As an H Shape (Rectangle) body shape that lacks a defined waist (and will never have one, as my rib-cage is just too close to my pelvic bones, leaving no space for a defined waist), I always have a bit of a muffin top, and after having carried a couple of kids that also stretched…
Learning to use the illusion of lines in your outfits gives you the opportunity to change how you appear. There are a few different kinds of lines, horizontals (find out how to use them here), verticals, diagonals and curved lines. Each has its own effect on your appearance. Taking outfits photos means trying a few…
I am a sewer and some ideas about how to choose fabric to sew would be great. It can be challenging to locate good fabric and then imagine how it will look best sewn, and then find a suitable pattern. Fabric Drape How fluid or stiff is the fabric. The drape is not about how…
n Hi Imogen, you’re looking fantastic! What a big year its been for you. Congratulations on all your achievements. I have a question about boot cut pants and/or jeans. Are they still current? I put a pair on the other day for a working bee at school (as they were my oldest pair) and though…
X Marks The Sweet Spot for Hems of All Kinds We all have sweet spots on our bodies that hems end and flatter us. Hems for sleeves, for tops and jackets, for coats, skirts, dresses and pants. Finding your sweet spot can take a little determination and trying different things out, but once you’ve figured…
Recently I was asked what is the best place to end sleeves. When you think about a sleeve hem, it’s a horizontal line. Here in this short video I talk about where to end sleeves to flatter your figure.
If you don’t have a defined waist, but find dresses or cardigans that you like that come with a tie belt, this short video will show you how to do it best to flatter your figure. Tips for Belting an Undefined Waist Get more belting tips here.
I would be really happy if you could do a post with tips for XXL women. – Lee Nobody will deny that it’s way harder to find flattering clothes when you’re plus size. There are many reasons and assumptions made by fashion manufacturers: Body shapes vary, but manufacturers assume that your body shape is the…
I’m really excited that I’ve just finished working on a new book that I’ve co-written with Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types called Svelte in Style: How to Look and Feel Great While Losing Weight. Our publication date for this ebook is 24 July, but you can find out more about it now! We will…
Hi Imogen, Could you do a post about dressing with “rolls”. I am an x shape but have two distinct tyres or rolls around my waist which my clothes seem to get sucked in between. If I try to hide them I look enormous and tent-like but if I let them show I feel uncomfortable.…
Hi Imogen, Could you give some examples of monochromatic dressing. I’ve only ever done it in black and I’m changing colours. Also, I never want to wear stockings again in my life (Winter an exception perhaps but I usually wear pants). How does one dress monochromatically in a summer dress? Or jeans and top and…
I was alerted to this study done at the University of Yorkby one of my lovely blog readers. Apparently some scientists have found that horizontal stripes are slimming and verticals are fattening. This is true, but horizontal stripes can also be fattening and verticals slimming, the study is flawed. The participants were asked to look…
Yesterday I did a post on What Size Handbag to Choose – one of the commenter’s asked about handbag placement, should you wear it at your hips or under your arm, down the side of your body and what happens when you wear it across your body? The answer lies in knowing your body shape and…
Yesterday’s post on using a column of colour had lots of comments and a few queries which I thought I’d answer today. Pearlaceous said… I understand the principle behind this, Imogen, and this is what I actually do when I wear black jeans or trousers, but how do I make it work with…
If you want to look taller or slimmer, you need to use the unbroken line as your guide to dressing. What is the unbroken line? Every time you end a garment, and the hem of each garment creates horizontal lines (which break up your body), you are shortening and widening yourself. So creating an unbroken…
Reading through some keywords on my site statistics I discovered that this topic is popular as a search term that brings people to my blog, so I thought, to make future visitors happy when they get here, I’ll write a post on it so there are some answers! Ankle length pants are hard…
The other day I posted on breaking the style rules, and I thought that I’d post some more ways to do it. Knowing your rules (or as I like to think of them – as Style Guidelines) is great as you will be more empowered when making choices shopping (hello? how much money have you…
Recently I was having a conversation with someone who asked if leggings were still ‘in’ and if they were too old to wear them. My reply was that they are still around (looking at the Fall 2009 fashion shows they were everywhere on the runway) and are generally more flattering than a lot of the…
Karen asked me to give some advice on tucking – who should and who shouldn’t. Basically, if you are short through the waist (and especially if you have a medium to large bust), don’t tuck, it will make you look even shorter through the waist. This applies to H shapes, O shapes and…
Tonight I spent a couple of hours with some lovely image consultant students of mine, and we were looking at each others outfits and working out what we might tweak to improve. One of my lovely students was wearing ankle length pants (which are a trend at the moment) and we played with the length…
Ever wandered how to look taller and make your legs look longer? Don’t want to (or can’t) wear a heel? How to look taller and make our legs look longer Well then you need to consider your shoe vamp. Shoe Vamp – what is is and why does it matter? I’m always going on about low…
