Head to Toe

Remember those days of fashion pronouncements? The ones that were so rule driven you were scared to step foot outside in case you had FAILED. Well we all know those days are long gone. In fact most fashion rules have been debunked although there is always my personal favourite from Coco Chanel, 'It is always better to be slightly under dressed'. I find these words suit me most of the time but occasionally I think there is no harm in ignoring such wisdom completely.

Which bring me to the notion of not wearing a designer head to toe. Why not? Chanel did nothing but. I suppose the idea was to encourage more shopping across more labels. Behind every fashion pronouncement there is a marketing manager methinks.

When I saw this image I thought how lovely, what a great look and why would you not just do it all. I give Boden.

Boden Bistro Crop Trouser in bright red £59

Daisy Jacquard top £59

Sixties Slingbacks £99

Not birthday suit & fan

How to keep cool and stylish in the heat is a tricky one. It is not so bad when you are on the coast with a bit of sea breeze but in the city or town it is a different matter.

My favourite option of a weekend, where ever I am, is shorts, a shirt and a hat. My personal preference when wearing shorts is always to team them with a long sleeve shirt (happy to roll sleeves up) or a kaftan tunic top. Conversely at night on holiday I like nothing better than short tailored (even sequin) shorts with a silk short sleeved or sleeveless top plus heels or wedges!

photo at Borth, Cerdigion, Mid-Wales on 13/7/13

hat Accessorise, shirt M&S, shorts M&S, sunnies Polaroid

photo in Hong Kong South beach Sept 2012

shorts Oasis, top Juicy Couture (2004), sequin jacket Baukjen, bag Urban Outfitters, sandals Boden

It is a formula that works well in the same way jeans with t-shirt and Converse pumps is an easy default of a weekend or school run.

I've spotted a plethora of maxi dresses and skirts over the last week which is often a better look of an evening I find or for a weekend barbecue but all in all anything is better than too much flesh although it was so hot the other night ones birthday suit and a fan was the best one could muster!

Sales & Style

The only bonus of all this dire weather is the opportunity to stock up on basics. Sale shopping should only be undertaken on this basis. I'm in the mood for a summer items that scream longevity. Not one of my recent purchases shout trend or fashion, not even my Topshop Unique yellow trousers. They are yellow and very bright but I can see myself still entertaining the thought of wearing them in my 70s.

I have avoided printed jeans and trousers, anything floral and turned my back on peplum. I only indulged in one top from Zara but I wore it the other day and it felt wrong all of a sudden.

My purchases have been based on 3 thought processes. One could I look like Annie Hall in New York (without the tie), two could I look like an extra from Mad Men on the Amlafi coast and three my new favourite look which I call Paris/Scandi chic. The ability to mix all three is quite easy and ensures a good mix of outfits.

image: Diane Keaton & Woody Allan in 'Annie Hall'

image: Vogue 2005 shoot Gemma W & Josh Harnett

image: Karlie Kloss biking in Paris

What is your style solutions for successful sale shopping?

Gotcha Gucci!

In my world the moment a shop assistant tells me the piece I am buying is a best seller, it becomes the moment I walk away from the purchase. When I was still a full time jobbing stylist I used to want to scream, especially when they said that in front of a client. Those days it was worse because I might have put five client in the same piece especially if it was a great item for them to have, so I would hear the same thing said again and again. In my head I would be thinking 'yes because I've been putting everyone in this piece,' and incredulous at the stupidity of saying it. When actually 'nice choice' or 'great selection' would do and flatter all.  

Of course my clients were getting the item because it was a fabulous piece and suited them, their lifestyle, added an injection of style and was on budget. My job as their personal stylist was to create a great look and a useful working wardrobe. That certainly meant a good mix of high street brands with maybe a few carefully selected designer pieces if their budget ran to it. My most enviable item I selected for a client was a Miu Miu coat. There was no doubt it was the business and the client still has it all these years later. But actually that year Toast had something very similar which was great for clients without the Miu Miu budget. 

However if like me you have the desire for individual pieces and maybe the cache of a designer piece but not at exuberant prices then Barnebys is a fantastic auction site that is coming to the UK soon. When they approached me to write a piece I was reluctant but got drawn in by the fact it was currently a Swedish online auction house. Then I looked at the Fashion and Vintage selection in all countries and boy was I hooked.

My first love was a Gucci bag which some lucky person has managed to snag for £240, yes sorry this is a case of going going gone! How cool is this bag, probably not as cool as me dancing to a live band playing Abba’s Waterloo on Saturday night (but that is another story).

Then I spied a fabulous retro late 70s/early 80s suitcase. If you have seen Argo then this suitcase would fit right into the film as Ben Affleck portrayed Tony Mendez carrying one very similar.

The choice on online auctioneers Barnebys is rather delectable. Lucky you if you have size 3 feet as these beautiful Christian Dior pumps could be yours. 

In all there is a great deal of wonderful stuff to bid on across the auction houses of Europe and as more auctioneers come online in the UK then Barnebys is going to be another option in the style arsenal of 'finds'.

All about the legs

It was touching and uplifting to read all your comments on my previous post about a Zara skirt It was a mixed bag in a good way of understanding caution and blasting of don't get caught up in this sort of trap.

To celebrate the fact this is my first post on my new Macbook Pro and the fact for 3 days, due to no laptop, I did nothing other than potter and watch SATC the series...I give you my legs. My legs wearing Primark tights - get them they are a bargain-ous £3 - and the Zara skirt. I have 3 looks going on. Two different pairs of heels and then the skirt and legs in military coat and biker boots. I wanted to be able to do day and night in the skirt. You know what I think I've learnt where there is a will there is a way... you can pull off any look if you truly want to.

Zara skirt worn with Boden wedge heels 

 Zara skirt with Zara basic ankle strap heels

Primark tights (in the fashion hosiery section)

The day look, Zara skirt worn with coat (from Zara1 Yes I have a Zara problem but that is another post) and years old biker boots from Gap. Above the flash version to show the tights, below the overall look.

When you wake up too old

I love this skirt from Zara.

Jacquard skirt with frills £29.99

I've got a good pair of legs and on that basis with a nice pair of tights what is to stop me. My age and lifestyle. Somehow this look doesn't translate to a mother in the suburbs who mainly works from home as a writer and the occasional styling job. If I were younger and if I were a woman not in possession of children and all my other things I would happily snaffle it up. How did this happen? I've basically woken up too old to buy certain clothes. Why, I avoided some great camouflage trousers the other day for a camouflage scarf based on the same reasoning. Mmm That's Not My Age is going to have to give me a good steer away from the short skirts and a talking to on casual glamour.

In the mood ...for Hong Kong

Judging a design competition and giving a presentation in Hong Kong called for a lot of thought regarding looks, clothes to take and budget of course. I was very lucky to be loaned a dress by Boden, it is a dress I wanted to buy to wear specifically in Hong Kong but they were out of stock. Hence Boden PR team to the rescue.

My desire for the dress was based on one of my favourite films In the Mood for Love (2000) by Wong Kar Wai. In it, a love story of two people who restrain from an affair with decency, the actress Maggie Cheung is costumed in amazing dresses. Not being blessed with her figure nor the dresses I wanted to create a similar look. A look and style that suited me but gave me that feeling of the film.

The Natalie dress fitted the bill. It had a similar shape although more loosely constructed. I liked the grey option and needed it to go from day to night.

Natalie dress Boden  £74.25 to £99

I had already bought the black crossover wedges, and I can say I wore them for 8 hours without a twinge, and needed the dress to complete the look. I had a bit of drama with the wedges too as the person misheard me and thought size 4 was 36. Again Boden's customer services were amazing they turned it all around in 24 hours. All in all a complete fashion crisis was avoided.

The first attempt at a photo was hopeless due to the light. I wanted to ensure it was very clear I was in Hong Kong!

Instead we managed to take one in the lobby and get a Hong Kong taxi in the background. I wore this outfit first to judge a design competition. I will reveal more of the design competition later when the Hong Kong government reveal the winners in late October or early November.

Then the outfit took me from day to night at a banquet at the Jockey Club. The outfit was a great success based on me feeling good in it and loving it as well!

Lifestyle buying (Part 3) The Look

Often the easiest way to create a supper stylish you is to achieve a look. Call it a signature style or simply your preferred mode of dressing. Having a fashion house or someone you consider a style icon who inspires you makes it easier to buy your wardrobe. If you know what you want to achieve it cuts out a lot of faffing around looking because you can edit out everything that doesn't fit into how you want to dress.

The first objection most people make is based on their body shape. We get told to dress to our best assets and accentuate our curves or create curves. Frankly does it really matter. Dress to please yourself, dress to be happy and then whatever your wear will look good. The first point of having a look is to not compare or contrast. I used to scream every time Gok put a belt on someone 'to nip in your waist'. Maybe she doesn't want or need it to be nipped in I would exclaim!

So when Mrs Bossa siad she wanted to achieve Marni-esque style but was worried about certain body parts I said fear not. Marni is all about playing with shape and boldness is all that is required. No need to worry about nipped in waists. This is about as nipped in waist Marni get...from the Resort 13 collection

Here is a sample of Marni from the last few collections.

 A/W12

 S/S12

A/W11

all images Style.com

The point is the look has some consistent elements. Ankle socks with shoes (ditto Prada), elbow length sleeve cuts, bold cuts or prints or both. Shapes are deconstructed or unsymmetrical in finish. Yet a lot of the work is done for you as the cut is clever, sharp and creates a look.

Now I realise you are not going to be able to dress head to toe in Marni or who you preferred designer is not merely because of price but we all like to inject a bit of personality. So what are the key elements to achieve the Marni vibe.

Well you can look back through the Marni shows on Style.com to pick out what you like and then source similar in high street stores. COS is an excellent choice as the aesthetics aren't dissimilar. But key items do make the Marni look - the bold details whether in the clothing, the accessories or the shoes. 

Take one sale dress from ASOS....

Add some lilac ankle socks..... ( or pale blue or grey if you prefer)

Falke cotton ankle socks £10 in lupine

A pair of sandals ...

Zara fashion high heel sandal £69.99

Finish the look with a bold necklace....

Necklace £40 Monsoon

And there you have it! The necklace and the shoes are pieces that will work with lots of dresses or tops and skirt combos. Think 7/8 trousers length for Marni as again the ankle sock and shoe are the real feature!! If you've got a look that you'd like to create and need my tips then tweet me MrsMDS@MakeDoStyle

Style Steal

I love the aesthetics of Jil Sander, Marni and Prada. Away from the main collection they show at fashion weeks they have an array of staples which give you that sharp pulled together stylish look. However in the words of Take Me Out 'no lighty'. Of course I love their dresses and much more, but I can't put or keep my light on since I do not have the funds for such sculptural treasures.

But thank goodness for COS which can always be relied upon to create a dress of structural significance that gives you that Prada black dress look without the funds.

Cos Fold Front Dress £69

A Simple Shift

I often have style epiphanies but they tend to be fairly low key, subtle shifts when needed but last week I had a seismic shift one. Three things happened. The first was quite a fab one. I was just about to enter the Louis Vuitton offices for a press day. I'm an early bird as I trained under someone at a magazine who was strict about punctuality and speed. The trick was to plan the press day viewing like clockwork and finish by 1pm at latest. This meant a 10 to 15 minute allocation. So I wasn't surprised that my 10:20 arrival was beaten by the Elle team who were exiting for next appointment. And very swish they looked too. It was the black. Even on what was a sunny day the black looked uber stylish and chic. More Parisian and Milanese than London.  This small chance meeting moment stuck in my head. I have a wonderful visual filing system in my head. The looks, the light at that moment and the swishness of it all are logged.

The second incident was at a jewellery trunk show I was doing that same evening in a splendid location. I met lots of lovely people but I'm beginning to find a trait, people who are invited to a person's house for a jewellery party who don't buy. This makes no odds to me whatsoever as there are always sales but it does make a big difference to the person hosting the event. That person has made the effort to share their home, wine and food. If you come you should at least buy one item at the cheapest price if need be even as a gift for a forthcoming birthday or just in case. Anyway I had a guest, who didn't buy, telling me about every item of jewellery she was wearing, mainly Tiffany (fyi) and she just put me off a certain look and style. I won't bore you with her look and style but I sort of file it under the try hard yummy mummy Net-A-Porter/boutique look. In short contrived btu a contrived that says 'I'm wealthy and bored'.

So there I was pedalling my wares, trying to earn a crust because I'll always have to and I had some trout pout woman boring me with her slim wrist issues. Then I realised I had contributed to this ruddy look/lifestyle. All those years of shop edits, fashion styling and personal styling and I had contributed to this look, her aspirations and shopping habits. At that moment I knew something had to change for me and I realised as I mentally recalled the Elle team image I was going back to black.

At university to keep in credit and not spend money I had a uniform which was black. A brief flirtation with colour ended when running my clothes stall ended as I could no longer store my jumble sales finds in the entertainment offices cupboard. I sold up all my stock and I stuck to my black uniform. The only items which were colour was a purple velvet dress from High St Kensington market and a grey vintage dress from a vintage shop in the Netherlands. My accessories were plastic Spanish fiesta earrings in lots of different colours. I based my whole look on Audrey Hepburn's beatnik look in Funny Face and Nico from The Velvet Underground. I recalled this simple fact and thought actually I'm in that place again. My career is on hold indefinitely,I cannot go and work in a magazine or office due to circumstances of Mr MDS's work and my own making, a young child. We are not in a position whereby I don't need to earn and actually I like earning so simplifying my clothing habits is a simple solution and a great style shift.

I'm in the midst of selling off as much as I can. I'm keeping a few pieces of colour I truly love, garments I would never part with and the rest is going. I'm sticking to black,white and grey with navy as another option when it comes to clothes and that is it. It feels uplifting and frees me from so many trappings. Such a simple option and for me back to black is where it is at!

The Soft Pleat Dress £109 Isabella Oliver 365 Collection

Uniqlo Extra Light Crew Neck Half Sleeve Cardigan £19.99

Black Raw Edge Leather Sandals £27.99 New Look

Style direction

The current weather which is roughly how cold can it get, is a complete pain when it comes to your wardrobe and getting dressed. The temptation is to give up on the style stakes and I have to confess to over the weekend practically living in my ski gear, only my Moncler coat keeps me looking vaguely as if I care about my appearance.

But thankfully fellow blogger That's Not My Age gave me a veritable kick up the styling backside with her simple grey sweatshirt post. I happened to start the day at 6:30am under the duvet waiting for Mr MDS to get his butt out of the shower with my iPad. I love a quick read of a morn and this was my most motivational one of the week. Why I was ironing by 7am after I'd reclaimed my American Apparel grey sweatshirt from the gym pile. It is back in the fashion pile again.

Of course I took a photo to tweet to Mrs TNMA and thank her for her style inspiration. My photos haven't improved mind you.

Grey sweatshirt American Apparel, Skinny jeans Cherry Oasis, Knee high flat boots Autograph M&S, black watch Emporio Armani (Christmas present 2 years ago from the petit garcon), bracelet Harlow bangle & necklace Hermatite link chain both Stella & Dot

Looking back

It is that time of year when people and media start the incessant look back at the year. I have no interest in looking back. I've never harboured any desire on that front. I'm a real going forward person and my moments in a year are the new seasons collections. I like the shows but it is when the drops of collections in the stores happen that gets me excited. Although these days with so many drops it is hard to get that start of a season fix as it used to be.

Never mind the changes and in some respects the lack of set times and drops has freed us all to indulge our dressing preferences and really set our own personal style. And thanks to the power of twitter I can favourite items to my hearts content. It really is a wonderful reference tool. My favourite items are an eclectic mix but if something takes my fancy I just 'favourite' it and can read in depth later. It is a great way to reference images for inspiration.

It was quite good whenThe Telegraph did a neat round up of best street style looks of 2011, although street style should be taken lightly as it was around the streets of the fashion week shows so not necessarily a high street look near you! I like these sort of looking back items.

My favourite 3 looks are below and my number one look has to be the pink suit one - love it. Do you have a favourite look?

All images The Telegraph.co.uk

Off up North, cuffed and all

I'm very excited as today I board a train at Kings Cross and travel up north. I feel as if I've been stuck down south for an age and relish my small little excursion. I will get loads done on the train, train journeys are totally 'spiffing' for reading or writing. I get lost in the journey and feel free from the everyday.

And tonight I'll be supping mulled wine and maybe partaking of minced pies - but I have yet to develop a real liking for them, although I happily make them at Christmas and feel they are part of the festive season.One is always enough for me.

Travelling to North Yorkshire puts me in mind of Gothic tales and Wuthering Heights. I'm very much in love with this limited edition cuff from Stella and Dot and quickly snapped one up before they sold out as I had some points and discounts to use. I meant to get a replacement cover for my iPhone which they also have but seriously when I could have drama instead......

However there is a gold version of the Chantilly Lace cuff which is equally dramatic and will work for evening and in the summer months.

Chantilly Lace cuff £85 Stella & Dot