Fashion faux pas and tips on good grooming

By Malu Fernandez

Most people don?t know that grooming yourself and looking your best is part of good etiquette. Being well groomed and nicely dressed means you took the time and effort to look nice and presentable for your friend, office mates and whoever else you might run into in your daily life. Because of this, fashion has become a part of our mundane lives and through the years a lot of fashion dos and don?ts have evolved. While some of them still hold true, others are simply outdated or no longer applicable in these times.

? If it looks good on the hanger it will look good on you?That is one of the most common misconceptions of shoppers. The best way to find out if something really looks good on your body is to try on the garment and see if it actually looks good on you. Some of the most beautiful couture pieces have absolutely no hanger appeal whatsoever but once you try them on you look and feel like the hefty price tag of your couture piece. Other pieces that have great hanger appeal have a horrid fit. Buying a garment without fitting is like buying a book based on its cover.

? Another fashion faux pas is buying items on sale. While everyone loves a good bargain during these hard times, ask yourself, would you consider buying this item at full price? Just remember retailers usually mark down items that are slow moving or overstocked, so these items might not sell so quickly because they probably don?t fit well, or are not aesthetically pleasing to their customer base. If it is marked down just because of its price point, then go for it. Don?t be afraid to ask the saleslady for a little information about the piece and look around if you see a tremendous amount of stock on the sales floor of the item you want. If you do, then I suggest you walk away. If it is on sale because it?s one of those few pieces left, then by all means snap it up. Remember, not everything on sale is a bargain, some can just be a waste of money and during this global economic crisis every cent counts.

? The ?it?s better to be overdressed than underdressed rule??I totally believe in this. A prime example of this is Victoria Beckham. The woman is impeccably dressed at all times?whether it?s watching her hunky husband play football in AC Milan or taking her kids shopping?she can?t go wrong. Wouldn?t you rather see her dressed up in her usual couture clothes than wearing a pair of sweats and a ratty old tee shirt? Remember, no one ever gets embarrassed for being overdressed.

? Size is just a number?Don?t stress yourself out if you?re a size small in one store and a large in another. Different stores have different size specifications. Your size small in one store may have the exact size measurement as the large size in a different store. Also bear in mind there are junior, misses and women?s sizes. A junior size specification will be based on a teen body while women?s and misses will be based on an older and more matronly body type.

? In addition to what I said above, here?s another: if it?s tight, don?t squeeze into it. Don?t buy it as a motivation tool to go on a diet. It will end up sitting in your closet for a long time?which will be another waste of money for you. If you are one of those women who think tighter clothes are sexier, news flash: it?s not! The worst thing is to see a woman tugging at her clothes and revealing visible panty lines. Always check out your backside in a mirror before you leave. After all, that?s the last memory you leave behind when you walk out of a room and the last thing you want them to remember is an unsightly behind.

? They say people can tell a lot about the shoes you wear?This is true. Now all of us can?t be in Manolos and Jimmy Choos all the time, but at least make sure your shoes don?t look like the Titanic. As popular as Havaianas are in this country, for heaven?s sake if you must go out in flip flops, then make sure you have an impeccable pedicure, otherwise wear closed shoes. There is nothing worse than seeing someone?s unkempt toes with chipped nail polish wearing open toed sandals or flip flops. It?s just gross.

Being well groomed and well dressed is a sign of respect for those around you. It means you considered how your appearance would affect them. Although we aren?t as formal as before when women wore white gloves, the bare minimum should be to look neat and well groomed. Not only does it speak about how you consider those around you but it signifies the value you place on yourself, which will in turn signal how people will treat you as a person. If you think everything I said above is load of crap look at it this way, you lose nothing by looking neat and well groomed but you may gain a few glances every now and then if you are!