Certain types of service providers are worth their weight in gold. A good hairdresser, a competent doctor, a dependable electrician, and, yes, a good tailor. If you don’t have the time to make clothing repairs such as sewing on buttons, hemming a skirt, or redoing a zipper, a good tailor is a must. Plus, you never know when you’re going to need a custom outfit for a special occasion. Be forewarned. A good tailor really is hard to find. Here are some tips for finding one:

1. Word of Mouth
This is probably the most dependable way to find a good tailor, but the key is to start looking before you need one. If you need a suit altered or a dress custom made for a special occasion, you don’t want to desperately seek out the services of a tailor. Start looking now. Ask friends and the personnel working in fashion boutiques and department stores who they would recommend. Some department stores have their own tailors although you may need to buy something from the store to use their services. Also, contact the local dry cleaners in your area. Some cleaners have a tailor on staff or can recommend a good one.

2. Choose Someone Close to Your Home or Job
Don’t underestimate the importance of choosing a good tailor who lives close to your home or place of work. For a complicated job, you may need to go in several times to try the item on. If you tailor is located on the other side of town, this can be a real hassle.  Unless you work in the city, avoid using a tailor located in a busy downtown area with limited parking. Always keep convenience in mind.

3. Make Sure There’s Good Communication
When looking for a good tailor, you may find excellent ones who don’t have a firm grasp of the English language. Although they may be quite competent, you may not get the results you want if there’s poor communication. Choose someone who understands what you’re looking for.

4. Test Them With a Simple Job First
When you finally choose a tailor, give them a simple job such as hemming a skirt or a pair of pants first. Don’t be tempted to give them a stack of clothing to alter on the first visit. Make sure simple jobs are performed competently and with attention to detail before asking them to alter your best dress.

5. Ask to See Samples of Their Work
Most good tailors will have samples of their work on hand that you can use to judge the quality of their work. Inspect their work carefully to make sure it show attentions to detail.

6. Other Factors to Consider
There may be times when you need a clothing repair job done fast. Find out what the average turn around time is on alterations, repairs, and custom made clothing. A longer turn around time may be a sign you’re dealing with a good tailor since he or she has lots of clients, but if you need things done quickly a busy tailor may not be the best choice.

Of course, you’ll also want to keep costs in mind. Try to get a copy of their fee structure and compare it to the rates charged by other tailors in your area. You may pay a bit more for a good tailor, but the difference shouldn’t be enormous.

Once you find a good tailor, let them know you appreciate them. Treat them with the care and respect they deserve. They can make your life so much easier.

In the first part of this article, which was published last week, we looked at how you can select certain accessories and pair them up with existing items in your wardrobe to spruce up any outfit. Today we’re back with even more tips on this topic, which will help you stay stylish without spending too much.

The Versatile Scarf
A scarf can change the look of an outfit completely. Try wearing a scarf under a plain colored suit jacket instead of wearing a blouse. Fold the scarf around your neck and pin it carefully under the neckline of the suit jacket. You can achieve three different looks by sometimes wearing a bold patterned scarf, sometimes wearing a scarf with a tiny print, and sometimes wearing a soft pastel colored scarf.

A pretty scarf will dress up a plain straw hat. Choose a scarf that will complement the rest of your outfit. You can match the color of your scarf to your footwear, handbag, or clothing.

A large scarf can double as a sarong when you are at the beach. Tie your scarf at the waist and wear it at a long length to highlight your legs. Choose a floral patterned scarf to wear with a plain colored costume or bikini. A plain scarf will blend in well with a bold patterned costume or bikini top.

The Finishing Touches
Earrings, necklaces, pendants, and bangles will all complete an outfit. You can liven up neutral colored clothing with the addition of a brightly colored pendant, necklace, or bangle. Matching earrings will provide the final additions to your outfit. Women with curvy figures should avoid wearing small items of jewellery. A curvaceous figure will appear to advantage in large chunky items of jewellery. Petite woman can emphasize their delicate size by wearing tiny or fragile looking pieces of jewellery.

You will be pleasantly surprised at how easily you can alter the appearance of your clothing by the addition of new accessories. A few subtle changes can make a great deal of difference to any outfit. Shop carefully, so you can wear the same accessories with a variety of outfits. Save money this season by updating your wardrobe with beautiful accessories.

In the current economic climate, it is important to be able to dress well without breaking the budget. Now is the time to re-organise your wardrobe. Put away, or throw out, items you no longer wear and re-vamp those items that you love. You can create a new-look outfit by purchasing new accessories.

Choose Shoes that Enhance Your Outfit
Every outfit you own will look wonderful with color matching shoes. Unless you always wear neutral colored clothing, color matching your shoes is a very expensive option. A less expensive method of matching your shoes with what you are wearing is to buy shoes in the same color tone as your hair.

When you are considering purchasing new shoes, hold them up to the level of your hair and match the shoes to your hair coloring. Shoes will co-ordinate perfectly with any color outfit if they are the same color as your hair. A person with dark brown hair can wear dark brown or black shoes to co-ordinate with almost any color, even navy. A blonde-haired person will look great in caramel colored shoes regardless of the color of her outfit. A red headed woman will look stunning in a rusty colored shoe.

The most flattering shoes are pumps with a medium to high heel. Open-toed sandals look wonderful especially when enhanced with well-manicured toenails. Pumps and sandals are suitable to wear with a variety of skirt lengths, which makes them a very versatile choice when you need to adhere to a budget.

Buying the Best Handbag
It is important to choose the right size handbag to suit your own shape and size. Small handbags look lovely when carried by petite women. Tall or more rounded shaped women look best when they carry a large handbag.

When choosing the color of your handbag, you can either co-ordinate the color of the bag with your shoes or with your clothing. Metallic colored handbags are a perfect choice for dressing up an evening outfit, provided the metallic color matches your jewellery. Do not carry a gold colored bag and wear silver jewellery. Avoid two-toned colors or patterns unless the two colors are a perfect match with the colors in your outfit.

Keep on watching this space, as next week the second and final part of this article is coming up, where we share you with even more stylish tips!

Does anyone remember the 1980s teenage flick, “Weird Science”? The one scene everyone remembers about this movie is the woman in the sexy red dress coming to life. In the Matrix, a woman in red is the decoy to stop Neo seeing the Federal Agent in the training program. There are hundreds of examples women in red dresses stopping traffic, and catching the attention of men, and not just in the movies. Red is the colour of passion and confidence, so wear red to make your own “look at me” statement.

Wearing red attracts attention because it is the most energetic colour in the spectrum. In Feng Shui, red means luck, and even wearing red accessories should give you a confidence boost for the day.

Red is an invigorating, energising, stimulating, and compelling colour, and men see a confident woman wearing red as exciting and sensual. Red is a passionate and hot color and scientists have even linked the color red to people experiencing an increase in appetite and higher blood pressure.

Wearing red makes you feel powerful, confident, and desirable. Red can produce an illusion of fantasy. However, some people may find a person wearing red intimidating, so beware of wearing too much red to the office or a corporate environment where such power plays could be dangerous.

Although few women can get away with wearing fire engine red from head to toe, everyone can look fantastic with some red accessories or clothes. Accessorise a grey or black business suit with a pretty scarf with some red in the pattern, and red earrings, to give your spirits a lift for the important meeting. A red handbag and shoes will change any plain and dull outfit into an attention-grabbing fashion statement.

The trick to looking fantastic when you wear red is to choose the tones of red that most suit your features. If you have brown hair, you can wear the deep or crimson red tones, while those with dark hair and olive skin can wear the true reds like a fire engine red. Women with blonde hair tend to look best in the gentler reds, like warm raspberry red. Even if you have red hair, you can look stunning in red, especially if you stick to the russet reds or the gentle reds with orange overtones.

Wearing red gives you an instant confidence boost and is sure to attract attention. Matched red accessories give an instant lift to a dull outfit and you can make a fashion statement with a stunning red dress. Men tend to see women dressed in red as sensual, exciting, and passionate, so wearing red could lead to any kind of adventure.