress them down, use your super high killer Pradas or with your little ballerina flats.  It works everytime and it is fool-proof for me. 

However, a little watch out is that there are many options out there today.  Choose one that is simple but flattering for your body and one that you can accessorize in different ways. For example, a toga-inspired LBD is gorgeous, but you can only use it once or twice before people notice it is the same dress.  Too much details on your LBD can make it a one-hit wonder dress. 

2. Everyday Dress: This is other than your LBD (although I can argue I wear my LBD during the day as well :)). I have a white sleeveless dress that I can wear with a blazer or a cardigan, day or night.

Tops
3. Dress Shirt: I always struggle with this.  I can never keep anything white white.  So, I opt for an ivory color shirt.  If ivory is not your cup of tea, choose a different color shirt that you can use over anything and with everything - jeans, skirt, trousers.  It can even be black!  The key is to have a nice cut shirt with a good fit, and fit doesn't mean tight - that is, you can still button the shirt without having your inerts peak out :-)

4. Any Occasion Top:  I have a sleeveless shirt that I can wear dressy for a dinner, but also dress it down with jeans.  It looks something like the one in this picture, but really it is not limited to that.  Again the idea is all your pieces should be able to be converted from day to night and vice-versa.




Bottoms
5. Skirt: This is also a skirt you can use with anything.  Again for me, it's a black, pencil skirt.  


6. Dress Trousers: I choose a black-colored one, high waist, wide-leg.  I chose a pair that fits me well, and I can use with my shirt in or out, with a t-shirt or with a blazer.  It's my all-round trouser for any occasion. 


7. Jeans: Hmm this gets a bit tricky.  You would have to get a pair that suits your body well.  The website below shows various types of body types with what cut that can suit them.  Hope this gives you an idea.
how-to-find-your-body-s-best-jeans




Jackets
8. A Blazer: This is basically a jacket you can rely on any occassion.  It can dress you up for a congress, but also you can dress it down with a pair of jeans and t-shirt.  Again, a good fit is important.  I sometimes bring mine in the cabin of the airplane, to cover up my t-shirt, so that when I step out of the plane I look dressy.

9. Trench: In 10 Elements, Tim suggested a trench coat.  However, we may not need it in this weather, so I changed it to a long cardigan or a wrap around long jacket.  Always handy, always slimming, always cool, always stylish!


10. Sweat-suit Alternative: In other words, something other than your house clothes, but casual enough for home, good enough to go to the store or take your son to soccer.  I chose an outfit like in my "Gracing Angkor Wat" post, stylish but very comfortable.  Lose the accessories, and you are dressed down already.


Good luck!

My Schedule

I try to make a wardrobe schedule every week.  I started this around 5 years ago and I have to admit that there are times, days, months that I would just feel too lazy to do it (and I survived!).  I started with a simple excel sheet that has rows of tops, bottoms, shoes and bags I would wear each day and what kind of "look" I wanted to do.  You can put whatever description you feel like in the rows - it's your stuff, so only you know how to describe it :-). 

This sheet can aid you in mixing and matching your wardrobe and will also help you remember what you wore, say, last Monday.  That way, you don't repeat the same combination the next week.  Try to do a 2-week schedule at a time and once you are comfortable with it do a 4-week schedule.  You will be amazed to see how many combinations you can get from 10 basic pieces of clothing and it will seem like you have so many clothes!

Keeping Those Skeletons

Up until a month ago, many, many times I will think of what to wear and will find myself saying, "I don't have anything to wear". Whereas the truth of the matter is, I have 3 closets full of clothes that are staring me right in the face.  So how?? 

Determined not to buy any new clothing until I figure out "why I don't have anything to wear", I did a complete overhaul of my closets, and from 3 closets full of clothes, now I have less than one!  Again, you don't need 3 closets full of clothes to do this (I guess by now you would have figured out I am a girl of excess :D), but it is good to "clean up" your closet as we always have no space!

So, here is what I have done:

1. Shop Your Own Closet

Going closet by closet, I took out every single item, looked at it and tried it on.  I look for cut, fit, usability and trendiness.  I take ideas from magazines to see how they wear or layer items and imitate it with what I have - tops, bottoms, shoes, bags, accessories - the works! The key is to have fun and experiment.  Try on fancy blouses with jeans, combine your tees or tank tops with blazers, use your belts to accentuate your waist and try it on top of cardigans.  Not everything is going to work, but you will be surprised to see how many new outfit combinations you can get just by "shopping" with what you have :-)

2. Sort the Clothes

Make 3 big piles: clothes you keep, clothes you throw away, clothes you give away.  Clothes that you give away should always be items that can be used by the receiver - not torn, dingy, weathered clothes.  Think about clothes that you just don't want to wear because of fit or style, not because of wear and tear.  For example, I had a very nice cut suit. It fit very well but the style was very 80s, early 90s: big shoulder pads, boxy cut, baggy narrow piped trousers.  As much as I love it (and the fact it was a Dolce and Gabbana suit), I just can't justify to keep it.  I don't think I will ever wear it again and it will just forever sit in my closet.  You would want to keep something classic that you know you can forever use, rather than keeping items of sentimental value.  

3. Organize

From the pile of clothes that you want to keep, organize them in a way in your closet so it is easier to choose when dressing up.  For me, I club all skirts together, all trousers together and all tops together. I arrange them by color.  You can do it from darkest to lightest, or for me, I put the dark ones in the middle, as those are the ones I have most of, flanked by lighter ones on the left and browns/reds/pinks on the right.  It makes it nice to look at and at the same time easy to find what you want to wear.

4. Use the Same Hangers

This will help your closet look and feel organized.  It will also help the clothes stack against each other more neatly.  Use plastic hangers versus wired hangers.  Plastic hanger have the benefit of shaping your clothes better as well as reducing the chance of your clothes getting snagged and torn in between.

5. Put Mothballs

In Singapore, I figured, I cannot just live on Glade clothes fresheners in the closets. Especially living on the ground unit like me, it is extremely damp in the closets and clothes can smell musty.  So moth balls are a must. To "tame" the smell of the moth ball, wrap the moth balls in left over cloths and tie it up. That will also ensure the moth balls don't fly all over the place when you happen to yank out a shirt.