Set aside a day, or two to try on every item of clothing you own.

Does it look good on you?
Yes? Keep it.
Maybe? Throw it out.
No? Throw it out too.

Okay, you need not throw them into a bin. You could give them away to someone who might appreciate it more all sell them to a second hand store.

Take stock of what you have left? You would probably be left with very few items if you have gone through your wardrobe thoroughly, with a critical eye.

Before you shop for the latest Spring/summer styles, stop. You do not want to fill your wardrobe with more clothes that do not flatter you. What looks great on your best pal could very well look awful on you.

Spring/Summer 2008 fashion is elegant. From simple cuts to tiered dresses. Colors range from black, white (classics every season) to tan to mint green and pink and purple. No must wear color or must wear shape or strict skirt length. The only rule is to wear something that makes you look fabulous and that is the attitude you should take when revamping your wardrobe. Vertical stripes are hot this season which is a boon for anyone who could use their slimming effect.

Study the clothes you are keeping. The ones that make you look great. Does any particular color dominate?

Speaking about color, do you know which colors really flatter you?
The right colors make a world of difference. A simple dress in your color can make you look radiant, but the exact same dress in a different color that clashes with your skin tone could make you look sickly. Choose your colors carefully.

Do you look better in cool colors or warm colors? If there already is a particular color, like electric blue or gold or peach that makes you look particularly wonderful, make that the basic color in your wardrobe and get at least a skirt, a pair of pants, a top and a dress in that shade. Then search for other colors that complement your chosen color and which make you look amazing.

When you buy clothing, do not look at the size alone. Size is but a number, conjured up according to the whims of the fashion houses. You don’t have to be a size zero to look gorgeous. You do have to wear clothes that fit your actual size and which flatter your figure type if you want to look your best.

Measure the widest part of your hip and the largest part of your bustline. Are your hips larger than your bust or is your bustline larger than your hips?

If your hips are larger, you are bottom heavy or pear shaped.
If both are about the same, plus minus an inch, you have an hourglass figure.
If your bust is larger than your hips than you are top heavy.

This fact alone determines what types of outfits you should go for if you want to look your very best.

If you are bottom heavy, you can get away with padded jackets. Printed tops, frills on the top and any details that draw attention to the top half of your body is desirable. You might want to wear something dark a plain to visually shrink your hips. Bubble skirts, pleated skirt or anything that draws attention to your hips would only make them bigger and make you look disproportionate.

If you are top heavy, you can wear any type of pants. You can even get away with a full skirt or pleated one. By the way, many models are top heavy, so yours is a very desirable figure type. Then again watch what you wear on top. If your bust is big, you could wear plunging necklines or clothes that show off your cleavage so you would look sexy and not fat.

If you have an hourglass figure, you’ve got the ideal figure and can get away with most outfits.

Sophisticated and confident is how you will feel when you slip on one of these swimsuits. Always For Me has mixed prints with the flavor of the favorite Caribbean.

Escape to paradise in a beautiful one piece skirted bandeau with just a touch of bling. This sophisticated St.Lucia print has a shirred bodice which defines the waist, while the flirty skirt just covers the tops of the thighs. Wear with strap or with out. The bandeau neckline is sexy and very slenderizing for the face. The twist front top works for both a full busted woman and a not so full busted woman. The shirred sides on this bathing suit create a curvy waistline. This swim mini dress has a full mesh control panel down the front of the garment.

Drive through the bays of Jamaica in this Kingston Print one piece suit. This too has a full mesh control panel down the front of the suit. Our popular twist front detail is a characteristic of this best seller. And, it can be worn with or without the strap around the neck. This swimsuit looks like it is right out of the pages of a fashion magazine.

Dance the day away at the poolside bar, in style in the Goddess tankini, available this season in cocoa brown. This sexy style is sure to turn a few heads. If you’re feeling daring you can shorten the skirt with a pull of a string. If asymmetrical is more your style – try wearing one side up and one down. When you’ve worked up a sweat, slip into the pool and relax in style in this beautiful suit.

Dresses are easy to wear and feminine, but separates allow you to stretch your wardrobe much further. Your jeans, skirts and trousers can take on so many differently new looks with a change of the blouse, shirt or top you wear with it. Wear these under your coat, so when the coat goes off, you can show off your gorgeous new look.

So what are the top 5 tops that characterize these trends?

1. A floaty printed top.

After seeing Anna Sui’s Autumn 2008 / Winter 2009, a girl must have a brand new floaty top in prints. Native american inspired prints, psychedelic prints, or pretty prints from the Victorian era. Whichever is most in line with your personal style.

2. A black lace blouse

Blame it on Prada, but black lace is really big this season. At Prada’s Fall2008 / Winter 2009 ready to wear show, black lace covered virtually everything. Take that element from Prada’s show and add that to your new look. There is no need to go head to toe in black lace, but you can adapt the look with a black lace blouse. Wear that with a black silk skirt for evenings, or with your jeans for the day. Or a pencil skirt for work, under your jacket.

3. A ribbon blouse

Not small ribbons but one giant bow around the collar of a buttoned up blouse. If you can find a blouse with such a bow, get it. That is one of the look fashion editors rave about. It is perfect for Thanksgiving and for attending family functions. The look is sweet yet elegant. Alternatively, you can accessorize an existing buttoned up blouse with a scarf, tied into a giant ribbon bow.

4. A lurex top

Lurex brought glamour to Anna Sui’s ready to wear collection. The shimmery fabric was everywhere. From the tops to the dresses, to the coats. That is one sure way to glamorous your look. Great for the party season.

5. A long sleeve t-shirt

Make that several long sleeved tees. A warmer version of everyone’s favourite t-shirt, so comfy you can sleep in it. Get a good winter t-shirt made of soft wool or jersey which will keep you warm and comfy and which looks great on your body.

Get these 5 tops to go with your existing wardrobe and you have a brand new look for Fall 2008 thru Winter 2009.

1. A New Tweed Skirt Suit

That was the big look for Chanel’s Fall 2008 through Winter 2009 Ready To Wear collection. It is also the most practical thing a woman could own. That skirt suirt would take you to the board room and would boost your image at work.

2. A Pair of Tweed Pants that matches your tweed skirt suit.

The tweed jacket, and skirt from the skirt suit and these matching tweed pants would smarten up your professional image tremendously. Classy yet not stuffy. Professional but not boring. The jacket could be worn with either the skirt or pants. You can always wear your existing blouses inside the jacket and still look like you are dressed from head to toe in new clothes. Or you could leave off the jacket and just wear the pants or skirt with one of your new blouses.

3. A blouse with a big bow at the collar

The ribbon blouse or big bow blouse, whatever you call it gives you a sweet, yet sassy look. You can wear that with your existing skirt or with your new tweed skirt or pants to work. Wear it with jeans for the weekend. With it with a flared skirt for thanksgiving or for family gatherings.

4. A lace blouse.

White lace blouses are a Chanel favourite this season while black lace blouses, dresses and skirts are big at Prada.

5. Wide legged trousers in a fabric that drapes your figure

Androgyny rules at Armani with a models looking sharp in gorgeous trousers. A pair of gray, beige or black trousers that drapes well over your figure would look great for work or play, depending on what you match it with. Throw a smart jacket over it for work. Wear it with a sexy top for the night.

6. A black lace dress

Every girl should have her little black dress. This season, make it a little black lace dress that is oh so Prada. That is your go anywhere dress. From the dinner date, to a party or for any occasion when you want to dress up.

7. A trenchcoat

At Hermes, the trenchcoat, worn above the knee was often worn with a short skirt or tights or a pair of wide legged trousers that drapes softly over the figure. If you don’t already have a trenchcoat, invest in one as this trend is here to stay.

8. Knee high boots

These not only look cool, they keep your feet and your legs warm.

9. A floaty print top

Anna Sui’s Fall 2008/ Winter 2009 ready to wear collection featured beautiful printed tops. Some were inspired by native american designs while others looked more like the clothes from the Victorian era. Either way, prints abound and the fabric is soft and floaty. Might be too cold to wear on its own outdoors, but inside a heated building or where winters aren’t too cold, a top like that can go a long way.

10. A winter t-shirt

Hey, don’t forget about comfort. Nothing beats a comfy t-shirt beneath those jackets and coats. Just make sure yours is in a winter fabric. It goes well with jeans. There’s no need to buy new jeans if your existing jeans fit you well. Just pair old jeans with your new tops.

We are never quite sure what to expect from Japanese designer Tsumori Chisato but are always excited to find out. We love her for her daring leaps into a cosmic fantasy and her playful use of color and form. Whimsical and feminine, Tsumori, like fashion is both elusive and extravagant. Tsumori epitomizes the nature of fashion by taking advantage of its vulnerability. She plays hard and pushes the envelope to the max. For fashion is often more fleeting than an encounter of lust; entering like a gust of wind blowing away everything in sight. Only time will tell of its true power and ability to outlast trends and crazes. One can never truly pin fashion down, for as soon as we begin to understand its language, the next season is upon us.

Tsumori Chisato welcomes the Fall 2008 season with memories of a space odyssey. Imaginative day dreams, childhood drawings of the outer world, glow-in-the-dark stars and puffy space suit-like shapes appropriated from a Neil Armstrong fashion archive sneak into Fall’s inspirational creativity. Her planetary designs appear here in her Fall collection, awaking the senses and the realization that we are not fully alone in our bubble world. Tsumori’s collection reminds us of the infinite extent of our creative possibilities and the reality that sometimes traveling outside the boundaries of our own home actually takes us closer to who we are.

She begins her collection by experimenting with simple geometrical shapes, layering velvet and metallic circle, square and triangle forms upon dresses and tops. She plays with a new version of the flutter and dolman sleeve by developing one that looks like a tulip petal while covering like a cocoon but allowing for full arm movement. Caplets and swing coats follow this lead along with a beautiful gray ombre wool over coat. Roughly ninety five percent of her fall collection is short dresses, styled with opaque and ombre stockings and ankle socks circa 1960. Scalloped necklines, ruffled sleeves and petal layered skirts continue to pull us into the clouds of Tsumori’s whimsical fantasy where delicate layering is the master of her space travel vessel.

These 1960’s inspired silhouettes and shapes are approachable through Tsumori’s choice of color. Shades of sherbert orange, soft pink, beige, light gray, and cobalt blue dominate the palette. Well known for her use of artistic hand drawn patters and designs Tsumori then produces them onto fabric creating one-of-a-kind unique prints. Her customer following is widely based on this nonpareil and individual style that yields coveted runway and ready-to-wear pieces for her audience. Any savvy fashion collector knows that an investment in Tsumori Chisato will prove to not only fulfill your fashion fantasy needs but will remain a coveted item on into the next frontier.