Caroline Laniel

Upgrade your Business Suit

Among women's' business attire the black suit & white shirt is a classic but can come across as overly formal.
It is possible to stand out from the crowd by creating a style that is personal and make you feel good and confident. Here is some advice I usually give my clients.

Here are 4 different ways to give your basic suit some personality:

Mix fabrics: pick a blazer with different color and material (wool, chambray, leather, velvet corduroy...) from your bottom, and pair it with a silk blouse. It will create contrast and embellish your silhouette.

Mango

Rag&Bone (netaporter)

Accessorize: one single accessory can make the difference! Pay attention to quality and remember that "less is more".

with a scarf

scarf D&G (netaporter)

a beautiful belt

Maison Boinet

statement jewelry

J Crew

Layer: as shown here below with a printed blouse and a plain color suit.

Max&Co

or like this:

Zara

Add color: it's fine to wear neutrals but give your suit a "chic with a twist" touch by picking one color and showing it in different hues. (for instance in the photo below with red, see the shirt + collar + blazer + shoes)

Max&Co

And you? Do you accessorize, layer, add color or mix different fabrics? How do you upgrade your suit? Share your thoughts!

Menswear Fall 2014

After browsing through the latest men-fashion shows in London, Milan and Paris here is in a few words what comes to me to describe the season trends:

layering untucked shirts dots Dr Martens

double breasted jackets perfecto sneakers Tartan

leopard prints classy jogpants cardigans loafers with buckles

sweaters bi-colors coats animal prints

And to give you some more inspiration, my selection of a few outfits from the runways:

AMI

AIDER ACKERMANN

BERLUTI

ANDREA POMPILIO

ANTONIO MARRAS

FENDI

BALMAIN

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA

CERRUTI

GIVENCHY

GUCCI

HERMES

MISSONI

TRUSSARDI

PAUL SMITH

Victor & Rolf

UMIT BENAN

SAINT LAURENT

Do you have any favorites? Which ones??

BUSINESS TIME DRESSES

When on wardrobe-detox or shopping assistance it is not rare for me to advise my clients to wear dresses at work...even during winter! Dresses are women best-friends and not only for cocktail parties!

As long as the dress code of the company you work for is respected and once you know the cuts that suit your body shape (thanks to your personal stylist!) it is an elegant, yet comfortable alternative to the too often seen black & white suits!

Here are some of my tips for choosing and wearing dresses at work: