Plain White and Black Tees

White and black never go out of fashion, and neither do plain tees in these colors. You can get black and white tees with catchy captions and edgy graphics. However, those shirts are perhaps not meant for the next fashion cycle and may not stand the test of time. All-white and all-black tees never go out of style and are great for pairing with a great pair of jeans or even with slacks; this is true and will remain so whether it is 2010, 2020, 2030, maybe even beyond. Plain black and white tees also are great to layer with slightly oversized unbuttoned shirts for a less casual look. Lastly, white and black t-shirts are perfect unisex apparel and are a closet staple for both men and women.

Blazers

Blazers strike a perfect balance between formal and casual clothing while providing the stylish look you want in your outfit. This piece of clothing can also be worn by both men and women and offers a great look if you wear the right cut. Even though black blazers are considered ageless, you can also pick gray, light blue, and earthy colors to make it work with more contrasts and looks. You can also go with pastel shades and make it a match with a light blue pair of jeans. Choose an oversized blazer for a great layering option. Pair it with your favorite pants or skirts for a quick go-to outfit.

Ballerina Flats

Long ago, stylish women’s shoes had to have high heels to look the part. The style icon Audrey Hepburn broke that convention by sporting ballerina or ballet flats on various occasions with all sorts of dresses. It has been more than 50 years since Audrey introduced this trend. However, it is still as fresh as day one and will continue to be for many years.
Ballet flats in classic shades like nudes, earthy, navy, and black tones are made for all seasons and occasions. They are extremely comfortable to wear and come as a blessing for your heels and arches when you have to walk a lot. Then, you can also wear them with any dress of your choice— from denim to chinos and trousers to bodycon and A-line skirts.

White Button-Down Shirt

No wardrobe is complete without the classic white button-down shirt. This staple is a versatile option that has evolved from the men’s wardrobe only to now being worn by men and women alike. Another reason why they are a hit is because of their countless styling options. You can wear them in various combinations of casual and semi-formal styling. For weekend getaways and beach trips, you can combine them with denim or a trendy pair of shorts along with sneakers. You can also create a casual-formal look by wearing them with trousers and chinos along with loafers and oxfords.

Breton Shirts

A style hailing from Northern France, Breton stripes have been all the rage in crew neck and long-sleeve tees for many decades. Usually, these shirts are made of hard-wearing cotton and feature dark stripes on a white base. Men and women can wear them with light denim pants and sneakers to create a perfect unisex uber cool look.

Double Denim

People would avoid wearing denim on denim for the longest time because it could break the look and might not provide the contrast you look between a pair of pants and a shirt. This misconception regarding double denim styling has been smashed down in the last couple of years. Today, denim-on-denim has become one of the most popular fashion trends. You get a lot of room of styling and customization when it comes to double denim. You can go with a light blue jacket and dark blue jeans or vice versa. You can also break out of the conventional mold of blue shades and experiment with white and black denim pants. Besides jackets, you can try the look with button-down denim shirts as well. You can also carry the double denim look with sneakers, loafers, ballet flats, and even oxfords. For all these reasons, the newfound love for double denim styling is here to stay.

Slip-on Sneakers

Slip-on sneakers are another fashion item that has been around for a while and is here to stay for long. Both men and women love the laid backness, and low-maintenance of these shoes that are free from laces and all you need to do is slip your feet into them. These shoes come in many shades including earthy shades However, white slip-on sneakers make them perfect to go with all sorts of outfits. Whether it’s digital prints or classical polka dots, you can complete all your trendy looks with a pair of slip-on sneakers.

Trench Coats

When class, sophistication, style, and timelessness combine, they make a trench coat. Trench coats look the part for both men and women for any engagements, especially when the air is a little too nippy. It is an ideal option for those in-between seasons. If you don’t want sweaters to be the outermost layer of your clothing in winter, you can go with a classic trench coat. Trench coats also make incredible pedestrian apparel, especially when there is too much wind or a rain forecast.

Some fashion trends last for only one season, and some continue to rule for years and even decades. Keeping these items in your closet will keep your wardrobe up-to-date year after year. These items have been part of chic styling for seasons after seasons, and we don’t see a reason that this will change in the coming years.

The post Popular and Future-Proof Fashion Items to Have in Your Closet appeared first on Koshka.

This article covers corporate and office attire. For those who work in construction and outdoor trades such as landscaping, pest control, and even window washing, we’ll give you sound wardrobing advice in our next update. We’ll address your specific needs relative to fit, fabric, environment, and audience. Next time!

The concept of ‘dressing for success‘ is far from new. Yet many office workers do not know how to begin. Just like your career, start at the bottom and work up. Shoes, women should stick to low heels in neutral colors. Men, two pairs, one black, one brown. One laced, one slip-on. Your choice. Women can get more variation from separates- that means skirts, pants, blouses, and tops. If dresses and jackets are your preference, know that your outfits will be more limited.

As for fabrics, knits are more wrinkle-resistant, which is something to consider if you commute by bus or rail. Poly blends wear well; sadly, moths like to eat wool and silk so limit items in these fibers. Banish acrylic. It is a cheap fiber that does not wear well. Hint: bigger ticket items such as rain and winter coats should be in neutrals. Add pops of color with scarves, gloves, a handbag, and footwear. For men, different color shirts, and ties, even pocket scarves can vary your workday wardrobe. As for color- select two to four colors and only buy those colors. This way you can pull an outfit together quickly as everything will ‘go’ with everything else. Here’s a quick rundown:

Women

Skirts: 4-5 options in the pencil style or modified a-line. Pencil skirts say “I mean business”. Keep the boho looks for when you’re home, not to make an office appearance even on casual Friday.

Pants: 2-3 pairs of dress pants. Cuffs to fall at the midway point of shoes. Buy neutral colors.

Dresses: 2-3 per season. Sleeveless or ¾ sleeve sheaths either below knee or midi-length can be paired with jackets, blazers, or a cascading cardigan. Solids offer more styling options than prints, while knits are easier to keep fresh and wrinkle-free.

Tops/Sweaters: 3-5 tops including tunics. A white button-down, wrinkle-free, shirt is essential. Stick to solids, then consider only classic prints such as dots, pinstripes, and paisleys. Better to err on the side of conservative than to appear too gaudy. Remember you’re there to establish yourself through your work first. Creative industries such as ad agencies may have a more flexible dress code, but get the lay of the land first.

Jackets: 2-3 Fitted suit jackets and a blazer. One must be black. Avoid too trendy wide lapels, etc. These choices can span three seasons and are classic.

Coats: A long coat, a car coat, and a raincoat. Consider a ‘winter’ coat with a zip-out liner to serve double duty as a raincoat when it’s warmer. Again, select a balmacaan or classic trench. Here’s lookin’ at you kid!

Handbag: Totes or leather designer backpacks will hold everything you need including your mobile devices with ease.

Hats: Not currently popular and could obscure vision on crowded sidewalks. For winter, consider ski headbands and wrapped earmuffs with Bluetooth compatibility.

Men

Suits: In a traditional office, there’s no getting around it. Men need suits in navy, black, and gray. No, resist the urge to mix and match. Wear gray trousers with a matching jacket…etc.

Fitted sport jacket and or blazer: Ideal for business events. It can be worn with suit pants or designer chinos as required.

Jeans: 1-2 pairs. Dark denim, the length is slightly longer than suit pants. No rips, tears, fading, or bleach, please. Ideal for creative environments and casual Fridays.

Shirts: 5 minimum. Colors should range from white through pastel blue to black if in creative. Opt for wrinkle-free if you do not send yours out to the cleaners.

Sweaters and Tops: Have 3-5 options. Opt for designer label polos. As for sweaters, if you loved a good shetland in college, you’ll love owning the same style in cashmere.

Ties and Pocket Squares: 3-4 ties, 2-3 squares. Adds polish and professionalism to your appearance. For ties, buy rep silk stripes and solids in neutrals to match your suits- navy and gray. Dots and discreet paisleys are also classic options. If you wear a pocket square wear a solid color tie to avoid a clash of patterns.

Brands

Get to know these icons and see which is the best fit for your work environment: Burberry, Coach, Jones New York, Michael Kors, Talbots, Ralph Lauren, Florsheim, J. Crew, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Hugo Boss, Dooney & Bourke, Nicole Miller, Stuart Weitzman, and Vince Camuto.

TIP: Shop where the store offers in-house tailoring, or find one near you. No point in wearing ill-fitting investment clothing.

If you are still paying off grad-school, balancing car loans, Johnny’s braces, and a mortgage, there’s no need to despair. You can still have a great working wardrobe. There are several options. Online resale stores such as ThredUp carefully curate submissions and accept only the cream which is then competitively priced. Example: this author just scored a $1,500 Fleurette coat new with tags for only $88! That is not the norm, but there are true bargains to be had as well as solid quality for your spend. There are also numerous online businesses that offer style quizzes, send apparel based upon your answers- just pay for what you select, and return the rest.

One caveat: building your new corporate image is not an excuse for maxing out your credit cards. It is not necessary to buy a Rolex, those Manolos, a Hermes bag, or Louis Vuitton briefcase. Your new position is not a dress rehearsal. You’re expected to shine straight out of the elevator and have been prepping your day on your laptop on your commute. Overdoing it with extravagant daywear calls undesirable attention to your appearance instead of your work ethic. Besides, dressing better than your bosses makes your decisions questionable and you expendable. Congrats on your new position, now get shopping!

The post How to Build a Wardrobe that Works appeared first on Koshka.

Anyone who has ever lived in or has loved an older home knows that closets, prior to the late 1990s, have been on the small side. Also that in pre-war (that would be WII) dwellings, as this author can personally attest, closets are downright microscopic.The fact is, our foremothers made do. The majority of women did not work outside of the home, and left it only to walk to the market (i.e. the grocery or supermarket). They needed clothing for staying at home and keeping house (cleaning), a Sunday best outfit (singular) and rarely, a special occasion dress, usually in black. Our social scopes were not broad. We familied and we churched. This started to change in the 1950s when the building explosion spawned suburban tract subdivisions and neighborhoods began to socialize. Commerce boomed and this new-found middle class wealth was supported by women who furnished these homes and sparked increased demand for consumer products on all levels.

Enter the 1980s, when women as a whole began to work outside the home, although most of us remained the discretionary income. For this we required both transportation and more expansive wardrobing choices. It ushered in an era of plenty and with it elevated roles for women’s fashion in the concept to consumer models. For example, in the hands of a shrewd designer and marketer, Diane Von Furstenberg, the once lowly baggy dungaree became the form-fitted designer jean complete with embroidered pockets that accentuated the derriere. The price point for this phenom also jumped from under $20 to an exorbitant $200 back in the day when the average annual household income was about $17K! Other clothing items followed suit with financiers the world ‘round getting on board to satisfy the female consumer.

It did not take long for investors on Wall Street and elsewhere to recognize this new trend and to capitalize on it. Excess was encouraged; to quote Gordon Gecko, a fictional character from the popular 1980s film, Wall Street, “Greed is good.” Here is the current state of the fashion industry and where it is headed next:

In fashion, major design houses create lines of new clothing for every season. This provides temptation as well as an incentive to buy. While most of us do not wear designer clothing, the trickle down effect from the runway to the retail store means that these designs will be copied and translated into more affordable clothing for consumers. As a result, we buy more clothes. Lots of them. As previously mentioned, women play more roles today, have more interests, business, social, and recreational, outside the home than ever before. For this we need walk-in closets and more wardrobing choices.

Few realize, however, that the fashion industry has been male dominated for decades. Slowly, that is changing. Partly due to social media, women as cultural influencers is on the rise. We now live in a world where Tiger Woods struggles to regain his titles and earning power while Kylie Jenner, model and fashion designer under age 30, has become a billionaire. Yes: B. I. L. L. I. O. N. A. I. R. E. Gaining investment capital for woman-driven, concept-to-consumer goods has also increased markedly, and now big business wants in on the multi-billion dollar opportunities that female consumers represent. There is a simple message for undecided investors: “get on board or lose market share.”

Perhaps the biggest reason why women’s fashion continues to have currency and respect on the Dow Jones is the fact that it has sustained growth over the past 40 years. The U.S. apparel market projection for 2025 is $390 billion dollars. The in-store retail market value for apparel and footwear trails at $292 billion dollars, but is still a very healthy figure and a major contributor to the GNP.

Not to be a spoiler but the bubble has to burst at some point. This is partly because the boomer generation that initially fueled this industry has aged and most of us are retired or thinking about it. When we downsize our lives, our homes, our cars, we downsize our wardrobes also. There is less need for more clothing choices. Also, there is less need for more clothes for younger workers in certain professions. For example a large percentage of Millennials who either work in professions such as healthcare which requires them to wear uniforms, or in offices where the concept of casual Friday has spread to the entire workweek. Just about no one buys pantyhose anymore!

This is where investors have to become flexible and to follow the lifespan of the goods that are manufactured. Styles change, we find the handbag and shoes that we coveted are spending more time in the closet than on our bodies. The solution is resale. Even the luxury goods market, which has always been beyond the reach of most working women, has a silver lining. Online secondhand stores abound and just about anyone can afford to buy a gently used Hermes, Chloe, or Prada handbag for a fraction of its original worth.

Now that big business has initiated a binge/purge cycle by American consumers, online thrift shops and venues where secondhand goods are offered such as ThredUp and eBay, do a brisk business. Wardrobe items that are being jettisoned are sold and these sites offer plentiful options to buy someone else’s used clothing, footwear, and luxury items as well. ThredUp’s creed is to ‘buy used’ and elaborates how this responsible choice benefits mankind from less waste clogging landfills, to the option to fill those walk-in closets! Whatever the category, generally a cycle of excess is followed by a period of readjustment.

Going forward more of us will embrace the credo, “Less is more.” Rather than maintain what is essentially a vault in our homes where we cache clothing, we’ll carefully curate and pare down our apparel choices to just what we really use and nothing more. The result will be clothing we wear more often and replace only as needed. By that time some big, woman-run business will have anticipated our needs and already fulfilled them.

Today’s fashion industry is flourishing because more influencers and decision-makers are women. If they are not at the helm then they represent in the boardroom. This shift towards females determining women’s fashion outcomes is an example of success breeding continued success. And that paradigm is fashion’s commercial future.

The post Top 5 Reasons Why Women’s Fashion is Big Business Today appeared first on Koshka.

We can credit the ancient Egyptians with inventing the mannequin. None other than King Tut himself owned a made-to-measure body double and his clothing, it is surmised, was designed and tailored on it. Mere mortals were not allowed to touch his body so the mannequin offered the ideal solution. It was clearly a prized possession and was found in Tut’s tomb, next to a chest containing the ruler’s clothing.

For centuries, mannequins were used only by very exclusive clothing designers retained by royalty. The figures were used to send the latest court styles to rulers in other countries. Over time, these forms were simplified, probably because heads not only rolled during the French Revolution at the Court of Versailles, but also in transit. By the late nineteenth century, mercantile stores began crafting life-sized dummies and effigies as the now more affluent middle classes demanded the same considerations as their ‘betters’.

Frank Baum, the writer known for his much loved “Wizard of Oz” children’s novels, got his start as a window dresser and used the medium to imagine and block story lines. In an interesting sidebar, religious organizations were horrified that many retailers dressed and undressed their mannequins IN THE WINDOWS. This led to a nationwide ruling that window dressing had to take place behind drapes or the figures had to be clothed at all times when on display. The laws remained in force until the 1960s.

Another industry growing pain surrounded the composition of the mannequins. Most were carved wood with a thick layer of wax applied and sculpted to resemble flesh. Heat was the forms’ enemy, and many met their end on a hot day. Paper mache forms followed, but these did not store well. Next came plaster, plastic and its variants. Never cheap, today’s mannequins are pricey. Entry-level mannequins are made of fiberglass, sometimes finished in plaster, and painted in varying fleshtones. These generally wholesale in multiples for under $200 each. High style mannequins such as those found in trendy boutiques or designers’ studios are molded from resin, and even lucite. Prices for these, and custom mannequins can reach over a thousand dollars per unit. But there is retail gold in them thar mannequins, so their initial cost is quickly realized in store sales and revenue.

Mannequins Tell A Story

Few of us have passed a store without stopping due to the alluring mannequin displays. They are designed to capture interest and invite shoppers inside. The most attractive window displays tell a story and may include a backdrop and additional props such as furniture to complete each scene. Graphic signage usually completes the tableaux and the story unfolded from window-to-window across the front of a retail store, with each window serving as a diorama. There is an art to this level of storytelling, and most visual merchandisers earn four-year bachelor’s degrees in this discipline. It takes creativity and talent to make eye-catching arrangements and the best visual merchandisers are in high demand. No matter who designs the display, the star of every show is always the mannequins.

Today there are about 250 mannequin manufacturers worldwide. Once available only as youthful men or women, many of these companies now make mannequins in every age, race, and form from infant, to seniors, maternity, and even plus size models. Every May industry reps gather in New York City to debut this season’s newest options for buyers in an event sponsored by the National Association for Display Industries (NADI). Mannequins, it would appear, are big business. The industry grosses about $2-billion annually. But fashion is not the the only purpose for the mannequin. They can help to save your life, too.

Extremely lifelike robotic medical mannequins are available as newborns to the elderly. These figures that simulate actual medical conditions are utilized in medical schools and hospitals to train doctors, nurses, and EMTs on new techniques as well as standard medical procedures. The cost of these training tool mannequins, also called ‘manikins’, ranges from the tens to hundreds of thousands; there is also a brisk secondary market worldwide. Mannequins lend themselves to the world of culture, too. They have been the subject of a major exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and frequently serve as the backdrop whenever a famed fashion or theatrical designer’s work is featured. Not everyone loves mannequins, however. Just like clowns, some people, especially those who have seen them stored in retailers’ back rooms minus their wigs and or limbs, find them creepy.

Mannequins are not relegated to in-store use. In fact, images of dressed mannequins are used by online retailers to display products on their websites. Mannequins remain the best display form for clothing and apparel to reach every age and demographic. As such they remain a popular display item today, as well as a highly-prized collectible. Some fashionistas arrange several in their homes to showcase https://www.revolve.com/!

In conclusion, throughout the ages, consumers have viewed the mannequin as an extension of themselves and have made their buying and other decisions based on these not always accurate but very flattering ‘mirror’-images. Today’s mannequins are high-style and high-priced to reflect the public’s conspicuous consumption of consumer goods. Love ’em or love to hate ’em, mannequins are a sales force that never calls in sick and doesn’t require use of a company car!

The post History of the Mannequin appeared first on Koshka.