Minimalism has been the buzz word of the past years, no doubt brought about by economically tougher times, and has spread into fashion too: think of the rise of sleek Scandinavian brands and styles, capsule wardrobes, quality over quantity slogans, 10-in-10 challenges, shopping fasts and the like. Which got me thinking - is this my way too? You see, minimalism attracts me on many levels. I am all for saving the planet. I dislike clutter and in general do not like objects [well... clothes are an exception, obvs]. I feel best with organized, streamlined solutions. I constantly strive for simplified perfection. And yet when it comes to clothes, I cannot live with a pared down wardrobe. Not enou

Spring is approaching - somewhere. I know it by the shops starting to bring out their new stocks of lighter, brighter, springier merchandise. And the first wave of visible trend for the new season seems to be ... drum roll ... : pattern! Polka dots, stripes, florals and animal prints in particular. To some [like me] this may sound hugely scary - patterns are a bit like colours, they bring with them a certain loud, notice-me vibe. Well, the good news is that a lot of what I have seen comes in neutral colours and relatively subdued patterns - the perfect toe-tester for the pattern-shy. Polka dots are apparently big news, they are becoming widely available now in both small and large versions.

I have decided to start celebrating and giving credit to items I purchased that have become star finds. And to open the doors, first up is the Astrid dress from London online boutique Baukjen: It is a simple jersey dress, but made of a strong, sturdy jersey fabric [very helpful for wobblier body parts]. The boatneck neckline and roomy top half [simply pulled in at the waist with elastic] balance out curvier bottom halves beautifully. The wrap detail on the skirt lengthens, the ruching helps create more shapely hips. The three-quarter sleeves add warmth but look cool. I am much shorter than the model, but the dress is still the right length: above the knee at the front and just below at the b

In my limited fashion colour palette, I actually consider grey a colour: I often use it to lighten and brighten my mostly dark [OK, OK: black...] outfits - a grey belt over a black dress, a grey scarf or grey bag over a black coat, a grey blouse worn with a black dress or skirt, etc. Grey works very well as an accent. But grey is also a perfect colour to wear head-to-toe, be it all the same shade or different ones worn together. It comes in so many shades, all of which are comfortingly neutral... Its metallic sister silver can be both elegant and tough, and is always cool and versatile... It also comes in - still neutral - patterned versions... What all this means that putting together all-g

Half- or front-tucking is when you tuck the front but not the rest of your top - see Olivia's example above. More often than not, it gives a casual or smart casual vibe, and thus is best done with T-shirts, shirts, tops and jumpers. Blouses are best half-tucked into trousers, not skirts. You may also want to experiment with adding a belt for extra effect, but this is not absolutely necessary. It is a technique I recommend for lengthening legs for many reasons: displaying more of your bottom half obviously lengthens legs ... ... especially as a half-tuck requires roomier tops, which in turn shortens the top half visually; the combination thus offers better proportions tucking your top only a

It's the new year and if you are like me, you have already started to plan and look forward to the end of winter and what 2018 may bring. Not to mention that, like me, many of you will be starting to get royally bored with wearing winter gear and are ready for something new and fresh. Which is why I thought you may want to join me in getting a glimpse of what trends the new season will be offering... The first thing I will say about trend forecasts is that, in my experience, they often turn out to be wrong. Despite fashion weeks taking place half a year before the seasons actually start, offering retailers plenty of time to order and stock up on corresponding designs, the high street often s

Flattering short legs in urban or smart settings is easy - pop on heels and a skirt. But what to do in casual surroundings? Much much harder. There are those situations in life where heeled shoes simply are not the right thing to wear - and I don't just mean sports. City walks, countryside, playing with pets or kids, travelling, a stroll in the park... or simply those times when your feet hurt from constantly wearing heels... all a real challenge for shorter legs. So - the million dollar question - how can we look good in flats? First of all, we need to choose well. Not all flats are created equal. To begin with, try to look for flats that are not totally flat: even a little heel or wedge ca

Now, I know very well that this here is a very, very superficial angle to approach this year's Golden Globe dresses from. These ladies chose to wear black - indeed in many cases despite it fearfully clashing with their complexion and colouring - for a noble and respectable reason, and not in order to end up on fashion blogs. However, please forgive me -- I could not help but jump at the golden [ha!] opportunity they gave me to demonstrate how different, creative, unique and varied simple black dresses can be. And for this, ladies, I doubly salute you. I bring you below an array of black dresses - all fully black: only those that did not feature other colours made the selection - and see how

Yes, it's that time of the year. Back from Christmas holiday. Instead of feeling recharged, I am a bit depressed of being back to work and the weight gained over the past month. It is hard enough to get up in the [dark...] morning. But in addition, somehow, getting dressed is even more of a chore than usual: all my existing clothes and trusty outfit combinations seem unflattering, boring and unsuitable, and even just looking in the mirror is harder than usual. The thing with January is that it has a whole different vibe to December, which was all about enjoying the moment, snuggling up, embracing dark days and Christmas lights and indulging in warming food and drinks. January feels like a fr

Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory's blonde bombshell, also belongs to the longer torso-shorter legs body type. Kaley has a rather muscular frame with broad shoulders, and is blessed with a voluptuous upper half. Although at 1.68 she is not petite, she appears shorter than she is due to her enviable curves. Let's see how she dresses and what we can learn from her. Kaley likes to be relaxed in her everyday life and often wears very laidback outfits. Although they are not her best look whatsoever, her muscular frame carries off skinny jeans pretty well. Note how she always pairs them with looser tops, often with cardis/blazers added to provide balance: Jeans or trousers worn with fitted tops are