Long Body-What to Wear by Aileen Lane featuring floral print skirts

• Use horizontal lines on top to visually shorten length of body.
• Match shoe colour or wear nude colour shoes to lengthen legs.
• Tuck in tops. Wear an open cardigan or waistcoat over the tucked top if you have a tummy.
• Empire line waists are great as they disguise where true waist lies.
• Long tops with a knee length pants are also great as they disguise where leg break starts.
• Wear high waist pants and skirts which lengthen leg and shorten body.
• Wear contrasting belts on waist.
• Short bolero style jackets also work to shorten body.

Print On Print by Aileen Lane featuring a scoop neck blouse

Match a print and a solid and it gives a perfectly nice outfit. Match a print and a print and create a showstopper.

The trick to matching prints is to find a common thread.

• Colour is always easy to match and is a common thread on all three outfits above.
• Match like prints in different sizes -see two different sizes of flowers in outfit 1 above.
• Colour and diagonal lines pull outfit 2 together.
• Colour and texture pull outfit 3 together.

One Shoulder Trend by Aileen Lane featuring alexander mcqueen handbags

The one shoulder trend is huge at the moment and it is such an elegant neckline. There are a few things you should know when wearing this neckline to help you make the most of the trend:

• Also known as toga, this neckline tends to elongate the neck so its great for people with shorter necks.
• The diagonal line creates some width at the bust and above so its great to balance a pear or bottom heavy figure. Its not ideal for the busty or inverted triangle for the same reason.
• For the bustier women, try a thicker strap with some eye- catching embellishment to distract from bust.
• The more diagonal the line of the neckline, the more slimming it is; the more horizontal, the more width it adds in this area.
• This neckline is great on straight up and down or rectangle figures as it adds curve.
• Its tricky to find a necklace that works with this neckline but earrings or bangles worn high on your arm are great.
• Remember you can wear a bra with this neckline, just adjust straps so that you wear one going diagonally from front to back.

Big Bust – What To Wear by Aileen Lane featuring racerback tank tops

Being well endowed myself, I have much experience in knowing what works and what doesn’t.

The first thing thats really important is a great bra – I know its been said a million times but it is the most important thing. I use wacoal which is an asian brand available here in Singapore at most department stores.

Open up that neckline with a V or deep scoop – A big bust is often paired with a short neck and/ or a low bust line so an open neckline really helps.

Keep embellishment in the bust area to a minimum to avoid adding bulk but cross over or empire lines work well to break up the bust and avoid the uniboob look.

Avoid crew necks like the plague – If I have to do one in colder climates then I tend to pair it with a lightweight scarf worn over in a low V shape.

I find a long light weight open cardi works to slim the bust also. Belt at the waist if you have a small waist but be aware that belting often makes the bust look bigger – Who cares though as the waist looks tiny in comparison:)

Short crop cardi’s are another item to avoid. I find these draw attention to the bust area and shorten it further.

I know you are going to be a little cross with the next one, especially if you live in Singapore but spaghetti straps are a definite no as they look like they will cave under the weight of a big bust. A thicker strap is much more flattering an you also get the wear a bra with straps.

What have you found works for you?

3 Week Holiday In The Country by Aileen Lane featuring a long grey cardigan

I am heading off to Ireland for 3 weeks in July to spend some time with my family (who live on a farm in the country) so the preparation starts already. We will also be spending a week in Portugal and travelling a lot. With a two year in tow, my clothes need to be comfortable and practical. The weather will hopefully be moderate and temps usually range between 15 to low 20′s. I find layering is particularly useful as it can be quite cold in the mornings and evenings. You will notice that all my bottoms go with my tops for maximum usability. Note that both cardigans and the green mac work with all the other items.

There will be some nights out – mostly at the pub so I have brought a glam top and sandels that will work with the jeans or the combat pants. Don’t forget some versatile accessories as they will take your outfit from drab to fab. I can easily put 16 unique outfits together with this capsule. If you change up the cardi’s and accessories, you can come up with many more.

How many can you come up with?