STYLIST ADVICE

Fashion Stylist Advice: When you need fashion advice, style tips & what to wear & how to wear it, ask our stylist Sharon Haver & her team of contributing fashion, beauty, and style experts!

Stylist Advice- How to make your shoes fit when your feet are different sizes

Let's help this reader with his shoe question to find narrow width shoes for his wife who has two different foot sizes.  Dear Sharon:  My wife has narrow feet. To add to this, they are also two different sizes. We are traveling frequently and I would like to gift her some fine high fashion shoes ($800 to $1500) but I do not know what brands are available in narrow widths. And, if any designer brand will allow to have two differing sizes at time of purchase? She deals with poor fit that does not permit her to walk confidently and I would like to help. Many thanks in advance for your professional insight. (DS via Fashion Advice) [signupboxtwo]Hop on my newsletter list  for stylist advice right in your

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Is There An Appropriate Dress Length For An Older Woman

This week's look back at one of FocusOnStyle's 15th Anniversary stylist advice posts takes into account the old addage of just becuase you could doesn't mean you should. As gorgeous and as in impeccable shape that you may be, knowing when and when not to flaunt it all, and how much, can be key in putting your best look forward. --S.H. Can I wear a short skirt at 57? I recently purchased a casual knit dress via mail order. I love this dress! The fit and soft purple wine color is great on my average size figure. My problem-- the dress is about 2" above my knees. Can a woman my age wear a shorter dress? If so, should I

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Stylist Advice- Too Big Swing Dress Redo

I'm trying something new by adding my styling tips to a photo provided by you, the reader. If you like this new dress redo feature, please tell be in the comments below.  Dear Sharon: Many of my friends and I have been having problems making our swing dresses fit or style them into an outfit. I personally recently bought a lovely black swing dress but the size just doesn't work. I've sent you a link to the dress to see its style for yourself. The size below was too short and my normal size is the perfect length but too baggy in the underarms. Instead of hiding my sins and making me feel good it just looks like I'm wearing a nightie. And I know

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Stylist Advice: How to dress a short torso

 Dear Sharon: Hello! I have a short torso on top of being only 5'2". I am definitely not a size zero but I am not on the big side either. I have a terrible time finding clothes (mostly dresses) that fit right. It is so frustrating I can't leave a store without crying or being very upset and EMPTY HANDED! What kind of dresses would you suggest? (via Fashion Advice)  >> RELATED: How to Dress For Your Body Type Guide, the most popular posts on what to wear for a flattering tip   Whew, don't cry. No body is perfect. When you want to know how to dress a short torso what you want to do is visually lengthen rather than foreshorten or obviously define your

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Uma Thurman’s Motherhood was my yucky pill

Let's call this week's review of  FocusOnStyle's 15th anniversary online post, the anti- Mommy Chic battle of those who overdo and those who purposely schlump out, and the relvelation that comes from their "sameness," even though they may think they are light years apart. As we gear up to Mother's Day let's look back at the neighborhood of the mom's at my son's elementary school, the ones I called the YUMDAF's and the OAFH's. -S.H. Mommy (Un)Chic: Mommyheads Blowin' In The Wind... Dear Diary: One of the more interesting aspects of motherhood is that you find yourself thrown into a pool of people whose interests and social makeup are as dissimilar to yours as a bee is to a baby elephant. But that should make it interesting,

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Add a classic retro feel to your biking shoes by way of Chukka boots

Stylist Advice- How to Style Vintage Menswear Shoes... classic is key Dear Sharon: What to wear with these Bridgeport Hush Puppies shoes (pictured below)? I got these shoes a while ago at a Thrift Shop and they were so cute that I couldn't let them pass me by. The problem is, when I brought them home, I didn't know exactly what to wear them with... and it turns out that they're actually shoes for men... but they look pretty unisex. Maybe I can pull 'em off?  I just don't know how. I'm open to most types of styles (just nothing too revealing, clownish, or short like a tiny skirt or a crop top). I want to look feminine but a bit modest as well. Any ideas on how I

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Stylist Advice: Can a man look like a man in women’s clothes?

How can a man be stylish in women's clothes?... Men in women's clothes? Nothing new with that query but how do you make it work when wanting to don something stylish from the other sex without, well, looking like the other sex you ask? Let’s help our reader make an on trend for everyone women's jacket work for him without having to sacrifice his masculinity or look like an amateur cross-dresser.   Do you think I could wear this (jacket, above) in public without people realizing it is actually for women? Might be worth noting it fits me differently than a woman because I lack the curves. Do you think men or women would be more likely to notice? Which would be more likely

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Stylist Advice- How to wear patterned & stylish rain boots like a grown up

Dear Sharon: Patterned rain boots are everywhere this spring. Is there a stylish way for a grown woman to wear them, or are they a fashion disaster? (Frances via Fashion Advice) >> RELATED: French Chic Trench Coats at a Certain Age No, no, patterned rain boots are not a fashion disaster at all. As a matter of fact, the wildly patterned, crazy colored patterned rain boots from a few seasons ago have given way to a more sophisticated and rugged look of puddle jumps. Some, even so chic, that you may just wish for a rainy day. Just look at the stunning art meets style design of the Ted Baker Rain Atiri Boots pictured at top for totally gorgeous & grown-up patterned stylish rain boots. What you

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Stylist Advice- How To Look Hot On A First Date but not too hot that you come off the wrong way

DIANE von FURSTENBERG Dress - Aurora Three-Quarter Sleeve Dress at Bloomingdale's
We sometimes get so confused as to what to wear on a first date. Through the years, I've been asked all sorts of dress questions, particulary from women re-entering the dating scene. In this week's 15th Anniversary post, let's reflect back to what a lovely lady over 40 should consider to wear on a first date.  Oh, as far as her date, I have some advice for him here too. --S.H. >> MORE: Dating Dress Tips Dear Sharon: I'm in my early forties and still find dressing to look hot for a first date to be mind-boggling. I never thought that I would actually be one for Internet dating, but here I am meeting a guy for coffee or a drink

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What to wear for a mom’s night out

Mommy Chic: Friday evening with your girlfriends is always such great fun even if not as frequent when you are a mom. But what to wear for a mom's night out without looking like you're trying too hard or just got back from the office? Let's help our reader get some inspiration for Friday night outfits to hit the bars in style.  I am a 38 yr old mum of two who is going out with the girls in a few weeks and in need of a little help to find a cool, classic outfit to wear to hit the bars on a Friday night.I am tall (5ft 10"), short hair and athletic type body shape. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I just

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Stylist Advice- How To Get the Confidence To Change Your Style

Stylist Advice to gain confidence is precisely one of the reasons that I’ve been online for 15 years in order to help you be present your best self possible. In my continuing reprise of some of my greatest evergreen material leading up to the 15th anniversary year of FocusOnStyle.com online. I want to spend this week’s review looking back at what sure-fire ways that I've personally tested to help boost your confidence instantly.  Read on & revisit - S.H.  First of all, I totally love your website, it‘s really informative and helpful. I've been checking it regularly for quite a few months now and I always find something I really like. I‘m writing this message because I‘m sort of unsure about my style. I've been having this

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Cheap Chic: How to look stylish on a budget

How to look stylish on a budget in minutes with expert style advice... Take from black belt shoppers who NEVER pay full price for almost anything when it comes to looking chic while being frugal. Let's be clear, Sharon & I both love something fabulous, at an equally fabulous price when we can. We're here keep you looking more put together and confident, with ease that rings true to your personal style. After all, we get dressed ourselves and no matter how much attention we pay to the runways and gain experience in the fashion industry, we still learn something new for ourselves every week. >> READ Sharon's Secret's:  Discount Designer Style Tips Kate Spade Saturday And as we start to

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How To Be A Stylist: It’s All About The Tzuj With Behind the Scenes Photo Shoot Fashion Stylist Tricks

A rare photo of me on a photo shoot and it’s becuase it was in a magazine! New Woman magazine did a feature story about me and here I am in a snippet photo as a stylist on the set with Brad Boles (FoS contributing editor at large) on makeup & North Rebis on hair. Yes, I still wear my Yoji Yamamoto shirt that I have on ! I kept my stylist scissors in a holster belt
I've been lucky enough to be involved in so many aspects of being a fashion stylist during my career that's spanned decades. In my continuing reprise of some of my greatest evergreen material leading up to the 15th anniversary year of FocusOnStyle.com online and the launch of my C'est Chic Crash Course, I want to spend this week's review looking back at what REALLY  happens as a stylist behinds the scenes on a photoshoot.  Read on & revisit... On a professional photo shoot knowing how to be a stylist is a lot more than selecting a pretty dress. Honesty is not completely the only policy when it comes to photographing clothing on a model for a commercial photo shoot and there

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