Monday 2 November 2015

Transitional Outwear For The New Season

Getting dressed at this time of year can be tricky. Days start out cold and crisp but end warm and sunny, frequent bouts of rain necessitate outerwear but it's not time for your Winter coat just yet.

What to do?
Thick layers, hats and heavy coats are still several weeks away but in the meantime you may be looking for some transitional outwear to keep out the chill whilst we move from Summer into Autumn.

Here we showcase three top choices for Autumn 2015...

The Coatigan
This year's must-have outerwear is the coatigan. Providing warmth as well as the opportunity to add some colours to your wardrobe, a coatigan is the perfect weekend cover-up.

Who Can Wear It?
The cocoon shape and soft fabrics of coatigans will look great on Oval body shapes whilst those with Natural style personalities will love the loose fit and casual nature of this style.

Due to the relaxed fit of most coatigans it is likely you'll be hiding your body shape a little underneath so opt for something that perfectly complements your colouring to ensure your skin glows and your eyes sparkle!


The Trench
In our opinion there is nothing more timeless and elegant than a trench coat year-round. A staple of many women's wardrobes for decades now, the classic cut and understated simplicity of a trench coat will never go out of style.

Who Can Wear It?
A trench coat in a stiff fabric will be better suited to straighter body shapes like Rectangles and Triangles. Those of you with Hourglass figures should opt for a version in a softer fabric that will work with your curves. The belt detail will show off a small waist but beware of too many pockets or large lapels if you have a large bust.


The Cape
The ideal layering piece for the season - the cape epitomises grown-up sophistication and is sure to give you an air of elegance and authority wherever you wear it. Whether worn with a sleek pair of cigarette pants and stilettos or denim and boots, a cape will add a touch of glamour to your look as you sweep through the seasons.

Who Can Wear It?
Capes look fabulous on those who are grand in stature as they tend be to quite voluminous, so you need some height to carry them off. That being said, if you're petite simply go for a fabric that is slightly lighter in weight and cut more neatly so you don't get swamped.

Add some colour to your look with your cape - this season they come in all shades and patterns, some even have fabulous faux fur trims to really up the glam factor!


 

Thursday 12 February 2015

Red “Tit-bits”!

A survey by dating website OkCupid found that women who wear red in their online dating profile photos are more likely to get messages and dates than those wearing any other colour. Careful though as lead author Dr Fangfang Wen wrote in a study, published in the journal, Evolutionary Psychology. that by choosing red, women are reflecting their sexual intentions ‘from the beginning’!

Psychologists at Central China Normal University, in Wuhan, China, showed 280 heterosexual students 32 pictures of the opposite sex and asked them to rate them according to how attractive they found them. These photos showed people wearing either blue, white or red. Male students found ‘feminine’ women wearing red the most attractive and also rated them highest for looking ‘warm’ and competent. ‘The colour red was shown to have a boosting effect on the sexual attractiveness of women with feminine facial traits,’ claims Dr Fangfang Wen

Scientists from the University of British Columbia in Canada, last year, claimed that women tend to wear red or pink when they are ovulating – the time of the month that they are at their most fertile – in a bid to attract a mate.

We know that red is synonymous with romance, passion, lust and fertility across nearly every long-standing civilisation, with males perceiving that they have a higher sexual opportunity when females adorn themselves in red! Other studies back this belief that red clothing also has a ‘marginally significant effect on men’s sexual attractiveness’. This may be because red can indicate higher status in some vertebrates and females evolve to prefer males that are high in status to provide for their babies. In addition, men are more attracted to women wearing red compared to other colours because they believe they are less likely to be rejected.

The Canadian research team claim that the colour red carries subtle but powerful messages about how receptive a woman might be to romantic advances and so men find it more alluring. Could this explain why women in red dresses have become such a provocative image in modern culture?.

When men were shown photographs of women wearing a red shirt they found them more attractive compared to when they saw the same women wearing green or white garments.

Another study, which tested 96 men from the United States and Austria, also found that the men felt the women would respond positively to their advances. Echoing Desmond Morris' belief, Adam Pazda, a social psychologist at the University of Rochester, in New York state, who led the research along with colleagues at the University of Innsbruck, said the response may be hangover from humans' evolutionary past, as animals such as female baboons display patches of bright red skin to indicate they are ready to mate.

He said: "We find it fascinating that merely changing the colour of a woman's shirt can have such a strong influence on how she is perceived by men.

"It is possible that women actually wear red clothing more when they are interested in sexual encounters. We are currently investigating this possibility, and preliminary evidence suggests that this is indeed happening."

It would appear that whether the studies have been carried out in Asia, Europe or the U.S.A., there is a resounding similarity throughout various studies, that men perceive women in red to be both attractive and more receptive!

Red is therefore a powerful communicator and it probably will benefit you to understand how to use it in the judicious way that you would choose!



Favourite Style Books