5 top tips to Choosing a Winter coat
How to choose a winter coat
A winter coat is a great staple so we all need a coat/jacket or two for the cooler months.
The great thing about having a stylish cosy winter jacket is you can almost have a trans seasonal wardrobe. Wear your lovely silk shirts and stylish jeans and keep warm enough with your coat.
A good jacket is usually a substantial investment so be sure to make a wise purchase.
Top 5 tips to choosing the perfect winter jacket.
Always choose the right colour
I know a lot of women just settle for a black coat thinking it goes with everything. But this is not the case.
Once you’ve had your colours done, you will be aware of the many colour choices you can make.
It’s so much more fun choosing a colour than just going all black. My suggestion is, with something like a coat you may want to stick with the neutrals in your seasonal colour swatch to make the colour more versatile, to go with many more outfits.
Now I am not saying your yellow jacket won’t go with many things. It will. As long as it’s a yellow in your colour palette. But a beige in your colours will probably cater to more outfits
The right length
Your height will determine what length of jacket you can wear. Generally, the taller you are the longer the jacket you can wear. So if you are a tall slim build, you can almost wear a long jacket to your ankles.
If you are shorter best to choose a long jacket to just above the knee.
If you’re choosing a coat rather than a full length jacket, the taller you are the longer you can wear a short jacket as well.
Women with slimmer waists or the petite size women, can have a short jacket, like a Chanel cut that sits on the waist.
Width of lapels
Broad lapels accentuate width. If you are broad chested, busty or have a fuller figure, opt for a slimline lapel.
Keep the look sleek and simple. If you are a slimmer person with narrow hips you can wear wider lapels or if you are very tall you can usually carry a wider lapel. If you have narrow shoulders you can balance the top part of your body with a wider lapel as well.
Position of buttons
Double breasted buttons accentuate width so best to wear the jacket open if that is the case. If you are fuller in the waist avoid a button on the waist and go for a single breasted coat.
Side Pockets
Pockets draw attention to the area they are placed so consider if and where you would like to have pockets.
One more thing you may wish to consider is the fabric and the cut of the garment. You get what you pay for when it comes to something like a coat and jacket and this is probably where you need to spend a little more to get a great cut and fabulous fabric.
You can often see a lovely coat in the right colour and style, but inferior fabric will sometimes pill and lose it’s shape pretty quickly. Go for something special and it will be keeping you warm and stylish for many seasons to come.
If you are not sure about your colours or style, be sure to contact me-Ros Your Colours and style
Five ways to know if you're wearing your Colours.
Getting your Colours right is just so important to your Ultimate Image so read today's blog with 5 ways to tell if you do have them right or not.
How to wear your neutrals
How to wear your neutrals
What is a neutral colour?
I would describe a neutral colour as one that is quite benign. One that's not screaming for attention, and one that's a base for all of your other amazing colours.
Not everyone feels good in a pink and green outfit for example but they may enjoy wearing perhaps a green top with a neutral like grey.
It's good to start your wardrobe with your neutrals then add your colour in next.
But are all neutrals created equal? Definitely not. Many stylists are firm about having a base of dark cool neutrals like black, pure white, greys and navy’s with a splash of brown thrown in. But those neutrals are only found in the Winter Palette. Black doesn't go with everything, as we've been led to believe. And Winter neutrals don't go with Summer, Spring or Autumn neutrals.
As a colour consultant of 20 years, I have found these ideas to be quiet damaging as a whole to the fashion industry. Using black as a style staple is not useful to your Image picture.
Here's an example of working with a warm Autumn neutral and Black a cool dominant neutral to create a mismatched look.
YOU NEED TO FIND YOUR COLOURS AND THEN WORK WITH THE NEUTRALS IN YOUR PALETTE ONLY
For a stylish, complete, co-ordinated wardrobe that suits you down to the ground, you need to work with YOUR neutrals only.
The reason being, neutrals from another palette will not look good on you, and also will not go with the other shades or neutrals in your palette.
THE NEUTRAL COLOUR PALETTES.
Some stylists categorize people as neutrals. But I like to call only colours neutral not people.
Every colour is either a Cool Deep or dominant colour,(Winter) a cool muted colour,(Summer) a deep warm colour (Autumn) or a warm bright colour (Spring)
That's it. Every colour on the planet will slot into one of four palettes only. And you will be one of the four palettes as well. No sub colours or flow people in my opinion. Some colours "flow"but not people.
THE COLOUR SWATCH BOOKS FOR THE FOUR SEASONS
Get your colours right. There is Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. What season are you and there is no need for any sub seasons.
You will have thousands of colours to choose from that will all look amazing on you.
So what are the four types of neutrals I’m speaking of?
Warm Deep or Autumn neutrals are lovely deep olive greens, rich creams, clays, golden browns, deep apricots, muddied burgundies and pumpkins to name a few as well as rich warm khakis and golds.
The bright Spring neutrals on the other hand are still warm but much lighter than their deep counterparts, so colours like light soft caramels, light creams, warm light browns, tans, peaches and apricots are part of the Spring neutrals.
Moving into the cooler palettes we have the boldness and clarity of the deep Winter colours, black, pure white, all greys, silvers, dark navys and deep deep browns.
Forget burgundy as some may include in the Winter palette. I reserve that for the muted cool neutrals of Summer. The denim which is a winter denim is dark navy blue.
Summer neutrals are cool and soft and muted. Ones like off whites, soft grey, cool taupes, cool beiges, light cool khakis, burgundy and maroons create a nice base and don’t forget your dusty navy’s. Please don’t forget light denim teams best with these colours.
With all this in mind you can see there is a plethora of colours, considered to be neutral.
So once you know your colours, you can stick to the neutrals within your season for best results. Ask your consultant how to incorporate these into your wardrobe.
It’s always best to get professional advice about your colours and be sure the colours actually “fit”with you.
If your not happy with your results after a colour analysis, my advice would be to get a 2nd and sometimes even a 3rd opinion until you get your colours right.
I have had so many clients over the years who have had their colours done incorrectly.
There is a mindfield of systems now so I hope you find a solution that’s right for you.
HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT COLOURS?
Here are a few checkpoints.
You'll look younger and more attractive in your colours
Your hair colour will compliment your colours
3. Your make up will blend into your skin and not sit on top
4. You will have 100’s and 100’s of colours to choose from
5. You will feel at peace in your colours
6. All the clothes in your wardrobe will coordinate
7. You will have heaps of outfits even if you have a small wardrobe (capsule)
8. You’ll always get compliments about what your wearing
9. You'll find it easier to accessorize and mix and match
You’ll look very stylish all the time.
For more information contact Your Colours and Style Sydney