The Closet Coach

Whether you’re dining at the chicest chef’s outpost or simply adding candles and flowers to your own dining room table, the biggest Date Night of the year, otherwise known as Valentine’s Day, is just around the corner.

What’s a chic mom to wear?

Here are some ways you can spice up your Valentine’s Day with an outfit (and an evening) that’s truly a Level 5.

• If you’re going out straight from work. Obviously you can’t spend a day at the office in your LBD. Or can you? Unless it’s cut too high or cut too low (and if it’s both, it’s a bit too much for dinner anyway), make it work friendly by topping it with a fitted blazer or even a belted, beaded cardigan. Wear a strand of pearls and you can keep them on all day. Take off the topper and swap your pumps for strappy heels, and you are Level 5, lady.
• If you’re leaving after the babysitter arrives. Unless your kids are older, you might have to dodge sweet and sticky little fingers up until the moment of your escape, so the LBD is a little less practical. Think sexy top (sequins, low cut, velvet, whatever you’ve got!),  pencil skirt and your blingiest, shiniest necklace. Save the skirt for the last minute, or put a robe over everything, until you hear that doorbell.
• If you’re having your romantic dinner at home. Who says you have to save Level 5 for going out? This is still Date Night, my friend. Sure, you can slip those high heels off whenever you’d like (and you should be taking them off eventually, wink wink), but why save your best dress for a night out?

No matter which scenario is yours, you’re not necessarily limited to a dress or a skirt. Your main goal is to feel fabulous, so wear what you know looks fantastic on you, whether it’s a pair of well-cut trousers or skinny jeans, and include a little skin and a little shine.

Add perfume and heels (how high you can tolerate is between you and your feet–or possibly your podiatrist) and you’re done.

What to buy

Awards Show Stunner Dress in Red
$105 – modcloth.com

Bettye Muller patent leather shoes
$89 - jildorshoes.com

Steve Madden Walltz peep-toe sandals
$90 - stevemadden.com (heads up: free shipping on orders over $75 with code SMFREESHIP for a limited time)

Jessica McClintock quilted clutch
$45 – zappos.com

Moschitto Designs geometric jewelry
$42 - nordstrom.com

Dereon tear drop earrings
$32 - maxandchloe.com

[Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links.]

Your turn

• What are you planning to wear for Valentine’s Day?
• What’s your favorite look for Date Night?

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Hourglass. Pear. Apple.

You’ve heard these terms before, right? They’re the slightly awkward, and not always flattering, ways we try to describe a woman’s body shape.

Perhaps more accurately, they are an attempt to describe a set of body proportions: the relationship of widths across various points in the body.

Fruit metaphors aside, what’s the point of knowing this information?

It’s to properly dress your body.

And by “properly,” I mean in a way that fits and flatters you.

This is not about looking thinner. Not really. It’s about looking balanced. (Skinny girls can have hips wider than their shoulders, too.)

But before you can read any article or book or blog post about dressing for the “x” body shape, you first need to know what yours is. It starts with a measuring tape.

How to figure out your body shape

Get out that measuring tape, and take and fill in these measurements: bust, waist, hips and shoulders.

(If you need help with this, just Google “how to measure ____” and look for any one of a number of videos demonstrating how to.)

Then translate your measurements into body shape. Here are the most commonly used shapes and their formulas:

Triangle: You’re wider on top than you are below; that is, your shoulder measurement is more than 5 percent larger than your hip measurement. Also called the apple shape.

Pear: Or dewdrop, or inverted triangle—this is the opposite of the triangle, so the proportions are flipped: your hips are more than 5 percent larger than your shoulders.

Rectangle: Aka, the flute. Your shoulder and hips are the same or nearly so, but your waist isn’t much smaller; it’s 25% less at the most.

Hourglass: This one’s easy—your shoulders and hips are the same or very close, and your waist is more than 25% narrower, usually about 10 inches smaller.

Not as tricky as you thought, I hope?

Now when I talk about how to buy and dress the x shape (such as this guide on buying blazers for the pear shape), you’ll know which advice is best for you.

Your turn

• Did you have the body shape you thought you did?
• Which body shape metaphors do you prefer (triangle or apple, inverted triangle or pear, etc.)?
• Or should we come up with less silly names entirely?

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(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping. It’s my gift to you!)

This week for Fashion Beauty Friend Friday, we’re talking about trends for spring, next fall (!) and beyond.

 Your turn

• How would you answer these questions?

Share the love

Thanks for reading. Did you like this post? Please leave a comment or share it with someone else; just use the handy sharing widget below.

(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping. It’s my gift to you!)