Feeling good about the way you look does wonders for your state of well-being and self-esteem.  I’m coming to see former NZ Herald fashion editor and Your Style guru, Susan Axford, who says this session is all about empowering me.

Stripping my face of makeup she puts me in front of a well-lit mirror to see what colours suit me.  She has her own colours system which categories whether a person has either cool or warm undertones to their skin.  We both agree that the colours which suit me most are those with warm undertones.  They are rich autumn colours – muted green, olive, brown, dark teal, khaki and camel with ivory and cream.   Golds, rusts and salmon are also good.  White is a no-no.  Black is not ideal but is fine as long as I don’t wear it next to my face, says Susan the realist.

As for my makeup – my lipstick has too much red in it, it needs more brown.  And if you wear glasses like I do, don’t have too much eye makeup – it’s all about the lipstick.  Thank goodness, I’ve always been rubbish with eyeliner.   As for hair colour, don’t deviate dramatically from your natural colour, it’s important to keep the same undertone, she says.  I’ve lost sight of my natural hair colour but I’ve stopped trying to be blond in the past few years so think I’m on the right track.

Susan is also going to help me dress to make the most of my shape.  Susan measures me from head to toe, looking at my vertical figure type and horizontal proportion.  I am close to 5ft 5in, or 1.55m.  I have a short torso, as I’ve always known, but what I discover is that while I have relatively long legs at the thigh, they are shorter from the ankle to the knee.  This means that I have to be careful with skirt lengths.  They should either end at the knee,  or 25cm up from the ground.

I remember Annah Stretton telling me I am a tulip in her system, which categories women into flower shapes.  Susan says I am a rectangle and the best clothing style for rectangles is a structured and tailored look, she advises.  I am to go for straight-cut jackets with squared shoulders and no waist.  Pattern should be geometric and abstract.  After measuring my wrist, Susan tells me that I am large boned.  This means all my accessories need to be quite generous.  Think amber beads and more bracelets, she says.

By the end of the session, I feel like I know more about my assets and how to keep eyes away from my defects.  Susan’s can-do manner is energizing and her enthusiasm infectious – my sense of well-being is definitely enhanced.  I have loved having my penchant for certain colours confirmed.  And I have always liked a structured look for work, and vow to insert this into my everyday.

Gill South,  NZ Herald

The findings were released today as part of the Olay Regenerist Survey* – an independent study which looked at New Zealand women’s attitudes towards cosmetic surgery.

The results found that two thirds (66%) of women believed they should age naturally rather than succumb to the trend of having a cosmetic procedure. And, nearly one quarter (23%) of women said they would be offended if someone asked them if they had work done.

Kiwi men were just as opposed to women fighting the ageing process by utilising cosmetic procedures, with six out of ten (61%) of male respondents saying they preferred a more relaxed attitude to ageing.

When it came to celebrities, more than three quarters of Kiwi women (77%) and two thirds of men (68%) said that Hollywood actors had indulged in too many cosmetic procedures.

The research also showed that cosmetic procedures were not just the domain of international stars, with nearly one third of women (32%) and twenty three percent of men saying that they or someone they knew had undertaken a cosmetic procedure. Despite this figure only 13% of women and 11% of men would be likely to recommend a cosmetic procedure to a friend or relative.

Top Auckland appearance medicine expert Dr Garsing Wong says the survey confirms what we all believe to be the quintessential Kiwi attitude regarding modesty and simplicity.

“Ageing gracefully does not mean neglecting yourself. It means choosing simple, non-surgical interventions to keep your skin looking healthy. Good clinically proven topical skincare products are an important and integral part of your healthy skin regime, which ultimately leads to better cosmetic results,” says Dr Wong.

Leading psychologist Sara Chatwin says the research shows that people aren’t making impulsive decisions to engage in surgeries and procedures that may not be necessary.

“It’s becoming clear from this research and from other anecdotal evidence that men and women feel empowered enough to embrace the concept of ageing gracefully,” she says. “It’s interesting and refreshing to read findings that suggest people are relatively comfortable with their appearance. This acceptance may suggest good levels of self-esteem and confidence. It may also suggest that at long last we believe in ourselves and not in the perceptions and opinions of others.”

The survey was carried out in conjunction with the launch of new Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum.

Written on behalf of Procter & Gamble by Impact PR. For further information or images, please contact Mark Devlin mark@impactpr.co.nz (ph. 021509060).

One Way Or Another Wrap by Robyn Mathieson

Then a colours consultation is the best way to ensure you wear the colours that suit you. Most New Zealand women have a love affair with black clothing, but if black is not your best colour why not wear what looks great on you. And this season colour is “the new black.”

Harmony is the essence of colour – aim for harmony with your hair colouring, eyes and skin tone and then take that into what you’re wearing. You want to wear the colour rather than the colour wear you. Experiment with different colours – hold them up to you and see whether they are enhancing you or draining you – choose the one that makes your eyes sparkle and skin glow. The wrong colour will drain you.

Have fun with colour and this is the season to embrace it. Choose from hot pink, bright red, emerald green, cobalt blue, strong purple, yellow, orange. And just when you thought that was enough, add in to the mix all the patterns and be prepared to clash your colours. A fruit salad has never looked so good.

Choose eyeshadow to match one of the main base colours of the fabric and select one of the strong colours of the pattern for your eyeliner. If you’re wearing the nautical theme, opt for strong red lips and soft eyes with black eyeliner.

A new book about Coco Chanel captures the spirit of the great designer. Here Viva explores how Chanel revolutionised women’s fashion, and why, even 25 years after Karl Lagerfeld took over, the label remains as iconic as ever.

Ask Karl Lagerfeld to sum up – in only 10 words – the power of Chanel and it’s no great surprise when the great couturier, who – let’s face it – is far from a shrinking violet where his dealings with the media are concerned, comes back with a rather longer answer than that.

Chanel encapsulates the idea of “modernity” first and foremost, he says. It embodies “a contemporary attitude – whatever the time or the decade”. Chanel also stands for “luxury” and “the power of the logo”. The iconic double C branding is surely the most instantly recognisable in fashion history.

Also, for Chanel, read “the power of the handbag – the most famous in the world”. Lagerfeld speaks here of the “2.55″ in particular, named after its date of birth in February 1955, quilted, to keep its shape and echoing the texture of classic British outerwear, originally favoured by jockeys.

(Chanel, for her part, favoured jockeys in return, but more of that later.) Suspended from a gilt shoulder strap, this was the first purse designed for a woman ensuring her hands were free.

The white camellia, too, says Lagerfeld, is an integral part of the story. It was Chanel’s favourite flower and her successor has, in the past, coloured it every which way – on one particularly memorable occasion, even casting it in diamonds the size of boiled sweets as the single closure to a perfectly cut Chanel haute couture jacket.

“I also love camellias,” Lagerfeld goes on to confirm, “and gardenias. But I love old-style-looking roses too, like the ones you can only find in Paris at Odorantes in Rue Madame.” The black ribbon bow – today a staple of every couture catwalk and no longer just Chanel’s own – is treated with similar diversity. “We do this in all kinds of shapes, colours and materials,” Lagerfeld says.

Perhaps more significantly, the Chanel name stands also for “timelessness, but for fashion at the same time” – while the recipe may be updated each season in line with the mood of the moment, the main ingredients remain the same – and for “the two-tone shoe, not only the pump but also “the ballerina’ and so forth”. Chanel gave this to the world in 1957 – the first pair had a sling-back – in beige with a black tip, which has the miraculous effect of foreshortening the foot and lengthening the leg. Then, continues Lagerfeld, there’s “the magic address: 31 Rue Cambon”. Chanel set up shop as a milliner in that street in Paris for the first time in 1910. The plaque on the door originally read “Chanel Modes”. Although now significantly expanded, it remains the company’s headquarters.

Lagerfeld goes on to cite “the mystery of the Coromandel screens she loved and which have inspired her”: it is the stuff of fashion folklore that Chanel was always surrounded and indeed shielded by particularly fine examples of these. Finally, the world has Chanel to thank for “the mixing of real and fake jewellery and the invention of fashion costume jewellery”, enjoying something of a resurgence just now, incidentally, as seen at the most recent round of international collections everywhere from Balenciaga to Lanvin and from Louis Vuitton to, well, Chanel.

True to her unusually democratic stance, Chanel herself thought nothing of mixing diamonds and paste, real pearls with great ropes of more reasonably priced approximations. She wore them well and today Lagerfeld embellishes everything from sunglasses to handbags with more of the same.

“You see,” Lagerfeld argues with an energy and enthusiasm that belie his years, “here are already 12 reasons and you asked for 10 … That shows the power – and the staying power – of Chanel. The image, the fashion and the idea of the woman herself as the first modern one. It is the idea of modernity, a life and a lifestyle that women can identify with.”

It is now over 25 years since Lagerfeld took to the helm of France’s most famous fashion house. Chanel died in January 1971 and it seemed only decent that a good decade should go by before anyone dared to step into her supremely influential shoes. It is worth noting that Chanel has remained unswervingly faithful to Lagerfeld – by now the greatest couturier still practising the craft – and Lagerfeld has stayed true to Chanel – today fashion’s best-known name.

Although Lagerfeld is the man at the helm of the Chanel brand today, it all began in the hands of the house’s namesake, whose life story is as much a part of the label’s many signatures as a gilt chain is to the hem of the jacket of a Chanel boucle wool suit. After all, if anyone might reasonably be described as an autobiographical designer, it is Chanel.

Equally important is that Chanel’s desire to create clothes sprang above all from her wish to dress herself in a manner she saw fit. She was nothing if not reactionary. “If I embarked on this profession it was precisely to make everything I didn’t like unfashionable,” she once said and she lived and worked by that rule tirelessly. Whichever way one chooses to look at it, the romance of this, perhaps the ultimate rags-to-riches tale, is unprecedented. With this in mind, it is small wonder that, 40 years after her death, not one but two Chanel movies have been made in the past couple of years: Audrey Tautou played the young designer in Coco Avant Chanel which was devoted to her young life; and Marina Hands appeared as the lead in Coco & Igor which told the story of Chanel’s relationship with the composer Stravinsky.

Gabrielle Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, in the French province of Saumur. Her father, Albert Chanel, was a market trader. Her mother, Jeanne Devolle, was of humble origins, bore several children and died young in 1895, leaving her daughter to be educated by the nuns at an orphanage in Aubazine. Gabrielle was taught how to sew there and, when holidaying with her sisters, learned the art of millinery – they loved hats. Aged 20 and based in the garrison town of Moulins, Chanel worked as an assistant in a shop specialising in trousseaux and layettes and then as a seamstress. By night she sang for her supper in cafes and bars and it was there the slim, slight, dark-haired, black-eyed figure first became known as Coco.

In the early years of the 20th century, Chanel moved in with Etienne Balsan, a famous horse breeder, and although not accepted by the elevated echelons of society in which he circulated, she became an accomplished horsewoman and among the first of her sex to dare to wear jodhpurs. In order to deflect the received ideas of a mistress, dressed in the requisite frills and furbelows of the Belle Epoque style, Chanel set to adapting the staples of menswear to her needs, often scandalising others in her entourage by actually wearing men’s clothing. “A woman is always over-dressed and never sufficiently elegant,” she said later and few did more to correct that fact than Chanel.

Her uniform of strictly tailored, unembellished garments topped with nothing more frothy than a straw boater caught on and it wasn’t long before she was making hats, in particular, for her friends.

In her mid-20s Chanel was befriended by an English industrialist, the renowned polo player Arthur “Boy” Capel, who duly installed her in an apartment in Paris where she became his lover and began making hats on a more professional basis. By 1910, interest in her minimal and profoundly modern designs was such that she had outgrown this space and opened the shop at Rue Cambon. It wasn’t long before she had expanded her operation to include a store in Deauville selling clothes as well as hats, and then a fully fledged couture house in Biarritz where, by 1916, she was responsible for 300 employees all dedicated to the task of creating naturally feminine and relatively simple clothing, favouring freedom of movement and rejecting anything even remotely ostentatious or superfluous.

Across the Atlantic – and the American market was as important then as it is today – US Harper’s Bazaar picked up on her success, publishing a picture of what they described as “the charming chemise dress”, again borrowed from menswear – this time, specifically, a man’s shirt. A year later, Chanel cut her lustrous dark hair into a neat bob, the better to suit her naturally androgynous silhouette and sun-tanned skin. Although it is often said that she invented the swimsuit – and it’s certainly true that she went on to craft stretch clothing in jersey, formerly the preserve of nothing more haute than men’s underwear – here Lagerfeld begs to differ.

“There are no images of Chanel in swimsuits and we know only the heavy bathing-suit costumes she designed for the Ballets Russes’ Le Train Bleu,” he says. Jean Cocteau also worked on the 1924 production and the collaboration between the fashion designer and the artist, who later also introduced her to Picasso, was to continue for more than 10 years. “But Chanel embodies the idea of the modern women and so she inherited that image too. People think she was the first. In fact she was not, but she is remembered that way. Now sportswear is all over the world and is not only worn for sport. Some sportswear and some sports did not exist in Chanel’s time, but they represent something she would have liked if she had known it.”

In 1919, Capel, described by Chanel as “the love of her life”, was killed in a car crash and she threw herself into her work creating many of the looks that remain the staple of the contemporary woman’s wardrobe to this day. In 1926 she designed her first “little black dress”; in 1928 she came up with her first tweed suit.

That is not to say that her personal life was anything but colourful. Over the years she was linked to the exiled Russian Grand Duke, Dimitri Pavlovich, related to Tsar Nicholas II, and he introduced her to Ernest Beaux (the perfumier with whom she created Chanel No. 5) and to the sparkling beauty of baroque jewellery. She was also the lover of the second Duke of Westminster, Hugh “Bendor” Grosvenor, who shared her life for 10 years, and whose aristocratic English wardrobe inspired her work continuously. Despite the longevity of their relationship, Chanel refused to marry the Duke. “There have been several Duchesses of Westminster,” she would say. “There is only one Chanel.”

By 1935, Chanel owned five buildings in Rue Cambon, employed 4000 people and was at the height of her power. In 1939, however, and just before the outbreak of war, she closed her couture house, saying: “I thought there wouldn’t be any more dresses.” She would, of course, have been able to live out the rest of her days in splendour, profiting from the sale of accessories and fragrance alone. Throughout the Occupation, Chanel spent most of her time at the Paris Ritz where she conducted an affair with a Nazi officer. At the end of the war she was arrested – though not charged – for collaboration and spent the following years in relative obscurity based in Switzerland. And that could have been that.

Some things are not to be, however, and in 1954, at the grand old age of 71 and spurred on at least in part by her rancour at the immense success of Christian Dior’s proudly people-pleasing and retrogressive New Look, she began designing couture collections once more. Dior, she said, was “a madman” for wanting to put women back into corsets and overblown skirts.

Though the French – by then in thrall not only to Dior but also Cristobal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain and Jacques Fath – were less than effusive over Chanel’s new designs, emancipated American women were more quick on the uptake, viewing her softly tailored jackets, silk blouses and wrap-over skirts as more fitting for women in the latter part of the 20th century than anything her competitors had to offer.

It wasn’t long before what was described as “The Chanel Look” was restored to its former glory. It upholds its position as purveyor of all that is quintessentially understated and chic to this day.

“I don’t remember the first time I saw the Chanel logo,” says Lagerfeld – in its original form, the double C was the fastening on the 2.55 bag. “But I noticed it when I took over Chanel, when real logo power started all over the world. For a company it is very important today because, much more than in the past, we all sell in parts of the world where they cannot read our writing or understand our languages. In one part – a very big part – of the world it is all about signs when they write. They can memorise perhaps the famous ‘CC’ but they have difficulties reading the name first. They find out later. In the past we sold mostly to people who knew our culture and could read English or French. Now it is only a part of our clientele. Logos are the Esperanto of marketing, luxury and business.”

And there is perhaps no more potent signifier of luxury than the name of Chanel – from the logo itself to the cosmetic and fragrance lines, accessories and, of course, clothing.

Lagerfeld says that these – and he is speaking of the Chanel jacket in particular – have “a staying-power that is difficult to explain”.

The secrets of its success are manifold but inextricably linked to the life, times and pioneering spirit of the late Coco Chanel.

“Many of Chanel’s private dicta have entered into the unspoken rules that still govern fashion,” wrote Cecil Beaton in The Glass of Fashion, published in 1954. “Though Chanel herself echoed the theory that fashions are never revived, it is a tribute to her rare and remarkable practicality, and an anomaly in the annals of recorded fashion, that few of her innovations became dated.”

More than 50 years on, his words continue to resonate, and of that, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel herself would be proud.

Some floral dresses reminiscent of the 1950’s housewife are back. Florals are the perfect fabric for the dress. All designers and manufacturers have done THE dress. Local labels, Mosaic and Calico both have an interesting collection of dresses that can be worn alone or over leggings. Short skirts are a great alternative to leggings. There are lots of tucking and pocket details, so be careful, if your best silhouette is straight, watch out for saggy thigh pockets. Sometimes they can be taken out, but check the construction in case the alteration is complicated. The shirt waister dress is the perfect shapes for those with a straight silhouette.

Debut…

Debut Customs St, Auckland has a good selection of dresses that can also be tailored for you.

Wendy & Tom…

Wendy & Tom Workshop in Newmarket and Ponsonby stock a large range of simple dresses in a variety of fabrics, from cotton to silk, or fabric of your choice and they will make for you.

TVC15…

TVC15 Wyndham St, central Auckland carries a collection of flattering dresses and shirt waister styles, which can be bought off the rack or made to measure. The owner, Brendan is a tailor with a great eye for detail and some of you will remember his menswear store in Vulcan Lane, Monsoon. Looking for a suit, which can be a challenge, as most manufacturers no longer make them, but TVC15 will tailor one for you, from a choice of quality fabrics.

Miles High Dress and Singlet Dress from Robyn Mathieson Summer Collection

If you’ve steered away from pattern recently, don’t be afraid of the bright and bold designs. Not all florals have the same impact – tonal florals are subtle and clashing colours are show stoppers.

Bright florals can be toned down with denim, or a neutral or ever popular and safe black. The printed dress can be worked in different ways to make it versatile. Team with neutral-toned tailored jacket and wear to the office. Shed the jacket, glam up the earrings, put on a belt with bling and some killer heels and you’re ready to hit the town after work.

from Jane Daniels Summer Collection

Look to the colours of a luscious fruit salad or opt for the crisp contrast of black and white, or shimmer in metallic fabrics.

Pattern is the hottest trend for summer – go wild with tribal prints or zebra stripes; say it with flowers; be spotted with dots; set sail in nautical stripes or face up to it in face prints. Whatever you choose pattern is a must for the summer months.

The sunshine brights are great for the Clear and Brights; the zebra stripes are eye catching on the Clear and Dramatics; the softer florals are pretty for the Soft and Muteds and the earthy tribal designs flatter the Rich and Muteds.

It is the season of extremes – wide floaty trousers versus skinny pants short cropped jackets or longer knee-length tunics sharp military lines or soft feminine florals.

The silhouette is fluid, but don’t do head to toe floaty. Only one piece can float and add volume otherwise you will shorten and widen yourself. And most of us aim to dress to make ourselves look taller and slimmer. So if you have a floaty top, team with narrow pants and in reverse if you wear wide trousers or slouchy harem trousers, choose a more fitting top half. Wide pants work best with high heels and narrow pants can take flat shoes.

What shape and garment length will flatter and enhance you? Amazing how a few centimetres or changed angle can make a huge difference. Discover how you can dress to appear slimmer. Learn how to highlight your best features and conceal figure challenges – we all have them.

The answers will be revealed by scientific analysis – without a tape measure on you! This style and line analysis diagnosis has nothing to do with weight. It is about bone structure and proportion. And you can keep your clothes on!

“Thank you for a great consultation. I really, really enjoyed the whole experience, and have raved about it ever since. I am ready to get out there with notes in my bag for guidance. Thanks again for one of the best value appointments I’ve ever had.” – Suzanne, Torbay

“Susan’s advice is down to-earth, practical and empowering, and I did not have to replace my whole wardrobe.” – Kenina, Albany

A colours consultation is a once in a lifetime investment to give you colour confidence to select the right colour and realise your full potential. Discover the positive effects of wearing the right hue for your complexion. Colour is a lifetime tool enhancing your visual credibility for both career and personal benefit. Wearing your correct colour is the natural way to look younger and healthier. The wrong colours drain you making you appear tired, drawn, pale and unwell.

Colour is your secret weapon, a no cost item in your wardrobe.

Use it to save yourself time, money, energy and reduce waste. Shopping is easier, feel more confident about your purchases.

PERSONAL COLOURS CONSULTATION for WOMEN

Colours Convey Confidence. Knowing your colours gives you confidence about the way you look, how you shop, no more mistakes. When you wear the correct colours, your skin will be more radiant and your eyes will sparkle. Discover how to choose the right colours for makeup, hair, jewellery, accessories, sunglasses – yes for absolutely everything, not just your clothes. You’ll feel more beautiful as you see what the right colours DO for you. The intensity of a colour is the secret to choosing what really works for you. When you know your colours, shopping is easy. Find out how to wear black.

Your session includes hair colour options. You’ll discover your perfect metal, the colour of glasses, frames, lens, plus the best colours for precious and semi-precious stones. Colour co-ordination is simplified.

COLOUR REFRESHER SESSION

Had your colours done years ago, but need a re-fresher to learn new exciting ways to use those colours and receive an injection of colour energy into your wardrobe? Update your colour choices.

You can bring some clothes with you and Susan’s expert eye for colour can tell you if you are still on track.

“Having my colours done has given me a heightened awareness to colour. It’s amazing ‘seeing’ colours that I didn’t notice (or chose not to!) before.” - Heather, National Park

“The day after I saw you, I stepped inside a shop and knew what to buy, it was absolutely wonderful.” – Glenys, Birkenhead