By Sharon Mosley
As Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion is architecture: It is a matter of proportions."
And this fall, the building blocks of fashion are more than ever about proportion. It's how the sum of the parts relate to the whole that adds up to a modern approach to style. If you're a student of fashion, you've noticed a change in the way designers and stylists are constructing the most updated looks.
The secret to this contemporary way of dressing is layering. However, knowing how to wear the shrunken vest over the longer shirt over the shorter pants over the taller boots can be a challenge to most of us who are not readily equipped with our design degrees.
But if you keep a few of these tips in mind, then you'll find that you can build a stylish wardrobe in no time just by changing up the way you wear the pieces you already own.
- Keep it balanced. Depending on your body's proportion, your clothes should be layered long over short or short over long. You don't want to chop yourself in half with clothes that don't flatter your height and size. Untuck those tops and blouses, girls! Let it all hang out!
- Remember, layering "short over long" creates a fuller silhouette; "long over short" gives a more narrow illusion. A flaired A-line skirt looks better with a fitted velvet jacket; a shrug cardigan [works with] an untucked chiffon camisole blouse and tailored trousers.
- Play up your best features. If you want to minimize areas of your body, wear darker monochromatic colors to detract from problem areas. Then you can play with new ways to layer. Top off a flowing, black chiffon Victorian blouse with a black bolero jacket, and team them with a black pencil skirt or soft trousers.
- Go for the unexpected. Fashion's latest premise that "opposites attract" can serve you well if you like to indulge in more of an individual look. The "tough vs. soft" rule of thumb especially applies when it comes to the new layering attitude. To tone down dressy pieces, team them with more casual items: A menswear sweater over a floaty, chiffon skirt; an embellished, jeweled flat with a pair of jeans. Experiment with mixing textures.
- Use accessories to your advantage. If you want to show off a curvy waist, show it off by belting vests, tops and jackets. If you want to lengthen your legs, wear a pair of knee-high boots with shorter skirts or pair dark tights with ankle boots and gaucho pants. Layer necklaces, long and short; stack those bangles on your arm -- the more, the better.
Sharon Mosley is a former fashion editor of the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock and executive director of the Fashion Editors and Reporters Association.
Source: Copley News Service. Powered by Yellowbrix.
