An intro to style...

A young friend of mine who has recently welcomed her first child into the world and is also in the process of coming to terms with a changed body shape, recently asked me the age-old question on every woman’s mind : “What kind of clothes will really suit me now?” When I rattled off my list of suggestions and started using terms like “apple-shaped”, “warm skin tone” and “nude no-makeup looks“ she asked me to slow down and started to take long laborious notes. Now, we don’t all have the luxury of time to sit and figure out the basics and all style mags are really good for is to drown us in a torrent of jargon that often confuses, rather than enlightens. Which is why today I’m talking about a recent publication that decodes a lot of the mystery around everyday style needs for today's woman. It’s called Look Stunning At Any Size and I applaud the gorgeous Parimita Chakravorty’s for making a foray into my beloved world of the regular-sized woman's style.

If you’re looking for a catalogue to the latest trends for Spring/Summer 2013, this isn’t for you. But if  you’re looking for a beginner’s guide to what might suit you and what might not, then this is a good place to start. If you have a young cousin or niece who is feeling out her first steps in the confusing world of style, then this will make a good gift. If you are thinking about a wardrobe makeover for yourself, perhaps because you’re starting a new job or because you’ve changed sizes or just because spring is in the air, this is worth checking out. For those of you who do not have the time to sit and think about what your shape is or make elaborate plans about what type of stuff will look good on you, this is an all-in-one encyclopaedia. It’s a comprehensive compilation of useful tips, common sense suggestions and lots of varied information about various aspects of appearing stylish. But what I love about this and the biggest reason I chose to write about it is that it sounds exactly like your best friend or your mum sharing with you their particular brand of no-nonsense honest advice. I think you all know the exact tone of voice that I’m talking about! . 

I'm sure we’ve all read in fashion mags that if you have a round face, sharp aviators or rectangular frames are good choices in sunnies for you, but how do you know if the chubbiness of your face means that you have a (a) round shaped face, (b) oval shaped face, or (c) a heart shaped face just hidden under a bit of extra chin fat?! Parimita holds your hand (literally!) and talks you through a process of discovering whether you are indeed big boned or not (or is that just your excuse when you look in the mirror and aren’t happy with what you see ) ; the exact proportions your face needs to be to be called round vs square and your body hourglass vs pear. The section on basic makeup, skin and hair care tips will be particularly useful to those who are new to this world or those who find the myriad of terms used in fashion mags confusing. And let’s admit, we’ve all been there at one point in time or another, right?

The book is written in simple laygirl’s English and contains a lot of the common sense that we should already have, but we often may have temporarily forgotten , such as, grown women should really not wear crocs in public and that just because you can squeeeeeze yourself into a Medium sized top, you shouldn’t!(opt instead, for the Large that won’t hug your love handles quite so tightly and will permit you to breathe at the same time). I came across a lot of timesaver tips too, such as what kind of things to include in a capsule wardrobe for a holiday. The colour suggestions are particularly useful - how to determine whether you’re a warm or a cool skin tone as well as a colour chart with the exact shades of each colour that best suit each. This is everyday chic, well-explained, ladies.