Leggings....a controversial subject for many women! You either love them or hate them! I happen to love them! I wear them all the time in a number of different ways. Now I still stand by my big miss of 2011 with jeggings, but I think that if you pair leggings with the right pieces you can look really great! You can wear them with tunics or long tops, big knit sweaters, ankle boots, knee length boots or high heels for the evening. I also like bringing a summer dress back to life by pairing it with leggings so that you get wear out of it all year round. Think about layering with your leggings, and be creative with patterned leggings paired with a solid colored top or mini skirt! And again, remember the rule ladies....big or loose on top, fitted on the bottom!  Mix it up with denim or even leather.  If you have the imagination, you'll look fab!!!

For most of my life I have hated shorts!!!  I have never worn them, even when I was younger and could have gotten away with wearing them.  But now that I'm in my forties, I am loving the shorts trend!  But - and this is important - I love them for the fall/winter!  I love the trend of wearing them with opaque tights and boots and I have a couple of pairs that I have worn in different ways.  The opaque (usually black for me!) is a must, as they will make your legs look slimmer and thinner!  And then you can either wear ankle booties or knee length boots and you will look great.  An important factor here is that I wouldn't recommend a tight fitting short, always try to wear a loose fitting or flared short, because this also will make your legs look slimmer.  Also, keep it classy ladies, nothing too short! You can pair the shorts with a fitted top and a blazer which will finish off the outfit nicely.  Denim shorts can also be worn, but I leave that to the younger ladies.....take a look at some of these different ways to wear shorts and get inspired. 

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I love a sweater dress.  There are a number of different ways you can wear them, depending on the occasion, and they come in so many colors, patterns and textures that you can never go wrong with this simple but elegant staple.  You can wear them fitted to show off your curves, or a little looser on the days when you want to disguise your middle (but remember ladies, NEVER baggy as this will make you look larger than you are!).  Wear them with sleek knee-length boots or cute ankle booties.  Belt them to emphasize your waist, or just add a scarf or a pair of high heeled pumps with great earrings for an evening out.  Whatever way you choose to wear the sweater dress you can't really go wrong...

The Color Purple...

One of this season's popular color trends is grape...or purple, eggplant, aubergine or whatever else you prefer to call it.  But whatever you call it, I love this color!  I was so happy that this color was 'in' this season, as it happens to be one of my favorite colors, and fortunately for me, it matches my coloring perfectly!  Phew, that was a relief!!  So go ahead and try wearing this color this season.  Whether you wear a grape dress, or just want to add a subtle accessory like grape shoes, scarf of purse, you are sure to look great in this beautiful on-trend color!

One of my favorite things to wear are vests (or waistcoats as we call them in England!).  I have a number of different ones in different cuts, colors and patterns.  They can really add that extra something to an outfit, and if you've just thrown on a pair of jeans and tee shirt because you're in a rush, adding a vest can really pull your outfit together!  I just wore a tweed vest a couple of days ago with my jeans and tee-shirt, and it looked put together without even trying!!  You can wear these for day or night, and they're great for hiding a few extra pounds around the mid-section too, so they do double duty!  What more could you ask for ladies??  Here's a few different looks for wearing this great little accessory.....

The new year is upon us, the festivities are over and now it's time for life to get back to some kind of normal again!  We're all trying to lose those few pounds we gained over the holiday season, and new year's resolutions are in full swing!  So to make your life easier as you start off the new year, I'm going to give you some suggestions for little black dresses to suit every body type.  Disguise the areas of your body that you're not so happy with, and emphasize the parts that you like!  Take a look at some of these little black dresses that will make you look fabulous!


If you don't like your upper arms, this is the perfect solution!



This simple silhouette is perfect to draw attention away from a thick waist!



If you're top heavy this is a great shape!


For wide shoulders the one-shouldered look is great!



Plus size ladies will look sexy in this!




This shape is flattering and flirty for bottom heavy shapes!

The hit & misses of 2011 were many, from the hits of the reinvention of the jumpsuits & wide leg trousers, to the awful invention of jeggings & the bubble skirt!  But I want to concentrate on what my big hit of the year was, and that was the brilliance of Alexander McQueen, whom we sadly lost and who is greatly missed.  But despite the fact that he is no longer with us, his brilliance lives on in his fashion house thanks to Sarah Burton who continues to build on his legacy.  She was the one behind the design of Kate Middleton's beautiful wedding gown and the infamous bridesmaid dress of her sister Pippa Middleton. 



The beautiful exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum, 'Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty', celebrated the late designer's innovative and exceptional contributions to the fashion world.  There were over 600,000 people who attended this exhibit.



Whoever told you that jeggings were flattering was lying!!  These are one of my personal big misses of 2011.  I think they are cheap looking and unflattering even on thinner people!  Please, keep them at bay!!



My other big miss of 2011 is the bubble skirt!  Really?  Why would I want to wear something to accentuate my hips and backside??  Again, even on thinner girls this look is just plain bad!  Sorry, but no-one could get me to put one of these unflattering items of clothing on!!