Remember when the all-knowing “they” admonished you to never wear white after Labor Day? Well get ready to forget everything “they” ever told you and listen up as Jacques Pantazes, one of San Francisco’s top stylists, dishes about today’s top 10 fashion faux pas.

1. Know Your Body Type – Perhaps you are a pear, an apple, or maybe straight and narrow, but whatever you may be it’s important to realize and fully accept your body type. Go ahead…take a deep sigh…now rock it! Recognize your strong points, as well as your not so fabulous ones, and use them to your advantage. Just because you are a size 10 doesn’t mean you can’t wear tight clothes. Instead, wear the right clothes, accentuating the right place and most importantly, wear it with confidence!

2. Muffin Top – Yes, they may be the best part of the baked good, but it’s definitely not the best part of anyone’s physique. You know what we’re talking about; when the pants fit too tight at your waist and your shirt isn’t showing any signs of forgiveness. Before you know it…BAM!…muffin top. Avoid this catastrophe at all costs. And ladies, please don’t try to blame this disaster on low-waisted pants because the latest fashions from Paris are pointing towards the resurgence of high-waisted pants, of which men love!

3. Intimate Catastrophe – Women are spending too much time worrying about their outerwear and completely neglecting their innerwear; i.e. bras and panties. A properly fit bra (one that lifts and separates) can change an entire outfit not to mention your confidence. If you are spilling over your bra (also knows as mountain tops), swimming in a sea of emptiness, or if it is cutting into your back, head to Victoria’s Secret and get a properly fitting bra immediately. Also pay special attention to your panties; no one wants VPL (visible panty line).

4. Right Shoe, Wrong Foot – No matter how seductive those Christian Louboutins may be, if you were blessed with less than perfect feet, don’t pray to the shoe gods that your foot will some how be mashed in there to fit. It is crucial to pay attention to their natural shape of your foot and wear shoes that, like your body, accentuate the right parts. If you have a size 10 foot, steer clear of the pointed toe and opt for a rounded one. If you have a size six, the pointed toe shoe is your friend!

5. Wearing Too Much Money – We’re not talking just jewelry here people, but displaying all signs of obvious wealth is an absolute fashion faux pas. The rest of the world doesn’t need to know that you are wearing $30,000 worth of clothing at once nor do they need to be blinded by your bling. Tone it down and avoid becoming a walking billboard.

6. Letting A Designer Define Your Identity – Too many people suffer from “one-hit-wonder” closets that consist of only one designer. Yes, we know you love Max Mara, but you’re doing yourself a disservice if you let the runway rule your style. Instead, incorporate styles that define your life. If this season doesn’t match who you are, feel free to sit this season out and wait until the clothes inspire you. The truth is that designers are in it for your money, so don’t cash in your identity to someone who doesn’t even know you.

7. Poorly Chosen Evening Wear – Three rules will help you steer clear of an evening wear tragedy: First, the only time a seven mile train is acceptable is at a wedding, case closed. Second, outdoing the hostess; just don’t do it. It’s rude and catty. And finally, being the star at someone else’s wedding. It’s their special day and no one needs to know how ravishing you look in your fluorescent or even…gasp…white ensemble.

8. Labels – Always, and we stress always, remove all labels and care tags on scarves, shawls, gloves and transparent clothing. Yes, even if it is a Hermes scarf, have a seamstress remove the label and save it.

9. Loosing Your Way and Relying on Anna Wintour to Guide You – Like letting a designer choose your identity, don’t rely on what “they” are showing this season. Remember, the fashion and magazine world is still a business and it’s crucial that you show what is best on your body and fits in your lifestyle, not what styles fit best in their pocketbook.

10. The Imaginary Life – They are out there; the women who have a closet full of clothes for their imaginary life. Open their closet doors and you will see six figures worth of the most beautiful clothes you’ve ever laid eyes upon, but they continue to wear the same old trash bags everyday. It’s important to not just shop to fill the void of a life you dreamed you would have, but the life you actually have.

While no one should live their fashion lives according to a stringent set of rules, it does help to have a few pointers along the way.

About Jacques Pantazes

Jacques lives in an all-encompassing world of glamour, entirely of his own design. Inside, everything exists in a state of near perfection: apparel, fashion accessories, fragrances and cosmetics, even interior decoration. His obsession with style is the result of having spent many years living in France, where such preoccupations and the lifestyles that result are encouraged – even admired.

A precocious six-year old attempting to art-direct everything, and everyone, Jacques’ childhood interests in color and design led to private art tutoring in both classic and experimental oil-paint applications,and revealed a natural talent for all things visual. By the age of ten, Jacques was selling paintings to all of his parents’ friends, notoriously insisting on redecorating their homes to better accommodate them. Now grown up, and after many years working in one of the oldest and most venerated Haute Couture houses in Paris, Jacques presently is the Wardrobe Stylist and in-house Fashion Guru to a best-in-class luxury retailer in San Francisco, his most rewarding job to date.

Jacques earnestly believes he was conceived to help make everything and everyone around him more beautiful. A natural to the lush life with a keen aim to amuse, he assumes and expects every second of every day can and should be fabulous. As a result, Jacques feels right at home at Vivanista.

[Photos from Kam and ccyhan via Flickr]