Feeling blue

I was loving blue this week. Sometimes I get hooked on colors and realize I have worn them way too much! This week I wore my blue patterned pants twice (i know it such a sin:) and went all colorful in a gypsy skirt.

Hot in the Water

I have spent the last 2 weeks looking for a new bikini. I find them so difficult to buy. Here is my usual list of problems....

1. You can't pull them up high enough to cover the top of your crack.
2. Bandeau is so in that they decided to dismiss all other styles.
3. Bandeau makes your chest really flat.
4. They are baggy on the bottom of you butt, making it look like you have had an accident.
5. They have embellishments all over them that you know are going to come off the first time a wave hits you.
6. Too many string bikinis... those things never stay up on me.
7. If its white, why is it see through? hello lining please.
8. If you want a one piece you have to search for a year to find a non granny style one.
9. No I don' want my nipples to be all people look at.

Shapes of Swim wear:

Small Bust- Yay for you the bandeau works great on a small bust as you don't have much to flatten:). You can also do string bikinis easily.
Pear Shaped figures- Halter Necks, all over patterns, or solid colored bottoms with a patterned top. This will even out your shape more and take the attention away from your hips
Girls Lacking the curves: go for either a one piece that has details at the waist for waist emphasis, or a bikini with side ties and high cut legs to give your thighs more shape.
Ladies who are bigger on top: Go for wide straps, v- shape necks, patterns or lighter shades on the bottom to draw emphasis to the legs, and details at the hips.
Plus Size Girls: Pick darker colors, matte, large patterns (no small printed ones), and details that give an illusion of a waist such as a ruched on the side or a flower being pulled into the corner like a sash.

So as you can see swim suit shopping can be a problem. I covered all the sports/surf shops, all the boutiques in Dubai and finally settled upon a couple of simple Victoria Secret ones that actually made my chest look the size it is and covered both sides of my ass cheeks. Here are some other decent options for the above body shapes...

                                                 Small Bust-Bandeau and light colors.

         
                      Pear Shaped- Halter tops, Thicker sides and solids on the bottoms (see 2nd picture)

Skinny Girls-Patterns, bows, ties sticking out, anything to help emphasis hips, waist and chest

      Bigger on top- If your stomach, shoulders or chest is the bigger part of your body go with extra fabric and ruching.

Plus Size- Go for solids with a pattern that emphasis's the waist like this one. See how the lines are all angled down.

Obsessed.. Coco Rocha

The day has come.. I have officially moved on from Cara to Coco. Coco Rocha is a Canadian model who is currently on almost every catwalk and doing numerous campaigns. She's 5ft 10in, with striking blue eyes, has an amazing figure, has graced the cover of Vogues all around the world, and does a decent amount of charity work against trafficking and eating disorders, I mean she's pretty much perfect. I follow her on Pose so constantly get her weekly outfit/event updates which not only inspire me but also make me green with envy, the girl is a stunner. Not only that but she is also slightly alternative and strange which I love. Check out some of her pics..... (I love the Vogue Mexico cover). Who do you prefer Cara or Coco??

Delightful Denim

I am all about denim this month. Denim shirts, shorts, washed jeans,
you name it! Here are some of my past weeks denim outfits. Pair a button down with a shirt or shorts for a night out, add camo to denim for a 90's grunge look, rock out a jumpsuit and layer with oversize jacket or blazer, put on boyfriend jeans for those lazy days and add color pops to faded jeans.

I'm also loving the denim sneakers and denim studded jackets, just haven't found them here yet...

How do you wear your denim?

How to wear sneakers!

Funky sneakers and Hi Tops are seriously in right now, which is awesome because that means comfy, painless feet!! YAY.

So the question is how do we wear these casual shoes yet still look trendy and put together? Below are several outfits I put together, showing ways to rock hi tops (Isabel Marant style) and Converse style hi tops. 

 

                   Gucci Hi tops, Top shop crossbody bag, Topshop headband, Miss Selfridge Skirt.

                   Ted Baker Gold Hi tops, Reed Krakoff Purse, H&M mullet Skirt, Topshop Tiger Top.

 

Diesel Hi tops, Miss Selfridge studded shorts, Miss Selfridge lace top

Isabel Marant Hi tops, Zara messenger bag, Ted Baker graphic tee, Topshop faux leather pants 

Check out some of the celebrities rocking and ruining the sneakers look......I love the way Miranda Kerr rocked out her red Marants with leggings. Kate Bosworth looked fab with a sheer skirt and casual top. JLo failed to impress here, in her badly fitted jeans and oversize coat. Nicole Richie looks cute and casual, but the outfit would be more fun if her sneakers were colorful, and Rhianna makes it work in a sheer pink dress.

How do you wear your sneakers???

Skin Tone

Skin Tone is often a subject of confusion to many people. With all the Eastern and Western mixes, spray tans, extra make up etc, it is often quite difficult to say what tone people really are, and some can often be a bit of both. I will do several posts on different skin tones but today I am going to focus on dark hair with fair skin. This is a very difficult and many of my clients with these features have come to me confused. Some of these dark brunettes may have light eyes and some may have dark brown eyes, which further complicates the matter.
What you really need to focus on is your contrast level. For example if you have dark hair and pale skin then you have a higher contrast level. If your skin, teeth, hair etc. are all similar then you have a lower contrast. This is the decider on what color combinations you can wear. For example a high contrast could put a dark blue with a light pink, where as a lower contrast should put a dark blue with a dark or medium pink, or go with different similar shades of the same color.

If we look at brunettes with a high contrast ie: Courteney Cox, Demi Moore, it is harder to tell whether they are warm or cool skin tone. Most people would assume if the eyes and the hair are dark, then you are more likely to be warm but this is not the case. They actually have mostly pink and blue undertones which means they are cool. The confusion comes when these cool people are tanned or of a mixed race. For example a lot of fair asians are cool but have a slight yellow undertone giving them a bit or warmth. These people are actually lucky as they have a wider range of colors that suit them.

The dark brunettes with the fair skin, (cool skin tones), should wear blues, greens, pinks, icy colors, pastels, and they can easily pull off blacks and jewel tones. Often dark brunettes with fair skin are also brights, which makes them cool brights. This is determined by the vividness of their skin, hair, eyes and teeth. If they appear crisp and clear, then they are also bright. These people can pull off the brighter tones of the above colors and shades.

Lets look at these examples.


Demi Moore is often seen in greens, blues and jewel toned red. This blue looks amazing on her and really makes her features pop. She is more tanned here than normal but she is still quite high contrast so could easily pull off a different colored purse or shoes.

Kristin Davis skin tone is actually quite a subject of discussion on the internet. Some say she is cool, some say she is warm. I say she is definitely cool. She often wears purples, greens, and blues. If she was warm she would not look that fabulous in bright purple and mint green. She is cool with a higher contrast (when not wearing too much bronzer). She usually sticks to a pink peach blush that looks great with her skin tone.

Lastly we have the beautiful Courteney Cox who is cool and very bright. Her skin is porcelain like, her eyes are super bright, and her dark hair make it all stand out. She looks fab in pinks, blues, greens and purples.

Do you know what your skin tone is? Next time we will do different skin tones on blondes.

Crazy for Coral

This season there is so much coral around, its on every pinterest page and every retail website. I am a huge fan and I love the coral/blue and coral/green combos. The great thing about coral is that there are different shades for all different skin tones. There is the medium coral, like the first dress by Rag and Bone. This can be worn by anyone from the deeper end of the cool spectrum (ie dark blondes to brunettes) And through to the warms. The second dress is a pastel coral (Alice and Olivia) and is great for the cool and light pale skinned girls, and the last deep coral dress (also Alice and Olivia) is perfect for warm tones.
For a pop of coral grab a clutch or a pair of wedges in bright coral.

As I am sure you all know this color is best mixed with bright or royal blues and turquoise or mint greens. You can also try it with browns, white, purples and prints.

Mixing fabrics

I love mixing fabrics and textures, and I thought my outfit today was a good example! Some people hate these patterned pants but I love them! They are so fun and comfortable. There really are no rules right now on pattern and fabric mixing so feel free to experiment. I went with a denim shirt, which may seem weird to some of you but I love denim button downs and I believe you can pretty much wear them with anything! I added my All saints biker boots and my yellow Coach for a pop of color.

More outfits from this week!

This week has been a pretty casual one for me. I already posted one my red outfits but here are some of the others. I was feeling nautical so went with the red, white and blue! Then went all Team Jacob with my wolf and turquoise, followed by a tacos and margs night, for which I put on some studs:) If you want to know where any of the pieces are from let me know!