Warmish weather is finally here!  It’s time to trade in your fleece jacket for the fleece vest, faded Levis for capri pants and strip the wool socks out from under your Birkenstocks!

If it is your choice to wear the above-mentioned, please carry on.  If a sleeker, more sophisticated warm weather look sparks your interest, there are ways to achieve it and still be comfortable, even while traveling.
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Spring Color Combo Trends are not for the faint of heart.  Bold solids in outrageous combinations will certainly keep you awake, maybe even blow your mind.

Here are the rules:

Know which colors to wear by your face.  Don’t overwhelm your skin with unflattering colors.

Keep the garments simple in structure.

Skip prints and patterns.

Use bright accessories.

As always, I delved into the recesses of my closet and threw some things together.   No purchasing allowed!

Here is what I came up with:
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Meet Shirley:  the bubbliest apple I have ever met.  Positive, unbelievable energetic, encouraging and down-to-earth.  You can’t help but feel happy around this woman.  Shirley was my very first Ahead of the Curve client four years ago.  She never once insinuated I didn’t know what I was doing back then.

Recently, I had the pleasure of helping Shirley clear out her closet.  Being a winter in coloring and an apple in shape, it was fairly quick work:  get rid of the boxy, sage green shirts.  Everything else was cute, like Shirley herself.

To the point:

Out with the boxy shirts!

Short, boxy tops obscure the narrowest area of Shirley’s torso:  just under the bustline.

Apple becomes hourglass!

Black and white are a winter’s perfect neutrals and the small print is perfect for a petite frame; the empire waist accentuates Shirley’s narrowest torso spot and the straight skirt flatters the hip and leg.  Too much volume in the skirt would widen the lower body and natural waist.  Also, the hem stops at the knee, making her legs look longer.  The top of the dress was a bit too big from shoulder to armpit; a simple alteration fixed it.  This is just right!

Sensuality is the overwhelming feel of the new George Zaharoff designer menswear collection at Nordstrom’s in Bellevue.  The fabrics feel like Marilyn Monroe on a silk sheet.

In stock are three sports coats and three suits, most are silk/wool blends, some 100% wool. All have notched lapels, two button closures, ticket pockets and unfinished cuffs for your choice of functional or decorative buttons.  All the jackets except one (more on that later) are beautifully lined with silk and each has an inspirational saying sewn inside, such as I attract good health and unlimited success, I invoke positives and I look within myself for the answers.  Every detail is exquisite, every garment a work of art clearly reflecting the soul of the designer.

The three sport coats are a blue/gray weave, black-on-black with raised diamond texture, and stunning black and white.  The blue/gray weave has a delightful depth to the color mix.  The black jacket, labeled the “Road Warrior” is half-lined, exhibiting the attention to construction detail.  The Road Warrior is a perfectly versatile piece, as easily dressed up as worn with jeans.  The black and white jacket is the most striking of all, clearly a stand out designed to get attention.

The suits are browns, blues, and grays.  The luxurious feel of the fabric and subtle vibrancy of the colors make these suits exceptional, the overall look one of sharp moderninity without edginess.   The styling of the collection is modern in cut, but not trendy, suitable for a wide range of ages and tastes.  However, what really makes the collection stand out is the color and texture of the fabric.  The blues and grays invite a shock of color in shirt and tie, making it possible to take the look as far out of the box as you want to go.

If you are just wearing a suit because you have to, these pieces will inspire you to love getting dressed again.  However, if you are an attractive man and know it, these are the coats to channel your power.  If you buy one, please send me a picture.

It’s the best kind of spring blizzard: white on white.  In these tough economic times, it is nice to know one can be in style without leaving your closet.  Who doesn’t have a white t-shirt?  I delved into my stash to recreate some looks that caught my eye for spring.

Sweet, slouchy and casual.  This look is easy and comfortable with fabrics that drape and flow.  Garment construction is key-it’s got to be soft and easy-no lab coats.  This combination pairs a draped neck tank top and loose knit draped-front sweater with wide leg linen-cotton blend pants.  Add a touch of brown leather or some other warm neutral to break up the white, but don’t add black as it will toughen things up.

Easy and casual white on white

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Spring style this year is busy and all over the place with lots of embellishments, heavy texture, bold graphics and loud florals.  First up this season:  florals and lace, two things not found in my closet.  In order to profile these trends, I headed to my favorite place, Labels Consignment Shop.

Previously, this image from The Sartorialist website had caught my eye:  Wild leafy floral print in two color palettes, green-cobalt-navy and aqua-red with retro ankle strap heels.  The reason this beautiful combination works so well is the simplicity of the garments themselves and the tonal similarity of the color palettes.

from The Sartorialist

Check out what I found at Labels…

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My husband’s batty grandma has a ton of costume jewelry, much of it stored in old, dirty cardboard boxes along with mouse poop.  Once in awhile she gives us some; jewelry with poop.  A large percentage of the jewelry is puka shell necklaces from Hawaii but there have been a few noteworthy pieces over the years.  These necklaces come to me on knotted, rotten silk cord, tangled and neglected.

The beauty of these old strings of glass beads is breathtaking.  Shawna, my friend and business partner, is also a jewelry maker and has vast knowledge of bead history.    She told me where of the beads came from; some from Japan in the 1950s and some from Italy.  After dismantling and gentle cleansing, Shawna restrung them for me with spacers.  They are now entirely wearable and absolutely stunning.
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Ruth showed up for her consultation in the standard Bellingham Saturday uniform. I must say that the red of her fleece was perfect for her, blue-based and bright, not a muddy washed out orangey red, her jeans fit her perfectly and her Keenes were actually cute and completely appropriate for the wet and cold, so I couldn’t be too critical. (Still though, zzzzz…)

Ruth: Before

We discovered that Ruth is a summer in coloring with silver white hair, ice-blue eyes and pink undertones in her skin. And hiding under that fleece was a smoking hot, long-waist hourglass figure. The difference between a classic hourglass and a long-waist one is, obviously, the length of torso. Classic hourglasses are always short-waisted. Structured tops and jackets are required to define the narrow waist otherwise the breasts appear to sit directly atop the hips. The long-waist hourglass figure is a stretched out version with more real estate available. The waist is easier to define and they have more options for clothing types and belts, etc. Read more …

Meet Sarah:  50-something, vivacious, outgoing, friendly and funny.  And looking for work, as so many are.

Sarah came to me with a clear need:  to look modern, current and professional while job-hunting.  We met at Labels, where I had prepared for her consultation with garments designed to flatter her hourglass figure.  Just as I was about to deliver my reassurances designed to calm the nerves associated with changing clothes in front of a stranger, I turned around and Sarah had whipped her clothes off and was ready to get started. As a self-professed child of the 60s, she was just not shy.  Great!  We jumped right in.

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