5 Ways to Dress Better

April 2, 2012 · By ·

‘While clothes may not make the woman, they certainly have a strong effect on her self-confidence — which, I believe, does make the woman.’ – Mary Kay Ashe

Being a WAHM does give me a lot of excuse not to bother about my appearance, since more than 50% of my time on weekdays are spent at home. Nonetheless, what about those times when I have to leave the house to meet people? Regardless, if it is a social appointment or a business-related appointment, appearance do matters. At least for me it does, as this is coming from a reformed clothes-horse.

A well-tailored dress and killer-heels really does wonders for my confidence, as I step out of the house feeling that I can take on the world 😉

You don’t have to spend a fortune to look good. Here are some tips and smart investments that will be able to help one dress better for confidence:

 

1. Know your body shape

Styling rules are not generic! What we see in fashion magazines are mostly for reed-thin and lanky models. What may look great on the model in the magazine, may not look as good when it is on us.

No one has a perfect body, however we can learn what to wear and what to avoid to best flatter our body shape. So as to create an illusion of a well-balance figure.

Style is not about your size, it is all about proportions. So what is your body shape? Check out this site to determine your shape.

I am of a petite frame, have a boyish figure with little curves. My sister on the other hand, has a more curvy body with broad shoulders.

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2. Choose classics, all time looks

The classic little black dress is a must-have. Choose one with a neckline that complements your shoulders or an empire waist that draws attention away from your waistline.

Use simple jewelry to jazz up the look. As I am petite, I try to stay away from the big, over-powering prints and patterns that will overwhelm my frame. Instead, will go for fitted shapes and soft fabrics. Also keeping my style streamlined, so as not to cut the body in half.

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Don’t mix styles, less is more. Try not to have romantic, sporty, bold colors, metallic styles all in one outfit. Stay with clean lines, and make only subtle changes with one or two accessories, like a belt or necklace.

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Sporty‚ safari style camel-coloured shirt-dress, fitted with a narrow belt.

 

3. Dress to suit your personality

Ask yourself these questions; Why do you dress the way you usually do? Do you dress to suit your lifestyle or/and your job? Most of the time we wear a certain style because we feel comfortable in it, and it fits into our lifestyles and job roles.

Looking great and giving you an extra dose of confidence togged out in your unique style is a bonus. You don’t need to be a slave to fashion, as your wardrobe needs to reflect your best self. It is pointless to look fashionable, when you are tugging at the short hems constantly, or wincing in pain wearing shoes with too high heels that you do not feel comfortable in.

Tips6A playful yet chic weekend romper, yet it maintains a classic look. My sister is in her 20s, with no kids and work in advertising, so her style tends to be more chic casual.

 

4. Dress for the season

We may not experience the four seasons in our tropical isle of Singapore. But it is refreshing to take wearable fashion trends to update your wardrobe every 3-4 months.

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This spring 2012 season of peplum skirts and dresses are defined by a short flared ruffle that sits at the natural waist. Useful for hiding little bulges and defines the waist for boyish figures. It creates a feminine touch to an outfit but can also accentuate the hip area. But if you are pear-shaped, do try with smaller peplums and in darker colors.

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Dress with a grecian style draped top, and belted accordion pleated skirt

 

Pleats, from knife to box and everything in between, are a style staple for spring 2012. It is easy to update your wardrobe with a couple of key trendy and wearable pieces every season.

 

5. Keep everything in proportions

The most common issue that most women face with proportion is being long or short waisted. Here’s how you can measure your proportions and help you look for the right clothing that can correct your proportions.

Use a tape measure, measure the area between the bottom of your rib cage and top of your hip bone.

  • Average-waised – length will be about 2-3 inches
  • Long waisted – length will be 3-4 inches
  • Short waisted – length will be 1-2 inches

The general rule of thumb is when your body part is short, look for a long blouse, if body part is long, look for short.

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For petite women, blouses that go just past your waist are most flattering. If the top hits right at the hip, it lengthens the mid-drift. Do wear a longer blouse with a short skirt.

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For curvy petite women, shift dresses, sheaths and sun dresses are great basics to have. These dresses help to elongate the figure and smooth the curves.

For pear shaped women, avoid full or clingy skirts, empire waist and a-line skirts above knee length look the best for pear shapes. For more tips on proportions and dress styles to wear for tall and slim women, and full curvy figured women, refer to this link.

Do you follow fashion trends or do you prefer to go with classic styles? Do share here.

 

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Nature is the best doctor

October 24, 2009 · By ·

I could still hear him cough late at night. It was already 4 weeks since he came down with the cough since we got back from our vacation in end August. We visited the pediatrician twice in that 4 weeks and the p.d. told me that if K’s cough did not recover, he will be placed on a course of antibiotics. I was not keen at all to even let K start on antibiotics.

Towards the beginning of October, K seemed to have recovered from his cough and phelgm. But somehow, he still coughed intermittently in his sleep. I was getting quite perplexed with his cough that did not seem to go away. We avoided cold drinks and his favorite dessert, ice cream…the last time Kyle had ice cream was in August. I even tried chinese herbs; nán xīn, běi xīn and chuān bèi boiled with corn/apple soup. However K’s taste buds are too discerning.

Until that fateful evening and following morning, K had his first taste of M & M’s chocolate and went to the Barrage for some waterplay. He ended up with a running nose and dry cough thereafter.

I decided to call it quits with prescribed medicine and use western herbal remedies which has worked very well for me. Previously at the advice of one of dh’s business associates, vitamin C, garlic pills, Echinacea pills worked wonders for his health. He was apparently down with pneunomia very often in his childhood years and he started being in perfect health ever since he started with this ‘concoction’ of natural remedies in his adult years. He is now in his early 60s and he told us he has never been sick with flu or viral infections for the past 30 years.

After hearing all of that, I went ahead to stock up on Echinacea, garlic pills and Vitamin C. And started taking a dosage of these pills and drinks lots of water whenever I feel under the weather. Within 2 days or so, I will be perfectly well and will show no signs of the flu.

There was this other remedy which I spend quite a while to researching; Nat Mur. Nat Mur is a natural tissue salt that is very effective in treatment of Coughs, colds and Influenza: Thin watery runny nose and dry hacking cough. Which were the exact symptoms that K had 2 days ago.

Previously I got this, consisting Nat Mur + other natural ingredients and tried this together with only vitamin c. Within 2 days, I did not show any more symptoms of flu. And it also work wonders for my helper, who has this tendency to get the flu quite often.

So I thought it will be safe to try it with K (since it is all natural ingredients) and went to get these products formulated for kids. Kiddieboost with echinacea to boost his immune system, Comficoff for his cough, Sniffly Sprinkles (which he loves the texture and taste of it) containing Nat Mur and a chest rub for easy breathing during sleep. All these can be used together with Vitamin C, added ginger in our soups, as well as lots of drinking water. And the wonderful thing is that since this morning, K has no more running nose and cough!

Lately, I been rather influenced by this book written by Roberts Mendelsohn , a late renowned US pediatrician. This book is a loan from Lay Keng (Seth’s mom, she has raise 3 other kids apart from Seth) and it has a rather unconventional view of ‘avoid your doctor whenever you can’. Excerpt from the book about coughs and running noses:

‘If the nasal secretions are clear, gray or white, your child is probably the victim of a viral infection such as the common cold or influenza…Common colds and influenza do not require medical treatment and the medications often used to trat them, will merely relieve symptoms. The effects of doing this may be counterproductive, because they interfere with the body’s efforts to cure itself.

Short of obviously severe respiratory difficulties, parents should avoid taking their child to the doctor or giving him over the counter medictaions for the treatment of symptpms. The drugs commonly used…include decongestons, expectorants, antihistamines, cough supressants, pain relievers and antibiotics. They have several things in common: they are unnecessary; they sometimes have undesirable or dangerous side effects; they may interfere with the body’s own efforts to defeat the disease and they are a waste of money.’

Indeed…we should stop drugging our children and instead should look at the alternatives from nature that we can used to hasten their recovery. The same also applies for us adults.

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