It’s not easy, staying in fashion, when you’re wading though freezing slush and fighting for the last space on the subway, but maintaining your fashion persona is really important in these dreary mid winter days. I think it helps to develop some basic winter rules and follow them despite the length of the season (it never seems to end!) and the absence of new ideas mid season from the designers. The stores don’t help much either and are licking their wounds from another lousy retail season. So here are some suggestions for you to overcome the weather and the mid winter blues and stay in fashion.
First and foremost, don’t let the turkeys get you down! My co-workers tend to get mopey around this time of year, wear any old thing and I mean old. It’s catching so don’t subscribe to the malaise. Figure each day is closer to Spring and allows you another chance to stand out as a fashion beacon in the bleak mid winter.
That doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money either. It means making sure that your ensemble is appropriate to the occasion and is assembled with a statement in mind. The theme you select each day should be carried through with the various elements in keeping with one another. That doesn’t mean that each separate element should be making a statement of it’s own but rather that the ensemble works as a whole.
I usually figure that one piece of clothing is the primary one. The entire outfit doesn’t have to be making the point but needs to be in keeping with the overall theme. When the thermometer drops and the wind is howling, use the dramatic to brighten your day. Bold colors, gorgeous hoods and cowls and superb boots. I just love the thigh high boots that have that slouchy look and leg warmers and print leggings of all different patterns and hues. They’re going to keep you warm too!
Winter coats can be dull and uninspiring but there are some that don’t fall in to that mold whether they are long wools that use height and cut to have their say or the new walking coats with distinctive buttons and fasteners. Then there is the European look in ski jackets that is so dramatic.
Depending on the environment and workplace etiquette, be as creative as you can when you shed the outside layers and boots and don the business attire for the day. It can be workmanlike and appropriate for the conference room but still bring flair and elan to the meeting. Remember how and when you have used accessories in the recent past and ring the changes.
Hopefully, the business of the day is followed by social interaction and the your day outfit has to be capable of conversion to an evening of cocktail and dinner. Tricky to do well and you must look at the entire program to be sure you can adjust the clothes to fit each part of the day and evening.
The leg coverings and shoes are all important to carry it off. Don’t arrive for drinks in a sequined top and short skirt with morning leggings and boots suitable for jumping snowdrifts. The feet tend to be a dead giveaway at this time of year. Got to have a stunning pair of evening sandals with a dramatic heel and you need to have a prearranged plan for stashing these necessaries in advance.
Transportation is key to accomplishing the changeover, so make sure you have fluttered your eyes at the right male to get door to door transportation so that arrive in perfect condition while the others are balancing in the corridor changing their outside boots and trying to find some place to put them when they won’t check them for you! Yes, there’s a lot to remember and planning is key to success. You have to be two steps ahead of everybody else to pull it off!
Fiona McAlister marries her love of fashion with a down-to-earth search for a great winter wardrobe on a budget at her site http://www.fashionablewintercoats.com; Fashionable Winter Coats.
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