And so we Wisely turn away from any summer purchases to Avid thoughts of stylish winter coats. Which means (surely) that the sun will shine, after wool jackets are bought....

[notyummy]

Stamp

Ooohh Dec Goat is my new favorite (have two items from them, both excellent and stylish basics)! Won't buy anything now but will definitely give them a look!

If someone has found a good classic chambray shirt (long sleeves), please let me know!

Thanks for colour links Dona. It's a minefield isnt it? I had my colours done (house of colour) earlier this year and I am a spring. But am I a light spring, clear spring, warm spring???

everything and hopefully does looking at our boards give you an idea of what clothing personality we are? I am thinking I am a dramatic something? No florals or floaty items in my wardrobe- though I do love them. They just look silly on me.

Oh and over the last few weeks I have appeared to have pulled at all the skin around my nails. My hands are so sore and look a mess. Not sure what came first- the dry pealing skin or the pulling?

Just a quick comment, the color analysis systems are slightly different in different countries. HoC is not the only one. In Scandinavia, many analysts use BFAS that has hundreds of alternatives, ie, the colors are very individually matched to your skintone, hair color and eye color. I'm a Light Crystalline Summer, which is Summer with some Spring influences (MIL is True Azure Spring and she always looks fantastic). Very good because I've had the CMB book since early 1990s (the one that had just four alternatives, not the subcategories) and could never decide whether I was a Summer or Spring... So it was not very useful for me.

But don't take this too seriously - if you know your general season, pick a palette within it that seems to suit you and your preferences and your lifestyle best. If you were given a color palette when you were analyzed, you can take a picture of it and upload it or match it with one of the existing ones, if you think it will help you when you shop online. (Pinterest is a virtual dressing room for me - probably should add some champagne and chocolates on my boards...)

I don't want to sound like a color analysis fanatic - I'm not too dogmatic about it, it has just helped me a lot as I have always wanted to dress in bright colors but have found many of them too overwhelming on me. Now I think I've found my comfort zone and everything is coming together like magic... Absolutely love my clothes and feel that the almost 2-year post-DC wardrobe/color/style/hair/makeup/body image/fitness/career overhaul is now near completion and I'm very happy with the results. (Starting point: frumpy, mumsy, clueless, unhappy, trapped in the wrong body and wrong life and wrong job...)

Will lay off the color talk for now. If you have already found your style, don't even bother with this. The systems help if you are clueless, but if you already have a firmly established style that works, no point in trying to retrofit it. I've always thought that true style is about being aware about certain rules and conventions but also daring to break or adapt the rules and to be individual. Based on what I see on Pin, you all are wonderfully stylish!

Here is a quickie style quiz - different from the HoC categories but worked for me. What is your dominant clothing personality? Do you feel the test got it right?

According to that quiz I'm 'Dramatic' though I actually think I'm a 'Classic'!

Thanks for the link dona. It is interesting that one of the winter palettes has pale yellow on it. I always thought I looked nice in a pale yellow tee I used to have a few summers ago, and even coral. I had a maternity vest in that colour. But best with a tan though.
Love pinterest with the zeal of a new convert. Has motivated me to do the 'no junk challenge' which is basically no sugar, pastry, white bread, chips, for 21 days. Have done no sugar successfully before. Am on day three and have had a bad headache since yesterday afternoon. Must be detoxing! Love the fitness boards, and love looking at my 'carefully selected pins'. Have deleted some things that weren't working when I looked at them all together.
Thank you issima for the how to pack pin. Adore those.

dogeared have you name changed?

Can't work out who Dogearedtooth is either?

I am very taken with that Burberry coat too, Issimma. I need to try it on.

Well done on the diet, Bloss.

Dh took the day off, woohoo.

Decided to sell my Acne pistols as I've seen them in red, swoon!

Ants it is virtually impossible to guess - my wardrobe pre-analysis might make made one think I was Ingenue-something (because my mother loves little teeny weeny details like lace and has gifted me a lot of clothes over the years) , and I know that SE's contained a lot of romantic/natural clothes because it's what's easiest to get in autumn colours. In fact both of those couldn't be more wrong for us!

Bloss there are definitely some colours not in my palette that I can get away with. Particularly charcoal grey which looks very good on me. However, it doesn't tone at all well with the other autumn colours, so even though it is great on me it doesn't match other colours that are great on me, so I mostly avoid it now.

All the different colour analysis systems fascinate me - I studied a few quite carefully before deciding on HoC as the one I like best for various reasons (the totally toning palette, the colour ratings, among others) and it's interesting how much variation there is.

Pale greenish yellow looks good on me. I learned all this color analysis stuff in 1989 from an American with Irish-French roots and perfect snow-white Winter coloring - she looked magnificent in pale lemon yellow. Give it a try Bloss. She also taught me about bright lipstick - she didn't even take the trash out without magenta or pure red lipstick, it was her lifeline just like the palest pink blusher is for me

Kaloo I'm Classic but think I'm Dramatic Classic actually...
Dogeared love your nic! Sending you more good work vibes!

I like that quiz, Dona. I came up as sporty/classic. I always liked the preppy look, I think it's accurate for me.

Glad to see somebody recognises me . Here's my post again under my real name (namechanged to help a friend).

Morning lovely ones .

Fritzi, holiday sounds perfect, hope you get to have as much fun on yours Ollie. Loved your Whistles shopping karma Red but couldn't help linking it in my mind to Ollie's H&M maternity top delivery - anything to tell us yet Ollie?

Dona, your sales purchases are magnificient - really timeless pieces at a fraction of the price. I"m sure we call all learn a lot from you, so thanks

dona thanks for quiz. I have come out as dramatic. Am off to read up......

lunch

Looked at your boards Ants and definitely think you have a flair for bold prints and statement pieces. Your style is more modern than mine (you have a lot of clothes that some Americans might call sportswear - I'm not referring to jogging pants but dynamic separates). So I'd call it dramatic / contemporary? Is it just me but your board also has a lot of natural influences - greiges, animal prints, patterns with plant/bird/ landscape feel...

I'm calling myself a dramatic classic, would you ladies think it is accurate or have I mis-self-diagnozed? This board would best represent my ideal style. When I look at it, I realize that I also like a certain amount of girlishness and the odd quirky piece to mix it up a bit.

Pinterest psychoanalysis. Who knew? Go on, psychoanalyze someone else!

Have just tried on the mcQ again. It is definitely going back. Problems:

• The hem is just weird no matter how I arrange it, it bags a bit - this is, I am assuming, because the inside dress is sewn to the outside dress, without anything to make the hem behave.
• It is a fraction too long. i could have adjusted this is everything else were perfect, but it ain't
• It is a bit too big around my waist - I bough a 10, but because I'm reasonably curvy, the shoulders were a bit on the tight side and the waist a bit on the big side (which astonishes me - I didn't think designers were into vanity sizing, and my waist is a good 28", probably a bit more after a week of no exercise.

In better news, I can finally don a pair of shoes, so will not be wandering London barefoot this weekend . May even be able to get away with nude heels on saturday night, as they are quite comfortable and low. At least I won't look totally dreadful, although very 'safe' in dark olive Me&Em and nude heels. Will max out on the accessories and red lipstick/nails to compensate.

River Island order arrived and was predictably awful. I don't know why I bother with high st sometimes. The ponte leggings and wet look leggings were too thin and just appallingly made, and I couldn't think of a single situation where I would choose them over the hypothetical leather leggings/skinnies that i will get at some point this a/w. this poly-silk vest was ^ok, fabric felt ok but couldn't quite envisage where I'd where it - too smart looking for casual, too casual for smart (didn't Ollie say that about something just the other day?)

Love some of the styling ideas on Pinterest.
Liked Lauren one DonaAna recommended.
I like the drapey top/slim trousers thing!
Am tempted by the Whistles animal print skinnies as recommended by Red,40 bum lady has them and looks great.
Unfortunately am much shorter and fatter than her though!

Hopefully good decision! The dress is lovely, but if it makes you uncomfortable, there is no space for it in your wardrobe or your budget. Also happy your foot is healing!

No-buy July was a bad idea for me If I look at my usual buying patterns, I tend to get most of my clothes in summer and winter sales. I broke down when I saw the NAP -70%: now is the time to get some fall basics (want my basics in natural fibers). Ditto for Thomas Pink. I've never seen this much emerald green, it's one of my top-3 favorite colors (other: bright red and coral; I also wear a lot of blues and navys but consider them slightly boring neutrals). So 2 orders coming in next week, firmly in the AW mode (to be worn under jackets and cardigans and sweaters) - will see what is good and useful and what will be sent back. Pinned the orders up here. Will compensate with a relative spending ban in August and September...

Have been procrastinating packing. Time to get started right now...