PERSONAL STYLING TIPS: STYLISH KNITWEAR YOU MUST TRY THIS WINTER

Gone are the days when Autumn/Winter means bulky, unfashionable garments that you have to pile on to keep warm. Fashionable knitwear is obtainable now for our wardrobes, and there are some fantastic options available depending on your personal style preferences.

If you haven’t yet discovered your own personal style, you can check out my previous blog which shares a whistlestop tour of the different types.

Knitwear for Natural Style personalities

Comfortable, neutral tones, that are easy to care for and throw on are your go-to preferences. A beige, funnel neck jumper from Sweaty Betty is an easy to put on item. Wear with a pair of comfy trousers, or leggings, with your favourite sneakers or boots and you’re ready to go.

A slightly more elegant option for a special occasion, could be this knotted round neck jumper. Pair with a pair of straight leg jeans, or pleather leggings and a pair of wedges.

For an everyday item, this Uniqlo crew neck sweater is an every day classic you can include in your wardrobe.

For a full outfit that is warm and cosy, you can look for a knitted dress in your go-to neutral tones. This FCUK high neck midi dress is super easy to throw on, and can work with leather knee-high boots, sneakers, or even heels (which I know you only wear on very very special occasions!). If you have a larger bust, a roll neck may not be suited to your body shape, so look for a wrap dress that feels comfortable and cosy.

Knitwear for Classic Style Personalities

As a classic style, you want to feel elegant, pulled together, and more formal. With knitwear this can be tricky, as often they come in a bulkier form. So, you need to look for garments made with more elegant fabrics such as cashmere, velvet, or high quality wool.

Much like naturals, you want to have a more neutral wardrobe, but you do use some colour such as navy, peach, or pinks, depending on your skintone.

This off the shoulder, cashmere piece works elegantly with a midi skirt, pencil skirt, flares, or even wide legged trousers. The styling of the neckline works beautifully on triangle shapes so as to bring some broadness to the shoulders. It would work beautifully with a pair of bootcut jeans for a casual look, or with a pair of tailored trousers and court shoes. While this pearl-embellished neckline knit jumper has an elegant, yet comfortable feel.

This belted cable knit cardigan is also a good piece for every day, while remaining elegant enough to feel more dressed up than a casual sweater. Pair it with a pair of camel wide legged trousers and neutral heels for an every day go-to look, or with a silk midi skirt and knee high boots.

This 2 in 1 midi dress is great for any season, as it pairs a turtle neck jumper with a midi dress that has an approachable slit in the side. With a pair of leather boots, or heels this will be a complete look that you can quickly put together, while remaining elegant.

While this tied waist knitted skirt in cream, will pair elegantly with a blouse and heels, or a turtle neck and boots for the winter.

Knitwear for Romantic Style Personalities

You love to get dressed up when you are a Romantic style personality! Knitwear may feel unapproachable for you. However, looking for knits that have extra pieces such as pearls, fringing, or patterns will help you stay warm and confident!

This cashmere cardigan with sequins is perfect for the festive season! Adding some sparkle, shine, and warmth makes this cardigan a great option for Christmas festivities. While it is in a deeper colour, the charcoal can work well with a bright dress or skirt underneath to bring some colour to the look.

This pink, ribbed, button knit dress is another excellent option for colour pop and warmth. The slightly puffed sleeves will be an added bonus for the look, and pairs well with a pair of boots, a crossover body bag, and your favourite coat.

For a sexier look, this bodysuit is, in fact, a knitted garment so adds that extra warmth you need in winter, without giving up on the body shape you’re looking to show off! Great for hourglass, pear, or inverted triangles, the corset shape pulls you in at the waist and can work well with a variety of bottoms. Whether it’s a midi or mini skirt, a pair of high rise jeans, or a pair of tailored trousers, this can work well across the board of occasions. Pop on your favourite blazer, or a sequinned jacket, and you’re ready for a night on the town!

Knitwear for Creative & Dramatic Style Personalities

Creative and Dramatic style personalities can feel difficult to differentiate, but it is in fact all about how you make the look. Creatives and Dramatics love bold, statements with their looks but Dramatic personalities tend to mix up patterns and shapes, adding details and accessories to create a statement look, while creatives prefer to create looks that follow a little more structure.

These style personalities loves picking from current and past trends. Consider finding your knitwear from high street, luxury, and vintage stores to satisfy your creative needs.

This quirky cloud patterned jumper brings a little artistic flair to your look. With a pair of vintage flares, sneakers, and trench coat, you’ll feel right at home in this piece.

This jacquard knit mock-knit short sleeved top in gorgeous bright yellow and orange, or purple and lilac, is spun from a featherweight Italian yarn that is wrinkle-resistant. Pop on a knitted skirt, or over a pair of mom jeans, with a pair of combat boots and it’s a great everyday look for a dramatic personality. The way this has been styled below is a perfect example of how a dramatic would create a look – mixing two diverse patterns together in one look.

This quirky wool blend jumper by Ralph Lauren is just the ticket to add that touch of drama to any look. With the unique polo bear to the front, it can work over a shirt, blouse, or maxi dress depending on your needs for the day! Pop on a pair of colourful combat boots, a beret, and your favourite jewellery and you’re ready to rock. 

To fulfil your creativity for an evening look that combines edgy with sexy, this cut out top in charcoal works perfectly with a silk midi skirt, stilettos, and statement jewellery. This feather trimmed cable knit jumper is another fantastic option that combines some edgy styling, with a unique shape. Available in emerald or pink, it can work for a variety of skintones. You could bring this look together with a pair of leather trousers, or over a summer dress to enable you to continue to use your summer looks throughout the colder months.

As you can see, knitwear is not drab! When you know the styling that works for you, you can easily find and create looks that bring confidence to your day. If you know you need a style refresh, but can’t easily fit it into your schedule, my personal style masterclass is the perfect first step. 

In less than three hours, I’ll help you understand what shapes, colours and cuts work best for you, and share advice and inspiration on how to shop and dress with confidence. Click here to find out more, or call me to discuss the best personal styling experiences for your needs.

PERSONAL STYLING TIPS: 7 PERFECT PARTY OUTFIT IDEAS

Parties – let’s face it, dressing up can be a big headache if you are unsure on what to wear. Whether you already have a fabulous wardrobe or not, the dressing up side of parties, particularly during the festive season, can become tricky.

In this article, I wanted to share 7 of my favourite party outfit ideas that are headache-free and some that may already be in your wardrobe!

Try out a suit

Something I think will always be “on trend” is wearing a suit! If you have a colourful, well proportioned suit, you can transform it for each and every occasion as you see fit.

When it comes to dressing for a party with your suit, over and above the office-look, here are a few ways to play with it:

1.       Add some sparkle – whether it’s with a sequined cami top under your blazer, or with a sparkly pair of earrings, add a little sparkle to make your suit more festive.

2.       Add colour – if your suit is in a more formal, classic colour such as black, brown, or navy, adding some colour will make it more party-appropriate. If you can, I’d recommend finding a colourful blazer to go with your suit trousers, but you can also find colourful luxurious trousers in a velvet or satin, which can be a great switch-up.

3.       Add party heels! Finally, the quickest way to change up your suit for a party is adding a pair of beautiful heels. Think stilettos that peek out from your trousers for a perfect look, or for more comfortable option a pair of sequined block heeled boots.

If you want to try out a blazer that is particularly fun, festive, and party ready, as well as feeling totally personality filled, then now is a great time to get one. Perhaps invest in a colourful suit, or one in a fabric like velvet – go all out, it is the season for fun!

A classic Little Black Dress

A go-to on anyone’s essentials list for easy to throw on looks is the Little Black Dress. I shared some insights into how to style a little black dress for any body shape here, and if you want to have something simplistic and easy to put on that you’ll feel great in, then the LBD is a great option.

However, if you want to add a little fun and festivity to the look, you may want to play with your outer wear and your accessories.

Transforming your little black dress can be as simple as adding the right jewellery for your festive party look, to adding fabulously quirky disco boots, or even a cape! If you want to turn up feeling warm as well as festive and have that moment when you slide off your coat to show off your outfit, then a warm fluffy coat can be a good option.

Co-ord sets for Christmas

Co-ords, much like the suit, are very on-trend and will be a really easy way to make your outfit work for you in a flash. Think a skirt and top combination in the same colours or patterns, but that can be worn separately, too. The reason I love co-ord outfits is that they are so easy to put together in a rush. However, they can sometimes feel a little more “trendy” depending on where you get them, so perhaps less appropriate for a sustainable wardrobe. My top tip for finding a co-ord that would work for your Christmas parties but also for future wears, is to make sure it is in a colour that is within your palette and fits your personal style.

They can also feel a little casual, so make sure you look closely at the fabric options, if you want your look to work for a more formal occasion. For example, this recycled polyester deep purple crop top and midi skirt co-ord can be a good option for parties and separately for future events.

Festive Jumper – but styled up!

For a less formal event, or one with a little fun, you can go for a fun festive jumper that’s elevated and can be reused for future. The one thing that can happen when you are getting fun Christmas jumpers is you only wear them once – which isn’t incredibly sustainable. However, if you find a festive yet sophisticated jumper or cardigan, then you can still have that fun, without wasting money or harming the environment.

A few festive tops that I found are:

• Pearl embellished jumper – a great option for fun, quirky, yet sophisticated looks.

• Sequinned blouse – now, this is very sequined and glittery, but it can work really well for a festive event, as well as a party throughout the year as it isn’t “Christmas” themed.

• Black and silver v-neck jumper – this is more casual in terms of the look, but paired under your favourite blazer and with a satin skirt, you can dress this up very easily.

• Short sleeved navy glitter polo neck – and if you’re indoors so don’t need too many layers, this short sleeved glitter polo neck in a lovely warm fabric, can work well.

Cocktail dress

This style of dress is an elevated version of the Little Black Dress. Think different colours, fun elements such as ruffles, and will fall above the knee. When you go looking for a cocktail look, you can be a little more formal and consider that this outfit may only be worn for parties or dates, due to the length it may not be suited to black tie or formal events.

The great thing about cocktail dresses is they can come in a huge variety of colours, fabrics, and designs so finding one that suits your personal style is the most important part of this process. You may already have a cocktail dress in your wardrobe, so throwing it on with some jewellery, a clutch bag, and your heels will be one of the simplest but most effective looks.

For an elegant and easy look that is just below the knee and in a demure style, try this lilac cocktail dress with faux wrap top and pleated skirt – it has a gentle shimmer so can be easier to approach than a more festive option.

If sparkle isn’t something you gravitate towards, then this black almost grunge styled dress with ribbon detail and autumnal flower design is right up your “rock chick” cocktail look.

Sequined Dresses

For a sparkly, festive, glitter-fest of an outfit then you really can’t go wrong with a sequined dress. Becoming even more popular this year, I have seen plenty of beautiful sequined dresses that will work for any occasion. The great thing about sequins is they will sparkle and light up your day – however, they can sometimes look a little cheap, so if you are going full sequin and need to buy a new dress to treat yourself to this fun style then invest in a good quality dress.

Whether it’s a silver sequined mini dress with voluminous sleeves & a pencil skirt,  a colourful rainbow-like sequined dress with a higher neck, or an almost 20’s inspired sequin fringe midi dress, you will find a great selection of options.

Styling a sequin dress can be a little more tricky, so let the dress do all the talking and let your accessories complement it. For example, dark tights and a black pair of heels if you are wearing a shorter dress (and to keep your legs warm) or a pair of simple strappy heels – and you are ready to rock the dance floor!

Try out a jumpsuit

If a dress just isn’t your style, or you want to be able to throw on a full outfit that is ready to party all night in then you can’t go wrong with a jumpsuit! We are lucky enough to have a whole host of options for jumpsuits at our fingertips, so if you are opposed to the classic dress style, this is your year to try out the jumpsuit!

A few jumpsuits I have found online that would be great for any party, are:

·       For the smart/casual party – Try out this fun wide-legged gold-polka-dot jumpsuit. It’s fun, sparkly, and comfortable too! 

• For the unique black-tie event – this incredible white (also available in yellow and black) cross-halter jumpsuit is beautiful. No need to add a necklace, as the neckline is doing all of the work. Add some bangles and rings and you’re ready to drink cocktails and eat canapes.

• For the festive party – if you want to feel festive, but don’t want to wear a Christmas jumper, then I have found this velvet deep burgundy jumpsuit!

• For the girl’s night out –for a fun, flirty option for any type of party with the girls or over brunch, this elegant one-shoulder cape-detailed jumpsuit in salmon is beautiful.

• For the theatrical event – I can’t say how incredible this art-deco inspired bronze jumpsuit is (it is a big investment, however) and you will definitely make all the eyes in the room turn. It has long pleated sleeves that go all the way to the floor, so perfect for a theatrical event, particularly if your company is hosting a themed Christmas do this year – or just to feel fabulous.

I hope this 6 Christmas party outfit ideas have inspired you to get all dressed up! If you are looking for the perfect gift for under the tree for that loved one or friend that deserves confidence in all that they wear, I’d love to help – I am offering Christmas vouchers this year that can cover a particular service, or go towards a service so they can treat themselves to wardrobe happiness in 2022.