Cluster of the week

This week, I am showcasing an elegant evening wear collection for summers with bright colors.

Cluster of the week

Turquoise Silk dress by Priscilla: Rs. 899  at Ladybug.in

Yellow Pleated Sheer Dress by Mango: Rs. 5590 at mango.com

Nude clutch by Aldo: RS. 3800 at majorbrands.in

Star Studded Bangle Set: Rs. 199 at ladybug.in

Beige Peep Toes by Tresmode: Rs. 2700 at jabong.com

Skull & Heart Detailed Watch by Vivienne Westwood: £ 205 at asos.com

Yes, asos.com, does deliver worldwide. :-)

An Image Consultant helps clients by doing a complete Lifestyle, Personal Style analysis followed by Wardrobe evaluation and will help you with Personal shopping as well. You can get further details on the services here.

Please click on the "Email Me" link on the right hand side of the page with your details and I can get back to you.

Denims for you...

Flo Rida, in his chart-topping single sang:

Shawty had them Apple Bottom Jeans (jeans)

Boots with the fur (with the fur)

The whole club was lookin' at her

She hit the floor (she hit the floor)

Next thing you know

Shawty got low low low low low low low low

Jeans/Denims are an eternal classic, much like a white shirt or a pair of black trousers. They have been around since the 17^th Century and have come from Genoa in Italy or thought to be from Nimes in France and have been in various guises as workmen’s clothes to a sign of rebellion to mainstream clothing to fashion. It is always made of cotton with a twill weave.

Today most peoples closets have at least 1 pair of Jeans in there.

Lets talk about what Jeans best the best, based on body shapes.

The Inverted Triangle (or apple shape):

Typical characteristics include:

• Shoulder width is higher than both you waist size and hip size.
• You have slender and toned arms
• You may have wide or/and fleshy shoulders
• You have fabulous boobs and could be well-endowed.
• You carry weight around your mid-section and chest
• Your waistline is undefined or has little waist definition
• Your hips may be narrow (similar to Inverted Triangle, but your midsection is fuller/wider)
• You have great legs.

Try and find jeans that have medium-sized patches for pockets that are present on the fleshiest part of your bum. They help in creating fullness. Side pockets and cargo type pockets, help as well as they help in creating fullness at the hips too. Look for jeans that are washed at the thigh both front as well as the back. Having a slight flare at the ankles will give you a more hourglass look and ones which have a rear yoke at the waistband will accentuate your buttocks. Low wait jeans will give your waist some definition.

Famous Celebrities with an Inverted Triangle body shape:  Teri Hatcher, Gisele Bundchen, Cindy Crawford, Demi Moore.

Rectangle body shape:

Typical characteristics include:

• Shoulder width is higher than both you waist size and hip size.
• You are one of the lucky few who, when you put on weight, it gets evenly distributed across your body.
• You do not have a clearly defined waist.
• Your bust and hips are approximately the same width.
• You also have a small butt and small bust.

Depending on your height and where it comes from (legs or torso), lower rises or high-waist jeans can also work for you. A lower-rise jean that sits closest to the hip's widest point will play up your figure and verticalize your torso. A high-waist denim will give the impression of longer legs and draw attention to your natural waist.

Flared (Bootcut) and wide-leg jeans are also options worth trying. Bootcut jeans balance out the hips to create more of an hourglass figure. Please ensure that the jeans are not baggy.

Jeans with detailing are a great option for Rectangular shapes. Again, pockets will help in creating fullness. Jeans that are washed on the thighs will help.

Famous Celebrities with a rectangle body shape:  Cameron Diaz, Sheryl Crow, Nicole Kidman.

Hour-Glass body shape:

Typical characteristics include:

• Your full hip-line and your full bust-line are the same width
• Your waist is very well defined
• Your waist is at least 8 inches smaller than either your bust or your hips.
• Well proportioned body.
• Wide back and small waist.

The Hour-glass can pretty much wear any type of jeans there is in the market. Just be careful of the low waist so that you don’t expose yourself when you bend to pick something up. Skinny jeans if you are tall as they help in highlighting your gorgeous curves.

A midrise jean (the waistline sits mid-way towards the stomach) will fit you really snugly on your hips, creating lovely smooth lines.

If you struggle to find a pair that fit you properly on the waist, buy the pair that fit best on legs and hips and your tailor should be able to alter them for you.

Famous Celebrities with an Inverted Triangle body shape:  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Riya Sen, Scarlett Johansson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Salma Hayek.

Remember that it is important to also have a measure of the vertical proportions that you have and not just the horizontal proportions.

For more details, click here or on the "Email Me" button on the right side of the screen to get in touch with me for further details on the shapes and proportions you have and I will be able to help you with any questions that you might have!

“I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.”

- Yves Saint Laurent

Have fun!

Cluster of the week (Indian Office Wear)

This week, I am showcasing an Indian office wear cluster. Simple elegant lines that give attention where required.

Indian Office wear Summer Cluster

Kurtas:

Brown - Rs 1299.00: Shopforw.com

White & Yellow - Rs. 999.00: Shopforw.com

Bottoms:

Beige - Rs. 599.00: Shopforw.com

Black Leggings by United Colors of Benetton: Rs. 799.00: Myntra.com

Shoes:
Beige Color by Carlton London - Rs. 2299.00: Yebhi.com

Bag:

White hand bag by HiDesign - Rs. 4795.00: Jabong.com

Watch:

Titan Raga Watch (Model: 9931SM01) - Rs. 7995.00: Titanworld.com

Sunglasses:

Sunglasses by Carrera – Rs. 3581.00: 99labels.com

An Image Consultant helps clients by doing a complete Lifestyle, Personal Style analysis followed by Wardrobe evaluation and will help you with Personal shopping as well. You can get further details on the services here.

Please click on the "Email Me" link on the right hand side of the page with your details and I can get back to you.

Why hire an Image Consultant?

A lot of people ask me:

• Who is a Image Consultant?
• What does (s)he do?
• Why do it? 
• What are the imperatives?
• What does it cost?

I attempt to answer the questions using the slide show embedded below.

You can get in touch using the Email Me link on the right hand side of the screen, in case you have any questions. 

Glad to help! 

Cluster of the Week

Starting this week, I am going to showcase seasonal clusters.

The cluster we see today is an informal wear for a day or evening out with friends in the summer.

Summer Cluster of the Week

Top:

Beige Chiffon by Miss Bennett - Rs. 649 from Jabong.com

Blue Cap Sleeves Classic Polly Plain Top by French Connection – Rs. 1999 from shoppersstop.com

Jeans by DKNY - Rs. 1512 from Pepperfry.com

Shoes:

Beige by Carlton London – Rs. 3995 from Myntra.com

Black Peep Toes by Jove – Rs. 899 from Jabong.com

Bracelet: Rs. 399 from Shopforw.com

Bags:

Clutch by Ananta - Rs 895 – Bagskart.com

Black Sling bag by Miss Fiorelli – Rs. 1895 from Bagskart.com

Necklace by Adrika Black Beaded Necklace - Rs 225 from Myntra.com

An Image Consultant helps in building clusters for you based on the results of the Lifestyle Clinic and Personal Style Clinic that we offer.

Make-up at Work

Hello ladies, it’s yet another Friday already and I was dreading the fact that I haven’t written in this week at all. So here goes…

Women have the same psychological reasons for using make-up as they have for Jewelry. You can read the article on Jewelry and why women wear them here.

Recent studies at Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital and P&G Beauty have shown that make-up and the different styles used can alter perception. The research proved that one can take the genetic features that you are endowed with and significantly alter how you are perceived.

In a separate study, in American Economic Review, it was found that employers expect physically attractive workers to perform better and be more competent in their jobs.

Given the latter research finding, doesn't it make sense to use make-up (along with the outfit you choose) to alter perception of management towards you?

Studies have also shown that First Impressions typically occur during the first 3 seconds of an encounter with a new person. Make-up, thus, becomes critical.

Here are a few tips:

• Remember to plan your day (who are you meeting with, your audience) and your make-up accordingly. If you have an after-hours office cocktail party, take some of your make-up items with you in your purse. Give yourself an additional 5-10 minutes so that you can apply it before.
• Make-up for work has to be low-maintenance and should be able to last from 9-5. Kindly do not keep re-applying make-up at your desk. If you absolutely have to, please go into the restroom and do it.
• Lipstick shouldn’t be too loud and distracting. You don’t want people focusing on the bright red lips instead of what you are speaking. Please, please ensure that there is no lipstick on the teeth! 
• Always keep a nude lipstick handy in your purse.
• Make-up should showcase you. Do not experiment with new make up at work. It is distracting.
• Go easy on the perfume. Imagine being stuck in an elevator with someone who has doused themselves in the perfume like it’s going out of style!
• Easy on the nails. They should be well-groomed. Don’t have them too long and paint the nails in neutral colors if you are using one. If you have used nail-paint and it’s scraped, please take the 5 minutes to remove it completely or to apply a fresh coat. If you are careless with yourself, people will not trust you too much with your work.
• Toe cleavage in shoes at work is a no-no. For office wear it is prudent to wear shoes which completely cover your toes. You can read about shoes here.
• Don’t overdo the mascara. Remember the rule “Less is more”.
• If you have to use eye shadow, the rule is the same as with the mascara.
• Do NOT wear shimmer and/or glitter to work.
• Please shop for make-up during the weekends or on holidays. You could be allergic to some of the ingredients and you wouldn't want to end up looking like Will Smith in the movie Hitch!

If you have never used make-up, there is no time like the now to try it. Experiment at home with the people who love you and will give you an honest opinion on how it looks. Make-up should enhance you and not make you another person completely.

Have fun with make-up. Remember that it should complement the outfit and/or your accessories that you are wearing.

These are the kind of tips/help we can provide when you hire an Image Consultant. 

Scent of a Woman

While the blog is named after one of my favourite movie starring Al Pacino, it has little bearing to the movie. This blog is all about perfumes.

The word perfume used today derives from the Latin “per fumum”, meaning "through smoke."

I know of many men and women who have difficulty in selecting the types of perfumes to wear for different occasions. 

Did you know that there are day perfumes and then there are night perfumes? Why are there different types of perfumes based on the time of the day?

The types of activities that you do are different in the day than in the night and that is why we have different perfumes.

Day perfumes: These are usually lighter, subtler and don’t overwhelm your co-workers.

Night Perfumes: These are muskier, heavier and usually more heady. They usually have a more carnal, vulgar, romantic element in them which are more suited to activities one does in the evening! :-)

Now that we have the definitions of day and night perfumes out of the way, lets look at how perfumes are classified.

Perfumes are usually classified as:

• Floral: These are mainly perfumes that are created mainly from flowers, often blended together to produce a bouquet.
• Oriental: These are usually a mix of spices. Suggestions of warmth and sensuality.
• Fresh: These are made from naturally refreshing and uplifting usually tangerine and citrusy with marine notes and grassy odors.
• Woody (or Chypre: pronounced as SHIP-ruh): It’s a woody and mossy fragrance.

The Fragrance Wheel is a classification based on the notes above and was developed by Michael Edwards in 1983.

The Wheel is shown below:

The Fragrance Wheel

Perfumes from the floral and fresh families are considered day perfumes, and oriental and woody families as night.

Fougere Perfumes are usually known as the “universal fragrance family”, blends flavors from all the four other classifications. Most male oriented perfumes come from this family.

Every perfume has 3 notes and are:

• Top Notes: This note is perceived immediately after applying it. The perfume molecules evaporate immediately and these note generate the first impression.
• Middle Notes: As soon as the Top note dissipates, the notes that then appear are the middle notes. This is the main body of the perfume. These are also called as the heart notes.
• Base Notes: These appear as soon as the middle notes dissipate. These lend solidity to the perfume and usually appears after around 30 minutes of application of a perfume.

Notes of a Perfume

Note that the same perfume can smell differently on two different people based on the skin type (dry or moist), body heat and inherent body odor. So be cautious while picking a perfume for someone you love!

Please ask for coffee beans at the perfumery before you buy one. It helps in clearing the nose.

Apply perfume where you would like to be kissed i.e. in the most sensual places like behind the ear lobes, your wrists and on the sides of your neck. Usually one round of application is enough unless you perspire a lot. If you do, another round usually suffices.

Be very careful while applying perfumes especially if you are wearing a silk scarf, tie or sarees. It could ruin your silks.

Some etiquette tips on using a perfume:

• Please don’t drench yourself in perfume. It can leave people around you choking for hours.
• While flying in an aircraft, do not overdo the perfume. It could be uncomfortable to your fellow passengers.

Coco Chanel is quoted as saying "A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future.” 

How you smell is a key component of your Image and we take this aspect very seriously while Image Consulting for you.