The winter complexion consists of a cool skin tone.   You will tend to have pink/rosy or bluish undertones, but the colour of your skin can vary slightly from being pale/porcelain white, yellowish-olive or dark.  Many Asians and African Americans full into this category and are usually brunettes with deep, dark eyes.  However, some natural white-blondes can also have a winter skin tone.

Try to stay away from colours that make you look faded and ashen (e.g. earthy tones or subdued colours - beige, orange and gold), as you don’t want to be constantly asked if you are feeling unwell.  As winter complexions tend to have a lot of depth to their colouring, due to their hair, eye and skin colouring, you should wear rich and intense colours.   Powerful shades help to complement the complexion, so go for colours such as red, black, navy or hot pink.  However, if your skin tone is a little lighter, go for more icy shades, such as cool blues, pinks and yellows - if you do choose to go with yellow, try to team it up with a darker colour, such as deep purple or bottle green.  Pastel colours can also be worn but need to be sharp, clear and vivid.

Here is an ideal dress for a winter complexion from the Zeleb collection:

Each woman has a slightly different skin tone, which means certain colours look better on certain individuals.  When choosing the colour of your clothing you need to pay special attention to your skin, hair and eye colour.  The best way to find out your skin tone is to look at the skin on the inside of your arm in natural daylight, as it won’t have been powdered with make up or altered by the sun.  Different skin tones can be categorised into the four different seasons (each individual season will be covered in more detail in the following articles).  Each season (Winter, Spring, Autumn and Summer) has a variety of colours which is appropriate for that individual skin tone.

If you have problems differentiating your skin complexion to one of the seasons, which will be listed in the following articles, you can pop into most salons or stores that deal with make up.  They will be  able to help you identify your skin tone and consequent season, as well as show you which colours (e.g. make up and clothing) complements you.  However, if you cannot decide upon your season, a colour that looks great on you will always brighten your look and lift your spirit.

Women that are skinny tend to have the same problem as women that have a larger frame – they just can’t get clothes to fit.  Loads of women envy a woman with a skinny frame, but when it comes to dressing it isn’t always as easy as it looks.  Clothes can appear to hang off the long and angular body frame, which isn’t what you need.  Clothing needs to help create curves where there is very little.  To create this affect you can go either way – wear tight, close cuts or longer, bigger cuts to make you appear wider.  However, you will find that some stores now specialize in slim clothing.  Think fabrics are good for your figure, as it helps you to appear slightly chunkier, the same goes for layering clothing.  You can near enough where any colour (as long as it suits your complexion), but try to play with contrast colours to look slightly wider.  When choosing a dress, try and pick something above the knee to accentuate your long skinny legs.  Ideally the skirt needs to have some volume (e.g. pleats or a balloon skirt – which can look good if your either petite or tall), so that it makes your hips look slightly wider, giving a curvy affect.  The top half of the dress needs to accentuate any potential curves, which can be created by big thrills and bold patterns.  Here is an ideal dress for the skinny figure from the Zeleb collection, as it creates curves in all the right places.

Over the holiday season many of us stuff our faces and end up paying for it by gaining weight.  As we all know, it’s a lot easier to put on weight than it is to shift it afterwards.  So while we are trying to shift the weight, we need to find ways of covering that little bit of excess fat up.  Don’t go out and buy yourself a whole new wardrobe, just persevere and compromise with what you already have.  Make the most of winter, as you can hide under as many different layers as you want.  Perhaps turn a shirt into a tunic/ jacket by wearing a slim fitting top underneath, but try not to hide in oversized clothing.  Hiding in billowy clothing only ends up making you look bigger, so stick with clothing that compliments your curves and figure.  As always darker colours help to create a slimmer effect and hide those few extra pounds.  Emphasizing the neck also helps to draw attention away from fatty areas.  You can do this by wearing scoop necklines, but try to avoid polo necks, as they tend to accentuate the roundness of the midsection of the body.

An ideal dress to hide lumps and bumps that we don’t want on show would be one with multiple layers and a v shaped neckline (to help show off your best assets).  Ideally the dress should be in a darker colour, as lighter colours tend to highlight areas we don’t want seen.  Here is an ideal dress for when we are feeling slightly frumpy:

On TV we constantly see shows regarding whether we come under the  categories of fat or skinny.  Being realistic none of us are ‘average’ and it is more about the style of clothing we choose to wear rather than our actual body shape.  Let’s face it, we all have those fat days, where we feel like nothing fits right and we look ugly in the mirror - on the other hand we do have days where we look in the mirror and think ‘Mmm, I look quite nice today’.  This is probably down to the style of clothing we are wearing on that particular day or could just be hormonal!  Oh how easy it is to be a guy!

In the next couple of articles I am going to advise on how to cover up those wobbly bits you don’t want anyone seeing or to hide the bones that everyone comments on if your skinny.  Both sizes can cause embarrassing moments in life, but if we feel confident in what we are wearing, we will stand proud whatever our size.

Most women over 5ft6” come under the tall category in clothing sections.  This can cause all types of problems and sometimes can prove quite embarrassing.  You certainly don’t want to look like you’ve got ankle swingers on!!!  Some stores have started to introduce tall clothing into their range of products, after seeing more and more taller models on the catwalk, which is providing a wider range for taller women to choose from.

If you are embarrassed about your height, try wearing longer tops to shorten the leg area, ideally with horizontal stripes rather than vertical, as they tend to elongate the body.  Plus (the obvious) where flat shoes.  However, if you are proud of your height stand out and be bold about it, as you will never easily blend in.  Maxi dresses are ideal, especially coming up towards summer, in a bold pattern, but try to avoid block colour from head to toe, unless adding accessories (e.g belt).  A two toned dress is one of your best options, as it draws attention to the waist, breaking up the length of the body.  Details such as fringing and feathers are easier to carry off when you are tall and a tiered evening dress looks brilliant on the taller figure, due to its depth and shape it creates.  Lastly stand tall and be proud in your heels!  Here is an ideal dress from the Zeleb Collection:

You come into this category if you are 5ft 3 or under.  I’m sure you tend to have the same consistent problems when out shopping – everything is too long for you.  You try to roll up your jeans bottoms, but they still end up looking wet and soggy from puddles!  Your best option is to shop in stores with a designated petite section, which is becoming more and more popular.  However, look out for some stores that have different lengths amongst their clothing.

When dressing you want to elongate your body, to prevent yourself from appearing so small.  Rather than breaking up the body, a head to toe look in one colour helps to make you look longer and leaner.  Short dresses are also a must, as they draw the eye down the body to the legs, making them appear longer.  Add high heels to make the legs appear slender and longer than they actually are.  Try to stay away from dresses that fall below your knee and thigh boots, as these cut your body in half and make you look all bits and pieces.  These also applies to layers – too many can often make you look shorter than you are, as it is highlighting individual sections of your body.

Keep printed patterns in proportion to the body and try and go for a vertical stripe.  Below is a prime example from Zeleb of the style of dress to wear:

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As we grow up, we all become different shapes and sizes, along with different heights.  Sometimes this can prove a great task when trying to pick out your ideal clothing, especially if a store doesn’t house a petite or tall section.  Firstly you need to know what category you come under.  If you are 5’3” or under, petite clothing would be a better fit for you, however you can get away with the average length in most shops.  For those of you who are 5’7” you ideally need to shop in a tall section, otherwise you might find yourself feeling like your trousers/dress/skirt have had a row with your ankles.  Any height in between is classed as average, which is what the majority of clothes are tailored to fit (you are the lucky ones who can shop in any store!).

Most stores normally have a petite section, but designated tall sections have only just started appearing in major high street clothing stores.  This is increasingly due to the fact that models are now a lot taller than they previously were and have become fed up with having to look for clothing amongst the men’s section.  In the next couple of articles find out what clothing best suits you when shopping for a petite or tall/long body.

If you have a round face, you will find that the measurement will be fairly similar to that of the square face.  Both the width and length of the face will be identical in measurement (for tips on how to measure your face shape, please refer to ‘Dressing to suit your face’).  However, the edges will be less rough, with fuller cheeks which create a rounder effect.  The aim is to create height, making the face appear longer.  Round faces can often end up looking plump if the wrong hair style or neckline is worn.  Layered hair styles are always a good choice, with maximum volume on the top, but quite minimal at the side, to help lengthen the face.

The best style of clothing for this face should have a v-neckline, as it helps to elongate the face and draws attention away from the softest edges.  It helps the face look more defined, where as a round neckline will just emphasise the face’s circular shape.  The pattern of the clothing can also determine how your face looks.  If you go for a pattern like big polka dots, it will emphasize the roundness of the face.  Here is the perfect style of dress for a woman with a round face:

A heart shape face tends to be wide at both the temples and hairline, which narrows down to a smaller chin.  This is also often known as the upside down triangle.  You will find that when measuring your face (for how to measure please look at Dressing to suit your face) your brow and eye line will be considerably wider than your jaw line.  Your aim is to accentuate the jaw line, making it look larger and taking away attention from the forehead.

When choosing a hair style you should go for something that will create a softening effect on the forehead.  Chin-length or longer works particularly well for this shape, especially a chin-length bob, which helps to create a fullness and balanced look.  If you choose to go for something shorter, make sure you keep some length/weight around the back of the nape, as this will help balance out the dramatic cheek bones and pointy chin.  Side partings and curls are also a good style, as they create a softer and more broken look about the face.

When choosing a dress you need to soften the narrowness of your chin, so it is best to stay away from v-neckline’s as this will just elongate your face.  A good neckline for this facial shape would be square or rounded, as this helps to soften the point of the chin and helps your face look more symmetrical.  Here is an ideal dress from Zeleb below: