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SEW Stylish-

Image courtesy of Style.com Marcio Madeira Photographer

With unending options at her disposal – patterns of every shape, fabrics in every color and texture, personalized fit --  you’d think a woman who sews would never have that frustrating “nothing to wear” experience.

And you’d be wrong! We know we've been there!

In truth, we, sewists, become so engaged in how the buttons match the fabric or in the embellishment technique we are dying to try that we completely overlook how the finished project will look. Or how it will coordinate with other pieces in our wardrobes.

The missing component is what I call “points of connection”. The more characteristics that exist in common between a woman’s innate characteristics and the clothing and accessories she wears, the more lovely she will look.

And the more readily the contents of her closet will mix and match into an unending variety of exciting combinations for every event in her lifestyle. The more people will stop saying “Oh, you made that?” and start saying “You always look so fabulous.”

So how do you create points of connection? Here are a few examples:

 ---- Color – the color in your wardrobe should echo your facial color pattern (hair, eyes, skin and natural blush tones) and other colors of similar temperature, value and intensity.
 
 ---- Silhouette – the shapes of your garments should follow the outline of your body shape and its curves or straighter lines.

 ---- Facial structure – print motifs, garment details and accessories should be about as angular or as softly curved as the shapes of your facial features.

 ---- Scale – the size of buttons, plaid repeats, pockets, belts and other style components should be about as diminutive or as grand as your own body

 ---- Personality – the styling of clothes and accessories should evoke the dramatic, romatic, rustic, classic or eclectic feeling of your personality.

As you apply those “points of connection” to a collection of related tops and bottoms, wardrobe magic begins to take shape. In fact, you may experience a new kind of wardrobe frustration … exchanging “I have nothing to wear” for “I don’t have enough places to go to show off all these great outfits.” And that, ladies, is a high class problem.

In future issues we’ll take volunteers from among our readers and show you exactly how to apply these concepts to create wonderful wardrobes, If you’d like to apply for guinea pig status, contact Lisette through her contact page link.