Improvability Blog

Animal prints just aren’t going away and, if you like them, just about anyone can wear them but sometimes it’s the amount of ‘stuff’ that’s going on that will be the ultimate decider. If you feel good wearing them, then you’ll look good too.

Take these two photos of Sarah modelling at a recent fashion show:

On the left, the coat is wearing Sarah. On the right, we see Sarah first.

Now my guess is that even if we transferred the larger print to the shorter version, Sarah would still be the first thing we see and NOT the jacket.

The amount of pattern would seem to be the problem, wouldn’t it? Actually I think it’s something else but more of that later…

The choice may not be as obvious as we think

Let’s assume that Sarah is looking for a longer coat as she’d rather like to keep her rear end warm this winter! The poor lamb only has time to visit one shop and these are the only two choices available. Which one should she go for?

1. Choose the longer coat and keep her little butt warm or

2. Choose the short jacket, look and feel good, but freeze her wotsits off?

What about a third option?

3. Go for the longer coat but wear it open?

The problem with the longer coat is that it’s buttoned and belted and Sarah looks very uncomfortable.

I was modelling in the same fashion show so I know exactly what she was going through. Trying to look and behave normally while trying to show off the coat, the handbag, the gloves, the necklace and the shoes all to their best advantage, all in the same 3-minute slot, usually leaves the model a bit out of sorts. Mix into this a room full of more than 90 warm bodies plus a raging fire as you’re trying to strut your stuff, and it’s quite an out-of-body experience as you’re totally aware that you’re walking like a pregnant duck but you just can’t seem to do a darned thing about it… so we need to give Sarah a smidgen of poetic licence here.

The point I’m trying to make is that when you feel uncomfortable in what you’re wearing, you inevitably look uncomfortable too.

Personality is the key

This is all compounded by Sarah’s dispositon. She has dark, bright colouring and likes to make a statement with her clothes. Dramatics very rarely button up their coats; they understand the bigger impact they will make when they don’t.

In the longer, buttoned-up, belted coat Sarah looks like a trussed-up chicken (poor darling!).

Sarah would look and feel so much more comfortable if she had worn the coat unbuttoned and unbelted. Then we’d have seen the all-black outfit underneath which would have contrasted dramatically with the abundant animal print.

A good fit or a big impact?

Classics and Europeans, on the other hand, will be extremely comfortable in a buttoned-up coat or jacket. It will seem perfectly normal for them to try on a coat and immediately do up all the buttons, belt, etc. to check for a good fit.

Dramatics can’t be bothered with all that wasteful paraphernalia. They’re not bothered with whether a coat fits properly. All they want to know is if it LOOKS good!

Which makes YOU feel good?

• A good fit or
• A big impact

Don’t be put off by the amount of print, or the amount of colour, or the amount of fabric (of any garment, not just a coat). Put it into context with your personality:

How would YOU feel in a long, buttoned-up, belted coat?

• Comfortable or claustrophobic?

How would YOU feel in a long, unbuttoned coat?

• Expressive or exposed?

The proof is always in the pudding

If you FEEL good, you will LOOK good. So choose your clothes to suit how you feel and you won’t go wrong.

The story of my hair colour journey

• To go from darkest brown to pale white blonde

After my last newsletter ‘What to wear to a bit of a ‘do’ several ladies emailed to ask when and why I’d decided to go blonde, and how did I do it.

Here’s the first instalment of the story of my own personal hair journey. I apologise up front if you find all the chemical explanations a bit too much to get your head round but some ladies have asked specifically for all the insider details so I’ve included the lot.

This journey has taken around 18 months from when Scott Cornwall and I first discussed the possibility of me going blonde and I kept a diary during that time of the all the ins and outs. As you can imagine, I’ve got thousands of notes so I’ve split it down into 4 parts for easier reading – I don’t want you dying of boredom….

Part 1
It’s all Scott Cornwall’s fault…

He was the one who persuaded me that going from dark brown to blonde wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

It all started when Scott came up from London to Chesterfield in January 2008 to discuss how the hair and image industries could (and should) be working together. Using me as the example to explain his work, this is the story of what he advised me to do and how I became a hair experiment.

I was born an archetypal dark-haired, pale-skinned, bright-eyed Winter and I have been colouring my own hair for over 25 years. Many dark-haired Winters go grey in their late 20s or early 30s and then we have to choose:

• Do we perpetuate our naturally dramatic, sharply-contrasting look or
• Do we lapse into grey, dull and lifeless?

It’s not that all Winters look dreadful with grey hair but the length of the transition process from completely dark to completely silver grey can prove incredibly depressing so most end up resorting to using chemicals. For me, there was absolutely no choice. I am a Dramatic Winter and you can’t do drama with badly-greying hair.

The problem is that as time goes on I ended up in the tedious routine of sticking a colour on my hair every two and a half weeks because the roots were, after 20-odd years, totally white.

White hair is completely devoid of colour because melanin is no longer being produced as the new hairs grow, and having white roots with dark hair made me look like Morticia Addams and I wasn’t having any of that!

Choosing to become a ‘Diamond Winter’

Scott told me, “My big issue is that nobody should be colouring their hair more than once every five weeks.

“If you are very, very white (under your artificial colour) you will get away with becoming (what I call) a ‘Diamond Winter’. What any Dramatic Winters have the ability to do is switch their hair colour from very dark to very light and it still has the same dramatic effect – it tends to work the best on pure Winters (like yourself). 

“I would only recommend it if you have more than 70% grey as too much of your own colour will ‘kick up’ warmth and the blonde colour will not be cool enough – but if you are very white you will find it fantastic to suddenly be using a light ash or pearl blonde on your roots as they will only need doing every 6 – 8 weeks because the contrast will be minimal.

“Whenever I consult with people I always try to give them a celebrity example of someone who is the same type as them and has a similar look. 

“The journalist Carole Malone is exactly the same category as you. She’s a Romantic with Drama. In fact she’s very dramatic but she is also a Diamond Winter (she has ash/pearl blonde hair and blue eyes). I have attached a photo of her. Interestingly enough she has her hairstyle with lots of body and movement and it works very well for her. The same would work for you. SC.”

Why not go blonde overnight?

As a Dramatic Romantic style personality, I really wanted to go blonde overnight but as an inveterate learner (after all, if I don’t learn something new each day then what exactly was the point in me getting up?) I decided to go blonde over time.

Scott warned me that I wouldn’t like the transitional period but I’m a sucker for an experiment.

Read Part 2
‘
Another idea gets in the way of my big plans to go blonde!’

Would you like a hair journey all of your own?

Book your own individual personal hair consultation or attend a hair analysis class with Scott Cornwall

Scott Cornwall’s unique Hair Consultancy is possibly the only image resource that offers hair advice, guidance and classes to not only clients but also the image and fashion expert. Scott believes our hair should harmonise with our entire image. His method is perhaps the first to combine principles of fashion, physicality and psychology to unlock his client’s dream hair and perfect overall image.

Scott has spent many years working within the hair industry as a technical stylist (specialising in colour and chemical services) before moving into the world of image and style. Over the years, Scott has been fortunate enough to have a diverse range of clients from brand name corporations to celebrities.

Book your own individual personal hair consultation with Scott Cornwall at http://www.scottcornwall.com/

You too could soon be telling us all about your very own hair colour journey. Maybe yours will be a bit shorter than mine…?

Pause for Thought

What will you regret NOT doing when you’re 87, sat sitting staring out of the window with a blanket draped round your shoulders and someone you care about asks, “What did YOU do with your life?”

Do it now

And you’ll have nothing to regret later on.