Topping it Off!

By Mary Lou Andre
President, Organization By Design, Inc. & Editor, dressingwell.com

We consider tops accessories because of the way they can dramatically change the way an outfit is presented. A few stylish and well-tailored suits, slacks, jackets and vests worn with a variety of shirts, blouses, tees and knit tops is a great wardrobe strategy that is easy to maintain. In addition, it is often a cost effective way to get many looks from as few clothes as possible.

This season, the neck takes center stage. Chances are you already have a few traditional turtle and/or mock style knit tops in your wardrobe. If you enjoy these styles, this might be the season to upgrade your collection to include cashmere. Pure cashmere and cashmere blends are available everywhere at many different price points.

You might also like to expand your knit top collection by adding a few new necklines sure to give your current wardrobe a lift. This fall, the ever popular v-neck is being cut lower and lower for evening wear, boatnecks surpass crew necks as the most stylish choice of neckline to wear under a suit and funnel necks — yes, they create the illusion of a funnel at your neck — return from last year as one of the most popular trends of the season.

Details such as hoods, kangaroo pouches, three quarter length sleeves and drawstrings give casual knit tops a high-style look on their own. In addition, vibrant colors placed on user-friendly fabrics, such as wools, cottons and silks mixed with nylon, spandex and lycra, make other knit tops ideal layering pieces.

Here are some handy tips for how to incorporate a variety of different necklines into your fall wardrobe:

• Turtlenecks, with their high, close-fitting neckline, look best on women with thin, long necks. A mock style is better suited for women with shorter necks.

• Cotton "skier" style turtlenecks are not the best choice to wear with suits or dress skirts and slacks. They are much too casual and are best saved for the slopes or worn with jeans, khakis or other very casual clothing.

• A cotton tee shirt can look hip layered under many different necklines of more casual sweaters this season. Wearing a tee shirt under a wool sweater is also a great way to eliminate the itch that wool sometimes creates.

• The most popular neckline of the 70's — the cowl neck — is back again this fall. Easy to identify because of the way the over sized material of this neck falls creating soft folds across the chest, this dramatic neckline is best worn alone, not under a suit or jacket. We particularly like cowl neck sweaters worn belted over a long, A-line skirt — it's a well proportioned look.

• A boat-shaped neckline runs from one shoulder to the other and is the same depth front and back. If you have a thin neck, compliment the line created with this silhouette with a choker. Flatter a fuller neck by wearing opera-length beads with your boatnecks.

• If you have a very casual lifestyle, add a few cotton, roll neck sweaters to your wardrobe. They look terrific in natural shades such as winter white and olive green and are easy toppers for jeans and khaki's.

© 2006 Organization By Design, Inc. / Wardrobe Management & Fashion Consulting
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