Bethany Siggins Image Consulting | Personal Stylist | Dallas, Texas

Bethany Siggins | Personal Stylist | Dallas, Texas

spring

Seattle Street Style – Not So Mellow Yellow

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img 1347 - Seattle Street Style – Not So Mellow YellowThe people of Seattle don’t want you to know how gorgeous the weather is a lot of the time. I’m serious. All you hear about Seattle is the rain, but have you once heard about how beautiful it is in spring and summer? That is half of the year, by the way. My apologies to the natives of the Pacific Northwest, but the secret is out. Now you know. The sun can be out all day here, and the mercury won’t reach above 75 – 80 degrees on most spring and summer days. That is my definition of perfect, people.

img 1929 - Seattle Street Style – Not So Mellow YellowSpeaking of perfect, look at my fabulous street style star Julie in this rich yellow sweater, printed top and white jeans. Many blonds think they cannot wear yellow, and here Julie proves them wrong. It is all about finding the right tone of yellow for your skin, hair and eye colors. This saturated yellow works nicely with Julie’s body colors. Another nice trick she is applying here is she has placed the yellow a little bit away from her face by choosing a top with a neckline that is closer to her face than the sweater. Therefore, the yellow is there to make a happy spring statement without overwhelming her look. A+!img 1911 - Seattle Street Style – Not So Mellow Yellow

Stay tuned for more fabulous fashion from the Seattle streets.—Bethany

Wardrobe Cake & Icing

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A well-balanced wardrobe includes what I call cake and icing. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? The cake of your wardrobe are the wardrobe classics. These are the pieces that are available in some version year after year. They include a white cotton shirt, a blazer, a cardigan, quality t-shirts, a pencil or an a-line skirt, dark wash jeans, a quality leather handbag, a pair of pumps and a pair of flats or loafers. The design and fabric of these pieces change over the years, but you can always find a version of them.

Wardrobe Cake

The collage below shows two types of dresses, one is a wrap style, which is fitted through the waist (great for hourglass shapes), and the other is a shift style, which flows over the waistline (great for apple shapes). Every woman regardless of her age and her lifestyle should have one dress that fits her well and makes her feel like a million bucks.  Not to be overlooked in our list of classics, one should own either an overcoat or a trench coat.  The coat below is a cross between a classic wool overcoat and a trench coat.

coatdress - Wardrobe Cake & Icing
The classic pieces of the wardrobe.

Wardrobe Icing

While wardrobe classics are great, they often lack personal flair.  This is where the icing comes in.  The “icing” in the collage below may not be your flavor, but they stand out in a way that classics do not: more pattern, color, texture and shine. The icing pieces of your wardrobe show others who you are.  They communicate your personality and style. Icing pieces mixed with classics create interesting outfits that are well-balanced. An outfit heavy on classics is dull. Too much icing communicates “trying too hard.”

wardrobespice - Wardrobe Cake & Icing
Personality pieces of the wardrobe.

Where Does Your Wardrobe Stand?

Some of us are cake girls, and some of us are icing girls.  And some of us like both! Guilty! Assess your wardrobe for cake and icing.  If you are lacking basics and classics, it is difficult to create outfits. An outfit begins with a basic/classic. On the other hand, not having the icing to give your look its flair will leave you feeling bored with your look.

If you need help assessing your wardrobe, call me. Together, we will find your best pieces, create a shopping list and get you on the road to having the wardrobe of your dreams.

Alternative to Shorts

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Some of you face a dilemma this time of year.   The temps are creeping up, but you are not a “shorts” person. What is a gal to do?  Allow me to suggest an alternative, which is universally flattering.  Enter the circle skirt.  This skirt has ease around the hips because of its slight a-line shape.  This is great for the gal with more down below who needs a bit of room for comfort, and this is also great for the gal who lacks shape to give her the appearance of curves.

The ideal length is to the knee (either just above or just below).  I realize the midi skirt is very popular right now, which goes to mid-calf.  However, this length is extremely difficult to pull off if you are not particular tall or thin as stops in an odd place at mid-calf (much like the Capri pant), creating a shorter leg line and visually widening the wearer.  The last time I checked, no woman has ever told me she wishes she looked shorter and wider!

I created the following set in Polyvore to provide you with a couple of ideas for wearing this skirt.  I paired both skirts with a button front shirt, which looks a bit more dressed up than a simple t-shirt is able to accomplish.

buttonfrontskirt - Alternative to Shorts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two pieces of advice on the top: roll the sleeves and make sure the hem of the top ends around your hip bones.  If you do not tuck your tops, and the top is too long, ask your tailor or dry cleaner to cut it, a very simple alteration.  Rolling the sleeves is heightening, and it certainly makes sense now that the mercury is rising.  Finish the outfit with your favorite sandals, bag and jewelry, and you are done.

So easy, right?  Hop to it!  Happy Friday and thanks for reading!

Alternative “Neutral” Colors

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girlplaid - Alternative "Neutral" ColorsI suppose one definition for a neutral color would be a color that pairs well with most other colors.  When we think of neutrals, our minds generally go to cream, black, white, gray, taupe and so on.  But what about mustard, periwinkle and royal blue as neutrals?  Hmmm…  Once you start to think about it, there are a wide variety of colors one could pair with the colors I just mentioned.

The problem is, most of our wardrobes lack color which makes it difficult to test-drive our theory of using colors as neutrals.  Frankly, well-designed pieces in dark and light neutrals are easier to find.  However, as we enter spring when well-designed colorful pieces are a bit easier to find, let’s make an effort to bring much-needed color to our mostly neutral wardrobes.

As I show you here, colorful pieces are not as difficult to work with as you may initially imagine.  I am using both forest green in the first set (created on Polyvore) and dark red in the second set to show you how they act as “neutral” and pair well with a variety of other colors.

forestgreen - Alternative "Neutral" Colorsbordeaux - Alternative "Neutral" Colors

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, look at your wardrobe a bit differently in the coming weeks.  Mix colors together, in ways you have not previously.  When you start to do this, you have a much greater variety of combinations in your closet, saving you lots of time and money.  If you need help seeing the possibilities, call me.  I’d be delighted to spend and hour or two in your closet showing you new combinations.  Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!