outfit – Page 2

January 28, 2013October 27, 2014

Right Pants Length: Skinnies

The topic of right pants length came up while I was choosing pants for Christmas party outfit for my friend. She suggested to make a handy tutorial about this. Being a pants person for some part of my life I definitely accumulated a bit of knowledge on the topic. It did, however, seemed too obvious to write about. Can’t we all tell how pants should fit?

I parked idea on a side while one Friday night in the City I started to pay attention for girls in pants. Huge crowd of women swept past me wearing jeans, flared, cropped pants, skinnies of various colours and styles. Surprisingly, however, I could count those fitting well with the fingers of one hand. And that’s only taking into account the length, not even the style or fit. I was dazed. The need of a good article explaining the concept was obvious.

What is the Right Length for Skinnies?

I could count 3 ways women wear skinny jeans: tucked, scrunched around the ankle and cuffed. And, actually, there is one more. I do remember seeing a desperate attempt to make skinny jeans reach the middle of 11 cm heels. That was giving an impression of having hoofs. Quite unusual sight.

The version when pants stop at ankle is so rare that I didn’t even count it as “way to wear”. Meanwhile, it is the only right way to wear non-cropped skinny pants. They should hit at the ankle. No trade-offs.

The right length for skinny pants

And yes, after some hunting, I’ve spotted one with correct length. They could be about 1 cm longer for heels then those worn with flats, but no more than that.

Skinny jeans, skinny pants, skinnies, woman, right length, correct pants length

Most tapered pants are also obeying “ankle length” rule.

Skinny jeans, tapered pants, harem pants, woman, right length, correct pants length,

tapered pants, skinny pants, pleat pants, woman, right length, correct pants length

But what about scrunching?

Well, it depends. I’ve seen very nice look with skinnies slightly scrunched at ankle. The main word is slightly. The other important detail is wearer’s figure, build. It was a quite a lean young girl with narrow hips and long legs. In other cases scrunching tends to break up a silhouette line and makes figure appear stumpy.

Skinny jeans, skinny pants, skinnies, woman, right length, correct pants length, scrunched skinny

Scrunched skinnies? No, thanks.

Long skinnies have great potential for shortening. Excess of length can be easily fixed, but its lack is a tricky thing to deal with.

Cuffed skinnies

It is one of the major sartorial crimes to cuff skinny jeans and pants to an ankle length. Shortened in that manner pants cry out loud they are not fitted properly (or trend is too original for me to appreciate).

The only way to cuff skinnies is to roll them above the ankle to resemble cropped pants. Of course, made in such way cuffs should not bulge out with all its multilayered fabric glory.

Skinny jeans, skinny pants, skinnies, woman, right length, correct pants length, cuffed pants

The right length for cuffed skinnies

Colour is another characteristic to think about. I’ve noticed that cuffs look best on light coloured pants where the difference between right and wrong sides of the fabric is not well defined so contrasting cuff does not break off the leg line.

fashion illustration of dark and light denim cuffed skinnies

Practical considerations

Now, before taking a pair of skinnies to the tailor let me mention couple of handy points.

Shrinkage. Any pants (especially denim and linen) should always be washed a few times before tailoring as they may shrink lengthwise. And then, few times more. And even then, many will still shrink up over the time. So it might pay to wait while fabric is settled.

Tapering. Initially skinnies are made to be tight enough at the ankle. However, shortening can make them wider around the edge. So the hem of the pants which is designed to be the narrowest and sexiest part of the jeans may start to jiggle around. Even an extra 2 cm of excess fabric may be enough to throw the whole look out of balance. So check it twice and ask your tailor if something could be done to slim the ankle if necessary.

To be continued.

Some pants shown in this article are available from The Iconic store at the time of publishing.

You may also like to read about:
Right Pants Length: Flared, Bell-bottom, Wide Leg Pants.

January 21, 2013October 27, 2014

Maternity Style Tips. Look Stylish when They Say You Can’t

It happens that three of my friends are about to give birth, subject which is a very exciting on its own. But for me as an enthusiast style consultant it is also a chance to challenge my knowledge and sense of style. It is good to have a challenge anytime, and especially in such rapidly changing environment as a wardrobe of a pregnant woman.

Today I’m going to share one trick that can help to save not only “second-and-third-trimester” outfit, but also one that looks heavy and stout. I’ll put a bit of theory to explain the works.

Every day while processing new information we are constantly matching it to things we already know and seen, engaging our brain to look for reference points. We might pick only the meaning we can reference to and skip any further thoughts of it. It might be not the ultimate meaning, just one we came across, the one that looks right (all optical illusions are based on such perception anomalies, by the way).

Now, going from theory to practice and from abstract visions to women figures and clothing, it is primarily a shape (silhouette) that our brain is looking for. Therefore, if we think the figure lacks something from a quick glance over it, the task of make-believing bears heavily on clothes.

As I do not consider corsets and other instruments of torture as a solution what then should it be? Well, almost everything that creates strict, distinct lines which could be a reference point of shape for the brain.

For example, one of my friends uses a cropped stiff corduroy jacket with usual “maternity” dresses. The dress made out of a floral jersey gently wraps the body, but the fabric itself is not heavy enough to define a silhouette. All this dress needed was a well-defined form and jacket provided it along with outlining right proportions.

The other friend of mine uses slinky skirts paired with wide, hip-length blouses and snug fitting shoes. Skirt and shoes act as “shapers” helping to emphasize the best features as well as serving the purpose and giving a reference point of the shape. That, at the end, is creating a balanced and attractive look.

vector fashion illustration of two pregnant woman one of them wearing dress and denim jacket, and other sheer loose blouse and tight skirt

Heavy fabrics that make gorgeous folds work the same: they do provide clean lines and create clear silhouette. Actually, it could even be accessories (belt, bangles, geometrical bag, a scarf tightly tied up) that help to change “stout and heavy” into “elegant and balanced”.

Try to look around yourself when you are in a big shopping centre and watch for pregnant looks. I’m certain you’ll see some “shapers” and give them a credit for style.

October 14, 2012October 27, 2014

Basic Principles of an Outfit Layout: Focal Point

My recent post about relations of peplum and pants has touched an important principle of an outfit layout – the subject of a focal point.

In fashion, like in art, focal point (centre of interest) is where the viewer attention is naturally attracted.
Proficient arrangement of focal points can turn a plain outfit into a good one. It is a sort of visual magic when a scarf thrown over a shoulder resuscitates the entire look. The question is how do you know what trick to use where.

Every garment independently of the outfit has its own centre of interest – it could be a collar, a pocket, a yoke, pleats, gatherings, you name it.
On the image below the shirt catches the eye and it is the focal point of this look. But both skirt and blouse has their own centres of interest – it is a slit and a yoke respectively.

So, in an outfit the focal centre can be:
-a certain garment (blouse, T-shirt, shoes, shorts)
-a detail or accessory (collar, pockets, sleeves, brooch, bangles, and necklaces)
-a set of clothes (hat and scarf, scarf and gloves, shoes and skirt)

There are 4 basic approaches to emphasise something as focal point:
-by colour
-by texture
-by shape
-by complex trimming or other striking elements.

fashion illustration of woman wearing silk dress with sophisticated sheer sleeves

fashion illustration of woman wearing dark skinnies and bright top decorated with frills

The number of centres in an outfit can vary from one to as many as desired as long as they are hierarchically coordinated.

Multiple focal points add interesting complexity. The diversity and elegant balance of details get attention of viewers. Most of the times we don’t even know why, but we can tell there is something in that look.

At the same time there should be a clear connection between individual parts of the design. They should be sending the same image message.

The cohering elements of an outfit can be present on different levels. Every one of these is a big subject and deserves a topic of its own, so we’ll keep it simple here.

-Proportion: consider how to vary placement of garments so they articulate strong message and the outfit has its centre of interest. The size of focal point must complement the proportion of the garment (e.g. you might not be the only one who thinks that a big bow on slim evening dress looks ridiculous).
-Colour scheme: coherence on this level works best when one accent colour dominates the look and the others work to support and add interest to an outfit. Have another look on that red blouse above. That’s it.
-Shape: sophisticated and irregular shapes cause strong sensory responses so they must be balanced within an outfit to avoid undesirable effect.A decorative blouse with plan paints works well.
-Texture: textures influence our mood. We make assumption according to certain textures about age, personality, lifestyle, degree of sophistication. Textures are also perceived according to hierarchy. Smooth and glossy fabrics are catching attention first.
-Pattern and decoration: some of them are active and dominant while others are not so strong.

Let’s have a look on the example. Below, a light patterned shirt is teamed with a plain skirt in matching colour. This outfit is well-adjusted on the levels of colour, pattern and texture. Here all the attracting attributes of each level belong to the shirt and that makes the look balanced. It might be, however, lacking a certain degree of sophistication, but that’s easily corrected by adding accessories.

Getting a balanced look is not an easy task as it may seem. But as most of things, you get it with a practice. A good rule of thumb here is: if you are uncertain about something just make it simpler. The safest way to mix clothes in an outfit is to start basic, use one focal point, or one accent.

September 27, 2012October 27, 2014

How to Wear Peplum With Pants

This summer peplum is again on the top of the fashion wave! And according to the fashion weeks taking turns in northern hemisphere this embellishment will be a trend at least one more season.

Now it is presented in the most refreshing and outstanding way since its appearance – it is teamed with pants and shorts.
I find this tendency to be a great subject for a field study.

Close observation of peplum+pants combination on the streets, fashion blogs and catwalk photos lead me to a number of ideas.

Peplum itself is a dominant feature highlighting the waist-thigh area and pants in their turn are doing the same. So, put together they make lower body the centre of attention.

There are several ways to make the look more balanced. Fist way to reduce the number of glances towards the hips would be to wear well-fitted pants without any visible fly-fronts, fasteners, pockets and other distractive details. The minimal number of lines and visible details creates lean appearance.

Second option is to use long peplum. This will help to conceal fragile to attention area.

Another method to attain a light image is to shift a focal point to the upper body.

This can be done by using colour, pattern or accessories. A waist accentuated by peplum and plain top emphasize slim torso and drive attention to other areas.
Inverse also works. Patterned pants with plain top help to create desired silhouette and disguise lower body. The trick is that decorated surface attracts attention and at the same time provides a camouflage.

The right arrangement of decorative motifs and colour blocks become crucial in this situation.

And the last, but not the least approach for the graceful peplum look is to use single-colour combination.
Add a pattern and we have even more streamlined silhouette.