7 Deadly Sins (of Style)

As Per Trinny & Susannah 

(Reproduced From Marie Claire April 08) 

ENVY

aka "Stealing your Best Friends Style"

Everyone has one - a fashionable friend who just can't seem to put a Jimmy Choo clad foot wrong. But trying to copy a friend's entire style can have a disastrous result if you have different body shapes or colouring. "Its about dressing for YOUR body shape, not trying to emulate the style of someone else"

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I admit I have to catch myself when admiring even some random girl on the street. If I realise I'm coveting he look primarily because she's got little boobs/20 kg lighter than me/cocoa-coloured skin, I have to stop looking because i'm NEVER going to look like her!

WRATH

Aka "Hating - and hiding - your figure"

Everyone has hangups about parts of their bodies. Susannah recommends you identify your shape and dress accordingly. Looking stylish is as much about knowing what not to wear as knowing what suits you. Eg cropped jackets leave a thick waist exposed. Opt for a tailored waist instead.

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I admit this is painfully obvious with a large bust. You just have to give up on lots of pretty tops and dresses if they can't accommodate a bra strap. For me this concept is crystallised in the shunning of "in" fashion when it doesn't suit you at all. Just because skinny jeans are in, doesn't mean all body shapes can wear them (or should!)

GREED

aka "Growing out of your clothes - but refusing to admit it"

Fitting into a size 10 in one shop doesn't mean you;ll be the same size in another so swallow you pride and opt or a bigger fit if necessary. Trinny says a tiny top won't make you look smaller, if will do nothing except highlight every fold of fat on your body, front and back.

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I have probably been guilty of this, but then, who can afford to replace all their clothes all the time? We just hope we'll fit back into them eventually! I suppose the practical lesson here is not to wear the clothes in the mean time!

GLUTTONY

aka "Cramming your cupboards with too many clothes"

Five identical black skirts are no use if you have nothing to go with them. Trinny suggests sorting your wardrobe each season and listing anything that's missing. Keep that list in your handbag and it will help you focus when you're shopping.

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I am totally guilty of this one. I have so many clothes its ridiculous. M often jokes to our friends that of the two full length wardrobes in our unit, he has 1/4 of ONE of them, and I have the rest (disgustingly only a slight exaggeration). 

My mother gave me a good tool once, (she'd do well to employ it in her own wardrobe) that goes even beyond Trinny's suggestion above. At the end of each season, go through your wardrobe and everything you didn't wear that season, throw out/give to Vinny's. Obviously you didn't choose to wear it at some point in those six months for a reason, so get rid of it. 

Another way to keep on top of this method in your hanging space is to line up all your clothes, and as you wear them/wash/rehang, hang at the far right. Soon all the clothes you never wear will be languishing down the left side, and as before, at end-of-season, throw them away.

I definitely do the cull at end of season, you can even give the bags to friends before Vinny's to see if they want anything, but often the things I get rid of are so awful I can't bear to show them to people!!

LUST

aka "Discarding anything without a designer label"

Designer clothes are fun in moderation, but when the latest sunglasses, trainers, hat and coat are worn en masse it becomes too much. Clothes should revea your own personal "flair and individuality" - not someone else's, even if they are a famous fashion designer.

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I honestly could not name a single girl/guy I know that would do this. Hell I hardly know anyone that could claim more than a single "designer" item, so this seems ridiculous.

SLOTH

aka "Slipping into sloppy dressing habits"

Chipped nail polish, dirty or broken fingernails and messy hair are the three biggest culprits when it comes to sloppy dressing. Trinny warns that these  small details make a difference - especially to employers.

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Hmm, this one seems to be stretching the "sins" theme a bit. I don't really look to Trinny & Susannah for work habit tips either...

PRIDE

aka "Leaving nothing to the imagination"

Just because you've got it doesn't mean you have to flaunt it. Too-revealing clothes are a common fashion crime.

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Agreed.