Supersize your style this Fall with a cape worthy of a style superhero.  Deliciously dramatic, the cape delivers an exaggerated silhouette to play with - and keeps you warm all the while.  Do as Sofia Coppola does and have some fun with the dramatic cape with an equally exaggerated silhouette.  We love how she pairs her voluminous cape with something super skinny on the bottom, juxtaposing an elegant "uptown" cape with a "downtown" pair of leggings.  Here’s how to get the look:

1. Start with a tailored white button down shirt and a pair of skinny black leggings or trouser pants.  Bonus points for picking a pair that hits just above the ankle.
2. Layer on your voluminous cape, creating a gorgeous big-over-small silhouette.
3. Finish off the look with a structured bag and a pair of ballet flats, which pair perfectly with the cropped pants.

(2) When you wear a dress over leggings, the rule is that your dress should fall at or above your knee.  If your dress falls below your knee, you run the risk of visually cutting off your legs.  Not very flattering.

(3) The key to wearing leggings in style is to get the big-over-small silhouette.  So when you choose a shirt to pair with your leggings, look for a roomy shirt that’s anything but skintight.  Skintight top + skintight leggings = Minus points for style.

(4) When you look for shoes to pair with your leggings, look for three styles: flats, boots, and pumps.  Other types of shoes tend not to work as well as these three styles.  Our personal favorite is booties with leggings for a rocker chick inspired look.

A: Boston living is particularly extreme.  Outside, the winter weather can be brutally frigid,  and inside, the buildings tend to be highly overheated – so we feel your pain!

How do you keep warm in super cold weather? The key is to keep your core (e.g. your torso) warm.  If your core, head and feet are warm, your body will keep your extremities (arms and legs) warm too.  So—to keep warm in cold weather, you need lots of layers over your core, but you don’t need as many layers over your arms and legs.  This insight helps you stay warm without looking like you

The key to layer your clothes without looking bulky is alternating the length of your sleeves through the layers. Wearing a long sleeved sweater over a long sleeved shirt, with another long sleeved jacket on top, for example, can really bulk you up.  Here’s how to put together a chic layered cold weather outfit:

1.  Start with a solid base: a turtleneck sweater and a pair of jeans.  To give your waist some extra definition, try a belt over the sweater.  This waist definition is key to not looking bulky– especially if you’re wearing underlayers for extra warmth.
2.  Next, add one of my favorite layering elements: a puffer vest (preferably stuffed with down feathers). Down keeps your core very warm, and it gives you more options for your overcoat.
3.  Over the down vest, bundle up in a long wool (or wool cashmere) coat.  The wool coat will give you a more urban look than a more outdoorsy looking down coat—and it traps the heat generated by the down layer. As for warmth, the wool coat without the down layer would generally be less warm than a down coat. But by layering the down vest under the wool coat, you get the best of both worlds: the warmth of down, but the sleeker, more stylish look of wool.
4.  Accessorize for the cold.  180s earmuffs are a part of any stylish woman’s cold weather wardrobe.  Note that the faux fur lined hood on the puffer vest will also act as a hat/wind-blocker, which gives you an additional layer for your ears and head.

by Colleen Geary, fashion stylist and image consultant

A: To understand how to pair shoes with clothes, you first have to look at silhouette.  Shoes should complement the lines and proportions of an outfit, particularly the bottom that you’re wearing.  We’ll start with the basics—regular trouser pants and a knee length skirt—and then we’ll expand out into other options:

Regular Trouser Pants
For regular width trouser pants, the classic choice is a medium height (approximately 2” tall) shoe.  You can wear pumps, loafers, two-tone shoes…and you can also experiment with different toebox styles.  For a sophisticated look, try pointier toed shoes.  But for a more chic, casual look, you can try a round toe.  If you’re not a fan of heels, you can also try a more subdued kitten heel (usually around 1.5” tall).

Knee Length Skirts
The perfect shoe for a knee-length skirt is a heeled shoe.  Most women prefer to wear a medium height heel to visually elongate the leg, but a shorter kitten heel is also a common choice.  Women who are blessed with extra long legs can also get away with flats, but the rest of us should steer clear of them. 

Wide Trouser Pants
To balance out the width of a wide trouser pant, you’ll need to wear a high heel (3” or taller).  The high heel visually (and physically) elongates your leg line, and it gives your bottom half balance.  If you’re blessed with long legs, you can also try a medium height heel.  But for optimal figure flattery, no low heels or flats allowed!

Skinny Pants
Channel Audrey Hepburn when pairing shoes with skinny pants.  What did Audrey wear?  Ballet flats, of course!  When you’re wearing tight pants, you want a shoe that’s not overly sexy.  So steer clear of high heels and shoes with “toe cleavage.”  The ballet flat (or even really short kitten heels) will do the trick.

Short Skirts
Short skirts are best paired with a kitten heel or ballet flat at work.  If you’re wearing a revealing skirt, you don’t want to go overboard with an overly sexy shoe.  That said, the woman in the miniskirt pictured above made the sexy shoe and miniskirt look work.  How did she do it?  She wore tights to cover up her legs (and tone down the miniskirt), and she wore a heeled bootie.  Because they provide more coverage, booties are a less risqué shoe option than an equivalently high heel.

Long Skirts
Because long skirts and wide trouser pants share similar characteristics (length and width), long skirts require the same shoe options as do wide trouser pants.  So the same rules apply: high heels are best, and no flats are allowed.

Simply wrap the scarf around your neck once and then just let the ends drop where they will.  I think this method is appropriate for indoor wear, as it adds color without overwhelming the wearer or the outfit.  Keep in mind though that it does look pretentious to wear a big cashmere scarf wrapped once or twice around the neck when one is inside.
Best For: Long, narrow scarves.

With a square scarf, you can place one pointed side down in front of your neck, and then take the ends and wrap once around your neck ending with a little tie. 
Best For: Small to medium sized square scarves.

Choose the Right Shade of Pink. It’s hard to make pink work with red–but it can work with the right shade of pink.  We love a deep, rich pink like the one shown on the top, especially when this pink is paired with a chic fire engine red.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a spiller.  Sauces, drinks, errant food items.  To keep my clothes clean, I have to be vigilant about stain removal.  For tough stains, I use a stain stick (which fits conveniently in a small handbag).

Especially useful if you want to revive a sweater that’s been sitting in your oversized handbag–or a blouse that’s gotten crumpled.  A steamer is easier on your clothes than an iron is, and it’s even simpler to use.  If you’re sans-steamer (e.g. on vacation), try hanging your clothes in the bathroom and run the shower on the highest heat.  It’s not as effective as a real steamer, but it works in a pinch.

Have a small rip?  A button that falls off?  You don’t need a mini sewing kit (though props to you if you have one).  Simply use a safety pin or two to pin your clothes back together.  I keep safety ins in different colors (black, matte silver, and white) so I can choose the pin that best blends with my clothes.

Did your hem fall down?  You don’t have to bother with pinning it.  Double stick tape will do in a bind.  Just remember to splurge on extra sticky tape–and to get your hem sewn back up afterwards.

What’s your best fashion emergency tip?  Share it with us in the comments!

by Colleen Geary, fashion stylist and image consultant

A: Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Katharine Hepburn all embody timeless American style.  Audrey is famous for her elegant black sheath dress, capri pants, ballet flats, and large dark sunglasses. Her style is perfectly suited to her body type and personality - thin, graceful and gamine.  (She was also fortunate to have Hubert Givenchy to dress her.) Grace Kelly is famous for her cinched waists, full skirts, fitted tops, pearls, and her classic Kelly bag.  And Katharine Hepburn, exuding professional style, made menswear her signature look. 

What do Audrey, Grace, and Katharine have in common?  Each was an icon of their own personal style.  So to modernize this looks, do as these style icons did:

Wear clothing that suits your figure.  Not your style icon’s figure, not your best friend’s figure–your figure.  Be honest with yourself about what works and what doesn’t–and choose your silhouettes accordingly.

Create, don’t Copy. Instead of copying Audrey, Katharine, or Grace’s style directly, create your own signature style.  Sure, it can be based on that of your style icon, but make it your own.  Katharine Hepburn made trousers her signature piece.  What will your signature piece be?

Create your signature style around classic, clean lines.  Your clothes won’t overwhelm you, and maintaining a clean silhouette allows you to play with accessories, hairstyles, and makeup.