My Passport To Style | Is Working From Home Killing Off Our Sense Of Style?

I was out with Granny who was scouting for a new silk scarf when she recoiled in horror at two young women dressed in fleecy pyjama bottoms and dressing gowns at the cash point late one Saturday afternoon. I could understand Grannies shock and dismay as a women who comes from a generation where changing 3 time during dinner was not uncommon. The PJ incident got me thinking about fashion, style and comfort, I have always believed that comfort is important, which Granny of course totally disagrees with, but as more and more women a) blog me, b) work for themselves me and c) entertain at home again me also! The lines between lounge wear and work and evening wear become very blurred and the question of who we are actually dressing for raises itself.

If we spend a large part of our working day working from home or even studying, then it follows we don't need to impress anyone, which means we can get away with zero effort. The thing is though dressing up makes me feel better, more alive and confident, I choose brighter colours and bolder prints when the weathers manky or I have a important call to make and it works to give me the boost I need. If you only ever make an effort when your meeting other people then perhaps you're not really valuing yourself and how you feel. I have decided that choosing the clothes I wear for the day carefully, is part of an important ritual in my life that has gained more significance the more my life revolves around my own home not less. Lets face it we are not short of plenty of fashion and style inspiration on the blogosphere!

 Is dressing for yourself when you work or blog from home important to setting yourself up for a positive start to your day and your work?

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 | Strictly Come Dancings Wardrobe Needs To Work On Consistency

For any strictly Come Dancing fans who saw last Saturdays Wembley performance I was in heaven watching Holly dance in her beautifully conceived outfit the combination of gold and emerald green with a touch of leopard looked sharp and sassy and at the same time Holly looked beautiful alongside the handsome Atrtem. I was really confused how wardrobe could go so horribly wrong in the same show, with another of my favourite dancers, Anita and her partner, zero thought seems to have gone into her look and that quantity of cheap pink lycra just looks really cheap particularly with black! Did you have an outfit teeth gnashing moment or a swoon over a favourite dress?     

My favourite to win is Chelsea!

My Passport To Style | Alphabet Chic

L is for.......... London bus! Londons calling! I'm off for a whistle stop tour of 24hrs, leaving 4am tonight, short but sweet and probably dizzingly buisy.Part of an exciting photo project to be revealed here early December!! Have a lovely weekend x



My Passport To Style | Style Tips For The Christmas Party Season

 I know that Christmas and the New Year can often be a busy time for most women and with the party season snapping at our heels, I thought I would play fairy godmother by rounding up my hottest style tips for adding polish to your party look without busting your budget. Red lipstick has had a revival and creates instant party glamour, if your thinking of wearing a red lipstick this party season, follow my two foolproof tips-

How To Wear Your Perfect Red Lipstick

Pull your lower lip out and match the colour red you select to the shade of the your skin tone on your lower lip. Remember to use a nude lip liner to stop any bleeding or feathering, apply your lipstick with a brush for best coverage, blot with tissue and reapply, this is the most important part- Put the first half of your index finger in your mouth and pucker up your lips whilst removing your finger. This will ensure that any access lipstick appears on your finger and not your teeth, when you smile!


One of the best ways to achieve instant glamour is with a hair up, this season the catwalks were awash with clean sophisticated hair ups a la Grace Kelly.

Don't Ditch The Doughnuts Just Yet!

Want to achieve the look but don't think your fine or shoulder length hair will allow you to reach those dizzy heights? You need a little boost with the greatest invention since a jammy dodger a foam doughnut, a small hair brush, a stack of long pins, some hair spray and a strong hair elastic.

 Using a small brush gather all your hair into a high pony tail, on the top of the back of your head, slide the doughnut over your ponytail, depending on your hair length in front of a mirror wrap the ends of your hair round the doughnut securing with the long pins to match your hair colour. Comb through some hair spray to the front and spray the back, voila your done.

High Brow

 Strong brows are essential for this seasons retro party feel and always add strength to the face, brow kits can cost £25.00 upwards, own a good waterproof eyeliner in a shade lighter than your brows? Then why try this budget busting grooming advice, purchase a baby sized tooth brush I usually opt for pink! Lightly stroke on your eyeliner following the shape of your brow, brush hairs backwards and then brush back into shape, dust with translucent powder and your good to go!

Who Needs A Manicure This Christmas Party Season!

For top to toe grooming I would generally advocate a full manicure, however with this season being all about full on glamour, I have the perfect style solution that will save you time and rescue you from feeling guilty about forgetting take care of your nails! For uber glamour, ditch your washing up gloves in favour of full length evening gloves in this seasons brightest colors! Spanx currently sell a vast range of mouth watering colours on Amazon.

Cette Hollywood -tightsplease

 Customize Your Look

Personalize your tights by layering an exsisting pair of opaque pair with a sheer glittery pair over the top, great for when the temperature drops! Try purple tights with a glittery silver finish or black tights with a purple finish and dark grey with a silver finish, for a sophisticated after dark look.

clutch bags catwalkfashion.co.uk

Clutch Control RULES! 

Finally do you have a whole array of soft clutch bags but want to update them a little? Brightly colored vintage style diamante brooches add instant chic to your clutch or why not glue some black marabou trim to the bottom edge of your bag or even a wide black Alice band if you fancy adding a bit of Audrey sparkle to your up do!

My Passport To Style | Mia Jafari Spring/Summer 2012



Watercolour Explode



I'm guessing Mia Jafaris inspiration for this piece of her collection was one of my favourite artists below!

Gaudi

My Passport To Style | I Spy Mia Jafaris Latest Piece From S/S2012



Purple Flight Dress



I spy another piece from Mia Jafaris spring/summer 2012 collection Waterlilies done in digi-broidery, methinks that the inspiration for this dramatic butterfly shift is blue lapis shot through with rose gold.

My Passport To Style | I Want Mia Jafari Louboutins

Meditation In Louboutins Dress

Hi Gals, It's not often I see a white dress so special and unique that I think I need to get married again! To the same man of course! This unusual embroidered dress by Mia Jafari is such a dress, it's pretty colours dazzle this dress is joy and and despite the modern references, lipstick ect in what we generally deem as a traditional sewing technique, I am transported to corn fields and the country as if in a dream, whilst at the same time the embroidered design and exquisite cut gives this dress a touch of majesty and regal bearing, perfect for a spring wedding. In theory to all sounds a little confusing, in practice Mia Jafari skilfully pulls it off as you can see! I'm going to be having fun later today guessing her design inspiration for some of her other pieces from her spring/summer Waterlilies 2012 collection. Enjoy.

Art Deco Brilliance At Your Fingertips With BlingBacks!

My favourite trend this Winter 2011 is the return to full on glamour and elegance, move swiftly from the 40s to the 20s by swapping your tweed pencil skirt and detachable fur stole for a pearl collar and a simple flapper dress.

I love the ultimate shoe accessory of the season, BlingBacks, this is an ingenious way to give last year's heels a vintage art deco feel, well made and very dance floor friendly, but what I love most about BlingBacks, is the the silicone cushioning on the removable BlingBacks are designed to provide extra comfort and protection for the heels of your feet when your dancing, simply hook them over the back of your shoes. If like me your unlucky enough to have a whole half size difference between your two feet, you will know that a bit of extra cushioning can mean that the shoe which is slightly bigger on the foot does not rub as much. BlingBacks come in a wide range of styles but my favourites are these slightly irregular shaped sweet bows. Visit BlingBacks to see more designs 

I was sent some BlingBacks for the purposes of this review 

credits- whitneyonthewing.blogspot.com   brooklynexposed.com

My Passport To Style | Project Red Coat



pillar box red



Hi Gals, as you know red is a big trend this season. So I was thrilled to find a wool pillar box red and black velvet short coat with a gorgeous tux neckline at my local vintage store but I need to alter the puffed sleeves, at the moment the volume in the sleeves make my athletic shoulders look too top heavy and I want to change the double breasted fastening to a single button fastening to simplify the look and play to this jackets potential for a long lean look, the back of the coat also needs taking in, so it is more fitted across my back and less boxy, which won't flatter my hourglass shape.

I confess to being a blue girl, I love lots of vibrant colours too, but navy and grey which flatters my olive skin tone best, forms the basis of most of my wardrobe neutrals rather than black. When my red coat project is finished, I will be sure to share the pictures here on My Passport To Style, but in the meantime I have been scouting for some fresh ideas on which colours to wear with my pillar box red coat. I want to wear the my restyled red coat more casually, which is harder than you might think, red is a colour we associate with full on glamour so we tend to automatically accessorise it with a red lippy and heels. To my amazement there was very little on the internet on how to wear this autumn/winter seasons 2011 red coat trend, but as luck would have it, I happened upon a post on Pink Bow from the North UK, where 10 fashion bloggers took up the challenge to style the same red coat from Next.

 Paula from Pink Bow opted for a pink red of course! The other fashion bloggers look very glamorous in the orange red version (incidentally orange red is easier to wear if you have an olive complexion and pink red looks great on very pale skin tones) but I did notice that most fashion bloggers had opted for wearing this red coat with black tights, which is something I wanted to steer away from, simply because I feel it creates a more vampy evening feel.



 However Eleanor the blogger on the top left from Pretty Much Penniless has gone for a softer feel which I love, by breaking up the red using a lemon yellow dress and a large fur collar, the sheer tights Susie has chosen give the look a more casual feel and her combination of well chosen accessories and colours mean that the red is not overpowering her look.

rust colours ground  true bright reds

midnight blue accessories work well with true reds

 Bingo! Aside for the obvious colour choices such as red on red or navy blue or grey , I have decided to take inspiration from Susie's hair colour and satchel and wear rust and conker colours with my red tux coat once its altered, perfect colours to contrast with the black velvet detailing and they will soften the pillar box red for a more casual feel, I'm thinking a large flat navy tweed cap would finish this androgynous look off perfectly and I will wear my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck. Have you dared to wear red this season?