Report from New York

I spent last week in New York and my report from 7th avenue is that the fashion industry is alive and well!

Fur is a huge trend for fall with fur trim on vests, coats, scarves, sweaters and handbags. Leather trim on dresses, sweaters and anywhere else you can imagine. Opulence is back bigtime! Very high heels seem here to stay and women of all ages in NYC have embraced them. I find them impossible to walk very far in but I vow to try harder as they do flatter the leg like nothing else.

While in NY I spoke to women on the subject of dressing to flatter ones figure. I will soon be posting some of the video from this event. stay tuned for this. Stopped by Trattoria dell Arte on 7th avenue for the best pizza marguerita in the world.

My Week in Fashion Heaven

I am off to New York this week and will be speaking to 200 women on the subject of dressing to camouflage figure flaws. I am always energized by the city and being with other women who love fashion as much as I do. Sharing what I have learned over the years is enriching and speaking about understanding the geometry of the body and how to maximize each womans potential to look her best is rewarding. One quick tip- dressing in a column of color is the fastest way to lengthen your body and wearing a sustantial collar adds width to the shoulder area if it is called for. Vertical details on a jacket or skirt also help to trick the eye. I learn from every client and I am as passionate today about what I do as I was 10 years ago when I began. Have a wonderful week

Dana

Fall Trend Alert: Luxurious Knits

I am mad for this luxurious knit piece. The color is rich and the softness of the wool is other worldly!

This luxe piece is important enough to be a jacket substitiute belted or open and worn as a cozy topper on a cold day.

Scarves

As you know scarves are so very big with all fashionable women and we are seeing this trend continue with the press covering this trend heavily in the past few weeks. A trip to Europe underscores this as European women have long understood the insouciance of the creatively tied scarf.!!! My clients ask me repeatedly to help them to learn news ways of using scarves.. Please enjoy this youtube video and get out your scarves and play!!

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf

What I am Obsessed With: Intelligent Design

When selecting a jacket style to flatter your figure keep the following in mind; an important collar is paramount. The shawl or portrait collar is immensely flattering and draws the viewers eye to your face. A Fichu collar is smaller and may be more flattering for the petite woman or a woman with smaller, more delicate facial features. The longer the jacket the shorter your legs will look so trying to camouflage a wide rear with a long jacket doesn't always payoff. In my opinion a better solution is to wear a beautifully cut trouser that does its best to minimize any difficulty in the hip area. Pairing the pant with a shorter jacket that demands the viewers attention up to the face allows to leg to look its longest and is a better solution.

Jackets should have vertical detailing and should help to create a capital "V" shape in the upper body. Shoulders should be well defined. After the excesses of the 80's we abandoned the shoulder pad and this was a mistake! A moderate shoulder pad is necessary for most women and is faster and cheaper than liposuction in minimizing larger hips!

Welcome!

Welcome to BeautifullyDressed.com

I want to share what I have learned dressing hundreds of women over the past 10 years to look their most beautiful. When I work with clients we start with a closet audit in which we use a clothing rack to empty the closet. To earn its way back into the closet ask yourself 3 questions; does it fit, does it flatter and do I love it?

If not, it should not be in your closet. Clear out those items that do not delight you.  Then take a good look at what is left.  Are their common themes? Is there a fabric or color that you really embrace?  What about the pieces that you loved at the store and NEVER wore.  Perhaps you bought them on sale.  Bargain prices can cloud your vision and your great bargain turns out to be a bad investment.  Learn from this process!