Improvability Blog

Your crowning glory!

I met a really good friend for lunch last week and she looked wonderful – even though she is going through a divorce, is trying to buy a house, hates her job and is thoroughly depressed!

Janice is a Natural Spring and works as a manager for a multi-national company. She needs to be well-presented at all times as she is always in meetings with management from other multi-nationals but, as a Natural, hates wearing conventional suits as they are usually made from stiff fabric which makes her feel as though she is in a straight jacket!

Hundreds of years ago, when I first diagnosed our seasonal colouring, and discovered that I was absolutely NOT a Spring I immediately passed on to Janice a bright coral suit that I had been looking less than lovely in! Both Springs and Winters look good in bright shades but a Winter needs a cool version of the colour and Springs look much better in the warmer one. In the case of pink, for instance, Winters need cerise and Springs should opt for coral.

In my old coral outfit, Janice looked fantastic although it did take a few glasses of wine to convince her that this was how a Spring could wear a suit AND feel comfortable. Since then, she’s gone from strength to strength, always remembering that when choosing clothes for the workplace, the feel of the fabric is just as important as the colour. Naturals hate glossy fabrics; Dramatics love them. Naturals adore the feel of cotton; Dramatics can’t abide the stuff.

So, when we met last week, she was tired and feeling that life was a struggle but still managed to look really good in a cream soft-cotton top and light fawn suede trousers. The coral lipstick added a welcome touch of colour to what would have been an extremely pale face but the icing on the cake was a softer haircut. Janice is a typical Natural blonde; she looks fabulous in cut-off denim shorts, skimpy T-shirt, trainers, no socks, brown legs, just a slick of lipstick or lipgloss, and with free-flowing hair. So, when Janice recently had her hair cut into a curt bob, it was totally at odds with her innate personality – yet it obviously reflected how she felt about her life at that time! It was so good to see the bob growing out and into freedom again – this was the Janice I know and love.

Have you noticed how many women cut their hair when a relationship has broken down? Just watch those in the public eye. It’s quite amazing that women choose to cut their hair as an obvious physical reminder to the world that they are reasserting their independence. And some really go for it, don’t they. Talk about ‘Im gonna chop that man right outta my life!

However, unfortunately, some ladies look perfectly dreadful with short hair.

I gave a talk on style to a ladies’ group last week and was distressed to see so many older ladies with such severely short haircuts – especially on those with more curvy figures. Yes, I know – it’s easier to manage but that shouldn’t be the prerequisite. Ladies with rounded features generally look much better with some volume of hair around their face. It’s usually those with angular features that can carry a shorter cut well. It seems to me that many of these older ladies have lost their desire to look good and they, too, are making a statement to the world – that in a deliberate attempt to make themselves look less feminine, they see themselves as no longer being desirable as women. This is a severe indictment of how our society treats older women and it makes my blood boil. Men seem to acquire the status of ‘sophisticated’ as they ‘age gracefully’ while women just ‘go grey’! Utter poppycock!

You have the power to change the way people think about you and, more importantly, the way you think about yourself. If you think you are old and past it, then that’s what people will perceive about you and they will treat you accordingly. So, let’s do something about this ugly state of affairs. Start with your hairstyle. Your hair is your crowining glory and most women feel much more confident when their hair looks good. Choose a style to suit your shape and personality, get a good cut, always keep it clean and well groomed, and start showing the world that you feel good about yourself. And don’t be shy about showing yourself off – if you’ve got it, flaunt it!

Do we really need ALL the clothes in our wardrobes?

I’ve just returned from four weeks in Spain, house-sitting for my parents, and existing on the contents of my suitcase – for clothes, that is! And what has amazed me is that I managed really well on the following:

2 pairs of trousers – lilac, aubergine
2 pairs of shorts – black, denim blue
1 skirt – black/pink/purple patterned (which I never wore!)
3 short-sleeved tops – white, black, deep pink
3 sleeveless tops – white, black, denim blue/multi
2 shoe-string strap suntops – white, black
1 short-sleeved cardigan – lilac
1 long-sleeved cardigan – black
1 pair soft leather shoes – pewter/white
1 pair flat strappy sandals – black
1 pair evening mules – denim blue/multi (which I never wore!)

Plus what I wore to travel:

1 pair casual trousers – black
1 short-sleeved top – cerise pink
1 zip-up light jacket – black
1 windproof fleece jacket – black
1 pair soft leather shoes – black

As a Winter, I took only colours that suit my cool colouring and that all mix and match together. I stuck to my darkest neutral (black) and my lightest neutral (white) and added my favourite accent colour (deep pink). You will also note that I took no red. Red does not really mix well with pink so Winters need to make that choice, especially when it comes to lipstick. I took only two lipsticks – my favourite which is a deep, cherry red and a lighter mid-range pink for during the day – both of which went well with everything in my wardrobe above.

You might want to use these as a starter for ten for your own holdiay packing if you are not a Winter:

• Spring – ivory, tan, and coral pink
• Autumn – cream, chocolate brown, and orange
• Summer – soft white, navy blue, and rose pink (or lavender)

Lilac (or lavender) is a marvellous colour that suits just about everyone so no matter which season you are, you could easily add it to your holiday packing. As an example, if a bride discovers that her four bridesmaids are one of each season, then I would suggest she dress them all in lilac or some shade of soft lavender as they will all then stand some chance of looking good.

I regret not taking a jumper but managed to borrow a nice, fluffy white one from my Mum’s wardrobe when she wasn’t looking. As for the rest, the only other thing I should have taken was a long-sleeved blouse or shirt. The weather was quite cool in the evenings, much more so than it had been in November last year so I would have chosen one in black, or pink, or lilac, or white to go with the rest of my clothes.

Apart from the necessary underwear, one nightshirt and comfy slippers to protect my little tooties from the cold, tiled floors, I only needed to add a selection of earrings and necklaces to help ring the changes. As a Dramatic, I still need to make a statement – even if I am wearing shorts and a strappy top.

But what struck me most was when I got home and looked at my existing wardrobe and I asked myself, “Do I really need all these clothes?” I had managed quite happily for 4 weeks, working and enjoying the sun, coping with both lovely hot days of around 25 degrees and also with torrential rain and high winds!

I must have mentioned before that we only wear 20% of our wardrobe for 80% of the time? Well, I have just proved that I can exist on much less than even that and the reality is, of course, always more striking than the theory. Over the next few weeks, I shall be taking a good, close look at my clothes and doing my very own wardrobe weedout!

As your own spring / summer holiday begins to loom, just take a look at your own wardrobe and ask yourself, “Do I really need those 93 pairs of trousers that are all the same shape / colour / fit? What could I manage on for 4 weeks and cope with swings of temperatures?” You might surprise yourself.