You’ll see it all on the streets of London. From sweat pants and sneakers to the most lavish of designer outfits and everything in between. But generally, people are well put together in an interesting, urban and funky way. When I think of London street style, I think of daring outfit combinations, interesting layers, vintage items, retro looks, lots of black and fabulous accessories. It’s not a crisp, chic and polished sense of style like you’ll see in HK. It’s much more gritty, punk, arty and goth, with loads of attitude to boot.

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So this is my take on everyday London style: black-black skinny jeans, Greg’s Ben Sherman graphic T, a pinstripe suit jacket, strappy metallic sandals, cream cross-body bag and vintage pearl necklace. I couldn’t resist adding my retro Duran Duran cross-body bag as an alternative. It’s irreplaceable because I bought it at one of their concerts several years ago (Duran Duran is my favourite band of all time).

This outfit was a challenge because I never wear three black items at once, and I never wear T-shirts. I don’t even wear fitted T’s, and here I am in one of Greg’s that’s boxy all over. This is the type of unexpected pairing of clothing that reminds me of London style. Kate Moss does this all the time. It simply wouldn’t be as interesting if I’d chosen a ladies fitted graphic T. But the boxy silhouette works under the fitted jacket and gives the effect of a voluminous top so I was all over this look. Rolling up the sleeves to show the lining of the jacket added necessary textural interest.

I’d absolutely feel confident sporting this outfit because the jacket and jeans are tailored and the pearls are present. Like the combinations I put together for Tel Aviv and Hong Kong, this one extended my boundaries and added something new to my repertoire. So, for the last time, how did I do?

Hong Kong street style is something else. You’ll see haute couture fashions sported effortlessly by men and women of all ages throughout the day. From the best of modern-classic style to the funkiest and edgiest looks. Outfits are for the most part urban, dressy, neutrally toned, texture-rich, branded and brimming with character.

One of the things that I love about Hong Kong street style is that the locals dress up when they go out to play. You look the part wearing a fancy outfit to a hip restaurant for cocktails and supper. So my outfit is a take on what someone might wear to a fairly swanky restaurant. Although you wouldn’t be surprised to see this combination on a shopper in the high end Landmark shopping center, even during the day.

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The dress is a strappy sequined vintage number that I bought in HK several years ago. The jacket is Diesel and 10 years old, completely tailored to fit like a glove. The gold and leather chain cross-body bag and bracelet are pukka Chanel, received as gifts from friends in HK many years ago. The retro red patent pumps are Kate Spade and a gift from my sweetie four birthdays ago. And I couldn’t resist the 80’s Wayfarers because at this stage I want to wear them with everything.

This outfit was a challenge because it’s the first time I’ve worn a super casual jacket over a very glitzy dress (a very Hong Kong combination). I’d have normally popped a satin trench or wool coat over this number. I also NEVER wear gold hardware or jewelry because I’m a platinum gal through and through and do not mix metals. These beautiful Chanel pieces have been hibernating for 15 years for this reason. But I’m glad I took them out of their box and left off the pearls. The outfit still feels like me because of the shoes and frock and I’m actually digging the gold. So how did I do?

The forum then decided to challenge me. After brainstorming and voting, the lasses came up with the following challenge:

“Angie goes global: three different outfits interpreted in a way to reflect the style of three different global cities.”

Fab challenge. I chose three cities from three different continents: Hong Kong, London and Tel Aviv. I’m kicking off the report back with Tel Aviv because the predominant style in that city is very different to my own, and I couldn’t look less Israeli if I tried. The ultimate challenge!

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Tel Aviv street style is earthy, natural, bohemian and very casual. Woman wear loads of neutrally toned natural fibers, sport fashion forward sandals, the best sunglasses and usually have long cascading hair. No shine, glitz or bright colours, but lots of interesting clothing silhouettes and Middle Eastern influences.

I can’t do anything about my short blonde crop, but the rest of the outfit goes like this: black cotton-rich sheath dress, muslin leopard printed scarf tied muffler style, Greg’s webbing belt, my new Wayfarers, slouchy matte mustard satchel, olive green suede sandal booties, and a bit of lip balm. No pearls, patent, saturated colours, retro influences, drama or lipstick.

This earthy, casual look is completely new for me. But I’d be confident wearing it out because of some very “Angie” style elements, like the tailored frock and white watch, that I incorporated. How did I do?

I think it’s a question of your priorities, your values and your budget. I indulge in one spa treatment regularly – facials. I take skin care seriously and find that having monthly facials makes a huge visual difference. I cannot steam and extract skin impurities on my own and the head and neck massage is therapeutic. It’s the one hour in a month where I get to completely relax. For these reasons the facial justifies the expense. For me.

I have pedicures far less regularly because I loathe them. But I grin and bear it because I believe that the foot grooming process is good for your feet and I cannot accomplish the end result successfully on my own (I’ve tried). Not only do I like the look of well cared for feet, but my calluses need close attention because of the all walking I do, and after some initial soreness my feet feel really good after the treatment. So that’s another spa treatment I find worthwhile.

As for the rest? I do my own manicures, tint and shape my own brows, do not need to wax and do not enjoy any other form of massage unless it’s part of the facial service. So I’m down to one spa service that I regard as a worthwhile frequent investment (facials), and another that I force upon myself from time to time because it produces excellent results (basic pedicures). Perhaps I’ll change my mind about the importance of other spa services later on in life, adding a few more to the list.

What’s your viewpoint on the value of spa and beauty treatments? Do you indulge? If so, why is it worth the expense? If not, why not?

I realize that this look is not for everyone. Most of these styles are high maintenance to launder and not very feminine (even though it’s precisely the masculinity of the style that I find appealing). But you can make a utilitarian frock look more girly by considering one or a combination of these feminine touches:

• Keep the hemline a little shorter
• Opt for a style in a soft drapey fabric
• Choose a style with waist definition
• Go sleeveless
• Add pretty metallic gladiators
• Throw in a silky scarf

Utilitarian frocks look fab with gladiator sandals in Summer, and are perfect with boots for Autumn. Shorter tunic versions are great over skinnies, and throwing in a heel at any time keeps things feminine too. Forum member Inge recently purchased a smashing utilitarian frock and rocks the look.

I am in search for another fabulous utilitarian dress. I had one that I loved (similar to the DVF style on the top left), but it got bleach stains all over it. I hope to find one this Autumn to wear with slouchy boots.

But let’s face it, a hot outfit really helps to boost that confidence on any given day. Here are the ones that do it for me:

• Sleek: Sleeveless sheath dress with high neckline and heels
• Commanding: Skinny jeans tucked into flat knee-high boots with black turtle neck, fabulous scarf and biker jacket
• Naughty: Pencil skirt with turtle neck or button down shirt and heels
• Crisp: Impeccable white blouse with skinny jeans, belt and ballet flats
• Hip: Sleeveless sack dress with heels

This may be somewhat atypical because in most cases I’m covering up skin (leaving something to the imagination can be sexy too). And the silhouettes are generally form–fitting, which is revealing in its own way.

I’ll add four things that make me feel attractive no matter what I wear: a great hairstyle, well cared for skin, a pretty scent, and matching bras and knickers.

Your turn. What makes you feel alluring and why?

Recently on a sunny but nippy Saturday morning, I donned my A.B.S. dress and jeans, added my cream bomber jacket and drove to Rotterdam for the first ever European YLF gathering. At the Central Station, fellow YLF member LegacyOfPearl (LOP) and her stylish friend Zeynep were already waiting for me. Unfortunately, Elika had to cancel last-minute and Angie, who had actually been considering flying out here for the event, couldn’t make it either due to other obligations.

A five minute walk brought us to the city centre with its numerous shops, and we decided to systematically work our way down to the Koopgoot (Dutch for “buying gutter”). Zeynep, who has a predilection for Italian clothing, immediately struck gold in a small independent boutique specializing in Italian brands. The earthy colour of the sleeveless dress with pleated skirt looked stunning on her, and it was 50% off!

Next stop was a funky shoe store were LOP fell in love with a suede sand-coloured pair of sandal booties that she ended up buying the next day in Amsterdam. We trotted from shop to shop all the while talking up a storm. Zeynep snapped up a cute gym bag with fluorescent animal print in a discount store and then we hit Mexx. On the sales rack my two lovely companions found me a fantastic dark brown sleeveless dress. The utilitarian vibe was right up my alley and it proved perfect to wear with leggings or jeans. While I was paying, LOP spotted a two-toned grey strappy dress. She’d been looking for a Summery frock for an upcoming wedding in Turkey. Something festive, elegant and mom-friendly that would still allow carefree playing with her son. And there it was.

Successful shopping makes me hungry, so we headed over to “De Bijenkorf”, a huge luxurious department store, for a spot of lunch. At their Restaurant La Ruche we were spoilt for choice: fresh fruit juices, sandwiches that resembled works of art, sushi, wok dishes, colourful salads and delectable pastries. We toasted to Angie and all the YLF forum members over strawberry tartlets and yummy chocolate gateau!

On our way out the three of us drooled over the Karen Millen collection and a gorgeous navy & white Armani frock with amazing detailing. At H&M, LOP and Zeynep bought black leggings, and convinced me to go for grey leggings with a bit of sheen to them (jazzercise anyone?).

Vila, a budget-friendly Danish brand with a somewhat minimalistic feel comes highly recommended. Zeynep went home with a fab white button-down tunic and a dressy sleeveless top in a gorgeous purplish blue. We also witnessed an on the spot style transformation: in the dressing room LOP unbuttoned her beautiful white & yellow ruffled cardi, revealing her blue cami, popped on the just bought leggings under her denim pencil skirt and topped it all off with a skinny belt. “Now I feel like myself again”, she sighed relieved. Fun!

Suddenly a slight panic broke out because we thought the shops were open until 7 pm, when in fact, they close at 5 pm. We hurried over to another H&M and then sprinted to Zara. Good thing we persevered, since LOP walked away with a patterned black scarf and the cutest pair of green pumps.

Catching our breath we plopped down on a terrace to enjoy a well-deserved drink and admire our purchases. Drinks turned into dinner, during which we chatted happily about language learning, eating Nutella straight from the jar, how to start your own book club (wine is the secret ingredient apparently), Indonesian and Turkish cuisine, luxury brand shopping in Istanbul, American menswear, children’s clothing, dressing for a corporate environment…

It truly was a marvelous day, and we were especially pleased to discover that as three solo shoppers at heart, we hit it off so well and actually made the perfect shopping team. Thank you Angie for creating the opportunity to make this happen! And thank you LegacyOfPearl and Zeynep, you are two super sweet lasses and a dream to shop with!

Anyone can wear leggings and look smashingly appropriate once the details are right. This is why they made my must have list for Spring and Summer 2009, and they’ll work perfectly as we head into Autumn. I’ve written several posts on how to wear leggings, including this recent synopsis.

In case you need to refresh your memory, here are 5 easy steps:

1. Leggings are not a substitute for pants and jeans: Think of them as an accessory and not an item of clothing. In the 80’s some of us wore normal length tops that exposed our thighs and more when we wore this look. Not this time round. Think of leggings as bloomers that peek out from under an outfit. Note that even as an accessory, they still look best when they’re thick and substantial so go up a size if you need to.
2. Consider the length of the leggings: wear them cropped, on the calf or at the ankle. Somewhere between the bottom of your knee and the widest part of your calf seems to work for most people.
3. Consider the length of the top: A certain amount of coverage is necessary because leggings aren’t pants. This makes tunics and frocks the way to go. Generally, tops and frocks that finish between mid thigh and right above the knee cap are most flattering.
4. Consider the height of the heel: There are no hard and fast rules regarding the height of the heel and the length of the leggings. It’s a question proportion and preferences. You’re after a look that gives you a longer leg line. In some instances you might prefer a heel and in others flats will be fine.
5. Keep the look a little more sophisticated once you’re over the age of 40: You don’t want to look child-like in leggings unless you’re a child. Check out this discussion for thoughts on how to keep leggings age appropriate.

In most cases you’ll need to experiment with the length of the leggings, the length of the top and the height of the heels. There are many combinations that will work. In some instances you might prefer a tunic with cropped leggings for flats. In other instances you might prefer a dress with ankle length leggings and heels. I tend to prefer the aesthetic of a longer tunic or dress with leggings, but that’s not a rule.

The actions of our forum members speak louder than my words so feast your eyes on 35 of them in over 120 leggings outfits. Our models cover ALL heights, body types, sizes, ages, fashion personas, budgets and dress codes. A lot more compelling than catalogue models. Brilliant.

It was terribly hard to select only a subset, but here are 14 of our fabulous forum gals that illustrate an assortment of very wearable leggings ensembles (click the pictures to see the original photo). From super casual to chic deluxe and everything in-between. But that’s not all. Be sure to check out the rest of the looks in the forum.

This style is hard to pull off and for that reason I have my doubts as to whether it will ever become mainstream. Pleats on pants are often voluminous in the wrong way, making us look bloated and poufy, especially when the style demands a tucked-in top. Pant lengths that end around the ankle, or a few inches above the ankle, are leg shortening style suicide, unless they’re super tapered like skinnies or leggings.

But having fun with fringe trends is one of the nicest parts about being a fashion stylist. I have a trendy aspect to my style so I enjoy giving new trends a whirl if I can make them work in an effortless and flattering way. So, believe it or not, I’m attracted to the longer length trouser versions that are ruched at the ankle (you couldn’t pay me to wear anything leg shortening because I’d feel awful and that wouldn’t be worth it). The new LONG slouchy trouser look is interesting and different, which means I’m going to give it a bash.

When I do try the longer length style, I’m thinking of matching it up with a tucked in button down shirt or soft blouse, glorious belt and ankle booties or pumps. Could be fab, or disappointingly hideous. I’ll keep you posted.

The cropped styles on the left do not make it through my style filter, but the longer length styles on the right have a little more potential.

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