With all the hot colour trends this spring, eyelet isn’t just showing up in white anymore. You’ve got Anthropologie and J. Crew creating bold dresses, skirts, and tank tops. These retailers are also adding more structure, weight, and lining to the fabric, which allows you to wear this once summer staple well into the fall.

Even the power fashion houses, such as Louis Vuitton, are creating some stunning and intricate eyelet clothing and accessories. If eyelet conjures up memories of your grandmother’s doilies, bedding, or vintage Victorian detail, take a look at what graced the runway this past February and is being copied en masse.

Louis Vuitton Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012

Detachable collars or collared necklaces are similar to a choker but hit at your collarbone, adding a versatile statement to outfits. Add a delicate eyelet collar to your favourite t-shirt to completely soften a rugged look of denim shorts and biker boots. Create a soft, romantic look by adding an eyelet peter pan collar to your favourite dress. But you don’t have to spend high designer prices to get the designer look. Modcloth makes this “sweeten up collar” for a fraction of the cost.

Sweeten Up Collar from Mod Cloth

If you don’t fancy a demure eyelet collar or would like to incorporate more than an eyelet accessory into your wardrobe, try these J. Crew creations. Try these shorts with a plain tee, or go for the purple below dress if you feel like turning heads with your eyelets. The colour of this red tank top is called “Chili” and is even more beautiful in person. If you are feeling brave, throw on a vivid purple belt to cinch your waist and pair the outfit with neutral beige pumps!

If you’d prefer to stick with summer whites, there are a number of options currently available online and in retail stores.  If you live in an area where the days are hot but the nights are crisp and cool, I’d suggest an eyelet dress with ¾ length sleeves, such as this one from JC Penney. This shirt dress is also work appropriate. Just make sure to wear some shapewear underneath as eyelet fabric can be quite sheer.

For simple summertime work outfits, try pairing this plus size eyelet shift dress with a lightweight cardigan and simple heels.

Eyelet Shift Dress by La Redoute

As you can see, eyelet isn’t just for summer outdoor events, nor is it relegated to women with long, flowing hair embodying a bohemian vibe. Women of any size and shape can pull of this summertime trend; be it an accessory around her neck, in the form of weekend shorts, or worn as a dress to the office. Eyelet is a feminine and flattering look for plus size women too. You don’t have to be a runway model or spend a lot of money to pull this look off.

With coloured denim being a scorchingly hot trend at the moment, I think it would be fair to say that we will continue to see a plethora of coloured trousers well into autumn and beyond. Until women decide they want to toss all current colour trends aside in favour of neutrals, coloured denim/trousers look to be a reliable bet for the foreseeable future.

There are so many colours to choose from, but one colour that is on the upswing is mint. Mint coloured jeans can carry you from spring into summer. They are fresh and look great in all shades. They can be a subtle pastel colour that invokes a more ethereal look or a deep, dark teal look that can be worn later in the seasons.

Mint Green Hannah Slim Crop Jeans by Siwy

For the pastel look, I’d suggest staying with a neutral or pastel top in a blush or light pink colour. Even a light striped pink tee would look lovely with mint green jeans. You can toughen up the look by adding a faux leather jacket, but keep it in a light hue to soften the overall look. A favourite look is adding a blue denim button down shirt under a cropped jacket. If your denim is ankle length, I suggest wearing flat sandals. Throw in a pair of aviators and you’ll look breezey and cool for the next few months.

These dark teal jeans aren’t really jeans but twill cotton. However, they are made to look like jeans and come in regular and plus sizes. If you’re looking for a “jean” that adds curves and flatters existing curves (and makes you look one size smaller – I can attest to this as I own a pair), then check out Not Your Daughter’s Jeans (NYDJ). They have “Lift Tuck Technology®” to smooth tummy bulges and give your bottom a little boost.

Alisha Fitted Ankle Jean by Not Your Daughter's Jeans

With darker coloured denim, you could tone down the vividness by adding a neutral coloured top, such as white or black. Since the darker colour feels more “dressy,” you can even get away with a pair of kitten heels and blazer for a night out with the girls or a dinner date.

Mix things up a bit by pairing bold denim with a colour blocked bold top, metallic sandals, and an Aztec bangle.

A couple of other hot colours I’ve seen a lot of in fashion mags and in online shopping is yellow and pink.  If you aren’t crazy about the neon trend right now (hot neon pink jeans or trousers are actually quite fun to wear!), then you can go for the pale yellow, a soft pink, or even a very light lavender. A fun summertime colour is coral. Pair with a white cotton tee, straw hat, and jewelled sandals for a fun, outdoor concert festival!

By Nichole Delehant

Pattern mixing can be a little tricky and overwhelming at first. But here are some simple rules to help. I’ll also go into more detail with each rule.

1.)   Stay within the same colour family or choose complimentary colours.

2.)   Keep proportions roughly the same size.

3.)   Match horizontal stripes to vertical stripes.

4.)   Mix stripes and polka dots.

I happen to love this Zara blouse and skirt combination. I have the blouse but the skirt runs small and only goes up to a size XL, which is equivalent to a US size 10 or 12 (UK 12 or 14) at the most. While you have a lot of patterns going on, you can see there are really only three colours in this combination: white, black, and grey. These three colours are repeated in both the blouse and the skirt. This pattern mixing works because the outfit stays within the same colour family.

Zara Grey Printed Blouse and Skirt

The following outfit uses Rules 1, 2, and 4. Not only am I mixing stripes and polka dots together, I’m also being mindful of the proportions so that one pattern doesn’t overpower the other, while staying within the yellow colour family. I keep the rest of the outfit simple with white trousers and to break up the three colours in the outfit, I throw in a pop of colour with the pink pumps. If you recall from the recent Colour Blocking article, greens and pinks are complimentary colours on the standard colour wheel.

Let’s take a look at the third rule, which is mixing stripes. My rule of thumb when mixing stripes is to keep the horizontal stripes on your upper body and the vertical stripes on your lower half. Why? Because the vertical stripes will elongate your legs and draw attention away from the horizontal stripes. If you are planning to mix stripes, I’d keep the other three rules in mind as well. Want to elongate vertical stripes even more? Go for pencil skirts that are 25” in length. Skirts this length will hit just below the knees and display the most slender parts of your legs, which are typically the calves and ankles. Pencil skirts are my favourite skirts. They help minimize hips (especially in a thick cotton fabric) and accentuate curves.

Sometimes just having vertical lines mixed in with horizontal ones can create the desired effect…

J. Crew A-Line Patterned Skirt

If you are having problems finding vertical striped skirts (they can be tricky to find), then choose a skirt with thin horizontal stripes that when viewed from afar, looks like one colour. It’s also best to keep to dark colours when wearing stripes on the lower half of the body.

Dorothy Perkins makes some lovely figure hugging striped skirts:

Dorothy Perkins Horizontal Striped Skirt

J. Crew A-Line Skirt

In the outfit below, I did a little pattern mixing with stripes and florals. I solved that issue of horizontal stripes on my lower half by adding a blazer, which hides my hips. So instead of seeing stripes all around my bottom half, you see what peeks out from the blazer. I also kept within the same colour family to create cohesion in the look.

Of course, if you want achieve a subtler version of pattern mixing, throw in a striped clutch with your polka dots.

J. Crew Striped Clutch Bag

J. Crew Polka Dot Skirt

By Nichole Delehant

So when neon reared its head again this spring, my first thought was panic, followed by “Oh, no. No way. No how.” But I’m slowly embracing how to incorporate this season’s trend. And I think if it weren’t for coloured jeans, florals, and the trend to escape neutrals, I wouldn’t have even tried this trend.

The first neon piece I purchased was this bright pink belt from Urban Outfitters back in December. It sat in my closet for months as I wasn’t sure what to pair it with. But along came a really good deal on this Rachel Roy dress that was too plain to wear on its own. I knew it needed something and I could have just as easily gone with a bright coloured necklace (even a neon necklace) instead of this belt. But I like the way the neon breaks up the dress and gives it a little more dimension.

The next piece I incorporated into my wardrobe is this small, yellow neon bag from Old Navy. It didn’t cost much, but gave the outfit just enough pop of colour. And, of course, if you read my post on Colour Blocking, you already know that yellow and purple are complimentary colours that work very well together. By adding in a bright lipstick and nail polish like I have, you’ll complete the look.

This neon tote from Asos is a great piece, if you’re still a bit unsure about neons. With a flash of neon yellow green, you’ll glow without trying.

So as you can see, you don’t have to be scared of seasonal trends. Throughout my posts, I always say to incorporate a trend in small doses. If you are hesitant and unsure, look at some fashion blogs and pick up some fashion magazines. I even look through magazines dedicated to home décor to grab colour inspiration.

A recent edition of Real Simple magazine featured a few neon outfits that I plan to copy. I’m particularly drawn to bright pink and bright yellow. I recently purchased these two tank tops from Ann Taylor during a discount period. The yellow tank is actually more of a green-ish colour in person. Because they are both so bright, I plan to pair them with a neutral colour, such as black. With that being said, I think the yellow-lime coloured tank would also look pretty fabulous worn with tomato red trousers. It’s bold, but it works!

Anthropologie reveals how to wear bold, neon yellow with tomato red:

By Nichole Delehant

I now embrace colour in my wardrobe. If it’s orange, I want it. Neon? No problem. Florals? Bring it. And I love the colour blocking trend that has been popular for the past few seasons. It opens up unexpected possibilities in your closet. It’s now acceptable to wear hot pink and orange together or purple and yellow. But I feel this shouldn’t really be a trend. There’s nothing particularly complicated or new with colour blocking since its principals are based on the standard colour wheel used in cosmetology school, art classes, by photographers, and a myriad of other professionals. So let’s take a moment and look at the colour wheel and then see how it applies to colour blocking.

In the colour wheel, there are three primary colours: yellow, blue, and red. These colours cannot be made from any other colours. You mix these colours to get other colours, which leads to secondary colours: green, orange, and purple. These colours are the result of mixing two primary colours together. For example, red + yellow = orange.

You then have hues, shades, tints, and tones. Hues are pure colour (e.g., blue). Tones are hues +grey. Tints are hues + white, and shades are hues + black. So with the colour blue, if you add white, you’ll get light blue tint, if you add black, you’ll get a darker blue shade, and if you add grey you get a more muted tone. You can create monochromatic outfits just by playing with shades, tones, and tints.

However, if you want to do colour blocking, find a colour on the colour wheel and look to the colour directly opposite. If you look at the colour red, directly opposite on the colour wheel is green. These are “complimentary” colours. While you probably wouldn’t want to pair pure red (hue) and pure green together other than during the holidays, you can pair different shades, tones, and tints of these colours and achieve colour blocking. For instance, pink is a “tint” of red and it pairs very nicely with green. Purple and yellow are complimentary colours that also pair nicely with one another.

Colour blocking can also be done with Analogous colours – or colours that are directly next to each other on the colour wheel. This is the case with my pink dress and orange shoes. Pink is a tint of red and orange is directly next to red on the colour wheel.

So, get colour blocking and stand out from the crowd with confidence.

By Nichole Delehant

This past autumn and winter, J. Crew quickly sold out of their popular “Wildcat” blouse and Jules dress. I was lucky enough to get my hands on both. Every time I wear this blouse, I receive tons of compliments. And because the print is made up of neutral colours, I chose a bright green trouser.

A few months ago, while walking through my local shopping mall, I discovered a lone pair of faux suede leopard peep toe kitten pumps. I got them on the cheap and wear them all the time. They are super comfortable and the heel height is perfect. My heel height threshold is about 3.5” (8.9 cm) and that’s only if there’s about an inch of platform on the toes. I just don’t understand how women can walk in 4, 5, or 6” heels and still be comfortable at the office. I love wearing these leopard pumps with stripes and other prints just to add a little flare to my outfits.

And while leopard print still remains a hot item for spring, there’s a shift to other animal prints as well, such as snake and zebra. On a recent shopping trip to NYC, I visited the new Joe Fresh flagship store and scooped up a snake print top in blue and yellow. As soon as I saw them on their website, I knew I had to have them. Unfortunately, Joe Fresh does not have an ecommerce website. But if you get a chance to visit any of their Canadian or US stores, especially the beautiful flagship store on 5^th Ave in New York, I highly recommend a visit. Their clothing is inexpensive and holds up well in the wash, but tends to run large.

Joe Fresh NYC

Python Print Blouse

Another similar option to the Joe Fresh Python Print Blouse is this one from White House Black Market:

Snake Print Utility Shirt

This snake print dress is from Dorothy Perkins. Although we don’t have any stores in the States, online ordering is pretty painless and there’s usually some kind of discount code available. If you sign up for their emails, you automatically receive a 15% new customer discount. I think Dorothy Perkins sizes run generally the same (if not a wee bit smaller) than Asos sizes. I’m typically a size 14 (UK 18) in dresses and skirts and I find I can wear that size in Dorothy Perkins dresses with a little more wiggle room than clothing I buy from my local retailers here in Connecticut. In Asos clothing, I’m a dress size 12 (UK 16). I love the detailing on this dress. The snake print is not over the top and the black side panels give a slimming illusion. The pattern is repeated on the back of the dress. Best of all, it has spandex! I also love that this dress has a black band at my natural waist to give a cinching look that is very flattering on hourglass curves. The neutral colours in this dress allow me to add a pop of color in my footwear.

Natural Snake Print Dress

'Orly' Sam Edelman

As with any sparkly, shiny, eye catching trend, I suggest you incorporate slowly and keep the rest of your outfit simple. You don’t want to clash trends. When I wear metallics, I tend to go for silver or gold and typically only in my footwear .

While shopping Zara’s winter sale a couple of months ago, I came across these gold metallic brogues. At the time, before seeing the trend in pictures at New York fashion week, I wasn’t ready to take the plunge into such bold statement shoes. Turns out I was kicking myself for months for not snapping them up on sale for more than half off their retail price. In the end, I hunted eBay like a mad woman in search of them and I’m so glad I found them in my size. I bought them brand new from a lovely eBayer in England. I love pairing gold with red and black. Of course you need to be prepared for quirky comments from co-workers if you work in a conservative office environment like I do. And they unleashed a spectrum of comments, such as “Ziggy Stardust” and “Michael Jackson.” However, fellow bloggers are much kinder and appreciate such a bold pairing.

I also purchased these bronze orange metallic shoes from Asos a couple of months ago. While they pair well with quite a few outfit combinations, they are unfortunately ill constructed. For me, Asos footwear runs a full size larger than what I normally wear in closed toed shoes (a US 8 or a European 38 or UK 5), so I had to order down a full size in these. Unfortunately, they are still about a half size larger than I’d like and they gape at the sides, producing blisters on the sides of my toes. Such a shame because they are very cute loafers, especially paired with tapered cropped trousers. Cropped trousers usually hit right at the tops of my feet since I’m only 5’4”.

Bronze Orange Metallic Loafer Shoes from Asos

As an aside, although cropped trousers are not the most flattering choice for a full figured woman, there is an appeal to them especially during warmer months. And lightweight, cotton cropped trousers are a wonderful alternative in the summer to those that don’t feel comfortable wearing Bermuda shorts or shorts that end at thigh level. For casual work environments, I suggest you find cropped trousers that are longer in length than those that hit at your calves. Why? Because it’s all about proportion and illusion. If you add length, you disguise width. With shorter cropped trousers, you are emphasizing a larger part of your leg (calves), and creating an inverted triangle illusion on your lower half.

Here’s a little foot candy. I’m totally loving the zodiac sandals!

1. Michael Kors Toni Sandal

Michael Kors Toni Sandal

2. Giuseppe Zanotti Capricorn Astrological Sandals

Giuseppe Zanotti Capricorn Astrological Sandals

Giuseppe Zanotti Capricorn Astrological Sandals

3. Dolce Vita Bagley

Dolce Vita Bagley

4. Zara Basic Heel Slingback

Zara Basic Heel Slingback

By Nichole Delehant

However, I’ve come to appreciate the synthetic craftsmanship that makes up faux leather jackets today, some of which are rather hard to distinguish from the real thing and certainly a lot less costly. I received this one from Asos and it felt like the real thing. I seriously had to look at the label to see that it was indeed 100% polyurethane, or plastic. First thing that comes to mind when I think of polyurethane is the clear coating used to protect wood. Not very appealing in terms of clothing. So I’ll just pretend I didn’t see the label and bask in my luxurious faux, I mean French material .

Asos Aertex Bomber Jacket

The unique little bomber jacket I have on below was a happy fluke. While walking briskly through my local Macy’s one weekend, I happened to catch this jacket out of the corner of my eye. It was hanging in a clearance rack in the wrong department. I made a beeline over to the jacket only to discover it was a medium. As any woman does, no matter what her size, I scooped up it up in hopes of it fitting. After all, it bore the Karl Lagerfeld name. Karl Lagerfeld?! I can’t afford Channel. What in the world is a jacket from Karl Lagerfeld doing in Macy’s? Was this a practical joke, a castoff by an affluent do-gooder? I didn’t care; I just wanted it to fit. And luckily it did!

Turns out Macy’s has an “Impulse” line that carries designer clothing at very inexpensive prices. Just like Versace and Marni for H&M or Jason Wu and Missoni for Target, Macy’s has jumped on the bandwagon of high end designers making fashion affordable for those who can’t afford Couture or Ready-to-Wear.

As an aside, did you know about the different levels of fashion? I didn’t until I watched a documentary this past weekend called “The Tents,” which is about the start (and end) of New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park. In a nutshell, fashion starts with couture, which is one-of-a kind pieces designed exclusively for the runway or specifically fitted to a client. You then have high end ready-to-wear (Dior, Louis Vuitton, Donna Karen) sold in upscale department stores, which cost upwards of thousands of dollars / pounds. The more affordable pieces made for the masses fall into the contemporary category. And then you have high end designers, like Lagerfeld, collaborating with big corporations, such as H&M and Macy’s. Designers are being challenged to create more affordable pieces in a downed economy, which makes me very happy as I can now have illusions of “faux” grandeur.

By Nichole Delehant

Image: Loft

You could also wear this trend subtlety by incorporating it into jewelry. A brightly colored floral ceramic bracelet or a floral statement necklace is another easy way of wearing this trend.
Feeling a little gutsier? Try a floral clutch or even a floral slingback or D’orsay pump. Keep the rest of your outfit free of patterns or prints. I recommend a little color blocking by picking solid shades from the shoes or clutch. For example, a pink shirt with a red skirt or pant. Let the shoes or clutch become the focal point. They might even become conversation starters!

Image: Talbot

If you find you are ready to walk on the floral side and incorporate florals into your clothing, you don’t have to go for full on every-color-in-the–rainbow jeans, pants, or blazer. For curvier women, floral or large patterned pants could emphasize hips, rear, and thighs. So here are some tricks .

Image: Talbot

Try to stick with pants that taper toward the ankles and wear darker floral prints. Keep the rest of your outfit minimal. I recommend a solid, dark top with some structure. I also recommend a dark, pointy pump to create the illusion of elongation. If you’re choosing a floral pant, you’ll want the other elements of your outfit to be smooth and fluid. Take a look at the pants in the picture below. Although the print is quite bold, I recommend using neutrals, such as black, to balance the floral print and keep the lines flowing smoothly. Pair these pants with a longer blouse that covers the problem areas (rear and hips) that would normally stand out in a floral print. A boat neck or scoop neck blouse with ¾ length sleeves that exposes the smallest part of your arms will help elongate the look, just as the pants are doing with tapering toward the smallest part of the legs. It’s all about illusion. Don’t forget to add some height with a heel when wearing cropped pants.

Not a floral pants person? No worries. Maybe try a more masculine print, such as the paisley pants I have on below. Notice how my tunic covers my problem areas? And my waist is cinched with a low-slung belt, also disguising a poochy tummy. Would you believe my tunic is actually a dress?!

Another way to create an elongated and tapered look with florals is with pencil skirts. Pencil skirts are extremely flattering to curvy women, especially if they are made of cotton and have 3% spandex. They hug your curves, disguise your thighs, and taper in toward the smallest area of your legs. Take this skirt from asos.com. You can get this pattern in average and plus-sized skirts, pants, and blazers. This skirt is supposed to be high-waisted. However, if you have a stomach pooch like me, you can wear it at hip level and have a tailor hem the bottom right below the knees, like I did!

So as you can see, women of any size can master the floral trend, be it in an accessory or by incorporating it into their clothing. You just need to find the right fabric, color, and structure for your body type.

By Nichole Delehant

Scoop Neck Striped Option

For most women, not just curvy women, there are certain areas of their body they don’t want emphasized. Be it the hips, thighs, chest, or even a wider back. I’ve put together a few tips for making striped tops work on any body shape.

To wear horizontal stripes on the upper portion of your body, such as a tshirt or blouse, make sure there’s some structure to the blouse to balance the stripes and keep proportion in check. For example, on delicate blouses, such as silk and rayon, I recommend a ¾ length sleeve so that your upper body is not swallowed up in a sea of stripes. It’s all about playing with proportions. Women’s arms are typically more slender from mid-forearm to the wrist. A ¾ length sleeve will emphasize that .

I also recommend staying away from boxy blouses. Ideally, you’ll want the blouse to end at the hip bone to give the illusion of length. There have been times when I bought a blouse that had a longer length but wouldn’t go over my hips. I’ve had a tailor make slits, or openings, in the sides of the blouse so that the blouse would fit over my hips. I’ve also had tailors take in the sides of a blouse to create a more hourglass appearance and slimmer silhouette.

What about the shoulders? Gone are the days of heavily padded shoulders. It’s a shame because the shoulder pads of the 80s helped to create the illusion of a slim silhouette. However, you can buy blouses that have a little gathering at the seams to create the illusion of lift. I think the Vince Camuto blouse below is the perfect example of a striped blouse with correct proportions, shoulder detailing, and sleeve length.

Vince Camuto

Vince Camuto

What about striped t-shirts? In the photo below, you can see that I have the ¾ length sleeve as mentioned earlier, as well as the proper hipbone length. There’s also some paillette detailing on the bottom of the shirt that distracts the eye from the stripes.

The 3/4 Length Striped Option

Lastly, let’s address the neckline and stripe width. I have ample bosoms and usually choose t-shirts that are v-necked or scoop neck. If you are large chested, I recommend staying away from a combination of stripes and turtlenecks. In fact, I own one turtleneck sweater, which I’m retiring because it just doesn’t flatter a fuller chest. If you have a smaller chest and slimmer figure, turtlenecks can be very flattering. V-necks direct the eye downward and give the illusion of a longer neck. Scoop necks or rounded necks soften the neckline. I don’t really pay attention to the width of the stripes. In all honesty, I own shirts with wide and narrow stripes and I have to say that the width just isn’t as important as the structure and shape of the blouse or tee.

The V Neck Striped Option

By Nichole Delehant