How to Dress with Style: Tips
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Diana Vreeland , the Tim Gunn of the last half of the 20th century, popularized a fashion esthetic celebrated finely crafted details and drama. Follow these suggestions for color, patterns, and quality.
Learn What Colors Look Best on You
Do you know what colors look best on you? Use a mirror and a friend to find out. Build your wardrobe around these colors, and you will always have clothes that coordinate.Solid colors are sophisticated, and they offer many opportunities to accessorize with the latest trends. Learning how to dress with style starts with making wise choices.
You’ll also save tons of time going through sales racks by not bothering with clothing that is not part of your palette. You'll be surprised at how fast you shop for clothes that flatter with this trick.
Very few older women look good in pale pink. If you must have it, use it as a complimentary color, such as a blouse with a suit in a neutral solid color. As for a pink sweat suit, no.
Red is a flattering accent color for many women. Red can add pizazz to black, gray, navy and dark blue, some shades of light blue, light yellow, beige, tan, and some shades of brown. Red shows and a red bag can completely change the look of an outfit. Add a knitted cap and muffler in colder climates.
One of the best gurus for illustrating how tone – not color but the depth of the tint – is
Bridget Raes in her Style RX: Dressing the Body You Have to Create the Body You Want.
Check out the section on Balance and Harmony.
Avoid Plaid Pants & Horizontal Lines
Any obvious horizontal line will make your hips look wide and your butt appear big. The same goes for any large, diagonal print.As Tim Gunn remarked on an episode of his Guide to Style (Bravo Channel), any large diagonal prints are just too close to horizontal lines. Even a belt that’s a different color than your outfit can divide the body in two in an unattractive way. Save plaids and big prints for accents.
Quality Essentials
Are Worth the Price
Fashion gurus agree that investing in quality construction is a step to learning how to dress with style. Joyce Nelson Shelhart claims a navy blue blazer changed her life in Dress to Impress.
Tim Gunn reports that a black leather jacket was a landmark in his transformation from Midwest fashion wannabe to Manhattan inside. Notice which word is first in his A Guide to Quality, Taste, and Style with Kate Moloney.
Mary Lou Andre poses on the cover of Ready to Wear
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Anything you will wear for the next three to five years is an investment, not an expense. A black skirt, jacket, and slacks are a must in northern climates. If black does not look good on you, find a shade of gray or brown that does.
Every working woman needs one good job interview outfit. A stay-at-home mother must invest in casual wear that will help her feel good about herself from PTA to supermarket.
The season has arrived for mothers-of-the-bride and others who will attend elegant events. One of the best online sources for dressier and very pretty suits is
Whatever your wardrobe essentials are, buy the best you can afford.
Continue to Part Three of How to Dress with Style and learn how to buy flattering clothes.
Return from How to Dress with Style to Part One of How to Wear Clothes
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