Colour Blocking - 5 Top Tips

Colour blocking is wearing loud and proud colour combinations to create a dynamic, confident look. I think this is one of my favourite trends. It’s so versatile. Easy to put together and then pull apart when it’s no long on trend. Plus, it makes me feel happy!

Follow my top tips to make sure you get it right:

      1)      Wear colours which suit you

This is a key point. Colours worn on your top half, or anywhere near your face, reflect light upwards and this has a huge impact on your overall appearance.

The right colours will enhance your complexion, bring out the colour in your eyes and make you look more youthful and generally radiant. The wrong colours can of course do the exact opposite, making your skin look dull and grey and often adding on years. If a colour is very poorly suited to you then you can even look unhealthy

You know you’re wearing the right colour when:

•      Your face appears to be lit from underneath

•      Your skins appears smoother, fresher and younger

•      Eye colour is enhanced

•      You notice YOU more than the colour

            2)      Avoid detail

Keep the look clean and simple. Any excessive detail such as frills or lots of pockets takes something away from the impact of the overall look. You can still accessorise though with brightly coloured costume jewellery or a block colour scarf.

      3)      Get the Colour Combinations Right

Actually this is relatively easy as pretty much anything goes. It looks most striking when the colours are all bright, ideally this should be the most dominant colour characteristic of everything you’re wearing. For example bright red worn with bright pink or bright green has more of an impact than if worn with a pastel 

shade.

            4)      Chose the right fabrics

Silk and satin fabrics look particularly good. Fine cotton work well too but avoid thicker fabrics as this will interfere with the clean, sharp look.

            5)      Wear with Confidence

This is crucial. You must stand tall with your shoulders back and a smile on your face so it’s clear you’re happy to be noticed. Make no mistake, colour blocking will get you noticed! For those of you who are a bit less brave, go for a brightly coloured top with jeans and accessorise with a scarf or jewellery in contrasting colours.

However you chose to “colour block” have fun with it. It should look AND feel good.

Want to know which colours you should be wearing? Contact Alice at www.dresswithconfidence.com

©Alice Treanor 2011

Too busy to go into town for a bra fitting with Rigby and Peller or Bravissimo?

Well look no further than Eloise Lingerie, based in Wimbledon, South West London. Free parking too - result!

Better still, all their fitters are trained by Rigby and Peller and Bravissimo so they measure with their eyes rather than their hands. As one fitter, Catherine, said to me “Use a tape measure for curtains, not on women!” It’s a fair point, breasts are such different shapes that to try and standardise their size in that way does seem an odd approach.

Meet Harriet who kindly showed me around – please excuse my dodgy camera work, I’m still perfecting my steady hand!!

Eloise Lingerie specialises in lingerie and swimwear and caters for everyone; including women who have had a mastectomy and pregnant women.

I went there for a bra fitting myself recently - having recently had my daughter and finished breast feeding I decided it was about time I got measured - and found that I was wearing the wrong size bra. No surprise there I guess since 80% of us wear the wrong bra size. The most common mistake is wearing a band size which is too big and/or a cup size which is too small. I had been wearing a 34B but was actually a 32c so I’m a prime example of that!

I bought a silk bra in a beautiful rich champagne colour and it really fits well. No red marks when I take it off so 32 clearly is better for me. Puts all my other bras to shame in fact – I won’t be chucking this one in the washing machine with the kids’ filthy clothes and then dumping it on the radiator!

Eloise Lingerie can be found at:

Truebell House, 
5b Lombard Road, 

Wimbledon
London, 
SW19 3TZ

(they also have a showroom in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire)

Phone 0845 22 55 080 now to book your free bra fitting by experts

© Alice Treanor 2011

My Favourite Find at London Fashion Week!

I was at LFW this week and thought I'd talk about a designer who particularly caught my eye. 

As I was wandering around, thinking some of the stands looked a bit like a jumble sale, I came across Tamara Fogle. I was instantly struck by her beautiful collection of bags as well as the stylish layout of her collection - far superior to those surrounding her.

She'd used meat hooks on rails to display her bags giving the stand an upmarket, quality feel about it. Not sure the pictures do it justice but here are a couple:

A gorgeous red leather clutch was calling out to me and when I picked it up the leather was so beautifully soft (being made from soft hide with a water-based aniline finish) that I knew I had to have it! You can also fold it in half, assuming you haven't already crammed it full of 'essential' items, as seen below:

Fogle uses Italian leather and the bags are all produced in family run workshops in London. The collection is classic and timeless; I love the new colours introduced for S/S 2011. Other than red my other favourites are orange and teal - I particularly like this one:

Tamara Fogle's bags are available in various stores and boutiques throughout the UK and overseas and you can also buy them from her directly. All details on her website www.tamarafogle.com.

© Copyright 2011 Alice Treanor