Does Your Necktie Fit Properly?

To ensure your tie fits properly start with a shirt that fits well. Your shirt collar should be loose enough for comfort but snug enough to sit well. The perfect fit for a shirt collar will allow enough room to fit a finger between the collar and your neck. Your shirt collar should feel comfortable.

• Your tie should end about an inch above your belt buckle

• The tie knot should not force up the tips of your shirt collar

• The inverted triangle of the tie knot should fit neatly into the triangle created by your shirt collar.
Men's Fashion

7 Fashion & Beauty Tips for Busy Women

1. Preparation – Think ahead and have an outfit ready for every occasion – especially those of an unexpected nature. You never know when you will have to show up for some unplanned event. If you haven’t prepared you’ll have nothing to wear. For example, if you were invited on short notice to a wedding or a special event would you have something suitable in your closet? Would you have the right accessories? The right color hose?

2. Streamline Your Wardrobe - Start by keeping only those clothes in your closet that you wear. Get rid of anything that you have not worn in a year and store clothes that are off-season. Secondly, organize your wardrobe so you can easily see items that go together or put one or two outfits together on one hanger for those times that you are in a hurry.

3. Wear the Right Colors – You will look healthier and more vibrant instantly when you wear colors that suit your skin tone.

4. Don’t Forget Makeup – Would you make a birthday cake and not decorate it? Don’t dress up and not wear makeup. A touch of makeup is the ‘icing on the cake’ of a well groomed woman.

5. Get a Great Hairstyle – A great hairstyle is one that suits your face shape, is a color that complements your skin tone and is easy to maintain.

6. The Mirror Test – Before you leave home check your image in a full length mirror to get a head-to-toe look and make sure that everything is in place.

7. A Great Attitude – Don’t leave home without it. How you react and how you think are portrayed by your attitude. You can look picture perfect but if you don’t treat people with respect how you look doesn’t matter.

More Fashion Tips

Looking Great

When women head to the shopping malls with a pocket full of money they go with the intention that the new outfit (s) they purchase will make them look terrific. Sometimes they will find that special outfit but more often than not they purchase garments that they like at the moment but get home only to find it doesn’t match anything else they own, it doesn’t fit well or they’re not sure why they bought in the first place. As a result wardrobes contain only a few items we wear (usually 20%), shopping becomes a chore and finding the right outfit a matter of luck.

How can this experience be changed?

Read More

3 Worst Fashion Blunders

1. Trapped in the Past: If you are holding on to clothes or hairdos from the past that you can’t let go, now is the time to give them up. Worst yet, if you have a closet full of clothes that you haven’t worn in years that you keep telling yourself you will fit into again you are deluding yourself. Your wardrobe will never be functional until you purge yourself of all outdated and ill-fitting items.

2. Devaluing & Judging: Stylish, well-dressed women come in different heights, shapes and sizes. Unlike her counterpart who frets over not fitting into the ‘perfect’ dress size, a well-dressed, confident woman takes care of the body she was born into and buys clothing styles that complement it. Comparing your body to how it looked twenty years ago or to the latest ‘hot’ model or actor is not only a fashion disaster; it is also a recipe for depression. Beauty is an inside job and women who are not on a quest for perfection automatically become more attractive.

Right now, stop waiting to lose those extra pounds or rid yourself of those new facial lines before you can buy that wow outfit; embrace who you are and the body you have. Treat your body with respect, dress it with appreciation, live in the present and stop worshiping unrealistic expectations.

3. Denial: There are quite a few women who a have deluded themselves into believing that appearance is not important. For some reason they have equated looking great with selfishness. Dressing your body is an act of self care and it shows that you appreciate yourself and your body enough to make it look as good as it can. Clothes are a necessity– we can’t go out without them. It makes sense then, to take care and put effort into choosing the best styles, colors and fabrics that make us feel wonderful.

3 Tricks to Look Slimmer - The Art of Creating Illusions

What comes to mind when you think of ‘creating illusions?’ If you’re like most people you probably think of magicians and tricks. Illusions are created with art, photographs and with clothing. Don’t underestimate how much better you can look simply by wearing the right combination of lines. No matter what your size, choosing clothing with flattering lines will make your body look better instantly.

If you’ve gained a few pounds over the holidays that you’d like to hide while you are in the process of getting rid of them, I have a few ideas you can use to trick the eye and make you appear slimmer.

1. Lines: The eye naturally follows lines and all clothing has lines. The lines in clothing are necklines, pockets, sleeves, hems, etc. For example, a sweater that has v-neckline will draw the eye downward creating a long line, the look of a longer neck, longer face and slimmer upper body. By contrast a turtleneck creates a short, horizontal line that stops eye and makes the face appear fuller, the upper body bigger and the neck shorter. Using this concept alone you can create a slimmer upper body by sticking to tops with vertical lines that create the look of length; and by stashing the turtlenecks until you feel a little slimmer.

2. Color: A basic rule of color is that black recedes and white advances. In clothing this is important because it means that darker colors will make the wearer appear smaller and lighter clothing will make the wearer look larger. Wearing black to look slimmer is a trick that has sometimes been over used. Black does have a slimming effect but too much black can be dreary and create a washed out look if the proper makeup is not worn.

Sometimes women who want to look smaller try squeezing into a smaller size which defeats the purpose. Tight clothing will always make you look larger. It is much more flattering to wear clothing that fits well and glides over the body rather that sticking to it. Wear dark colors on the places you want to appear smaller but be sure not to wear them tight. For example, if you are a triangle shape with a larger lower body than upper body and you want your lower body to appear smaller, wear a light color top with dark pants or skirt. For an overall taller and slimmer look, dress in the same color (or shades of the same color) from head to toe.

3. Proportion and Scale: A simple explanation of proportion and scale is that an object seen next to other objects appears either larger or smaller depending on the size of the objects that appear next to them. The size of a handbag in relation to the woman carrying it is a good example of this. A large woman carrying a small handbag will appear larger. To avoid looking larger when wearing prints, keep them in proportion to your size.

Would you like to learn more about how to use the lines
in clothing to your advantage? Sign up for my ecourse -
Style and Fashion - The Art of Creating Illusions.

Style and Fashion E-course

Beauty from the Inside Out

Are you tired of trying diet after diet and either not being able to lose or losing weight and gaining it back?

Since we all know that diets don’t work wouldn’t you like to learn how reach a weight where you feel comfortable, healthy and in love (or at least ‘like’) with your body without having to give up or drastically cut down your eating?

I am offering a wonderful program that will help you learn more about how to get your body healthy and in the condition you want and help you overcome any obstacles that are associated with getting you there.

The goal of the group is to provide a safe place to meet, learn, set goals and get motivation in attaining a healthy body weight and learn how to feel good about the body you have.

The group coaching class will consist of six interactive sessions that will occur over the telephone with a small group of ten people. Sheila will create a supportive learning environment that will provide participants with the opportunity to explore together issues of reaching and maintaining a healthy body weight, being in good physical condition and having a healthy body image.

You, as a participant, will be guided through a participatory process of exploring where you are presently, clarifying desired outcomes, identifying the obstacles to success and establishing an effective action plan to move ahead.

How it works:
You will meet other participants via a group forum ahead a few days before the conference begins.

You will be emailed a teleconference phone number to call at a specified time, once a week for six weeks, where you will be greeted by me and the group. Each week I will bring information regarding a specific topic to the group and you, along with all participants will have the opportunity ask questions and express your relationship to the topic.

The teleconference offers the benefit of coming to the group as casual as you want in the comfort of your own home or office.

*Important The group is limited to ten participants; therefore, in order to maintain an effective group coaching experience I am accepting participants who are:

Positive
Punctual
Open-minded
Dedicated ( who will attend all sessions, participate and set goals)
Confidential


*Topics: Exercise and How it Works, Getting and Staying Motivated, Reducing Stress, Eliminating Extra Calories Easily, How to fall in Love with Your Body, Beauty from the Inside Out

Fee: $97 for 6 weeks, one one-hour session per wk (introductory fee).
Regular price is $300

Meeting Dates: January 10, 17 &24 February 7, 14 &21 - 2009

Will Meet: Saturdays, 12 noon, EST

Sign Me Up

This group is closed. If you'd like to put your name on a waiting
list for the next one please email me at sheila@sheilasfashionsense.com

Handbag Rules

Accessories should be chosen with care and handbags are no exception. The right handbag can add instant pizzazz to your look. Smart women choose their handbags carefully and consciously match them with their outfit. Every woman should have at least one good quality classic handbag in a neutral color. This handbag shouldn’t stand out as being in the latest style but shouldn’t be outdated either. Here are other tips:

1. Your bag should match your outfit. This means that printed or embellished bags should be worn with plain colors. For example, if you are wearing a plain brown jacket and plaid brown pants the handbag you carry should be in a plain color. Any sort of decoration on a bag will clash and look gaudy.

2. Your bag should also match your outfit in weight. Heavy bags should be worn with heavy clothing and lighter bags with lighter clothing. Your bag should also match your outfit in style as well. For example, a casual bag goes with casual clothes.

3. Your bag should be in proportion with your size. Large women look better carrying large bags and small women look better with smaller bags. A small woman will be over powered with a large bag as large women will appear larger carrying a tiny bag. To make sure your bag is proportion to your size look in the mirror.

More Fashion

Could You Be Damaging Your Skin?

I will be bold enough to say that, “all women want clear, smooth skin”. The fact of the matter is that most women can have great skin if they dedicate themselves to self-care.

Clear skin is not necessarily young skin, it is skin that looks and feels healthy. It is the result of great self-care. A woman who has great skin is someone who knows that what she puts into her body has a direct influence on how her skin looks and feels. She takes care of her body by exercising regularly and avoids excess sweets and fats.

Although using good skin care will certainly improve the look and feel of your skin, it will not pay up for lack of proper self-care. Great skin comes from dedication to self-care. Self-care also means avoiding a chaotic lifestyle which involves getting little sleep, smoking, excessive drinking and sun exposure.

Sometimes women who take great care of themselves still make some skincare boo boos. Here are just a few:

1. Leaving Makeup On when going to bed is something that many women do without thinking. Missing this final step in a skincare routine can lead to blemishes.

2. Tugging on the Eye Area can damage the delicate area under the eye and cause premature wrinkling. Eye cream should be patted on around the eye area very gently.

3. Using Regular Body Soap on the face can be very drying. Use a cleansing cream that is specially formulated for your skin type.

'Never before has the attainment of a smooth, acne-free, youthful, and gorgeous complexion been as simple, as inexpensive as now'…

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Sheila's Fashion Sense