If you FEEL good, then you’ll LOOK good too
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:
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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.
