Reader Question: Are Longer Floral Dresses Hopelessly Dated?
The standard Closet Clean-out for a Woman in her ‘30s, at Wardrobe Oxygen, 
promises to “improve your reputation at work, your chances at finding a mate, and will actually make you look younger and more confident.”
Aimed at the woman entering her 30s, who may even need to do her first major post-university closet purge, this is a fabulous post, and funny. But the question which has come up here is this:
Can a 40-year-old with a well-developed personal sense of style still wear the Church dress, Laura Ingalls Wilder dress, granny dress, prairie dress, or, “I give up dress” without looking hopelessly dated?
I confess, I think the pictured dress looks good.
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Ask Me a Question
In the past, I kind of leaked my own style personality blend: 49% functional, 51% contemporary. Which I think is why I make a decent sounding board or closet editor.
Ask me a question like “should I keep this or biff it?” or “should I keep these or return them?” and I will most likely be able to help you sort out:
a) whether you will like it because it FUNCTIONS and
b) whether or not it looks right NOW, and if it has any fashion future.
I also enjoy puzzling out all kinds of more complex what-to-wear questions, although I admit I don’t always have the answers.
What questions are on your mind these days?
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Yes, it is possible to dress too well …
Many thanks to Wendy for sending along the link to this article from the Globe and Mail, underscoring the principle that the reason for dressing with care is to make others comfortable. Quote:
Determining the definition of overdressed requires a good look around the office.
When there are no written guidelines, you’re best to take a cue from people who work above you, because, hopefully, they are making a concerted effort to represent the company.
This means that if a boss is wearing a polo shirt, slacks and a sports jacket, you may look weird in a suit. “There’s a point at which you do create a big chasm between yourself and the other people in the organization,” says Ms. Kilgour, who adds that a business casual workplace is never an excuse to get lazy with personal grooming.
The result, according to men’s image consultant Leah Morrigan, is that people will start to question your motivation.
“If you dress at a higher level than you normally do, people will say, ‘What’s he doing? He’s dressing like this for a reason; what is it?’ So if you’re dressing outside of the norm of our business environment, then that’s going to get people asking questions,” she says, noting that a person’s choice of clothing should not necessarily be made based on other people’s perceptions.
Although, in the end, they say, being overdressed generally works in your favor. Because the excuses for being overdressed sound better than those for being underdressed.
What interesting excuses have you heard, or USED, for being inappropriately dressed?
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What Color Shoes Do You Wear With Grey?
Jessica writes:
Very similar to my own colours, but I have blues instead of pinks. In fact it was reading your blog that gave me “permission” to focus on a personal palette and it has been great! My question is… what colour shoes do you wear with grey? I gave up wearing navy because it is so darn hard to find shoes that go. I have a lot of brown shoes and wear mostly denim, brown, blue and some olive green accessories. I have black and grey for dressier occasions (but would like to wear grey more often) and a few pairs of black shoes. Are there other shoe choices?
Jessica, I’m so glad you feel free to limit your colors. It’s not intended to be a restricting thing, but a liberating one. Now on to your question. Basically, there are three ways I can think of to color coordinate your shoes:
- Wear shoes the color of your hair.
- Match (or blend with) your outfit. Generally, shoes would be the same tone or darker than the hem of your garment.
- Choose a “punctuating” color or neutral and repeat it as a belt. Repeating it again near the face is even better.
Actually, there is one other. Recently, Clinton and Stacy have made wearing a bright shoe with a more subtly colored outfit popular. It looks fine still, but may look dated at some time in the future.
(Incidentally, navy clothes don’t need navy shoes. Try brown or black instead.)
Without knowing the color of your hair, I can’t go too far in recommendation, but here are a couple of thoughts:
- Black shoes with gray are a no-brainer. (see #2 above)
- When wearing brown shoes with gray, be sure to wear something else that’s brown also. (see #3) In the winter, I like to wear a brown top and boots with my charcoal gray pantsuit.
- Since both of my daughters have green eyes with gray rims, I tend to like olive and other greens with gray.
- Lots of other bright colors go well with gray (but then you may be bringing complication on yourself). I have found my coral flats to be very versatile. Perhaps in your color scheme, an intense - maybe royal? - blue would be the bright shoe to have.
Hope that helps. If all else fails, maybe try silver. 
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WFMW: Coffee Ice Cubes
I haven’t done a Works for Me Wednesday post in a long time, but this tip is too good to keep to myself. And too simple.
Pour leftover coffee into ice cube trays. Use the coffee ice cubes for summer iced coffee beverages or even just a glass of milk. Yum! 
And you know how some recipes call for a small amount of coffee? Now I always have some on hand.
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A Single Pair of Shoes
I’m re-posting this, one of the very first posts I ever wrote, after dr wende’s request for more info on matching shoes to hair color. More new stuff added at the end.
If you could only have one pair of shoes, what color should they be? Whatever color your hair is. Of course, I don’t want to become some sort of shoe nazi. The principle I’m suggesting is balance. Simply put, your hair is always part of your ensemble, the very top part. Your shoes can repeat the color, like bookends, without necessarily becoming part of what’s in between.
So, has anybody noticed that I don’t follow my own rule? Well, I always say, “when you understand the rules, THEN you may consider breaking them.” I wear brown. Brown is my former hair color and my eye color and a more practical shoe color than ecru metallic, or whatever color my hair is considered to be now. he hee.
A run-down on common hair colors and what shoes to wear with:
- dark brown or black: you are the lucky girls who get to choose the most socially acceptable shoe color in existence - black! Why not have a pair of black shoes for every lifestyle segment in every season?
- blonde: the point isn’t so much to exactly match your hair, but to approximate it. Blondes also should consider a nude shoe.
- redhead: luggage tan works.
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A Monochromatic Outfit
When I first learned about the whole length-balancing thing, I was pretty confused. For one, I tried to measure everything to the inch, which is not at all necessary. Later I learned that there are a finite number of classic formulas, like a knee-length skirt or dress, and within an inch or two is close enough. If I happen to have more creative energy, I can do something more complicated.
My other error was thinking that all this color combining stuff meant that monochromatic outfits were not good. Not so! Monochromatic outfits are still a great way to look slim and put together. And with a dress or a suit, an all one color look, length-balancing isn’t really an issue. (Just for fun, I’m going to try illustrating this post with maternity clothes. Anybody want to announce they are expecting?)
Do:
- Wear shoes the color of your hair.
- Choose a flattering color.
- Choose a boring color. Or worse, one that blends with your skin tone. From a distance, you could end up looking naked!
- Wear a monochromatic look from shoulder to mid-thigh. It halves the body.
Thanks, eternalvoyageur, for suggesting the topic. And since I’m not so much an embellishment person, do any of you readers have favorite “accessorizing the monochromatic outfit” tips?
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Combining Colors
Gone are the Color Me Beautiful days, when color temperature was queen and color swatches were prime minister. Want a color philosophy that is timelessly flattering to you? Learn to mimic the way your personal coloring combines colors.
What hues are present in your coloring? How do they relate to each other on the color wheel? You may want to wear color schemes that use the same color harmonies.
Is your coloring dark, medium, or light, or a combination? Basic color value combining repeats the darkness of the hair and skin in the garments, and accents with the color value of the eyes.
Finally, which elements of your coloring are clear and which are muted? Is your skin or hair visually textured or patterned? Wearing heathered colors is very attractive with muted skin tones, and vertical stripes enhance streaked hair. Again, repetition is the concept.
Does this seem elementary to you? More sophisticated color combining takes the concept of repetition and adds drama with contrast. Just add black or white.
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Color-blocking for an A
In Staging Your Comeback: A Complete Beauty Revival for Women Over 45
Consider, for example, the fact that the Type A figure is the most common figure type. Consider also the ubiquity of the black top worn with khakis. Precisely the “don’t” illustrated in the book. With that lovely contrast line right around the hips.
This suit would be a do for anyone wishing to minimize hips or tummy and maximize the upper body, where, incidentally, the face is generally located.
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My Personal Colors
A reader asks:
So… what are your personal colors? Do you narrow it down to 3 or 4? Do you add a funky trendy piece in a new color every once in a while?
A good question. I’ve talked around it, mentioning my signature color and the fact that I build my color scheme on my own personal coloring and lots of other color stuff, but I don’t know that I’ve ever just come right out and told you what colors I wear. So here it is:
- I swing wide through the coral pinks, wearing everything from peach to true pink and from an icy pale tint to an almost brown burgundy. Coral is my summer bright.
- Brown is an easy basic. I have begun to stay with shade of either rosy brown or balanced brown (now that my hair is silver, my coloring is overall a bit cooler than when I was younger). Included in this color category are the very light tints of brown, like the safari jacket pictured here.
- Gray. I LOVE a particular shade of pewter which is challenging to find, and charcoal heather is a winter staple.
- Primarily used individually as accents in my wardrobe, I’m learning to work more with black and white together.
That’s pretty much it. And jeans, of course, three quarters of the year. These colors form the back-bone of my wardrobe and are the ones I would systematically plan and shop for.
Sure, I venture into other colors from time to time, especially when thrifting. A funky, trendy piece in a new color? Hmmm, maybe not the best. How about a funky, trendy piece in a basic color? Or a funky, trendy color in a tee-shirt?
