How to wear lace: DOs and DON'Ts

DOs

1. Streamlined shapes like:

• Tailored shirt in black or beige.
• A wrap, topper or trench coat for mid-season (you will need wool or fur lining for winter).
• A clean-lined jacket.
• A dress in simple shapes: shift, sheath, A-line. Your LBD.
• Blouse length tunic top worn over pants.

Lace Essentials: Blouse by Caroline Grant. Black and beige is always an elegant mix and makes for perfect work attire. These Chie Mihara Iona maryjanes are as lovely a pair of shoes as we are accostumed too get from her, collection after collection. [Style: Ladylike with a Twist].

Karen Millen Lace Sleeve Peplum Top / Uniqlo Wool Cashmere Trench Coat / Hobbs Esme Skirt / Radley Stockton Handbag / Chie Mihara Iona Shoes / Monies Ebony and Leather Necklace / Salvatore Ferragamo Flower Scarf / Rebecca Koven Poppy Flower Ring / Tom Ford Lipstick in Black Orchid/ Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Black Orchid.

Full Skirts: Styling tips for Body types

Styling tips for Body Types:

• Body type A and Body type B. Full skirts are great for you. Just stay clear of the full volume skirts with gathered pleats at the waist, they add too much volume to all but the very thin.



Best skirts for Body type As by Caroline Grant. This outfit creates an unbroken line from head to toe through a tonal combination of colours. The circle skirt in a fluid fabric is visually light, so it does not add volume to a Body type A's lower body. Additionally, all detailing and accessories are concentrated on the upper body, including the envelope purse, worn under the arm. [Style: Urban Tweed].

Modcloth It's School Skirt / Toast Sartene Top / MaxMara Weekend Cosmos Leather Blazer / Mat & Nat Nirvana Ikat Handbag / Charles by Charles David Cory Boots /  Burberry Modal and Cashmere Scarf / Kenneth Jay Lane Gold Tortoise Link Necklace / Alexis Bittar O'Keeffe Matte Gold Scarab Brooch / Yves Saint Laurent Lipstick in Corail Légende / Yves Saint Laurent Nail Lacquer in Corail Divin.



Best skirts for Body type B by Caroline Grant. A circle skirt for Body type Bs should have no waistband, or a small one, worn both just below natural waist and at low waist. A blouse in a soft material can be tuck in and  a belt could be added around the waist. Full skirts are best for medium to tall Body type B women, or with medium to high heels for the rest (or at least a kitten heel to elevate their rear view). [Style: Modern Classic].

Modcloth It's School Skirt / Mexx Floral Print Cardigan / Talula U-Turn Tank Top / Sophie Hulme Leather Tote / Hobbs NW3 Kite Slingback Sandals / Hobbs Arbour Belt / Kate Spade Triple Thread Bangle Bracelet / Janeo Gold & Rhodium Enamel Bangle Bracelet / Kate Spade Small Clip Earrings / Stratton Compact (vintage) on rubylane.com / Estée Lauder Lipstick in Scarlet Siren.          
• Body Type C. Choose style in which the full volume does not start at the waist: try one with a yoke or a pleated style like the broomstick skirt (pleats stitched down to low hip). You will get the benefits of the full skirt (additional curves), without looking top-heavy (if your bust is full) or short waisted (especially if you already are).


Best skirts for Body type Cs by Caroline Grant. Full skirts are a great option for Body type Cs provided there is a smooth part that skims over the hips and then gains volume, as they create curves and hide a sometimes flat bottom. Torso skirts (a skirt with a yoke to which soft pleats or gathers are attached), broomstick skirts ( a skirt in which pleats are stitched down to high hip), circle skirts (cut either in a circle or two semicircles) or flare skirts (for instance, by adding godets, triangular pieces of fabric that add length to the hem) and tiered skirts in light-weight materials like silk, wool or cotton, all work well for Body type Cs [Style: Quirky Menswear].    
Hobbs Brigitte Skirt / H&M Jacket / American Vintage Massachussetts Tank Top / Radley Stables Handbag / Hispanitas Cordones Shoes / David Andersen Large Bird Brooch (vintage) / Anton Heunis Art Deco Renaissance Pendant Necklace / Missoni Zig Zag Ruana Shawl.  

Styling tips for Petite and Tall Women

Both Petites and Tall women should take first into account their Body type. You can read more styling tips for both by clicking on the links below. Also:

• Petites. Beware of girly styles (prints, ruffles, tutu imitations). Also, go for sophisticated, ladylike styles that do not create too much volume or you will be overwhelmed.  Filmy gauzy materials are romantic and proportionate.
• Tall women. You can pull off wider an fuller silhouettes in solids or medium to big patterns.

MORE?

• How to wear a full skirt: Styling tips.
• Full skirts for formal events.

How to wear a collection of badges

A collection of pins sends a message about what you think, so reflect on if and when you want that to be on display.  I have selected for this set a collection of vintage pins, which make for unexpected, original accessories. In this case, it's badges (originally for caps) from the American Women's Voluntary Service, the UK's Women's  Land Army, and the Women's Institute from the 1940s or 1950s, bought on eBay.co.uk. The background features two posters to celebrate or encourage the enrollment of women in the effort for WWW2. [Style: Quirky Menswear].

Always look at your whole body in the mirror to see the whole effect of your accessories together.
You can follow the label Brooches to get more styling tips, learn about places to find great brooches and more.

How to do menswear for women

Menswear

Menswear means comfort, tailoring, and an average better quality than the one reserved for womenswear.
As you may know, men hate being uncomfortable, and most also hate going shopping frequently, so designers keep that in mind when thinking about their clothes. And I have yet to see a man that considers, even for a second, buying or wearing shoes in which he is not absolutely comfortable. It's just unthinkable for them. I think women could and should benefit from this point of view.

Women wearing menswear: a social conquest

Accessing the relative comfort of menswear can be considered a social conquest that came together with entering the labour market during and after WWII.
In that spirit, menswear for women goes for the same objectives as men's: comfort, tailoring, and quality. It doesn't mean women wearing men's clothes or women looking like they are: the style is tailored and figure-skimming, not over sized and/or baggy, and accessories are mostly "feminine", which stand out all the more because of the "masculinity" of the other pieces. Think Diane Keaton's style crossed with Ellen DeGeneres'.
This is all, obviously, a matter of cultural parametres (what is "masculine", what is "feminine"?), and individual perception. There may be written rules about it, but women and men go about changing them every day.

I have selected for this set a collection of vintage pins, which make for unexpected, original accessories. In this case, it's badges (originally for caps) from the American Women's Voluntary Service, the UK's Women's  Land Army, and the Women's Institute from the 1940s or 1950s, bought on eBay.co.uk. The background is made of posters from the WWW2.

Styling tips for women's menswear:

• Tailored pieces: trouser suits, blazers, and trousers with a perfect crease (which, by the way, makes legs look longer). 
• Menswear inspired shoes, which tend to be much more comfortable than traditional women's styles: Oxford, Derby, Monk, and lately, the dress boot..
• Trench coats, which were a men's only, military garment for decades before becoming part of women's wardrobes.
• Hats: trilbies, fedoras, tweed caps... 
• Handbags to carry across the body and other no-nonsense styles.
• Cardigans and vests.
• Feminine pieces such as blouses, mixed with the previous, achieve that balancing act.
• Finally, feminine jewellery, for the same reason.