Runway to Every Day Series: Final, Part 7

Welcome to the final post in our Runway to Every Day model series!

Is anyone else a little sad? We’ve really enjoyed bringing you these in depth reviews of our lovely models and can’t wait to do it all over again in early 2014!

So to bring us to the end, we’d like to introduce the handsome Ashley, a 47-year-old male who would have to be one of the bravest models at Style Review for being the only male to take to the runway.

Ashley invests in one annual personal shop with Cindy a year, with this being his third year. Ashley finds it easier to update his wardrobe all at once and Cindy will forecast upcoming trends to make sure Ashley is covered for all the four seasons.

Body Shape:

Ashley is an inverted triangle body shape defined by him being broader in the shoulders and his top half of his body. This is actually the most common body shape for men and women.

As men generally have less curves than women, it’s important to focus on the “perfect fit” with Ashley including clothes that do not hug his body nor are too loose that will add weight and bulge.

Unlike the inverted triangle body of a woman, where we will try to balance her body out, with Ashley, his broader shoulders are actually a ‘classically attractive’ feature so we will work to highlight it.

Outfit One: Casual

This first look for Ashley brings out his inner-cool and we’ve combined very casual pieces with tailored pieces to keep it stylish.

We’ve opted for a tailored pair of shorts that sit just above the knee (the perfect length) chosen a dark navy colour.

Navy is a huge trend this season, is one of the most versatile neutrals and is great for the warmer months as an alternative to black.

To highlight Ashley’s broad shoulders, we’ve brought the attention to the top of his body with a bold shirt and a neutral singlet underneath that features a very light pattern.

The outfit immediately becomes more casual with the shirt open however we’ve used a belt to bring the top and bottom together and keep the look structured.

Outfit Two: Smart Casual

We’ve placed Ashley in a suit for this look however have injected a “casualness” to it by removing his tie, opting for a casual belt and tan coloured shoes in a soft/relaxed material.

We’d like to bring your attention to how the suit sits on Ashley. The shirt is a slim fit proportionate to Ashley’s body and while it isn’t snug, it sits very close to his body, creating a streamlined look – as shirts should.

With no tie, use the “only two buttons” rule when opening a shirt, anymore will give a sloppy look.

Notice that the pants sit right on the waist and belts should always be used to finish a suit pant.

Regarding hems, while fashion designers have played with various pant hems including the Highwater Hem (exposed ankles) of late, this is only for the younger generation.

For Ashley, we want a classic length where the hem should “break where your pants fall on your shoes, creating a horizontal crease in the fabric across the front of your pant leg”. Well said by Askmen.com.

Outfit Three: Evening

Doesn’t Ashley look dapper? We loved this Ted Baker Suit on Ashley for it’s incredibly good fit and quality fabric.

The dark navy colour refreshes the suit for this season and is a great colour alternative for the warmer months. We predict it will be popular for Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival, excluding Derby Day where black and white is preferred.

Black and navy are tricky to combine.

Now jacket, two button suit, if we didn’nt have the vest underneath. Generally the button would be done up but in this case, we want the vest to be seen (always buttoned up) and notice the tie is only peeking out from the top near the collar, it should not be longer than the vest.

As the suit is dark navy, we’ve opted for a light shirt and colour combination, as darker colours can be tricky to work with.

In terms of wearing the suit, as this is a three piece, the vest is completely buttoned and you can’t see the bottom of the tie. If Ashley wasn’t wearing the vest, we would probably button up the top button of the jacket, a general rule for a two button suit.

In terms of jacket measurements, you’ll see the suit jacket sits perfectly on Ashley’s shoulders and the sleeves don’t go beyond the wrist.

Now we’d like to compare the prices of suits from outfit two (Politix, approximately $450) to Ted Baker, three piece suit approximately $1,000. Ashley demonstrates the both price points deliver a seamless look.

When considering suits, the price is a question of the fabric, labour to create the suit (hand sewn, time etc.), seams, lining and the way the suit is put together. But ultimately, it will always be how the suit fits.

I love this Ted Baker suit, do any of these outfits appeal to you?

That bring us to the end of Runway to Every Day model series.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the detailed summaries of the looks, have been inspired and perhaps found a little something wonderful for yourself!

We’d also like to deeply thank you for your wonderful support of Style With Cindy and our fashion events. It was wonderful to team up with Chadstone – The Fashion Capital this year and have our personal style message reach so many more people.

And to our models, Melissa, Tamara, Fiona, Nicole, Liz, Dara and Ashley, thank you for making our event and allowing us to post about you. You all did an incredible job and looked fantastic throughout the three shows!

Finally, we’d like to leave you all with an inspiring quote from Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue who said: Create your own style…let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.

Love Cindy x