Clare Maxfield

Where Image Matters

How to reveal or conceal your shoulders

As we want people to look at our faces before they start perusing any of our other assets it is fair to say that the shoulders are right up there with our faces and what people will notice very quickly. Depending upon your own personal preference you will either love, hate or be ambivalent about your shoulders. Yet once I was asked if I found them too prominent? It just shows that we all take in all of our own features differently.

I must say that is why, as an Image Consultant, I don’t automatically assume that a person will love or loathe any part of their body. It is up to my client to tell me how they feel. It’s a bit like a bank teller laughing when I said my middle name. He won’t do that again. For the record it is Edwina and I love it. I’m named after my father (his middle name was Edward) and a dear friend of my parents. By the way, I really do like my shoulders. Never assume, poke fun or make any derogatory comment about a person’s appearance. Now compliments, you can dish them out as hard and as fast as you want.

So let’s talk shoulders.

Play up:

Dressing to Detract From Your Upper Arm, Concealing Upper Arms, Dressing Tips to a slimmer upper arm, Which dress to wear to detract from your upper arm, slimming tips
Dressing to Detract From Your Upper Arm

To play up and bring attention to your shoulders use the following techniques

  • Wear tops with shoulder detail i.e. epaulets, decoration and detail
  • Boat neck tops
  • Square necklines
  • Long earrings
  • Open shoulder tops
  • Set in sleeves
  • Shoulder pads
  • Structured jackets
  • Strapless dresses
  • Halter neck tops and dresses
  • Peaked and puffed sleeves
  • Yoked jackets and tops
  • Neck draped jumper and scarves

For further information on what NOT to do, look at the images for playing down your shoulders.

Play Down:

To play down and reduce the apparent squareness or size of your shoulders you can use the following techniques

  • Wear Batwing or raglan sleeves
  • Dropped sleeves
  • Wraps over your shoulders
  • Swing jackets
  • Sweetheart necklines
  • Capped sleeve
  • Gathered necklines
  • Long hair worn down
  • If you are tall enough, create a shoe or handbag feature focus
  • Bangles
  • Prints and fuller skirts below your waist

For further information on what NOT to do, look at the images for playing up your shoulders.

If you’d like to know more about what suits you personally you can download any of the books in the Style in 7 Series. This post comes from the Everywoman’s Guide to Dressing Your assets.

How to make the most of your shoulders

As we want people to look at our faces before they start perusing any of our other assets it is fair to say that the shoulders are right up there with our faces and what people will notice very quickly. Depending upon your own personal preference you will either love, hate or be ambivalent about your shoulders. Yet once I was asked if I found them too prominent? It just shows that we all take in all of our own features differently.

I must say that is why, as an Image Consultant, I don’t automatically assume that a person will love or loathe any part of their body. It is up to my client to tell me how they feel. It’s a bit like a bank teller laughing when I said my middle name. He won’t do that again. For the record it is Edwina and I love it. I’m named after my father (his middle name was Edward) and a dear friend of my my parents. By the way, I really do like my shoulders. Never assume, poke fun or make any derogatory comment about a persons appearance. Now compliments, you can dish them out as hard and as fast as you want.

So let’s talk shoulders.

Play up:

How to play up your shoulders

 

To play up and bring attention to your shoulders use the following techniques

  • Wear tops with shoulder detail i.e. epaulets, decoration and detail
  • Boat neck tops
  • Square necklines
  • Long earrings
  • Open shoulder tops
  • Set in sleeves
  • Shoulder pads
  • Structured jackets
  • Strapless dresses
  • Halter neck tops and dresses
  • Peaked and puffed sleeves
  • Yoked jackets and tops
  • Neck draped jumper and scarves

For further information on what NOT to do, look at the images for playing down your shoulders.

Play Down:

How to play down your shoulders

 

To play down and reduce the apparent squareness or size of your shoulders your can use the following techniques

  • Wear Batwing or raglan sleeves
  • Dropped sleeves
  • Wraps over your shoulders
  • Swing jackets
  • Sweetheart necklines
  • Capped sleeve
  • Gathered necklines
  • Long hair worn down
  • If you are tall enough, create a shoe or handbag feature focus
  • Bangles
  • Prints and fuller skirts below your waist

For further information on what NOT to do, look at the images for playing up your shoulders.

If you’d like to know more about what suits you personally you can download any of the books in the Style in 7 Series. This post comes from the Everywoman’s Guide to dressing Your assets.

How to make your neck look longer or shorter

Some of us love our necks. Others just wish they were longer or shorter. There is absolutely nothing you can do to lengthen your neck, unless you wish to join the Kayan long-neck women in Myanmar and place brass coils around from your neck from birth. A tad extreme if you ask me.

Luckily there are plenty of fashion options you can employ to add to or subtract from the length of your neck. Read on for many solutions to make your life easier.

Lengthen:

Make your neck look longer

 

To bring the focus to your throat, or even to make your neck appear longer use these tips.

  • Expose your décolletage
  • Wear grecian necklines
  • Keep tops low
  • Off the shoulder
  • Open up your neckline with open collars and lower necklines
  • Vests can create a vertical opening up to your neck
  • Wear draped scarves and long necklaces can lengthen as well.
  • Lighter colours can improve the visible length of your neck if you want to wear any of the necklines not recommended.

For further information on what NOT to do, look at the images for shortening your neck.

Shorten:

Dress to make your neck shorter

 

To decrease the apparent length of your neck apply the following principles.

  • Wear turtlenecks
  • Wear chokers
  • Sailor collars,
  • Boat necks,
  • Mandarin collars,
  • Closed collars,
  • Short necklaces,
  • Gathered necklines,
  • Pussy bows,
  • Halter neck tops and dresses, Darker contrasting colours worn close to the face.
  • Epaulets and shoulder treatments on your garments.

For further information on what NOT to do, look at the images for lengthening your neck and do NOT do them.

If you’d like to know more about what suits you personally you can download any of the books in the Style in 7 Series. This post comes from the Everywoman’s Guide to dressing Your assets.

How to know which necklines suit you

Necklines come in many shapes and sizes. Knowing what is ideal can be a challenge. This simple guide can have you thinking differently about which necklines really work for you, why and what to look for.

necklines

How to Choose the Right Necklines

Hi! And it’s Clare Maxfield here. And I am sharing with you today in the “What Suits My Face Shape Series”, what Necklines to wear.

So, I popped a little strapless top on, so, that gives me a better opportunity to pop on some necklines so you can really see how  different necklines can really affect the way your face looks.

So, what I’ve got here, these are something I made some years ago.

Round Neckline:  Here is a kind of a round one. See how it looks? Remember two sessions ago, I did, you know, balance points. So if it goes low or ideally it should work… even up here.  It’s not. I have a floating head now. There is no connection with that top.

Sharp V:  Now also remember how I was talking about in the “Shoe-Shape” one – sharp point, rounded points… Well, look at me, in a “Sharp V”, at the right spot.  That’s really no good. It doesn’t work with anything.

Soft V: Look what happens if I put this “Softer V” on. See how now, it’s time to get some harmony with my face and I’ve got it at the right neck-point. Remember, if I bring it on up too high – no good!  

So, I put it on the right point – and that’s the one that works for me.

Square Neckline: Now, next one I’ve got is a “Square Neckline”.  One thing I found when I put the square neckline is it actually brings out here, (points to cheekbone hollows) which is great if I didn’t have these… lines in my eyes.

But a square doesn’t really go as well, as it goes with the “Soften V”. As I find the soften V, brings (the eye to) this part of our face.(points to jawline) Happy with that!

Now, this one is one of my favourite one. So, this is a good old sweetheart. .. I’ll get it down here…so if you bring it out like that… Do you know what I noticed when I put this one on? Is it brings out this part, (points to fullness of cheeks) and brings out some nice lines. Now, if I bring it up higher… but still, not a great one.

Boat neck:  And then boat neck. Boat neck brings the eye to my shoulders, but does nothing for my face. But if I want to flaunt my shoulders, this is what I wear. And if you adjust just below the collar bone, it really brings the line out. If you have it up here, you kind of again become a floating head. And it all becomes about the top part.

Cowl Neck: And this is my favourite one. This is an example of Cowl Neck. Now to be honest, I find that a Cowl Neck really does suit most people. It really works well.

And if you wanted to, I can pop this under here and bring this up… and I have a halter neck. But it’s the Cowl Neck which is my personal favorite.

So, what I recommend you do is give me a call if you want. I’ve got a whole lot of necklines here to come work with, but go out and try different necklines. See what works for you, and see what will bring out your cheeks, side real line. Make sure that you are not looking at the fabric, the print, that you are looking at you.

And once you know what neckline suits, everything else just adds to what’s suiting your face and making you look fantastic.

Remember, If you want, there’s a free Faceshape – “Every Woman’s Guide to Face Shapes” download, you can get. The link is below.

And for the guys, yours is coming out in 2017. Hope you enjoyed today’s It’s Clare Maxfield and “What Suits My Face.

Finding the right balance of your clothing with your face

Ever wondered why some clothes and jewelry look great and others just don’t suit? It could be as simple as the balance is all off. Watch this to see how to create the perfect balance in your outfits.

Read the transcription here

Hi, It’s Clare Maxfield and I am going to share with you how (to) exactly (find the) right balance points in your clothing for your face. And this works for men as well as for women.

So, first thing’s first – you need to know your first balance point. And that is the point that is leveled from the top of the forehead, see here to your chin. And I always look in the mirror… and myself like this… and down again.

Look, the top sitting exactly at the right point. Yes, I know! I set this up purposely, but I always look at this. So if this came down a lot lower, which it could, aside from the fact that I would be… half of my cleavage would be in there, it just wouldn’t have the same balance with my top.

So, for ladies, this is great for necklines, this is great for maybe jacket closings and it is also great for jewelry.

The other thing to work out with jewellery is that some other people thinks it needs to be exactly the mid-way point, but that’s kind of for me, in no man’s land because the second balance point is from the widest point of your face across to the bottom of your chin and then, it’s from where the top of the neckline and across.

And you can always tell the top of your neckline. When you put a chain around your neck, it’s the spot that the chain sits on.

So, it doesn’t matter whether I got very square shoulders or very angled shoulders – It’s always at the top of the neckline. I’ve got a slightly angled shoulder. Just pop the chain… and there we go.

Now, a lot of guys seem to think… “Well, what is this? I don’t wear necklaces.”

  • A: It works for you for jumpers.
  • B: Also, it works for you… if you guys are getting your suit made and you’ve got your lapels… now, as we can see here, if you have a lapel coming out here, you might have your first and the double lapel, coming out… that’s a good spot for you or just having some point on your jacket, that will work for you equally as well, for the guys.

So, today, I shared with you how to tell your first and second balance points are and how to make them work for your clothes.

If you want to know more about what suits your face, ladies, you can also download my face shapes: Every Woman’s Guide to face shapes which I’ve got attached down here.

And for the guys, I’m going to be doing a “What Suits Your Face shape Guide” very soon. So, look out for it.

Bye for now. Clare Maxfield here, from Clare Maxfield Image.