Your Summer Wardrobe

Posted on April 30, 2022April 30, 2022 by Nicola Davis

Hurrah! Summer is definitely on its way and hopefully we can look forward to lots of long sunny days and al fresco dining with family and friends. I’m itching to wear my lovely Summer clothes but I know that not everyone relishes switching from the comfort of chunky knits to less forgiving, lighter weight clothing. Whilst I admit that I wouldn't feel confident ...

Bags of Style!

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Nicola Davis

A handbag is a practical and stylish accessory that can provide an instant update to your wardrobe and is totally forgiving of any weight gain! No wonder we women love them! Here's a quick guide to choosing the right one for you. Scale Micro bags, slouchy totes and short strap shoulder bags are just some of the trends that are everywhere. In terms of decid...

Stripes Versus Animal Prints – Which is Best for you?

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Nicola Davis

Prints are a great way of adding interest and variety to your wardrobe but I know that some women are a bit wary of them. If you're new to wearing prints, stripes and animal prints can be a good place to start as they are both versatile and timeless and team effortlessly with block colours and even other prints. But which will suit you best - stripes or animal print? This will...

Are You Wearing The Trousers?

Posted on February 3, 2022February 4, 2022 by Nicola Davis

Nicola Sheppard, owner of independent boutique CC of Wimborne, which stocks designer trousers by Marble, Toni and Joseph Ribkoff, shares her top tips on finding the best styles It’s hard to imagine the freedom that trousers give us today in terms of lifestyle, working wardrobe and even eveningwear with the return of the jumpsuit - didn’t really take off here until as l...

Ten Top Tips

Posted on January 11, 2022January 20, 2022 by Nicola Davis

I thought I’d share with you some of the generic styling tips that I pass on to my clients that I think you will find helpful. Get a full length mirror. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is. There is absolutely no way you can tell whether an outfit looks good on you unless you can see yourself in it from top to toe. Mother does not always know best!...

Creating Your Capsule Wardrobe

Posted on December 23, 2021December 23, 2021 by Nicola Davis

Perhaps at least in part due to the pandemic, many of my clients are telling me that they’ve lost sight of what suits them and/or their wardrobe no longer feels right for their lifestyle. Also, most are more mindful of the damage that fast fashion is wreaking on the planet and feel that having masses of barely-worn clothes is irresponsible. What most crave is a...

Creating A Column of Colour to Look Taller and Slimmer

Posted on November 24, 2021November 24, 2021 by Nicola Davis

We stylists often extoll the virtues of dressing in such a way as to create a "column of colour". This is because it’s one of the easiest ways to look taller and slimmer - and let’s face it, most of us would like to be one of, if not both, of those! Monchromatic column of colour In its purest form a column of colour is created by wearing a single colour from top-to-toe. This ...

What to Wear “Out-Out” this Festive Season

Posted on November 4, 2021November 4, 2021 by Nicola Davis

The festive season is almost upon us and, after last year’s restrictions, I think many of us are in the mood to party. Certainly, there’s been a shift of focus within the fashion world from stay-at- home lounge wear to more glamorous “out-out" wear. So what will you be wearing for Christmas and New Year parties? How much you relish the opportunity to put on a bit of ...

Why Brown Knee Boots Could Be Your Wardrobe Heroes

Posted on October 21, 2021November 4, 2021 by Nicola Davis

Nicola wearing brown boots with different outfits

As you will see from these photos, I am a huge fan of knee boots and virtually live in them from October to April! Why do I love knee boots so much? They keep my legs nice and warm. They pair beautifully with both midi and mini length skirts and dresses. By swapping sandals for boots (and adding a jacket/cardigan), you can keep wearing a Summer dress well into a...

What to Wear this Autumn-Winter

Posted on September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 by Nicola Davis

This month’s blog was originally going to be an in-depth look at the key trends for Autumn-Winter, but then I got to thinking about what really interests the women I work with; looking and feeling good, rather than slavishly following fashion. Of course, they want to look current but they’re less interested in what’s “in” for a particular season and more interested in what work...

What I Wore on Holiday

Posted on September 16, 2021September 19, 2021 by Nicola Davis

I have just returned from a wonderful ten day holiday in beautiful Croatia. Given the pandemic, this was the first time I have had to pack for a proper holiday in quite some time! I have previously run workshops on how to pack for a holiday within cabin luggage allowance, so I am pretty good at putting together a very limited capsule holiday wardrobe. This time around thoug...

Neutrals, And How To Wear Them

Posted on August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 by Nicola Davis

What are Neutral Colours? Neutrals are basically the non-colours. They are created by either being achromatic (the absence of colour – eg. black, white and grey) or by mixing lots of colours together until there isn’t any distinguishable rainbow colour left eg brown tones such as sand, camel, honey, beige etc. Neutrals will never be the most exciting colours in your wa...

Style Tips for Mature Women

Posted on August 4, 2021August 5, 2021 by Nicola Davis

I know that when we reach a certain age, some women start to feel invisible and lose their sense of identity. Even those who were previously confident in their choices, can start to doubt themselves and feel that they've lost sight of their personal style. Clients tell me that lockdown has just served to exacerbate these feelings. As a woman in her fifties, I totally unde...

Suzy Kopik, Bracknell

Posted on July 27, 2021July 27, 2021 by Nicola Davis

"Huge thank you to Nicola for two really wonderful, 'girlie' days out with my daughters. We all had a colour session about a month ago and this was followed just recently by a style day for me (which my daughters attended too). Although we all thought we 'knew' what we would be classified as colour-wise, it was a real surprise as we were totally wrong with my daughters (& y...

Accessorising With Style

Posted on June 23, 2021June 29, 2021 by Nicola Davis

Accessories can make or break an outfit. Generally, the plainer the clothes, the more fun you can have with accessories. The right accessories can not only instantly update an outfit but also add a “pop” of colour. If you’ve already had a Colour Analysis, you will know what colours suit you best but you will probably have found that there are items in your wardrobe which are t...

Dressing For Your Proportions

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Nicola Davis

I think that most of us appreciate that to dress well we need to understand our shape. But did you realise it's equally important to understand your proportions? Whether you are short-bodied or long-bodied has a big part to play in putting together flattering outfits. Broadly speaking, if you have balanced proportions you will measure the same from the top of your head to y...

How To Choose The Best Swimwear For Your Staycations

Posted on June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 by Nicola Davis

It’s always summer somewhere. This year, for many of us, it looks like that “somewhere” could mean a holiday in our own country. And why not? There are so many beautiful places to visit in our country. And yes, we may not get the Mediterranean heat but there are plenty of staycation options offering the pamper luxury of a spa day, indoor swimming pool or heated outdoor pool....

Help! I Don’t Know What To Wear!

Posted on April 30, 2021April 30, 2021 by Nicola Davis

As we finally begin to emerge from lockdown and start to contemplate returning to the office, dining out, trips to the theatre and generally having a social life (remember those days?), I know that some of us are feeling that we’ve lost our sense of direction when it comes to knowing how to dress. After months of loungewear or top-half only dressing for Zoom, we...

Can I Wear Black?

Posted on April 29, 2021April 29, 2021 by Nicola Davis

This is often the first question I am asked when people come to me for a colour analysis. I'm really not in the business of telling grown women what they can and can't do but, whilst many of us love black, sadly for some (myself included!), it doesn't give the same love back. Deeps, Cools and Clears will all have Black in their wallets; it's a useful neutral. We give Lights...

The Joy of Jackets!

Posted on March 26, 2021March 31, 2021 by Nicola Davis

I'm a real fan of jackets so I am looking forward to having more opportunity to wear them as we emerge from lockdown - hurrah! There are lots of good reasons to have one or two jackets in your wardrobe. Here are five: They’re perfect for transitional dressing when it’s not cold enough to warrant a coat but not quite warm enough to risk going without an outer layer. J...

Author: Nicola Davis