Recession Shopping Tips ... save £s on the latest fashion (incl £20 off Kurt Geiger Shoes)

With Christmas fast approaching, we all have a lot of outgoings in the next few weeks.  A new outfit for over the Christmas period is often an essential but now, more than ever, every penny counts.

To get the most from your spend on fashion all year round, I recommend signing up to MoneySavingExpert.com.  Under 'Shopping' you will find news of retailers discounts & can even have these sent to you in a weekly newsletter.  For instance, this week you can find out on MoneySavingExpert.com how to save:

• £20 off Kurt Geiger shoes - buy Elle magazine for your discount card & get the 'go with everything & make your legs look longer' shoes below for £35 instead of £55 
• 15% of Debenhams (or a £5 voucher)
• £20 off Monsoon - dress below would then only cost £30! (wear with a sparkly belt to really show off your waist)
• 10% off Wallis
• 10% off Dorothy Perkins
• 15% of GAP / Banana Republic
• 20% of Matalan online
• For O2 customers, 25% of New Look

When shopping for anything online always search for promotional codes e.g. type into Google 'M&S promotional code' and you will rarely ever have to pay a delivery charge, as free delivery is the most popular promotional code given.

Happy Shopping & Saving x

Get your winter scarf in your best colour ...

Some items never go out of fashion ... a trench, a blazer, a white shirt and, of course, the winter scarf (especially in Ireland)!  

A colourful scarf can really give new life to last winter's coat, but it is so important that it's in your right colour, as being so close to the face it can make you look completed washed out if it is too bright / too dark. 

The Colour Me Beautiful range of scarves guarantee that you will always look your best.  You'll see me wearing my orange scarf with my chocolate brown coat on really cold, wet days this winter and my yellow-green scarf when it's cold but sunny.  Contact me if you're not sure which is your best colour.

Choosing a Winter Coat

Sadly, winter is approaching and one of the items we will wear a lot over the next few months is our winter coat.  As well as choosing a coat which suits your colouring, it should also suit your bodyshape & style personality. 

The best buy is a coat in a neutral colour so you can revamp it each winter with coloured scarves / brooches.  A brightly coloured / patterned coat may get you lots of compliments on its' first outing but people tend to remember it. 

When it comes to bodyshape, most importantly, if you have a waist show it off in a fitted style.  Wearing the wrong shape can add 10lbs to the wearer.

(Green coat, Oasis, £76)

If you have a large bust, single-breasted will always look better on you:  

(Red coat, Coast, £195)

If you are petite, under 5ft3, a shorter coat will suit give the illusion of more height:

(Rust coat, Isme, £75)

Whereas a petite lady would look swamped in a long coat like this:

(Cream coat, Planet, £299)

The Herringbone trend is perfect for those with clear & cool colouring and Classic style personalities:

(Hugo, £349, stylebop.com)

Although Dramatic / Creative style personalities like to wear coats that are that little bit different, this style should be avoided for anyone with a short neck:

(Joe Browns, Debenhams, £85.95)

As your winter coat will hide all the other gorgeous clothes you are wearing underneath it must suit you 100%.  If you struggle finding a winter coat then it's time you booked a style consultation to help you find out what exactly suits you and where you can find it!

Are you dressing correctly for your bodyshape?

Once a client comes to see me about which colours suit them best, they usually book themselves in for a style consultation too.  This helps them to understand which styles are best for their bodyshape, whether they are a size 6 or 26.

For example, if a client wears a belt too high or too low she can look out of proportion.  If she is curvy, stiff fabrics may make her look a size larger.  If she is petite, ankle straps may make her look shorter.  Lisa, below, demonstrates the 'what not to wear' look for a curvy petite:

If Lisa understood how to dress for her bodyshape then she could easily look slimmer & taller.  Wearing a fluid jersey fabric to flatter her curves, an all-over print to camouflage areas of concern, a deep waistband to balance her torso and open-front, pointed-toe shoes give Lisa the illusion of a slimmer body and longer legs.  See the difference for yourself:

If your clothes aren't making you feel 10 out of 10 everytime you wear them, book in for a 2 hour consultation for £90 to fix it!  Think of the money you'll save - no more clothes hanging in your wardrobe that never get worn...

The essential shoe colour for summer!

Often when I weed a client's wardrobe, it's their shoes that take up a lot of wardrobe space.  I love shoes so I can understand that impulse to keep buying lots in every colour but I'm always surprised when I find out that my client doesn't own a pair of nude coloured shoes. 

This is the best colour to own - they go with every outfit in your wardrobe, make you look taller and your legs look slimmer.  Kate Middleton & Victoria Beckham are rarely seen without theirs!  Get yours now in the sales.

Creating a Capsule Wardrobe

With a lot less clutter in your wardrobe you will be able to see if you are  missing some essential items in your wadrobe?  (Now the sales are on it's a great time to buy those pieces that you will wear again and again ...)

My favourite essentials for a good wardrobe are:

1. A little black dress (navy or purple, if black is not in your palette)
2. A blazer (fit will depend on your bodyshape - if you have a waist this should be fitted.  If your rib cage is straight then a relaxed look will look best.  Check out Isabella Oliver 365 for relaxed blazers).
3. A crisp white shirt (this may need to be 'soft white' if you don't suit bright white).  Don't spend a lot on your shirt as it will discolour over time and may need to be replaced every couple of years.
4. A good pair of tailored trousers, which you can dress up or down.  (Side zips are best for a slim look).
5. A knee length skirt, again it can be dressed up or down.  A style consultation will show you shapes that do and don't suit your body shape, if you don't already know.
6. A trench coat, never goes out of style and can cover up an unfortunate ensemble underneath!
7. A great pair of jeans, if you are very curvy try a brand called 'Not Your Daughter's Jeans'.
8. A cashmere sweater & cardigan, check out those on uniqlo.co.uk for great prices.
9. A variety of simple tanks / tops in your best colours / shapes for layering.  Abercrombie & Fitch have a great selection.
10. A leather jacket; dress up jeans & a white shirt for a casual day out.
11. A summer dress; in a neutral colour so it can be easily changed for day / evening with accessories.
12. A winter coat

These items will give you the basis of a capsule wardrobe as long as you stick to a colour scheme which means all items can be mixed together.  And of course all items need to be in your most flattering colours & shapes.

Accessories can be added for flashes of colour, especially if you are a Colour Me Beautiful 'city chic' style personality. 

Why don't you arrange a Style Workshop with a group of friends to find out your style personalities & best shapes from £35pp at www.colourmebeautifulni.co.uk.   

The time has come ...

We all have jobs that need doing around the house / at work that we keep putting off for another day.  It's always at the back of your mind and you know you really should get on with it but you distract yourself with little tasks you can finish quickly instead.  When you do get around to doing the job you were putting off you feel a great sense of achievement & wish you'd just gotten on with it at the beginning!

It's the same with your wardrobe, rather than organising our wardrobes we find ourselves trying to do quick fixes by buying more items to try to remedy the 'I have nothing to wear problem'.  I promise that when you weed out your wardrobe, or have a professional do it for you, you will wish you'd done it sooner!

If you're going to do this yourself, start off by taking out all the clothes you don't wear.  The clothes left hanging in your wardrobe should all be items that score 10 of 10 for making you look & feel fantastic. 

The clothes you've taken out of your wardrobe now need to be organised into 4 piles:

1. Clothes that need mending / dry-cleaning - if the only reason you don't wear them is because of a broken zip / stain on the sleeve, then once sorted they can go back into the wardrobe.
2. Pieces that you no longer wear, but don't want to part with - these do not go back into your wardrobe! Store elsewhere in the house or you'll always think you have more clothes than you do.
3. Clothes that have got to go - the dress that makes you look pregnant, the white shirt that has gone grey, you know which items they are...
4. Not sure pile - try these items on and ask yourself do you feel good wearing them.  If you're still unsure; take a picture of yourself wearing it (does it feel like a 10 out of 10 item?) or ask a stylish friend for their opinion.  Maybe you need to have a colour / style consultation to understand what does & doesn't suit you.

If you are a hoarder the thought of getting rid of your clothes will fill you with dread.  For these clients I ask them to keep the clothes in a separate wardrobe for a month.  Once they have discovered how much better it is to get dressed in the morning with their uncluttered wardrobe, those clothes never return.

In my next post, we will look at essential items you need to have in your wardrobe ....