Style Dispensary - Featuring Carols Style Dilemma

 Hi there, welcome back to another exciting Style Dispensary.This weeks Style Dilemma comes from the lovely Carol, a uk My Passport to Style follower. Carol had been struggling with how to adapt her Wardrobe due to recently gaining a stone in weight following illness, she emailed asking me for Style Advice around her Winter Wardrobe in particular she wanted Style guidance on how to find a winter coat that would take her from day to evening.Her brief was berry and olive colours,she wanted a hood if possible, she is keen on 1940s styles with a nipped in waist and UK companies Fat Face and White Stuff that showcase classic Styles, featuring retro prints.She also mentioned that she felt her chest was quite heavy, so obviously wanted to minimise this. Quite a tall order!

  It can be quite a challange to find a coat with a hood that can allows you to make the transisition from day to evening effortlesly and still look stylish wearing a dress or skirt!The 1940s Styles Carol loves, don't generally feature hoods.So here are some of the Styles I chose for Carol that fulfil her desire for berry colours. A hooded option that is sooo chic, coat styles that slim the bust and tummy and a few other picks to give her a head start on her winter wardrobe this season. I think perhaps though it would be great for her to invest in a Stylish  hat, to extend her range of options when choosing a coat, as I know she hates brollys and British winters are generally wet and windy !

 I adore this  berry raincoat from Redoute, simple Styling great colour and a subtle but pretty pattern take the stress out of dressing up or down.Carol could team with these miltary chocolate boots from Ruche, jeans and a olive scarf for a casual look or switch the belt for an Obi belt such as these sophisticated quilted ones featured here for full on glamour for the evening and a dress or even introduce some black leather, which would look amazing with the berry!

This boiled wool coatigan in taupe again Redoute, might not be in the berry or olive colours that Carol loves, but its classic styling (chocolate piping, shawl collar) fabric and colour make it not only flattering, BUT SO EASY to transition  from casual to evening. Wear with an Obi belt for evening and a  skinny wrap around belt for day time like the leather version featured here, quality matters, buy the best you can afford, or go vintage!  

Option three for Carol was this apple green wool coat from her favourite company The White Stuff, chosen again for its classic flattering line, single buttons are by far the best option for bigger busts, as they don't draw attention to where its not welcome! I couldn't resist picking out a few smart casual pieces that would work well with this range of looks.The key here is simple cuts and layering longer light weight pieces over one another, which will elongate the figure and slim, whilst keeping the cold out! Sxxx

P.S follow me? email or post me your Style Dilemma/Questions to sharonstyle@fsmail.net and if your lucky it could get chosen and feature here! xx

This Weeks Style Dispensary, Featuring Sher Of Beneath The Crystal Stars

This weeks Style dilemma comes from Sher of Beneath The Crystal Stars, she asked me for Style Advice on how to wear her favourite skirt.

                                        
I can understand why Sher would struggle, her tartan skirt is such a pretty style, but this colour is nortoriously hard to wear as the red has almost a fluorescent tone, so it needs to be handled with extreme caution! Sher has done the right thing working this trend, through wearing a skirt rather than a top, as the colour is very hard to wear next to your face. The good news is all the colours this skirt should be teamed with, to temper its brash colour are perfect for Shers beautiful asian skin tone and will help her look luminous rather than sallow, these are navy, black, grey and silver.Sher and I share the same skin tone, as my father, who as some of you will know is asian, so these colours work well for me too!
Ok, on to Style, I believe that to create the most stylish tartan look, you need to be true to the skirts herritage and stick to classic pairings whilst giving a more modern feel through the use of accesories.I teamed a navy argyle polo, with beautiful suede snow boots and a gorgeous little satchel from topshop to add a bit of interest for a really casual, kicking up the leaves feel.
 My 2nd look, centre is inspired by the 20s vintage flapper girl feel, with a very elegant embellished black sleevless blouse, silver leaf earrings, brocade bag in gold and black and I just had to choose these adorable but slightly quirky vintage inspired gold lame flats, full on glamour and I think a great evening look. Far right we have a smart casual look, the grey shirt should be worn buttoned to the top, no need for jewelry the tailoring should do the talking, but I did add a more contempory twist by off setting the grey tone of the shirt, with a silver skinny belt.Team the skirt with grey tights and these sensational grey and black boots to lengthen the leg. Top it all off with this gorgeous black cape, that would work well with all these hot looks. Sx