It's the new year and, if you're sick of your old style, it may be time to update your look.
January is the perfect time to revamp everything from your makeup to your shoes, which is why all the fashion magazines out there are brimming with ideas, strategies and advice.
In Style, for example, promises "a chic and easy guide to your most stylish year ever!" So to help you up your style quotient, we scoured In Style and five other fashion magazines -- Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle Canada, Flare and Glamour -- for their top tips. (Hard work, given the fog of holiday brain, but somebody had to do it.) Some of their suggestions require a pinch of courage -- wearing coloured denim or chopping your mane into a stylish pixie cut may be bold statements for some. But the magazines offer plenty of doable hints for the tamer fashionistas, such as wearing rose gold or trying a smoky eye look with chocolate brown colours.
Whether you're feeling adventurous or in need of a slight style tweak, read on to see how you can face the coming year with a little more style and a lot more confidence.
1. Bust out of your hair and makeup rut -- it's an easy way to make a fast change.
Harper's Bazaar says cropped cuts, bright eyeshadow, buns and updos, big-time blush, sun-kissed skin, long and loose hair, red or pink lips and dramatic eyes are some of the season's best looks.
Their tip to achieve dramatic eyes? "Soften a smoldering smoky eye for spring by choosing chocolate liner and shadow instead of basic black."
2. Add these three hot items to your wardrobe, says Harper's Bazaar: sleeveless jackets, which provide "a more structured look with less fuss"; peep-toe booties, which bring "a small dose of sexiness" and "the perfect amount of playfulness"; and fluid trousers, since "looser is in this season." Keep your schoolboy blazers, the oxford lace-up shoes and skinny slacks, but toss your ponchos, over-the-knee boots and leggings ("Yes, we know they're comfortable, but it's time to leave them alone," write Harper's fashion experts.)
3. Incorporate metallics into your clothing, shoes, and accessories, says In Style. "No need to gloss things over this season -- make them shine in rose gold, silver or copper. A soft clutch, a tiered necklace and shapely wedges share a glow that injects basic black or denim looks with a dose of pure alchemy." And if you're going for cutting edge, choose rose gold, "the newest metallic to be mined for glam day or night pieces."
4. Discover a brave new nail colour, suggests In Style. "Not just any fashionista-calibre shade will do. To find a dark, arresting polish, choose a hue that complements your skin tone. The pros say dark complexions look best in rich burgundies with gold undertones and in deep purples (like Yves Saint Laurent's Black Tulip). Women with medium or olive skin wear deep berries and reds well (try Essie's Berry Hard). And plum polishes won't wash out fair skin, says Mariana Mejia, a manicurist at Haven Spa in N.Y.C." If you're wearing a dark shade, stick to oval-shaped nails that extend just past the tips of your fingers, says In Style.
5. Look to the past for some fashion-forward ideas.
According to Elle Canada, the roaring '20s are inspiring fashion designers these days. "At Christian Dior, John Galliano took a shine to Marlene Dietrich-inspired tailoring," writes Elle. "At Lanvin, Alber Elbaz channelled Josephine Baker with draped shimmy dresses trimmed with ostrich feathers." So the next time you have a big night out, be bold and wear a flapper gown.
6. Experiment with your shoe collection. Stilettos aren't the only sexy shoe this year. "If you're afraid of a six-inch heel, go for platform shoes!" says Tamara Mellon, Jimmy Choo president, in Elle Canada. "They're very sexy and much easier to live with." Um, right.
7.Consider denim in a colour other than blue, says Glamour. Pink, purple and yellow jeans may not be for the shy, but they sure are current. "Start with jeans in a washed-out shade. Then throw on a not-so-girly jacket (it can be a bolder colour), but make sure your top -- solid or print -- isn't also bright," writes Glamour. To nail the look, make sure your coloured jeans aren't too tight and wear neutral shoes -- black is too heavy for this look, says Glamour.
8. Thinking of chopping your hair? As Glamour points out, Katie Homes, Paris Hilton and Serena Williams have all done it -- maybe you should, too. A choppy boy crop works well on hair that's fine and straight, a piecey pixie cut suits wavy hair, while a bob with swing is great for thick or straightened hair, says Glamour.
9. Make eyeliner your beauty staple. "Let your peepers do the flirting by working your favourite shade of eyeliner all around the eyes," writes Flare. "We love trusty navy blue or charcoal (more adventurous types can wing it and marry white and turquoise, as seen at Marni). If you make a boo-boo, don't sweat it -- just start smudging.
Matching lips and cheeks in berry pink or warm peach will let 'em know you just want to have fun." 10. Sheer clothing is a strong trend for spring. Your must-have sheer item for spring is a top, reports Flare.
Or, "play peekaboo with a see-through skirt." Wondering how to pull off this look without revealing too much? "Veiled layers give you diaphanous coverage without the big reveal." 11. Get clashing. According to Vogue, "mixing -- never matching -- is making a splash on runways and interiors." So mix your florals with your stripes, the paisley with the polka dots. Anything goes this spring, and the bolder, the better.
12. If you're going to invest in one bag, consider going with a boy-inspired design, says Vogue.
"Tote a streamlined, structured leather briefcase to show you mean business." You might want to leave the see-through skirt and six-inch platforms in the closet, though, if you really mean business.
mmagnan@theherald.canwest.com Tomorrow: healthy eating tips
0 comments:
Post a Comment