Awful Christmas sweaters have become a hit at social functions and even during in-season business casual days. My thoughts are if you are in a creative culture, advertising or the arts, it might work and be appreciated.

Men have been wearing patterned, fun socks so you will see many with holiday patterns. However, ladies wear with caution the patterned white stockings with candy canes or ornaments. This also goes for the sweater vests, jackets and ties with Santa Claus or snowmen on them.

It is fun to wear a touch of red for a jacket or sweater. A handmade piece of Christmas jewelry in a necklace or pin can also be sharp, especially if it is contemporary.

At a recent workshop I was told by a supervisor that she always had to wear heels to have executive presence (no matter that she was 5’11’’).

Now, I believe you should always wear comfortable shoes. There are many brands like Munro, Ecco, NikeCole and Haan, for instance, that offer very comfortable pumps.

However, if you prefer to wear flats, look for these things in the design of the toes of the shoes: shoes with slightly pointed toes in leather with an ornament (like Tory Burch) or with a touch of patent leather. These will always look polished and smart.

I was just recently at a client for a workshop and it was on casual day. The women who wore leggings that appeared appropriate for the day were:

• Wore leggings in heavy dark fabric

• Wore leggings that appropriately fit (not too tight)

• Wore high boots (sometimes the same color as the leggings)

• Wore a long knit top that covered their hips

These women, tall, short and of varying physical shapes, looked very sharp on this casual day.

In a business casual setting, men may not have to necessarily wear a suit jacket all the time, though they might be wearing a shirt and tie most of the time.

Many men in a workshop setting will ask if they can wear a mixed or patterned shirt with a patterned tie. Yes, of course. However, there are a few guidelines to ensure the right mix to look really sharp:

– The shirt stripe must be smaller than the tie pattern

– The tie pattern must be smaller if the shirt stripe is wide

– Make sure there is a similar color in both the tie and shirt

– A tie can be a totally different color than the shirt if the shirt is a non-patterned one

Of course, all of these rules can be broken if you have a dynamic eye for style or a work with a personal stylist!

For women:

• Jewelry, such as necklaces and earrings, that appear too big or too small.

• Purses that are too small for a larger women or too large for a petite women.

For men:

• Ties that are too wide or too skinny.

• Skinny pants that belong on slender men worn by men with ample builds.

• Tee shirts that show bellies.

There are some proportion mistakes folks make because they want to make a fashion statement. If that’s the case, just be sure your audience understands that.

If you’re a woman with wide calves you may have been embarrassed by trying on boots in a shoe store only to have them stop at mid-zip because they will not go on over your calves. This can be a problem especially for those with small feet.

When you’re buying boots, you want to check for two measurements, the shaft height and shaft circumference of the boot. Now, measure the height from your heel up your calf. At that point measure your calf circumference. Check the circumference of the boot. If the difference is a half an inch or less, it usually will not be a problem. Otherwise, you might have to get them stretched and who wants to do that.

I want to applaud the boot manufacturers for finally making boots with zippers and for wider calves for women. They are called wide calf or extended calf boots and they are great! Many of these styles have a 15.5 inch shaft height and a 16 inch shaft circumference when a regular boot would have a 15 inch shaft circumference,

The trick is to select boots that will provide a slimming look as opposed to making your calves look bigger.

This is the time of year when the temperatures can wildly fluctuate, sometimes by 30 degrees, in the course of just one day! It could be 40 degrees in the morning and 70 in the late afternoon. To cope with this clothing wise (and to avoid looking like Frosty the Snowman) try wearing close fitting, thin layers. This provides the option to remove layers as the temperature rises.

Generally, it’s best to use three layers (especially in the winter):

– An inner layer that keeps the skin dry (like silk or soft wools)

– The mid layer (wool, fleece, down, cotton, synthetic polyester) which provides additional insulation and helps keep you warm. It should be looser fitting to allow for insulating air between the layers.

– A shell layer (plastic raincoats, water resistant materials) that prevents moisture from entering.

However you layer, layering makes efficient use of clothing and also allows you to make use of clothing to produce different looks and mix colors in a stylish way.

A question that has come up is whether leggings can be worn with a short dress or skirt for business casual. It depends on the company, location and the field you are in but my first answer would be no. It’s fine for a personal social event and possibility a very casual business social event.

I have worn a dress that hit above my knees with Capri leggings for a personal social event but it is highly unlikely that I would wear that to a client event no matter how casual. The look is too trendy and not everyone would understand it.

The black pump is making a comeback and I personally am very happy with this. I just purchased the last pair of Arche black pumps at Bloomingdales. They are so comfortable that I love wearing them.

Heels have always been a challenge. It seems like all the pumps were too high or too low and the toes were too pointy, round or square. What I want is a good looking, smart pair of black shoes that can be worn with slacks or a skirt that’s either longer (French slightly over the knee) or shorter, above the knee. And I have found them!

Cropped slacks are still much in the scene. I, myself, am not in favor of them for workplace. First of all, they can make you look shorter and cause your legs to appear stumpy. I understand the popularity of them, especially when you think about the nuisance of hemming pants. A nice alternative is the slim ankle length pant where you do not have to worry about the length. They can give the illusion of height and make you look at least five pounds thinner.