Fall Essentials: Take Two

Greetings Gentle Readers,

It's time for Part II of our "Fall Essentials" guidelines... In part one we talked about a garment, accessory, and color. We're going to stray just slightly from that in this installment, discussing, a garment, fabric texture and color, but we hope the essentials discussed here serve you as well this fall as they have us... Without further ado...

1. Tweed: this classic fabric lends itself to colder months, and because of its mostly earth-tone coloring, specifically to fall. Tweed is warm, durable, and easy to care for. Look for classic wardrobe staples in tweed; i.e. vests (like pictured) blazers, and trousers. Ladies you may also be able to find fantastic suiting in tweed. We don't recommend that gents try the all tweed look. Break up your tweed with other textures. A particularly stylish option is to mix a "rough" texture like tweed with something smooth &soft, like silk, leather, or cashmere. Tweed's color is usually in the dusty brown/heather grey tone, and is achieved through the weaving of the different tones of yarn. Keeping that in mind, accessorize and coordinate tweed with grey and brown tones and colors that contrast with them i.e. pale pinks, yellows, lavenders, any any other hues with grey undertones. If a contrast is what you have in mind, try deep tones and saturated colors, like an eggplant purple, kelly green, or sapphire blue.

2. Grey Trousers: A grey trouser is a excellent year 'round, but is particularly useful in fall also. As an alternative (for both genders) to jeans for evenings out, or for dressier occasions when you'd like to try something other than typical black pants, or even at the office, grey trousers provide an air of sophistication and style that black can sometimes fail to convey. Because they AREN'T black, brown, or navy, grey trousers often seem like an unexpected choice. Grey, however, is a great neutral that is easy to pair with almost any other color; be they other cool tones like blues and most lighter shades and pastels, or warm hues like orange, red, and saturated richer jewel tones. As with all trousers make sure that your grey slacks fit as best they can and find cuts that are most versatile (that way, you get more bang for your buck). Some classic and timeless cuts are a full trouser (like the one pictured) and a slim fit, which contours more to the natural shape of the leg, as opposed to being straight down like a full trouser.

3. Pale Pink: (and other pastels) While most people think of pastels as strictly spring and summer tones, we think of them as quite the opposite. As the weather cools, sometimes we like our colors to cool as well. Summer is known for it's bright colors and patterns, and fall is typically known for warm earth tones, but sticking to norms does not a stylish person make. Cooling down your hues in the fall can be a particularly stylish move. A tip to effectively pulling this off is to use a color whose undertones are similar to that of your other pieces. For example, every garment worn in the featured photo has a grey undertone, thus making them all effectively complement each other. Also, you want to limit the use of cool tones to one or two garments. The desired look is not Easter Egg Chic. You can use cool tones in your accessories instead of garments as well; scarves and neckties are an excellent way to put this technique to use. The aforementioned rules apply to the accessories as well.

That brings to a close this installment of the Fall Essentials. We hope this post has inspired you to go into your wardrobes and pull out a few things and try them in different ways. We'll see you again before you know it with the next installment. Until then, we remain...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy

P.S. For your up to the moment tips on remaining classically stylish, timelessly chic, and always Sartorially Savvy follow us on Twitter (@SartoriallySvvy or click here)

The Business Sexy

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Let us begin by saying, there are few things sexier than an woman in a suit. Especially a suit that fits her right. We had been meaning to write about this for some time, but, when we saw this picture of the lovely Ms. Banks, we took it as a sign that it needed to be done.

Women in suiting is nothing new, however, historically women's suiting has had a tendency of borrowing TOO much inspiration from menswear, with boxier silhouettes and unflattering lines that mask a lady's very femininity.

The suit Ms. Banks is wearing, while menswear inspired, is undeniably feminine. From the cut, darts, and feminine details on the sleeves and skirt, it is unquestionable that this was designed for a woman, and not just a woman in something originally intended for a man. Ladies, it is our recommendation that this is precisely how you go about rocking your suits: Fitted to your figures &needs, and impeccably tailored.

Everything about this look is perfectly polished and professional. Our only edit would be, that if this is something you're wearing to the office, to add a blouse or camisole underneath the vest. For evening and red carpet (where Ms. Banks is being photographed) the vest alone is perfectly fine.

Keep the skirt length at or just above the knee (everyone, unlike Tyra isn't 5'10") and the shorter you are, the higher above the knee you can go. Just keep it professional. The stance (where the buttons are placed) of the jacket should be below the bust, right about mid-torso, and you should be able to button your jacket with no problem. If you're rocking a 3 piece ladies, the vest should also be able to be button comfortably. If you're wearing slacks, your best two options are trouser (or full) cut or a straight, almost boyish, akin to the boy fit slacks we discussed in our previous "Black Magic" post (click here for a refresher). Color and texture wise, you can't go wrong with greys and navys. Wools and tweeds will also provide classic and timeless results.

To accessorize a suit, keep it simple and classic; perhaps a pearl necklace or earrings, or maybe a pendant on your lapel. For added style, and a knowing wink to menswear history, a pocket square or handkerchief will express both personality and style. Rock the suit right and there'll be a new category of attire around the office: Business, business casual, and business *sexy*! Until next time, we remain...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy
"Fashions fade, style is eternal." ~ Yves Saint Laurent

P.S. For your up to the minute tips on staying classically stylish, timelessly chic and always Sartorially Savvy, follow us on Twitter (@SartoriallySvvy or click here)

Perfect Proportion Perfectly

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Recently, in our "Fall Essentials Rd. 1" post, we gave the ladies a hint about how rock a "boyfriend" (read: menswear, or men's cut) blazer. This photo of supermodel Jessica White pretty much sums our point perfectly!

Ms. White's blazer is loosely fitted, so to balance that out, she keeps it super feminine and sexy with the leggings and stilettos. This is how to effectively pull this look off. The "boyfriend" blazer is a classic piece that will wear well from season to season. In the spring and summer, you can throw it over tanks and mini's for cosmopolitan sophistication. For nights out, swap out your jeans for pencil skirts for chic silhouettes. The "boyfriend" blazer will generally result being the focus of your ensemble simply because of its size and volume. So make your style statements there. Accenting the blazer w/handkerchiefs, scarves, boutonnieres, or pendants is an excellent way to add personal style and help tie your whole look together!

Proportion is key when rocking the "boyfriend" blazer. Keep the rest of your pieces slim/skinny like Jessica has done here with her leggings. The "boyfriend" blazer is perfect to rock w/your skinny jeans, slacks, and pencil skirts. Also, avoid voluminous pieces on bottom like trouser cut slacks and jeans and A-line skirts, you don't want too much volume making you look bigger than you are, or overwhelming your frame. The only caveat here, is the "boyfriend" jean (same concept/fit as the blazer, except in pants); you can pull off wearing both IF you're wearing super high heels and all your accessories are super feminine; i.e. big sunglasses, pearl earrings/necklaces, otherwise the look can come off a bit masculine (which is fine as well if that's the look you're going for!) Well ladies... that about does it for this go 'round... Use the "boyfriend" blazer wisely this fall, and you'll be topping best dressed lists for sure! Until next time, we remain...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy

P.S. For your up to the moment tips on staying classically stylish, timelessly chic, and always Sartorially Savvy follow us Twitter (@SartoriallySvvy or click here)

The Lady in Red...

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Everyone knows the lore of the "Little Black Dress," Immortalized by Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn in 1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and since heralded as an absolute essential in every woman's wardrobe. And true enough, the LBD is a valuable asset in every well dressed woman's wardrobe, we're going to bring you a little something different today...

A lot of ladies think that they couldn't pull off such a bold color as red... but it's really not that different than black. Red is a primary color, thus making it pretty neutral, and complementary to most other tones. We highly recommend the little RED dress as a substitute for the LBD. Choosing red as an alternative, will be seen by many as a daring choice, and help you stand out (in a very stylish way) from the crowd. The same rules apply to your LRD as do all other dresses: find a style that is complementary to your shape and size. The look featured with this post is a prime example. We had the privilege of styling one of our good friends for an occasion this earlier this year, and chose the LRD for the evening. As you can see, the red complements her skin tone, and her accessories play off the color choice perfectly (if we do say so ourselves). Our "model" for this look is a bit busty, to to balance that out, we chose a tube dress that had pleats and pockets to create balancing volume on her hips, add the wide belt to cinch her in just above the natural waist, at her most narrowest point, and we've created a classic hour glass silhouette! Just as all black slims, as does red here because of it's uniform nature. The all red dress, w/no breaks in pattern creates a longer leaner line on the body and helps camouflage any problem areas. When we originally pulled the dress pictured, it was a bit longer than we liked, so, we had it shortened at the tailor to get to our desired length. Something that is easy and available for all to do! When accessorizing your LRDs, keep it uber stylish by finding a contrasting color. The opposite of red in the color spectrum is green, so playing with colors with significant parts of green is an excellent way to add complementary contrast to your red looks. Khaki, navy, heather grey, turquoise, and teal are all also great options. Avoid darker greens w/red because it tends to come off a little Christmasy. We hope that you'll explore the Little Red Dress and utilize it as a valuable wardrobe option from season to season! Until next time, we remain...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy
"Fashions fade, style is eternal" ~ Yves Saint Laurent

P.S. Follow us on Twitter (@SartoriallySvvy or by clicking here) for your up to the moment tips on staying classically stylish, timelessly chic, and always, Sartorially Savvy!

Fall Into Autumn Style

Greetings Gentle Readers,

As the air becomes a bit more crisp, the sun sets a little earlier, and the leaves begin to change... we all know it can only mean one thing! Fall is awfully close (in some places, it's already there)... Now, some of you may long for those hot and steamy days of summer gone by... but not us. We love fall, it's our favorite season (followed closely by spring), especially sartorially. In the coming weeks, we'll be coming to you with our fall essentials and tips for staying Sartorially Savvy as the season shifts.

This time around, we'll be covering 3 of our fall favorites in 3 different forms: garment, accessory, and color. Let's take it from the top!

Fall Essentials
Round 1

Blazers: The classic essential works for both genders year 'round, but is particularly pertinent in the autumn as an easy and always stylish layering piece. You can't go wrong with a notch lapel, mid-stance, two button blazer (for other options, check back for the advanced course soon) You can play with color, pattern, and texture in your blazers. Jewel tones, rich saturated colors, classic patterns like herringbone and hounds tooth, and textures like tweed are all distinctly dashing for fall and play well with the tonal changes in the weather. Ladies, to keep an air of femininity, we suggest your blazers being fitted, having feminine accents (such as ruffles or bloused shoulders), or if you rock a "boyfriend" (men's fitting) blazer, make sure your other pieces are fitted and amp up the shoes and accessories for added sex appeal.

Scarves: Fall is optimal time to break out one of our personal favorite accessories: scarves. Scarves are a great way to accent any ensemble, and provide that bit of extra warmth on a chilly morning commute, or a weekend walk through the park. The perfect scarf provides that premium pinch of panache to any ensemble. Scarves are also a great way to show your personality by add a pop of color, pattern, and texture and in the way you wear them; be it looped around your neck (as pictured) knotted, or draped over your shoulders. A great designer scarf (such as the one pictured) also adds an air of luxury and polish to ensembles. We love our scarves in cashmere, not only for the look, but for the uber soft and warm feel. But wool and cashmere blends are a great way to get the feel, but keep the price point down. Your scarves should always be complementary to what you're wearing, whether they blend in or contrast with the ensemble. Have fun w/scarves! You pretty much have carte' blanche!

Hunter Green: Taking our cue from the photo featured in this entry, brings us to one of our favorite colors for fall. Hunter green is one of the few colors in the palette that is flattering on every skin tone. it is particularly complementary to caramel, butterscotch, and chocolate. Hunter green is one of those colors that immediately evokes a sense of fall... perhaps it's because hunter green is close to pine... Greens usually evoke a sense of nature, the brighter hues tend to lend themselves to spring/summer, and deeper, richer tones lend themselves to fall and winter. Hunter green plays right into this, it's an extremely warm tone. In the photo, the blazer is hunter green, but, the ensemble would have worked if the shirt was instead. Hunter green sweaters, button downs and blazers work for both genders and ladies can use the color effectively and w/sex appeal in pencil skirts, and bags.

That about wraps up the 1st installment of the Fall Essentials. Stay tuned for next time when we bring you more of our faves and tell you how to rock them in your wardrobe! Until then we remain...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy
"Fashions fade, style is eternal" Yves Saint Laurent

P.S. Follow us on Twitter (@SartoriallySvvy or by clicking here) for your up to the minute tips on staying classically stylish, timelessly chic, and of course, Sartorially Savvy

Partna Lemme Upgrade You...

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Sartorially Savvy here... While out in the city recently we saw the ad that accompanies this post, and it struck a nerve with us in the best possible way: it inspired us to bring you this installment in our style chronicles!

One of our essential style tenets is essentially summed up by this ad; a little effort goes a long way! We can often be found giving friends advice, and Tweeting (are you following us on Twitter? You should be... click here to find us. Simple enough, no?) about adding finishing touches, taking an extra 5 minutes, adding polishing, putting in a little thought, etc. into ensembles. And yes, we concede, there is something about the ease of a tee shirt &jeans that makes it an easy and appealing default. However! our dear gentle readers, we do NOT want you to blend in with the masses of monotony!! That's why we write this blog, Tweet our advice, and are always available to help out with your sartorial conundrums. We want YOU to be those chic head turners on the street whose style bystanders sit and lust after, we want YOU to be able to open the pages of GQ and Vogue and be able to see how to translate trends for your shape, style and budget. Gentle readers, we encourage you to have fun with your style, take pride in your presentation. After all, your style is an equally important facet of your personality, it speaks for you as powerfully as your intellect and deeds. Sometimes, even louder because how you're put together is the first thing anyone sees upon encountering you. And we all know, there's no 2nd chance for a 1st impression.

So, our dear gentle readers... We encourage you to put your best foot forward this fall! Fall is our favorite season because of the so many opportunities to express our personal style! Gone are the days of wearing as few garments as possible b/c it's 90 degrees outside, and here comes the season of loafers and leather, scarves and slacks, and leggings and layering. And worry not, in the autumnal days to come, we'll still be here, blogging, tweeting, texting, emailing, BBM-ing and whatever it takes to have you, our dear gentle readers, turning heads with amazing style this fall! Until next time....

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy
"Fashions fade, style is eternal" - Yves Saint Laurent

P.S. Remember, you can find your up to the minute tips on staying classically chic, timelessly stylish, and effortlessly elegant by following us on Twitter (CLICK HERE!)

Look of the Day: Wedding Edition

Greetings Gentle Readers,

On one of our favorite blogs/websites, there's a "Week in Style" article posted every week that chronicles what some of the best dressed celebrity and fashion industry men wore that week. Often times, there are red-carpet events and the gentleman in question will be photographed with an often stunning lady. The author at this point usually concedes that while no one is looking at the man, he still looks stylish and dashing. For this chronicle, we'll gladly concede that no one is looking at the young man pictured, and all eyes, (rightfully so) are on the stunning young lady.

That being said, this entry, we'll be talking about the white dinner jacket, and how the Sartorially Savvy gentleman uses it as an integral piece of his well-rounded wardrobe. A white dinner jacket/white blazer/white suit jacket adds an instant level of polish, panache, class, and sophistication to any look.

Here, we paired the white dinner jacket with a subtle pinstriped navy slack, pale yellow shirt, navy tie, and silk yellow handkerchief, our belt and shoes were brown. All of these are complementary color combinations, that are timeless, trend, and season-proof. And although the occasion was a late summer wedding, this would have worked well in the autumn, and spring as well.

The trick to pulling off a white dinner jacket it, is to let it be the subtle focus of your ensemble. The look works without the jacket because of the complementary colors, but the jacket adds that final touch of polish and class and becomes a bit of a focal point, without detracting from the over all aesthetic. White is as powerful a neutral as black, navy, and red, and sometimes, even more so, because, like red, or other bright basics, it's often unexpected. People often neglect white because they feel it's too hard to pull off, or out of season. As seamlessly as the look works here, the white jacket would go with a red shirt and dark grey slacks, or a pink shirt and khaki slacks. And in those combinations it performs the same way; to be the final, perfect, polishing touch on an ensemble.

The white jacket adds an air of sophistication and says expensive, but you can get one at a number of reasonably priced retailers, including Banana Republic, H&M, and Express, especially around the holiday season. So gents, the lesson here is this: Use the white jacket wisely, it can elevate your look from "nice" to, "Who is that?!?" because trust... quite a few quite attractive young ladies, including the one pictured, commented on the ensemble... If your white jacket helps you pull your future wife, we'll expect our invitation to the nuptials... Just don't be surprised if we show up in our white dinner jacket... Until next time...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy

P.S. For your up to the moment tips on staying classically chic, timelessly stylish, and always Sartorially Savvy, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SartoriallySvvy

Black Magic: A Sartorially Savvy Endorsement

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Sartorially Savvy here with a first of sorts... The Gap has always been one of our favorite places to shop for great basics and wardrobe builders, great khakis, timeless jeans, and amazing sweaters... all when you "fall into the Gap." This fall, Gap has launched a campaign entitled "Black Magic" focusing on the perfect pair of black pants; premium materials, flattering fits, sleek silhouettes, all that good jazz. Apologies to the gents but it's a ladies only campaign. However, the idea of a perfect black pant isn't gender exclusive.

Gap has created 7 new styles, and launched an epic onslaught of media and promotions to promote them. For our purposes today, we'll be taking a look at the 3 most universally flattering and versatile styles. First up...

1. "The Perfect Trouser": Pretty much like it's named, it's the optimally cut pair of trousers. The rise is below the natural waist, between the waist and hips, a classic (and universally flattering) mid-rise, and an open leg that floats away from the body starting at the hip, creating a long, lean leg line that is perfect for all body types, especially curvier and thicker ones as the straight leg line works to camouflage some trouble areas for many.

2. "The Boy Fit" : Inspired by a vintage menswear fit, these are some of the most fashion forward and stylish of the new line. The rise is a bit lower than a classic mid-rise, sitting just above the hips, for a sort of slouchy look/feel, and the leg is tapered for a stacking at the ankle. They look their best with sky high heels. Very on trend, very of the moment, but still very classic, and very chic. They'll work work on almost every body type as well.

3. "The True Straight" : Again, pretty self explanatory. This and "The Perfect Trouser" are our favorites of the line. An excellent weapon to have in your wardrobe arsenal. Mid-rise, cut slim and straight from the hip and through the leg, creating a tailored and sexy silhouette. It's slim without being "skinny." The straight line through the leg makes them wearable for hippy-er silhouettes, b/c the line is straight instead of tapered, which is more flattering to such figures. This one will take you from work to out, and from day to night.

The moral of the story here is, though this is a Gap campaign, that shouldn't stop you, dear gentle readers, from finding a pair of perfect black pants. Perhaps one of the other 4 styles not highlighted here, are best for you, or perhaps your black pants come from somewhere entirely different. The point is, that a great fitting black pant is a wardrobe must have. It will serve you well season-to-season, timeless, classic, chic. Until next time...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy

P.S. For daily tips on how to be, classically stylish, timelessly chic, effortlessly elegant, and always Sartorially Savvy, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SartoriallySvvy