Style is meant to be a fun process, in which you can take it upon yourself to do just about anything. Not sure what your style is exactly? Or maybe your lifestyle has changed and you’re not the Chic Urbanite you once were. The best way to forge a path to your new Signature Style is the process of discovery. Opting into in a few fun activities to get your creative juices flowing will do just the trick.

Go on a sensory shopping experience and become a connoisseur for your unique beauty. Here are some of my favourite style hunting activities.

1. Visit a museum; notice what catches your eye. Maybe that translates into a new colour palette.

2. Go to your local fabric store, play with pattern. Maybe you pick up a unique fabric for a one-of-a-kind dress.

3. Attempt a DIY project, get crafty. Maybe that turns out to be your signature element.

4. Venture into a vintage boutique, discover a story. Maybe that opens up the door to a new passion.

What do you adore? What do you love? Let your interests lead to your style. Have faith in the process. You may not find an entire outfit that communicates your style. But you will find something that makes your heart sing, your eyes see fireworks and your soul do a happy dance. Take that as a Style Sign. Maybe you come across a beautiful vintage rhinestone brooch that you can’t take your eyes off of…ask yourself what about it do you love so much? It is the fact that it has a story? Does it have clean lines? Does it sparkle? Come up with 3 adjectives that represent it. Take those words and look for the same qualities in a blouse or skirt. Once you’ve found a selection of items that communicate those core adjectives, the second step is making sure there is some contradiction/conflict. A little drama always sparks the curiosity of others. If there is flow add some structure, if the outfit is predominantly black add a punch of colour. Step three is putting the effort into the details. Your fragrance, jewelry, accessories, makeup and hair all unify your look making it more interesting.

Take a deeper look, explore the meanings and venture outside the box to create something unique. Translate that into a wearable outfit that emulates your essence and is an authentic representation of your soul.

I recently attended an event and sadly almost every woman in the room was wearing a black dress. Yes, sometimes the event may call for formal attire but this was not one of them. Everyone blended into one another looking the same, the only woman that stood out and I recognized was the one wearing a vibrant, fresh and chic orange blazer. She looked fabulous, warm, friendly and interesting. Isn’t that how you’d like to be described?

For many women, black is the go-to colour when it comes to wardrobe choices, because it can be very slimming and it goes with everything. But unfortunately black is not the universally flattering hue we all thought it was. The main problem with black is that is emphasizes dark links, wrinkles and shadows on our faces sometimes when they’re not even there.

So instead opt for brighter colours or if you’re looking for a neutral try brown which is much softer on most skin types. And if you do want to wear a black top choose one with an open neckline or add a colourful necklace/accessory. COLOUR creates beauty, attention and has the ability to change our mood!

Dedicate 2 hours this weekend to detox your closet. Try on every piece of clothing. Doesn’t fit? Donate it. If you’re hanging on to it because it might fit you once you lose 10lbs, have the courage to purge. We dress for the here and now. Keep only what you absolutely LOVE and throughout the process be strong. The less you have the more you’ll have to wear, it will be easier to get dressed in the morning and most importantly the clothing you put on you’ll love so you will instantly feel fabulous.

For one week get up 15 minutes earlier than normal to put on the makeup you wouldn’t normally apply. Add jewelry and accessories that you may often ignore. You work hard at every other aspect of your life so do yourself the honour and do the same for your style.

If you haven’t had a bra fitting in the last 6 months – getter done! Eight out of ten women have neglected to have a professional bra fitting and it has been noted that most women aren’t wearing the right size. There a many bra boutiques that require no appointment and provide the service FREE.

Get used to the idea that everyone regardless of body shape benefits from alternating their clothes. Doing so regardless of price point will make them look infinitely more expensive because they will fit you like a glove.  During your detox identify what needs alteration whether it’s hems, sleeve lengths, waistlines etc… and send it off.

Wear sexy undergarments for 7 days. Sometimes it’s what you put on before you get dressed that makes an outfit feel sexy and gives you a boost of confidence. Lingerie serves two very important yet different roles. First, the right undergarments can lift, hold in, smooth out and enhance your body’s natural attributes. And second, lingerie can make you feel prettier, sexier and more feminine.

How many times have we vowed to go to the gym come January, to ignore the fast food drive-thru in our rush to get to the next appointment, or even promised ourselves to do better, be better? I’m guilty of every one of those broken promises, so this year I have two fabulous suggestions. First, make a choice, not a resolution. Instead of signing a contract with your superego, reach out with your heart. Second, choose to honor yourself by focusing on your style, boosting your confidence and choosing to feel fabulous. Test out my challenge for one week ONLY and notice the changes in yourself and in your life, then decide for yourself, has it made a difference in your world?

*As written for Pretty Savvy

Have you ever wondered why kids like to wear their favourite Spiderman t-shirt or floral pink sweater every day? Children are super intelligent and not privy to the societal norms we are pressured by. They ask to wear the same thing purely because they love how they feel in it.

Getting dressed in the morning should be easy and fast. We want to feel confident and amazing in anything we put on, and if that means wearing the same thing three times in one week (as long as it’s clean of course) so be it.

We have tons of clothes that are just okay, and when we aren’t feeling so hot we’re more inclined to wear those average-deemed clothes. The dilemma is that okay clothing makes us feel just that – okay.

If our closet had only clothes in it that we LOVED, that made us smile from ear to ear, and made us feel happy, anything we put on would be an instant mood booster.

If we have a closet overstuffed with clothes that are 20% fabulous and 80% okay we’re doing ourselves a disservice. In the words of Jacqui Ripley “It’s said that clutter stresses us out by creating visual noise. The same can be said for an overstuffed wardrobe.” Take a moment and look at your closet, do you feel the same? By subtracting we can add so much more value.

Start your own wardrobe detox, purifying your closet of all the needless, loveless items. Once you’ve done that your wardrobe will represent only your best and allow for easier choices when getting dressed.

Take a quick test, count up all the items in your wardrobe, include coats, shoes, scarves etc. Let’s say you have 100 items and on average their cost was $50. That means you have $5,000 worth of clothes in your wardrobe.  Most people only wear 20% of what’s in their wardrobe on a regular basis – the other 80% is wasted. That could mean $4,000 wasted. Most people replace their clothes every 7 years and many spend 10% of their income on clothes – all of the waste adds up over a lifetime.

Understanding our shopping patterns helps us identify our bad habits. Do you own 6 pairs of black pants, 3 white dress shirts or maybe 4 argyle sweaters? Notice what you have, what you buy too much of, get rid of the excess and be conscious of it next time you go shopping.

Pairing down saves us money now and in the long run and will make life a lot easier for us in the morning. The more we have the harder it is to achieve greatness. Life is complicated as it is, our closet shouldn’t add to its complexity. It should reflect our personality, be fun and most importantly be easy. It’s much better to have five dresses we absolutely adore rather than fifteen that are just okay. Mediocrity is a sin; don’t settle for anything less than your best.

What are you going to subtract from your wardrobe this week?

*As written for Pretty Savvy

One of the coolest phrases I’ve heard a stylist utter is what Safina tells her clients who don’t like the number on their clothing tag. What she means is, instead of thinking of your dress size in terms of a number, ie., “I’m a 10”, just buy what fits and if the number bothers you, cut the tag out of the garment so you don’t see it. Chances are, that number has little basis in reality anyway. Depending on the store or the brand, one woman can wear any number of sizes on the same day. Higher-end brands typically cut more “generously”, so a size 4 at a lower-end store like Zara or H&M becomes a 2 or even a 0 at BCBG.

Some blame vanity sizing for such discrepancies (the idea that women will feel better about themselves if they fit into a smaller size, so manufacturers lower the size on the label to keep customers happy). Others insist sizes vary according to the designer’s target market. Whatever the cause, it only takes a trip to the vintage store to see how sizing has changed over the decades. I have tried on size 7 clothes made in the 70s that were too small, and yet today’s size 0 often fits me.

Working in the retail clothing industry, I have witnessed firsthand how happy women become when they fit into a smaller-sized dress than what they’re used to wearing. The size of a dress has the power to lift or lower a customer’s opinion of herself, a disturbing fact considering the utter randomness of the number. I learned to err on the side of bigger when beginning to dress a customer—you can always downsize which will make her feel good; however starting off with something too tight could send her straight out of the dressing room and through the door in a cloud of darkness.

Many women admit to feeling better about themselves when they wear a smaller-sized garment. Even the language we use–“I’m an 8”, rather than “I wear a size 8 dress”—lets our size define us. We may be better served by clothing sized according to hip, waist and bust measurements; however, many women underestimate these, too, and the truth might have the same effect as wearing a larger size. The question becomes: why is smaller better? And why does wearing a size 0 invoke near-hatred or at least disdain in other women? The flipside of vanity sizing is that slighter women are being sized out of existence. I lost customers every day because the size 0 was too big for them. And, no they weren’t anorexic; just thin, as some of us are. And I can assure you they weren’t happy because the smallest size was too big for them. They just wanted a dress!

In a confusing climate of varying dress sizes where the number on the tag gives no useful information, a girl’s only recourse is to try on a range of sizes and leave her expectations at the dressing room door. If she doesn’t like the size she ends up with, she can do what Safina says and: “just cut it out.”

So many people have a box full of jewellery that for any number of reasons is not wearable in its current condition – pieces that have been handed down, out of date and broken.  My thought is if you have it – use it!  Working with client’s old materials I have designed and created new engagement and wedding sets, pendants, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and brooches.

I call this concept Re-Jewel.

The concept of using something old to make something new is not groundbreaking but is extremely relevant these days.  At this very moment we are as conscious we have ever been about how we treat the environment and what we can do to make our footprint as small as possible.

In my daily life as a jewelery designer and goldsmith I have adopted many habits that I know are making my footprint on the environment less and my conscience lighter.  Of all the things that I do, one of the most impactful is re-using old metals and gemstones to create new pieces of jewelery.

The very nature of jewelery allows me to break it down into its components and use them again to create something new and extraordinary.  Being successful at creating pieces for my clients means using materials such as precious metals, gemstones & diamonds and most, if not all, of it comes from the earth.  There is fair-trade this and eco that but nothing compares to using what already exists and taking nothing more from the ground.  Re-Jeweling is exactly that.

If the next step on your personal journey is to commemorate it with a statement piece of jewelery that can communicate who you are, you may already have the basic components.  If you have nothing but a great idea then you are not out of the game.  Let’s collaborate using existing metal & gemstone and I will help you figure out what is possible and take you through the process.

Re-use, re-cycle, Re-Jewel!

2. Up-to-date on self maintenance? Making sure that you go for regular haircuts, get your eyebrows shaped and fingers and toes nicely manicured and polished. It is small things like these that have a big impact. You may feel that a peep-toe pump or sandal are inappropriate for the corporate world but a good mani/pedi and personal nail colour will give you a beautifully finished look.  Details make all the difference. A chic outfit will be completely degraded by chipped nail polish.

3. Jewelry is an integral part of your personality. It can be a topic of discussion and even a point of envy.  Just remember less is always more, be selective and pick one or two pieces that really showcase your personality.

4. Makeup helps to polish off your look. Mascara, blush and lipstick/lip-gloss are the basic elements to enhance your beauty. A little is usually better than none for a professional look.

Interview Style Faux-Pas

Under no circumstances should you ever wear the following to an interview (or at the workplace, for that matter): a tube top or dress, strappy heels, spaghetti straps, anything cut low enough to see cleavage or high enough to see midriff. These pieces are absolute interview killers. Be certain to remove any sunglasses sitting on top of your head and hide any headphones or media devices in your bag or briefcase.

Interview Style Secrets

• Check your outfit for holes, tears, stains, scuffs or wrinkles the day before to ensure you’re not running around the day of trying to fix a faulted outfit.
• Call ahead and speak with the HR dept to find out the dress code for the company.

It is critical that when we make choices based on our style we are honest with ourselves and we are authentic to who we are at our very core. To ensure we make the best choices for us and our bodies take the Style Self-Exam. Part I was created by the most authentic woman I know Danielle LaPorte of White Hot Truth. Part II is my personal extension of the process:

Part I Prep Work…

Why do you buy what you buy? Do a mental scan of your wardrobe. Think of the your most recent purchases, or your most-worn pieces, or the regrettables collecting dust in your closet. What motivated those choices? Were you feeling…elation? Rebellion? The deep craving to belong? The drive to appear powerful? Sentimental for the past? Sweet, sensual inklings? At one with the style gods?

Who do you take shopping with you? Not literally, but, psychically. Do you have your own what-not-to-wear committee on your shoulder? Are your inner style advisers jeering at you or cheering you on?

Do your clothes feel like friends or foe? Do you have to psyche yourself up to get into that navy suit that sucks the innovative thinking right out of you? Or do you look at that linen tunic and think, “Ahh, old friend, we work so well together?”

Part II Critical Shopping questions...

Do you love it? Buy What You Love & Wear What You Love. If you buy something now that you love, it will fit into your life, instead of following the trends and mimicking others. If your heart isn’t moved, leave it so something more incredible can make its way to you.

Do you feel great in it? Not good, not good enough but GREAT!

Does it fit you? Does it fit you PROPERLY? It should feel comfortable but be fitted. Not tight where breathing is manageable or a bit big that it reminds you of your Lululemon yoga pants. It should lie flat against your body. Be smooth as it was your second layer of skin.

Does it flatter you? It should be showing off your assets while camouflaging your challenge areas. Do you notice yourself standing taller? Smiling from ear to ear? These are usually good indicators that a piece truly flatters you.

Do you have at least 2 things to wear with it? This is a simple and direct question. Try and train yourself to shop in outfits vs. pieces and both you and your wardrobe will thank you for it.

Women have a great sense of instinct. If you put something on and you’re not quite sure listen to your gut. There is a reason why you’re not feeling 100% trust your gut and avoid a bad purchase just because you need a white button down cotton shirt is not a good enough reason to buy it.

Every choice is an expression of what we believe. Style tells an intimate journey of self discovery. It’s the way we express ourselves through our tastes, desires, passions, inspirations and lifestyle. Whether you are Elegant, Sophisticated, a Rock star or a Bohemian spirit it’s about being authentic to your essence and that has very little to do with the number on the label or the size of our bodies.

By exposing yourself to all kinds of influences and dressing with an open mind you’ll discover new things that will inspire you to change and embrace the parts of yourself you already love.

*As written for Pretty Savvy

Most often your smile is the first thing someone will take notice of when meeting you and that means your earrings could be next.  You can’t go wrong with hoop earrings of any size, precious stone studs and stunning chandelier style earrings.  Your hoops and studs will be a no brainer that you feel like yourself in every day.  The chandeliers will be the pair that makes you feel even more sexy and confident.  Whether they are a $25 costume pair from Le Chateau or a $200 pair that is handmade in your favourite gemstone, what is important is that you feel like a million bucks in them.

There are matchy-matchy people out there who love sets (earrings, necklace, bracelet & ring) and people that can make a statement with as little as one piece.  I am the latter for the record and if you are the statement type you can appreciate the impact of a show-stopping necklace that like the chandelier earrings might just be all you need.   In addition to your show-stopper have on hand a simple and elegant necklace or pendant that you wear on the more casual days or when just a little will do.  Don’t forget the ever-beautiful and practical pearl necklace.  It is not just for Mom anymore.  There are so many colours, shapes and styles out there that you can’t go wrong having it in your repertoire.

When it comes to necklaces, and earrings for that matter, don’t be afraid.  If you don’t think you can pull it off you are probably wrong!  In our shop Flux + Form, where we are all about statement pieces, we hear women often comment on a larger necklace and how they could never pull that off.  Nine times out of ten if they have the courage to try it they are glad they did.

I love bracelets!  My favourite kind is the cuff and for its sheer size and impact it is a keeper.  Two words – Wonder Woman.   If the cuff is on the large and rigid side for you then a few beautiful bangles would work just as well.  Try mixing metals and finishes and you can come up with quite an eclectic combination.

Rings!  These little beauties are at the top my list.  I am definitely a one ring per hand girl (not one ring per finger).  For some of you it may mean an engagement and wedding set and for others it will mean that the sky is the limit design-wise.  I believe a ring can define you.  When making a ring of any kind for a client there is so much of them that make it into the design – from a favourite colour, shape, and motif to traditions, beliefs and memories.  If you don’t have one that means everything to you, save up and treat yourself someday soon.  Until then my advice is to have fun with this one.  Go for a fake but pretty costume cocktail ring.  A little bling goes a long way.

As jewelery designer and maker I usually steer pretty clear of trends and make what I like for the most part.    The key to being a unique individual is to do your own thing.  If you have to have the latest must-have then try not to let it break your bank since it will most likely be on its way out in another season or two.  Classic is always in and simple will never lead you astray!

Jewelery Box Essentials

Earrings – Hoops, Studs & Chandeliers

Necklaces – Casual Feel-Good Pedant & Show Stopper

Bracelets – Bangles & Cuff

Ring – Costume Bling & the Real Thing

Find Your Key Item

A key item is the central piece your outfit will be based around. It can be anything – shoes, a dress, a necklace – the only criteria is it must be something you really, really love!

Build Around Your Key Item

Take a look around your wardrobe – is there anything that complements your key item? Do you have a belt that goes well with this purse? Or a dress that looks fabulous with these boots? Put it on. Continue adding more pieces that work well with your ensemble. If you don’t see any obvious matches, start trying stuff on at random – you might come across something unusual and fresh!

Some basic rules … neutrals go with EVERYTHING. Neutral colors include tan, beige, gray, brown, black, white, and navy.

“How do I know if something ‘works’?”
This would depend purely on your personal style and your vision. If you’re unsure of your personal style listen to your gut. With time, you will learn to trust yourself and your eye.

Sometimes you may simply not have the right item to bring it all together. When this happens, you can either put the outfit on hold and finish it later, once you have the item, or substitute it with something else.

Add an Element of Surprise or your “Signature”

What’s the difference between a good outfit and a great one? A great outfit has a hook, something that makes it memorable and sets it apart from the rest! Once you have most of your outfit together, look for something bold and unexpected to offset the equation! Something you’d never normally consider, like cobalt blue shoes in an otherwise white/gray ensemble, or a large chunky necklace in an otherwise simple understated outfit. Adding the unusual will make your outfit look more interesting.

To have style, there must be an emotional and physical connection and passion to the clothes you buy and own.

*As written for Pretty Savvy