Yes… we are closing in on the holiday season fast! The festivities are beginning. It is the time of year that many of my clients are emailing and calling me frantically asking what to wear for their company party or family gathering. This year let’s keep it simple!!

Time to pull out your Perfect Black Dress (PBD). Take it out today and make sure it is clean! Below I will share a few ways to keep your look festive and fashion forward. If you don’t have a PBD, I put together some tips on how to choose one.

Before we step into the perfect cut for your Body Silhouette keep this in mind. It MUST be comfortable! My fav PBD is from Karen Kane. When I slip it on it feels like I’m wearing my pajamas! Made from a combination of a knit rayon/spandex blend.

No pulling or shifting or sucking it in. It’s tough to feel confidence when you are worrying about whether your bra is showing or feeling the need to focus the whole evening on sucking in your tummy.

Having said that, Nordstrom and I put together some tips for choosing that Perfect Black Dress (PBD)!

Petite:

The PBD for the petite frame elongates and flatters like this three-quarter sleeve Donna Morgan dress with ruffle trim.

Look for a dress with a lot of shape and horizontal seaming — and is scaled just right for your figure. The hemline should hit at or slightly above the knee. Avoid too-cutesy looks (like puffed sleeves or giant bows) so you won’t look little girlish.

Sensitive About Your Arms:

Don’t worry: you don’t have to look matronly to cover up your arms. The trick is to keep the sexy element with embellishment or peekaboo cutouts on your PBD. A sheer-sleeve dress, like this, is another great way to get some sex appeal and still conceal arms.

Curvy:

Just because your figure has curves doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a PBD. And nothing looks sexier than showing a little skin in an elegant scarf draped dress. (Buy Direct.) Look for designs enhancing and make you look and feel even more beautiful than they already are.

Wide Shoulders:

You don’t need to hide your upper body in your PBD if you have wide shoulders. Instead, look for body-balancing details like the trendy asymmetrical neckline, like this one-shoulder style (Buy Direct.) Avoid puffy sleeves or voluminous tops paired with slim bottoms that will exaggerate your shoulder width.

Wide Hips:  

The easiest way to balance a bottom-heavy figure is to choose a PBD that skims over the lower half of the body. Fuller skirts, like this Monique Lhuilllier dress, (Buy Direct) disguise heavy hips, while showing off the waist. A fitted halter or strapless silhouette — which accents a trim upper body — is very flattering for bottom-heavy figures.

Full Bust:

Balance a top-heavy figure in a PBD by opting for the most flattering necklines for the full bust: the V-neck, square neck, wrap or portrait style like this Maggy London dress. Look for fabrics that skim (jersey is good), but aren’t clingy or too stiff. Also, avoid ornate necklines, embellished bodices and blouson styles.

Small Bust:

Most clothing actually hangs better on women with smaller busts, but if you want to add more volume up top look for embellishment or fullness on the bust. This dress has ruffles on the bust that give it volume, plus a defined waist which flatters the upper body.

If you are still struggling to find the PBD, choose separates. Choosing a skirt and top (using the same tips above) can give the same elegance as the PBD.

 Now Accessorize It!!

Now that you have your PBD (or separates), here are a few tips to make it a timeless piece that you can wear it multiple times and keep the look fresh!

Bring color and festivity in by wearing a statement shawl or pashmina. Not sure how to wear it? Take a look! … or…Faux fur is all the rage this season so bring it on with a wrap or short jacket! Warm and cozy!

Your jewelry plays a key role in your look! Wear small fine jewelry for the Classy Lady look or chunky fashion jewelry for a more fashion forward City Chic look.

Your SHOES! This is the perfect time to step into some statement shoes. Do they need to be black? NO!! Have fun with a red patent peeptoe!

Your handbag! Just like with the shoes, have FUN! No, the bag does not need to match the shoes. Fun to go with black, head to toe and then pop some color with your evening bag.

Once you check the PBD off your list, it’s time to celebrate the season with family and friends! Hope your holidays are fabulous and blessed.

What accessorizing tip will you use this year for your PBD? I love to learn from you, so please do share!

Smiles, J

For years, JuliAnn, The “Heart” of Empowered Style, has been blessed to say that she has a dream job! A recipe with the main ingredients being her passions of inspiration, fashion and organization. Whether teaching at a live event, one of her Discover Your Style Workshops, providing corporate image training or working one-on-one with a client, JuliAnn’s mission is to use her fashion expertise to show love, encourage and empower women. From the unmentionables to the accessories, JuliAnn gently and lovingly guides women in discovering their inner style and then translating that to their outer image. An image and feeling of confidence for a more fulfilling and successful life! Her Website: http://juliannstitick.com/

Who knew that you might choose your jewelry based on your Body Silhouette? Believe it or not, you can balance out the shape of your face and body with the right necklace. Your arms can be made to look more willowy with the right bracelets. Rings can even play a positive part in the appearance of your hands!

Necklaces

Women of average height and weight, those with oval faces, and thin, tall women can select almost any style of necklace. Necklaces of same-size pearls or gemstones are especially attractive on tall women. Chokers help de-emphasize height.

The rectangular face needs jewelry that adds width and disguises its length. Both chokers and U-shaped necklaces reduce the length help break up the angles to flatter the face. These styles also help soften the sharp chin of a triangular or heart-shaped face.

Longer necklaces help lengthen the look of square or round faces. They also add stretch to a short frame when worn below the bust line but above the waist.

For the full-figured, longer styles draw the eye downward elongating your height. Pieces with larger stones and/or thicker chains are also preferable to small, delicate pieces

Bracelets

Wider bracelets are more proportionate for women of average height. Narrow bands and bangles are great choices for petite women. Delicate bracelets make longer arms look gangly. Depending on height, either several narrow bands worn together or a couple of wide bands adds balance to a full figure.

Rings

Select rings according to the size and shape of your finger. Long fingers can handle almost any style of ring. However, oval or round settings soften the look of overly thin fingers and wider bands are more flattering than thin ones.

If your fingers are short, measure the area between the knuckle on your hand and the first joint of your finger. Make sure the setting and stone don’t extend past the knuckle. As well as being uncomfortable, rings that cover the knuckle tend to make fingers look shorter. Narrow bands are definitely a better choice for short fingers!

Jewelry can play such a key part in your LOOK, so have fun!!

Based on what you learned above, what piece are you going to pull out and wear??

For years, JuliAnn, The “Heart” of Empowered Style, has been blessed to say that she has a dream job! A recipe with the main ingredients being her passions of inspiration, fashion and organization. Whether teaching at a live event, one of her Discover Your Style Workshops, providing corporate image training or working one-on-one with a client, JuliAnn’s mission is to use her fashion expertise to show love, encourage and empower women. From the unmentionables to the accessories, JuliAnn gently and lovingly guides women in discovering their inner style and then translating that to their outer image. An image and feeling of confidence for a more fulfilling and successful life! Her Website: http://juliannstitick.com/

“I want to keep those “skinny” clothes in case I lose weight.” Something I hear often when I perform the delicate task of sorting through a client’s wardrobe. I say, “GET RID OF THEM!” That may seem harsh, but believe me when I say it is best for the psyche!

A large majority of the time, my clients (or women in general are either thinking about losing weight or in the process of doing so. There is a huge difference in the two. Thinking about doing it is not the same as actually taking the actions to do so. If you are in the “thinking stage” I challenge you to this…

But, before we begin I must clarify that Skinny or Skinnier Jeans (for our purposes) means your jeans that fit great when you are at your healthiest weight. Now… on to the challenge…

Patty Manning Lennon, shares in Step One of her Happy Juice Potion- “Kill the Joysuckers- Perhaps you’ve been hanging onto a pair of skinny jeans to “motivate” you to lose the last 10 pounds.

Get honest with yourself – Do they motivate you or just make you feel bad? Most likely they act as a subtle form of punishment and it is time to give them away. There is someone that can benefit from those jeans. Release them and they will turn from your joysucker into someone else’s joy-enhancer.” I say… Those proverbial skinny (skinnier) jeans may actually be sabotaging your move from the stage of thinking about it losing weight to actually doing it!

If you are in the action stage, (standing ovation here ) I suggest you keep a few items (remember this is just my opinion) as what usually happens with my clients is when they do lose their weight they want NEW clothes. New body = new clothes!

On a similar note, as women process thru losing the weight they don’t want to waste money on buying new clothes until they hit their target. I really do get the thinking behind that, but it is a HUGE mistake! I always suggest treating themselves to one column of color (a solid colored matching top and pants or skirt). Wearing something that fits properly (and btw can be altered down) is a huge boost to self esteem and creates a positive outlook and momentum to lose more!

If you are on thinking about stepping into the healthier living process, I applaud you! Once I was sharing with a friend of mine that I was not feeling healthy. I had not been eating right or exercising. Her loving response was, “Well… we can be sitting here in three weeks and you can be complaining about the same thing or be feeling three weeks healthier.” OUCH! She was right. I admit, I am at that place of not taking the best care possible right now. A bump in my road, but fixable!

Do I need to take the actions to be healthier? Yes I do! Tomorrow it begins.. really… I am fired up and tired of feeling so-so. I do have control over how I care for myself. I admit that openly as it is also my way of being accountable to you.

Do you need to take a step (even a small one) to take better care of yourself? What is that step? Will you share it with us openly? A first step in the right direction! I’m in it with you!

For years, JuliAnn, The “Heart” of Empowered Style, has been blessed to say that she has a dream job! A recipe with the main ingredients being her passions of inspiration, fashion and organization. Whether teaching at a live event, one of her Discover Your Style Workshops, providing corporate image training or working one-on-one with a client, JuliAnn’s mission is to use her fashion expertise to show love, encourage and empower women. From the unmentionables to the accessories, JuliAnn gently and lovingly guides women in discovering their inner style and then translating that to their outer image. An image and feeling of confidence for a more fulfilling and successful life! Her Website: http://juliannstitick.com/.

Be honest… how many pair of blue jeans do you have in your wardrobe? Although a wardrobe consultant, I confess I have quite a few. Jeans for my bloated days, jeans for my “skinny” days, jeans for hiking, jeans for a date night with my hub and…. well… you get the picture.

American women have a tempestuous relationship with blue jeans. Not since the bathing suit, has the search for the perfect pair become so elusive! Recently the LA Times Business Section had an article about blue jeans. In it, Alice Harris, author of “The Blue Jean,” a book that chronicles America’s love affair with denim, talked about shopping for jeans.

“It’s a nightmare,” she said, “you have to go first thing in the morning before you have eaten. You simply can’t try on jeans at 4 in the afternoon unless you are 16 years old. For the rest of us, it’s an 8am call!” Amen to that, sister!

When I shop with my clients, blue jeans are at the top of the list. Jeans have become a wardrobe staple — the foundation that millions of women live in. While many have recently turned to premium denim, for me (and my practical Irish side), the right fit is far more important than the logo on the pocket, which is usually going to be covered up anyway.

Finding the right jean can set the tone for a shopping day. It’s the first thing I fit when working with a client. Comfort is KEY! With jeans, while style is definitely important, comfort creates confidence, which is your best accessory!

Gonna touch on a sensitive subject here, ready? For most body shapes, pants and jeans should sit at the hip (or just slightly above). The mid-rise allows them to fall from your hip which allows for the cleanest drape.

My mid-rise favs are: Land’s End Bootcut, Fidelity Denim’s Belladonna, Levi’s Slightly Curvy, Levi’s Perfectly Slimming, Agave.

My high-rise favs are: For those of you who want wear their jeans at the waist, your best choices are Miraclebody Jeans and Not Your Daughter’s Jeans.

15 Tips for Blue Jean Success!

1. Buy jeans with stretch in them, but not too much. I’d love to be able to give you a guideline here, but there are so many fabric blends out now that I would just confuse you.

2. Puhleeezzeee don’t focus on designer labels. The fit and comfort is so much more important.

3. Do the “squat” test when trying them on. Then sit in them for a few minutes. Are they comfortable? Do they hold their shape when you stand back up?

4. Plain pockets on the back create a smooth look

5. Chose jeans with quality fabric that fit well (if you can’t put them on and forget you’re wearing them, DON’T buy them! Pulling at your clothes is a confidence buster!)

6. RESIST the urge to wear your jeans before you’ve had them hemmed

7. Wash and dry them twice before you hem them

8. When you find the perfect pair, buy 2

9. Have a pair hemmed for flats and a pair hemmed for heels (hem should be 1⁄4” from the floor)

10. Go for a dark wash – the most versatile

11. Wash them in cold water with Woolite for Darks for lasting color

12. Bootcut is best for most bodies – tapered at the knee and a slight flare at the hem

13. Search for quality, not quantity (a good pair of jeans will last for years)

14. Where you purchase them matters! What is the return policy like? If you wear them a day and end up not liking the quality, can you return them?

15. Have a great time on your “Blue Jean Safari” and when you find your perfect jeans, do share with us! Tell us the name brand and why they are your favs!

For years, JuliAnn, The “Heart” of Empowered Style, has been blessed to say that she has a dream job! A recipe with the main ingredients being her passions of inspiration, fashion and organization. Whether teaching at a live event, one of her Discover Your Style Workshops, providing corporate image training or working one-on-one with a client, JuliAnn’s mission is to use her fashion expertise to show love, encourage and empower women. From the unmentionables to the accessories, JuliAnn gently and lovingly guides women in discovering their inner style and then translating that to their outer image. An image and feeling of confidence for a more fulfilling and successful life! Her Website: http://juliannstitick.com/.