Shopping for the elusive capsule wardrobe

I aim to liberate my clients from the tyranny of critical wardrobes who sneer at them when their doors are flung open, "You'll find nothing in here that you'll look good in." 
When we carry out your wardrobe edit we will end up with a wardrobe of clothes that can all be worn in the current season.  It's far better to have 10 tops all of which will be worn, than 30 tops, two thirds of which are not the right shape for you, are not appropriate for the season, are too worn/out of date or just don't fit any more. When we've weeded out the garments that shouldn't be there we're able to see where the gaps are and, therefore, what we need to find on your personal shopping trip.  Many of my clients hate shopping.  To be honest they're intelligent men and women who have many interests and shopping is not considered a leisure pursuit.  However, shopping for specific items can be really good fun. 
For instance you'll notice in the two pictures of Lynne on the right that she's wearing the same trousers and top, it's just the knitwear, accessories and lipstick that are different. Once we've identified the foundations of your capsule wardrobe we can then start to create new outfits with only subtle changes. 


Like an Agatha Christie character desperately trying to solve a mystery you'll see me with my notebook in hand looking to solve a client's shopping dilemna. I will always shop for as many hours before I meet with my client as I do with them.  For instance, if we are to shop for 2 hours I will have researched the shops for at least 2 hours before, often far more.  I aim to shop for a maximum of 3 hours with a client.  Once we get past this threshold many of us will buy out of tiredness and make mistakes.  It's far better to stop early and be keen to return once we've tried on our new buys with garments already in our wardrobes.  We might also notice gaps in our wardrobe that we didn't see first time round, "Actually I need a pair of shoes that will go with those trousers and this skirt."  As we fill in those sartorial holes clients also notice that the wardrobe becomes a welcoming friend, "Now what shall we put together today?" and life feels that little bit easier and a lot more enjoyable. 
ALL PHOTOS REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF WWW.JOHNNEED.CO.UK  

It's Good 2 Have Goals

It's Good 2... have goals.  Without them we often achieve nothing.  At the beginning of this year Lynne aimed to start a charity, organise fund raising events, gain sponsorship, lose weight and get fit.  







In the first third of the year she has already achieved over half of her initial goals, the important ones. Fitness and weight loss are still on the agenda but looking at these photos you'd be forgiven for thinking that Lynne has already managed to do everything.  This is a great example of finding the shapes of clothes that work with your body shape - rather than punishing yourself for not being the shape or weight that you think that you should be and withholding treats, such as new clothes, until the weight is lost.  


Over the next few weeks we'll see the results of Lynne's personal shopping trip.  However, we're not leaving the best til last, this outfit is my favourite!  Honest consideration is vital before you go out to spend money on clothes that you'll love to wear.  If you need impartial, expert advice contact me now.  By wearing a skirt Lynne has brought attention to a major attribute that she had been hiding - a wonderful pair of legs.  Once we bring attention to our best bits it's just a case of diminishing those areas that we're not so keen on. Most of the colours in the outfit on the left are deeper but we've also introduced brighter accent colours in Lynne's scarf and bag that convey her energy and fun. This also brings attention to another of Lynne's great attributes, a beautiful complexion.  As a style coach my aim is not to give you an image but to consider "who is the real you?" and allow the authentic you to be conveyed in your clothes and accessories.  The great advantage of this approach is that clients will feel happier and more confident about their appearance, as you can see in the picture of Lynne, who is positively glowing!  Our clothes are constantly communicating with those around us - what are your's saying today? 


PHOTO REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION www.johnneed.co.uk 

A taste of more to come...

I'm busy writing a client's personal style profile so don't have time to write about all the recent developments to Lynne's appearance, but thought that you might like to see this little taster of what's to come....

Glow Lynne glow!

Sometimes life seems to drain energy out of us and forgets to provide the refill.  This week Lynne has worked incredibly hard to provide the fantastic Grease movie experience for over 150 guests at the Dominion on Monday night while coping with the loss of one of the young people that she aims to help through It's Good to Give.  There's a reason that make up is called war paint, because occasionally we have to fight to keep going and make up provides the illusion that we're fine, so that we start to believe it ourselves.  Today we considered which make up products and application techniques will make Lynne glow.

One of Lynne's great features is her clear skin, a light foundation was all that was required.  As many of us have learned, concealer becomes an essential part of our make up kit at quite a young age.  Bobbi Brown's concealer is a personal favourite as it's a thick product that stays where its told for the day.  Highlighter was also a big part of Lynne's make up transformation as it helped to accentuate the softness of Lynne's complexion.  And that, after all, is what good make up will do - accentuate our good bits.  Using a combination of cool, neutral eye shadows we were able to bring attention to the clear aqua colour of Lynne's eyes, rather than the colours of the eye shadows themselves.  The make up look that we created was for day time, an evening look could be slightly more dramatic.  But remember that as the "evenings are drawing out" our make up is more likely to be seen in natural light and make up that looked great in the dim lighting of winter can look too heavy on a summer eveing.  As we had concentrated on Lynne's eye make up we kept the lip colour lighter with a coral gloss.
The result is what I hope to achieve with every client - we notice Lynne before we even stop to think about the make up that she has on, and Lynne is looking FABULOUS.

Make up consultations are included within a full Renideo consultation or can be booked as a stand alone consultation. I also provide make up shopping trips.  Please contact me for further information karen@renideo.co.uk or telephone 0797 334 6715

Colour directly influences the soul - Kadinsky

When Lynne met me to consider the colours that work best for her she was desperately trying to ignore the fact that she was suffering from a major bout of flu.  The shadows under her eyes and red, dry skin around her nose, however, blatantly contradicted Lynne's protests of being fine.  However, the quote which is used for the title of this post by artist Vasily Kadinsky was proved to be very accurate during the process of Lynne's colour analysis.  If the wrong colours can drain the life of us when we're feeling healthy and energetic there's no hope for us if we're feeling under the weather. As Lynne sat and watched different colour flags draped beside her face she was stunned at the effects of "good" and "bad" colours.  A good colour will even your skintone, diminishing any areas of shadows or high colour and will bring attention to your best facial features such as bone structure, colour of eyes, fullness of lips etc.  When people meet you the first thing they should see is you - not the colours of your clothes.  Wearing the correct colours ensures that the flow of vision flows immediately up to your face and isn't distracted by a colour that is too bright/too dark/ too light or too muted.  Julianne Moore illustrates the effect that wearing the wrong and right colours can have on our appearance. Despite her obvious beauty I think that her complexion looks more dull and less even on the picture above right.  As our skin tends to become more dry as we mature a dull complexion is immediately ageing.  However, Julianne's hair colour is vibrant and her skin is glowing when she wears colours that work with her natural colours as seen in the picture below.

Lynne discovered that soft colours worked with her gentle facial features but that bright accent colours were vital to convey her energy and fun.  As we considered the amount of contrast she needed to use in outfits and the types of textures that will work best for her Lynne became more enthusiastic and energised. And if wearing the right colours makes us feel better when we look at our reflection imagine the effect that compliments from those who meet us will have!

Shape, size or style - what really matters?

If you want to develop your style then start doing something about it today.  Some people will comment that they would like to feel better about the clothes that they wear but will wait for the weight to shift first.  These are the folk who loved Cinderella as kids, yep I was one of the them.  The ultimate makeover tale and I was enthralled at the age of 2!  But while everyone needs bursts of excitement, life generally progresses at a steady pace and our wardrobes are part of life.  So don't wait for a special occasion, a sudden loss of weight or the funds for a massive spending spree. Take a honest look at your body shape, consider what areas you want to accentuate and look in your wardrobe for a garment or accessory that will bring attention to that area now.

I'm not pretending that this will be easy, not many of us love every inch of our bodies.  But it's essential for your wardrobe development and allows you to be more focussed when you make that shopping list of wardrobe essentials. While the rest of us can do this in the privacy of our own bedroom, Lynne was incredibly generous and allowed me to photograph her so that you can be part of her style development. We considered her body shape and started to make a shopping list for her new wardrobe.  As you look at the picture above consider where do you see Lynne's body go up or down,  in or out?


The first thing that strikes me is the movement down.  The styles and colours of clothes insist that you see them first and eventually look up to Lynne's face. To bring the attention up we first need to create a stronger shoulder line which will support Lynne's fabulous bust.  The length of the sleeves also bring the attention down, sleeves that lie just below the elbow will be far more complimentary.

Lynne's body shape goes in at the legs leaving the upper body looking disproportionately wider. We've already identified that as well as enjoying clothes that are easy to wear Lynne's style personality  has a strong feminine element.  A sensual feminine look requires curves but Lynne's body shape doesn't currently display those curves.  The top right picture shows a more rectangular body shape, definition is going to be vital when shopping for the right garments for Lynne.


So assess your own body shape using these 2 simple questions.
Where do I go down when I should be going up? (Going up is always the more youthful option...)
Where do I go in and where do I go out? Do the areas where I go out need to be balanced up elsewhere?


Now that we know the style and shapes of clothes that Lynne needs size is not a concern so lets quash that myth once and for all - size does not matter!

A Brave New Woman

Today was a great day to begin Lynne's style development.  The snow has gone - OK it's due back, but for today the sky was blue and the sun shone constantly - very symbolic for a new beginning. Today we considered Lynne's unique style personality.  By using different pre-consultation exercises including written word and picture boards we were able to consider what Lynne really enjoys in life, what inspires her and what styles appeal to her.  Our style personality may sound a bit out there but it's vital that if we aim to convey our authentic selves through our appearance we give this some serious thought.    We identified that Lynne is a sensual woman so the use of different materials in outfits will be important. Lynne also appreciates good design in a clean lines and contemporary style using natural materials.  These will be important elements of Lynne's wardrobe as it develops over the next few months.  Look around you, be inspired by what you see and break it down.  For instance many clients are inspired by horticulture but while some love wild, chaotic gardens others appreciate the order and thought of well kept lawns and balance in plant patterns.  The former client may prefer layered and creative forms of dressing while the latter enjoys a minimal, elegant style - both will be beautiful but very different.

The foundation blocks of Lynne's wardrobe have been laid by considering her passions, what makes her happy and that's where every successful wardrobe begins - with the person who will be wearing each garment on a regular basis.