Like a ship of the desert.

Don’t worry I didn’t watch Discovery channel too much and am not planning to talk about animals living in Sahara, but I am going to talk about one of the biggest trends of this season and loudest come backs - camel coat. I remember when I was a kid my mom had it, my dad had it, even my grandparents had it. Apparently it was an absolute must-have, solid symbol of status and style. And here we go – it comes again! Of course a little bit different. It got its modern twist that most certainly will differentiate you from the image of 90s. No shoulder pads and enormous lapels, more fitted shapes, more complicated cuts. Designers definitely went away from boxy “power” looks and insist on more luxurious and elegant forms. They also add visual interest using fur trim, embroidery and pleating. This decade women camel coat is very feminine, almost “girly”. More over nowadays camel coat transforms into short jackets, cute capes and all other forms of outerwear that you can only imagine.
And what’s even more exciting that you can bring this particular trend not only into your outerwear, but in any piece of your wardrobe. Cashmere cardigans, wool turtlenecks and sweater-dresses, pants and skirts in luxurious camel color are absolute must-haves of this season. Even shoes and bags changed their usual fall/winter black to warmer tan color. But make sure that your outfit is balanced, both in style and tone. One neutral piece is enough otherwise wearing “camel” all over, you can look like big bowl of porridge. If it’s a dress, pair it with bold accessories, edgy pattern (leopard, snake) boots and purse. Don’t afraid to add some color to spice up the look. My advice is also to try to mix different styles, walking away from usual classic perspective of the whole “camel” trend. For example, plain conservative sweater will look fantastic with denim pencil skirt and wide brown belt, bunch of golden bracelets and big earrings. Another opportunity to be more creative dressing in “camel” is to mix textures: silk blouse of jewel tones will bring visual interest to tan stretch riding pants not only because of the color, but also because of the contrast of shiny and matte finishes of the fabrics.

This trend really deserves all that love that it gets from fashionistas: it’s extremely versatile and comfortable. It is good for different occasions (office appropriate and perfect for casual), great for any age and so easy to put together. Plus it’s pretty much timeless, because years will pass before you’ll retire your “camel” attire.

Only sky is the limit!

Oh My God! How I love shoes! And how I love heels! Sometimes they are killing us, hurting so bad after several hours of walking and the only desire that we have is to throw them away along with our dying feet, but we still love these damn shoes! No wonder why – they make us taller, thinner and so much sexier! They spice up even very simple outfit and give us this great vibe of femininity that turns around tons of guys’ heads.
Maybe you remember when we were talking about “Fall List” – list of must-haves for this season – which included faux fur jacket (checked!), skinny cargo pants (checked!) and cheetah print shoes! And hallelujah – last item in the list is bought too! I know that I was so against peep-toe options, but of course I ended up exactly with such pair. Let me introduce you to my “Best Pair of Shoes” (how my husband calls them): “Betsey Johnson” leopard print pumps with mirror platform and heel (thanks to ideeli.com only $79 vs $200 regular price). Must admit they definitely require some practice in walking in them, but overall they are pretty comfortable, especially if using “Dr. Scholl’s” silicone inserts. And they are so hot! You will not believe but in a few hours I got at least 5-6 compliments from both men and women. The trick is to let them shine, to let them play a first role in your outfit otherwise they would lose their amazing effect. Try to pick settled colors and patterns for the rest of your ensemble, or at least separate bright top from them with pair of solid color pants or skirt. And of course leopard purse should be never seen together with them, we don’t need “animal overload”!
Another my great find is black “GUESS by Marciano” wedges with cool lace-up on the back. Who doesn’t need pair of nice black shoes? And these ones, being a little bit extreme and edgy, still have a great classic look. Plus wedge is very comfortable. Just give shoes like that couple of days to take a shape of your feet and pretty soon they’ll be as comfy as pair of slippers (maybe not that comfy, but definitely close!). Such shoes will work nicely with classic and even conservative dresses and suites for the day and at the same time will perfectly compliment any evening look.

Think that I’ll be never able to say “no” to high-heel shoes, moreover each time I pick them even higher. It’s almost like a scale: the more inches are in the heel the more pride and appeal you have wearing them. “High” means “hot”! So let’s never let “temperature“ go down!!!

Higher or lower?

High-waist pants were trying to squeeze into contemporary fashion already for several years, but can’t say that very successful. Though designers consistently insist to let them into our life and our closet must admit it’s a very risky move for the most of women population. Because high-waist pants are too tricky. Only few types of figures can easily handle them.
I remember, when two years ago denim company that I worked for produced its first high-waist jeans, all of us were so excited. They looked so cool: bold big buttons on the front, contrast stitching and nice washes, and seemed that they would shape you like a sculptor shaped his marble! But after first fittings all excitement was gone. On most of the girls they surprisingly were creating very boxy “teenager girl” look, they were hiding curves, but not defining the waist, they were completely ruining proportions of the body. The only lucky individuals that looked great in that jeans were stick-skinny ones that didn’t have a lot of curves at the first place and girls that had very strong hour-glass shape, simply because they could afford to lose some booty volume. And even they didn’t really stick to these pants because rise like this is the least comfortable. Maybe it’s a little bit crazy, but I personally have very hard time to wear high-waist pants – all my bottoms from the time when I was 9 had a middle or low rise, so no surprise that something so much higher almost suffocating me.
Another challenge that can be added to high-rise pants is their design and cut. Considering that such pants are very high-fashion, designers are not hesitated to make them even more high-fashion and in a lot of cases more difficult to wear. Weird cropped length, billions of pleats (that, btw, create huge amount of extra volume on hips), lose or even pleated waist line and bunch of other “creations” don’t make our shopping easier. But believe me even in all this “runway insanity” it’s very possible to find silhouette right for you.
So what should we do if we are not lucky ones with the body “naturally ready” for high-waist pants? Let’s trick everybody around and create one. Light-weight wide blouses (tucked-in!!!) will create a lot of volume on top that will make bottom slimmer, nice wide or skinny belt will accentuate your waist and create a great proportion, structured jacket will be perfect pair in this ensemble too creating hour-glass shape. Great pair of heels, nice bag and big jewelry will complete the whole look.

Yes, all people are different, all figures are different and not every single item in the store is going to work on, but a lot of things are in our own hands. Putting some thought into your look, some effort and time you can make even something very challenging and difficult to wear look fabulous on you! So give it a try, who knows maybe high-waist pants will be your favorite thing!