I know it's been discussed a lot on here but are style days worth it?

[CambridgeBlue]

I've been tempted for ages by a HOC Style Day (had colours done a while back). I'm 42 and while I've got a reasonable idea of what suits me and know what I like, I sometimes feel completely clueless, especially dressing for occasions - day to day I'm not too bad. I'm intrigued to find out why I feel comfy in some clothes but not others and would be fascinated to know which 'type' I am.

That said, while I enjoyed the colour session and can see how my chosen palette works on me, I do sometimes find myself wanting to rebel and wear completely different colours just because I don't like being told what to do! I don't want to spend £150 on the Style Day and end up ignoring what I learn.

Do you think it's worth it or should I carry on working out 'my style' by reading blogs and this board, Pinteresting endlessly and wasting too much time in the shops?

I couldn't afford colour analysis, what I've done is basically picked about 6/7 colours that look good on me and now I don't buy any other colour and everything matches.

I've picked navy, camel, rust, oxblood,khaki and cream

I would love to do a style day
I think this is because I'm pretty sure I'm a bit of a scruff (natural?) at heart and I'm hoping that a style day would help me know what to wear in different situations- eg I go to a few black tie events and feel like I'm playing dressing up or when I have to be particularly smart at work - I think/hope a style day could help me understand how to dress appropriately while still feeling comfortable/like me.

I've never heard of 'style days', (going to google it now!), but I think it seems like a great ideas. I could do with a bit of style help!

I feel like I'm playing dress up This is exactly how I feel when I have to dress smartly for an occasion or work event - I just can't do smart very well!

I know what you mean and have been tempted to have my colours and style done for a while but am concerned that, as I am very large (well and truly plus size) their advice, on style at least, might not be applicable

To be honest I am a bit larger than I'd like to be and that's one of the things that's making question whether to go for it or not. Part of the reason I can't always find things I'm comfortable in is because I'm not as thin as I need to be for the sort of clothes I want to wear!

But the blurb about the style day says they teach you how to dress to flatter your shape whatever size you are which could be really useful.

(Apologies in advance, this got long!)

I've had a HoC style day and had had my colours done a while before that also by HoC.

Really enjoyed having my colours done, I totally "saw it" on the day and still only wear my colours. It's helped me branch out to wearing colours I'd never have before. I'd highly recommend it if you can afford it.

The style day though was imo not as much of a revelation for me and DFriend.

We were assessed on both our personalities (we looked at clothes we liked that we already owned and did some quizzes about our personality), and on our body shape (we were measured up and face shape analysed).

However we found that the conclusions drawn from your personality didn't always match those drawn from your body shape.

So for example under the HoC style "rules", it seems they have set characters for body shapes. Dramatic is angular, maybe tall, square jaw, etc. Romantic is curvy figure, voluptuous, flowing hair. And so on.

Our consultant really struggled with my DFriend having a personality and a body shape that essentially disagreed, and tried to push DFriend into a box that tbh just wasn't right based solely on her body shape.

I think she left a lot more confused than I did. I fortunately have a figure and personality that match so left fairly happy, but am not sure it was worth what it costs.

There was also a lot of dated info in there, current fashions aren't really taken into account, and (oh god I feel awful for saying this! ) my consultant isn't someone I'd take fashion advice from. I guess I would be well dressed if I followed their rules, but maybe not stylish/fashionable.

From a more positive angle some things said to me did click and confirmed what I was already thinking about myself and why I can't wear certain styles. I can look at some styles and tell you that they won't suit me.

I would suggest you keep exploring online and try to work out what you like and what suits you.

So try to analyse what clothes you are comfy in and why. Do you suit tailored clothes? Do you need a bit of frills/lace so you don't look boring? Are you the sort of person that looks "finished" in just jeans and a tee?

When you say "clothes you want to wear" do you think they would suit you or do you just like the way they look in the shops? I see loads of clothes I want to wear but I know they don't suit me.

Anyway. This got very long and I hope it makes sense!!

Sorry it's taken me a while to respond and thanks a lot for the info, really interesting.

You've said a lot of what I have been thinking eg I think I am closest to the Gamine style but at 5'2 with huge generous boobs and bum I really don't fit that body type. If being a lardarse curvy means I am a Romantic I may as well give up now as I detest floaty, girly clothes and look a complete berk in them.

Also I agree about the consultant, I vaguely know the local lady and she's really nice but what she wears is miles away from how I'd choose to dress and not because she's perhaps a different 'type' but because she looks far too matchy matchy and dated for me.

I think by 'clothes I want to wear' I just mean styles I love and feel comfy in which flatter how I look and suit my lifestyle.

My main problems are:

• A really tricky body shape - I know I need to lose some weight but even slimmer I find dressing a short curvy shape with big boobs very hard
• Wanting to wear better quality stuff as it definitely flatters me more but finding that doesn't always match up with my budget
• A real need to feel comfortable - I can't bear clothes that are too restrictive yet annoyingly suit a more fitted, tailored silhouette, and I prefer natural fibres and clothes that feel lovely

-The fact that I can't always find the clothes I want - loads of places cater for my teenage daughter or my Mum but very few places sell things that feel like 'me'

I think that last sentence is the thing actually, I want someone to show me who 'me' is and where I can buy her .

I haven't had a style day - I did an online search and found the information to self diagnose.

I think I am a natural - I like to be comfortable in my clothes and I always think that Victoria beckham looks really uncomfortable in her clothes. I'm curvy petite and I don't think fussy details suit me.

Some ladies on here recommend using the personal shopper days at department stores. They are free, so you could give it a go before deciding about the style day.

I do think it's worth it. But it's essentially something to add into the mix.

I had mine done many years ago and, whilst useful, I found it a little hard to apply. They focus on shape and style type rather than trends and fashion, which makes sense as fashion changes so much over time.

What has made a difference to me has been meeting others who have had the same style assessment and then, through chat, working out how to apply it better. I then keep on top of trends through a local stylist and then apply that to my HOC style and colour info.

I found the same as Plop, that my personality and body shape didn't match and the consultant insisted that body shape was suddenly the most important thing. I don't need someone else to tell me how to dress my body shape because that stuff is all over the internet!

I wrote a longer post, but have decided that instead I'll just say on balance I don't think it's worth it at £150. I just had a flick through my booklet they gave me, and if you are already interested in shopping/fashion, most of it is a load of crap, laughable in fact.

The only 2 things they seemed to go on for determining your CP were whether you were Yin or Yang on a scale, and body shape. My personality was very heavily Yang while my body shape is towards Yin so my consultant got a bit confused. But I'm sure this is something you can easily do yourself using internet quizzes on yin/yang and body shape, followed by reading up on all the online info on CPs.

From Yang to Yin the personality types go:
Dramatic - Classic - Natural - Gamine - Ingenue - Romantic.

And body types (roughly the same order):
Sharp Straight - Straight - Soft Straight - Soft Curved - Full Curved.

That's really interesting, I know nothing about Yin/Yang personalities. Off to Google now!

Well I found it helpful but then I'm completely, utterly clueless about fashion. I actually can't look objectively at myself in a mirror and judge what works. I prefer having a framework and "rules" on what to wear so I have some guidelines rather than just being overwhelmed by choice or buying things that look good on friends but not me. I'm sure someone who's a bit of a fashionista would scoff at such dumbed down stuff. But then I was starting from a low baseline.

Outfits I've put together using my rules definitely look better. To be honest I find it harder to work out casual clothes now, smart outfits are easier to style. Also both my style and shape are better in fitted but not skintight clothes and everything in the shops is baggy/boxy/kimono like or body con style at the moment.

I'm a very curvy size 14 who's been styled as gamine by the way. It's quite easy to wear as it's a neat unfussy look. If you can find the right clothes! this is the sort of thing I like.

How interesting, that's a lovely look but not what I would have imagined for a Gamine. I am pleased to hear you can be one and still have curves though as it's definitely the style I'm most drawn to (with possibly a bit of Natural thrown in).

I'd love to know more about how you dress or where you shop - I agree that much of what's on the high street is completely wrong if you want that style!

I loved my style day, probably even more than the colours day. My consultant just totally got me and ive been so happy with my purchases since. I've made a couple of mistakes since but deep down I knew they weren't great choices for me and hence I couldn't make them work.

I'm an ingenue natural so I basically like the comfort of jeans and other easy shapes but need a little bit of youthfulness/girliness. I don't suit masculine shapes or dramatic lines but equally anything too frilly/girly/romantic looks wrong on me. So although I may like the pared down minimalist look im best with small detailing added to it. I love gamine looks too but a lot of it is a bit too boyish and tailored for me.

You do need to have trust in your consultant though. I recently did the advanced style day with a different consultant as mine had moved areas and it just wasn't the same. She had no clue about up to date fashions so was able to give sound advice but it didn't translate as well to real life if that makes sense.

my consultant isn't someone I'd take fashion advice from.

this was something that I was concerned about, pre style day, so I searched for a consultant that I thought would suit me. I was successful - she was great! My advice - don't necessarily go to your local consultant. I went into London for mine.

I'm a straight/soft gamine BTW.

For me the answer would be no, the colour analysis has literally changed my life, but I haven't really used anything from the style day.

I don't know much about the Ingenue style but I'm confused now as it sounds like it might be more 'me' than Gamine. Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and book the day?!

I'm a natural ingenue, my hoc said think rock chick.

That's interesting, I do like quite a rock chick look although I wouldn't say I was especially girly and from a quick Google it sounds as though the Ingenue look is very feminine. I'm confused!

You tend to get diagnosed as a mix of two types rather than just one rigid style. I'm a Natural Ingenue too, short at 5'1" with big boobs, 34GG. The Natural part makes it more relaxed, casual style, natural fibres with feminine touches of the ingenue that stop it looking too scruffy or butch, just like QueenofCardigans described. Such as jeans but with a more feminine top rather than say a polo shirt. There's much in the detail.
It helped me quite a lot. I'd never felt comfortable in very classic, corporate clothes or sporty casual clothes.

The link isn't as good as it could be but there aren't many curvy bloggers who have a similar style.

this blog (from a quick google) is more IMO a sort of neat, quirky, non-frilly gamine style but with curves. I think she looks better in the less drapy/flowery outfits. like this

She's a very similar shape to me! Thanks for the link, her blog looks good.

raisingsteam that second link is pretty much what I wear daily!
cambridge as aque says, ingenue is about the detsiling. So rather than just a plain tee it would have pintucks or cap sleeves. It totally explains why I never got on with plain tees/jumpers.