One of the spring's biggest fashion trends is the off-the-shoulder style. From tops to dresses to jumpsuits, you’re sure to see a ton of shoulder-baring options out there. 

The unique neckline of this style cuts across the chest and upper arms to create bare shoulders. This flash of skin elongates the neck and creates a look that is both flirty and fun.

As with all trends, you need to assess your own individual dressing style and see how this style makes you feel. Depending on how you choose to wear it, it has elements of a feminine, natural sporty and dramatic dressing style. 

Have you ever stopped to really think about what you’re telegraphing in terms of your body language, how you dress, how you speak, how you communicate and the impact this has on your leadership opportunities?

I think women, in general, like to downplay the importance of this is because it is easier to believe in the idea that it’s a meritocracy, or it should be a meritocracy, and therefore it’s all about how you’re performing and how hard you work.

During the early years of my corporate career, I was adamant that the value I contributed to the organisation would be evident through my deliverables and work ethic. As I started to progress in my career I recognised there was a missing piece. You see I loathed networking for self-promotion but in retrospect, I wish I had found a happy medium as there is a need to an extent to "self-promote".

Nowadays we all work in open plan office environments. Gone are the days where you could walk straight into the office and hope that no-one would notice you arrive.

Now, more than ever, we are on DISPLAY.

You could potentially talk with at least 5-10 people as you make your way to your hot desk which happens to be in a different place every day. No longer do we exclusively work in project teams or departments.

Now, that's not such a bad thing in terms of networking and building your reputation across the organisation.

There’s an old adage, “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” When you’re evaluated for a promotion, it’s unlikely your boss will sit in a room alone and contemplate your potential. They will rely on others to assess your ability, which means you need supporters across the organisation — people who are aware of the work you’re doing.

Here's a look at KPMGs new office layout at Barangaroo.

Your Uber ride is waiting for you, you're on your way overseas for a business trip. As usual, you've packed last minute and just threw in a few pieces with the hope they will all work together.

You jump into your Uber ride and you have this sick feeling that you've forgotten to pack something important. You start to tick off a mental checklist: passport (yes), GDH (yes), shoes (yes), makeup (yes), a suit (yes), laptop (yes) and then BOOM you realise you haven't packed enough warm weather gear given the weather conditions of the country you're visiting.

So now you go into solution mode. You say to yourself, "O.K I have 20 minutes to check in and find a trench coat or something that's going to keep me warm".

You're in luck. You see a gorgeous red Burberry trench and you convince yourself to buy it because you really NEED it. So you do and you have this short period of gratification.

You reach your destination and you start to unpack. You plan out your outfits for the next two weeks and realise the pieces you've packed don't integrate with each other (surprise surprise). And that red trench coat looks great with jeans but it doesn't work with anything else you've packed (Oh no!).

Does this sound familiar?

This was me during my 12-year corporate career. I spent more time in international and domestic airports than I did at home. I thought I was a pro when it came to packing. Needless to say, I had a lot to learn.

Now as an internationally accredited Image Consultant, I work with professional women who are time poor and style challenged. Lately, so many of my clients have described the above same scenario to me. They are forever shopping in airports and buying these "one hit wonders" and "it will do" pieces that can only be worn with one other item in their wardrobe. After many years of business travel and impulse buying, they have these incredible stand alone pieces but they still feel like they have nothing to wear.

Does this sound like you?

With the knowledge I've acquired for the past 10+ years as an internationally accredited Image Consultant and Stylist, I've developed a key method for clients to follow which helps them eliminate the stress of packing. It also helps them avoid making bad decisions when shopping at airports. Let's review this method.

Imagine now you are packing for a two-week long business trip to Paris

Step 1: Select your core pieces in neutral colours
Your core pieces are your bottoms, jackets, coats and dresses.
Neutral colours include: Black, Navy, Charcoal, Denim, White, Taupe, Chocolate, Olive and Tan. You'll notice below in my wardrobe capsule that I've used black and denim as my two core colours. You'll also notice that I've thrown in red as an accent colour for a bit of interest. This isn't essential but does help add variety.


So for travel packing purposes being able to pick two-three colours to build your capsule around will help keep your decisions to a minimum. This is especially helpful if you find that you get to the airport and have forgotten to pack an important piece. At least then you'll know which colour you should buy it in.

My core pieces in this capsule include:

• 3 jackets
• 1 sleeveless long-line vest
• 2 skirts
• 1 pair of pants
• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 dress

Step 2: Select your tops and accessories in basic colours.
These are all the colours of the rainbow. They include: Greens, Blues, Reds, Purples, Pinks, Oranges and many others. It's best if you have a few tops in solid block colours and others that are printed. You'll notice that I've created a "Dramatic" capsule and have kept my tops in black, white and red.

Step 3: Ensure that every top can be worn with every jacket/ long-line cardi and bottom. You'll notice that you can do this with this capsule.