On my recent trip to Turkey, I spent a few days in the great city of Istanbul. It’s filled with history, culture, tourists, technology and yes, very trendy people. The one trend that absolutely stood out was that many young Turkish women were wearing these beautiful silk headscarves, rather than a hijab (a more full head covering worn my Muslim women). I just expected that most women would have a hijab on but no, young women were wearing these silk scarves with the most beautiful patterns and colours. There was one day in particular where I watched a group of women walking down a hill. Each woman had a different coloured scarf on which captured the attention of many tourists as they walked past us – they were beautiful. In addition to the silk scarves, these young women were wearing trench coats! It was quite apparent that this was a trend amongst Turkish women because they were not only on EVERY woman that walked by but also in many clothing stores. I noticed that popular trend was metallic trench coats such as baby pink, beige, lavender and peach. While I loved the look of the trench coat and head scarves… and of course, chic sunglasses, I could only imagine just how hot it must be to wear a trench coat in the summer months (Istanbul summers are VERY hot). I do realize that Turkey is a Muslim country so women must cover themselves up but I just didn’t get the trench coat in such a warm climate. My final verdict: the fact that the headscarf and trench coat trend is so pervasive amongst young Turkish women leads me to believe that women, regardless of where they live or what they believe, will do ANYTHING (even be super uncomfortable and HOT) in the pursuit of the latest and greatest trend! :)
These shoes were meant for walking… and style
So I just came back from an amazing trip to Turkey. On route to our final destination, my husband and I stopped over in London for a few days to do some sightseeing… actually, I was trying to see if Will and Kate would have us over for tea. They were busy. Shortly into our London trip, I noticed something that was VERY appealing to me – men were walking around with beautifully-designed shoes. I don’t just mean trendy-looking shoes, no no. I mean great quality, amazingly-shaped, textured shoes. I noticed this not just on men in suits (the lawyers, consultants, bankers, etc) but also on casually-dressed men (like jeans, a golf shirt and GREAT shoes kinda guy). I even made my husband take notice at the unusual high proportion of totally amazing men’s shoes walking around London. So over a pint of beer and bangers and mash (I had vegetarian bangers in an ol’ English pub – HA!), my husband and I discussed this revelation (only a revelation to me I’m sure). Here’s what I landed on: Men in London have a better sense of style – my husband obviously disagreed with this generalization and proceeded to correct me using economic theory and equations drawn in the air (ok, the second part is a bit of an exaggeration). There are more men in London than there are in most Canadian cities so just in terms of sheer numbers we are bound to see more men walking around. In other words, there are many more men with GREAT shoes walking around. Competition in the marketplace is much fiercer in London so dressing the part is every bit as important as one’s skills/knowledge. London is situated close to big European shoe designers/brands and, therefore, has easier access to a more diverse selection of GREAT dress and casual shoes. The shoe conversation deteriorated after a couple pints of beer so this is really all that I came up with…. The last thing I’ll leave you with is this: I saw a middle-aged man, probably with 25+ years of work experience, wearing the most impeccable shoes. They were not brand new but they were well-designed, in great condition, and styled perfectly with his attire. So the concept of not needing/wanting to look stylish because of a certain level of substance (e.g. work experience) didn’t really seem to apply in this case. Maybe this was a one-off case but I’d rather believe that was not a single case. Why then, did this man, who clearly had a lot of work experience (ok, maybe that’s not true… just because he had salt & pepper hair, doesn’t mean he’s the CEO or something like that) put in the effort of being stylish? What do you think?
Business Casual – What does that mean?
Lately, I’ve been reading up on what exactly business casual means. I’ve come to the conclusion that business casual means very different things to different people. On one hand, you have the “banker type” who wears power suits 5 days of the week. In this industry, and many other corporate environments, one must adhere to business formal wear every day of the week – there’s no such thing as “casual Fridays”. When you dress professionally, you come across as more credible and confident and in many industries, this can convey the message that you have a high level of expertise. On the flip side, some professions don’t fit into this category – the marketing expert, the trades company owner, the IT guru, the teacher, the restaurant owner, the government employee, and sooooo many more. In some of these industries (and MANY more), business casual could mean anything from yoga pants to jeans to khakis (and everything in between). One would have to use their judgement, depending on the industry they are in, as to what is appropriate and what business casual actually means. Here’s my opinion. Overall, I think a business casual look should be classic, not overly trendy (unless you typically have a chic sense of style) and should flatter your favourite features. Here are some quick thoughts: Jeans are perfectly fine for a business casual look BUT you really need to think about the colour and cut of the jean. Opt for a dark-wash jean that comes in more of a straight-leg cut. You don’t want to wear jeans that are too loose (this can look sloppy) or too tight (this can bring you the wrong kind of attention in a work setting) in the event that you bump into the big boss. Although business casual is an opportunity to dress down, don’t take it as an opportunity to dress under. Regardless of your profession, you still want to come across as the expert so always focus on dressing just one step above your counterparts. That might mean wearing a casual dress shirt rather than a golf shirt or adding a blazer to jeans and a shirt. Show your personality through the use of colours, patterns, accessories and garment silhouettes. You don’t have to adhere to a “cookie-cutter” look. Think about what your likes and interests are and look to play these up. Perhaps you’re really into the arts. Think about highlighting this side of your personality by accenting your look with blouses or skirts with interesting, non-traditional cuts, patterns and textures. Regardless of what we choose as business casual wear, always remember that our style (personal or professional) is a representation of ourselves. Whether we like it or not, people judge us all the time based on our appearance (and let’s be honest, we judge them too). Think about making the right impression rather than the wrong one. Here are a few things to steer clear of to help you make that “right” impression: Ladies, make sure