Practical Fashion Tips # 4

Woman’s Guide to a perfect Suit

Until recently, corporate world was dominated by men. But after women started stepping in to the corporate world, fashion industry has taken a different turn in designing formal wear for women which not only demands respect but also satisfies the quench for fashion.

Fashion for women (even for metro men) is not just wearing fashionable dress. The way they dress, shows their individuality. More and more women are adopting into formal dressing culture these days. The advantage is, unlike men, they have the freedom to experiment with brighter and colorful materials instead of sticking to the usual black, brown gray etc (Though my recommendation would be Black, Blue, Gray and brown for office wear).

Suite is the most important piece of garment in woman’s wardrobe. So every care should be taken while selecting a suite. Well worn suit demands respect from colleagues and clients. The shape, fabric and color make the woman’s suite appropriate for different occasions. The advantage is that women can change the entire look of the suite by just merely changing few accessories.

If you need just two or three suits for office wear, I would suggest you to go for light weight woolen material or cotton blend, preferably dark colors, which can be worn round the year. Select colors in such a way that dress can be mix-matched to give varieties.

Women can wear suit with either skirt or pants. The jacket can be either single or double breasted or it can even be all buttoned collar like COCO-Channel style. Unlike men, women can also wear half sleeve suits according to the climatic conditions. Women have the option of making the suit attractive by using embroidery or by stitching ribbons or laces on the lapel.

Skirt Suit

A skirt suit is the most popular formal wear, women can have. This is the best for a business meetings or interviews. Skirt suits comprise of a jacket and knee length skirt. I personally feel that a woman looks more elegant and feminine in skirt suit and it suits for most of the body natures too. Even a plus size woman will look great in skirt suit. This looks great for office wear and also can be used for formal evening wear. Evening skirt suit will have lovely camisoles and blouses made of soft silk and taffeta. There can be lot of variations like off shoulder tops, shawls etc.

Pant Suit

This is another version of formal suits which are worn as office dress. I will not suggest a pant suit for a business meet, however, can be worn in a more relaxed office atmosphere. Though, pant suits are stylish and sophisticated, doesn’t suits for all body natures. It looks great for someone who is slim and tall. The best thing is, just by taking off the jacket and changing the top to something casual, you can even hit the night club.

Fabrics

There are so many fabulous materials to choose from when it comes to woman’s suit from all season polyester to super soft wool. Even linen suits are great as summer time suits. However, the best choice for a suit is woolen material. There are different types of woolen materials

Worsted: It is the best choice as this can be worn all through the year. It is wool that has been combed and flattened to appear thinner and crispier.

Tweed: It is a heavier material and actually should be worn by some one who is thin.

Flannel: It is less heavy than tweed but generates lot of heat and hence best for winter climates.

Tropical: It is light weight material but tends to wrinkle easily and so you will have to dry clean it frequently.

Other materials are North American cotton-seersucker, cashmere, silk and silk blended with wool etc. There are cheaper synthetic materials too but are not preferred by many.

How to pick a Right Suit

Woman’s fashion is scaling new heights with new designers coming out with sensual and at the same time trendy designs. Now corporate women on the move have more reasons to joy; formal wear is no more boring and are equally trendy with a touch of glamour, thanks to the creative designers.

A suit is the most expensive investment in a wardrobe. So every care should be taken while selecting a suit. Woman’s suit comes in larger varieties of colors like pastel, gem, tan, purple, yellow red etc.

How to select a perfect jacket

First option is of course the style or the pattern. My recommendation would be the classic single breasted jacket. Other variations are less popular double breasted and all buttoned up collar.

If you have to attend lot of business meetings, then the classic color choices would be grey, blue, black and brown or may be olive green. If the office atmosphere is more relaxed, you can even go for bright colors like purple, pink, red, tan etc.

When you spot the right jacket, crumble the material and see if it is bouncing back or remaining wrinkled. It is better to go for wrinkle free material or else you would be spending good part of your earnings for pressing the suit.

To spot a good jacket, turn the jacket inside out and check the seam and the lining. If the lining is of silk it could be a good quality suit. Or hold the material against the light, if it is see- through, it is not of good quality.

If the seam is sewn perfectly, then it is touched by machine. A good quality suit is always sewn by hand, so the seam will not be as perfect as done by machine. Also check for the quality of buttons.

A good jacket will have buttons made of pearl or some exotic shells. It the button is made of plastic or resin, the suit is of cheap quality.

When you are really satisfied, try on the suit. Check whether the length of the jacket compliments your figure. Well, I am not giving any standard length because unlike a man’s jacket, there is no specific length for woman’s jacket. It can either be short (ending at the waist) or standard length that lies on the hip just above the buttock. The important factor is that, it should compliment your feature. In simple, with a cropped jacket, you can show off your long legs and narrow waist, with longer jacket, you can elongate visual appearance of upper torso.

How to select a perfect Skirt

Now that you have selected the jacket the next need is a skirt that compliments the jacket. The most flattering skirt for a woman, no matter what size, is PENCIL SKIRT. It does not flare and just falls down completely straight skimming down your body. Pencil skirt looks great on even fat women.

Just make sure that fit of the skirt is perfect and it does not bunch out. The skirt should sit perfectly on the hip area and should smoothly fall down.

The perfect length of the skirt is right above the knee. However, depends on the body structure, one can extend the length, may an inch or two below the knee.

Plus size woman should go for straight cut skirts which will give them a smart and trimmed look. They should also wear knee length skirts because the skirt rides up a bit whenever you sit. Because of the body structure, skirt rides up higher for plus size women and hence they should never wear too short skirts, unless the intention is to …… .

If you are little heavier on top, then I would suggest you to go for slightly flared skirt. It will make your torso and mid area visually slim.

How to select a perfect pant

Pant suits are great for some one who is tall and slim. Of course it is not easy to find perfect fitting pants for women. There are pants with waist band and without waist band. Few important points that you should remember while selecting a pant are

Waist band should fit perfectly on the waist and should stay there without a belt. The waist area should not bunch out. Slim person with flat abdomen can go for waist-less pants or else go with the band.

The fitting in the crotch area is very important. If the pant is too tight, the pant will be pulled-in near the crotch area and will hang loose it the pant is too big.

Some women, after the delivery develop fatty skin at the abdomen area. Then I would suggest you to go for pants with wider waist band and a pleat as well. This way the extra skin will not show up and you will look slimmer than you are.

The length of the pant is also very important factor. Ideally, the pant should touch the upper portion of the shoes. Make sure that you get the alteration (hem) done by professional tailor. I have seen many women who tuck the hem and try to fix with pin. Real ugly site!

A pant with cuff makes one look short. If you want to elongate the visual appearance of legs, avoid wearing cuffed trousers.

Avoid wearing belt along with suit pant or skirt suit. It actually divides your body frame in to two and takes away the visual appearance of being tall. Belt would look great on women with narrow waist who wish to show off her asset.

There is a need for wake up call to few, who are still sleeping within their old fashioned dressing sense. The world has changed and the power is with those who can impress the clients and colleagues with their power dressing. It may not improve your work quality, but certainly will give you more confidence and help you to climb the ladder of career. I have seen women around me who say, oh, I am married; so what is the need to dress so fashionably? Well, if you have noticed, these are the woman who start and end their carrier, in the same position.