My Passport To Style | Exposes The Myths Behind The | Hourglass Figure

With Marilyn firmly on every one lips and some may wish on their boyish hips. I have to share a dark secret from deep within the depths of my stylists wardrobe, ok so I am being a bit over dramatic, so probably best to just spit it out.

 I recently went to offer someone style advice to a client and as a matter of course, told her that she was an hourglass, she looked totally shocked and then said 'well why do I find it so impossible to find clothes to suit me?' I sat her down over a strong cup of sweet tea and gently proceeded to tell her that an hourglass figure is not the golden gateway to a life time of effortless dressing despite the inflated myths circulating. Yes we all want a curvy hour glass figure which means in basic terms encase you're wondering, your shoulders and hips are of equal width and you have a definite waist that goes in. The truth is however that hourglasses are a hard body shape to work, they can look super boxy in a blink of the eye, particularly the short waisted variety, that's me!

Boyfriend style jackets are out, as are many casual looks, basic t-shirts cuts and sweat tops that are a staple of many of our wardrobes don't do much either, unless layered with a fitted open blazer or long line belted cardigan. So you can see the style dilemma, casual is hard to carry off for us poor curvy gals, but fine if your movie star from the 50's with great pointy breasts, skinny belts are a must, my casual look is a clean cut romper suit, worn with long line cardigans fastened low down to help lengthen my torso, a denim pencil skirt, fitted shirt dresses, that gently hug my curves most of which can be dressed down with high tops, pumps and shoe boots. The finale word? Yes I may lust after boyish hips but when it comes to full on glamour, well we are the go to girl!

Marilyn Monroe does casual dressing!




credits point six generation and M.O.D

My Passport To Style | Reviews Armery| The Solution To Arm Wobble?!

Mary Portas is taking the 40+ world by storm with her private fleet of red headed bobbed mannequins and her new range of clothing for women at the House of Fraser in London. Mary being Mary she's certainly not a follower of fashion, she is a innovator and as such has come up with some clever ideas regarding varied lighting in changing rooms to mimic office and daylight as well as a range of clothes that flatter a range of body shapes and reflect the need for the 40+ to be catered for.

So I was intrigued about Marys latest partnership with Charnos to produce a solution to dressing one of the areas of the body women hate most, their under arms, in a more flattering way. I had high hopes for what appears to be a really great solution to a problem which prevents some women from wearing sleeveless tops and dresses.

 armery comes in a variety of plain colours and black lace, I was sent a small to medium size of the black lace to review. The lace version has the added benefit of the length of the armery sleeves (which represent a pair of footless stocking with the gusset cut out) being able to be cut down to size at home without any fraying. I decided to try them on underneath a simple navy 60's style A-line dress.

To be fair I could have done with the next size up as I have quite long arms and fairly broad shoulders, I like the idea that wearing the armery helps create a firmer look to the arm rather like stocking but without the bulk of a long sleeved vest top under your dress, that would probably ride up and leave ridges under your garment or dress. However the armery left gaps around the front of my arm holes and dress, which looked frankly odd, which is a shame, if you look at the image of the armery being modelled, you might get a better idea of what I mean.

This piece world be fine for wearing under a t-shirt top but didn't work for me under and a basic sleeveless dress, if you can't wear it as flexibly as described because of the fit then you may as well use a fitted shrug to solve this style dilemma in my opinion. The size maybe a issue, but if you look at the models it appears that the fit does not hug the front of the shoulder line enough to provide adequate coverage when wearing a sleeveless dress. I would love to be proved wrong, so do try it out in the correct size, you can always return it if it doesn't work for you.


To find out more visit-   House Of Fraser 

Top Tip's To Ensure Your Bra Fits You Perfectly!

                              

Hi Gals, craving a curvy silhouette for this Autumn/ Winter 2010 and the party season? Then you need to follow my top tip's to ensure that your bra fits correctly, the fastest route to sculpting your body shape ready for those figure hugging favourites and for creating the hourglass look that is so on trend at the moment.

Follow My Check List To Ensure Your Bra Fits You Perfectly






1.First take a look at the back of your bra, is your back strap riding high and not in line with the rest of the bra? Then this means that your band size is too big and your cup size maybe too small.






2. Next with your bra fastened on its regular fastening, loop two fingers into the back band or ask a family member or friend if it is awkward. Then pull gently on the back strap, if you can pull it more than 2 inches away from your back, then the band size is too big and you need to adjust the strap to ensure a snugger fit or replace your bra if it is already on the tightest fastening.






3. If you have dents marks on your shoulder's it means that your band size is too large and not supporting your bust properly.










4. Check the underwire on your bra cups, they should be flush with the rest of your body and not raised up away from your body or rubbing against any breast tissue. If your under wire is raised your cup size is too small.


5. If you have a bust is bulging or spilling out of your bra again your cup size is too small.


6. Finally under wired bras should be washed by hand or in a pillow case to keep them performing well and looking good.

                                                                 

                                    Sharon x x