Good morning 🙂

Today I want to share with you a few tips on wardrobe essentials. I selected five items of clothing which in my view, we should have in our wardrobes and I will give you a few ideas on how to style them 🙂

Black leggings

The beauty of black leggings is that they don’t cost much, they’re comfy, they suit all shapes and sizes (when choosing the right fit) and you can style in various ways.

Firstly, key for all those wearing leggings, whatever your shape or size…is wear the right underwear. Seamless underwear is a must, it can’t be too tight and not too loose 🙂 you will looked pulled together with the right undies!

Curvy figure

Unfortunately women who are big and curvy tend to want to hide their figure, and more often than not wear baggy tops or loose tunics with leggings. Don’t,,,! Show off your curves. You can pair these with a long shirt, a blazer and finish off the look with either a pair of long boots, or plain pumps. Alternatively you may wear a fitted top, a long cardi and close it off with a slim belt…;)

Petite figure

You can style the leggings with a shirt and chunky knit on top. I love wearing the black leggings with a black chunky knit and the shirt beneath in a beige/nude. I find the neutrals very classic and the shirt in a different colour breaks the monotony of black.

The black dress

When panic strikes and you don’t know what you’re going to wear…black dress to the rescue. Be it a lbd, a shift dress, an A-line style…pair it with a pair of nude court shoes for the day or black sandals for the evening…and pronto you are good to go!

The beauty of a black dress is that you can wear this over and over and style it differently. How…? Think accessories…a scarf and you have a stylish and professional look. A pair of chunky earrings, and red lips and you’re all set for an evening look 🙂 If you want a more sober look, just wear a string of pearls and simple and chic it is!

The blazer

The question here is, what colour should you buy a blazer in? If you are after an investment, I would go for a camel coloured blazer, as you can pair it up with many items, even with a pair of jeans. Today you will find many different styles, from tailored to oversized. The style you choose will depend on your shape and what you’re after, whether you want a casual look or a smart/office look.

This is one item, where I would definitely look at the quality, even if you spend a little bit more…it will go a long way. I ensure that the blazer is lined and of good quality material, and if you go for a classic it will last years!

The white t-shirt

Endless ways of pairing a white tee. Again you can opt for an expensive brand, or go for a budget tee.

Pair it up with a jeans and blazer (the camel blazer I mentioned above will come in handy 😉 If you prefer a rock chick look, replace the blazer with a biker jacket, and you’re rocking. Place a knot at the back of the t-shirt, wear high waisted trousers or midi skirt, a pair of trainers and sporty spice it is 🙂 You want to turn a white tee into a chic outfit…? So, the tee, a pair of beige culottes, a chunky auburn necklace and animal print pumps, e voila 🙂

A pair of nude pumps

It is up to you whether you want to go for a pair of Jimmy Choos or one from the high streets. A pair of comfortable nude pumps are essential to have (in my view). I personally prefer a heel to flats if I had to choose, but that’s a matter of preference. You can wear these with almost all outfits…casual wear, office wear, evening dos..a pair of nude pumps always come in handy 🙂

Basics checklist

I hope you found these tips useful. I refer to these as the basics checklist 🙂 You can choose to buy these on a budget or go for more expensive brands. You can style them in infinite ways, and make the most of them.

Wishing you all a lovely w-end!

Yan

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Hello and hope you are keeping well!

So a couple of weeks ago I put up a poll asking which topic to blog on next, and to my surprise my make-up routine was voted for most! I must admit that I wasn’t expecting it, as I am not a make-up artist and not an expert in the field:) I do however go to a few seminars to learn how to best apply make-up. I will be talking you through what I believe works for me…so have a read 🙂

Enhance not cover

I strongly believe that make-up should be used to enhance our facial strengths, and not cake up our face and look like a completely different person. Some trends I find on-line which show case a made up look is not for me. When I talk about enhance, what I mean is, if you have big beautiful eyes you want to focus on those, or attractive cheekbones, then you need to use the bronzer wisely to make the most of them. I believe we are all beautiful and make-up should be used to enhance our individual beauty 🙂

The basics

In my view, it is essential to always start off with your skincare. Make-up will look much better on skin which is looked after. Likewise, it is soooo important to cleanse your face every night, and remove all traces of make-up…let’s not help the ageing process by sleeping with make-up on. If I know I’m going out, I prepare my night skin care routine in a row, to find them ready and I have no excuses. Skincare is part of my daily routine, and it is now part of the day to day, morning and night. (And wipes are not skincare…😜)

I believe that the base is key for a good look when it comes to applying make-up. So I start off with a priming serum…I asked my sister to bring me one from the US, and I love it. I am afraid you don’t find it here 😦 It is Keys illuminating priming serum. It gives a glow before you apply the make-up. I am sure there are alternatives if you ask your trusted make-up stores 🙂 Then, comes the foundation. I am very very fussy when I choose a foundation, as I don’t like a heavy one, or one which makes my face looks cakey. I also choose the colour carefully, to make sure it blends in with my skin tone. Foundation helps give an even colour and make-up stays longer. My goto foundation is Guerlain, I have been using the brand for years. It is not cheap, but the bottle lasts, and the finish is amazing. I am currently using a matte finish, which for our summer is perfect! I follow up with the Guerlain meteorites loose powder.

When it comes to eye shadow, I go very basic…simple nude colours for me. It’s either beige and browns or pink tones. I follow up with a bronzer (figure of 3 😉), to enhance side temple, cheekbone and jaw. A tad of blusher over the cheekbone. Finally, eyeliner and mascara. If you have big eyes, you can afford using eyeliner inside the eyelid, if you have small eyes, do it beneath. Finally, mascara for the eyelashes.

Next are the lips…I have a bag full of different coloured and finish lipsticks. I am not the biggest fan of matte lipsticks, as lips tend to crack after a few hours, however there are some semi-matte which have an amazing finish and feel soft on the lips. I have many variants of nude colour lipsticks, but I do love a bright red or mauve on occasions, it depends on the mood and the outfit I am wearing. My favourite are the Kiko nude, it doesn’t even cost five euros, and the red must be the Dior 999 red…i love it 😍

If I had to choose three make-up products what would they be?

Foundation, bronzer and mascara. If I want a simple look, it’s not the first time I do just that 🙂

Choosing the right colours

As I mentioned earlier, choosing the right colour for a foundation is key. When it comes to eyeshadows, take into account your skin tone, and the colour of your eyes, I love nudes when it comes to eye shadows, but I have to be careful, as I have dark circles, so the brown shadows may make these look even darker. What I do is use an eye primer slightly lighter than my skin tone as a base.

I hope you found this useful and interesting. There is sooo much more to write about on the application of make-up…but this was my very simple routine which I hope inspires you 😉

Wishing you all a good week ahead,

Yan

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Good morning 🙂

I hope you all had a good week. The temperature seems to be cooling down a little bit (finally!) Now we can start thinking of autumn outfits…yeah! Today, I will be sharing with you three outfit ideas, but what I did is change the accessories for each, and voila a different look is created. The idea is to make the most of our items of clothing. Re-inventing the outfit, make it feel new and different. Have a look below and see what I did 🙂 As an aside, a friend patiently came taking the pics in our beautiful Mdina. We are no professionals but we had a blast, going from one place to another, changing in bathrooms and me trying not to feel uncomfortable posing for the pics 😉 A big thank you to my friend for tagging along.

Jeans and Blazer look

As you can see I went from casual to smart just by changing bag and shoes. I also added a big pair of earrings to the smart look and pulled my hair up. Easy peasy…;)

One dress…three looks

This dress is very versatile…add heels to it and you obtain a smart look. I also added a tailored cap and a trench coat for a more sophisticated look. I then paired up the dress with a white pair of trainers and a casual baseball cap…and it’s ideal to go out and about. Finally, I swapped the trainers for a pair of loafers, and can easily go to work in this dress/look 🙂

From smart to rock chick

I love how outfits can be transformed, just by changing accessories. It is what I love doing! I created two completely different looks with the same outfit. The hairband, blazer and red heels give this a professional, smart look. On the other hand I switched the blazer to a biker jacket and ditched the heels for a pair of studded boots, hair down and who’s the rocker in the house now…? 😉

Be creative 🙂

Look at what you have in you accessory department, and create fresh and different outfits just by changing little details. In these pics, I changed shoes and bags, however think of adding scarves, hats, different belt styles, hairstyles, it doesn’t take much to create new outfit ideas with what we already have…all you need is some creativity 😉

Wishing you all a lovely week ahead

Yan

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Hello 🙂

If this were an exam, I’d fail miserably…I would have a big, red “out of point” on my essay…😜 Luckily, this is my blog and I have the licence to do so…;) What am I on about, you may be (probably) asking. Well, this is a fashion blog, and it appears I will be blogging about a non-fashion related topic. Yeah…but I will somehow fit in a fashion related streak to this blog…;) So read on, and find out.

I came across a number of articles around procrastination, and I found them interesting so I delved a little deeper and also watched some TED talks about it. I am no expert on the topic, but I do find myself occasionally doing it, and it is interesting to understand what drives this.

Very very simplistically, we can have two headings for tasks/matters we procrastinate: those with deadlines and those without.

Tasks/matters with deadlines

Think about work deadlines, where a project needs to be completed by a set date or a thesis you need to submit. The list goes on. A number of people start such tasks closer to the deadline. This happens because we give priority to other matters as the deadline appears distant, and some are masochists and state that they work better under pressure;) I personally, always start off with good intentions and plan to prepare my presentation, which I know about three months in advance…but alas I always find other tasks taking over as they require my immediate attention. Well, the truth is that once the deadline is looming…I just get down to focusing on the presentation and complete it. The close deadline “makes me” do it…so probably that pressure does have some impact.

Matters with no deadline…

Other matters, such as putting an email to one side or a certain project on the back burner, could be the result of the said project not being exciting, or the fear of failing in it, or anxiety around expectations. There could be various reasons, but putting it aside won’t make it go away…and the feeling of satisfaction one feels when such a project, even a simple e-mail is out of the way is great (at least to me:)

Well to me these are the real issues, these are matters I believe we procrastinate because we do not want to face the potential consequences, the thought of it may feel overwhelming…and so we postpone making a choice, taking a decision. Fear, anxiety and overthinking prevails. If I can make it more tangible, these would relate to matters such as career changes, relationships, moving to another country…you get the gist 🙂 My experience…I had instances where I found myself in a situation in which I wanted to make a choice…and sometimes it took over a year for me to take the plunge. What I can say is that if something is irking us deep inside…it’s irking us for a reason. When I took the decision to make a change (which to me was important) I was scared…the fear of the unknown but I was also excited. The result…amidst the effort, thought and strength to make that change…the results sometimes, most times are worthwhile. If things don’t turn out as well as hoped for…we rise up and move on.

I feel that sometimes we look at these decisions, especially the life changing ones as mammoth tasks…so the solution is let’s not think about it and stay in the comfort zone. If we look at it as a process with stages, we may find it easier to do something about it.

And finally…

I promised you a fashion element to this…;) if you open the wardrobe, and you know you need to go through it and organize it, to recycle old items and see what you want to keep and what not…one tends to close the wardrobe and postpone this task for another time…

Plan the day you will be doing this, picture the end result of an accessible colour coded wardrobe and get motivated. On the day, put on some music and start. Once it gets done, an organized clutter free wardrobe will make you feel good 🙂

I believe if we push ourselves to do the little, less important matters, we train ourselves to postpone less of the more important ones. This takes me to the famous clip of the naval officer on making your bed everyday..it gives us a sense of accomplishment of a task completed first thing in the morning.

I hope I didn’t bore you too much 😉 I’ve been wanting to write this blog for a while… but I procrastinated out of fear that it will not be well received. One has to try…if I fail, I try again 🙂

Enjoy your public holiday (to all Maltese readers)

Take care

Yan

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Good morning 🙂

You must be wondering what this blog post is about…😉 It’s interesting to see what people think of us, or how they perceive us and what they believe we are. Of course, this is based on what we show or want to show the person we’re interacting with.

So I found it quite amusing that for some I’m seen as one who wants to be in pretty dresses all day and surrounded by people attending to my requests…(who wouldn’t…?😜) I can see where this princess version of me came from. I do like my pretty dresses and having my hair done and putting effort in co-ordinating and creating outfits.

But…I do put my hair up in a bun and clean my wash hand basin drain…;) I also work hard and I give my all in what I do, that is how I was raised. I was also taught to enjoy the benefits of the hard work, which means yes I do enjoy dressing up to the nines and going to a fancy restaurant. It’s not my everyday, it’s the pleasures I enjoy.

I guess we all have different facets of our personalities, and some people get to see some of them. Quite frankly…I discover a little bit about myself on a daily basis. So, there will be days I feel like a princess and others like a Cinderella…but hey we grow, we evolve and work to better ourselves.

So wear your pretty dresses or your joggers if that’s who you are and never judge a book by its cover 😉

Have a lovely week everyone…😘

Yan

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Hello and hope you’re all having a lovely wend 🙂

Sooo, today’s blog is one, which I’m sure we all have different views and “rules” on. When is one too old to wear a mini skirt or crop tops…? Can you were bright colours when over sixty or seventy ? And so on and so forth… Below are my views and none of them are rules, but these are the basic principles I like to follow.

Styling the outfit

Some people believe that once you hit forty mini skirts and crop tops should be thrown away😮 Mmm..then I should have done so myself already but I didn’t! I believe that it is how you style mini skirts and crop tops, and quite frankly…at any age! If I wear a mini skirt, I make sure that I do not wear anything skimpy at the upper body. I would pair up a mini skirt with a shirt, blazer or polo neck. I am also careful on what shoes or boots to style it with. When it comes to crop tops, I don’t opt for very short ones, also because I don’t have the abs…;) But I do like having just a little mid riff out for the summer, so I pair a shortish top with high waisted trousers. So the skin actually “appears” with movement. I believe it is key to look at your outfit in totality.

Colours

I heard this very silly notion that people over seventy should not wear bright colours…😩 I’d love to know who comes up with such rules! My mum is seventy five and she hates black and loves a bright coloured outfit, and she doesn’t look silly but actually stylish and smart. Key here is knowing what colours flatter your skin tone and then play around with those colours. I find that what I wear is dependent on my mood and sometimes I need colour to lift my spirits. So, there is no age when you should stop wearing colour! Go for it…😊

Confidence

One positive thing about aging, is that with it comes confidence and the older one gets…the less you care what people say and think about you. These rules around what you can and cannot wear at a certain age is because some people judge and feel that some items are inappropriate at a certain age. I think that some people will always find something to criticize others about, so firstly let us not be that person. Secondly, look at your whole outfit and think…is it flattering, does it enhance and flaunt my body shape? If you feel uncomfortable in it…don’t wear it, even if everybody else tells you to do so. You will rock and outfit only when you feel comfortable in it. That doesn’t mean you should not go out of your comfort zone, but do so in small steps.

Get inspired

There is more to write about on this topic and I will definitely get back to it at some point. In the meantime, I recommend you follow fashion bloggers of your age group and you will be inspired with many cool outfits. So let’s not think about rules and restrictions but outfits and accessories to make us feel good 😊

Here’s wishing you a lovely Sunday and a great week ahead!

Lots of love your way

Yan

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Hello all!

It’s been a while. My focus for the first two months of this year had to be elsewhere and I could not dedicate the time to the blog. A couple of weeks ago my friend and director of the flamenco school I attend “Algeria” , asked me whether I’d like to join her for a few days at the flamenco festival in Jerez. I gave it some thought, and when I learnt that a Maltese dancer was performing at the festival, the decision was easier 🙂

I spent literally three days in Spain at the festival, just enough to switch off for a while and escape the realities the world is going through. Even though my photos mainly consist of Ingrid and myself at a table in a plaza in the sun, with tapas, in truth it was much more than that.

The shop owners, restauranteurs and artists who had gotten used to the Maltese ‘delegation’ going year in year out to the festival (especially our Miss Ingrid;) , but did not see us for the past two years were overjoyed to see that we were back. You could tell that it was not only a matter of finances and this year they finally started seeing some activity but also because their art was being celebrated and the atmosphere which the festival brings with it was not present in these last two years, due to travel and other restrictions. You’re back, you’re back is what they were telling us and the emotion amongst us could be felt!

The performances were spectacular, the song, dance and music mesmerizing. You come to realise that during the hard times, art was put aside, neglected and it is the time when people need it most. The arts are a form of expression and either if you are performing or watching a performance you can relate to those emotions which are being transferred from performer to audience. I find it healing and a place where I am true to myself, a cathartic process.

At this time when watching a country being invaded and people’s lives being turned upside down, one feels a sense of guilt of leading a normal life and enjoying even the little pleasures. I don’t know what little I can do from my end, bar sending items of need or donate and it makes me feel helpless. What we can do is focus on the changes we can bring about, small changes. Think of the confrontations we can avoid in our daily lives, empathize with others, understand that we all could be going through challenges and battles. If everyone could do their little part, the world would be a much better place!

Flamenco is about song, music and dance where technique and rhythm are key…however it is much more than that. It is an art form where the suffering or joys are expressed through the beautiful song accompanied by the melody of the guitar which the dancer expresses with the most beautiful of movements. Today more than ever I feel the need to dance to let out the anger, frustrations at this insane state of the world. I want to watch the artists relate these emotions to fill me with hope for a better world.

I am not all about fashion…as you can see 😉 This was definitely a different blog post, which I felt the need to write.

The beauty of flamenco is that it encompasses so much…as my teacher says…flamenco is a way of life…

Wishing you all a good weekend ahead

Yan

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Good morning and I hope you are having a lovely Sunday!

Today’s blog post is about making use of accessories to enhance an outfit. The beauty of accessories is that you can spend very little and yet manage to give some oomph to an outfit. Of course you can decide to invest in a designer accessory which you can use with different ensembles…the choice is yours. Let’s have a look…

Jewellery

The options here are endless! Statement jewellery or dainty…what do you prefer…? I like both, and I choose the type of jewellery depending on the outfit. If I am wearing a plain dress, I will pair it with statement jewellery. Going out for the evening in a black dress…big statement ear rings…:) Personally, I would not do that with a work outfit, I would generally go for something more dainty, not necessarily classic ( like pearls or a diamond drop…which are obviously always a safe bet:), studs or layering of dainty necklaces. I do however love a statement ring, even for work. Of course you need to feel comfortable with statement jewellery and make sure you adapt to your shape…in order to flatter 🙂

Hats

You all know I love hats! People sometimes are scared of them, as the attention will automatically be drawn to you when wearing a hat. It does hehe…especially if it’s a big hat…but why not…?! If you’re in a mad rush, and need to meet up with some friends, and can’t think of an outfit. Joggers, sweater and trainers…put on a hat…and voila…you will look sooo stylish! The type of hats available are endless…berets, bucket hats, felt hats…you will get hooked 🙂 Also, they do keep you warm in the winter months…;)

Gloves and belts

Ok…so picture this. A plain midi dress, block colour…same coloured shoes…sounds rather boring. Now grab a belt…either wide at the waist or a slim chain belt and tie loosely at the hips. Add a pair of gloves…and c’est tres chic. No effort whatsoever…and you will look like a million dollars. Belts can be a bit tricky…you need to find the right type of belt for your shape. If you are petite, you should wear a skinny belt at the waist to create the illusion of hips. If you are hourglass, go for a wider belt and just above the waist. Again, experiment with different coloured belts and/or textures.

Scarves

Where to start…:) So, woolen scarves…they keep you warm and add colour and class over a coat. Silks scarves…endless options. Tie it around your neck, use it as a bandana, go with sixties style head scarf. I personally also like using silk scarves as belt with my jeans. It is simple yet different 🙂 Go for it…try it out.

Wrapping up

These were a few ideas on how to accessorize and dress up an outfit. Accessories personalize a look, it is an opportunity to express your individual style. And, if I may…don’t be scared to experiment with accessories…😊

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday!

Have a good one,

Yan

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Good morning!

We are heading into December…how did this happen…? Time indeed flies…! So a couple of weeks ago I placed a poll on Insta asking which topics you would like me to blog about, and party wear was the most voted for. So read on for a few ideas…:)

Sparkle ✨

As already mentioned in one of my previous blogs, sequins are in this year, and clearly there’s no better time to wear sparkles than Christmas season 🙂 You can go for sequin dresses, skirts or trousers and in the case of the latter two mix with other fabrics. What I realllly want to get and find so cool, are sequin joggers. You can pair these with runners for a casual look, yet still great for a party, or put on a pair of heels and voila…c’est tres chic…

The Tulle or taffeta skirt

You may think that this style of skirt can only be worn for a party and following thy thrown back into the wardrobe. People may not want to invest in these skirts as they can be deemed to be ott. It is sooo not the case. These skirts can be worn all year round and are so versatile. They can be worn with jumpers, blouses, sweater, crop tops, heels, trainers, booties…and every time you crate a new outfit by changing just one item! I love love love them…and highly recommend having a tulle or taffeta skirt that suits your body shape in your wardrobe. Here are two pics of me last year, with same skirt, different shoes…different style:) I am also posting some other pics for ideas.

Blouses 👚

Blouses are always great to have in your wardrobe…you can wear them with jeans for a more casual/smart look or with a skirt for a more feminine soft look 🙂 Depending on your body shape you can either go for ruffles, or high collar, bow ties at the collar, add a brooch for a more sophisticated look…ideas are endless. Here are some ideas below…

Hope these ideas help you out with your party wear this year!

Reach out if you have any questions…always happy to help!

Have a good one

Yan

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