Here are 3 simple ways to add some “green” to your wardrobe:

Add a modern, chic touch with a statement necklace like this one from Stella & Dot:

Add a versatile, simple cotton cardigan….throw this over a white t-shirt, white jeans and gold jewelry for a great summer look, or add to your favorite LBD on a cool summer evening.

This shoe adds colour and a bit of snake-print…double fun!   Wear with your favorite jeans, black pants or even a simple denim skirt .

The post Style School – Trends – Gorgeous Green appeared first on Cori Burchell Image Consulting.

Mom’s deserve casual, fun style everyday of the year!

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Looking and feeling great is often the result of the little things we do each day (or month) that turns into good image habits. As a fashion consultant, I’m often asked for quick tips and advice for looking better and dressing well everyday.    Here is a fun list of tips and ‘could-do’s’ to enrich your personal style routines.

• Start the day with a great moisturizer with an SPF of 30 or more
• Try a brighter lipstick shade … a great red or pink
• Wear the highest heel height you can while still being comfortable.
• If you’re feeling down, don’t wear black
• Try some shapewear, you’ll look instantly slimmer
• Get more wear out of special occasion separates by teaming them with everyday basics
• Try an arm party – add another bangle to your stack
• Get a mid-week up-do or blow out just for the fun of it
• Claim a scent but wear it discreetly
• Designate the second Saturday of each month your clothing care day (dry cleaning, shoe repair, alterations, jewelry repair)
• Keep your up-to-date Style Statement in your wallet
• Hang your clothes up at the end of every day to avoid unnecessary laundering
• Always add accessories – even if it’s just one item
• Place your sunglasses or eyeglasses in a hard case when you’re not wearing them
• Unclutter with a monthly closet edit appointment and recycle the clothes you’re not wearing
• Create a favourites playlist and turn ‘getting dressed’ into a fun ritual
• Keep a ‘fashion emergency kit’ in your desk drawer with a basic sewing kit, fashion/toupe tape, a pair of earrings and a great lipstick all tucked into a small pouch
• Let your at-home lounging outfits comfort and delight you
• Create a Pinterest account and follow me on Pinterest!
• Keep your Personal Stylist’s number in your smart phone Favourites list

The post 20 Quick Tips to Be Ready for Anything appeared first on Cori Burchell Image Consulting.

Coloured jeans are everywhere this Spring (for women and men) and it’s a fun trend to try.   Try these tips and tricks to wear this trend and feel comfortable.   This is a great casual pant for the spring and a wonderful way to add a bold pop of colour to your wardrobe.   The key is balance and deciding how ‘bold’ you want to go!    I know a lot of women feel very uncomfortable bringing any attention to their hips and thighs, so might not be interested in trying a bright pant.    If you are pairing coloured jeans with a white or neutral coloured top the jeans will take all the attention and be the focus of the outfit (middle outfit below).   And if you don’t want to feature your hips and thighs, I wouldn’t suggest this as the best way to wear a bright coloured bottom…the pants will really stand out.

My style advice is to balance colour in a different way…either by adding a darker coloured top or jacket (above left) or by going all out and wearing a bold coloured top and accessories as well (above right).

In the photos below the jeans don’t stand out…they aren’t the focal point.   The message of the outfits is more about the overall look of bold colour….not just the bottom half of the body.   The intense bottom is balanced with an intense top…so there isn’t a predominate focus on any one body part.

Coloured jeans aren’t for everyone…as Lauren Hutton said, “Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year, style is what you pick out of that fashion”.   Make the choice that fits your style.

The post How to Wear Colored Jeans appeared first on Cori Burchell Image Consulting.

Are you wondering what to wear this spring?

It’s a riot of colour out there!   Gorgeous, intense, beautiful colours are everywhere in clothing stores this spring…from stunning emerald greens, lovely lavenders, cool blues and intense pinks.   Along with the colour is a lot of graphic and floral patterns, giving this fashion trend a double whammy.

If you’re having trouble knowing how to dress well this spring, here are a few tips!

1.   Decide if you’re a “colour person”.

Does the colour trend match your personality or does it feel overwhelming to you?   If you’re a really bubbly, extroverted, out going person this fashion trend might just be the perfect thing for you.    If you’re more of a quiet, introspective or subdued person, you might find all the colour a bit much…and that’s okay.   This might be a trend you should pass on, or introduce in a pastel or muted version.

2.  Head to toe looks rarely work

If you want to re-fresh your spring wardrobe adding some colour is great…but choose carefully how much to add.   I recently was on a personal shopping trip with a client and we were in J. Crew (one of my favorite stores BTW).   A 20-something woman was trying on clothes in the fitting room next door to us and the sales person was really encouraging her to go all out with a really colourful floral print outfit.   She had on a neon floral print skirt and a beautiful emerald green top…along with her naturally beautiful red hair.   Unfortunately, the look was really overwhelming on her…she seemed to have a more subdued personality and the riot of colour was too strong for her.   She would have been better to pick one favorite piece and pair that with a more neutral top or bottom.   As a fashion consultant and stylist, I know that what works in the pages of the J. Crew catalogue don’t always work in the real world, especially with strong colour.

3.   Choose a little or a lot

If you’re like many of my female clients who are in their forties, you probably want to have a more polished, chic and elegant style….but still want to look current.   It can be difficult to know what to choose when you walk into a store and all you see are crazy florals and head to toe colourful looks on the mannequins.  My fashion advise is to add a little bit of a trend, but don’t spend your entire season’s budget buying intense colourful pieces.   Accessories are the perfect solution…they say ‘current’ but don’t scream trendy.  A statement necklace in either the colour trend or the floral trend can be a simple way to add something new to your wardrobe.   If  your style is more funky, or fashion maverick, then go for it.   Add a more dramatic piece…maybe a floral blazer and a colourful top, or coloured jeans and flats in a contrasting colour.     As your Personal Stylist, I would still balance your look with a more neutral piece….a simple denim pant with the floral blazer for example.   You probably have the basics in your closet already, but if not, then spend more of your shopping budget, (both money and time) in search of these items.

Managing the trends is possible this season, if you stay true to your own style. Please contact me if you need help this Spring!  I’d love to help you add some colour into your wardrobe.

The post What to Wear – Tips for Wearing Spring Colours appeared first on Cori Burchell Image Consulting.

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Without further ado, the winners are:

Best Oscar Worthy Dress – Jessica Chastain

Best Hair (Women) – Reese Witherspoon

Best Bling Package – Jennifer Garner

Best Hair (Men)- Eddie Redmayne

Best Bright Colour Dress – Jennifer Aniston

Best Lip Colour – Jessica Chastain

Best Black Dress – Samantha Barks

Cutest Couple – Channing Tatum & Jenna Dewan-Tatum

Most Original Dress – Naomi Watts

Best Shoes – Harry Potter

Most Discreet Dress – Octavia Spenser

Best Men’s Suit – Eddie Redmayne

Most Classic Dress – Charlize Theron

Best Accessory at the Oscars:   Quevanzahn Wallis’ “Pooch Purse”

Best Colour Combo – Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck

The post The Fashion Oscars Awards appeared first on Cori Burchell Image Consulting.

The Academy awards are tonight and it’s always a very special night for me, since working on ‘Chicago’.

I had the very special privilege of working on the Academy Award winning film “Chicago” as the Assistant Costume Designer.   The film won the award for Best Costume Design!  The designer, Colleen Atwood, is nominated again tonight for Best Costume Design for Snow White and the Huntsman and I wish her the best of luck.  The costumes in the film are AMAZING!

The real fun of the Academy Awards is watching the glamour before the ceremony…as the stars arrive and we see them make their grand celebrity entrance. I thought it would be great to have a special ballot for the ceremony tonight….for all the beauty and glamourous gowns.  Who will have the best Oscars dress?  Join me for some fun tonight and vote for your favourite “Fashion Oscars”!

Enter your details in the form below and I’ll send you the ballot.   If you’re having an ‘Oscars party’ tonight, share this special ballot with your friends and vote for all your favourites!   Let me know your winners in the comments or on Facebook …. I’ll share mine tomorrow!

The post The 85th Academy Awards – Vote for your Fashion Favorites appeared first on Cori Burchell Image Consulting.

“That’s just so “you”

Has anyone ever said to you “That looks so “you” or maybe “That’s just so you”.   Maybe they were talking about your wardrobe, or your home, or perhaps it was something like the way you set a table, decorate a cake or arrange flowers.  Or perhaps it was the thoughtful thank you note you sent, or the funny joke you told to lighten the mood in a stressful situation. Whatever it was, your style of doing things was so clear that it became another part of the language of you.   Being aware of the way you do the things you do is the start of understanding your style.   And understanding your style is the beginning of creating a ‘Signature Style‘.

I had a reminder of this the other day when I was speaking with a graphics designer.   I’m creating some new things for the site (more news to come soon) and wanted to send some images and ideas to her as inspiration.   I pulled out some old business cards that I had for a lingerie business I had started over 20 years ago…..and guess what!   Although a lot of the elements were sort of dated now, I could see my ‘style’ clearly in those cards.   The colours were similar to the one’s I had mentioned I was interested in using, the type was clean and simple, the graphics were elegant and refined.   All things I love and all parts of my Signature Style.   Even thought I wasn’t a Personal Stylist and Image Consultant at the time, I still loved all the things I love today.   Your Signature Style may get refined and defined over the years, but at the core it doesn’t really change.

I see many clients get into trouble when they veer away from their own personal style….usually because they haven’t taken the time to reflect and refine what exactly that style is.   The first consultation I do with all my clients is to define their ‘Signature Style‘.    We spend two hours going over this in detail, because as a Personal Stylist, the best way for me to help you is to understand who you really are.   I need to know what you like, what you dislike, what makes your heart sing in all areas of your life.   Once I understand that, I can distill all that information into a wardrobe plan and fashion advice that works for you and your lifestyle.  It’s this clarity in understand who you are that brings the clarity and cohesiveness to your wardrobe.

If you are interested in being more stylish, polished and confident about your wardrobe choices call me today!   Together we’ll define your ‘Signature Style‘!   I’m a Toronto based Personal Stylist and Image Consultant and I’d love to help you either in person or on-line via Skype.

The post How To Create a Signature Style appeared first on Cori Burchell Image Consulting.

Some people certainly do have the time and energy it takes to create a great wardrobe, but for many people, hiring a personal wardrobe consultant is their ‘behind the scenes’ secret!  Would you like to experience that sense of elegant confidence that comes from knowing that you are looking sharp every day?  Would you like to learn how to dress well every day?

We are all busier than ever.  Most of us wouldn’t dream of filing our own taxes, are too busy to clean our own homes and want to get the most out of our fitness time by working out with a personal trainer.   If the dry cleaner delivers…great.   Favorite delivery restaurant on speed dial…perfect!  These professionals help you lessen your stress load and they can also help you stop wasting money and making bad purchases.  Why wouldn’t you hire someone to “upgrade” that most important part of you?  I am speaking about the image you present to the world.

There are a few good reasons to consider hiring an image consultant:

• You are starting a new career.
• Your confidence could use a boost.
• You would like to look as good as you feel.
• You feel as if you are “stuck in a rut”.

These are good reasons to hire an image specialist but how do you know if you need their expertise?

Ask yourself some questions:

• Do you ever wonder if you look your best?
• Do you question your own sense of style?
• Do you feel as if you have no sense of style?
• Do think that your look hasn’t changed in ages?
• Do you wear a small percentage of the clothes in your closet?

If your answer was yes to some of these questions, I would love to help you!  My clients are from all walks of life, from executives, professionals, speakers, consultants, job seekers and career changers to stay at home moms and bachelors.  By working with me, my clients learn to dress well, shop with ease and create their unique personal style.   Image Consulting takes an ‘outside in’ approach to developing personal presence and self confidence.

When you are ready to step out in a whole new and exciting way, contact me.   Together we’ll discover your personal style and make your vision of a new polished and stylish you a reality.

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