Instant Glamour & Fashion Fixes
[ 16 October 2007 ]
Photo by Myla KentSometimes life happens quickly & we don’t have time to construct glamorous outfits or do elaborate makeup. We just have a few seconds & we have to go, go, go! I wrote this little guide to “instant glamour” to help you out in these kinds of situations. Of course, when we only have a few seconds, the last thing you want to do is dig around my website trying to find an article! My suggestion is that you print this out & stick it on the inside door of your makeup cabinet or somewhere near your closet. I hope it helps!
Situation: You’re dying for a coffee/some food/a jaunt to the library but you’re wearing your pyjamas & just can’t be bothered putting anything together.
While you could just throw on jeans, the best solution is a prepared incognito outfit. This is something that you really need to think about in advance. I wrote about the incognito outfit in my first column for Cosmopolitan magazine.
Prescription: It’s time for the ubiquitous headscarf & a pair of big, dark sunglasses. You don’t need to wear huge ovals if you don’t want to, but a pair of sunglasses which cover as much of your face as possible are your best weapon against a world for which you are unprepared! Add lip gloss if you feel the need.
When it comes to clothing, my incognito outfit of choice usually consists of a long cardigan & my New Rock boots. My cardigan comes down to my knees & buttons quite high, so I can actually get away with just wearing that if push comes to shove, though I usually wear a t-shirt & a skirt underneath! The idea is to have one main item — like a long cardigan or a dress — which you can then accessorise easily.
Situation: You receive a phone-call asking for you to come in & interview for your dream job… in half an hour.
Regardless of what sort of job you’re going for, in any kind of official capacity (job interview, meeting with bank manager, etc.) you want to look alert, kempt & enthusiastic. The best way to do is this to keep your makeup natural, by covering any imperfections & enhancing your eyes. Your outfit should be simple but well put together, & CLEAN! (Use your clothes brush or I will come after you!) Remember that at some workplaces, the person who interviews you may not be who you end up working under, so it is always best to play it a little bit safe or conservative. You can break out the glittery Louboutins later…
Prescription: Cleanse, tone & moisturise your skin. Apply primer. Conceal everything which needs concealing, then add foundation. Curl your eyelashes & apply a coat of mascara to the top lashes. Also put a little mascara on the outside corners of your lower lashes — this gives you a wide-eyed, open look.
Wear a black or white long-sleeved v-neck tee — these are the sort of thing you should always have clean, or at least a spare! — with a pencil skirt. Remember to wear a white or nude bra if your top is white! For a bit of colour & interest, wear a silk scarf around your neck. Just knot it twice & let the ends hang loose, either in front of you or behind you. Add a cardigan or coat if it’s chilly. Always cover your legs for a job interview, since you never know who you’re going to be meeting, & some people are scandalised by bare skin. Patterned or plain black opaque stockings are perfect. Team with heels — not your pole-dancing platforms, but nothing too matronly either — just something which gives you a bit of a confidence boost.
Wear simple stud earrings, if anything. Pull your hair back off your face. If it’s looking a bit greasy, brush some talcum powder through it — it will give it volume & take away most of the shine. Add a bit of lip gloss & you’re ready for action! Go get ‘em, grrrl!
Situation: The boy or girl you’ve been lusting after invites you out for dinner on short notice.
To go quickly from day to night, or from simple to elegant, a few elements are key. You need a bit of colour on your lips, more intense eye makeup & an outfit which reeks of chic. The easiest way to look chic is to pare everything down, & the easiest way to do that is to have a few little black dresses in your wardrobe. We are all different so the little black dress which looks good on you will be different to what suits me, but it is absolutely, 100% worth shopping around & spending as much money as you can on items like this! If you buy wisely, it will last you a really long time & look good for its entire lifespan.
“When a little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear in its place.” — Wallis Simpson
Prescription: Cleanse, tone & moisturise your skin. Apply primer. Conceal everything which needs concealing, then add foundation. Sweep some eyeshadow across your lids (I like Nocturnelle by MAC), then line your eyelashes with something dark, like black (or brown if black is too intense on you). Curl your eyelashes, apply a coat of mascara, then curl your eyelashes again. Brush your teeth & add some colour to your lips, like a lip stain or tinted gloss. I advise against lipstick, since if the date is successful there will probably be smooching, & smeared lipstick is not the sexiest thing in the world.
Deodorise & wriggle into your little black dress. Check that you haven’t left any white marks anywhere on it. (If you have, remove them with a slightly damp washcloth.) If the temperature will allow, go bare legged, but if not, wear black opaque stockings & the hottest heels you own. If it’s cold, a loose but glamorous frock coat will look fabulous.
Go easy on accessories. I would advise wearing one simple necklace but the rest of it is up to you & the environment. I am a fan of stacked bangles, but they’re not great at the movies. I also love big cocktail rings, but they make holding hands difficult! Think about where you’ll be going & what you’re likely to be doing, as this will help determine what is most appropriate.
Do your hair however suits you best. A messy chignon is always sexy, but then so are flowing locks, so it’s your call really. Apply a dab of perfume at your throat & wrists. Use mouthwash. Tell someone where you are going, & have an AMAZING time!
Another good thing to have on hand is a fashion emergency kit. If you’re suddenly called to that dream job interview, you might be tempted to just go back to bed if you find out that the hem on your skirt is coming down! However, if you have a few simple items around the house, you can solve those problems in a pinch.
Here’s what you should have on hand, & what you can use them for.
Safety pins. They’re about the most useful thing ever to be invented, I have a huge jar of them in my bedroom & I use them all the time. Buy a couple of packets of assorted sizes & keep them together in a box or jar so you can access them easily. Use them for extra reinforcement if you fear your buttons might pop, to stop bra straps from slipping, to keep hems from dragging on the ground, or for temporarily mending small rips or tears.
Duct or masking tape. This is the perfect thing for keeping hems up. Duct tape has great staying power & best of all, it’s totally discreet — unlike safety pins, where you’ll usually see a little glint of metal.
Clear nailpolish. As well as being essential for preventing your coloured nailpolish chipping, clear nailpolish will also stop a run in your stockings dead in its tracks! Just put a little blob on the end of the run & let it dry. (You can use hairspray for the same purpose.) You can also use clear nailpolish to secure the thread on a loose button.
Velcro. Run a piece of velcro along a jersey which is pilling to remove the little bobbles of doom!
Baby wipes. As well as being a fantastic makeup remover when you’re too tired to go through your cleansing routine (though don’t forget your moisturiser!), they are also a really super-quick way of cleaning marks off shoes or minor stains from clothes.
Moisturiser. If your skirt is clinging to your legs because of static, rub some moisturiser on your thighs — even over your stockings if you’re wearing them. It always works!
Superglue. You’ll thank me if your heel snaps!
Talcum powder. It’s fantastic for greasy hair, but you can use it to remove stains from the collar of a white shirt, which is amazing! Put your iron on medium with the steaming option turned on. Put a bit of talcum powder on the collar & spread it with your fingers so that all the stains are covered. Hold the iron a few centimetres above the collar & steam for five seconds, then press the iron down on the shirt for a few more seconds. Shake off the excess talcum powder & you’re ready to go!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
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The best thing I ever did was to come up with a “job interview outfit”. WHat this consists of changes over the months and years and job descriptions, but I always have one in the closet ready to go. Right now, if someone called me for a job interview in half an hour, I would throw on my black A-line skirt, little kid’s school uniform oxford shirt, one of my ultra-iconic vintage t-shirts, burgundy corduroy blazer, and turquoise suede boots. freshly styled hair, clean and moisturized face avec a wee bit of lip gloss and mascara, and I’m good to go.
You’d think the vintage t-shirt would be too casual, but it’s a fantastic conversation starter (it has to be a REAL vintage shirt, and quirky, not some overpriced piece of hair metal memorabilia). I work in a creative field, so business suits aren’t the rule, anyway.
SUPER DOOPER!
This article is making me want to raid my closet so I can have outfits on tap, whenever I need them!
Yay!
Sadly, if I’m going on a date with a certain hot cake, I have to skip heels otherwise I TOWER over him (and everyone else included).
I hope a pencil skirt with flats doesn’t look too Nun-like.
Love the idea of having baby wipes on hand! I just might have to buy some and test them out. Thanks Gala. *
Oh my gosh, Gala! Where was this list a year ago?! hehe. I am so going to print this off and stick it to my “beauty bulletin” (a.k.a. the inside of the mirror cabinet in my bathroom) where I tack all the other lovely images and tips I find. I think I’ll stick it in an envelope and write “in case of emergency, open”. hehe.
I’ve been thinking lately I need to put together a little “fashion basics” kit to keep in my car (or my enormous purse!). Thanks for the tips of what I should put in there! I used to carry safety pins all the time, but somehow got cleaned out when I was working at a restaurant (all the wait staff was constantly needing them! lol).
Anyway. Thanks so much for this list! You’re a genius! :D
Cheers!
C.
Oh, I have 3 little black dresses, and they save my life, anytime. Oh, I need to go to a cocktail party, no problem, my strapless bubble dress is always ready. Oh, all of a sudden my boyfriend wants to take me to have a beer with his friends, no problem, my black shirt dress, leggins and boots are coming alone. Oh, I have to go to a funeral, no problem, my cotton little black dress, and a coat will always help me.
Now, the talc thing, wow, that’s good. I have this horrible problem, I have to wash my hair everyday, otherwise it looks like a ball of fat. But I think that will help so much!!!!!!
Thank you so much!!!!!!
I also have “ball of fat” hair (great expression!), and I find the talcum powder only works for a little while before the oil goes into hyperdrive and it’s too much for the talcum powder to handle. So I use that trick more for like if I have to run a quick errand in the middle of an at-home-hibernating day, or if I’m gross at the end of the day and friends want to go out. If I have a hot date and think I’ll be doing the walk of shame later, I might bring it along. It’s not enough to get me through a whole extra day, though.
Every fashion emergency kit should contain a spare pair of undies (if your date goes really well, you’ll be staying overnight!)
Wow, the talcum powder trick is a very good one (I tend to stain my white shirts u_u). I liked the incognito outfit tip, very useful :P.
Kisses.
Such useful information! It’s printed out and tacked to my memo board, right next to the “Top 5 Ways To Define Your Personal Style”. What would I do without you, Gala?
Do be sensible when applying this job advice. That’d be great if your dream job is in a casual creative field, or at a retail store, perhaps. In my industry and many others, you would not be making your best impression in a nice t-shirt and scarf – that’s a tres casual Friday around here, not job interview. It would be read as lack of preparedness and professionalism. But you should know if your dream job entails needing a suit and blouse and have one ready to go.
A jacket, a nice stylish timelessly flattering jacket, is a piece everyone should own, whether or not suits are in your future. Add a jacket to the above outfit and you could totally sneak in the door here :)
small comment: Unless you are BLINDINGLY pale, do not wear a white bra under a white t-shirt; it WILL show through.
Tk, I’ve often heard that for a job interview you should go one step above what you would normally wear to work in the position you’re applying for.
For instance, I work in the film industry, in a relatively hands-on capacity. My everyday workwear is jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, sneakers. I actually “dress up” if I have swank plans after work.
So when I go for an interview, I usually don’t wear a suit or anything remotely in that league — that wouldn’t be “a step above”, that would be like 5 steps above, and might signal to the interviewer that I wasn’t familiar with the demands of the job or wouldn’t fit in with the department.
I would guess that it’s similar in Gala’s line of work.
What a fab list – my additions to that emergency kit would be a great black eye-pencil/liquid liner and an emery board/nail file. There’s nothing as irritating as a chipped nail. And a pashmina in a flattering colour – makes every outfit look a touch more glamourous, especially if you get one that’s embroidered.
Gala,
Great shoes are a must and the easiest arena to wear a funky yet formal vibe. Depending on where you are patterned hose may even be too much. You’d be surprised how conservative a company can be when interviewing, no matter how casual or “creative” the actual day-to-day is.
It’s better to be more formal and cautious than to be too funky. I’ve observed the after-interview analysis and trust me, everything is picked over and discussed.
By the way – since I love the aqua blue you wear often, I put together a “Gala-esque” color scheme today –
http://shoedaydreams.blogspot.com/2007/10/ensemble-du-jour_15.html
I totally thought of you when I bought the tights!
Luv
Poochie
shoedaydreams.blogspot.com
What’s wrong with a little bra showing through? HEE HEE HEE
I REALLY need to work on my incognito outfit. There have been several occasions recently when I’ve run into people I haven’t seen for a few years and I’ve just been looking like bollocks. If only I’d been prepared…!
This is a seriously useful list.
This is fabulous! In this material day and age, everyone’s solution to little clothing mishaps/stains/unhemmings seems to be “dash into Supre and buy a cheap new top”, where instead you could save money and time (and dignity) by carrying a few safety pins and baby wipes. I am definitely keeping a copy of this close, so many tricks and tips I never knew about! I have fallen in love with you since that Cosmo column, and I agree – big sunnies and a headscarf equals instant mystique, glamour and class (and it’s an excellent disguise in case you run into someone you know and feel to blah to stop and chat!)
I used to use Lush’s Candy Fluff in my hair but I’m so allergic to heavily scented products I had to give it up, as pink and girlie as it is! But I really really recommend this product for the same, yet evem better, effect – Klorane Oat Milk dry shampoo. You spray a little onto your roots, leave it for 2 minutes, then brush out. Your hair looks fresh, good as new, oily roots gone, and it doesn’t look all matte like it does when you use talcum powder, your hair still looks shiny and clean. It works wonders as I have very fine fair blonde hair and it tends to look lank very easily, but who can be bothered styling and blow drying every day? Spray a little of this in and my hair looks fresh and almost like it was just washed and blow dried! This product is honestly my holy grail, buy a can and give it a go everybody!
hehe, i’m glad to know that i’m not the only person who puts talc powder in their hair to avoid washing it for an extra day :p
Great tips, as always Miss Gala!
Another must have in your emergency kit? Q-Tips. They remove/move/fix/smudge/sexify/whatever your makeup in five seconds.
Oh, and a must for me is a tiny kick of liner. Makes me feel a million bucks and takes no time at all.
the opoponax — That’s a fantastic idea! Your outfit sounds great, too. I don’t really have a job interview outfit, since uh, I have my own business! But I do have a black business suit hanging in my wardrobe, just in case.
Retro.Bunny — It’s okay to tower, you know! Though I guess on the first date that might be a little intimidating. How sad! I wish I was a tall girl, though, that would be fantastic.
Casey — Aww, yay! Glad to help honey. I think a fashion basics kit for your car is a wonderful plan, & much easier than lugging those things around in your purse all the time!
aurea — I have a couple of little black dresses but I am on a total lbd kick right now, I have bought two & am about to buy a third… they’re all winter dresses, but, you know! Whatever! They’ll last!
india — RAUNCH! You’re right, though :>
Tk — I don’t mean something which looks like a t-shirt, I just mean a basic black collarless top. Plus… this is the emergency outfit, not the perfect, planned to the nth degree outfit! ;D I agree that having a jacket is a great thing, I have one myself, but it’s not going to be right for everyone!
Nancy — I guess that will depend on the top, too. I was wearing a white top yesterday with a pale pink bra & there was nothing to be seen!
Ammu — Nice additions! Those are all things I always have in my house so I didn’t even think of them, hee!
Poochie — Hmm, good points. I added in the patterned stockings (by which I mean black with a very light pattern) because I think otherwise it’s very easy to look like you’re applying to be a mortician. Do you know what I mean? & hey, I love the tights you bought, they are TOTALLY FABULOUS!
Nadia — It’s so easy to wear trackpants or your ratty jeans everywhere but having something a little more sleek organised will make you feel much better!
Iris — I’m so with you. Buy good things & repair them if there is a problem! There are so many people who don’t think about the quality of what they’re buying, it is crazy! They just see the pricetag & think, “Oh, that’s cheap, I’ll buy it”. Then they get upset when things fall apart! Of course your shirt fell apart, it was the price of a big coffee! I need to write about this again… Oh, & I have heard about dry shampoo but have never seen it for sale anywhere! I will have a look for that one.
Pieces — Oh yes, q-tips are fantastic! I have a huuuuge box of them in my bathroom & they are wonderful.
I like the idea of your IO Gala (and you look fabulous in it, duh). I did try the sunnies and headscarf thing one day, but it made me feel highly conspicuous! Everyone stared at me like I was a weirdo :P
I don’t mean to scaremonger, but I’d avoid talc at alllllll costs. Cornstarch is a good alternative.
Nice list Gala! Glam as ever, my dear.
I have seen that particular dry shampoo for sale at Priceline… I’ve not tried it myself but I have 2 friends who swear by it.
Kx
I love this! Some great ideas and tips! I’m definitely gonna print it out! Gala to the rescue again! :)
And yes i recommend the Klorane Dry Shampoo to everyone as well! I wouldn’t be without it!
You can get Klorane from Priceattack for 15 dollars =)
Can you use Klorane on brown hair? :/
Lauren — Yes :> It’s just powder which you comb through, it ends up invisible.