I have had this leather look top for almost a year, and have never worn it before today. Mostly I think because it is not very forgiving (read it shows my fat rolls) but also because I don’t get out in the evening much anymore, and I thought it was a bit too tarty for work.

So what made today different? Well I was reminded of something on the weekend whilst attending another fabulous Defined Image Workshop! Karen and Nat talked about balancing outfits.

For example if you are wearing tough Doc Martin boots, then balance the outfit by pairing them with a feminine dress. If you are wearing a feminine dress, for heavens sake don’t throw on a sweet little cardi! Masculine boyfriend jeans look great with a pretty print blouse. And in my case if I want to wear a fiery (read tarty) faux leather peplum to work in a conservative engineering firm, then I had better wear it with a pretty feminine necklace, conservative heels and casual white jeggings. The military jacket is the piece de resistance as the cut of the jacket highlights the shape of the peplum, the stripes distract the eye from the oh so shiny material and most importantly it covers up the very low back which is not work appropriate (according to the ‘how to dress’ memos that float around the office from time to time).

So if you have an item of clothing that just isn’t working very hard for you in your wardrobe, and you don’t want to discard (’cause you are a hoarder like me). Think about how by pairing it with an opposite you may be able to salvage it from the salvos pile and create a surprisingly confusing and yet fabulous outfit!

G xx