This month we start with your new capsule wardrobe for Autumn/Winter 2011. Once again, over the coming months. we’ll be selecting pieces that combine effortlessly to create a whole host of stylish looks. They’re classic pieces with an Autumn/Winter 2011 trend twist that you will still be able to wear past this season and beyond.

Here’s the first three items – they combine together to create a seductive ladylike look with a masculine/feminine twist – right on the autumn/winter 2011 pulse. Oh and you can finish off the look with pieces from Spring/Summer wardrobe as well as styling looks from both ‘capsules.’

Blouse/Shirt

One of the season’s hottest pieces is a languid, fluid blouse with shirt-like sensibilities. It’s more streamlined and figure-skimming than the boxy shirts of yester-season and without any feminine frilly-ness. It blends the line between masculine and feminine and will wear well with pretty-much any bottom half.

As well as with this season’s leather skirt, style with your summer capsule wardrobe wide leg trousers and wedges or the pleated skirt, skinny belt and minimalist heels.

The colour blocking trend gets a Sixties spin this season as well as playing some body shape trickery like this blouse from Whistles which draws focus upwards and outwards (away from tummies and adding height) as well as drawing a elongating line down your torso.

Colour Block Blouse, £125, sizes 6-18, Whistles

Pencil Skirt

The pencil skirt is a key capsule piece which takes centre stage this Autumn/Winter season.  This leather one from Isme perfectly encapsulates the feel of the season, striking a perfect balance between provocative and chic.

Team with the buttoned up shirt and snakeskin court shoes for a look that embodies refinement and drop-dead sex appeal.

A pencil skirt can be worn in so many ways to reflect your personality. Style with your summer capsule printed blouse and minimalist heels for a seductive look, with the simple tee and blazer for a sexy androgynous take or with the Breton top and chainmail cardigan for a little je ne sais quoi glamour.

The fit of your skirt should hug your hips and waist (but not too tight) so that it creates a curvaceous shape. If you’re pear shaped then balance out the silhouette with a voluminous top tucked into the skirt. Add a belt for extra definition at the waist.

Similarly, if you’re slender then this look will give curve definition.  If you’re top heavy then opt for a darker toned, slimline top.

South Leather Pencil Skirt, £55, sizes 8-24, available in black and tan, Isme

Court Shoe

The pointy court shape together with the coloured snakeskin print combines to create one of the season’s hottest shoe looks. These statement shoes from Kurt Geiger will add a classic-but-sexy and glamorous touch to any outfit.

Colour shoes can cause foreshortening by drawing focus downwards but the black and red snakeskin print pares this down and creates a more ‘camouflage’ effect. The pointy shape of the shoe, higher heel and ‘low toe cut’ helps to elongate legs.

As well as adding a refined finish to autumn’s ladylike looks or a twist to androgynous tailoring, style up with last season’s capsule wardrobe trench dress or the wide leg trousers, simple tee and blazer.

Eden Court Shoe, £180.00, sizes 36-41, available in pink and black, Kurt Geiger

As we round the corner to fashion week, traditionally a time when when women with ordinary bodies feel somewhat outnumbered by the constant traffic of models in a runway marathon, ADELE, the cover star of the October Englishwoman issue of Vogue, gives me a pleasurable fizz.

She is, we hear, a celebration of all that has come to define the modern English woman.

It’s “her very normality, her down-to-earth determination not to compromise herself,” that editor Alexandra Shulman favours along with “her ability to seem as if she very much herself.”

I’m also liking the charismatic physicality of the pop industry’s most recent superstar and I hope her confidence to remain curvaceous in the face of celebrity-red-carpet-sample-size-pressure does not desert her now the fashion circuit beckons.

No one could accuse Adele of being an ordinary beauty as this photograph by Solve Sundsbro shows but it’s a joy to see a glamourous woman with a realistic body smiling  from the newsstands.

Over and Out.

The colour block trend is set to continue this Autumn/Winter, distilled into Sixties clean-line tunics and A-line dresses. We’ll be bringing you our seasonal trends report very shortly but let’s give you a sneak peek into this trend and how you can use Sixties colour blocking and minimalist lines to nip n’ shape your figure and show it off to its best. Just pick one to flatter your figure…

Top – From left to right: Grey panelled dress, £95, 8-22, Monsoon; Blue and coral dress, £45, 6-22, M&S; Red and black dress, £32, 6-26, Next; Diagonal panel dress, £35, 10-22, Bonmarche.

Bottom – From left to right: Blue dress with tan leather sleeves, £59, 6-22, M&S; Blue and camel dress, £16, 6-22, F&F; Brown and black tunic, £45, 8-18, Wallis; Black and white tunic, £40, 6-22, Dorothy Perkins.

Report by Sharon Tyler

Another day another photo shoot, this time it took place, rather eccentrically I think, in full view of shoppers in Birmingham with the largest prop this side of Newcastle.

The purple chair and I are  promoting the How to Look Good road show to take place in September 23^rd to 25^th September in the Pavillions Shopping Centre as part of the Style Birmingham Live Weekend hosted by George Lamb.

Decked out in new season John Rocha and enjoying my latest acquisition from Kurt Geiger (a pair of kitten-heel sling-backs finally making their way into my wardrobe) the moment of serenity was challenged, when one helpful shopper pointed out that I had committed the ultimate style faux pas by leaving the lable on the underside of my new shoes.

Ha Ha, I had to take myself off and smack my own bottom, as she twittered furiously of my foolish amateurishness for all to know.I quashed the internet chatter by asserting that Marc Jacobs is considering a new collection of clothes featuring labels sticking out and I was merely ahead of the game. …I think they all bought it!

Normal service will be resumed in time to deliver top style tips for the Pavillions audience. See here for more details. http://pavilionsshopping.com/news/latest/Page38/

Classy Rags

At this time of year many of you have weddings to attend and we get lots of emails asking advice on guest outfit ideas and styling tips. Take a look in our shopping directory for a whole range of occasion wear designers and retailers to find that perfect outfit you’re looking for.

One of the great designers you’ll find in the directory is Classy Rags which has been established for over 20 years and has a collection of stunning outfits to make you stand out from the crowd (just not quite enough to upstage the Bride mind!) and to suit your body shape.

Ariane Poole

When putting an outfit together for a wedding or, come to think of it, day to day it’s not just about the clothes but the whole look. Let us remind you about Ariane Poole, a top international make-up artist who regularly works with us on our projects including making-over Brides and Mother of the Brides live onstage at the National Wedding show.

As a leading name in her field, Ariane has worked with many of the top fashion and beauty photographers and an impressive list of celebrities, models, pop stars and even royalty.

Five years ago, Ariane launched her own make-up range of innovative products which are fashionable, quick and easy to use and rid the need to have a make-up bag overfilling with unnecessary and time-consuming products. Her products make you look effortlessly stunning and are designed to enhance your natural beauty. Her products are also particularly effective at enhancing and beautifying a more mature skin.

www.fabatfifty.co.uk

Finally as you know here at www.howtolookgood.com we love to inspire and be inspired and so we wanted to introduce you to www.fabafterfifty.com – a website for women over 50 or women who want to be fabulous when they reach 50!

Fabafterfifty is a community where experts and guest contributors inspire, share and inform on topics from health and finance, fitness and diet, empty nesting, style, re-launching careers as well as a whole range of other issues.

The philosophy is to create a community where likeminded women can come together to learn, share and inspire to help each other navigate their way through the coming decades fabulously.

Why not join up to see what others are making of this time in their lives and share your experiences.

Report by Sharon Tyler