Improvability Blog

Meatloaf sings, “TWO out of three ain’t bad,” but a mere 1 out of 3 is absolutely terrible!

A glossy flyer arrived through my door this week, from a major High Street name in collaboration with a well-known designer. It says (and I paraphrase):

The top 3 things every woman should have in her wardrobe for the Spring season:

1. A statement necklace to update last year’s knitwear
2. A slim cropped trouser with flat sandals, painted toenails or high-heeled strappy shoes
3. A plain or printed dress to wear plain at the office or add jewellery and high heels for evening

I groan audibly whenever I read such nonsense yet grudgingly have to agree with the general (there’s that hideous word again) consensus that these people are only attempting to offer generalised advice.

I absolutely won’t apologise for this but my standards are a lot higher than generalised advice so the question I continue to ask about stuff like this from people who should truly be able to do a lot better is, “Why bother?”

My concern is that some lady desperate for advice on how to update her wardrobe will read this stuff, believe it, copy it and look a right mess as a result.

• What exactly is a ’statement’ necklace? And what does ’statement’ mean to different personality types? Dramatics and Creatives will wear ’statement’ pieces to empty the bins whereas a Natural isn’t going to wear a ’statement’ anything…
• A cropped trouser? That finishes where exactly? I searched for a definition and found this for the current season - ‘a trouser that stops halfway between the knee and the ankle’. Blood and sand! Drawing a line right across a plump calf muscle is hardly going to make anyone look attractive. And what if you’ve got sparrow legs…?
• The dress that can be accessorised for socialising after work? This is the only one out of the three really worth talking about to a ‘general’ audience but what about those who wouldn’t give up their trousers for all the tea in China?

The whole thing smacks of generalised, average, mediocre advice which, in my book, without adding in each individual person’s body shape and personality just translates into nothing more than misinformation.

These are absolutely NOT the top 3 things that EVERY woman should have in her wardrobe for the Spring season.

Because we’re not all the same. We’re different, individual and utterly unique and don’t you forget it!

Can I please encourage you to search out some outstanding, useful, informative, well-thought-through personalised advice about you and nobody else but you from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about?

After all this gloom and despondency, I need to redress the balance with a huge plate of chips doused in salt and vinegar, accompanied by a large gin and tonic!

Comments from image professionals around the world

"Well, I laughed my socks off today. Well done you. I love your attitude." Louise Morley, Newquay, UK

"I think image consultants (or the thinking ones anyway) do a collective groaning and rolling of the eyes when we come across rubbish like this.

"Re the ’statement’ necklace, some of them should say, "I am a fashion victim"! But most of them are simply saying, "I paid a lot of money for this thing so you’d better notice it!" Kind regards, Jeanette David, Australia

"I enjoyed your blog this week - it makes me laugh when I read generalised info - I got a similarly inane e-mail from (a large department store) this morning!" Sara, Reading, UK

Scrumptious shoes,
heavenly handbags and amazing accessories

As always, I bought my absolutely fabulous shoes and handbag from Margaret at Wye Accessories at Bakewell. You really must pay this shop a visit if you’re in the area; and, while you’re treating yourself, why not stop off to sample a real Bakewell pudding with a pot of tea?

I also bought an outrageous black and silver tote bag and I couldn’t resist this stupendous hot pink bag which will work as a briefcase for me.

Margaret really knows her stuff; she visits the Milan shows twice a year and stocks Peter Kaiser (they’re like wearing slippers), Lisa Kay, HB Espana shoes, many with matching handbags (perfect for weddings), one-off pieces of jewellery (no-one else in the UK will be wearing what you have on!), decidedly different belts, deliciously decadent umbrellas, one-off handbags and totes, and more wonderful courts, pumps, sling-backs, mules, and flats in every colour you can think of. We were in there nearly two hours on Wednesday and every time I turned around, I saw something else!

And what about these gorgeous ivory wear-with-anythng wedges and these pretty pink sculpted courts (my wardrobe looks like a Peter Kaiser shop now).

Sue emailed me: “I loved, loved, loved Margaret from Wye Accessories. She is inspiring. I am wearing a pair of her shoes as I write and they make my legs look slim and elegant. I could not believe it when I put them on with a skirt this morning. Well, I didn’t stop at one pair of shoes I can tell you. Should Margaret ring you up and tell you of the client with the ex-husband who bought half the shop for her, well that was me! I think that visits to these shops should form part of your syllabus.”

You are officially invited!

Take this blog article with you, and tell Margaret that I (Kim Bolsover) sent you along. Grab some goodies for yourself! Have you got anyone that you might like to take along with you?

Wye Accessories
Wye House
Water Street
Bakewell
(UK)

Tel +44 (0) 162 981 4978
Open 10 am - 5.30 pm Monday to Saturday,
12 noon until 5 pm on Sundays.

And tell me what you bought!

Did you know?

There are not many yellow gemstones in the world of jewels but the month of November can claim two of them as official birthstones.

The birthstone for November is yellow topaz

• Pure topaz is transparent but is usually tinted by impurities; typical topaz is wine or straw-yellow. They may also be white, green, pink, blue, or even a reddish yellow. Some are transparent or translucent.
• Yellow topaz is the symbol of friendship, and symbolises sobriety, clemency, faithfulness, and gentleness.

Yellow topaz is sometimes called ‘precious topaz’ to distinguish it from the names ‘gold topaz’ and ‘madeiria topaz’, which are in fact citrine (quartz). Yellow topaz is sometimes heat treated to make it look pink. The term ‘imperial topaz’ is used by ethical jewellers to refer to topaz that is reddish orange of medium tone and higher saturation; this is very rare.

• The Egyptians believed that topaz was a very powerful amulet against harm, because it had the golden glow of the all-seeing sun god Ra
• The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who also is their sun god. They believed that it dispels all enchantment and helps to improve eyesight.
• The ancient Greeks believed that topaz had the power to increase strength and make its wearer invisible in times of emergency!

Today the most popular choice for a November birthstone is citrine

• Citrine is a variety of quartz
• Citrine is similar in colour to yellow topaz
• It has ferric impurities, and is rarely found naturally. Most commercial citrine is in fact artificially-heated amethyst or smoky quartz.
• Brazil is the leading producer of citrine
• It is nearly impossible to tell cut citrine from yellow topaz visibly
• Citrine costs only ten percent of the price of precious topaz
• Large citrines were extremely popular during the Art Deco period between the two World Wars. In the 1930s massive and elaborate Deco-inspired pieces which included citrine were made for Hollywood stars like Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford
• Citrine - from ‘citrus’ (Latin) a citron (a fruit like a lemon)
• Citrine attracts abundance and personal power. It raises self-esteem, and symbolises lightness and joy
• The 13th year wedding anniversary is represented by citrine, and also by lace!

And if your birthday is in November, you might enjoy this:

Who first comes to this world below
In dreary November’s fog and snow,
Should prize the topaz amber hue,
Emblem of friends and lovers true.
(from a Gregorian birthstone poem)

So the colour for November is yellow but can YOU wear it?

Yellow is ostensibly a warm colour, usually glowing with golden, honey tones so beware of plastering yourself in yellow from head to foot until you know how it’s going to make you look:

• healthy, able and efficient? or
• ghastly, pale and liable to keel over?

Yellow gemstones may be the flavour of the current month, but if they make you look as though you’re about to pass out, then give them a miss or wear them in combination with your very best colours. If you’d like to have a bash at wearing yellow - and be prepared for a kindly but overzealous stranger to strap you to a stretcher if it doesn’t work out - then here are some suggestions for you to try:

• SPRING - Golden Yellow, Buff, Saffron, Daffodil Yellow
• SUMMER - Lemon
• AUTUMN - Amber, Gold, Pumpkin, Mustard, Goldenrod
• WINTER - Icy Lemon

Not so easy for Summers or Winters, is it? It is just so darned difficult to find a cool yellow at all, anywhere, especially in the shops.

If you want to find out which season you are, whether you can wear yellow at all, which shade of yellow makes you look gorgeous, then book to see a professional colour consultant - you ARE worth it and, with Christmas looming on the horizon, you could ask for a consultation (or a gift voucher) as a gift from those who love you!

Use what you know
(sub-titled, ‘Yukky in yellow’)

As a typical dark-haired, pale-skinned, bright-eyed Winter, I look ruddy awful in any shade of yellow. Just hold anything yellow within 100 yards of me and I start to turn green. I have nothing whatsoever, remotely yellow in my wardrobe and wouldn’t be caught dead in it.

BUT, once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, when I worked in a job that I hated, in an office that I loathed, for a boss that I thought was an incompetent dipstick (poor darling), I kept one yellow top in my wardrobe, just for emergencies.

And every now and then, when I had had more than enough and couldn’t possibly stand one more day of this smug corporate idiocy, I would wear it, usually on a Thursday. And you could bet your bottom dollar that some kind soul would always become concerned and say, “Oh, Kim. You look absolutely awful. You’re really pale. Shouldn’t you be at home?”

I rest my case!

Would you like a free training day with me?

BONUS TRAINING DAY

This one-day training course is a complimentary bonus worth more than £600 and is only available when you order the self-study DVD-based training course ‘Colour Analysis Training in a Box’ between now and 30th November 2008.

2 dates
6 PLACES on each
first come, first served, and then they’re gone!
Bespoke bonus training - more information

Order your self-study training kit before the end of November, then take a couple of months to work through the course and perhaps practise on friends and family. By then you’ll be ready for this complimentary full day of training and business development:

• Ask me all your burning questions about colour, the course itself, draping, clients, marketing, the tools of the trade, in fact anything at all that I can help with to do with your colour training and any business issues that you may have
• Meet and chat with other trainees who are exactly where you are - each group member will have completed the self-study ‘Colour Analysis in a Box’ course within the previous 2 - 3 months
• lots more training content ideas

I will also have some great ideas for you to take away with you, including:

• Hints and tips on working with your drapes
• How to build your customer base
• Tried and tested marketing methods for your business

For all the training details including choice of dates, the location, content, and how to order your ‘Colour Analysis in a Box’

12 PLACES ONLY
First come, first served, and then they’re gone!
You need to move fast

Order either ‘Colour Analysis in a Box‘ or ‘Complete Colour Analysis Training Kit‘ before 30th November 2008 to qualify for a full day of complimentary bonus training and business development with me, here in sunny Chesterfield.

• Read all about this fabulous training opportunity
• ORDER TODAY

And if you prefer face-to-face training

Colour Analysis
next two-day training course
Monday and Tuesday 2nd / 3rd February 2009
2 places only remaining
Easy payment plan available
All the training details here

Accessories Workshop: Last chance to book

For our one-time only, NEVER TO BE REPEATED

Update your wardrobe without spending a fortune; discover more about Colour and Style through accessories

Satruday 15th November

All the workshop details are on the website
Payment plan available

DON’T MISS THIS or you will kick yourself

• 6 places only
• One date only
• Never to be repeated

Transform your wardrobe immediately with this fabulous, fun workshop - We have no intention of running these workshops ever again so don’t miss out!

BOOK WORKSHOP NOW
You will absolutely love this. I’ll see you there!

Exclusive brand-new, ONE-TIME only fun workshop…

Discover more about Colour and Style through the wonderful world of Accessories

Improvability is proud to present two brand-new workshops which will be presented by top image consultant and stylist, Natalia Colman of Style Specialists

DON’T MISS OUT!

This is a one-time only event, never to be repeated.

If you buy the right accessories they will always fit and flatter you. Accessories will help you look completely different from anyone else and show the world how interesting you are.

If you want to discover the key to successful dressing then come along to this full day of workshops where you’ll find out everything you ever needed to know about how to create a stylish and co-ordinated wardrobe for your colours, body shape, personality and your budget.

We’ve put two workshops together on the same day so that you can enjoy a lovely, relaxing day out with your friends:

1. There’s More to Colour than Meets the Eye
2. The Wonderful World of Accessories

DON’T MISS OUT

• 6 places only
• One date only
• Never to be repeated

Here’s all the ladies accessories workshop information you need including workshop content, date, fees, how to book, etc.

This is a one-time opportunity to learn some amazing information which will transform your wardrobe and future shopping trips.

Remember, we have no intention of running these workshops again so this is a one-time offer. It would be a real shame if you missed out.

BOOK NOW

You will absolutely love these workshops.

See you there!