I think the knitted blazer is an excellent invention, though it seems people are divided on this garment.......see this article which set off a bit of a raging debate when I posted it on LinkedIn!
It bridges the gap perfectly between a blazer and a cardigan, and is very useful if you work in a casual environment and want to smarten up your look a little. As fellow stylist Lisa Gillbe put it "My husband works in TV so wants to look relaxed but still look senior."
A new year, and indeed a new decade is the ideal time to make some changes to your wardrobe. Combine that with the fact that most items are on sale and you have the perfect excuse to add a few new items to freshen up your wardrobe for the coming year.
The changes don't need to be huge, just take a small side step from what you normal wear to shake things up a bit. Here are some easy ideas for you to start with - hurry though, these things are selling out fast in the sales!
Do you sometimes get stuck on the small gifts you need to buy for the men in your life, the stocking fillers, the Secret Santas, the difficult male relatives?
Then fear not, for I have elfed myself to help you along your merry way and put together a list of 20 stylish items for under £20!
What are you planning to wear to Christmas events this year? If you only have formal business wear and casual weekend wear, you may find you're struggling to hit that smart/casual sweet spot which is in between the two.
So perhaps I can inspire you with these 3 outfits for those Christmas occasions where you need to look dressy but not too much so, smart but not businessy, or casual but looking like you've made an effort.
Let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like some help, please get in touch as I have a few slots left before Christmas!
Clients have been asking me recently about dinner suits and where to buy them. Invariably they're not keen to spend too much money on the outfit as it doesn't get worn too much. Here are the high street ones I recommended to them and to go with it, I've written a guide to wearing black tie. You know what they say - "you have to know the rules before you break them" (and plenty do) but at least you'll be informed on what to look for and then you can make your choice.
A couple of years ago I did a survey amongst a small selection of women on what they like to see men dressed in for dating and I used this info last weekend, when I did a webinar for dating coach Hayley Quinn and the group of guys that she's been working with.
In this blog post are the "8 Do's in Dressing for Dating" that we covered in the webinar
A smart/casual jacket is a gap I notice in many men's wardrobes when I visit them for a wardrobe edit. They often have smart winter coats - the sort that you'd wear over a suit, and a puffa or waterproof type jacket but the in between section is missing. The sort of thing you might wear out for lunch, or when you're visiting friends, or to a bar or pub in the evening.
So I thought I'd show you some of the ones that've been on my radar recently whilst out prepping and on personal shopping trips with clients:
How many belts do you own? It's common for me to find just one or two when I go over to a client's to do a wardrobe edit. And it's usually black, brown or tan.
There's nothing wrong with them, but the reason men book me to help with their wardrobes, is to introduce some interest and shake things up a bit! So I find myself regularly suggesting that they add some alternative belts into the mix. If we don't buy them on our shopping trip, I often send links afterwards, when I'm putting together their outfit list, of belts that give the finishing touches to the outfit and pull it all together.
Most men will have shoes in black or brown, so I thought it would be helpful to put together some suggestions on what belts to wear with them that aren't plain black or brown leather.
One of the things I often suggest to clients when we go on a personal shopping trip is a raincoat. They haven't necessarily requested we look for one, but more often than not, they're open to the idea and realise that it would be really useful to have in their wardrobes, perhaps as a smarter alternative to a more casual cagoule style.
Here are some of the ones I've bought with clients or seen whilst out and about in the shops. I've also included some umbrellas because it's that attention to detail, which of course includes accessories, that can make all the difference to how good you look.
The fashion industry is getting a bad rap recently with shocking stats coming out about how fast fashion is ruining the planet.
Oxfam have decided to address this with Second Hand September which encourages people not to buy for a whole month or only to buy second hand.
Now obviously men are not nearly as guilty as women at buying tons of clothes, and it's aimed at those who are buying things constantly and wearing them a handful of times before discarding them, but as a personal shopper it's something I feel a little responsible for and would like to address:
Whilst recce-ing for a couple of clients I had last week, who were looking for blazers, I noticed there was a lot of burgundy coloured ones around. So I thought I'd show you a few of them here, if perhaps you're thinking you could do with a new blazer for Autumn Winter and would like to make a change from your default navy or grey.
You may have some hesitatation about getting something other than a neutral, but I bought the Reiss one below with a client and even I was surprised at the amount of outfits I was able to make with it! Here are some suggestions:
The tech world is well known for being very casual with a "wear what you like" dress code.
However, when you get promoted in a tech job, though you can continue to wear what you want, I find that many men actually want to smarten up a bit - to give them authority and mark the change in their role. It would look odd though if they suddenly turned up to work all suited and booted - so it's smaller, more subtle changes that are needed.
If you've recently been promoted in your tech job (or any job that has a very casual dress code for that matter), here are my ten tips on what to wear to smarten up your wardrobe without looking like you don't belong in the office anymore! Many of these suggestions are things I've bought with clients whilst on personal shopping trips that had this brief.
