Just found these charts on the net. Thought they might come handy ;-)

Being aware of your body shape and of your best assets makes shopping and dressing much easier.

Enhance your best bits and the parts we don't like that much fall automatically into the background.

Pear: Wider hips and small shoulders; broaden your shoulders

Apple: Hips and shoulders are almost same width; bring in your waist and broaden your shoulders a bit

Banana: bring in your waist and try to enhance your shoulders and hips a bit...

                                                                                  Girls and ladies, don't forget to get professionally fitted for bras.

Not just for the proportions also for your comfort and health!!!!

Here a less fruity chart for us guys to get to know our shapes better too.

Trapezium: Upper body larger than lower body, but well proportioned.

Inverted Triangle: Upper Body significantly larger than lower body.

Triangle: Upper body smaller than lower body. Sloping shoulders.

Rectangle: Little difference between upper and lower body. Some weight in mid-section.

Oval: Large body with curved mid-section.

Guys and lassies, make sure your underwear is not too tight or too loose either.

Too tight or too wide can be bad for your health as well.

Choose underwear accordingly to your activity, like cycling, the gym or just going out!!!

As you all know, this also involves our skin tone, eye color and hair color.

Choose colors which enhance your eye color and hair color.

Your body gives you actually the color pallet for your base colors that suit you best when choosing an outfit.

So next time before you go shopping just check your colors and be aware of your body shape shape.

Thank,

      Carsten

Dandy look

White shirt tweet jacket and hat, color matching scarf  with floral print and as fem touch the oversize fake fur leopard print bag

Thanks for the picture, 

Carsten

It's all about proportions.

Look at this lovely apple shaped lady in her vintage dress.

She broadened her shoulders just a bit with the bolero cardigan, accentuated her waist with the dresses empire line just below her bust and the open neckline makes the chest more petit.

The dress has correct length and flows straight down from the empire line which gives her also longer legs.

Doesn't she look lovely!!

Thanks for posing,
                    Carsten

Nautical themed 50's/60's dress from 

Retro

Thanks for posing,

Carsten

 A bit summery for today, but cute ballerinas from Penney's

Thanks for posing,   

Carsten

Alteration ideas

Now, there am I again. Just back from the gym.

A few emails answered, a phone call and a shower later.

I was thinking, it is time again to present a new post:

Since I am in a total alteration rush, I thought I might as well start of with my ideas in relation to alteration.

I am 100% sure you all have clothes in your wardrobe that look a bit dated, are in good nick and you still love them, but they don't fit anymore.

An easy task actually, bring them to your alteration service.

Get creative and recycle your clothes.

Get them taken in or made wider or longer or shorter.

But stay within a healthy budget, be sure that it is really worse money wise to recycle clothing.

Always confirm your ideas with your Tailor and see if he reckons it is do-able what you have on mind or on a piece of paper.

I had a few tops recently or work shirts which didn't fit right anymore.

A few I got taken in on the sides and on the sleeves.

A long-sleeve I got made longer by opening up the bottom seam to elongated it

and it they supported with a kick band.
And I got it made a bit tighter too by taking in the sides.

For others that got too tight, I bought black fabric.

My tailor let the fabric in on the sides to make them a bit wider and repeated the same fabric on different parts of the shirts as applications.

The opportunities can be 'endless'.

What do you think?

Working with your clothes is very exciting it makes you appreciating them more.

They are your creation now.

I think in my case it was a good idea I am proud of my 'new' tops.

Right I let you go now and don't forget Dublin Tall Ships is on.

Maybe I see you there ;-)

By for now and thanks,

Carsten

Street fashion spying @ Dublin Tall Ships

Oh Dublin is so busy. Love it!

Here is another upportunity for some street fashion spying!

This upcoming Thursday 23'rd at the Grand Canal and all around the Liffy.

click Dublin Tall Ships

Don't you love it too, strolling around or sitting in a cafe and watch people go by?

And checking out their outfits of course!

Okay, might see you there and please don't be shy if I ask you to pose for photo.

Thanks,
          Carsten

Hi guys, how are you?
Hope you liked my intro posts :-)

Well, this is all new to me as you all know, but I am totally excited.

Not sure how I start of but I guess I take it as it comes to my me.

A few things to find your way around, there is an archive to the right of the page, that will archive buy month or so.
I want also to try remember to label my posts and put them up in a extra menu button that should bring you straight to the label topics you might look for.

Well that's the plan at leas, lets see how it all works out.

Okay hope I didn't forget anything.

Ah yes, one more.

If you should have any suggestions to enhance or expand my blog to your needs, please let me know. I am open to suggestions and improvements.

So guys, keep telling everybody about my “Carstenlovesfashion”, stalk me on twitter and FB enjoy my posts ;-)

Okay, off I pop and getting the next post ready;-)

Bye for now and bear with me.

Thanks,

           Carsten

Twitter

Hi guys, how are you?

Just a quick update, I joined

just now, as @calofashion.

Okay I am off,  back to prepping the next post.

Thanks,
      Carsten

2'nd Intro post (Blog)

It was in the beginning of this year somewhere between March and now.

I was sitting with some friends over a few spontaneous pints and chatting away. At some stage we talked about our jobs and who is involved in what types of different projects, when it was mentioned that one of us was considering working as a free lancer.

I said that I would love to work for myself and as something that really suits me like a glove, something that I would have fun with and would be good at.

Something to do with fashion and of course.

“I love fashion, did I mention that” :-)

A profession like a sales person / merchandiser, but not reduced to one fixed location or store. A profession that allows me to be creative. A personal shopper maybe?

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes!

Someone came up with the suggestion that I should have a blog to share my passion for fashion to begin with.

I could give people advice via my blog, some dress tips or how to jazz up and recycle their wardrobe or just to have fun with fashion and encourage to more creativity maybe.

My idea was to create a blog for the person next door, a fashion support blog, practical and maybe inspiring, a fashion next door blog, easy, straight forward and no frills.

I don't want to tell anyone what to wear, but maybe can help with advice how to wear it.

I hope my blog can contribute to your way of dressing or inspire you and give you some confidence and help you finding your style, no matter what your age, gender, size or shape.

Here is where it all came together @ CARSTEN loves FASHION

Okay, let me finish my first post here.

I hope I have made you curious enough about me and my blog and that we have loads of fashion fun together.

Thanks and enjoy,

                  Carsten

1'st Intro post (Me)

Hi my name is Carsten, I was born in the north of Germany Oct 1974 and live in Dublin/Ireland since the end of 2006.

I am a trained fashion salesman and have almost 11 years fashion retail experience.

Fashion or styling was always my thing.

I always loved fashion, dressing up, dressing up other people, giving advice and tips and love making people happy and confident by helping them to find the right clothes or outfits.

Fashion helps me to express myself and sometimes I even use fashion to escape the day to day routine.

I love styling and standing out in the crowd, even tough I am actually a bit shy ;-),

I love getting attention for what I am wearing, or how I am wearing it!

By the way, at the moment I am totally into the 50's and 60's, but that can change, I like being versatile and not tied to one certain trend.

I get my inspiration from the likes of any of the following:

The films “Julie&Julia” & “PS I love you” and personalities like Gok Wan, Jean Paul Gaultier, Tom Ford, Vivienne Westwood, Elton John, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Nina Hagen and of course YOU guys by filling our streets with all sorts of trends and styles.

Thanks ;-)

Last but not least, I got my inspiration from my friends and want to use this moment to say a special thanks to :

Jo, Fintan, Kate, Michael and Viktoria, for encouraging me to start this blog and Fergus for editing some of my texts.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy,

                                         Carsten