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Michaela

Michaela

Michaela

This autumn the 1950s hourglass curve-celebrating designers include  Michael Kors, Miuccia Prada, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, and Jason Wu. They all have revived Christian Dior’s postwar New Look when he introduced his .php-waist styles at his debut show in Paris in February 1947.

1960′s glamour:

In the 50s Christian Dior transformed the fashion world with a narrow waistline and wide skirt. In the early sixties the wide skirt was losing ground, but the hour glass figure was still in vogue.

The early 60′s, the Mad Men era, is often a neglected period in fashion history, sitting between the Rock’n'Roll fifties and the youth led 60s. The heroine of this time was none other than Jackie Kennedy, who’s signature wardrobe was based on A-line shift dresses, skirt suits ( who can forget her iconic pink Chanel suit!), quilted chanel bag 2.55 ( which became cult and is still one of the most popular bags until today!), mid heel pumps,pillbox hats,supersized sunnies and oversized black sunglasses ( a must accessory today for any celebrity). The excesses of the fifties had evolved into something more mature and stylish. Women looked like grown women, not young girls and men looked like men. It was an adult world, not a teenage one.

And that will explain why fashion and women are back in sharp tailoring clothes. In recession time we have to act like grown ups and deal with grown up problems that will get us through difficult times. Since it is not the time to play but to deal and get on with with grown up problems we are as well concerned about creating the right image. An image of a grown-up, lady like elegance that exudes sophistication, confidence and presence. Based on visual perfection as one can find in an hourglass body shape.

General style advice for the full hourglass shape:

You need to wear shaped and fitted lines in order to follow your body line, but avoid bulk and volume around your feminine curves

• Wear a good supporting bra that will lift our bust and give you a more defined waist
• Bring attention to your shoulder and neckline, wear designs that bring the eye to the center by wearing wider and lower necklines
• Extend the shoulder past the thickest part of the arms

Best to avoid:

• Straight shapes that hide your waist
• Fussy styles and details that create additional volume around your bust, tummy, thighs e.g. dropped sleeve lines, pleats, high-waisted styles, hip pockets
• High necklines that cover up your cleavage and décolleté e.g. turtle neck
• Boxy jackets, or double breasted styles, narrowing leg lines or wide/short sleeves which finish near your bust

Click here from more style advice what to wear as a full hourglass

Find here some inspiration on how to get the fashion of the 1950′s and 1960′s into your day to day wardrobe and by making it your own and work for you by keeping it current.

Michaela

• Neckline

Choosing your individual neckline is an important decision since it sits so close to your face, as well to your bust. So, before choosing your preferred neckline  you need to know which neckline style will suit your neck, bust and build.  Rule of Thumb: The shorter and wider your neck is the more space you need to allow around your neck. The longer and thinner you neck is the more you can clutter it.  So, it is not only down to what you want to highlight but also what you should highlight. Necklines are great features for adding personality or a signature so really have fun with it.

• Bust

The bigger your bust is the lower your neckline for your cardigan should be as well as it should have no clutter or fashion details around the bust line such as layers, necktie or a high neckline.

• Body shape

Since there are so many styles are out there and one can be more tempted to choose what is the latest on the shop floor and/ or what one has seen a celebrity, girl-friend or colleague wearing it is important not to fall into this fashion. trap. Every body shape has its own characteristics and silhouette, which needs to be addressed when choosing your clothes and so as well your cardigan. Once you know what structure to apply for your body shape  you can apply  easily the current  fashion trends and see if they fit your body shape and its guidelines. The aim of choosing the right cardigan is to balance your silhouette. You may not be able to follow all the fashion tends that are out there, but nowadays there are so many trends in fashion that there is something available for every body shape. So, don’t get sidetracked by falling in love with a style and look that doesn’t match your body shape:

In general:

The Neat Hourglass

You need to wear shaped and fitted lines in order to follow your body lines

The Full Hourglass

You need to wear shaped and fitted lines in order to follow your body line, but avoid bulk and volume around your feminine curves

The Apple

Follow your bodyline – avoid details around bust, tummy and hips. Keep detail in top and lower thirds.

The Pear

You need to balance your top half with your lower half by wearing clothes that make your shoulders look broader.

Inverted Triangle

On your bottom half you need to wear clothes that make your hips look broader.

The Rectangle

You need to create the illusion of a waist

The lean column

You need to create the illusion of curves around hips and bust and of a waist

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Michaela

Style for your colour:

Light Dominant Colour

Deep Dominant Colour:

Clear Dominant Colour:

Cool Dominant Colour:

Soft Dominant Colour:

Warm Dominant Colour:

Style for your Body shape:

Lean Column

Neat Hourglass

Full Hourglass

Apple

Rectangle

Pear

Inverted Triangle:

Style for your Size:

Petite

Short

Tall

Plus Size

Click here for more navy options.

Have a nice day,
Michaela

Our guide will help you find the perfect regime for your shape choose the right diet for your body shape!

• Inverted Triangle

Your build is characterised by:

• Straight and squared shoulder line
• Little definition between waist and hips
• Flat hips and bottom
• A bottom half that seems smaller than your top half

Advice

Doing a mixture of cardiovascular and resistance exercises will help. More resistance exercises on your lower body will be necessary, to obtain a balance between lower and upper.

Essential diet tips

• Stick to foods that are moderate in unsaturated fat – to avoid piling on the pounds – and high in calcium.
• Incorporate a balance of low G.I carbohydrates with lean proteins.

Essential exercise tips

• Lower body exercises like squats and lunges.
• Upper body toning exercise.
• Incorporate moderate to high amounts of cardiovascular exercise

• Lean Column

Your build is characterised by:

• Narrow shoulders
• Flat chest or small bust
• Small and non-defined waist
• Narrow hips and flat bottom

Advice

An exercise routine should include exercises to enhance gluteus and shoulder muscles. This will help curve out the shape of the body. Also do whole body

Essential diet tips

• Make sure you include plenty of lean protein, like fish and turkey; complex carbs, such as wholegrain rice and pasta; and calcium-rich foods, like yoghurt and tofu in your diet.
• Avoid carbonated soft drinks and cut down on starchy foods like white rice and potatoes.

Essential exercise tips

• No activity is off limits for your shape, but abdominal and back exercises should be high priority.
• Three days a week of formal exercise with lots of rest in between is ideal level.
• It’s important to exercise intensely and really tax the muscles during each workout in order to achieve good muscle tone.

• Rectangle

Your build is characterised by:

• Straight shoulder line
• Straight hips and bottom
• Very little waist definition
• Straight ribcage

Advice

Short fast bouts of cardiovascular exercises are recommended. High repetition resistance exercises may help tone and define shoulders, waist and hips.

Essential diet tips

• Eat a high protein diet to help muscle development. i.e fish, chicken, eggs and dairy products.
• Include RDA (recommended daily allowance) of omega 3 and 6, to help with joint suppleness during extra resistance training.

Essential exercise tips

• Upper body cardiovascular exercises will help define shoulders. Boxing training may help this as well as helping definition of the waist.
• Compound resistance training will help shape and strengthen of the middle part of the body.
• Exercises such as squats, deadlifts and pressing movements will help.

• Apple

Your build is characterised by:

• Rounded shoulder line
• Curved back
• Fullness around the middle
• Flattish bottom

Advice

Apples shapes should concentrate their exercise regimes on cardio activities to bring the body back to proportion by reducing upper body mass, while core- strengthening exercises will help to trim the waist further.

Essential diet tips

• Eat a moderate amount of healthy fats found in grains and oils, as well as lots of fruit and vegetables.
• Replace brown-coloured whole grain foods with smaller quantities of white.

Essential exercise tips

• Do high reps with low resistance for the upper body and high reps with moderate resistance for the lower body.
• Best exercises include step and spinning classes, racquet sports, abdominal crunches, kick-boxing and skipping.
• Worst exercises include all upper body exercises that involve using heavy weights.

• Pear

Your build is characterised by:

• Full hips or thighs
• A defined waist
• Shoulders that may slope and are narrower than your hips
• A top half that appears small

Advice

Doing cardiovascular exercises for quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus for long durations will help. An example of this could be cycling or running. It would also help to do heavy resistance training on the upper body.

Essential diet tips

• Stick to foods that are low in fat – to avoid piling on the pounds – and high in calcium.
• Lower your salt intake to reduce water retention and cellulite in problem areas.

Essential exercise tips

• Use aerobic activities to slim your lower half and then strengthen the upper body with weights and resistance training.
• Best exercises include push-ups, chin-ups, leg lifts, jogging and dancing.
• Worst exercises include rollerblading, stepping and high resistance weights.

Neat hourglass

Your build is characterised by:

• A defined bust
• A defined waist
• A neat bottom
• Neat hips

Advice

Doing moderate to high intensity cardiovascular exercise will help tone the whole body. Carrying out resistance training at high reps and low weight will also help.

Essential diet tips

• Eat lean protein, such as skinless chicken breasts, and lots of leafy green vegetables, like spinach, broccoli and cabbage.
• Avoid foods high in sugar and limit your intake of eggs, dairy products and nuts.

Essential exercise tips

• Focus on losing weight and inches first with high reps and low resistance exercises, then slowly incorporate weights if you want.
• Best exercises for your shape include fast walking and slow jogging with no incline, jumping jacks, swimming for distance and stationary cycling with light resistance.
• Worst exercises include step and spin classes, leg presses and thigh machines on high resistance, weighted squats and lunges, and running or rollerblading on incline.

• Full Hourglass

Your build is characterised by:

• A full bust
• A small waist
• A rounded bottom
• Rounded hips

Advice

To help fat burning do interval training or circuit training. This will help burn excess fat around the body.

Essential diet tips

• Eat lean protein, such as skinless chicken breasts, and lots of leafy green vegetables, like spinach, broccoli and cabbage.
• Include lots of antioxidants and minerals to help break down fats within the body.

Essential exercise tips

• Use interval training and circuit training to help burn fats and tone up the whole body.
• Include exercises that help strengthen both lower and upper back.
• Include toning exercises like light resistance training for the whole body.

Click here for more advice

Have a nice day,

Michaela

P.S: Net- a- porter is now available on Joy of Clothes

Vivienne Westwood

You have your outfits for the occasions, but nothing that complements it with a perfect cover up! Masculine meets feminine in this glamorous season, so the focus is on the waist and shoulders. When choosing your cover up you have the choice from capelets to shrugs, cropped jackets, tuxedo, boyfriend jackets to faux – fur jacket.

But before choosing your cover up you have to decide whether it has a certain function to fulfil like covering big arms, tummy or deeper neckline, where it becomes automatically part of your outfit that you won’t take it off. If not, then you are more flexible in your choice, because its function is merely to cover you up when going from A to B.

Plus these cover ups are fantastic tools to bring out your personality, where you can create your own individual look and style. But before choosing know your body shape, so it follows your shape rather adding bulk to the wrong areas and giving an unflattering look.

Shop here for more cover ups

Have a nice day,

Michaela

P.S:

Coco Chanel

Make the most out of the new season’s knits. The big cardigan is the new cover up and the waist belts will give you an edgy layer look.

Some quick guidelines how to keep the look in the moment:

• Mismatched texture and fashion style- contrast is key
• Multi layers for the oversized look ” a la just have thrown these clothes on”-  Allow layers to peek out, combined with cheerful or icy colours in order to keep the look sharp. Be careful you don’t look messy, uncoordinated and unproportional.
• Layer over coloured tights, funky leggings, skinny jeans.
• Make sure that your knitwear looks current in order to avoid a dated and dull look
• Also, please caution this  oversized, layered look is not best for women who are apples, full hourglasses, pears, big busted, non balanced in proportion.

But here are some ideas how to enjoy your knits for any body shape. Keep your dominant colour as well in check for maximum impact!

• Neat Hourglass

• Full Hourglass

• Apple

• Pear

• Inverted Triangle

• Rectangle

• Lean Column

• Click here to shop for more knits

Have a nice day,

Michaela