Fashion Stylist's Tips On How To Dress For Work

Dressing for work can be daunting. So we went to Manhattan’s most sought after image consultant, Lori Silverstein for her advice on how to power dress. Lori offers her exclusive roster of private clients, many of which are high power executives advice on their personal appearance, image, grooming and wardrobe. “I believe the best strategy for women dressing in today’s work environment is to embrace a tailored silhouette which is feminine, classic and clean and modeled on the European approach to dressing,” says Lori. We sat down with her to get her fabulous tips on how to dress for work in style.

What are some of the essential items a woman should own in her work wardrobe?

strongly encourage my clients to invest in classic but stylish pieces. Basic items in the fall wardrobe should include: streamlined cashmere coats which fall right at the knee and are perfect for skirts, dresses and trousers; pencil skirts in beautiful wools and cashmere or cashmere blends; fitted blazers with narrow shoulders with a cinched or defined waist; cashmere sweaters; beautifully tailored trousers and pantsuits with a well proportioned leg, paired with a beautiful silk blouse; and tailored shiftfashion dresses (both sleeveless and with sleeves) that follow the contours but are not “too” form fitting. Good fabrics are key and contribute to a rich, elegant and timeless look.

What types of accessories should a woman opt for when dressing for the office?

I believe accessories complete and enhance a look, and a good shoe, handbag, belt, scarf and jewelry are essential.

Shoes

For the work environment, I love kitten heels or a 2-3 inch fashion heels, and prefer a good classic pump with a bit of twist, as well as a sling back. My favorite shoe designers who have the perfect pump and sling are Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin. The shoes are beautiful, sleek, classic and subtly sexy. They are absolutely worth every penny of the investment. A good suede or leather boot with a narrow toe box and a 2-3 inch heel is also beautiful and classic.

Handbags

Handbags you can never go wrong with the Prada leather tote which comes in a few basic colors such as black, brown and tan, and holds enough items without being oversized and cumbersome. I also love the Chanel classic handbag and tote.

Belts and Scarves

For belts, I steer my clients towards a black, chocolate brown or rich tan belt, preferably in leather or skin and for scarves I favor Hermes. They have so many wonderful designs and colors to choose from, and there are so many flattering ways to tie the scarves that will make every woman look chic, stylish and pulled together.

Jewlery

When it comes to jewelry, I emphasize that simple is best. For earrings, diamond studs or larger classic pearl studs look beautiful and there are some great copies out there that could fool anyone! Depending on the neckline, a scarf could look great, or perhaps a nice pendant or a pearl and gold necklace which is long enough to wrap a few times around the neck and sits up by the collar bone. I do like enamel bracelets (my favorites are designed by Hermes and come in different widths, design motifs and colors) and gold or silver link bracelets with a fob closure. I do stress that one thing to avoid at all costs is wearing large dangling earrings as well as glittery and over-sized pieces. Simplicity is key and contributes to a very polished and stylish look.

When it comes to hair and makeup, what works?

Regarding hair and makeup, the overall look should be neat, polished, well groomed and not overdone. I favor a soft palette for makeup. The first step is to ensure that one takes good care of their skin by using good products diligently (I love Biologique Recherche, La Prairie and Clarks Botanicals) and visiting an excellent facialist. My favorite facialist is Natalie at Yasmine Djerradine. A good, light foundation is important (such as Armani Face Fabric or the Fluid Sheer Foundation, or the new Guerlain Fundation) and a soft, neutral eye (mascara and lightly lined upper lid) combined with a soft cheek blush (the best colors are by Chanel) and a soft lip (Chanel lipsticks and glosses have the prettiest colors). Hair should be worn loose either straight or in soft waves, or held back in chic low ponytail or soft chignon. I strongly discourage hairstyles which are very exaggerated or messy. Everything should be soft and feminine…no overpowering colors or heavy makeup application.

What are some things to keep in mind in terms of dress code for work?

Overall, when dressing for work, I advise my clients to dress in a clean, tailored and polished fashion that is very stylish and flattering. I discourage them from dressing in fashion trends that will detract from a polished look, and look inappropriate for the office. It is important not to wear anything that does not fit well and having access to a good tailor is essential to ensure that each piece fits perfectly. Another item to bear in mind is not to wear anything that is too short, too tight, too low cut, too clingy or too bright, glittery or overly patterned. Femininity is key. Lastly, it’s extremely important to be respected at work by clients and colleagues and a beautifully polished look will keep you on the right track!

Dress with Confidence – How Dressing Affects Your Attitude and Confidence

Dressing with confidence is more than wearing the latest fashion trend, it’s about feeling good about what you’re wearing, looking poised and feeling self-assured in all situations.

Would you believe that something as simple as how you dress could affect your attitude and self-confidence? The truth is, how people dress is related in some way to how they feel. They feel first and dress later. Forget the sexy dresses you like best, just think of a time when you didn't feel well, did you want to pull out all the stops and dress smart? Not likely. You probably pulled on whatever was closest to you and dressed the way you felt – not that well.

If we change the way we dress the way we feel will change. When we are dressed well and look good we automatically feel better. When we feel good we are more likely to feel good inside, have more energy and treat others better.

You can boost your attitude, self-confidence and feel good about what you’re wearing if you:

1. Knowing the occasion

2. Know your audience

3. Know your personal style

4. Know the effects of color

Know the Occasion

While you are standing in front of your closet give some consideration to the occasion. What you wear will depend on the event. Whether you are going to a business meeting, shopping, to church or to a gala event, what you wear should be tailored to the occasion.

A business setting can be traditional (banking, law etc.) or softly tailored (advertising,public relations, etc). The dress code for traditional business is structured, tailored clothes with straight lines and firm fabrics (suits). For softy tailored business setting, use softer lines, structured blazers and jackets, matched or unmatched tailored pants

Social occasions can include anything from a lunch with a friend to a formal event. To feel comfortable at an informal social event opt for unmatched suits, denim skirts, khaki pants and turtlenecks. Black tie means formal and white tie means ultra formal. At a black tie event men wear tuxedos and women wear cocktail  dresses or long fashion dresses.

Know Your Audience

Your audience is the people with whom you come in contact. They can be your clients, boss and colleagues (in business) or your peers (social situations). Dress to fit the image of a person in your role. We don’t expect to see bankers dressed in jeans and a t-shirt; farmers dressed in suits or formal dresses; clean mechanics; or cleaners wearing delicate fabrics. When you are dressed out of your role your competence comes into question.

When you dress to suit your role you feel more confident. For example, if you work in an environment where you create artistic products your audience will expect you to dress a little artistic. If you are dressed conservatively not only will you feel uncomfortable your audience will feel something is astray.

People want to interact with people with whom they feel comfortable or who they feel are like them. That means knowing what is expected in particular roles and dressing to fit that role.

Know Your Personal Style

Your personal style is expressed in everything you do. When it comes to fashion your style is evident in the patterns and texture of fabrics you like to wear as well as your accent pieces such as jewelry, handbags and high heels shoes. When you are aware of your style and feel comfortable with it then you can express yourself with confidence.

Take a moment to decide which one of the four style preferences best suits you - classic, romantic, sporty or dramatic? The classic style has an elegant traditional look and wears timeless garments. The romantic style has a soft feminine look and prefers to wear dresses and skirts rather than pants. The sporty style likes casual comfortable clothes and prefers natural fabrics. The dramatic style is sophisticated, turns heads and likes to wear the latest trends.

You may be thinking, what if my personal style is sporty and I am attending a gala event or my style is dramatic and I am attending a ball game? How can I feel confident, express my style and still fit the occasion? All occasions will not fit our personal style but if we know our style well enough we can make accommodations. The sporty style would feel comfortable at a gala event wearing long, flowing pants, and simple top and low (but elegant) fashion heels. The dramatic style can feel comfortable at a ball game wearing a leather jacket, a bold print top and angular jewelry.

Know The Effect of Colors

Colour is the magic that brings interest to our world. We are instinctively drawn to certain colours and respond to them with feeling. When used in garments and laid against our skin they produce either positive or negative results. The right colors will make your eyes sparkle and your skin glow; while the wrong colors will make you look tired and your skin drab. This is why it is important to know the colours that look best on you. You can do this yourself by sitting in front of a mirror, placing different colours next to your face and notice which colours make your skin come alive and which ones wash it out.

Colors are divided into two categories –warm and cool. When you discover which colours look best on you and wear them consistently you will notice that you look better, feel better and have more confidence.

Colors produce specific emotions and it affects how you feel and how others respond to you. For example, blue is a soothing, calming color and red is an exciting, energetic, attention-grabbing color. Knowing the affects of these colors which would you wear in a potentially argumentative situation?

Knowing the emotional effect of colors and their symbolic links allows us to choose colors that will give us our desired effects.

When you dress with confidence you know you have made the best choices for you and you feel comfortable in any situation. It means feeling attractive and completely you. Our confidence is enhanced when we know that we are dressed appropriately for the situation and our style, we are wearing colors that brighten us on the inside as well as outside and we feel attractive and authentic.

What are High Heels?

High Heels are a type of footwear that raises the heel of a women's foot higher than the toes. Heels heights can range from 2 to 5 inches. If the sole of the shoe is raised by a platform to create what is know as platform heels then heel heights of up to 8 inches can be found. Such extremely high platform heels are sometimes also called stripper heels as they are a popular prop for strippers and exotic dancers.

High heels shoes have a strong sexual connotation since they enhance a woman's sexuality by tilting the body to emphasis the breasts and the butt. They also make a women's legs look longer and more slender. The fashion industry has produced an immense array of hot, sexy heels that are preferred by fashion conscious young women around the globe for clubbing, dancing and playing. Fashionistas and the men that adore them love high heels for various reasons:

Look Taller

Shorter women everywhere will tell you how much they love their heels - using platform heels you can easily add up to 8 inches to your height. But, even if you are a tall woman putting on a pair of hot heels will make you feel gorgeous and sexy.

Look Slimmer

High Heels, by elongating the legs and thereby making you taller, will enhance your overall body shape. Your body will appear to be stretched out in height, thus reducing the relative body width giving you a slimmer look.

Add Spice to Any Outfit

By adding a pair of high heels even a plain pair of jeans and a t-shirt can look super hot and nothing can make a plain skirt turn heads like the perfect pair of high heel pumps or high heel sandals worn along with it. High heels add a feminine touch even to formal business suits.

Look and Feel Sexy

Putting on a pair of hot high fashion heels can make you feel and look sexier. High heels force your body into an upright position, making your calf muscles more pronounced, and pushing your butt and breasts out. So essentially high heels force you into better posture, which is always sexy.

Disadvantages of High Heels

Though high heels shoes look beautiful and turn heads, they may have some impact on the health of the wearer. This is because it tilts the foot forward at an unnatural angle causing the weight of the body to be heavily concentrated on the balls of the feet and toes. This can cause damage to the soft tissues under that area which support the foot. This posture also transfers an undesirable amount of pressure on the lower back where the lower vertebrae of the back can become compressed and the muscles of the lower back are made to contract. This could lead to excruciating pain over time. Wearing high heels for prologoned periods of time also puts additional pressure on the knees which can increase the risk of joint degredation. To counter balance those risk, doctores recommend that you limit the daily hours during which you wear high heels and save them for special occasions. You should also do regular stretching exercises where you stand with your toes on a step and let your foot heel drop down as far as possible.

Different Heel Types

Sexy high heels shoes come with many different types of heels. For example, the cone heel is a type of round heel, which at the place where it is fixed to the shoe's sole, it is round and very much narrower at the end. There is the prism heel which has three sides that are flat and the end point is a triangle. Modern wedges are also included in the high heels category. The stiletto heels are really slim and tall heels , two inches or more in height, and is just about 0.4 inch at the pointed end.  It is named after the stiletto dagger, a knife with a long slender blade and needle-like point. The thin heel makes high heel stilettos one of the most sexiest high heel shoes available. Stiletto heels can cause damage to certain types of floors. Linoleum and wood floors that are urethane varnished are especially susceptible to damage from such shoes. So, in order to prevent such damage, there are protectors which cover the pointy edges called ‘guards' or ‘raps'. These heel covers are quite often used while participating in ballroom dancing which is usually conducted on wooden floors.

Fashion Blogs & Beauty Blogs

Nowadays, internet users with a weak spot for fashion can find a lot of Top Fashion Blogs to suit their tastes. A fashion blog will typically give the reader handy fashion tips, some tips on how to mix and match, a list of trendy sexy dresses and fashion shoes especially the high heels shoes, and of course sexy bikinis or something else. hot news from the fashion world to keep them updated, and makeup tips to complement and enhance the beautiful outfits and shoes. The blog Super Fashionable by Ananda has all of these, and that is what makes it one of the Top Fashion Blogs.

Fashion Blogs

With so many fashion blogs available on the internet, users might wonder which ones to rely on. As too little choice can leave one feeling confined, too many can also result in confusion. So how do you choose the best fashion blogs? Here is how. Look at the range of tips offered. A good fashion blog must always cater to a wide range of viewers, and not confine itself to people of a particular background, budget or taste. Yes, the taste of the blogger will always be reflected in his/her blog, but a good fashion blog must try to address as many people as it can. Best Fashion Blogs will always talk about the latest trends, and guide you to achieve those looks. News and pictures from the fashion world always refreshes its viewers. Handy makeup tips are also welcome. Again, the blogger must not address people with a particular facial structure or skin type. Super Fashionable addresses a variety of women, and combines helpful makeup tips, assembled outfits, latest news about the world of fashion, and news about fashion sales.

Beauty Blogs

Everyone wants to look beautiful and young. You may end up spending a lot on makeup articles, and not know what to do with them. There are a chain of beauty blogs on the internet, but the trick is to find which bloggers to rely on. Checking out the number of followers might be a good idea. But if you do not want to waste time, Super fashionable comes to the rescue. This blog has a special section on beauty tips, which offer you useful information regarding the latest trends as well as time-tested makeup tips. Learn useful tips on makeup application and brushes and utilize your makeup articles to the fullest. Also learn how to fix your broken compact and apply mascara to make your eyelashes look thicker and longer without the hassle of false lashes.

The Importance of Accessories

chic accessories

Do you ever feel unfashionable?

Have you ever wondered how to keep-up with new trends?

If you answered yes, then don't worry! Many people feel they have to dress a certain way.

Fashion is a reflection of your character. Don't let other peoples' opinions influence how you dress! It's important not to feel forced into the fashion choices you make.You may not be able to carry-off a new look if it doesn't suit your character.

Fashion should be fun so don't be afraid to try out new styles. If you don't feel brave enough to try a whole new wardrobe, accessories are the answer! By changing only your accessories, you'll be saving money and then you'll be able to keep-up with the newest trends. Adding accessories such as a bag, a belt, a hat, a scarf or jewellery can really change your look. For example, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt can be made into several different outfits for different events. And of course, when we go outside in a sexy party dress or in cutecasual dress, how could we just put on sexy heels but without chic accessories?!

Currently, the sporty look is very popular.You may want accessories with a baseball cap and sweatbands or by carrying a sports bag.To add some glamour, you could wear a silkscarf as a belt. You could also wear jewellery such as wire bracelets and some dangling earrings.These will transform your look into a glamorous gypsy style. Whatever style you choose to follow, remember that fashion should be fun and most importantly it should be about you !

How to Dress Your Office Attire

Most of females must feel that have nothing to wear to office every day. While men would just get up in the morning, take a quick shower, grab the first thing in the closet that is within reach, wear it and leave for work, the women are tired in choose the right outfits for today. Why do we feel the need to shop compulsively and still grow tired of our own clothes? The answer is simple – we know that presentation is important too. But not every one have enough money to shop new collections. Let's face it, what we need to do is not keep shopping on and on but learn to dress what we have owned.

 Look at this outfit pic. Let your hair down in this understated yet sexy combo. It features a comfortable off-shoulder knitted sweater dress to is form ?tting to your curves. Grab an over sized structured handbag in camel and match a pair of leopard suede platform boots for the bold.Sweater dresses are sexy for the winter season. They keep you warm, but still looking sexy and perfect with thigh high boots! Get the designer inspired handbag that won’t break your wallet! This handbag features two hand straps, a twist and lock detail, textured faux leather, one outside zipper pocket, zipper closure, four pockets inside two for cell phones and other essentials. Also includes shoulder straps that  is removable. Walk tall in these gorgeous knee height platform boots featuring double buckle straps on ankle and upper shaft with split gore. Aside from the items which mentioned above, you may also prepare a simple chic necklace and small cute earrings to fit on.

Today we just shared a little idea for office outfits. If we could just put some thought into arrange office wear, we would have fewer problems and would not also grow tired of them too soon.