Kids Style File

I love this boho little princess look, just for all you mums out there, the summer prints are adorable, enjoy!

Sharon x

Join my vintage workout and discover which dresses work to give you killer curves in minuites!

Do you love vintage fashion? The dress has seen a huge come back for women and a Vintage dress sorts the women out from the girls.If you wonder how to pull of some of the stunning style which graced the silver screen,prepare to look hot this summer.I'm going to share some of my top Style secrets with the help of my Friends at vintage clothing company Rokit, which will leave you in no doubt as to whether you should be channeling Twiggy, Jane Mansfield or Liz Taylor.

Lets start with the Jane Mansfields among you, you might think that curvy hourglasses can get away with wearing a sack cloth, but you would be wrong, women with this Body Shape tend to have a short waist and be fuller busted, which can mean that wearing the wrong dress can result in a brick like Shape. The right neckline and waist line as well as length of dress are vital, to make the most of your killer curves. Also you have alot going on, physically I mean, so fussy is out!

This floral red halter neck from Rokit is perfect for defining all your curves in the right way. The halter neck gives the illusion of a smaller bust and draws attention to your neck and most importantly your face, it is nice to have attention occasionally focused on this area too! The dress defines the waist without cinching it in too tightly creating sensual rather than cartoon like curves.

Next up is those of you who are Twiggy like, which may mean, you have little waist definition boyish hips,small boobs and fantastic willowy legs and arms. You can eat whatever you want including obscene quantise of Ferrero Roche, why not flaunt your many talents!

Heres how, avoid dresses with overly big flouncy sleeves which can make your arms look like a sparrows rather than the willowy beauties they are. Also stay away from copious amounts of fabric, or you could look like a little girl rather than the sophisticated woman that you are. Fit, pattern and colour are critical in giving your shape real substance. This Mustard pattern A-line dress from Rokit is perfect, the bold pattern and colours on the skirt draws the eye to your best asset your legs. Black and mustard convey elegance, clever accessorising with white, ivory or silver heeled pumps and white beads will give you a dress that can easily become a transitional piece, worn in summer or winter. The round neck and dark bodice disguise your small bust and frame your face. where the pattern of the A-line skirt and the bodice meet on your natural waist cleverly creates the illusion of a nipped in waist.

Finally those pear shapes,wanting to follow in the divine beauty of silver screen goddess Liz Taylor, take note, the waist rules, fabric must not cling, but be weighty enough to skim over a curvy bottom and thighs.Wide straps will eat into a narrow shoulder line, so they are a definite no.Padded bras were all the rage in the 50s, helping to create the hourglass shape women craved, remember a little enhancement goes along way! If you want to channel Liz's look this summer, remember if you have a small waist, the curves of the 50's sirens can be brought up to date by appearing softer, avoid broad belts and cinching in too tightly at the waist. Let the line of the dress do the talking.

With this in mind I have chosen a gorgeous sweet blue cotton dress with sweetheart neckline, narrow straps and white button detailing down the centre and nipped in waistline.This classic vintage design flatters the pear shape beautifully and the crisp cotton with full underskirt disguises a generous bottom,whilst the central white buttons running the length of the dress elongate the body.Wear with clashing emerald green accessories or gold pumps and sherbet yellow chunky necklace for a bit more edge.

Hope you enjoyed our Vintage workout and you now feel ready to embrace your killer curves! See you again soon.

Sharon x

P.S Rokit are offering a 15% discount off all vintage clothing lines for My Passport to Style subscribers, when you enter the following discount code prior to payment - RPTSB15
Offer ends August 31st 2009

Tangerine Dreams are made of this

As you will probably have guessed being a Style Consultant means I am pretty much addicted to colour, I love colour whether it might be sherbet,candy or acidic in origin.I'm not really a neutrals girl, although they can often be a really useful addition to most wardrobes in the right quantities!. I belive that colour gives us energy and fine tunes are Image . The right colours can give our skin a luminosity quality and make our hair shine.I call it the buttercup effect, the right colour will light up your whole face. I hope you enjoy my round up of my favourites this season, although I am slightly biased towards orange!

Have a great weekend!

Sharon

Umbella Skyscape

Hi there, I love this Umbrella Skyscape, the translucent quality reminds of a cluster of giant jelly fish, rising up to the seas surface, hark at me, getting all poetical, it is very pretty though.

Contempory Styling, for mother of the bride, I say have your cake and eat it!

Hi there ,

since we are now fully into the Wedding season, I couldn't resist show casing this exquisite suit and hat from Fiorisimo in charcoal, I love this strong elegant look, which quite clearly illustrates that classic wedding styling can be given a contemporary twist, the hat is just drop dead gorgeous!

The mother of the bride or groom needs to styled in such a way, so as not to upstage the mother of the bride whilst still reflecting the the importance of her role on the day, it can be a difficult balance to strike. Mother of the bride and groom wedding attire has traditionally been pretty uninspiring,but thankfully retailers are waking up to the fact that just because it is our son or daughter big day, doesn't mean that the way we dress for the big occasion can't reflect our own personal style and have an impact that doesn't make you want to reach for a cough candy sweet, tartan rug and thermos flask.

A personal Style consultant can broaden your repertoire of what you consider to be suitable mother of the bride or groom attire, helping you create a unique and flattering look. Discuss your individual requirements and what image you hope to project on your son or daughters big day, taking into consideration key factors such as the theme or look of the whole bridal party and most significantly the bride. You might be pleasantly surprised about what you end up paying for your outfit, when you enlist a Style Consultant who can use their expertise to Style you for the Special day using retailers that are not necessarily classed as bridal out lets. As well as this, there is the added bonus that the a Style Consultant is trained to work with your unique body shape and colouring and to source clothing that works with your body shape to flatter it, you could come away with a look that creates the effect that you have dropped a dress size!

Sharon

Bring out your inner weather girl by dressing with Style,no matter what the weather throws at you

Image by gorgeoux via Flickr

If you haven't managed to tame the beast that is transitional dressing and regularly come home sweltering hot after thinking it was going to be wet, cold and windy or soaked through, because the sun looked very promising when you poked your head out of your front door in the morning. Then check out these latest Stylish transitional pieces, that meet the tough requirements of all weather wear, such as thin layers, breathable fabrics, waterproof stylish layering.My favourites are the black Jimmy Choo, snakeskin wellington boots, which could easily double as leather and pack a punch when teamed with summer neutrals or sherbet pastels rather than darker colours, imagine them teamed with a lemon yellow mac. Or give this seasons classic nautical look a twist and wear a crisp navy mac and skirt, with this pair of gorgeous red spotty heeled wellingtons boots and cream and red hat, to create a fun feminine feel. Remember if you choose your brolly wisely, paying particular attention to the type of handle, shape and pattern and it will do double duty as a parasol when the weather turns from wet to warm again.

So go on give it a bash and nail dressing for whatever the weather might throw at you and enjoy the smug feeling that comes from knowing you can tame the elements and not be at the mercy of them. Bring on your all weather goddess and let those compliments come flooding in!

Sharon

Wardrobe chic

Hi again, as a Style Consultant, I get to see inside of the wardrobes of women who have asked me to rescue their languishing closet and themselves to turn them from shabby to chic.I love seeing the delighted look on their faces when they realise, that items of clothing that they haven't worn for months could become key clothing items when transformed with the right pieces.

I also advise a little TLC, for their wardrobe, it might sound obvious but a well managed wardrobe that has been decluttered will help create a stress free morning whether your dressing for a day at the office or preparing to go to your local toddler group. I think the biggest wardrobe crime is having in effect two wardrobes existing as one, your dresses mixed in amongst your partners shirts. Even if you don't have the luxury of wall to wall wardrobe space, your clothing space needs to be dedicated solely to you. This allows you to have a clear handle on what clothing you have and how to to make sense of dressing whatever the occasion.

To inspire you, I had to share these lovely snaps of my friend Carols romantic vintage bedroom complete with Wardrobe, dressing table, art deco wall vases and a sprinkle of sweet flourishes here and there.I would love to see any snaps of Wardrobes or full on boudoirs, that you might like to share, please email them to sharonstyle@fsmail.net to have them featured on the site.

Sharon x

Mouth watering colour explosions and Wonderland designs inhabited the spring/summer catwalks,playfulness & frivolity were the order of the day!

In desperate need of your couture fashion fix ? Then feast your eyes on these surreal pieces. Botton middle, Tribal inspired Lego beading, Lego hard hat and sky blue tunic with clouds.We need fun right now and the fashion houses are responding with great big luscious dollops of the stuff. Stinting on fun and exuberance they are not!

Continuing on the theme of fun fashion, I selected this beautiful fashion Image to share, (centre) with those of you who are keen to keep an eye on the latest fashion press.Clashing colour blocking a strong look for summer, combines a candy coloured pink sleeveless blouse and a simple lime green A-line skirt, topped of with your favourite gift perhaps?

Barbara Cartland would be jealous! Top centre, A beautiful, bouquet of smudgy red and yellow giant daisy's adorn this pistachio A-line sleeveless dress.The adorable shoes left me feeling very happy.Hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Sharon

What comes first your hair Style or your Wardrobe?

Image by awmalloy via Flickr

Both! As a Style Consultant, I believe that often a clients face shape mirrors their body shape. Just as I use a clients unique body shape to inform my choice of clothing for my client in relation to sourcing the right cut, colour, pattern and drape to their clothing (yes really!!!).

So I consider face shape, facial features and current hair style, texture and colour, when deciding how to bring a clients Image into balance, to help them achieve a strong look, that transforms their Image, to one they can embrace and love.

For those of you that often come away from the hairdressers disappointed consider the following;

1. What is your strongest facial feature?

2.What is your weakest facial feature?

3.Do you have a warm, cold or medium skin tone?

The next decision that, I make when working to restyle clients, is choosing whether or not to play up their strongest feature by working with it. Or whether to bring their face into balance by strengthening their weaker features. Make up, accessorise, hair colour, cut,eyebrow shape and earrings are all key to creating a strong, attractive Image. Having some idea of your face shape and skin tone can make all the difference to feeling elated rather than deflated about your new style and colour.Hairdressers are led by your needs, so you need to be clear about what you want, to achieve a haircut you feel reflects you at your best, rather than something that leaves you feeling indifferent.

Our skin tone is made up of a mix of colours, roughly speaking, if we have more blue tones, we have a pale cooler skin tone, that can benefit from warm toned hair colouring. More red tones in the skin, usually means we have a warmer complexion and yellow tones indicate a medium toned skin, this skin tone can run the risk of looking sallow, so it is vital you get the right colour advice to achieve a warmer look.

Key face shapes are oval, round, heart and shield, a good tip, if your uncertain is to take a photograph front on of yourself, blow it up, print it off, trace it and then frame it with a square outline, make sure the frame is as close to your face shape as possible whilst still maintaining a true square. This will help your eye to see where the widest and narrowest parts of your face are. If you then draw out the face shapes highlighted above, you should be able to determine what face shape you are. So get savvy and get the most from your next visit to the hairdressers!

Sharon x

Scorchingly Stylish Mexican clothing boutique!

Image by Wonderlane via Flickr

I found this lush hot pink Mexican boutique on my travels, I love the sureal ladies with sunflowers, roses and lilys for heads, that adorn the outside of the building,very Alice and Wonderland.