Walking Tall
Wearing beautiful clothes makes you walk tall
How was the fashion show? - It was fantastic!
As you can imagine, it was organised chaos in the changing room as there was just about room for 8 models and dressers, Margaret and her staff, racks of fabulous coats, gilets, and wraps, incredible umbrellas, boxes of shoes and boots, a plethora of handbags and matching gloves, and an amazing array of wonderful hats and jewellery that we were to show.
Most of us hadn’t met before the day itself so we were soon bumping bottoms and brushing bosoms with complete strangers who quickly became our friends! One of the dressers in particular took great delight in ‘rollering’ us all down with sticky tape from head to foot as we were divested of the latest ‘fluffy’ coat or gilet. It certainly made us giggle and then we got a good telling-off for making too much noise! It was like being a teenager again, but without all the angst.
We primped and preened, shimmied and sashayed, and entertained the audience so much so that the morning just flew by. Each one of the models found that just by wearing beautiful clothes we all walked better, we looked marvellous, and we all felt wonderful. You can see the fashion photos and read all about the fashion show on the website.
The beauty of knowing your darkest neutral(s)
After my hideous experience of wearing a skirt for the trying-on session which necessitated me absorbing an enormous quantity of gin when I finally staggered home, I finally decided that I was going to stick with wearing just black trousers throughout the event, and just had a couple of changes of tops for one or two special looks.
I think you’ll see from the photos that a simple outfit like this in your deepest neutral is often the best way to set off a glorious canopy of accessories to their best advantage. If you have cool skin, black or purple-navy will be your best deepest neutrals. Warm skins can have a whale of a time this season as there are plenty of browns around for your deepest neutral.
This is often where the ubiquitous ‘little black dress’ is a boon for most wardrobes as you can dress it up or down with good accessories. For your season, change ‘black’ into something a little more flattering for your skin tone:
SPRING
Change ‘black’ into chocolate brown, bright purple or clear navy
SUMMER
Change ‘black’ into charcoal grey, mulberry, or plum
AUTUMN
Change ‘black’ into deepest brown, aubergine or forest green
WINTER
Black is good, or try violet or burgundy
Purple power
There are plenty of purple shades to choose from this season, too, and the ‘little purple dress’ could soon put black in the shade (if you’ll pardon the pun!). Everyone can wear purple - it’s just the shade or tone that will decide if you look healthy or need carting off to hospital forthwith! Just choose the most flattering shade of purple from your own colour swatch wallet, and all the other items from your wardrobe will mix and match easily.
According to Indian wisdom, purple is the colour of the soul, making those who wear it peaceful and calm. I don’t know about you but, from now on, I shall be drenching myself in purple.
Purple also helps you to command respect without being overly forceful so is a good alternative to consider for your darkest suit for work or formal occasions. However, I’d stick to a more conventional colour for interviews - purple will set you apart as an individual on these occasions; not such a good idea if you are applying to be a member of a team.
Wearing beautiful clothes certainly does make you walk and look better. I hope you enjoy reading more about this in the fashion show feature.
