Empower Your Appearance
Tag: #powerofappearance
Choose Wisely
Express Your Best
Appearance is Power
Choice Matters
CHOICE is a psychological need, as explained in Susan Fowler’s newest book, Master Your Motivation. It got me thinking of wardrobe choices. A wardrobe that’s a true asset empower’s in ways you never dreamed possible!
Steps to Empower Your Appearance:
- Find which colors are in harmony to your coloring and discover the contrast ones that help you stand out and be remembered.
- Examine your personal body type. Locate your waistline by finding where it indents (you may be surprised to find it’s above where you thought). Same for arms, legs, neckline. Find your smallest areas and hem your garments to meet these indents.
- Find your personal aesthetic. Each of us has an aesthetic, developed primarily by our exposure growing up and as an adult. Spend some time at art galleries or museums looking at art, architecture. Take walks to see natural landscapes and natural beauty from the sky to the plants and flowers. Pick favorites!
- Find your personal style. Explore what personality you most admire and why? Check out their personal style of dress, accessorizing, and actions. Use them as a case study for finding your best style.
- Exposure to fashion. You can explore the couture collections for each season on youtube.com. Once there, search by the season and there will be a list of videos from the actual fashion weeks. Enjoy!
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Empower Your Appearance
Fashion Collaboration for Greater Good
Burberry’s Chief CreativeOfficer, Riccardo Tisci, brought in Vivienne Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler for a British limited-edition collection. It’s available for online at the Burberry website. Select pieces start as low as UK£55/US$70. (fashionbombdaily.com).
There are kilts, berets, jackets, and a handwritten message by Westwood herself expressed on an oversized t-shirt. That piece is earmarked to raise money for non-profit charity Cool Earth. Cool Earth is a non-profit organization that works alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation and climate change(https://uk.burberry.com/?selected=Y). who help put a stop to deforestation and climate change. A cause very close to the designer’s hearts. Westwood will also customize 4 items from the collection to be auctioned, proceeds of which will go to Cool Earth.
The Burberry Check that made an appearance during the 60’s British Invasion has hung on to its iconic status over the years. Although it’s best known to most consumers for trench coats, quilted jackets, and tees, Burberry history begins in 1912. Thomas Burberry created the original coat for military personnel during WW1 (www.harrods.com). Who knew the Burberry trench coat and other items would grow such a powerful fashion story.
This limited-edition collection is fashion-forward, and consuming any of it helps the planet. Everyone’s a winner!
Why Color Matters
This is my third time writing about color in recent weeks including how Pantone is a key player in establishing seasonal fashion colors. What’s the fuss over color? Some look at seasonal changes in fashion colors as built-in obsolescence for more consumption. However, color is huge to fashion and it matters a great deal to your appearance.
Cognitive Psychologists believe color is our most important visual experience. It’s been found to play a significant role in many areas such as: enhancing memory function, assist in learning, marketing, communication and more.
Pantone is referenced in the linked article because it is the king of color. For more information on how it establishes colors for our world, check out their website.
My focus here is why and how color is used as a tool to empower your appearance.
Want to be remembered? Memory is one of the mental processes of human cognition. One study that got my attention is from Dzulkifli and Mustafar on how color enhances memory. Color in appearance determines how much attention we receive and how fast it comes, not to mention how it aids memory.
What happens when we see color? Our brain turns our memory system on and gets busy encoding, retaining, and retrieving environmental information for us.
Certain colors get emotional arousals grabbing attention and helping with memory retention. (Even if we aren’t Jennifer Lopez). Coral is one of those colors. It operates similar to red, and helps you stand out in a crowd. Gets attention quickly and assists the memory.
Finding your best harmony and contrast colors is empowering to your appearance. Learning to use color to frame your face such as scarves and accessories for women, ties and scarves for men, can be a simple application that differentiates you in the best ways.
For more tips on color and how to use it effectively, go to Color Tool in Stylist Tools at POWERofAppearance. Join Our Group for Stylist Tips, Fashion News Links, and Seasonal Updates.
Reference: Dzulkifli, M.A., Mustafar, M.F., (2013). The Influence of Colour on Memory Performance: A Review. Department of Psychology, IIUM. Malays J Med Sci. mar-May 2013:20(2):3-9.
GRUNGE Has Its Value
How to use Grunge? First of all, this picture shows a Marc Jacobs collection from 1993. “In early November, Marc Jacobs announced that he would be re-issuing the iconic 1993 “grunge” collection that got him fired from Perry Ellis back in 1993.” (Fashionista.com) His brilliant use and combinations of fabrics, silhouettes, colors, and accessories are ever current today. Even the skinny booties and heavy-duty Dr. Martins are gracing the catwalks for Fashion Weeks. So many messages here including “never give up,” but I digress. Let’s talk about how we can all gain additional value from these looks.
When do we wear Grunge and what does it express of us?
Grunge falls into a fashion section of casual themed clothing. Research shows that casual clothing is best worn for bonding and making friends. According to “The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing,” casual clothing is related to intimacy and familiarity,” (Slepian, Ferber, Gold, and Rutchick). Since these looks are fashion-forward, there’s an extra message expressed about the wearer. The fashions can signal an image to others and help you find your tribe. They express creativity and confidence.
DECONSTRUCT: There’s something here for everyone to examine. The message of color combinations and textures, such as knits and lace together, leather as glamour evening wear, understated-simple crosses all categories, cropped pants, small cross body shoulder bags, love the fanny pack… short blazer… mixed patterns… etc…
RECONSTRUCT: As a stylist, each of these trends can be re-applied in new ways for a wardrobe update. Fashion doesn’t have to translate literally. There is much to discover by deconstructing. Every one of these fun works of art can be of value in the right application. Use your imagination and enjoy the process!
Sharing is Giving!
Blue Box for Christmas?
Tis the Season…
Christmas Season is in the air. Even here in California, we have cool evenings by the fire, enough to cozy up and watch new and old movies. One can’t help but dream of possible gifts to give … and receive. Maybe even a “blue box” will show up in the stocking?
Tiffany’s blue box along with the Tiffany & Co store became iconic to many long before the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (See Trailer). After the movie, Tiffany & Co. became a global phenomenon. Every couple years I manage to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s an entertaining movie checking all the boxes for me: funny, visually good, great acting, love and romance, in a setting I love. Additionally and just as important, it’s an amazing fashion show with one of the most revered style icons, Audrey Hepburn, looking perfect in Huber de Givenchy’s little black dress.
In 2016, a documentary, Crazy About Tiffany’s, came out and was every bit as entertaining (CrazyaboutTiffanys.com). Learning the 150plus years of history of Tiffany’s, and how it entered pop culture is fascinating. Tiffany’s hired a female design director, Francesca Amfitheatrof, a smart move. The documentary explores how the jewelry is made, as well as how the pieces find their way to the red carpet in Hollywood. It also includes the story behind the color, Tiffany Blue.
And that’s why the iconic Blue Box for Christmas represents the ultimate!
Written by Karen Mathis
Email: Karen.POWERofAppearance@gmail.com
~Karen Mathis
