Those fashionably chic women. You know the ones. They always look polished and put together, like they just walked out of a magazine. Humph!

How on earth do they do it??

There are some easy things you can do to make your wardrobe planning less painful and more satisfying. First, it’s important to understand your style personality. There are seven essential style personalities, which one is most like you?

• Sporty or natural – casual attire, limited make-up
• Elegant – sophisticated, designer brands
• Traditional – business-like attire, and tailored suits
• Romantic – soft and flowing, ruffles, lace
• Dramatic – avant garde design with bold colours and accents
• Alluring – body-hugging styles to accentuate curves
• Artistic – lots of bohemian styles, flowing skirts and peasant blouses

Once you understand your style personality, you can pull together outfits that are comfortable and suit you. This is part of the key to looking pulled together! Those fabulously dressed women start by knowing the style image they want to portray.

The next step is to understand how an outfit comes together. It may seem obvious, but many women neglect to consider shoes, handbags, scarves and jewelry when staring at the closet each morning. Often, those are an after-thought…if they’re considered at all.

Here’s how to pull yourself together:

• Start with a base piece in a neutral colour that looks good on you: black, white, navy, gray, taupe, ivory, beige, camel or brown.
• Add a garment that goes with (but does not necessarily match) your base piece.
• Accessorize to finish the look.

In the above example, I started with basic black trousers, which are in everyone’s closet. I added a pink floral blouse by Stella McCartney which included other colours such as green, blue, black and deep rose. With that, I decided to go with a sage green blazer that has a surprising hot pink trim. I decided to play up the hot pink with a corresponding belt and clutch. I finished the look with some gold jewelry and sage green booties. This is a fresh look that you can wear anywhere. Notice that the bag and shoes don’t match each other… but they match the outfit. The hot pink is the perfect pop of colour.

Your turn…